A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

This is not the first time I met Kuu Maiya. I met Kuu Maiya several times in Einzbern Castle. During the nine years that Kiritsugu retired, Kuu Maiya was responsible for all Kiritsugu's affairs from outside.

A woman who worked together with Kiritsugu before he met Irisviel. During this meeting, there was no doubt about Kiritsugu's remarks, and he remained silent calmly. I'm afraid that for Maiya, the current Kiritsugu is the Emiya Kiritsugu she knows.

Suddenly, a faint fragrance drifted into Irisviel's nose. That's the smell of tobacco. When Alice first met Kiritsugu, the smell of tobacco lingered on his body. Alice remembered being disgusted by the smell.

I hadn't smelled this smell for a long time after marrying Kiritsugu, and now Kiritsugu smelled like tobacco again. Maybe this is the smell of gunpowder smoke on the battlefield.

The current Kiritsugu has undoubtedly transformed back into the Kiritsugu of nine years ago. At that time, Ahad took Kiritsugu in in order to obtain the Holy Grail. Kiritsugu was like a ruthless hound.

And at that time, Irisviel was just a doll guarding the Holy Grail. While recalling Kiritsugu's past, Irisviel seemed to be recalling her own past. It was as if the nine years the two people had lived together no longer existed. Irisviel began to feel restless.

The person closest to the man Emiya Kiritsugu now is not himself as his wife, but Kuu Maiya...

Irisviel did not tell everything about her thoughts, but asked a completely unrelated question:

"...How should we deal with the new rules of war proposed by the Overseer? Doesn't he want us to enter a state of truce with all enemies except Caster?"

"Ignore the new rule. The supervisor only provided compensation for enforcing the new rule, and did not formulate punishment details for violating this new rule. If the supervisor really wants to trouble us, we can just pretend not to know about this rule. ”

Completely different from his attitude toward Saber, Kiritsugu answered Irisviel’s questions one by one.

"——And the supervisor of this war always feels unconvincing. He hid Assassin's Master pretending to know nothing. Maybe he is with Tohsaka. Before he can find out his details, , just be suspicious of him for the time being."

"..."

Saber was so angry that her whole body was trembling, and Irisviel had a thousand thoughts in her heart.\\nFor a moment, both of them fell into silence. Kiritsugu took this silence as a signal to end the meeting.

"Then the meeting will end here. Irisviel and I will stay in the castle to prepare for Caster's attack. Maiya will return to the city to collect intelligence. Report to me if there are any changes."

"As commanded."

Maiya nodded without hesitation, stood up, and left the conference room. Kiritsugu, who got up later, collected the maps and information on the table and left the conference room. Kiritsugu didn't even look at Saber until the end.

Saber, who was completely ignored by Kiritsugu, bit her lip angrily and stared at the carpet at her feet. Irisviel stayed in the conference room with Saber. At this moment, Irisviel didn't know what words to use to comfort the angry Saber.

No, the self-esteemed Knight King Saber would not expect others to comfort her with insignificant words. Now for Saber, what must be done is to fundamentally solve the current predicament. Thinking of this, Irisviel put her hand on Saber's shoulder to express her gratitude, and then immediately followed Kiritsugu and left the conference room.

Kiritsugu's overly deliberate disregard for Saber wasn't just because the two of them didn't talk to each other. If Kiritsugu didn't have extreme disgust or resentment towards Saber, he wouldn't have been able to act like that and ignore Saber. In short, Kiritsugu went too far this time. No matter how different the two people's combat strategies are. After all, they are comrades fighting for the same goal. Although you don't have to respect each other.\\nBut you can't insult each other either.

Irisviel quickly discovered Kiritsugu's figure. He stood on the balcony overlooking the castle's front yard, leaning against the guardrail and looking at the night forest. Fortunately, Maiya is not around Kiritsugu.\\n

"…Kiritsugu."

Irisviel slowly walked up behind Kiritsugu and shouted. She didn't expect her voice to turn stern. Kiritsugu should also be aware of his presence. Because Kiritsugu didn't show the slightest surprise, but turned around slowly.

Irisviel was already mentally prepared. Kiritsugu had that cold look in his eyes when he was confronting Saber in the conference room just now. Irisviel prepared to look directly into Kiritsugu's cold eyes. But when she saw Kiritsugu's expression when he turned around, she couldn't help but feel a little at a loss and stood there blankly.

Kiritsugu's expression was like that of a hurt and helpless child, holding back tears. Kiritsugu seemed to be cornered. The Kiritsugu who stood before Irisviel now was far from the image of the extraordinary powerful magician killer. He was just a weak and cowardly man.

"Kiritsugu, you-"

Kiritsugu said nothing and hugged the confused Irisviel tightly. His chest was shaking. In Irisviel's eyes, her husband's arms were always strong and someone could rely on, but now her husband was as helpless as a child nestled in the arms of a loving mother.

"If I--"

Irisviel felt her husband hugging her even tighter, even causing her pain. At this time, my husband's faint questioning voice came to my ears.

"If I decide at this moment to leave everything behind and escape from here - Alice, will you leave with me?"

Alice would never have imagined that a man like Emiya Kiritsugu would raise such a question. She was so shocked that she was speechless for a moment. After a while, she asked:

"Ilia...that child is still in the castle, what should I do?"

"We return to the castle and bring her out. Anyone who stands in our way will be killed without mercy."

It was a short and concise voice—yet full of despair. There was no doubt that Kiritsugu was not joking and was serious.

"From now on - I will give everything I have for our family. Use my life to protect you and Ilia."

"..."

Now Irisviel finally understood the desperate mood of the man in front of her. As her life partner, Kiritsugu is facing the biggest battle of his life and has been forced to a point of no return.

He is no longer the Kiritsugu he was nine years ago. No longer the cold and heartless hound, no longer the killing machine that endlessly honed itself.

Kiritsugu had changed. He became very fragile, and in order to realize that very cruel ideal, he actually forced himself into such a situation. The key to Kiritsugu's change was none other than Irisviel.

Wife and daughter. They should not have been involved in Emiya Kiritsugu's life.

Originally, Emiya Kiritsugu had nothing to lose. He won't even feel pain. It is precisely because Emiya Kiritsugu is such a man that he can become extremely strong, pursue the lofty ideal of saving the world, sacrifice everything for this without hesitation, and become an extremely cruel warrior.

Kiritsugu now wants to go back to the past and be his old self. But - as he looked back on the past years, an irreconcilable conflict appeared deep in Kiritsugu's soul. These nine years have completely changed Kiritsugu. Just to maintain the cold and ruthless image of the past, Kiritsugu has endured a lot of pressure and pain.

Kiritsugu's disregard for Saber ultimately exposed Kiritsugu's weakness. Kiritsugu is now exhausted from trying to preserve himself. He no longer had the energy to accept Saber, or even the extra energy to communicate with the King of Knights.

Irisviel was in great pain. The man she loved deeply was suffering, but she was helpless. Because the person who caused Kiritsugu so much pain was himself.

All Irisviel could do now was to weakly raise her own questions.

"Can we escape? We..."

"You can escape. There is still a chance now."

Kiritsugu replied immediately. But this sentence is not credible. Kiritsugu just said those words so that he could still have that vain hope in his heart.

"--you are lying."

So Irisviel pointed it out. Tenderly, cruelly.

"That's impossible. Emiya Kiritsugu, it's impossible for you to escape. You will never forgive yourself for giving up the Holy Grail and your ideal of saving the world. You will definitely act as the final judge for He sentenced himself to death."

Kiritsugu finally cried. He himself understands this. He had long since run out of options.

"I'm scared……"

Kiritsugu cried.\\nHe expressed his feelings like a child.

"That guy - Kotomine Kirei targeted me. This is what Maiya told me. That guy used Kayneth as bait to lure me in. He has figured out all my intentions... I may lose the battle. I sacrificed you and left Ilia aside, but still... the most dangerous guy has already pointed his finger at me. That guy is the opponent I least want to meet! "

Emiya Kiritsugu is neither a hero nor a samurai, but a killer. He does not have the courage and pride to compete with others with his life. He is a coward. So his goal is to carefully and with minimal risk ensure victory and the right to survive. For a hunter, the biggest nightmare is to become someone else's prey.

But despite this, if it was Kiritsugu nine years ago, he would not even frown, calming down and concentrating on thinking about the best countermeasures. This is the power of Kiritsugu when there is no one to lose. But now that Kiritsugu is afraid of losing his lover, when he faces a battle again, the fear of losing his beloved has become his fatal weakness.

"I won't let you fight alone."

Irisviel said softly while stroking her husband's trembling back:

"I will protect you. Saber will also protect you. And... Maiya will also be by your side."

Alice had to admit...\\nWho is the woman Kiritsugu needs most right now.

Only one person can awaken the tenacity deep in Kiritsugu's heart and recall Kiritsugu's ruthless personality many years ago. But Irisviel would never mention these words to Kiritsugu.

If there was anything Irisviel could do, it would be to hug Kiritsugu so that Kiritsugu could get some temporary comfort. But——Irisviel prayed secretly in her heart.

It doesn’t matter if prayers don’t work. She prayed that the time she could hold Kiritsugu would be extended even for a minute. In this way, she could use her meager power to heal Kiritsugu's pain as much as possible.

——The prayer and the hug between the two disappeared without a trace at the same time.

Irisviel's chest suddenly throbbed violently, and she couldn't help but feel tense all over. She had just mastered the forest's barrier in her own magic.\\nThere were repeated and strong vibrations in her magic circuit.

That's an alarm.

"—Are you here already?"

The husband who whispered in her ear calmly returned to the firm and cold tone that she was still not used to.

Kiritsugu only saw his wife's expression and realized something was going on. Irisviel nodded silently and left her husband's arms. The cold face of the "magician assassin" appeared before her eyes again.

"Fortunately, Maiya arrived before she set off. Now we can attack head-on - Alice, prepare the crystal ball that can look into the distance."

"OK."

Things happened much faster than expected. A whirlwind of fighting began to blow in the forest.

············

"--Appeared."

The conference room was once again filled with all the main players of the Einzbern camp—Kiritsugu, Maiya, and Saber. In front of these three people, Irisviel displayed the image of the intruder captured by the barrier on the crystal ball.

The intruder was wearing dark robes, and there was an ominous evil aura swaying from his clothes. There are also patterns on the clothes that are dyed red, as if stained with blood, looming in the jungle.

"Is this the Caster?"

Kiritsugu saw Caster for the first time.\\nIrisviel nodded to him. The figure reflected in the crystal ball is the strange heroic spirit that blocked Saber last night.

"But what is he going to do?"

What confused Irisviel was that Caster was leading a group of people behind him.

Caster is not acting alone this time. He seemed to be leading about a dozen people behind him. Take a long walk in the forest. These people are minors. The oldest child among them only looks like a primary school student. All the children seemed to be sleepwalking, walking unsteadily, and Caster walked in front to lead them forward. There is no doubt that the children are under the control of Caster's magic.

Caster must have seen the supervisor's notice and abducted these children from near Fuyuki City.

"Alice. Where is that guy's location?"

"It's less than two kilometers northwest of the castle. Caster doesn't seem to have any intention of going further into the forest." ()