Or, why don’t you find another savior?

Was that strange method of teleportation Berserker - Morgan's great magic, or Shiomi's own?

The former is easy to say, but if it is the latter, it means that Shiomi cannot judge using the logic of an ordinary magician.

“Kiritsugu…” Irisviel held her husband’s hand.

She knew the hidden worries in her husband's heart.

Having met Xi Jiantianxi once, he became even more certain that the possibility of winning the Holy Grail War was decreasing.

Unlike her husband who has strict and lofty ideals, Shiomi does not have those things that are out of reach. The young man is the type who will use his own hands to firmly grasp every bit of happiness around him.

Winning or losing the Holy Grail War is not important; surviving and returning to the children is more important.

One only needs to take one look to understand. Irisviel knew.

People who are not obsessed with winning or losing will be more difficult to defeat.

“I won’t let you fight alone,” she told her husband gently, “I will protect you, Saber will protect you. And there is also… Miss Maiya.”

She had to admit who was the woman Kiritsugu needed most right now.

Only one person could make his heart regain its former toughness, regain the coldness that could block out all pain and fear. That was something Irisviel could never do.

If there was anything she could do, it would be to at least hold Kiritsugu in her arms and comfort him. But——Irisviel couldn’t help but pray sincerely.

It didn't matter even if she couldn't help him. She hoped that God would give her a little more time so that she could comfort Kiritsugu like she was doing now, even if it was only for a minute or a second.

——When she made such an earnest hope, her wish turned into an illusory bubble.

A sudden throbbing in her chest made Irisviel's whole body tense. The forest barrier technique that she had just mastered not long ago repeatedly sent strong vibrations through her magic circuits.

This is an alarm.

"——Are you here so soon?" Kiritsugu's whisper was unexpectedly calm. He only needed to see the change in Airi's expression to understand the situation and put his body and mind into a fighting state.

"Want to send a message?"

“Well, Maiya and I will step aside and leave the battle here to you and Saber.” Kiritsugu said, “That’s great, let me see what he can do.”

"it is good."

Alice picked up the obsidian, went to the hall outside, and injected magic power into it. The obsidian turned into powder and dissipated in her hand.

The wind suddenly blew in the closed hall, and a flock of black crows emerged from the void.

After they dispersed, what appeared were Shiomi Tenki and his servant Morgan.

only……

“Why do you bring...the child too?” Irisviel was speechless.

"No one can guarantee that Kenneth will not raid my home and take the two children hostage while Morgan and I are away." Shiomi explained simply, "Is there a guest room here? I want the two children to sleep first."

"……Have!"

Irisviel came to her senses and could only quickly deal with this unexpected situation.

After settling the two children in the guest room, Irisviel activated the Farsight Crystal Ball and projected the image of the intruder captured by the barrier onto the crystal ball.

The strange black robe fluttered, and the red patterns on the robe seemed to be soaked with blood, looming among the branches and leaves.

"He is Caster." Xi Jian narrowed his eyes and his expression became stern.

Because Caster Gilles de Ray was not alone, he was accompanied by a dozen young children, the oldest of whom looked just as old as Sakura.

"Einzbern, can you determine the other party's location?" Shiomi asked.

"It's a little over two kilometers northeast of the castle, and it doesn't seem to be going deeper into the forest at the moment," Irisviel explained.

Morgan closed his eyes and sensed for a while. "It seems that he deliberately avoided the castle's barrier and stayed outside to lure the enemy. At least he is not a low-level magician servant."

"Since it is to lure the enemy, then those children..." Altria was a little angry.

If we rashly activate the mechanisms and traps outside the barrier, it would be difficult to guarantee that the children would not be harmed.

"Then let's do as he wishes, King Arthur, and go meet the enemy." Shiomi said to Altria.

This was exactly what Saber wanted. She was about to respond when she realized something was wrong.

"We? You coming with me?" she asked.

"That's right." Xi Jian smiled confidently.

Altria turned back to look at Morgan, "What about...Where's the King?"

"There is a child here, and I want to give her the task of protecting her." Shiomi said, looking at Irisviel, "If you are uneasy about being in the same room with other Servants, you can evacuate to another place first, Einzbern."

“No, I can just stay here.” Irisviel vaguely guessed that Kiritsugu might target these two children.

If we successfully defeat Caster, maybe...

As a mother, she didn't want to drag a child like Illya into the battlefield, even if that was slightly contrary to Kiritsugu's purpose.

For now, let me be a hostage.

"I see. Then Saber, let's go over there."

Shiomi turned and walked to the corridor, activating the transfer magic.

Chapter 1: Battle of Einzbern Forest ()

This was not the first time that Altria experienced space transfer magic, so she was more calm in observing the current situation.

Previously, I thought that it was a magic that Morgan could perform without any chanting, but in fact, it was Xijian Tianxi's specialty.

Both Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel made wrong analysis.

"flower?"

Not only that, during the space transfer process, Artoria also noticed another change.

The form used by the transfer magic has changed. Previously it was a crow, but this time it is petals filled with the scent of spring.

"Is there any problem?" Shiomi has begun to check the injury on his shoulder out of habit.

Altria shook her head. "I'm a little surprised. The transfer barrier formed by the crows reminded me of the Fisher King of our time."

"Is he the disabled man who lives in seclusion in the mountains and uses crows as his familiars?" Xi understood.

"Yes, his daughter is also the mother of Galahad, one of my Knights of the Round Table." When Artoria said this, she looked helpless and sad.

Galahad's father Lancelot... and Guinevere, are both people who are related to the collapse of the Knights of the Round Table.

Even so, Altria never hated any of them.

No one is wrong.

Because no one was at fault, she wanted to obtain the Holy Grail and change the cause that led to such an ending.

"The form of transfer magic is chosen according to my mood. I originally thought that since it was a rare opportunity to assist the legendary King Arthur, as a magician, I could play the role of the flower magician Merlin for a bit." Shiomi said.

Altria gave a wry smile, "Then at least... you are nothing like Merlin."

"I'm not a nightmare." Xi Jian said, and his smile gradually faded.

During the brief conversation, the space transfer magic was completed, and the two were already in the depths of the forest more than five kilometers away from the Einzbern Castle.

To Caster, the two's actions were tantamount to jumping into his trap.

But on the other hand, the two people who had already prepared for the ambush could be said to have successfully lured Caster into the trap.

"Tsk... a step too late?" Xi Jian clicked his tongue coldly, his eyes full of disgust and anger.

All the children who saw through the crystal ball were killed.

Even if they moved at the fastest speed, in less than half a minute, they all became victims of the Holy Grail War.

The corpses all over the ground were wafting a fresh smell of blood, indicating that these children were still alive a moment ago.

"You are most welcome, Jeanne. Speed ​​is of the essence, as expected."

Caster had a smile on his face, and was happy to see Altria, who was also angry and holding her weapon, fully armed.

He couldn't help but feel proud of the grand feast he had prepared, and his smile was full of self-praise. Standing in the sea of ​​blood, his dark robe was soaked with the blood of the living sacrifice, making the color even more vivid.

"What do you think of this tragic scene? It's very distressing, isn't it? It's very sad to see, isn't it? Can you imagine the pain these innocent children must have felt before they died? But Joan of Arc, compared to what I did after losing you, this level of tragedy is nothing at all!"

Caster looked calm, describing the tragic scene before him as if he were introducing an achievement.

"You're fucking rich!"

Shiomi no longer wanted to listen to anything Caster had to say. She gathered the magic power in her palm and was about to launch a magic energy explosion.

If you remain indifferent in the face of such things, you will only become numb and indifferent.

He wanted to kill him with one blow.

Even though it would further expose his cards, Shiomi didn't care.

If the child in that was Sakura or Kallen, he would have probably gone berserk.

The daily life of more than two years was not a lie, he really loved those two children, so he was furious at this moment.

"Wait a minute!" Altria held down Shiomi's right hand, even though she was also very angry.

As if ignoring Shiomi's anger, Caster looked at Saber with joy and a sticky smile.

"——Oh, Jeanne, your eyes filled with anger are really beautiful!"

The reason why Altria tried to stop Shiomi from using magic to kill Caster was under Caster's robe.

That was the last survivor of the child who was taken hostage.

The child was still held under Caster's armpit, sniffling and crying. This crazy Servant was only using the child as a shield, so he deliberately spared one of them.

If Shiomi's magic had been unleashed, it would undoubtedly have severely damaged Caster, but it would also have turned the child into charcoal powder.

"Let that child go!" Altria shouted angrily, "Devil!"

Shiomi gritted her teeth and the magic power in her hand changed its form of concentration.

"Do you hate me so much? Yes, of course you do. How can you forgive me for turning away from the love of God? When you used to worship God more devoutly than anyone else!"

"This war is to select the Heroic Spirit who is suitable to obtain the Holy Grail. If you fight in a way that a Heroic Spirit should not, the Holy Grail will abandon you. Now that you have been resurrected, the Holy Grail is no longer useful... But if you, Jeanne, want to save this child's life so much..."

Surprisingly, Caster let go of the child, leaving him standing on the ground.

"Come on, kid, be happy. A devout believer in God said he would save you. The almighty God finally showed mercy, but all your other friends are dead."

The child, who was no longer able to discern the current situation, could only believe that Saber was the one who came to save her. She burst into tears and ran directly towards Altria, grabbing the folds of Altria's skirt armor with her little hands.

At this time, Shiomi's hand was on the child.

"Be good, it's dangerous here, run away quickly. Just keep running forward and you will see a big castle. Go there and ask for help."

Caster looked at Altria, who was trying to comfort the frightened child as gently as possible, and said, "Oh?"

Saber felt the fluctuation of magic power at this time, and lowered her head to find that the child had lost consciousness.

"What did you do?" She immediately guessed that it was the result of Xi Jian's attack just now.

"Using a child as a sacrifice for magic is really the most evil of evil ways." Shiomi turned around and sneered at Caster with narrowed eyes, "What a coincidence, I am also a magician. As long as my rune is engraved on his body, he can't be sacrificed by any magic."

"Uooohhhh! Pifu, Pifu, Pifu!"

With a voice sharp enough to tear through the forest mist, Caster scolded Shiomi for ruining his plans.

But it is obvious that his magic sacrifice is not just this one child, those children who have been killed are also Caster's sacrifices.

With the help of the flesh and blood of the living sacrifice, a dozen wriggling dark green sea monsters emerged from the blood flowing from the children and surrounded Shiomi and Altria.

Chapter 2: Battle of Einzbern Forest ()

"It seems that I have made all the preparations. I am not the only one who came to see you." After venting his anger, Caster once again showed a dangerous smile, "You also brought a magician who can blaspheme the gods with you."

"You say that, Caster. I don't think you are worthy of bathing in the glory of the Lord overflowing from the Holy Grail." Shiomi also mocked him as much as he could, "You are different from this 'Joan of Arc'."

Of course he knew that Fuyuki's Holy Grail was not the true Holy Grail of the Church.

“Hahahaha! The glory of the Lord is no longer needed by me, Gilles de Ray!” Caster had a thick bound book in his hand.

The cover of the book had a wet and shiny look as if it had been touched by water. It was made by sticking human skin on it.

Although it is just a book, it flows with magical power that is no less than the level of a treasure.