Saber and Irisviel left Sola-Ui with Maiya remaining by her side as a guard, or an executioner should she try anything funny. Kiritsugu had soon left to scout out Rider's location with nary a word to her or his wife. Despite the man's quick turn to action, Saber couldn't help but doubt whether she should truly act in loyalty to him. She wouldn't put it past the man to make an attempt on Waver Velvet's life through unscrupulous methods while he was away. The boy Waver was perhaps the most innocent master compared to others, now that she thought about it. Arturia hoped beyond hope that Kiritsugu would spare the young man, but she highly doubted he'd even give her the time of day.
"Are you alright, Saber?" The silver-haired lady's words were filled with genuine concern. "Are you unhappy with something?"
"I should be the one to ask about your wellbeing, Irisviel." Saber replied with a small smile, but that quickly turned into a frown when the crimson-eyed gaze of her homunculus keeper maintained her stare. "But yes. I won't deny that I'm… a bit disappointed."
"Is it about that boy who claims to be your descendant?"
She nodded slightly but refused to meet her gaze. Instead, emerald orbs looked up into the cloudy and open skies above. "My progeny is… I must admit, it had been a concern for me earlier when I first met him. I thought that by coming to cross blades with his Servant, I might be denying him something he and his own deserved. But now…" Her upturned gaze fell to the earth, as did her tone. "I can see that he shares an alarming amount of similarities to his foes and other magi in general. Perhaps… Since he was from my homeland, I had hoped he would've been… closer to my ideal… Well, closer than Kiritsugu ever will be."
She didn't notice the weakened woman bite her lip. "Saber, Kiritsugu only wants what is best for all of us—"
"You keep saying that, yet I haven't seen anything that would prove—!" the knight forced her mouth shut. She'd quipped far too hard to someone not responsible for the ire. "Forgive me, Irisviel. But please, take a look at yourself and tell me I'm wrong. You've seemingly grown weaker the past few days and it is only by your request that I did not pry… And yet, it seems your husband has seemingly chosen to not see to your needs. He just acts as if you aren't there. Why is that?"
"It's… complicated…" Irisviel broke the staring contest first. As though she wanted to keep things to herself, she didn't explain. Again.
But Saber was losing her patience. "If he is your husband, shouldn't he show more support towards you? Why is it that you both continue with this silence and feign ignorance?"
Irisviel looked down. Nay, she looked away. As though there were things she couldn't tell Saber, she held her tongue. What could there be that she would choose silence over resolution? Saber didn't know. It's not as if there was some big secret Irisviel had been hiding that would crush her very soul. Why must she look away? Why… did she continue to smile… despite suffering so?
The knight within Arturia wanted to pry, to help. But the King within also demanded she remains silent, to keep out of concerns that didn't matter to her. It was… difficult. More so than facing a dragon for that problem, one need simply continue to hit it to solve it. But here, at this time, she wondered something…
'Is this what Lancelot felt when he'd tried to assist Guinevere…?'
A damning thought to be reminded of those long gone. To be in the same helpless position as they were. But, nay. Saber would not fall into that same scenario as her most loyal knight and her dependable queen. The memory of those who took her secret to the grave and only betrayed her out of love did not deserve to be marred by her follies and concerns.
It was after a long silence that she spoke once more. "I told you once before, didn't I? That Kiritsugu and I simply want to make this world a better place."
"And I find that a beautiful wish, no matter who desires it… But with each passing day, it becomes harder and harder to believe that it's what Kiritsugu wants. I have seen heroes who were forced to commit terrible deeds, but never have I met a person who would willingly throw themselves on the path to hell for the good of all. Kiritsugu is that sort of person."
Once, she thought of villainy as a sin. That those who resorted to it embraced villainy in its entirety. She was but a naïve squire back then. Many men would be forced to commit atrocities for the sake of their own. Battlefield after battlefield, she'd seen such bloodshed done for the sake of their homes, families, and people. But what she saw here was not that. It was just wanton murder for the sake of it. For why else would Emiya Kiritsugu turn to kill all who stand in his way if not for the sake of killing itself?
"The only solutions I have seen him use is murder and lies." Neither sparing the innocent nor showing mercy to the defeated. He was very much the same as those magi he wanted to beat in the race for the Holy Grail. Blood was cheap. And his indifference to murder was very much clear on that. So much so that Saber couldn't help but stare worriedly at the wife who stood by him all this time. "If this is the approach he continues to take on his path to fix the world, then I'm worried if the designs he has for the Grail are even worth it…"
Nothing was worth the senseless sacrifices. Peace on earth bought with blood was the same as a sin of betrayal, staining that which is pure because one refused to take the hard-fought path. Escaping to the easiest road with greater casualties… it was despicable for a King who should've stood as the symbol of perfect victory. Of infallible righteousness.
Even though she would sooner cast that mantle aside for someone who would do better in her stead.
"Saber…Ngh—?!"
"Huh, Iris—?!"
As soon as her faux Master felt it, so too did Saber sense their arrival. The gust of wind tore through the bounded field from above and he made his presence known upon a chariot that flew faster than lightning.
"R-Rider?!"
"S-so… they managed… to find us…" Irisviel grunted as she crumpled to her knees.
Motes of blue light shimmered to life about her as the magical battle regalia of King Arthur enveloped Saber's form. The holy sword enveloped by fae winds materialized in hand and was soon held towards the invader with Saber standing before her exhausted charge.
"This is bad…" Even without muttering to herself, it was an established fact. Kiritsugu was already long gone, but with the Macedonian King and his Master present here, they were very much at a disadvantage. If any fighting were to occur—
"Calm yourself, Saber." The giant of a man's voice bellowed from atop his chariot. "I didn't come to destroy your new abode if that's what you're worried about."
"So you say, King of Conquerors," Saber's guard didn't drop. "But as you have a bad habit of arriving uninvited, you'd have to pardon my alarm."
"As is deserved. But stay your blade, girl. I've not come to cause a mess in such a beautiful home."
She didn't relent but deigned him to continue with a nod. He responded by nudging his Master who threw a scroll over to her feet. Inching forward delicately, she managed to pick it up and pull the cord holding the scroll together.
She expected a trap. She expected some sort of attack.
What she did not expect was an entire meter-long parchment's worth of paper used as a notice of challenge with the said word 'CHALLENGE' inscribed with perfect calligraphy down the entire length of the scroll.
"What joke is this?"
"It is not a joke, it is a challenge! A traditional message conveyed before we cross swords with all our might!" boomed the moronic king whose attempts at bravado and shamelessness fell flat when his young Master cowered in the chariot, cheeks red with embarrassment. "What? Don't tell me your circle of knights has never received more showy demands for a duel before! I have come demanding exactly that! A duel! One where we decide between ourselves who is most deserving of the title 'King'. Or will you relent and surrender to me unconditionally, little girl?"
That struck Saber's nerves. Amongst the many issues she had since being summoned, she'd almost forgotten the words of this oaf being the most blatant, insensitive, and insulting of them all. Almost. She respected his history, she respected his skill, but the one thing she wouldn't ever respect was kingship as a tyrant. Even if he was kind enough to note the location of their duel being a fair distance away from the residential area, she refused to accept this bumbling buffoon as anything remotely resembling a king.
But… unlike most other participants in this war, he was not partnered with a Master as twisted and vile as the rest. Even now, the young man peeking over at her from the safety of the chariot was as meek as a lamb and hardly eyed her with animosity. Just innocent wariness. Catching sight of Irisviel, Saber noted the slight concern from the boy, but being who they were to one another, he couldn't act on it.
Truly, a person undeserving of the slaughter her true Master would befall him should Kiritsugu catch them both unawares.
But what if they didn't have to meet? What if she ended Rider and his Master's involvement in the war right here and now? Knowing the threat the Servant posed now that they were found out, she might as well deal with the problem before it was too late. In that same vein, she'd deal with it in her own way, through her own tried and trusted method of killing only those who would persist and sparing the innocent from senseless slaughter.
Eyeing the scroll of challenge, she noted the painstaking detail Rider and his Master must've put into it. A farce for an ancient king to partake in, but she couldn't deny that Iskandar went about things as he saw it fit. In a way, this was his own sense of chivalry, was it not? To face her directly and defeat her outright before claiming victory.
Saber sighed. "Very well. I accept your challenge, despite the banalities of your means."
"You don't have to put it like that, do you?" the braggart of a king chuckled with a grin. "I hear this is how men of this era issue challenge to their sworn rivals. A vague reminiscence to times of old when countries declared war on one another, is it not?"
It may as well have been. But alone as she was, Saber couldn't account for someone going around her back. Yet, she couldn't help but ask directly. "I take it you will not mean to stab me in the back during this, however?"
"Of course! I have no need to play dirty when crushing your spirit in direct combat would suffice in my conquest! Do not forget, I acknowledge your strength as a knight, even if I spurn your right as the king!" The insult had her subconsciously releasing mana through her weapon. For the briefest of moments, her blade lit up the place with radiant fae light before vanishing once more under the guise of Invisible Air. Rider hadn't so much as flinched at the weak attempt of intimidation. "I expect you to go all out, girl. Show me that you aren't all words and platitudes. Otherwise, feel free to forsake your people and kingdom, King of Knights. For I shall conquer and succeed all! HYA!"
Rider's reins cracked with energy as the bulls dragging his chariot caught speed. Dust blew up as the ionized atmosphere overtook Saber's sense of smell. Just as sudden as he was to arrive, so too was his speed in fleeing. Such was the speed of the Rider class, leaving nothing but a bold entrance and similarly thunderous escape. Saber's fist balled up the letter of challenge pressed by her new foe.
"Saber… don't—" Irisviel struggled to get back up on her feet. Having already fallen too weak, the shattering of her bounded field once more weakened her further than she must've expected. She could only mumble as Saber nodded her way with a small smile.
"Wait here, Irisviel. Call Kiritsugu and inform him. I shall engage Rider in the meantime."
"But you mustn't—!" Before Irisviel could finish, Saber was gone. Jumping into the air and out of the magical hole Rider made on the perimeter's barrier, she landed near the entrance to the residence where her bike was parked. At her command, the engine revved once before she was speeding off, racing after Rider's still-visible flight path.
Even if what she was doing was wrong, even if they would all reject her for the choices she made, she would stand by them. An idealistic king, she may have been, but there was nothing wrong in seeing through what one believed to be correct.
If she could end this war with as small a number of casualties as she could, then she would. For it was her honour at stake. And Arturia Pendragon had her name, her kingdom, and her wish for a peaceful world to protect.
Having left three women alone and unguarded by anything beyond a human assassin's capabilities, another Servant watching in the distance smiled at the smooth execution of her darling's plan.