"Leon, you really went too far!"
Artoria was clearly upset that Leon had borrowed her identity and caused such massive destruction. Not only had he failed to explain himself beforehand, he also hadn't conducted a fair and honorable knightly duel.
Instead, he had relied purely on the overwhelming power of the Holy Sword to crush his opponent.
"Come on, don't get so worked up, Al."
Irisviel stepped between the two and explained on Leon's behalf.
"Since Lancer's True Name is the Irish hero Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, it means he must possess those two Noble Phantasms—"
"Gáe Buidhe – The Yellow Rose of Certain Victory and Gáe Dearg – The Red Rose of Rupture."
"The former inflicts a curse that prevents wounds from healing once it strikes, sealing both flesh and Noble Phantasms. The latter can directly nullify magical energy upon contact."
"He's a Servant completely specialized in close combat. If he finds an opening to use his Noble Phantasms, even someone as powerful as Saber would be forced into an extremely disadvantageous position."
"So Leon opening the battle with his Noble Phantasm wasn't actually wrong. It maximized the chances of avoiding the situation where his body or Noble Phantasm could be sealed."
"…Though it does feel a bit like bullying."
Irisviel smiled politely.
On the surface, she seemed to be defending Leon—but in truth she was also reminding Artoria not to underestimate her opponent.
If she had been the one facing Lancer earlier, the outcome might not have been any better than Leon's.
With Artoria's upright and straightforward personality, she would never unleash her Noble Phantasm immediately. And Kiritsugu Emiya certainly wouldn't allow her to expose her True Name so early.
"Airi, you spoil Leon too much…"
Left speechless by Irisviel's explanation, Artoria looked a little sour—but she understood the reasoning. She gave Leon an apologetic glance.
Leon simply smiled calmly.
"It's fine."
"The enemy escaped using a Command Seal, but he's still nearby—"
Leon had just begun speaking when Kiritsugu Emiya's voice suddenly came through the communication channel. Irisviel and Artoria heard it as well.
"Leon, don't pursue Lancer yet. Assassin isn't dead. The plan has changed."
"Oh?"
Leon raised an eyebrow.
Just moments earlier—
When Kiritsugu saw Leon drive Lancer back with a single strike, he was preparing to relocate.
Then he noticed an unusual movement on a distant gantry crane.
He immediately turned his sniper scope toward the source and spotted a figure wrapped in a black cloak, wearing a white skull mask.
It was the Assassin who had supposedly already been killed by Archer.
At that instant, Kiritsugu smelled a conspiracy.
Aside from the secret alliance between himself and Leon, it seemed that another pair of cunning players had formed an alliance even before the Holy Grail War had begun.
So he immediately alerted Leon and the others.
Now both sides believed they were operating from the shadows—but in reality, their hidden cards had already been placed on the table.
It would come down to who could better exploit the information gap.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Assassin — Hassan of the Hundred Faces had just arrived at the battlefield.
Originally, he had been in a state of Presence Concealment, meaning Kiritsugu should have been unable to detect him.
But the mistake came from elsewhere.
Inside the Fuyuki Church, Kirei Kotomine needed to share Assassin's vision in order to observe the battlefield, coordinate the overall situation, and gather intelligence on the other participants.
However, to share vision, Assassin had to temporarily cancel both Presence Concealment and Spirit Form, observing the scene with his physical eyes.
Through this coincidence, his existence was exposed to Kiritsugu—who had already been waiting in ambush.
Inside Fuyuki Church.
Kirei Kotomine was currently gathering battlefield information through Assassin's shared vision, reporting everything to his father and to his mentor—and collaborator—Tohsaka Tokiomi.
"Kirei Kotomine:"
"Teacher, there's activity in the warehouse district at the mouth of the Mion River. It seems the first battle has finally begun."
"Tohsaka Tokiomi:"
"It cannot be called the first. Publicly speaking, it is the second battle, Kirei."
"Kirei Kotomine:"
"The ones fighting appear to be Saber and Lancer. The battle is extremely intense. The destruction at the scene will be difficult to pass off as a gas explosion."
"Tohsaka Tokiomi:"
"That sort of thing is irrelevant. Through Assassin's eyes, can you also read the Servants' parameters?"
"Kirei Kotomine:"
"No problem. Saber's parameters are extremely high. His magical energy is abnormally abundant. All of his stats are above Rank A. He is quite a formidable opponent."
"Tohsaka Tokiomi:"
"I see. As expected of the combination of the strongest Servant class and the Einzbern Family. Lancer also seems noteworthy. Can you see their Masters?"
"Kirei Kotomine:"
"Two people have appeared openly besides the Servants, but they belong to the same faction—a mature silver-haired woman and a blonde youth… no, that should be a girl.
"The silver-haired woman seems to be Saber's Master. The blonde girl appears to be her attendant. However, her hair isn't the silver typical of Einzbern homunculi. Could it be that the Einzbern Family has achieved another breakthrough in their homunculus technology?"
"Tohsaka Tokiomi:"
"So Lancer's Master is still hiding in the shadows? Hah… It's been a while since we've seen a Master with a properly functioning brain."
"Kirei Kotomine:"
"The Einzbern Master is not Kiritsugu Emiya. I assumed the Einzberns had him marry into their family so he could represent them in this Holy Grail War. It seems that assumption was mistaken."
"Tohsaka Tokiomi:"
"Even so, we must not underestimate Kiritsugu Emiya. And besides… a Caucasian woman with silver hair and red eyes—those are unmistakably the traits of Einzbern artificial life."
"She is the key to the future course of the Holy Grail War."
"Kirei—do not let her leave your sight under any circumstances."
Tohsaka Tokiomi gave the order solemnly.
"Yes, my mentor. "
Kirei agreed immediately, then continued:
"There is another piece of information."
"What is it?"
"Saber and Lancer revealed their True Names to each other."
Kirei's voice gradually became strangely delighted, trembling with a faint excitement.
"The King of Knights of Britain — Artoria Pendragon…"
"And the hero of the Fianna Knights of Ireland — Diarmuid Ua Duibhne!"
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