At those words—
Caster, Gilles de Rais, lifted his bulging eyes and, with a hateful expression, strode over to the pillar beside Ryunosuke Uryuu. With a single slap, he crushed the boy whose abdomen had been carved into a grotesque imitation of the Bleeding Mona Lisa.
Splat!
Scarlet blood burst outward.
Although Caster's Strength was only Rank D, that was still far beyond the limits of an ordinary human. Smashing a child to death with a single blow required almost no effort.
In the Holy Grail War, a Servant's Strength parameter is ranked E, D, C, B, A, with EX representing a value that cannot be measured.
Rank E generally represents the theoretical upper limit of a normal human's physical ability. However, it is a range rather than a fixed value.
After all, even among Rank E Servants, there are significant differences.
For example, under extreme circumstances, the imperial princess Anastasia, whose Strength is ranked E, was capable of lifting the 2.5-ton Ivan the Terrible while enraged and even charging with him.
Using that as a benchmark, the upper limit of Rank E Strength is clearly well above 2.5 tons.
"Damn it!"
"That cursed God is still imprisoning Jeanne's soul!"
"So Jeanne... she's the woman you saw in the crystal ball, isn't she?" Ryunosuke asked thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
Gilles suddenly became emotional.
"We must prove the loss of divine authority... and the emptiness of love!"
"No matter how cruel or depraved the act, God will never punish it!"
"So—"
"Ryunosuke! We must work even harder!"
"A handful of sacrifices will never be enough to expose God's crimes. More! More!! MORE!!!"
"I get it!"
Ryunosuke nodded enthusiastically, an excited grin spreading across his face.
"Your way of doing things is way cooler, Caster!"
"In that case—"
Spreading his long arms like a demon welcoming the worship of blasphemers, Gilles declared,
"We shall commit acts even more immoral... even more blasphemous!"
"We'll build mountains of offerings to defy God!"
"Let's move out!"
With a grand wave of his hand, Gilles gave the order.
"Right!"
Ryunosuke nodded eagerly before suddenly remembering something. He turned toward the darkness, where faint sobbing still echoed.
"But first... let's turn the eleven people locked in the cells into sacrifices before we head out."
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Like a child excitedly preparing for a picnic, Ryunosuke skipped cheerfully into the darkness.
Moments later—
Screams rang through the underground chamber, mixed with the delighted laughter of demons.
…
"This is a breaking news report.
An explosion of unknown origin has occurred in the Warehouse District along Fuyuki City's waterfront. Preliminary investigations suggest a ruptured underwater gas pipeline may be responsible. No casualties have been confirmed at this time. We now switch to live footage."
"...Mm."
Leon slowly awoke on his side.
The first thing he saw was a cascade of tousled golden hair.
Artoria's slender body was curled up in his embrace as she mumbled in her sleep,
"I can't eat anymore... I really can't... Leon..."
Behind him, he could feel another source of soft warmth.
A fair, delicate arm as light as a feather was wrapped affectionately around his waist, resting across his well-defined abs.
"Wake up."
"Ultraman... open your eyes. It's Zoffy."
"..."
"Kiritsugu's pregnant. Archer's attacking."
"...!!!"
The instant those words left Leon's mouth, a pair of crimson eyes and emerald eyes flew open simultaneously.
Their magical energy surged instinctively.
Then, as consciousness fully returned, memories of the previous night's absurd events flooded back.
With astonishing synchronization, Artoria and Irisviel sprang up like startled rabbits, each moving with unbelievable speed as they dashed into the bathroom.
Bang!
The bathroom door slammed shut.
Watching them flee, Leon remained reclining on the bed like Michelangelo's David, a thin bedsheet barely covering the important parts of his body.
Supporting his cheek with one hand, he quietly felt the abundant magical energy flowing through him.
Last night...
Without relying on the infinite mana supplied by the Shield of the War God, Leon had almost completely restored his reserves solely through Irisviel's and Artoria's efforts.
They had been the ones doing all the work.
The sweat had been on their faces.
…
Inside the bathroom—
The two women sat facing one another in the bathtub.
Their bodies were submerged almost entirely beneath the steaming water, with only their graceful necks remaining above the surface.
Beneath the rippling water, indistinct outlines could barely be seen.
Artoria maintained the dignity befitting the King of Knights.
As for Irisviel, her flawless homunculus body seemed almost buoyant enough to float.
"Ah... this feels wonderful~"
Compared to Artoria, the more emotionally mature Irisviel seemed largely unaffected.
After all, Artoria had borne the brunt of the previous night's mana transfer.
Irisviel herself had merely offered assistance.
Given the nature of her body as the Lesser Grail Vessel, there were limits to what she could actually do.
"..."
Artoria silently lowered her chin beneath the water, blowing bubbles absentmindedly.
She still hadn't completely recovered.
Every time she closed her eyes, she imagined an enormous shadow hanging over her like the Sword of Damocles, eclipsing almost her entire field of vision.
The overwhelming memory left her unable to breathe.
"Artoria... you've utterly failed as a knight. How could you lose consciousness so irresponsibly? No matter what hardships you face, you must fulfill your duty to protect others!"
Trying to distract herself, she began another round of harsh self-criticism and slowly sank her entire head underwater.
"Artoria."
Seeing this, Irisviel reached out beneath the water and gently brushed the inside of Artoria's thigh with her foot.
"Eep—!"
Artoria shuddered as though struck by lightning and immediately surfaced.
"W-What is it, Irisviel?"
"You're still troubled about supplying Leon with mana, aren't you?" Irisviel asked with a gentle smile.
"...Yes."
"Thinking back on it now... I feel rather shameless. It was as though I were possessed. I can't believe I actually did something so bold."
Drawing her legs back, Artoria hugged her knees, her expression filled with uncertainty.
"Artoria..."
"That's what it means to like someone."
With a playful smile, Irisviel rested her face against her clasped hands.
"When you truly like someone, you're willing to do all kinds of things for them."
She asked softly,
"Do you dislike Leon?"
Artoria immediately shook her head.
"Of course not..."
"Exactly!"
Irisviel crawled closer and gently took Artoria's fair hands into her own.
"Leon is strong, handsome, and he never once looked down on you because the legendary King Arthur turned out to be a woman."
"Now that you've finally been given this chance, you should seize it."
"As a woman... fall deeply in love with Leon. A love powerful enough to transcend life and death."
"If that happens, maybe the conflict between you and Kiritsugu can finally be resolved."
"Waku waku!"
The more Irisviel spoke, the more excited she became.
She understood perfectly well why Kiritsugu had never truly accepted his own Servant.
The legendary King of Knights—whose image throughout history had always been that of a man—was, in reality, a woman.
To preserve Britain's future, Artoria had sacrificed her own happiness, abandoned her identity as a woman, and ruled her kingdom as a king for her entire life.
In some ways, that unwavering devotion to a greater goal resembled Kiritsugu's own willingness to sacrifice everything to achieve his ideals.
Yet Artoria's pure knightly honor and Kiritsugu's ruthless pragmatism were fundamentally incompatible.
So...
If Artoria could truly reclaim her identity as a woman—
If, instead of living solely for the Holy Grail, she allowed herself to pursue her own desires and fall passionately in love with Leon—
Then perhaps she and Kiritsugu might finally understand one another.
The noble King of Knights.
And the bearer of the Holy Sword in the present age.
Just imagining what sparks might fly between those two made Irisviel practically unable to contain her anticipation.
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