A brilliant flash of light erupted, so intense that none of them could keep their eyes open.
By the time it faded, Kirei Kotomine and Gilgamesh had vanished from the dead-end corridor. They must have used a low-rank Noble Phantasm designed to disrupt the senses.
Shiomi and Morgan lowered their guard.
"Iri!"
Kiritsugu dropped his gun and sprinted toward his wife.
Shiomi also rushed to Artoria's side. There was still time. With the use of Age of Gods Rune Magecraft, even the loss of a heart wasn't necessarily fatal—he could save Irisviel.
But as he reached them and saw Kiritsugu take Irisviel from Artoria's arms, he froze.
Artoria did too.
The wound was gone. The place where her heart should have been torn out was perfectly intact, the only trace a blood-soaked patch on her chest.
It was as if the entire scene—her core being torn out—had been nothing but a shared illusion.
"Her wound... healed?" Artoria said, puzzled.
She couldn't tell if this was some extraordinary regenerative ability unique to the Einzbern Homunculi.
"Has the Einzbern line evolved this far?" Shiomi muttered in disbelief.
Kiritsugu clutched his wife tightly. Irisviel, slowly regaining consciousness, let out a faint groan.
"Kiritsugu..."
She raised her hand to gently touch her husband's tear-streaked face.
"I see... So that was the relic used to summon Artoria," Morgan said calmly as she walked over, revealing a quiet truth.
"Eh?" Artoria looked up, confused.
Kiritsugu said nothing, still holding Irisviel close.
Irisviel, now understanding what had happened, remained quiet for a moment. She hadn't blacked out—she'd simply been snatched away so quickly she couldn't react.
Losing her heart should've meant instant death.
But Kirei's attempt to restrain Saber had unintentionally saved her.
That "relic" Morgan mentioned—it was what had saved her.
Pushing herself up in Kiritsugu's arms, she looked at Artoria with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Saber. I kept it from you," Irisviel said softly. "It was supposed to be Kiritsugu's to carry... but he was afraid something might happen to me, so he gave it to me instead."
"What... what are you talking about?" Artoria was still trying to piece things together.
Having just escaped the Garden of Lost Will, overwhelmed by chaos, she struggled to catch up.
"The Everdistant Utopia, Avalon." Morgan leaned casually against the wall as she spoke.
"The sheath that was supposed to have vanished long ago... and yet you managed to find it in this era."
The hallway fell into silence.
Shiomi sensed it wasn't the right time to keep pressing the matter, so he turned to the others. "Let's pause this discussion for now. Einzbern just escaped death and needs rest. Besides, tonight's chaos threw our plans into disarray."
"In other words... you're not going to continue attacking us?" Irisviel asked weakly.
"It was only because your side rejected the plan I proposed that we decided to act, to avoid complications," Shiomi said, shrugging with his sword still in hand. "But it seems someone else was playing their own game... and now the situation really has gotten messy."
"Yes." Irisviel didn't press further.
They were enemies to begin with. If cooperation wasn't possible, eliminating the other side was only logical.
But with the appearance of a new mutual threat, a temporary truce was now the wisest move.
Especially that strange Magecraft—everyone in the castle had been pulled into an illusion. Clearly, they could no longer oppose Shiomi's side.
Kiritsugu said nothing. He simply carried his wife back to their room, laid her on the bed, and went to find clean clothes.
He had no intention of discussing the sheath or the stolen core of the Lesser Grail. It was as if the Holy Grail War no longer concerned him. Right now, Irisviel was all that mattered.
"What do you plan to do next?"
In the castle's guest room, after settling the unconscious Maiya, Artoria approached Shiomi and Morgan with the question.
"First, we need to inform Waver Velvet and Iskandar. As for Tohsaka..." Shiomi frowned.
"The Servant acted on his own, doing something that blatantly violates the agreement made at the church earlier," Morgan said. "That Magus has probably been betrayed by his Servant."
"Hard to say. Maybe not." Shiomi knew he needed to check on it right away.
But with only a 50-50 chance of finding anything, rushing out might just waste time.
Especially since Kirei had conspired with Gilgamesh to steal Irisviel's heart.
Going by their original plan, Kirei probably meant to take the entire Lesser Grail. It was only because they'd been interrupted that he had to settle for just the core.
"What are they after?" Artoria asked.
"That's what I want to know," Shiomi muttered, lips pressed in a thin line, before giving a bitter smile and shaking his head. "Whatever it is, they have no intention of purifying the Grail or ending this war."
"In that case, Einzbern has lost her function as the Lesser Grail," Morgan added. "At least she won't vanish completely when the Servants disappear and their souls are reclaimed."
"Is that so..." Artoria found herself somewhat relieved.
Maybe this really was the best outcome for Irisviel.
"There's no point staying here," Shiomi said. "I'll try to get in touch with Iskandar first. Tokiomi Tohsaka is likely already dead."
After weighing his options, he chose to prioritize the faction with fewer conflicting interests.
On one hand were Tohsaka's apprentice and their Servant; on the other, students from the Mage's Association and their Servants.
He'd win over who he could, then move on from there.
"Well then, let's head back. What a pointless raid this turned out to be," Morgan quipped as he stood up.
Shiomi raised an eyebrow. "Was that a jab at me?"
"No, just trying to cheer you up," Morgan said with a faint smile.
"You've got a weird way of doing that."
Shiomi smirked, turned to Artoria, nodded in farewell, and added, "Come to my place early tomorrow. We need to go over our next move."
"I'll let Kiritsugu and Irisviel know."
Artoria nodded, watching the two leave.
Only after they'd gone did she realize there was something she'd forgotten to ask Morgan.
She'd have to bring it up another time...
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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