He had been lying in wait, hidden here, for this very moment.
Soon, Irisviel would be wounded by Kirei Kotomine—and then he could finally do whatever he wanted~!
Bang!
Artoria could only wield her sword with one hand, unable to unleash her Noble Phantasm.
Against the hundreds of beasts Circe summoned, she was hopelessly outmatched.
At that critical moment, Diarmuid joined the fray.
"Saber, let's save our duel for later. Right now, let's take down this disgusting Caster together!" Diarmuid said with a smile.
"Alright!" Artoria responded, pleased.
Circe unleashed her beasts, attacking the two of them at once.
To keep her true identity hidden, she refrained from using her Noble Phantasm, relying instead on her beasts and various magical attacks.
Yet, even without Noble Phantasms, Artoria and Diarmuid proved far stronger than she had expected. Killing them was impossible.
With no other choice, Circe followed Haruka Kasugano's orders: just hold them off.
…
Meanwhile, Emiya Kiritsugu and Kayneth clashed fiercely.
"Hahaha! Has the Einzbern family really fallen so low as to resort to firearms?" Kayneth jeered, chasing Kiritsugu with the Moon Spirit's ichor.
Kiritsugu had to keep moving, firing black bullets when necessary.
Still, he was a mage. He had inherited his family's time-manipulating magic and improved it, creating a personal territory called **Origin Time Control** that allowed him to accelerate his movements and evade attacks.
He also carried secret weapons—but he had no need to use them yet.
…
At the ambush point, Haruka Kasugano followed Irisviel and Hisau Mai.
Kirei Kotomine was approaching at high speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hisau Mai emptied her submachine gun at him, but for someone as swift—and as well-armored as Kirei Kotomine, the Holy Church executor—it was meaningless.
Kirei drew six Black Keys and counterattacked.
Hisau Mai was swiftly defeated.
Irisviel intervened, summoning her **Silver Threads**, forming a bird to strike Kirei.
She managed to bind him to a tree, but he simply shattered the tree with Eight Extremities Fist.
"Milady, run! He's a Holy Church executor—a true mage killer! Escape now!" Hisau Mai cried, clutching his leg.
Bang!
Kirei stomped on her, and she immediately passed out.
Then he grabbed Irisviel by the neck, lifting her effortlessly.
"Why are you trying to stop me? Are you protecting Emiya Kiritsugu? Is this his order?" he demanded.
"We… we acted on our own," Irisviel struggled to say.
"Impossible! How could you act of your own accord? Kiritsugu… no one would ever voluntarily protect him. He shouldn't have anyone who cares for him—like me!" Kirei shouted.
"You're not like him… you'll never measure up…" Irisviel retorted.
*Click.*
In a fit of rage, Kirei stabbed her in the abdomen with a Black Key and tossed her aside.
At that moment, Assassin appeared. "Caster was defeated by Saber and Lancer. Saber is coming this way."
Kirei looked toward the distant castle, realizing he still couldn't find Kiritsugu this time.
He left, consumed with frustration.
Once he departed, Haruka Kasugano emerged from the forest.
Thanks to his **Concealment of Presence** skill, even Assassin hadn't noticed him.
Looking at the bloodied, fallen Irisviel, he chuckled.
"Sorry… it's not that I didn't come to save you, I just wasn't strong enough. That cursed system only gave me some trickery and survival skills—I couldn't beat Kirei Kotomine~!"
Yet, he felt no real remorse.
Inside Irisviel's body rested Artoria 's sword scabbard, **Avalon**, which kept her alive and slowly healed her wounds.
Irisviel's condition wasn't something he needed to worry about.
What he wanted now was to take advantage of this moment… hehehe~!
Irisviel was a human-made being, carefully designed by the Einzbern family.
Though only 158 cm tall, her measurements were a perfect 85/56/84 cm.
Every inch of her body had been meticulously crafted, perfectly embodying the ideal of feminine beauty.
Her slender, delicate limbs remained soft even after exercise. Her skin stayed snow-white, her scent lingered endlessly, and even her bodily fluids carried a sweet flavor.
She was less like a doll and more like a flawless humanoid.
Couple that with her protective personality and pitiful fate, she was utterly irresistible—a moving "cup," if not a moving aphrodisiac.
Haruka Kasugano sensed that Circe had already retreated.
Time was running out.
Artoria could not manifest her spirit form and had to rely on her physical body, which meant she wouldn't arrive quickly.
With time to spare, and unable to further admire the lady's body, he decided she would fulfill her "cup" role.
Hehehe~!
He cupped Irisviel's small head and brushed her perfectly shaped lips.
"What a perfect cup~!"
"Ah… amazing!"
Considering Irisviel and Kiritsugu's serious personalities, they would never do such things. For her, this was a first-time experience—truly a pleasure to the mind and body.
Afterwards, he implanted a pre-prepared mark, made by Circe, into her wound.
When Artoria touched Irisviel later, Avalon would activate, instantly healing her.
The mark would fully integrate into her body.
With it, Haruka Kasugano could always track her location and allow Circe to perform magic within her.
Irisviel would be half under his control.
Hehe~!
Satisfied, Haruka Kasugano withdrew.
…
Moments later, Artoria arrived.
The moment she touched Irisviel, Avalon activated, instantly healing her.
She sat up abruptly, swallowing nervously.
"Strange… why does my mouth taste weird?" she asked, confused.
"Maybe it's blood…" Artoria said simply.
"Really?" Irisviel murmured, puzzled, but had no other explanation.
The battle between Kayneth and Kiritsugu had finally ended, with victory decided.
In this life-or-death duel, Kiritsugu skillfully shifted positions and evaded attacks.
His agility and cunning threw the arrogant Kayneth into chaos.
Finally, at the critical moment, Kiritsugu revealed his secret weapon—the **Origin Bullet**.
Taking Kayneth by surprise, he fired it and knocked him down in one strike.
Kiritsugu had won, using intelligence and courage to secure a precious victory.
The Origin Bullet had been crafted from Kiritsugu's rib by his foster mother, using its inherent power of **cutting and haphazard stitching**.
The bullet didn't need to inflict much physical damage. Upon contact, it disrupted the enemy's magical circuits.
First, it **cut** the target's magical circuits, then **randomly stitched** them together.
Magical circuits, being intricate, would collapse if disturbed. The "haphazard stitching" acted as treatment but also destroyed any chance of repair.
Kayneth suffered catastrophic damage, his circuits destroyed, blood spilling from his mouth.
Even the Moon Spirit ichor, once capable of infinite forms, now flowed like ordinary mercury.
Kiritsugu, determined to eliminate future threats, prepared a finishing shot—but Diarmuid suddenly appeared, rescuing Kayneth.
"I could kill you now, but I promised Saber a duel, so I spare your life!" Diarmuid declared, lifting Kayneth and walking away.
Kiritsugu watched, a cold smile playing at his lips.
"Womanly mercy," he muttered.
…
The next morning.
Haruka Kasugano arrived at an old residence.
This would be the future Emiya household; tomorrow, Kiritsugu would have Irisviel stay here, making it their new base.
Haruka Kasugano rented the neighboring house to prepare for his plans.
Breathing the fresh air and enjoying the scenery, Circe danced happily in the courtyard.
"Wow, finally out of that disgusting sewer! This place is amazing!" she exclaimed.
"You little pig, you finally get to be human for a while!" Haruka Kasugano said.
"Let's turn this into a magical workshop!" Circe suggested.
Haruka Kasugano immediately stopped her. "No! Tomorrow, there will be guests next door. If you turn this into a magical workshop, they'll notice, and my plan will be ruined!"
"Oh…" Circe pouted.
"Hey! Little pig, you're my master, right?"
"Yes, why?" Haruka Kasugano leaned on the window.
"Since we're master and servant, we should trust each other, right? Do you have future sight? Or any divination powers?"
Haruka Kasugano smiled slightly. "None of that. You know me—I'm just an ordinary person, only with a few tricks."
"Big liar! The magical energy you gave me is on par with a mage's. And you still say you're ordinary?" Circe pouted angrily.