"Sella, Shirou...?"
The boy and her maid sister flew past Leysritt like cannonballs and slammed heavily into the grass in front of her.
For the first time, a deep frown appeared on the otherwise composed and expressionless face of the homunculus maid.
She turned toward the elderly man who had launched the surprise attack.
"You are the enemy. You must be defeated. I will fight you."
Her words were disjointed, but the lazy, drowsy air unique to Leysritt vanished in an instant.
As the silver halberd split the night, the personality known as Leysritt switched into a state of total combat focus.
"You want to fight me? Bold words for a homunculus."
The old priest replied in a low voice,
"Come, then. I will show you that the gap in strength built up through the years is not something mere alchemy can overcome."
Last night, Shirou had publicly exposed the secret collusion between Tokiomi Tohsaka and the Kotomine father and son.
For Tokiomi Tohsaka, it was a tremendous humiliation that disgraced the family name.
But for Risei Kotomine, it was far more than simple embarrassment.
As the overseer appointed by the Holy Church, this was a grave dereliction of duty.
Fortunately, Fuyuki was within Risei Kotomine's sphere of control. But if the rumors were allowed to spread further, and if they reached the ears of the Church's representative in Japan, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Fortunately, the only ones present at the time had been the Saber and Rider Master and Servant pairs participating in the Holy Grail War. As long as they disappeared from this world, no one would ever know what sort of dark truth had existed behind the Fourth Holy Grail War.
In other words, Risei Kotomine had no way left to retreat. No matter what, he had to ensure Tokiomi Tohsaka's final victory.
For that reason, he had personally come near Einzbern Castle tonight to make sure that either Saber or Rider would be eliminated.
He had originally planned to remain only at the entrance to Einzbern territory and not go too deep inside. He had not expected such an unexpected windfall, running straight into Shirou Amamiya and the two homunculi as they returned.
Risei Kotomine hated the red-haired boy, the one who had exposed his vile dealings, enough to grind his teeth.
If possible, he wanted to interrogate the boy personally and find out exactly where he had learned the truth.
Even now, he still had not figured out whether Shirou was a Master or a Servant, but it did not matter.
After all, as a veteran overseer who had witnessed two Holy Grail Wars, this was hardly Risei Kotomine's first time fighting a Servant.
The priest calmly placed both hands behind his back. He looked completely open, yet to anyone trained in martial arts, it was a flawless stance of steel.
The next instant, Leysritt attacked first.
As she burst forward, she crushed the asphalt beneath one foot and brought the giant axe down toward the old man's face.
Leysritt, who usually gave the impression of a delicate crafted doll, now looked like a Berserker from the Holy Grail War.
As a failed Lesser Grail, Leysritt did not possess superior Magic Circuits like Sella. She could not even use alchemy, and even among the Einzberns she was considered substandard.
And yet, she possessed the very talent the Einzbern family lacked most. Physical strength and bodily performance that surpassed even a Servant.
That was why she had been entrusted with the duty of guarding Irisviel.
When she swung that long halberd forged from rare metals and Einzbern alchemy, it was like a hurricane suddenly sweeping across the ground.
At the sight of it, Risei Kotomine was only slightly surprised. Then, without hurrying in the least, he raised both arms and took a stance protecting his head and face, without even trying to dodge.
Only the sleeves of the priest's vestments were made from special fibers, and the lining had been tightly layered with Holy Church protective charms.
Even a 9mm bullet could not pierce them, not even at point-blank range.
But the slash of the homunculus girl could not be compared to any mere kinetic weapon. It was a blow powerful enough to split the entire road in two.
And yet Risei Kotomine blocked it head-on.
The sleeves of the priestly robe exploded apart, revealing what had been hidden underneath.
The cloth said to have wrapped the remains of a saint. A Holy Shroud.
Of course, it was not the genuine article, but a Mystic Code of the Holy Church, made in imitation of it and steeped in faith.
Even within the Church, only special personnel and high-ranking priests were permitted to use a Holy Shroud.
Depending on the type, the Holy Shroud could produce a wide variety of effects.
Shrouds that suppressed Mana. Shrouds that bound the movements of men. And so on.
The one used by Father Kotomine had a very simple function. It strengthened physical defense.
The Holy Church's specialty, Baptism Rite, was Magecraft specialized in dealing with spiritual beings, so reinforcing physical defense was the perfect complement.
When the first strike failed, Leysritt immediately launched a second attack.
She swung the giant axe in a relentless flurry and chopped at Risei Kotomine again.
But in the old priest's eyes, that seemingly airtight offensive was full of openings.
In terms of raw destructive power alone, Leysritt could rival a Servant through sheer monstrous strength. But she had absolutely no experience fighting human opponents.
And the enemy before her now was a legend from the Third Holy Grail War. A true monster capable of facing a Servant head-on.
Risei Kotomine counterattacked.
With one hand, he knocked aside the shaft of the axe. Then, with flowing footwork, he slid right in front of the homunculus and slightly bent his waist as he drove out his right elbow.
"Boom!!"
The air exploded.
A pure strike with no Mana and no spellcraft mixed into it. A blow that warped space through technique alone.
This was the most powerful secret of Chinese Bajiquan. Six Grand Opening - Elbow Upthrust.
The entire motion flowed as one. Leysritt's weapon flew from her grasp, and she herself was sent several meters through the air.
"Pitiful homunculus, never born beneath the blessing of parents. Why do you fight?"
The old man drew in his fighting spirit and walked with steady steps toward the silver-haired girl, who lay curled on the ground, coughing up blood.
According to the doctrine of the Holy Church, evil spirits, demons, and Dead Apostles were all regarded as things that should not exist in this world, enemies that had to be purged and purified.
A homunculus held no evil intent, but it still fit the Church's definition of heresy.
God's love was reserved only for humans conceived through the union of man and woman and born naturally. It did not extend to magical products like homunculi.
Even among Magi, many believed that homunculi had no souls and were merely machines wearing human form.
As a devout believer, Risei Kotomine deeply loathed homunculi as well.
In the past, because of his duties, he had been forced to suppress that disgust and work alongside the Einzbern family.
But now that his identity had been exposed, there was no longer any need for restraint.
"How pitiful. Forced into battle despite having no will of your own. Let me put an end to your sinful life."
Risei Kotomine's five fingers closed around Leysritt's head like iron claws and lifted her up.
...
...
When Shirou came back to his senses from the blank haze in his mind, he found himself in the arms of a silver-haired woman, racing toward the forest.
"Sella? What are you doing? Put me do... ngh!"
Shirou was cut off halfway through by a sharp burst of pain from his right shoulder.
He looked closely and saw that his entire right arm had turned red. His elbow joint was broken, and his shoulder was so badly mangled it was hard to look at.
[Do you need me to heal it?]
Lady Avalon's voice rang out.
[No. There is no time to stop for treatment right now.]
Shirou recalled what had happened a few seconds earlier.
Risei Kotomine had suddenly appeared in the middle of the road and attacked the completely unguarded Sella.
Shirou had reacted first and rushed in to save her, but in the process his entire arm had been ruined.
It had only been a hasty block, and Shirou had not had time to prepare himself properly, but Risei Kotomine had still smashed apart the arm of his eight-year-old body with a single punch.
Then the Magic Circuits inside Shirou automatically activated to heal his flesh. The intense heat and agony released during the process, combined with the drained weakness from Mana consumption, had left him in a daze for several seconds.
For some reason, Sella had picked him up and fled toward the castle without looking back.
Staring at his slowly healing right arm, Shirou could not help sucking in a breath.
Was Risei Kotomine really even human?
If a punch like that landed on an unprotected body, then never mind a human. Even a Servant would probably be badly injured.
No, Risei Kotomine was still human.
No matter how thoroughly that body had been tempered, no matter how steel-like his muscles had become, he still remained within the bounds of humanity.
The problem lay in his technique. It looked like he had mastered some kind of martial art.
And his level was absurdly high. It would not be an exaggeration to say he had reached the realm of perfection.
Shirou remembered the story Zouken Matou had once told him about the Third Holy Grail War.
Fighting a Servant barehanded. So that had not been a legend after all.
In some ways, Risei Kotomine was a lot like Shirou without the Dead Count Shapeshifter's Command Spells activated. Both of them were classic glass cannons, with only their offensive power reaching Servant level.
The red-haired boy shook his head and cleared away the distracting thoughts, then looked at the homunculus maid carrying him at a run.
"Sella, what are you doing? Why are we running away? Where is Leysritt?"
Sella kept running at nearly seventy kilometers per hour without even sounding out of breath as she replied,
"Leysritt is holding the enemy back. I am taking you to Lady Irisviel right now."
"Huh? Why? If Leysritt is fighting, then we need to go help her right away."
Shirou had already experienced the terrifying brute strength of Einzbern's number one bust, but he did not believe Risei Kotomine was an enemy who could be beaten by raw strength alone.
If Leysritt was left there, the odds were that things would end badly for her.
"Lady Irisviel instructed us to protect your safety. Escorting you back to the castle is the highest priority."
As she said that, Sella cast the red-haired boy a resentful glance.
Compared to the emotionally restrained Leysritt, Sella's expressions were always much more vivid.
"I do not understand. Why did you save me back there?"
Shirou blinked.
"Huh? Because I felt the killing intent coming from Risei Kotomine..."
"That is not what I meant!"
Sella let out a low shout, unable to keep her emotions under control, and gradually slowed to a stop.
Looking down at Shirou's face, she clenched her teeth and said,
"Please do not do unnecessary things.
Shirou-san, your actions have put me in a very difficult position. If Lady Irisviel learns that you were seriously injured while protecting me, then I..."
Shirou rolled his eyes and cut her off.
"What kind of cold and heartless mistress do you think Irisviel is?
She would never get angry at you over something like this. At most, she would worry too much. But Irisviel would never think what I did was wrong."
Sella was not convinced.
"Lady Irisviel is very kind, but that gentleness does not mean she is right.
Leysritt and I are only artificial lifeforms. As long as enough time and resources are invested, we can be reproduced as many times as necessary.
But Lady Irisviel is different. She bears the two-thousand-year wish of the Einzbern family, and to her, you are someone special.
If something happened to you, Lady Irisviel could not possibly remain unaffected. Then I, who caused all of this, would be an unforgivable sinner."
Shirou gave it some thought.
"I see. So if I died, Sella would feel guilty."
The silver-haired homunculus said seriously,
"Exactly. So now you understand..."
"That is still better than dying."
Shirou said,
"Between making Sella feel guilty and letting Sella die, I would choose the first one."
Sella fell silent. This boy really understood nothing.
In a low voice, she demanded,
"You were almost killed, you know?
Throwing your own safety away just for a disposable homunculus... what possible meaning could there be in that?"
Shirou tilted his head.
"Honestly, I did not think about it that much. I guess it was just instinct.
I cannot accept someone I know dying right in front of me, so I did not really think. My body just moved on its own...
I do not know how homunculi like you are made, but to me, Sella is Sella. You cannot just be replaced.
If Sella died, then even if only a little, I would still feel a bit sad.
That answer works, right? Man, you are such a pain."
Sella stayed silent for a long time.
Then she pressed her lips together and muttered in a trembling voice,
"Shirou-san, you... really are very troubling."
"...Ha."
At that, the red-haired boy in her arms smiled.
"Seeing the usually arrogant Sella look like she is about to cry makes me feel full of energy."
Shirou jumped down from the arms of the silver-haired homunculus maid and grabbed Sella's wrist with his one remaining good hand.
"Alright, let us go back. We cannot just leave Leysritt there, can we?"
"Mm."
With Shirou holding her wrist, Sella ran back the way they had come.
She silently watched the boy's back.
As she stared at the small back of the human child, the homunculus felt a strange sensation for the first time.
It was impossible to describe, impossible to grasp.
Even Sella herself did not know what this stirring in her chest really was. She only knew that this was a feeling Lady Irisviel absolutely must not learn about.
In a voice so quiet that only she could hear it, she said,
"Thank you for saving me, Shirou."