I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

"Kiritsugu!"

Irisviel, who had just arrived, reached out to support the exhausted Kiritsugu Emiya, but Kiritsugu chose to sit on the ground and catch his breath for a moment.

Just as Artoria and Diarmuid were facing off, Kudou Maiya emerged from a gap in the container, glanced around warily, and then ran towards Emiya Kiritsugu.

Just as Kudo Maiya was about to reach Emiya Kiritsugu, a wisp of eerie blue ghostly fire slowly emerged from behind Emiya Kiritsugu, and a jet-black figure wearing a skull mask broke through the raging ghostly fire to reveal himself.

Kudo Maiya, who was running, widened her eyes and instinctively shouted:

"Kiritsugu! Watch out behind you!!"

Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel, who were sitting on the ground, were startled and turned their heads to look back. What came into view was a jet-black greatsword that was being swung down.

"Hand over the head!"

Accompanied by the old man's low murmur, a flash of light, like a thunderbolt, disappeared in an instant, and a severed head shot into the sky.

The crimson blood gushed out like a fountain, splattering all over the ground.

Chapter Nineteen: Assassination!

The old man's sword sliced ​​precisely across Kuon Maiya's neck without any obstruction, just as she had run in front of Emiya Kiritsugu to block the blow.

But the old man of the mountain's target from the very beginning was her, regardless of whether Kuon Maiya would crash into him or whether he had just stopped in place.

In short, tonight, the woman named Kuon Maiya will not escape death.

The law of cause and effect and the fate line are both very mysterious things.

Every cause has its effect; you reap what you sow.

The old man of the mountain did not know whether the person whose head he had severed had other different fate lines, but when the other party took the action of assassinating his contractor, the fate line containing countless possibilities had already come to an end.

The final path has been predetermined: the journey to death.

The old man of the mountain didn't care why Kuon Maiya wanted to protect the unknown man in front of her, even if he knew they were in cahoots.

If there is a next time, I will still cut off his head with one sword.

The cause of attacking the contractor has already been determined by the sword that was wielded by the attacker.

As for the reason why the other Master was assassinated, it depends on whether that gun-wielding kid has the ability to end it.

The tolling of the evening bells indicates who deserves to die by his sword, not all those whose time has come to be slain.

This still depends on cause and effect.

Whoever's karma is responsible for it, the old man of the mountain will not interfere in other people's affairs unless absolutely necessary.

"Crack!"

The greatsword, still dripping with blood, was held down on the ground by the old man of the mountain.

Mai Kudo's headless body fell into Kiritsugu Emiya's arms due to inertia, while her head fell about half a meter away.

The sudden change caught Diarmuid and Artoria off guard, while Kiritsugu Emiya, sitting on the ground, and Irisviel, crouching beside him, also stared wide-eyed and froze.

When Kuonma was beheaded, most of the blood that splattered fell to the ground, but a lot of it landed on Emiya Kiritsugu's raised cheek.

The still-flowing warm blood had soaked through Kiritsugu Emiya's black suit, and even Irisviel was stained with blood.

The drops of blood on the snow-white winter clothes looked like blooming red flowers, which were both beautiful and tragic.

The old man of the mountain vanished silently, as if he had never been there at all, and no one noticed his departure.

Breaking the silence, Artoria was the first to react.

While keeping a watchful eye on Diarmuid, who could attack at any moment, she asked:

"Master, and Irisviel, are you alright?"

"Ugh... Ahh ...

Kiritsugu Emiya choked out a low, hoarse growl like a wounded beast, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his nails dug deep into his flesh.

Unstoppable tears welled up in the man's eyes. He tried to suppress these long-dormant emotions and regain his composure, but found it impossible.

Kiritsugu Emiya had thought he wouldn't be so sad, but when the moment of life and death truly arrived, he discovered that his heart, which had been as hard as iron, was not as hard as he had imagined.

For Kiritsugu Emiya, Maiya Kudo held an extraordinary significance, and the emotions involved were extremely complex.

Mai Kudo and Kiritsugu Emiya met on a very dangerous battlefield.

At that time, Kuon Maiya was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old war orphan. It was Kiritsugu Emiya who took her in and raised her to adulthood.

Later, Kuon Maiya became a capable assistant to Emiya Kiritsugu in his work, and could even be considered his lover.

In short, Kiritsugu Emiya trusted Maiya Hisouto far more than he trusted his wife, Irisviel.

Only when he is with Maiya Kudo is Kiritsugu Emiya truly unguarded and can open his heart without any reservations.

And now, Kuon Maiya is dead.

He died right in front of him, his head cleanly and decisively severed right before his eyes, with no chance of recovery.

When Kiritsugu Emiya failed in his assassination attempt, he was already mentally prepared for the retaliation he would suffer, but he still did not expect it to come so quickly and so tragically.

Irisviel gently patted Kiritsugu Emiya's back and silently squatted beside him without saying a word.

As someone who has been married to Kiritsugu Emiya for eight years, Irisviel has an incredibly deep understanding of him, and she is also clear about Maiya Kudo's true position in his life.

This man with firm ideals will not be discouraged, but it will take him some time to recover and continue to strive to achieve his ideals.

Diarmuid allowed Artoria to confirm the situation with her Master. Although his anger had not subsided in the slightest, he would not act impulsively to the point of violating his own chivalrous principles.

"Miss unknown, you appear to be a Servant as well. So, you were the ones who attempted to ambush our lord earlier?"

"It seems so, but I myself was unaware of it beforehand."

Although Artoria did not know about Kiritsugu Emiya's actions beforehand, she was able to guess the whole story based on everything she had just seen.

Artoria was annoyed by Kiritsugu Emiya's actions, as it showed that her Master did not trust her abilities.

But the current situation is clearly not the time to dwell on internal conflicts.

“I can apologize to you personally as a knight, but as a participant in the Holy Grail War, I do not think there is anything wrong with Master’s behavior.”

Artoria paused here, her holy blue eyes filled with determination, and raised the invisible sword.

"Although this goes against the spirit of chivalry, it is, after all, during wartime!"

(I've revised Blue Diallo's consciousness; she is more of a king than a knight, but her desire to save Britain remains unchanged.)

Diarmuid nodded in acceptance of Artoria's words after seeing her actions, but the matter was not over yet.

"It seems you are well aware that the upcoming battle is inevitable, and I must seek justice for my lord! I am a Lancer-class Servant, and who is yours?"

“Saber”.

Artoria's brief words surprised Diarmuid. How did another swordsman class suddenly appear?

Upon seeing Diarmuid's expression, Artoria immediately understood that he had misunderstood something.

"Although I don't know what class that Servant was, I am indeed Saber in this Holy Grail War."

"It doesn't matter anyway, you're not going to obediently step aside and let me kill that despicable bastard, so I have to deal with you first."

Diarmuid threw the 'Yellow Rose of Destruction' at his feet, and with both hands holding the 'Red Rose of Destruction', he infused it with magical power and activated his Noble Phantasm once again.

He no longer wanted to waste time testing the opponent's strength. His lord was alone on the battlefield and could encounter danger at any time, so he had to end the battle as quickly as possible.

Therefore, go all out!

Having already secretly observed the battle between the Old Man of the Mountain and Diarmuid, Artoria naturally wouldn't underestimate her opponent. In terms of martial arts alone, she might not be as good as the Lancer Servant in front of her.

The knight girl struck first, her iron boots slamming into the ground as she charged forward, wielding her invisible sword to slash down at Diarmuid.

"Good timing!"

Diarmuid let out a soft cry and calmly thrust his spear forward to meet the opponent's sword.

The spear tip struck Artoria's two-handed sword with pinpoint accuracy, and with a cracking sound, a powerful gust of wind erupted from the point where the weapons met.

Golden light illuminated the somewhat dark surroundings, revealing an inch of the blade of a sword that seemed impossible for human craftsmen to forge.

Chapter Twenty: King Arthur vs. Radiant Appearance

"The Wind King's Barrier was actually breached?!"

Artoria gasped and forcefully dodged Diarmuid's spear, leaping back a few steps with a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

"So it's using magic to gather wind and make the sword invisible? That's a brilliant idea."

Diarmuid praised her appreciatively, then charged forward without giving Artoria any time to think or react, brandishing his crimson spear engraved with exquisite runes.

"You must have your reasons for hiding the sword, right? But it's alright, I'll make it reveal its true form!"

Artoria did not actively defend against Diarmuid's attack; until she understood what had just happened, she had to remain absolutely cautious.

With her A-rank Intuition (Ahoge Radar), Artoria constantly shifted her form amidst the hail of bullets unleashed by Diarmuid.

The crimson spear whistled through the air, relentlessly pursuing Artoria's agile figure like a viper's forked tongue.

Amidst the flying sand and stones, Artoria's precise, millimeter-level movement repeatedly allowed the spear to narrowly miss her battle dress and armor, narrowly escaping unscathed.

"You think this will prevent your real name from being revealed? You're being incredibly naive."

Diarmuid flicked his wrist, unleashing over a dozen thrusts that enveloped Artoria, completely sealing off her escape route.

Faced with the rapidly approaching spearheads, Artoria was forced to fight back with her sword.

Otherwise, she might perish under Diarmuid's increasingly rapid and fierce attacks.

This resulted in Diarmuid intentionally manipulating Artoria's invisible sword, which was like a girl whose clothes had been roughly stripped off, and was quickly and completely seen by him.

"Is the blade about three feet long, the guard about four inches wide, the blade itself about five and a half centimeters wide, and the total length about three and a half feet?"

Diarmuid is also a skilled swordsman. Although he should have been carrying two swords, that doesn't mean he's unfamiliar with other types of weapons.

With his superb martial arts experience and combat intuition honed to the bone, Diarmuid roughly estimated the various parameters of the sword in Artoria's hand.

"Now I won't be fooled by invisible gaps anymore. Be prepared, Saber!"

Seeing Diarmuid charging at her like a wild horse again, Artoria had no choice but to calm down and focus all her energy on dealing with the attack.