I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

"Oh? It seems that Miss Knight also knows about dragons. If I'm not mistaken, you also possess the aura of a dragon."

Sebastian paused slightly, staring at Artoria and waiting for her answer.

“That’s right, I do indeed possess the ideology of the Crimson Dragon, so it’s true that you can say that.”

Artoria pointed her sword at Sebastian, unleashing the magic she had been holding back and her previously suppressed aura, bursting forth with fierce fighting spirit and will to battle.

"While I am deeply sorry for my Master's actions, I have no choice but to protect his safety due to my position. If you insist on continuing this attack, I, Artoria Pendragon, am willing to fight!"

Chapter Thirty-Five: Dragon People

"Good backbone, but I can't abandon my duties just because of a few words from you. That would be an insult to my position as a housekeeper."

Sebastian was brimming with powerful and profound fighting spirit, and his eyes had transformed into golden dragon pupils. The strength he displayed was vastly different from when he fought against Kiritsugu Emiya earlier.

"So let's settle this with our skills!"

As Sebastian finished speaking, a violent gust of air swept through the courtyard of the Matou residence.

The earth groaned under Sebastian's stomp, and a series of sonic booms echoed through the night sky as he appeared before Artoria with an incredibly fierce attack.

"It's so fast!"

Artoria gasped and, guided by her intuition, raised her sword to strike at Sebastian's incoming fist.

"hardening."

Facing Artoria's invisible sword, a flash of magical light suddenly appeared on Sebastian's right fist as he swung it.

The sword blade collided with the fist, producing a deafening sound. A shockwave-like blast of air spread outwards, plowing up the ground of the Matou residence's courtyard.

After exchanging blows, Artoria and Sebastian each stepped back, looking at each other and acknowledging in their hearts that the other was worthy of being their opponent.

Sebastian glanced at his fist, which had a slight cut, but thanks to his excellent regenerative abilities, it was almost gone.

"Although it's unclear what kind of sword it is, its sharpness alone is comparable to some high-level pay-to-win items, so we need to be careful."

While Sebastian was summarizing how to deal with the enemy next, Artoria was also busy.

She stretched her arm, which was still numb from the terrifying force of Sebastian's attack during the clash, her expression extremely serious, without a trace of a smile on her pretty face.

"Such strength and speed, comparable to that of a Servant, is truly terrifying. How come Kiritsugu never mentioned before that there were such powerful individuals in Fuyuki City? Logically speaking, such important information should not have been overlooked."

But Artoria quickly put that question out of her mind; with a formidable enemy at hand, she had no time to think about other trivial matters.

A few seconds passed in the blink of an eye, and Sebastian and Artoria rushed forward in perfect unison to engage in combat with their opponent once again.

Sebastian raised his forearm to block Artoria's horizontal slash, then followed up with a kick to her head.

Artoria leaned back, using her petite frame to dodge Sebastian's side kick, and then swung her sword at Sebastian's chest.

The white gloves Sebastian wore had long been torn to shreds by the burst of battle aura, revealing his fist, which was covered in dragon scales, and made a crisp metallic sound when it clashed with the longsword.

Artoria blocked Sebastian's punch aimed at her abdomen with her sword, then quickly spun around and used the momentum to swing her sword towards Sebastian's neck.

Faced with the unstoppable longsword, Sebastian stumbled back a few steps, and only after the sword had passed in front of him did he step forward and deliver a powerful whip kick to Artoria's waist.

Artoria lowered her arm to block Sebastian's whip kick, but the surging, terrifying force pushed her sideways and slid several meters away.

"Tsk, this can't go on. I feel Kiritsugu's aura is getting weaker and weaker. The most urgent thing is to find a way to get out of here."

As Artoria thought this, she stopped her momentum, quickly stepped forward, and leaped up, raising the invisible sword high with both hands to slash down at Sebastian's head with unwavering determination.

Just as Sebastian's fist was about to collide head-on with the invisible sword slashing down from the sky, a massive amount of magical power suddenly burst forth from Artoria's body, and invisible currents began to surge wildly on the invisible sword.

The girl clashed her sword with Sebastian's fist, then quickly lowered her center of gravity and stomped on the ground, swinging her sword horizontally at Sebastian.

"Wind King's Iron Hammer!"

The sudden tornado engulfed the unsuspecting Sebastian, but the experienced fighter remained calm despite the sudden change in the situation, and hurled his fist, which contained eighty percent of his power, at the unstoppable storm.

Sebastian shattered the Wind King's hammer in half, and it quickly vanished into nothingness, leaving only a desolate courtyard.

"Hmm? Did they take this opportunity to run away?"

Sebastian glanced around the empty, quiet courtyard, but found no trace of anyone lurking in the shadows.

"But it doesn't matter. Although half of the force of the punch was blocked, it's still not something an ordinary human with average physical abilities could withstand."

"Lord Sebastian, is the battle over?"

After hearing the commotion outside gradually subside, Qi Ya Lei opened the mansion door a crack and peeked out to ask.

"Yes, the enemy has been driven away. Although we were unable to kill them all, they certainly won't be coming back tonight."

Sebastian turned and nodded to Chiare, then took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, and asked:

"It's almost time. Has Miss Sakura already gone to sleep?"

"Not yet, but I can go and report the enemy's retreat to Miss Sakura now, so she should be able to sleep peacefully."

After saying that, Qi Yalei retreated back into the mansion, her hurried footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Sebastian stood still, straightened his appearance slightly, and then picked up the cleaning tools to start tidying up the yard.

"Lord Mountain Elder should be returning soon. We can't let him see this messy place."

Sebastian muttered to himself, then unleashed a speed three times faster than when he fought Artoria earlier, and began to clean up the messy courtyard.

The land needs to be leveled, the flagstones need to be repaved, and the flowers and shrubs in the flower beds also need to be properly cared for; the workload is quite heavy.

But Sebastian was confident that he could complete everything safely within half an hour. It seemed that his terrifying strength, apart from defending against enemies, could only be used more flexibly in his daily life as a butler.

In the mountains and forests, Artoria, carrying Kiritsugu Emiya on her back, was running like lightning towards the Einzbern Castle.

Having no healing magic skills, she was completely unable to save the severely injured Kiritsugu Emiya, so she could only tear his suit into strips to temporarily treat his injuries.

But as Kiritsugu Emiya's breathing grew weaker and weaker, Artoria's heart sank to the bottom.

At this rate, Kiritsugu Emiya will probably die before he even gets back to Irisviel to have her perform the healing magic.

After making a rough calculation, Artoria's running speed increased a bit, but in order to take care of Kiritsugu Emiya, her A-rank agility could not be fully utilized to reach her maximum speed.

"Kiritsugu, you must hold on! Irisviel is still waiting for you to come back, and Illya is also waiting for you to come back and fulfill your promise! Even if it's for the ideal you've fought for your whole life, you must hold on!"

Chapter Thirty-Six: Emiya Kiritsugu, Here's Your Bento Box

Despite Artoria's best efforts, she couldn't reach Irisviel before Kiritsugu Emiya breathed his last; in fact, she was only a few hundred meters away.

Although Sebastian's punch was blocked by Artoria and weakened by more than 60%, it still caused serious internal injuries to Kiritsugu Emiya.

If that punch had landed squarely on Kiritsugu Emiya's body without any fancy moves, he would probably have been pierced through or exploded on the spot.

In short, no matter what, they cannot escape the word 'death'.

Otherwise, Sebastian wouldn't have allowed Artoria to escape with her men, because he was absolutely certain that the man he had injured had no chance of surviving.

In fact, if Artoria were just a little faster, she might have had a chance to pull Kiritsugu Emiya back from the brink of death.

Because the scabbard 'Avalon' of the Holy Sword, which is still placed inside Irisviel's body, possesses a powerful ability that can restore its owner from any injury and even halt the aging process.

Unfortunately, the ability of the 'ideal land far from the world' is not resurrection, but merely healing and restoration.

Irisviel nearly fainted on the spot upon seeing Kiritsugu Emiya's cold, stiff body. She knelt down and wept bitterly over his body, tears streaming down her beautiful face like broken pearls.

Artoria stood quietly to the side, watching the scene unfold before her, her heart filled with complex emotions regarding Kiritsugu Emiya's death.

On one hand, Kiritsugu Emiya is her Master in this Holy Grail War, someone she swore allegiance to from the very beginning of her summoning.

On the other hand, Kiritsugu Emiya's personality was completely incompatible with hers; it wasn't just that they disliked each other.

Kiritsugu Emiya could not understand Artoria's belief in and adherence to the chivalric code, and Artoria also felt contempt and disdain for Kiritsugu Emiya's actions.

It's fair to say that this master-servant pair is the least adaptable in this Holy Grail War.

Ironically, these two incompatible sides have come together for the same purpose.

Rather than ultimately winning the Holy Grail War, both Kiritsugu Emiya and Artoria were willing to suppress their dislike and cooperate with each other.

Moreover, Irisviel is constantly mediating the situation, so although their relationship has deteriorated, they have maintained restraint and haven't completely broken off relations.

After Kiritsugu Emiya's death, Artoria felt a sense of relief for no apparent reason, as if the problems that had been troubling her had vanished with the wind.

Although the young woman who is a queen devoutly believes in chivalry, her thinking is by no means rigid or pedantic, but she also has corresponding bottom lines and principles for conduct.

"At least, I won't have to force myself to do things against my will anymore, like that failed operation that just ended."

Artoria closed her eyes and sighed inwardly, determined never to lay a hand on the elderly, children, or women who were defenseless and unable to fight back; this was one of the principles she had always adhered to.

But then, a sense of bewilderment washed over the knight girl, a uncertainty about the future of the Holy Grail War.

Without her Master's magical energy, Artoria could only stay in the mortal world for two or three hours on her own remaining magical power, let alone fight other powerful enemies.

"So, have I already lost this Holy Grail War?"

Artoria murmured to herself, her cool voice tinged with disappointment.

"No, Saber. We haven't lost yet. We will definitely win this war."

Irisviel sobbed intermittently, cradling Kiritsugu Emiya's right hand, which still bore two Command Seals, in her hands, and looked up at Artoria.

"Saber, are you willing to make a pact with me and truly become my knight?"

Artoria stared at Irisviel's resolute face for less than two seconds with her holy blue eyes before kneeling on one knee, her right hand making a soft clatter on her breastplate.

“Of course I am willing, Irisviel. I swear by the Holy Sword in my hand, Artoria Pendragon, I will stay with you to the very end, and I will surely bring back the Holy Grail for you!”

As Irisviel began to use magic to transfer the Command Seals to the back of her hand, she revealed a somewhat poignant smile.

"Yes, we will. Whether it's Kiritsugu's ideal or Saber's wish, we will definitely make it come true!"

At the Weiyuanchuan Wharf, after the old man of the mountain slew the sea monster and ended Caster's life, he found Merry, who had been hiding in the shadows, and the two quickly left together.

Iskandar and Diarmuid did not leave immediately, while Weber stood there with his fists clenched tightly and his brows furrowed as if he were weighing something.

"It seems that tonight is over. I didn't expect that the first one to leave would be Caster, who has hardly ever shown up."

Diarmuid sighed as he gazed at the still frozen sea, then turned his attention to Iskandar.

"Farewell, Conqueror King. My lord is waiting for me to return and report; I cannot linger here any longer."

Iskandar raised his hand and waved, speaking to Diarmuid with his usual boldness and carefree spirit:

"Goodbye, knights of the Fiona Knights. Still not interested in joining my ranks? The terms are negotiable."