When Artoria's Wind King Hammer struck, it wasn't Qin Chuan who was hit first, but rather Rin Tohsaka, who was being held in Qin Chuan's arms.

After all, Qin Chuan's skin is thick... oh no, Qin Chuan's defense can ignore the wind pressure of the Wind King's hammer, but Rin Tohsaka can't.

Therefore, when Artoria launched her attack, Qin Chuan had already summoned the "Black Bird" and used the power of "Justice" to create a black mist barrier to block Rin Tohsaka.

Although Rin Tohsaka couldn't see the Stand, she could feel something blocking the terrifying wind pressure, preventing her from being affected in any way.

In front of Qin Chuan, Artoria's face was filled with disbelief.

The combined power of the Wind King's Hammer and her Excalibur was naturally quite astonishing, and Artoria thought it would at least cause some damage to Qin Chuan.

But to everyone's surprise, Qin Chuan didn't even get injured on his face after this series of attacks; he didn't even have to move his body.

"Is it because you have strong magic resistance that you are immune to some of the damage from the Wind King's Hammer?"

A few thoughts flashed through Artoria's mind as she pondered why Qin Chuan could stand still and withstand her attacks without sustaining any damage.

But soon, the conclusion made Artoria's expression even uglier.

"No, this guy didn't rely on any special skills... he simply used his physical strength to take my attack!"

Upon reaching this conclusion, Artoria felt her heart sink to the bottom.

"Is the attack over?"

Qin Chuan watched indifferently as Artoria finished swinging her sword.

"Then it's my turn—Enkidu!"

The next moment, the Noble Phantasm "Chains of Heaven" obtained from Gilgamesh was flung out from the golden ripples in the void, instantly binding Artoria's limbs.

"This is……!"

Artoria immediately realized what was happening and prepared to try to break free of the chains on her limbs.

However, Qin Chuan did not give her that chance. The "Black Bird's" body instantly transformed into a large amount of electricity and rushed directly into the chains.

"Uh ah ah ah ah!"

A terrifying electric current instantly struck Artoria through the "Chains of Heaven," shocking her entire body from head to toe.

The burning and numbness spread throughout her body, causing Artoria to scream in agony—even Qin Chuan could smell a faint burning odor emanating from Artoria.

Even her Excalibur fell to the ground, leaving her looking quite disheveled.

If Artoria hadn't been a Heroic Spirit, she would have been electrocuted to a crisp long ago.

Considering his considerable fondness for Artoria before his transmigration, Qin Chuan didn't kill her with a single punch; he merely electrocuted her, rendering her immobile.

Then, Qin Chuan walked past the powerless Artoria and went straight to Irisviel.

Irisviel was trembling as she looked at Qin Chuan—even Artoria, a Heroic Spirit, was no match for Qin Chuan, so she certainly didn't think she could handle him.

"So, have you made your choice? Are you going to hand Avalon over to me voluntarily, or let us take it ourselves?"

Qin Chuan looked at Irisviel and asked calmly—having just rendered Artoria incapacitated by electrocution, his words at this moment put a lot of pressure on Irisviel.

Not to mention, Rin Tohsaka, who was being held in Qin Chuan's arms, was rubbing her hands together, seemingly eager to experiment with her theoretical knowledge of magic that she had never practiced before on Irisviel.

"...I understand, but please don't continue to hurt Saber."

Irisviel lowered her head, thought for a moment, and then quickly gave up resisting.

"I really can't guarantee that I can do that."

Qin Chuan spoke very frankly. He looked at Artoria, who seemed to still be recovering from the electric shock, and said...

"After all, to bring down the Holy Grail, we must eliminate enough Heroic Spirits and return their souls to the Lesser Grail... You know this best, don't you?"

Irisviel's expression changed slightly; she hadn't expected Qin Chuan to already know her true situation.

But Qin Chuan is right. Even if Qin Chuan doesn't kill Artoria now, he will definitely have to do it later in order to bring down the Holy Grail. She doesn't seem to have any power to resist.

Thinking of this, Irisviel's eyes dimmed, she sighed, and prepared to remove "Avalon" from her body.

However, the next moment, a large amount of magic suddenly surged out from behind him. Qin Chuan turned around and saw that Artoria had actually recovered and broken free from his "Chains of Heaven".

"Huh? What is this power...?"

Qin Chuan was somewhat surprised. He sensed that a large amount of magical power suddenly surged from Artoria's body—it was this magical power that freed her from the paralyzing effect of the electric current and allowed her to forcibly break free of the Chains of Heaven.

"Berserker! It's a Command Spell! Someone used a Command Spell to amplify her!"

Rin Tohsaka immediately realized what had happened—Artoria's Master, Kiritsugu Emiya, had issued a command seal that temporarily amplified Artoria's power.

Moreover, Kiritsugu Emiya's orders were clearly not as simple as just increasing power.

Because soon, Qin Chuan saw Artoria's expression change, her body turn around as if out of control, and she grabbed the "Excalibur" from the ground.

"Oh? Could it be?"

Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow, as if he had guessed something, and looked down at Irisviel in front of him.

Irisviel's expression was also somewhat blank as she watched Artoria in front of her raise the Excalibur with trembling hands.

Artoria's Noble Phantasm, "Excalibur," can unleash an ultimate light slash after releasing her true name. It can shatter a formidable enemy in one strike and easily sever rivers, making it Artoria's strongest weapon.

Given that Qin Chuan is such a formidable enemy, it would be perfectly normal for Artoria to unleash the true name of her Noble Phantasm, but right now... Irisviel is right next to Qin Chuan.

Artoria's movements were trembling, clearly not out of her own volition, but rather under the forced command of a Command Seal.

It goes without saying who possesses Artoria's Command Seals.

At this moment, Artoria's expression was extremely grim, clearly indicating that she had communicated with Kiritsugu Emiya internally, explaining the current situation.

Even though Kiritsugu Emiya knew that Irisviel was right next to Qin Chuan, he still used a Command Spell to order her to unleash her Noble Phantasm on Qin Chuan—which infuriated Artoria.

Irisviel must have realized this as well, because her eyes were filled with disbelief.

Qin Chuan, however, guessed a thing or two.

"I see. So you knew I wouldn't let the Lesser Grail be destroyed, which is why you dared to give the order?"

Qin Chuan sneered inwardly, immediately guessing Emiya Kiritsugu's intention.

He dared to let Artoria unleash her Noble Phantasm on Qin Chuan and Irisviel because he was certain that Qin Chuan would protect Irisviel.

Because Irisviel is the Lesser Grail, if she dies, the Grail cannot descend.

In order to protect Irisviel, Qin Chuan must endure the release of the "Excalibur" Noble Phantasm.

With Artoria unable to win through direct combat, this was the last decision Kiritsugu Emiya could make: success or death at Nichikawa.

Chapter 150 The Lost Irisviel

If it were a normal Heroic Spirit, Kiritsugu Emiya's plan wouldn't be a problem.

In order to protect Irisviel, the Lesser Grail, the Heroic Spirit must stand in front of Irisviel and withstand the attack of the A++ level Anti-Castle Noble Phantasm.

If the opponent dodges, resulting in Irisviel's death and the complete disappearance of the Lesser Grail, it doesn't matter—because under normal circumstances, Artoria has no chance of defeating Qin Chuan.

Therefore, this plan was Kiritsugu Emiya's last desperate gamble. He was trying to use this method to harm Qin Chuan and give himself a sliver of hope of victory.

As for Irisviel's thoughts... Kiritsugu Emiya can only assume that Irisviel would agree with him.

After all, back when they were at the Einzbern residence, whenever Kiritsugu Emiya spoke to Irisviel about his ideals, Irisviel agreed with his ideas about justice.

In that case, Irisviel would surely understand if he were to take some risks for his ideals, right?

"It seems that Kiritsugu Emiya doesn't care much about your safety."

Qin Chuan couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the light gathering on the "Excalibur" in Artoria's hand.

“Artoria cares about you more than Kiritsugu Emiya. She clearly wants to defy this order and doesn’t want to use her Noble Phantasm on you.”

Artoria's struggling movements and expression showed that she wanted to resist the order. She must have explained the situation around Qin Chuan to Kiritsugu Emiya in her mind.

In other words, there was no misunderstanding; Kiritsugu Emiya did indeed give this order knowing that Irisviel was with Qin Chuan.

Irisviel's expression was also very complicated; she hadn't expected Kiritsugu Emiya to be so ruthless.

In fact, the Einzbern family initially wanted to recruit Kiritsugu Emiya by having him marry into their family, and even considered having Irisviel give birth to the next Lesser Grail.

However, it was probably later decided that the naturally produced Lesser Grail was not easy to adjust to the body, so they changed to using alchemy to create the next Lesser Grail—the homunculus named Illyasviel.

Even so, Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya raised Illya together, and during that time, the two also had discussions about their ideals.

Irisviel thought Kiritsugu Emiya's desire to pursue justice was admirable, which is why she supported him, even knowing that the Holy Grail War would bring her death.

But... when she saw that Kiritsugu Emiya didn't care about her at all and was preparing to let Artoria launch an attack, she still felt her heart turn cold.

Even Artoria, whom he had only known for a few days, knew to protect Irisviel. So why was Kiritsugu Emiya so heartless after knowing her for several years?

"Although it was just a clever trick, I have to say he guessed right. I really can't let you die."

Just then, Qin Chuan squatted down in front of Irisviel, reached out and pressed her shoulder as she lay half-reclined on the ground, and said with a smile.

"……Eh?"

Pulled back from her complicated thoughts by Qin Chuan's words, Irisviel was stunned for a moment, and then felt that her surroundings had suddenly changed.

boom! ! !

The next moment, unable to restrain herself any longer, Artoria swung down the Excalibur in her hand with all her might, and a torrent of light surged from the blade and shot forward.

In just a moment, the forest in front of Artoria was blasted to pieces by the terrifying magical beam, the ground cracked, and the clouds broke apart, just like Moses parting the sea.

Excalibur successfully unleashed its full power, but Artoria felt no joy whatsoever.

She gripped her sword weakly in her hand, then turned to look behind her—Emiya Kiritsugu was emerging from the shadows of the woods.

Why use a Command Spell to give that kind of command?

Artoria's voice was somewhat hoarse, her tone suppressing her anger towards Kiritsugu Emiya.

She didn't spend much time with Irisviel, but she felt a sense of pity for the homunculus who had never left his family since birth.

Just this morning, when they first arrived in Fuyuki City, Artoria swore to protect Irisviel.

Unexpectedly, under Kiritsugu Emiya's merciless orders, she actually unleashed her Noble Phantasm on Irisviel—although the primary target was Qin Chuan, Irisviel was undoubtedly affected as well.

If she weren't still worried about Irisviel's safety and couldn't just leave like that, Artoria would have wanted to kill her Master, Kiritsugu Emiya, with a single sword stroke.

"This is the only way to threaten him. After all, your strength is not enough to harm him. You can only use Alice's safety to force him to take your Noble Phantasm head-on."

Kiritsugu Emiya's expression was indifferent, seemingly showing no remorse for what he had done.

"Alice would understand if she knew."

"You guy..."

Artoria gritted her teeth. Although she felt that she and Kiritsugu Emiya were completely incompatible when she was summoned, the fact that his personality was so bad was still beyond Artoria's expectations.

"Besides, you don't need to feel like you've done something utterly heinous."

As he spoke, Kiritsugu Emiya looked toward the direction where Artoria's Excalibur had struck—the area was now a scene of devastation, the ground appearing as if it had been plowed clean.

But amidst this mess, nothing was left.

That's right, Qin Chuan and Riesl have both disappeared without a trace.

This scene made Kiritsugu Emiya's fingers tremble slightly.

Because he knew very well that with Qin Chuan's demonstrated physical strength, even if he had completely absorbed the light cannon of "Excalibur," he wouldn't have been left without even a fragment of his body.

Moreover, Irisviel's body contains "Avalon," which should remain in place even if Irisviel's body completely disappears.

Therefore, the empty scene means that Qin Chuan must have used some method to avoid the light cannon attack of "Excalibur" - and he did so with Irisviel in tow.

To be able to evade such a wide-ranging attack... does the opponent possess some kind of teleportation ability or Noble Phantasm?

Kiritsugu Emiya's expression was somewhat unpleasant—Qin Chuan had taken Irisviel somewhere, but Kiritsugu Emiya was certain that the other party would never let him go.

If even abilities like teleportation exist... then Kiritsugu Emiya really can't think of any way to defeat Qin Chuan. Is there no other way but to surrender?

……

PS: Thank you so much for that inexplicable donation, I'm extremely grateful ().

Chapter 151 Avalon can be used as a makeshift solution, right?

"here it is……"

Irisviel looked around at her surroundings, a bewildered expression on her face.

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