Chapter 4: Aftermaths

"Maya, are you okay?"

Kiritsugu's voice waved over the radio, urgency lacing his tone.

"I'm hanging in there, I managed to avoid the brunt of the explosion, but Lady Irisviel…"

Maya replied, her voice strained.

Communicating through the static, Kiritsugu relied on Saber's unwavering protection to stay on his feet after the close-range attack. His face, usually an impassive mask, surfaced with a hint of emotion as he assessed the situation.

"You! What the hell was that?!"

Beside him, Saber, clad in her shining armor, glared with righteous fury. She couldn't help but be astonished, even repulsed, by the lengths this 'heartless' man was willing to go to. He didn't hesitate to seemingly sacrifice his own family's lives to maximize his own chances of survival.

"If you have something to say, Saber, then perhaps you should be asking yourself why you failed to detect the presence of another Servant in the sky during the battle. You only reacted after the attack was launched. Even if it was you, in that situation, you wouldn't have been able to protect her, would you?"

Saber's pupils dilated slightly, her anger momentarily replaced by a flicker of doubt.

 Kiritsugu retorted with the calm efficiency of a man who dealt in realities, not ideals.

He was an extremist, a man who lived by pragmatism above all else.

In the heat of the moment, he knew keeping Saber by his side might have offered Irisviel a chance, albeit a slim one, but it would have guaranteed his own demise.

Faced with that choice, he naturally opted for the option that ensured his survival.

While this might seem like an act of cold-blooded calculation, it was simply Kiritsugu's way.

He had unwavering confidence in his decision. After all, he had meticulously placed Avalon, Saber's scabbard with its defensive properties, within Irisviel's body.

It offered her a critical layer of protection, even against a direct hit from the enemy's cannon.

"…"

Saber remained silent, unable to decipher the logic behind Kiritsugu's actions.

She couldn't deny his accusation. Her own failure to detect the hidden attacker was a harsh reality.

To be fair, she couldn't truly blame Kiritsugu. He had simply played the hand he was dealt, opting for the most straightforward and realistic path forward.

'A bombardment from high altitude. What kind of Servant could that be?'

The unannounced attack made Kiritsugu furrow his brows with concern.

The other party's straightforward actions indicated that they didn't care about Saber's cherished "chivalrous spirit." However, Kiritsugu still had to go to the scene to confirm Irisviel's condition. There had to be a conclusion, whether she was alive or dead.

Otherwise, if the scabbard was exposed there, it would be a big problem since Saber's identity would be revealed. But sending Saber there would easily expose her as well.

In the short term, he didn't want to return the scabbard, which had the ability to "preserve life," to this King of Knights. But the enemy in the sky obviously hadn't left yet, and Kiritsugu couldn't risk being targeted again to go and see.

Kiritsugu didn't have the confidence to survive another hit of that magnitude. Various conditions intertwined, seemingly creating a "deadlock" for Kiritsugu.

---

"Rider, it seems... nobody died, right?"

Sitting inside the machine, Waver carefully observed his Servant's expression before speaking. He had boasted about the power of this "Gundam" before, but it seemed like it didn't achieve the expected results?

Lelouch frowned at the image displayed on the screen. There was a chance for legendary heroes, Servants, to survive, something he anticipated. But it didn't make sense for an ordinary Master, a human like Irisviel, to emerge unscathed from such an explosion.

"Her injuries seem to be slowly healing?"

Waver queried, noticing the anomaly.

"It doesn't seem like healing magic; could it be something else?"

Lelouch pondered, forming some ideas with Waver.

"Rider, Assassin took her and ran away. Shouldn't we pursue?"

Waver's gaze shifted to the figure racing away, carrying Irisviel with one arm around her waist.

"It's pointless. They noticed us with that last strike. Even if we catch up now, we can't use this machine."

After all, secrecy was paramount. Bombarding an uninhabited beach was one thing, but in the city, a giant robot would attract unwanted attention. Lelouch wasn't foolish enough to risk being surrounded for such an action.

"Pursuing alone might provoke another bystander. That Servant in the golden armor who was watching from the lamppost earlier caught my attention. Surviving the bombardment unscathed implies remarkable abilities on their part. Let's temporarily retreat for now. The results tonight have been quite excellent. We've probed Saber's true Master, injured Assassin, and that's sufficient."

The concealed machinery in the sky began to fade away, and the covering clouds gradually dispersed, revealing the pristine moonlight.

"That's it? Is it over already?"

Gilgamesh stood on the lamppost, watching the departing figures, his tone filled with dissatisfaction. He had only just started watching, and now they were leaving? It was a bit anticlimactic.

"Well, whatever. That radiance earlier... It showed me quite an interesting scene."

Rubbing his chin, Gilgamesh reminisced about Irisviel's continuous healing. If he wasn't mistaken, perhaps that was...

---

"Assassin, why did you bring this woman back? You should have died with the bomb along with Saber's Master. To survive that explosion by chance, truly lucky."

Kirei had just finished discussing future policies with Tokiomi and returned to his residence when he saw Kenshin placing the injured Irisviel on the carpet.

Her snow-white skin and limp body were exposed, but neither of the two men in the room had any inclination to ogle.

Without offering any explanation, Kenshin simply leaned against the headboard, breathing heavily. The magical cannon's blast had definitely been a close call.

 If it hadn't been for his iron will and a last-minute dodge, he might have been vaporized on the spot. Even with his evasive maneuver, the explosion had taken its toll.

His right arm was a bloody mess, and his body was wracked with pain.

Under normal circumstances, Kirei might have already considered him a liability and withdrawn him from the Holy Grail War.

"The injuries on this woman..."

Kirei's words trailed off as he noticed the critical anomaly – Irisviel's body was healing at an accelerated rate, as if being brought back from the brink of death.

"Truly remarkable concealment."

Kirei murmured, his curiosity piqued. He reached out a hand, intending to touch her, but then quickly retracted it as if a sudden realization dawned on him.

"Ah..."

A soft moan escaped Irisviel's lips, but she remained unconscious, the aftereffects of the explosion still holding her captive.

---

"Berserker, what was that just now?"

Sakura, already lost in sleep, jolted awake with a startled gasp. Her anxious heart hammered in her chest, but the sight of Berserker sitting calmly beside her bed calmed it instantly. 

His helmet lay discarded on the bedside table, revealing his mature face, etched with a serenity that soothed her worries.

"…"

Silent as ever, Berserker lacked the ability to speak. He could only express himself through subtle gestures and changes in expression.

"Well, never mind. With you here, nothing is impossible."

Sakura whispered, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Oh, by the way, I just had a dream. It was about a hero who…who continuously helped others. He fought fearsome dragons, aided his friends in reclaiming their homeland, and even saved the world!"

Sakura's smile widened, her voice filled with awe.

"Isn't that amazing?"