Moonlight pierced through the clouds, casting its glow upon Einzbern Castle.
As Chen Yu expected, Kenneth was not a magnanimous person. After settling his fiancée, Sola, the arrogant Kenneth indeed brought Lancer to seek revenge on Kiritsugu Emiya and the others.
Guided by Kenneth, Chen Yu easily located Einzbern Castle, which was enveloped by multiple layers of illusions and Magecraft barriers, using his bird surveillance.
After watching Kenneth enter Einzbern Castle, over a dozen birds dispersed and perched on nearby treetops, acting as sentinels, monitoring the battle unfolding within Einzbern Castle.
Without Caster causing trouble as in the original story, both Lancer and Saber had not left their respective Masters at this time.
Kenneth's Volumen Hydrargyrum could automatically detect enemies by sensing fluctuations and heat sources in the air, making it easy to find Kiritsugu Emiya.
Under these circumstances, it was uncertain if Kiritsugu Emiya could defeat Kenneth as he did in the original story.
Suddenly, a series of roars echoed from within Einzbern Castle, reverberating through the night sky like thunder.
It was just as Kenneth's previous strategy dictated: soldier against soldier, king against king.
After Kenneth found Kiritsugu Emiya using Volumen Hydrargyrum, Lancer immediately engaged Saber in battle once more.
The Invisible Blade and the twin spears clashed again, and a chaotic storm ravaged everything in the corridor.
They were like demolition experts; each clash of weapons caused the floor to crack and the walls to tear apart.
After only a few exchanges, the conference room where Kiritsugu Emiya was located turned into ruins.
In the confined space of the room, a long spear was not as agile as a sword.
Leveraging the terrain advantage, Saber, with her injured left hand, fought Lancer to a temporary stalemate.
While Saber and Lancer were engaged in battle, two beautiful women, one in black and one in white, stealthily emerged from the other side of Einzbern Castle and quickly ran silently towards the outside of the castle.
Irisviel originally did not want to leave the castle, but Kiritsugu Emiya believed that Saber alone was not enough to protect everyone. Rather than having Saber distracted during combat while also protecting Irisviel and Maiya, it was better for him to stay and confront Kenneth and Lancer.
Having just reunited with Kiritsugu only to be separated again, Irisviel felt a deep sense of unease.
However, Irisviel also knew that if she stayed with Kiritsugu now, she would only be a burden.
What she could do now was to quickly leave Einzbern Castle and then seize an opportunity to rendezvous with Kiritsugu.
Looking back, this was the first time she had left Saber's protection since stepping onto this land.
She once again realized Saber's importance.
Although Maiya was now accompanying her in Saber's place, she could not provide the same immense sense of security as Saber.
This was not to say she distrusted Maiya, but there was always a strange feeling whenever she looked at Maiya.
It was as if a part of something she cherished had been taken by Maiya.
No one had ever told Irisviel how to deal with this subtle emotion.
To avoid being detected by other Magi, the two walking through the forest did not speak, moving silently.
Only when the treetops obscured the castle, making Einzbern Castle no longer visible from their location, did Irisviel finally breathe a sigh of relief.
This place was now considered a safe zone, and there was no longer a need to maintain silence.
Irisviel wanted to talk to Maiya, but Maiya was not the type to chat in a tense atmosphere. She continued to fully carry out the orders given by Kiritsugu Emiya, remaining focused on moving forward, vigilantly scanning for any movement ahead.
Just as Irisviel was about to say something, new alerts began flashing in her mind.
Through the Magecraft barrier covering the entire primeval forest, Irisviel discovered that new intruders had arrived in the forest, and they were not far ahead.
Seeing Irisviel stop, Maiya immediately halted as well.
"What's wrong, Madam?"
"A new intruder has appeared ahead. He is a tall, short-haired man dressed in black vestments."
Irisviel immediately described the general appearance of the new intruder.
Upon hearing Irisviel's description, Maiya showed a rare display of anger and anxiety.
"It's... Kirei Kotomine..."
Irisviel immediately realized that Kirei Kotomine absolutely could not be allowed to reach the castle. Kiritsugu Emiya was currently in a fierce battle, and no new variables were allowed to join the battlefield.
The two tacitly began to prepare for battle. Maiya used her Calico submachine gun for a direct emergency response, while Irisviel used illusions to interfere with Kirei Kotomine's senses.
At first glance, Kirei Kotomine was indeed caught off guard by the sudden ambush.
However, as an Enforcer of the Holy Church, he was surprisingly sensitive to killing intent.
Facing a hail of bullets that roared like thunder, Kirei Kotomine could still accurately assess the situation and dodge.
After enduring three waves of gunfire and realizing he could not discern the opponent's position, he immediately understood that he was being interfered with by a barrier and had fallen victim to an illusion.
So, after being shot in the back by a bullet, Kirei Kotomine decisively fell to the ground, choosing to play dead.
Seeing Kirei Kotomine fall, Maiya rose from her sniper position, aimed her Calico submachine gun at the seemingly dead Kirei Kotomine, and cautiously approached him, preparing to check if he had truly been killed by a single shot.
"Miss Maiya, don't get close!"
Just as Irisviel, realizing it was a trap, issued her warning, Kirei Kotomine immediately swung his arm and threw a Black Keys hidden in his sleeve.
The Black Keys directly tore through Maiya's calf, and the intense pain caused her to lose the optimal moment for combat action.
In an instant, Kirei Kotomine immediately sprang up, charging rapidly towards Maiya like a speeding wild boar.
Realizing she had been tricked, Maiya pulled the trigger again.
Bullets once again spewed from the Calico submachine gun, but Kirei Kotomine, facing the hail of bullets, did not dodge. He simply covered his head with both hands and resolutely continued his charge.
Kirei Kotomine's vestments were entirely made of thick Kevlar fibers, meticulously lined with special protective talismans for Holy Church Enforcers, capable of defending against bullets and curses.
Even at close range, bullets still could not penetrate the vestments.
And his extremely well-trained muscles were sufficient to protect his bones and internal organs from the impact of bullets.
Upon realizing that Kirei Kotomine was not afraid of bullets, Maiya immediately dropped the Calico submachine gun and drew a survival knife from her thigh to engage him.
Just as bulletproof vests can defend against bullets but not knife slashes.
Facing Kirei Kotomine, who was wearing a "bulletproof vest," dropping the submachine gun and opting for close combat was undoubtedly another desperate choice for survival.
But Maiya forgot that engaging Kirei Kotomine in close combat was no different from throwing her life away.