"Kiritsugu. 」

Alice Phil slowly walked behind Kiritsugu and shouted. She didn't expect her voice to become harsh. Kiritsugu must be aware of his own existence, too. Because Kiritsugu didn't show the slightest look of surprise, but slowly turned around.

Alice Phil was mentally prepared. When Kiritsugu confronted Saber in the conference room just now, he had that kind of cold look in his eyes. Alice Phil prepares to look into Kiritsugu's grim eyes. But when she saw Kiritsugu's expression when she turned around, she couldn't help but feel a little at a loss, and stood there in a daze.

Kiritsugu's expression was like that of a wounded and helpless child, holding back tears. It was as if he had been cornered. Kiritsugu, who is now standing in front of Alice Phil, is far from the image of that powerful magician killer, just a weak and cowardly man.

"Kiritsugu, you ......"

Kiritsugu didn't say a word, and hugged Alice Phil, who was confused. His chest was shaking. In Alice Fair's eyes, her husband's arms were always strong and supportive, but now her husband is as helpless as a child snuggled in his mother's arms.

"If I ......"

Alice Phil felt her husband hug tighter, even causing her pain. At this time, the husband's faint questioning voice came to his ears.

"If at this point I decide to leave everything behind and run away from here, Alice, will you leave with me?"

Men like Emiya Kiritsugu ask this kind of question, which Alice probably would never have imagined. She was so shocked that she was speechless for a while, and only asked rhetorically after a while.

"What should I do if Illya's child is still in the castle?"

"Let's go back to the castle and bring her out. Anyone who stands in our way will be killed. 」

It was a short, sharp voice full of despair. There is no doubt that Kiritsugu is not joking, and is serious.

"From now on, I will give everything for our family. Use my life to protect you and Elia. 」

Now Alice Phil finally understands the desperate mood of the man in front of her. As her life partner, Kiritsugu has been forced to the point of no retreat in the face of the biggest battle of her life.

He's not the same Kiritsu he was nine years ago. No more the cold and ruthless hound, no more the killing machine that endlessly hones itself.

Kiritsugu has changed. became very vulnerable, and in order to realize that very cruel ideal, he forced himself into such a situation. The key to the change of Kiritsugu is nothing else, and that is Alice Phil.

Wife and daughter. They weren't supposed to get involved in Emiya Kiritsugu's life.

Originally, Emiya Kiritsugu had nothing to lose. He doesn't even feel pain. It is precisely because Emiya Kiritsugu is such a man that he can become extremely strong, pursue the lofty ideal of saving the world, and sacrifice everything for this without hesitation, becoming an extremely cruel warrior.

The current Kiritsugu wants to go back to the past and be his past self. However, while looking back at the past years, there are irreconcilable contradictions in the depths of Kiritsugu's soul. These nine years have completely changed Kiritsugu, who has endured considerable stress and pain just to maintain his cold and unforgiving image of the past.

Kiritsugu's disregard for Saber exposes Kiritsugu's weakness in the final analysis. Now Kiritsugu is exhausted in order to save himself. He no longer had the energy to accept Saber, or even to communicate with the Knight King.

Alice Phil was in agony. The man she loved was suffering, but she couldn't help herself. Because the person who makes Kiritsugu miserable is himself.

All Alice Phil can do now is be powerless to ask her own questions.

"Can we escape? 」

"You can escape. Now there's still a chance. 」

Kiritsugu replied immediately. But this statement is not credible. Kiritsugu just said that sentence so that he could still have that illusory hope in his heart.

"You're lying. 」

So Alice Fell pointed it out. Gently, cruelly.

That's impossible. Emiya Kiritsugu, there's no way you're going to escape.

Give up the Holy Grail, give up the ideal of saving the world, you will never forgive yourself like that. You yourself will be the final judge and sentence yourself to death.

Kiritsugu finally burst into tears. He himself understands this. He had long since had no choice.

"I'm scared. 」

Kiritsugu wept and confided in his heart like a child.

"That guy, Yan Feng Qili has targeted me. That's what Maiya told me. That guy used Kenes as bait to lure me in. He's figured out all my intentions. I'm probably going to lose the fight. I sacrificed you and left Elia aside, but the most dangerous of all of them has taken aim at me. That guy is the last person I want to meet!"

Emiya Kiritsugu, is neither a hero nor a samurai, but a killer. He didn't have the courage and arrogance to compete with others with his life. He's a coward. So his goal is to be careful and secure the right to victory and survival with minimal risk. For hunters, the biggest nightmare is being the prey of others.

But despite this, if it had been Kiritsugu nine years ago, he would have not even frowned, and would have calmed down and concentrated on the best course of action. This is the great thing about Kiritsugu when there is no lover to lose. But now that Kiritsugu, who is afraid of losing his lover, is facing the battle again, the fear of losing his beloved has become his fatal weakness.

"I won't let you fight alone. 」

Alice Phil said softly as she stroked her husband's trembling back.

"I'll protect you. Saber will protect you too. And Maiya will also be by your side. 」

Alice had to admit who the woman she needed most for Kiritsugu right now.

There is only one person who can awaken the tenacity that is sealed in the depths of Kiritsugu's heart and recall the ruthless personality of Kiritsugu many years ago. But these words, Alice Phil would never mention to Kiritsugu.

If there's one thing Alice Phil can do, it's hugging Kiritsugu so that Kiritsugu can be comforted for a short time. But Alice Fell prayed in her heart.

It doesn't matter if prayer isn't useful. She prayed that hugging Kiritsugu would last even a minute or a second. So that she can heal Kiritsugu's pain as much as possible with her meager strength.

That prayer and the hug between the two disappeared at the same time.

Alice Phil's chest throbbed suddenly and violently, and she couldn't help but tense her whole body. No sooner had she mastered the enchantment of the forest than she had mastered her magic circuit, and there were repeated and strong vibrations in her magic circuit.

That's the alarm.

"Is it already here?"

The husband, who whispered in her ear, calmly regained the firmness and coldness of a tone that she could not yet get used to.

Kiritsugu only saw his wife's expression and sensed that something was happening. Alice Phil nodded silently and left her husband's embrace. The grim face of the magician's assassin resurfaced before her eyes.

"Luckily, it arrived before Maiya's departure. Now that we've hit Alice head-on, get ready for a crystal ball that looks into the distance. 」

"Okay. 」

Things happened much faster than expected. A whirlwind of battle began to blow in the forest.

……