"Iri."
Kiritsugu's expression was grave.
"When Leon embedded that Mystic Code inside your body... did he discover Avalon?"
"I... don't think so?"
Irisviel wasn't entirely certain.
Leon had never mentioned it to her.
"'Don't think so'?"
Kiritsugu frowned.
"Then... is Avalon still inside you?"
"Yes."
Irisviel nodded, placing a hand over her chest.
"I can still feel it."
"It's always been inside me."
"It hasn't moved."
"And besides..."
She smiled with innocent confidence.
"Unless I willingly surrender Avalon, the only way anyone else could take it would be to kill me."
"So even if Leon knew about it..."
"...he wouldn't do something like that."
"No, Iri."
"You're underestimating what Avalon means to the wielder of the Holy Sword."
Kiritsugu's voice grew heavier.
"It is an existence that transcends even the Five True Magics—something akin to a hypothetical Sixth Magic."
"No one has ever witnessed its full power firsthand."
"But King Arthur's legend of invincibility speaks for itself."
"So long as King Arthur possessed Avalon..."
"...she was invincible."
"And once she lost it..."
"Britain's downfall began almost immediately."
"Everything was built upon Avalon."
"And everything collapsed because it was lost."
"To the wielder of the Holy Sword..."
"Avalon is even more important than Excalibur itself."
"If Leon truly is Excalibur's current bearer..."
"Then the moment he learns Avalon exists..."
"There is no way he'll remain indifferent."
"We also can't rule out another possibility."
"Aside from Artoria—the sheath's original owner—Leon may also be capable of unlocking Avalon's true power simply because he is Excalibur's current wielder."
"B-But..."
Kiritsugu was judging Leon based on the worst possible assumptions.
Yet Irisviel simply couldn't believe Leon was that kind of person.
Aside from being a little flirtatious...
He was, in every sense of the word, a genuinely kind man.
After all...
How could the Holy Sword chosen to save the world ever choose someone evil?
Just look at Artoria.
The King of Knights embodied unwavering righteousness.
Surely Leon was the same.
"Iri."
"Don't place so much trust in other people."
Kiritsugu gripped both of her shoulders firmly.
"Has Leon ever told us where he really came from?"
"...No..."
Irisviel answered hesitantly.
"Whether he's good or evil is beside the point."
"He has never once shown us his true self."
"He has always been hiding behind a mask."
"That much, I'm certain of."
"I've investigated him thoroughly."
"But his past is nothing but a blank."
"It's as though he simply didn't exist anywhere on this planet before all of this."
"And Leon is not what he claims to be."
"He says he has no interest in the Holy Grail."
"But that's impossible."
"The Holy Grail War itself is designed so that only those who genuinely desire the Holy Grail are chosen as Masters."
"Even someone like Ryunosuke Uryū, a madman who stumbled into the war by chance, still possessed a wish he wanted the Holy Grail to grant."
Each word Kiritsugu spoke was like a knife.
It pierced Irisviel's heart.
One by one, it cut away the image of Leon she had built—
Kind.
Warm.
Righteous.
Drip.
Drip.
Without even realizing it...
Tears began streaming down her cheeks.
"...Huh?"
Only when she reached up to wipe them away did she realize she was crying.
But no matter how hard she tried...
She couldn't stop the emptiness spreading through her heart.
So...
Had Leon been deceiving her all along?
But then...
She felt Aegis Sigma inside her continuing to pour healing mana into her body, mending the vessel that had been on the verge of collapse.
Could that warmth...
Could that kindness...
Have been fake as well?
Slowly...
The uncertainty in Irisviel's eyes faded.
Resolve returned.
"Kiritsugu."
"Leon is absolutely not the kind of person you're describing."
"Even if he is hiding something from us..."
"...aren't we hiding things from him as well?"
"So we're no different."
"I won't allow you to speak about Leon like that."
"...Iri."
Kiritsugu stared at her in disbelief.
The Irisviel he had always known had been like an obedient daughter...
A devoted wife...
Someone who had never once argued with him.
And yet...
After spending only a short time with Leon...
She was already willing to stand up to him for the sake of an outsider.
Kiritsugu had never considered Irisviel his personal possession.
And yet...
The feeling wasn't all that different.
A profound sense of loss struck him.
From that wound...
Something darker quietly began to grow.
Silence lingered between them.
At last...
Kiritsugu raised his empty, lifeless eyes to meet Irisviel's.
She instinctively shrank back half a step.
His voice was flat.
Without the slightest trace of emotion.
"Iri."
"I'm taking Avalon back."
"...What?"
For a brief moment, Irisviel froze.
Then...
Understanding dawned upon her.
A bitter smile spread across her face.
She bit down gently on her pale lips, forcing herself to remain composed as she spoke each word through the pain of parting.
"So..."
"This is what it was all about."
"Leon showed strength far beyond anything we expected in his battles against Archer and Caster."
"You're afraid of him."
"You believe the only way to feel secure..."
"...is to keep Avalon—the key to victory—in your own hands."
She looked directly into Kiritsugu's eyes.
No.
Not at Kiritsugu.
At the man before her.
"Kiritsugu..."
"...No."
"Mr. Kiritsugu."
"I know these words are unbecoming for someone who was created to be nothing more than a tool..."
"But I still have to say them."
"You're..."
"...truly despicable."
Had Kiritsugu simply asked her for Avalon from the beginning...
Without first trying to smear Leon's character...
She would never have reacted so strongly.
She would have willingly removed Avalon herself.
She would have offered it to him without hesitation.
For his sake.
For the sake of the Einzbern Family's victory.
But now...
Everything was different.
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