Seeing Maiya discard her firearm and opt for close combat, Kirei Kotomine, who was rushing over, quickly drew two Black Keys and responded with a cross-slash attack towards Maiya.

Although the Black Keys were much longer than a survival knife, they were ultimately throwing knives and not very suitable for close-quarters combat.

Their extremely short handles made the Black Keys lack balance during a confrontation, making them less effective than Maiya's large combat dagger when they clashed.

Even though Maiya's leg was injured at this moment, she did not hesitate because of her injured calf, and directly used the thick blade of her dagger to successfully block two consecutive strikes from the Black Keys.

The Black Keys and the dagger collided and intertwined in the air, and Maiya once again used her dagger to block a thrust from Kirei Kotomine.

The momentary stun caused by Kirei Kotomine's thrust immediately made Maiya realize this was an excellent opportunity for a counterattack.

She lunged forward in a semi-sacrificial posture, her dagger slicing past the blade of the Black Keys and quickly aiming for Kirei Kotomine's neck.

In Maiya's view, the Black Keys would find it difficult to defend against such close-range, personal attacks; even if Kirei Kotomine counterattacked with the Black Keys, she could ensure only minor injuries to herself while delivering a fatal blow to Kirei Kotomine.

However, what Maiya didn't expect was that in an instant, Kirei Kotomine directly abandoned the Black Keys as weapons, and his freed right hand immediately grabbed Maiya's right hand holding the dagger.

His wrist, bulging with veins, was like a vise, making it impossible for Maiya to break free for a moment.

And Maiya's body, due to the inertia of her own charge, was almost falling into Kirei Kotomine's embrace.

Seeing this situation, Maiya immediately realized she had been tricked, and a look of despair involuntarily appeared in her eyes.

She had originally thought the opponent was merely an Enforcer skilled in using Black Keys as weapons, but she never expected that his true expertise lay in unarmed combat.

He was even using Chinese martial arts—Baji Quan.

Baji Quan emphasizes powerful, explosive force and sudden changes, taking advantage of dangerous momentum to overwhelm an opponent during an advance, and winning with short, decisive movements during an attack.

Facing Maiya, who was truly wide open, Kirei Kotomine seized the opportunity to deliver a fierce elbow strike with his left elbow directly to Maiya's solar plexus.

“Bang!”

The air was torn apart for a moment, and a muffled thud echoed through the forest.

Maiya's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a tree trunk several meters away, and then falling heavily to the ground.

All of Kirei Kotomine's movements were fluid and seamless; the entire confrontation, from their clash to Maiya's defeat, happened in an instant, making it impossible for Irisviel to support Maiya with her Magecraft.

Facing such a powerful impact, Maiya painfully curled up her body, spitting out a mouthful of blood, her face showing a mix of horror and disbelief.

With just one blow, at least two or three of her ribs were broken, and her internal organs were also injured to some extent.

Maiya was in such intense pain that she couldn't even stand up, her entire body paralyzed and unable to move, even creating the illusion that her limbs had completely detached.

Although one blow rendered Maiya unable to fight, Kirei Kotomine was already satisfied.

After all, his primary target was not her, but Kiritsugu Emiya, who was fiercely battling Lancer and his Master at Einzbern Castle.

Assassin, possessing the 'Presence Concealment' skill, had the ability to infiltrate a bounded field unnoticed while in spirit form.

Through Assassin's vision, he had seen Kenneth bringing Lancer to invade Einzbern Castle.

Therefore, he was somewhat anxious, fearing that Kiritsugu Emiya might be killed by Kenneth.

If that happened, his goal would not be achieved.

He was born without knowing what 'joy' was, inherently possessing a personality flaw, unable to perceive beauty in what people called beautiful things.

No matter what he encountered, he would diligently study it, constantly seeking the meaning of his life, working and learning selflessly... yet ultimately found that he could not derive even a shred of happiness from it.

Except for mapo tofu.

Born into a religious family, his faith caused him to suppress his emotions for many years, believing he had almost no desires.

Therefore, he also couldn't understand why he, without ambition, desire, or pursuit, would be chosen by the Holy Grail.

It wasn't until he discovered that man in the documents brought by Tokiomi that everything changed.

Kiritsugu Emiya's experiences were similar to his own, yet also different.

If his father Risei and Tokiomi belonged to the 'normal' people of the world of Magecraft, then he and Kiritsugu Emiya belonged to the 'other side of the line'.

Seeing Kiritsugu Emiya undertake various assassination missions without regard for his own life, with rewards completely disproportionate to the risks, like a 'saint' pursuing destruction, yet suddenly stopping nine years ago.

This abrupt curtain call piqued Kirei Kotomine's curiosity.

Kirei Kotomine believed that marrying into the Einzbern Family was how he found his 'answer' nine years ago.

Otherwise, a person like Kiritsugu Emiya would not have stopped.

But now he still hadn't found his own 'answer', so Kirei Kotomine believed that another person from the 'other side of the line' in the Magecraft world could help him understand the meaning of life.

He urgently wanted to meet Kiritsugu Emiya and find his own 'answer'.

Although Kirei Kotomine had no interest in the Holy Grail, if he could meet Kiritsugu Emiya, who had broken nine years of silence for the Holy Grail in the Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine felt he would also find meaning in participating in this war.

He wanted to ask this man why he participated in this war.

He also wanted to ask Kiritsugu Emiya what he could gain from participating in this war.

Even on a battlefield where both their lives were at stake, Kirei Kotomine wanted to confront Kiritsugu Emiya.

Kirei Kotomine looked at Maiya, who had lost her ability to fight, and was about to put away his combat stance and head to Einzbern Castle again to meet that man and seek answers, when a clear voice reached Kirei Kotomine's ear, making him realize the battle was not yet over.

“Remains, grant you life!”

Silver threads crisscrossed, forming a complex outline.

The threads intertwined and combined in the air, appearing like a complex three-dimensional object, similar to a wicker craft, with fierce wings and a beak, and sharp talons.

It was an exquisite silver thread craft, modeled after a giant eagle.

“Kyeeeee!!”

The giant eagle woven from silver threads let out a high-pitched metallic screech, flying from Irisviel's hand, like a deadly bullet, towards Kirei Kotomine not far away.

In an instant, Kirei Kotomine, sensing the wind, immediately dodged the attack of the silver thread eagle by sidestepping, but the razor-like beak still grazed a few strands of his hair.

Missing its target, the silver thread eagle immediately circled in the air, looking for its next opportunity to attack.

Without Irisviel's use of bounded field illusions for cognitive interference, Kirei Kotomine immediately saw Irisviel not far away and promptly questioned Assassin, who was hidden in the forest, through Magecraft.

“Assassin, is Saber on the way?”

“Master, Saber is not nearby.”

Hearing Assassin's telepathic message in spirit form, a hint of surprise flashed in Kirei Kotomine's eyes.

The Einzbern Family was well-known in the Magecraft world for their emphasis on Alchemy and their lack of combat prowess.

It was precisely because they were not skilled in Magecraft warfare that they sought Kiritsugu Emiya as a mercenary in this Holy Grail War to compensate for their combat deficiencies.

At this moment, Kirei Kotomine still believed that Irisviel was Saber's Master, so he was even more puzzled as to why she would appear here.

If Irisviel were to die now, the Einzbern Family would undoubtedly fail in this Holy Grail War again.

She was like the king on a chessboard, holding down the fort in the rear, and should absolutely not fall into danger unless absolutely necessary.

Kirei Kotomine did not continue fighting and warned Irisviel, “Woman, leave quickly! I am not here for you!”

Irisviel, controlling the silver thread eagle, once again swiftly pecked at Kirei Kotomine, demonstrating her resolve to keep him there.

“Don't even think about it! I won't let you reach Kiritsugu Emiya!”

She had to prevent Kirei Kotomine from going to Einzbern Castle, to prevent her husband from falling into an even more disadvantageous situation.

Based on her woman's intuition, Irisviel keenly noticed that Kirei Kotomine in front of her had an unusual obsession with her husband.

She absolutely could not let him meet Kiritsugu Emiya.

Absolutely not!

Irisviel thought with determination.