"Sreat-grandfather."

  Irisviel raised her hand, revealing her wrist with the y and Seal etched into it.

  "I o longer and Saber."

  Her voice was calm but resolute. She had used up her and Seals in advance, fully aware that such a frontation would happen. This was not a hasty decision; it was a deliberate move to prevent herself from hesitating in the face of family pressure. She had cut off her escape route entirely.

  If one does not act decisively wheime calls for it, they will only suffer the sequences of their indecision.

  With her and Seals spent, there was n baow, even if she wao resider. After all, she had already issued an ungeable death order to Saber.

  "You…!"

  Ahad's face twisted in anger, his body trembling as he realized what Irisviel had done and why.

  "Attack!"

  At his and, the android maids stationed around the hall picked up their ons and charged forward without hesitation. Their bionless faces betrayed no fear or hesitation as they obeyed his orders. These artificial beings were nothing more than tools, perfect soldiers with no sense of self-preservation.

  However, the vast differen power between the opposing sides could not be bridged by sheer numbers alone.

  Artoria, shining armor, needed only a few mio defeat the entire squad of androids, scattering their broken forms across the floor of the hall. Her precision and efficy left no room for doubt about the oute.

  After clearing the area, Artoria made her way to the castle's backyard to retrieve Illya.

  "Emiya Kiritsugu, do you really think Saber protect you forever?"

  Ahad's voice was low, almost a growl, as he gred at Kiritsugu. "Don't fet, Saber will return to the Throne of Heroes as soon as the Holy Grail War ends. What will you do then?"

  "Of course, I know that," Kiritsugu replied, his tone measured and cold. "But I have my own pns."

  As he spoke, a white light enveloped his body. In an instant, his form was covered in red and bck armor, resembling the battle attire of a Heroic Spirit.

  This was the power of a Css Card.

  Kiritsugu had obtaihe unnamed Css Card from a golden treasure chest. It had granted him the abilities of Heroic Spirit Kiritsugu, which he had initially inteo use as a trump card in the Holy Grail War. However, the circumstances of the war had denied him the opportunity to utilize it, leaving him to unleash its power here instead.

  "What?! The power of a Heroic Spirit?!"

  Ahad's eyes widened in disbelief. The cept of borrowing a Heroic Spirit's abilities was utterly fn to him. Yet, here Kiritsugu stood, a human wielding the unmistakable power of a Servant.

  Ahad quickly realized the implications of what he was witnessing. Even the turies-old Einzbern family, despite their wealth of magical knowledge, had no parable tools at their disposal. Like the Matou family, they had long since lost their ability to produce capable magi. Their relian artificial humans beings with impressive starting points but limited potential had left them stagnant.

  It was why Ahad had sought an outsider like Kiritsugu to fight on their behalf in the Fourth Holy Grail War. But now, Kiritsugu was using that very opportunity to defy them.

  "Kiritsugu! Mom!"

  A child's voice broke the tension in the hall as Illya came running. Artoria followed closely behind, leading her safely back.

  "Illya!" Kiritsugu's expression softened as his daughter threw herself into his arms, hugging his ightly.

  "Now that you're back, we look for Kurumi together, right?" Illya asked, her voice brimming with excitement.

  Kiritsugu smiled gently, though the armor on his body caught her attention.

  "Huh? What are you wearing?" she asked, curiosity lighting up her face.

  "Nothing important," Kiritsugu replied with a small ugh as he gently handed her over to Irisviel. With a thought, the armor dissipated, leaving him in his regur clothes.

  "Wow! Is that some kind of magic trick?" Illya's curiosity only grew, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

  "I suppose you could call it that," Kiritsugu said, ruffling her hair. "I'll expin it to you ter. For now, we have to leave."

  "Leave? Where are we going?" Illya tilted her head in fusion.

  "To Fuyuki," Kiritsugu replied. "We'll live there together, as a family. And this time, we'll never be separated again."

  "Really? That's great!" Illya cheered, her joy untainable. She then turned and poio the two android maids standing nearby. " I bring Leysritt and Sel with us?"

  The two maids—Leysritt and Sel—were not ordinary Einzbern androids. They had been tasked with taking care of Illya's daily needs and had formed a close bond with her.

  "Of course," Irisviel said softly, stroking Illya's hair. "We bring them along."

  "Really? Thanks, Mom!" Illya turo the two maids and waved. "Leysritt! Sel! Let's go!"

  The maids exged gnces but did not move immediately. Instead, they turheir eyes toward Ahad, silently seeking his approval.

  "Humph!"

  Ahad snorted in disdain but ultimately said nothing. His silence was enough of a signal for the maids to obey Illya's wishes.

  Leysritt aepped forward, standing respectfully oher side of Irisviel.

  "Let's go," Kiritsugu said, his tone decisive. He turned and began walking toward the exit.

  Though he had his reservations about bringing the maids along, he couldn't refuse after both his wife and daughter had spoken.

  "Great-grandfather, we'll e back to visit when we have the ce," Irisviel said, bowing politely before following Kiritsugu with Illya in her arms.

  Artoria, Leysritt, and Sel followed closely behind, their footsteps fading as they left the castle.

  In the now-quiet and disheveled hall, only Ahad remained, his expression dark with fury and frustration.

  ---

  Time passed quickly, and the m light streamed into the room.

  "So… what's going on here?"

  Chihiro rubbed his tired eyes, dark circles visible uhem. He stared at Zhang Jiao and Hassan of the Hundred Faces, both of whom were still present in the human world despite the Holy Grail War having ended.

  "Shouldn't the two of you have returo the Throne of Heroes by now?"

  Zhang Jiaed nontly. "Don't look at me. This is my first time in a Holy Grail War too, I don't know how this works."

  "I don't uand it either," Hassan added, their multiple voices overpping slightly as they shook their head.

  "Great. No answers from the people involved," Chihiro muttered, letting out a deep sigh. Frustrated, he decided to sult the group chat for help.

  Chihiro: "Altria, are you still in this world?"

  Artoria: "It seems the situation is the same on your end."

  Even Artoria, who had expected to vanish after the war's clusion, remained present.

  Emiya Kiritsugu: "We're fused as well. Saber should have returo the Throne of Heroes st night."

  Waver: "Wait, what? What happened?"

  Chihiro: "It's nothing major. Saber, Caster, and others are still here and haven't disappeared."

  Waver: "???"

  Waver: "Isn't that against the rules? Servants are supposed to leave ohe Holy Grail War ends."

  Chihiro: "I don't get it either, which is why I'm asking."

  Kayh: "This seems like a question for someone more experienced."

  Kayh: "Kotomine Risei, you've been involved in two Holy Grail Wars. Do you know what's going on?"

  Kotomine Risei: "I'm just a mediator, not a partit. How would I know such specifics?"

  Chihiro: "Looks like we'll o rely on someone directly involved."

  Chihiro: "Tokiomi, do you know anything about this?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "How could I possibly know?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Wait a moment. I'll check the archives."

  Tokiomi went offline, leaving the group to specute among themselves.

  Tohsaka Rin: "Maybe the First Emperor knows something. As Ruler, he should have some insight."

  The First Emperor: "I am unfamiliar with this anomaly. This is my first time overseeing a Holy Grail War."

  Chihiro: "Guess we'll have to wait for Tokiomi."

  An hour passed before Tokiomi returned.

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "I've figured it out. We made a mistake."

  Kayh: "What kind of mistake?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "It seems… there's no actual time limit for the Holy Grail War."

  "WHAT?!"

  The revetio everyone, including Chihiro, pletely dumbfounded.

  Iskandar: "Wait a sed… What do you mean by that, Tokiomi?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "It's exactly what I said. I reviewed the aral records, and nowhere does it explicitly state that the Holy Grail War has a fixed time limit."

  Everyone fell silent.

  Waver: "So… the idea that the Holy Grail War only sts seven days…?"

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "It's a misception. The records only indicate that the lo Holy Grail War in history sted seven days, but that doesn't mean seven days is a hard limit."

  Everyone: "…"

  Irisviel: "Now that I think about it, I've never actually heard of an official time limit for the Holy Grail War. We've all just assumed it was seven days based on previous instances."

  Kayh: "It's the same for me. I assumed seven days was the standard duration because of tradition."

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Even I believed that to be true, until now."

  Tokiomi sighed, his tone exasperated as he tinued. "It's only after looking through the official records that I realized our belief in a fixed time frame is entirely unfounded."

  Artoria: "Then all our rushing and pnnierday… it was for nothing?"

  Iskandar: "…"

  The King of querors remained silent for a moment before his booming voice cut through the versation.

  "Wait a minute… are you tellihat all the effort I put in st night ointless?!"