The young man, unaware that on the other side, Miss Alice had already prepared an entire underground world waiting for him, had returned to the Einzbern castle.

The reason for his visit was simple.

After Berserker and Archer were dealt with, Irisviel, as the Lesser Grail, had spontaneously absorbed the souls of these two top-tier Heroic Spirits, and her body had begun to deteriorate.

"Logically speaking, the Lesser Grail should only begin to lose its sense of self and gradually become immobile after absorbing the third Servant's soul."

Li Zihan muttered to himself, looking at the white-haired woman lying on the bed, her expression one of extreme weakness.

Golden-pika and the Mad Doggy were both ceiling-tier Servants. The quality of their souls was too high, and the strain they put on Irisviel's body was far greater than that of normal Servants.

Honestly, Li Zihan himself had never thought the Little Sun could take out both of these hacks with a single spear thrust. After all, Gilgamesh was practically a foul-mouthed Doraemon, and the Mad Dog, in his strongest berserker form, definitely had his own trump cards.

And yet, they were just gone.

They died without a shred of dignity.

Beside him, both the Magus Killer and the heavily injured Assassin were pacing about with frustrated expressions.

For Emiya Kiritsugu, Irisviel was the light of his life. She had once made his ideals waver, made him want to drop everything, escape the shackles of the "ally of justice" title, and go into seclusion with her and Illya. Now, looking at his wife—who, according to the plan, should have been unharmed and living as an ordinary person with Illya in the near future—the agitation in his heart was palpable.

Brother Red A had never met Irisviel, but in terms of seniority, as Emiya Kiritsugu's adopted son, he had to call her "Mom." He was already the type of living saint who would burn himself to save complete strangers from suffering. Now, his own adoptive mother was enduring hardship, and he was powerless to help. For him, this was undoubtedly an unbearable situation.

His face was grim as he asked the young man who had sent two walking targets straight back to the Throne.

"Is there a solution?"

Honestly, when Red A said this, his feelings were quite complicated.

Li Zihan was considered a "high-risk entity" by Alaya, and he himself was Alaya's part-timer, the sword it brandished. For him, the perpetrator, to now be asking for a way to save his mother was truly an awkward and uncomfortable situation.

"It's quite troublesome."

Li Zihan sighed. He had never imagined that the Fourth War, which was supposed to be a showcase of Master's skills, would produce a group of characters straight out of a hack-fest like the Sixth War.

"Remember our contract."

Emiya Kiritsugu looked at Li Zihan. The contract clearly stipulated that Li Zihan must guarantee the safety of Irisviel and Illya. It was obvious he was waiting for an answer.

"Ensure the death toll of the remaining Servants is less than one, then find a way to extract the soul of either Berserker or Archer. That should do it."

The young man, who had considered the possibility of accidentally taking out a few too many Servants before even joining the war, spoke with reliable confidence.

However, this answer was not enough to satisfy the well-traveled Red A.

"You should know that a vessel capable of containing the consciousness of top-tier Servants like Berserker and Archer is extremely rare."

Heroic Spirits were the highest order of spiritual beings. Even after being defeated, they were still very difficult to deal with.

"I myself am a vessel capable of containing souls," the young man with two Stigmata on his body said with a smile.

Every high-level Stigmata had a chance of forming something called a Stigmata Space, and a Stigmata Space was precisely a place capable of holding souls and consciousnesses. Yae Sakura and Ling had been living in the Stigmata Space that came from Yae Sakura's Stigmata for a long time.

If he handled it well, sealing the soul of Berserker or Archer in the Stigmata Space corresponding to the Dracula Stigmata wouldn't be difficult. The only thing to worry about was whether Mr. Gold or the Mad Dog, with their absurdly tough wills, would just pop out and try to possess him.

But that wasn't an unsolvable problem either. All he needed was a broken-tier Servant whose will was in no way weaker than Mr. Gold's or the Mad Dog's to act as a jailer for the soul being sealed into the Stigmata Space.

Karna was a top-tier Servant capable of doing just that.

"You yourself?"

Both Emiya Kiritsugu and Red A were stunned.

Li Zihan's body actually possessed the function of containing the souls of Heroic Spirits—something that, in a Holy Grail War, required a specially adjusted Lesser Grail.

"Is that strange?"

The young man, who had once planned to sacrifice the Ahoge King to become a Dragon Kind, shrugged and said.

Yes, it was strange. Very strange.

The feelings of the Emiya father and son were perfectly synchronized at this moment.

How could a normal person possibly have a function similar to a Lesser Grail?

However, now was not the time to discuss this. Irisviel's condition was genuinely poor.

"Then, when can you transfer one of the Heroic Spirits from Iri's body into your own?" Emiya Kiritsugu asked in a low voice.

Li Zihan stared straight at Red A and Kiritsugu, his gaze making both of them a little uneasy.

"After I defeat the Saber and Caster teams."

What does extracting a Servant's soul have to do with defeating the Saber and Caster teams?

Before anyone could voice this question, Li Zihan provided the answer.

"I myself only possess the ability of a 'vessel.' I do not have the ability to suppress the will of a top-tier Servant. If I'm not careful, it would be easy for a Servant to snatch my body."

"Therefore, I must have Lancer act as a jailer to watch over either Archer or Berserker to ensure my own safety."

"If I seal away either Berserker or Archer too early, I will lose Lancer as a super combatant."

Li Zihan looked at the duo, one an Assassin who possessed a Reality Marble and the other a magus who was skilled in roundabout tactics. He was counting on Red A to use his Reality Marble to split the battlefield and then stall Aoko and Musashi by getting beaten up.

"You understand what I mean, right?"

Both Emiya Kiritsugu and Assassin nodded.

Li Zihan was here for the Holy Grail. He would not give up his hope of winning it just to save one person.

Left with no other choice, Emiya Kiritsugu sighed inwardly and then spoke.

"I understand. We will assist you in defeating Caster and Saber."