Saber sprung her trap. She had traded her Jewel Sword for the Potion of Youth, leaving Gilgamesh with a secret bomb. After using a spell that Gilgamesh reflected back, Saber was blown a safe distance away so she could make her crystalline staff self-destruct without getting caught up in it. There was no way the King of Heroes could survive an EX rank Broken Phantasm point blank, at least not without his strongest defensive Noble Phantasms. Such mighty treasures would likely require not only taking them out of the king's vault, but also releasing their True Names to use their full capacity. There was no time for that before the sword exploded.

The magical energy within the Jewel Sword was reaching the maximum which it could comfortably contain and yet the power kept increasing at an exponential rate. It would be only a microsecond between the moment Saber issued the command to self-destruct and when the sword would detonate. Gilgamesh had barely shown any sign of even acknowledging the landmine he held, though he began reaching his arm into a portal as soon as Saber was knocked away, almost as if he had known what was coming ahead of time. He took out a censer that had black smoke billowing out of it dangling from a chain. The curtain of black that the incense burner created invaded the Jeweled Sword and made it cloudy. The light was drowned in darkness and the sword's connection to other worlds was cut off.

It was unclear how Gilgamesh knew what Saber was going to do, but he did and he possessed a defensive Noble Phantasm that specifically existed to protect against the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon. Saber didn't sulk and instead tried to force the Jewel Sword to explode anyway. The magical energy the sword had already gathered was enough to kill Gilgamesh so everything would be fine as long as Saber made it self-destruct. The King of Heroes summoned multiple staves that began siphoning all the energy collected in the Jeweled Sword. There was no way for it to explode now. Saber's plan was dead in the water.

Saber stopped flying through the air and began hovering in place with magecraft.

"A clever idea, mongrel, but one insulting to my majesty." Gilgamesh's consistent smile had drooped into a frown. "Did you think deception could overcome the interplanetary gap between us? I told you earlier that I have access to any knowledge I desire, and that includes future events."

"You really are a cheater." Saber was struggling to keep her anger at Gilgamesh in check. "You rely on the power of an endless series of items rather than your own. I at least made the Jewel Sword. You just take the creations of others."

"My tolerance for your improper attitude has reached its limit." The smoke left the Jewel Sword and the staff was put into the king's vault. "I'll get rid of you and then I'll go find my bride to be."

The multiple staves that had sucked up the Jewel Sword's magical energy released the absorbed power as a collection of beams. Saber summoned her Azoth Sword and pointed it towards the incoming rays of destruction. She channeled her magical energy and began to call the True Name of her second Noble Phantasm.

"Sword of-"

The beams all curved downward, descending towards the Earth. The clouds dispersed as they were pierced through which revealed exactly what Gilgamesh's true target was.

"Let's see how you fare against simple trickery since you like it so much ." Gilgamesh said.

"Rin!" Saber screamed at the top of her lungs and she flew down towards her Master. Rin was still in front of the church, protecting the civilians. The crimson Servant felt like the dumbest person in the world. How did she not see this coming? How could she possibly protect Rin in time?

"Brennender Himmel

Ich kenne den Kreis; Die Blumen beschützen mich; Der Wächter des alten Schlosses ist unerschütterlich

Eine Blume blüht in meinen Händen; Aias der Telamonier!"

Saber spoke an incantation as she flew, using as much power as she could so she could reach Rin before the beams did. There was no time to grab her and run, which was why Saber unleashed the spell she was preparing. Five sakura petals formed a canopy around Saber, her Master, and the civilians. The best defense Saber could use was her other Noble Phantasm, but it required more magical energy to use which Saber didn't have after being exhausted from the earlier fighting. There was no way that the oncoming beams would be stopped by Rho Aias, but the shield would hopefully delay them long enough for Saber to grab Rin and the other people, and run.

Four petals shattered immediately upon impact. The beams would eat through the last shield even faster. Saber had already grabbed Rin and used telekinesis to lift the civilians. To get out of range of the rays before they hit the ground would require moving at near light speed. The crimson Saber used every last bit of her magical energy to fly herself and the civilians away. She'd have to focus on moving in a straight line, but if she succeeded, she would not only avoid the beams with everyone, but fly far away from Gilgamesh. He probably wouldn't waste time pursuing them since he appeared to care most about capturing Artoria. Saber held her Master tight as she and the floating civilians began to move. Everything around them was an indecipherable blur from the speed of movement. The sound of shattering glass signaled that the final petal was gone and the beams were continuing their march. The delay Rho Aias created had to be enough to let them get away. A bright light came from behind Saber and company, painting the muddled surroundings white. They avoided getting directly hit by the beams, but the spells were now behind them and would explode when they hit the ground. How large would the blast range be? It wouldn't be big enough to destroy the whole church or Gilgamesh risked killing Artoria. The detonation would be small. Would it be slow enough that Saber and the others would outrun it? There was no time to worry. Saber had to focus on going as fast as possible. Heat. Saber felt heat at her back. The beams had already hit the ground. The explosion was gaining on them. If Rin still had her tongue, then she could use a Command Spell to give Saber a boost, but the girl's tongue was gone and the crimson Servant had to rely on her own power alone. Faster. Faster. Faster. Don't stop. Keep going no matter what. Rin's life was at stake. The civilians' lives were at stake. Don't think, just move. Move. Move. Move.

Cool. Saber felt cool. The heat wasn't immersing her anymore.

A booming sound. The sound of the explosion that had finally caught up to the detonation itself

Saber looked around and saw the civilians were okay. She looked down and saw the girl in her arms was unharmed.

Saber did it, she got everyone to safety.

A twinkle in the distance. Saber saw it out of the corner of her eye, right as her flight was slowing down. Something was coming. More twinkles. It was multiple somethings. One last surprise from Gilgamesh. A salvo of swords was headed their way. Saber didn't have the energy to keep flying, let alone properly dodge or get the civilians out of the way. Her heart sank and she used whatever dregs still remained within her to swerve a bit.

The next moment was too chaotic for Saber to keep track of everything. Body parts went careening. Droplets of blood soared in different directions. Saber lost her hold on her Master. Rin cast some kind of spell, but it was destroyed by a speeding blade. The crimson Servant certainly got hit, but there was no pain. She was going into shock.

Saber began falling. She saw the church right before she hit a tree branch. She was in the woods right around the Fuyuki Church. She hadn't actually traveled very far. The Servant hit the dirt. Blood pooled around her. Her leg was detached and sitting a few feet away. There were various other wounds all over her body. There wasn't a single part of her that was unscathed. All things considered, Saber was in decent shape, considering the civilians she tried to save were all around, no longer recognizable as once living beings. There was one of the normal people who was still alive, the little girl. She wouldn't be for much longer if she didn't get medical attention though. Her wounds were treatable, but too serious to survive unassisted.

What about Rin? Saber returned her head and saw her Master. The Servant inhaled sharply at the sight. Rin's head was still there, but the left side of her face had torn off. Her torso was bruised and slightly twisted while her legs were gone completely. Her one arm was still there and the girl was using it to clutch something to her chest. The Potion of Youth. The bottle didn't have so much as a scratch marring its surface. Saber understood. Her Master could have used a spell to propel herself out of the way of Gilgamesh's last assault, but she prioritized making sure the elixir for Sakura and its vessel remained undamaged. To the very end Saber's Master prioritized her sister's wellbeing over her own. If there was even a chance that Sakura would want to use that potion, then Rin would give her life to keep it safe. Now the girl was struggling to survive, all her magical power going into keeping her remaining bodily systems functioning. Rin had already expended all the Command Spells she had on boosting her healing spells. It was only thanks to those that she hadn't died yet, that and the fact that Gilgamesh was apparently satisfied and was focusing on something else now. Rin wasn't going to last long though. She was essentially on temporary life support, her mind in an obvious haze as she focused on healing herself and nothing else.

Saber had failed to protect the civilians and she had failed to protect her Master. Now the Counter Guardian couldn't even stand anymore. She had no way to save Rin the same way she failed to save her timeline's Sakura. This was who Saber was, a failure. Sure, she had become a Magician and created two immensely powerful Mystic Codes worthy of becoming Noble Phantasms, but what did that matter? No accolades had value than saving someone who truly needed help. Saber had become a Counter Guardian and yet she never truly helped anyone. Just like when she killed Sakura for the greater good, Saber only knew how to help through murder. That was her life as a Counter Guardian. The Saber known as Rin Tohsaka was a failure and a murderer.

"Rin!" Kirei's voice. The overseer ran into the woods and right to Rin. He must have heard or saw what happened. Good, his medical skills could save the little girl. "How did this happen?"

"I couldn't protect her." Saber said while the priest began attempting to use healing magecraft on his adopted daughter. "You can't save her, that should be obvious. Help that little girl over there instead."

The priest scowled as Saber pointed towards the child who still had a chance at survival. The priest had always been so pragmatic, but at this moment he was hesitating. Saber assumed he would immediately go to help the little girl instead of fruitlessly trying to save Rin, but instead he just kneeled in place, looking between the two potential patients. He was conflicted. This was completely unlike the Kirei Kotomine Saber knew in her timeline. This man had some semblance of emotions. He wanted to help his daughter, but his only reasonable option was helping a child he didn't even know. Saber understood how he felt because she also wanted him to help Rin, but she understood that her Master was beyond rescuing.

"I know." Kirei got up and ran over to the little girl. The child was wheezing while unconscious, her face full of pain. Normally she'd need doctors using special equipment to repair the large open wounds she had all over, but Kirei's Spiritual Healing would be enough.

Spiritual Healing. Kirei.

Saber remembered an event from her life that showed how Rin could be saved. All the materials necessary were right here in one place. The chances of success were low, but Saber didn't care.

"Kirei, I think we can save Rin."

"What?" Kirei stopped operating on the little girl.

"In my timeline, there was a boy who was in a similar situation that Rin and I are in. A Servant version of him was summoned and he ended up grievously wounded. You saved him by using Spiritual Healing to give him the arm of the Servant version of him. You replaced his lost limb with Spiritual Healing and a compatible spiritual body part."

"You want me to do the same here? You want me to dismember you and give Rin your parts as replacements to seal her wounds?"

"Yes."

"That's absurd. With just an arm, while the boy's body would constantly be in conflict with the limb, it's still just one body part. To replace everything Rin's lost with your parts would be a completely different situation. Instead of being a constant power struggle between the host and the new limb, Rin would have to either immediately and completely assimilate you into her, or she would be overtaken. The former would provide her with perfect control over your power with no future risk of death thanks to being forced into an extreme situation that's either adapt or die, but as that implies, she'll die if she fails. The chances of her perfectly absorbing you are so low that it's unreasonable to try. This little girl is someone I can definitely save if I act now, I can't sacrifice this child's life for the sake of an asinine plan."

Despite his words, the priest didn't continue his operation on the little girl. He just sat on his knees, still as a statue.

"Kirei, you aren't doing anything."

"Saber, no, Rin, what would a human do in this situation?"

"What do you mean?"

"What would your average human with empathy do in my place, forced to choose between saving their child with little chance of success and a stranger who has a high likelihood of surviving if helped?" The holy man's voice was even and his body didn't shake in the slightest. He was clearly on the fence about what he should do, but it was impossible to know if he was truly distraught.

"Are you asking because you want the decision to be made for you?"

"Perhaps."

"Well I think any empathetic human would struggle in this situation. This wouldn't be an easy choice for anyone who isn't pragmatic to a mechanical degree. That said, I think the most human option would be to prioritize your own family no matter what."

"Then I am acting appropriately. That is good." The priest nodded to himself and then looked down at the little girl. "I'm sorry. I must make the choice that is most human, and thus I must be selfish."

Kirei left the child and went over to Saber, grabbing the Servant and dragging her over to Rin.

"You had already decided from the beginning what you were going to do, hadn't you?" Saber was finally getting a grasp on this timeline's Kirei Kotomine.

"Not with complete certainty. I needed confirmation from you to know I was acting like a proper human."

"You are just like the Kirei from my time, not a genuine emotion in your body. You aren't conflicted on what to do, it's just a performance where you play the role of the person you think you should be."

"I feel emotions, but they are focused on a desire to watch humans suffer. I have enough of a conscience to recognize that as wrong and so I act against those interests."

"If only my own Kirei had been so altruistic." Saber couldn't help but feel a little bitter knowing that Kirei could have been like this instead of the cold man that she grew up with, the one who got in the way of her destroying the Greater Grail and beat her to within an inch of her life, berating her the whole time to take advantage of her insecurities. If his life hadn't given out, he would have killed her. Even then, it was because of Kirei that she was too weak to do anything about the Greater Grail and everything was put on Shirou's shoulder to destroy it, costing him his life.

At the same time as the bitterness, Saber was also relieved that this timeline's Rin and Sakura had a kinder Kirei they could rely on. Saber grew up with nobody but herself that she could truly trust. If she had been lucky enough to have someone like this timeline's Kirei that she could lean on and be open with, her life might have been a whole lot happier.

"Kirei, I hope your children appreciate you." Saber stared up at the crepuscule sky that peeked through the gaps in the tree branches.

"Caren doesn't, but that's a given. Rin and Sakura certainly appreciate me, though only Sakura is willing to admit it."

"Rin's still a little too childish." Saber chuckled. What a fool her younger self was.

"She can be more open on occasion, and I don't care about recognition nor my own happiness. All that matters is living a respectable life."

"Admirable. You're a good man, Kirei Kotomine."

"Thank you."

Saber was placed next to Rin and Kirei grabbed the bottle his adoptive daughter held. The girl didn't want to let it go, but the priest managed to wrench it from her. He placed it next to her so she could look at it and see it was intact.

"Are you ready?" Kirei asked.

The crimson Servant turned her head to try and look her Master in the eye, but the girl's own head was turned the other way. Rin was staring at the potion. She was still out of it, her heart only focused on Sakura's wellbeing. It was that mindset that caused Rin to fail to protect herself and got her into this situation. The poor girl had to break free of her self-imposed bonds if she was to survive this and achieve her full potential.

Saber couldn't see her, but the little girl could be heard rasping out breaths that brought her ever closer to her demise. Her life would be forfeited for the sake of a plan that would likely not even work. If only Saber hadn't brought up the possibility of this ridiculous plan, then that child could have lived. Kirei was also partly to blame for participating in this operation, but the majority of responsibility fell upon Saber. Even in this final attempt to save someone, Saber was taking away someone else's life in the process. Let this be the last. Let no more people be sacrificed. Let this be the turning point where new solutions beyond murder can succeed and people can be truly saved.

That includes Rin. Let this world's Rin not fall down the same path Saber did and instead become someone who can genuinely rescue others from their strife.

In that same vein, Saber hoped Sakura and Rin could reconcile and that Sakura could achieve her own self-actualization. She deserved peace. If one Sakura from one timeline could be happy, then Saber could be satisfied with that.

"I'm ready." Saber said.

"Then I'll begin operating now."

The priest began to disassemble the Saber Servant.

Let this be the last sacrifice.