"Huh?"
Upon hearing this, the red-haired, brown-eyed boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "According to the priest, I should be the last Master."
"Which means..."
Looking at the forest park that now resembled the aftermath of a demolition crew's visit, Rin Tohsaka fell silent for a moment before suddenly grabbing her twin ponytails in frustration. Her black shoes stomped the ground furiously, and her black ribbons swayed with each movement.
"So annoying!"
"Why am I so unlucky? I finally get to participate in a Holy Grail War, and first my alarm clock breaks, then I fail to summon Saber, and end up summoning Archer—a second-rate freeloader!"
"Right after leaving the church, I get into a confusing, inconclusive fight with that little girl from the Einzbern family and her Berserker. Then I sense a new, intense magical fluctuation, and that little brat even had the nerve to act all high and mighty, saying she'd 'let me off'! How infuriating!"
"Out of responsibility to Fuyuki City on behalf of the Tohsaka family, I worked so hard to come all the way here to investigate, and now I run into this kind of cheating through illegal summoning!"
"Aaaaaahhh!"
"Um... Tohsaka..."
Shirou Emiya looked embarrassed. Even though he had already gained a basic understanding of the Holy Grail War, magi, Servants, and Masters through the explanation given by the priest Kirei Kotomine at the Shinto Church, he still couldn't quite follow Rin Tohsaka's ranting.
"Tohsaka-san... may I ask..."
He tried several times to address Rin, but she ignored him completely, muttering to herself as if lost in her own world, spinning wild guesses and thoughts.
"Ugh, the more I think about it, the more frustrated I get. Why did you beat me to it, Emiya?! If I were Saber's Master, even if someone tried to cheat like the Einzberns did in the Third Holy Grail War, I'd still be guaranteed to win!"
To be fair, before revealing his true nature, Kirei Kotomine had indeed been quite responsible as Rin's guardian and senior disciple. He had spared no effort in teaching her magical knowledge, even training her in a powerful form of self-defense—Bajiquan. He also taught her about past Holy Grail Wars.
Of course, it's possible that Kotomine, being the sadist he was, found a certain hidden pleasure in all of it.
"Hey now, Master, I admit I may not be as strong as Saber, but are you really going to keep looking down on me like this?"
As if hearing Rin's complaints, the air behind her suddenly twisted. A tall, well-built, dark-skinned Archer appeared, dressed in a tight outfit with a red-and-black color scheme. He shook his head and sighed helplessly.
"Hmph!" Rin snapped back from her frustration with a sharp huff.
Red A: "..."
With a slightly elegant flick of her hair, arms crossed, Rin turned to the confused Shirou Emiya. "Emiya, do you have a question?"
"Tohsaka... what do you mean by illegal summoning and cheating? Is it possible for us to work together like this..."
"Huh?" One hand on her hip, Rin furrowed her brow and leaned forward slightly.
"Emiya-kun, are you really that clueless, or are you just pretending? Did you even listen to that fake priest's explanation? Wasn't the lesson from that Einzbern girl enough?"
The "fake priest" Rin referred to, Kirei Kotomine, was affiliated with the Holy Church as an Executor of the Eighth Sacrament Division, and had also transferred to the Mage's Association in an official capacity.
Due to the Church's rejection of heresy, ordained priests under the Church are strictly forbidden from using magecraft.
To followers of the Holy Church, magecraft is considered heretical and something that should not be studied. However, if it is rebranded as Church-style magecraft (i.e., Baptism Rites), then it is permitted to be learned.
Thus, in Rin Tohsaka's eyes, Kirei Kotomine—who apprenticed under her father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, and studied alchemy, spirit evocation, summoning, divination, and other forms of magecraft—was naturally a fake priest when compared to a proper clergyman of the Church.
"This is a battle to the death, not some child's game! Masters, driven by their own desires, will kill indiscriminately, friend or foe alike! Did you even understand what I just said?"
"..." Seeing that Shirou Emiya still wore a doubtful expression, Rin Tohsaka let out a subtle sigh.
"Just as I thought..." She felt truly troubled by Shirou Emiya's idealistic way of thinking.
By rights, the only reason she brought Shirou to the Church was because he had not yet confirmed his participation in the war and couldn't be considered an enemy. But just moments ago at the church, it was officially declared that the war had begun, meaning they should logically return to a hostile relationship.
But... sigh!
This guy, as a Master, seriously thought that just because she brought him to the Church out of kindness, she wouldn't harbor any hostility toward him? Did he think most Masters would be this nice?
Wasn't he afraid she might take him out and seize control of Saber for herself? And yet, not the slightest bit of caution.
"Honestly! If you don't change your mindset soon, you and Saber are going to be eliminated sooner or later in this Holy Grail War!"
"Open your eyes. This level of destruction was caused by Servants using nothing but their bare hands and feet. If you don't want to die, then keep your guard up from now on."
"Listen well: there can only be one victor in the Holy Grail War!"
Shirou Emiya was stunned for a moment, then mumbled, "If you want to win the Holy Grail War, Tohsaka, I can help you. You can have the Grail if you want it—I'm not interested..."
Rin Tohsaka huffed and turned her head away. "No need. I hate owing people favors."
Shirou let out a small hum, then suddenly smiled. "Tohsaka, you always insist on the weirdest things."
"But using your own words—I don't like owing others either. You saved me, and you even took the time to bring an amateur like me to the Shinto Church to learn about the Holy Grail War."
"If possible, I want to repay you. And compared to the other evil Masters out there, I think you're the most suitable person to receive the Grail."
With a warm smile, Shirou spoke sincerely.
"I like people like you."
"Wh-?! Idiot!! What are you suddenly saying?! Do I look like someone who'd fall for flattery?" Rin instantly turned red in the face. "Even if you butter me up, I won't go easy on you!"
"Fists... and blades."
Ignoring the flustered Master beside him, Archer swept his gaze across the area, then crouched down and gently touched the devastated forest park ruins. His eyes narrowed immediately.
Judging by the destruction at the scene, most of it was physical damage. Aside from the clean cuts made by sharp weapons, the majority of the destruction was sunken, circular pits with web-like fracture patterns.
"One side was Lancer. The other... judging by the attack method, it seems more like a Berserker-type Servant. Lancer was injured..."
Gazing at the humanoid crater at the end of the massive gouge caused by a powerful impact, Archer began to form a few guesses.
"Doesn't look like a sneak attack. Lancer's opponent was strong and managed to seriously wound him in close combat in a short amount of time."
A petite blonde knight also walked over, her expression stern as she surveyed the surrounding ruins.
"Tohsaka, should we inform Father Kotomine about this situation?"
"No need! That fake priest definitely has his own means of observing battles between Servants," Rin Tohsaka said matter-of-factly.
"Instead of wasting time on that, we should focus on devising a proper battle plan with Saber. The bloodshed has only just begun," she added. "Emiya, let's go. Remove the bounded field for excluding bystanders. The city hall and Church personnel are going to have their hands full."
"O-okay."
Soon after, firefighters and patrol officers arrived, sealing off the entire forest park. At this point, they were already scratching their heads. What in the world...
Gas explosion?
...
Meanwhile, at the Shinto Church.
The dark, shadowy chapel was devoid of even a single candle. Unlike the sacred, repellent aura typical of churches, this one in Fuyuki's Shinto district exuded a uniquely eerie and ominous atmosphere.
"The desires of all beings shall lead them astray."
"Falsehood and deceit are sins of mankind."
Bathed in moonlight, a tall priest stood in the central aisle between two confession booths, holding a sacred text annotated with divine doctrine. His voice was low and carried an indescribable strangeness.
"Hmph, you're smiling, priest."
"That's not the kind of smile you should show people. Smiling so shamelessly—you're going to disappoint your god."
Half-lidding his eyes, the golden-haired young man leaned lazily against the confession booth, his posture irreverent and blasphemous by any devout standard. He turned his gaze from the familiars' surveillance footage of the Servants' battle in Fuyuki Central Park to Kirei Kotomine.
"Well, Kirei? Bet you didn't expect a cheater to show up in this Holy Grail War. How amusing!"
The man swirled the wine in his glass lightly, clearly pleased, as if he'd found a fascinating new toy.
"I'm really curious to see what this Holy Grail War is going to turn into."
"Oh? Are you planning to intervene?"
"No." The man shook his head. "I want to first learn more about this man who illegally summoned a Servant. There's something strange about him."
To him, even though Lev gave off an uncanny feeling that drew him in, making him eager to figure the man out, he held back. Right now, he sought only enjoyment. Something like this should be savored slowly, not rushed.
After all, while his Gate of Babylon held many prototype Noble Phantasms capable of exposing everything about Lev, that would ruin the fun. It wouldn't be entertaining anymore, would it?
"No matter how many people a mongrel gathers, he's still a mongrel. Not worth paying attention to."
...
Fuyuki City, Matou Residence.
In a Western-style room deep inside the estate, the eldest daughter of the Matou family, Sakura Matou, rose and drew her bedroom curtains shut. Tonight, she could not sleep.
As the Holy Grail War approached, her sleep had grown heavier than lead, dreamless through the night, and she woke up utterly exhausted, even more so than before she had gone to bed.
But that was still better, because if she dreamed, it would always be tied to her deepest fears.
Whether awake or asleep, she saw only the image of her uncle and Berserker—smiling at her, thinking of her, fighting without regard for himself.
Sadly, it had all turned to dust in the end. All that remained was the pale, bloodied figure of her uncle, dragging his mangled body as he said his final goodbye.
Sometimes, truly, she wished she were just an ordinary person. Someone without magical aptitude—even being deaf, blind, or disabled would be fine. But she wasn't...
Recalling those days, she would wake up crying, cry until she was exhausted, and then fall back asleep.
On sleepless nights, she curled under her blanket, trembling in overwhelming grief, then slowly becoming numb...
Unbidden, Sakura Matou thought of that kind, protective girl Servant. The one in a pale pink dress, with long pink hair tied in twin tails and pink eyes.
Despite bearing the Berserker class, she had miraculously retained her sanity. With her small, underdeveloped body, she still achieved the greatness of a Heroic Spirit.
Sakura didn't know what that girl had gone through in life.
Her final memory of her was the promise she made before attempting to seize the omnipotent wish-granting device—the Holy Grail:
"Sakura, I promise. I will eradicate tyranny, and never again allow children like you and me to suffer such treatment and discrimination."
Even though she clearly broke that promise—"Sister Mine... Sakura doesn't blame you."
"The Holy Grail War..."
...
Miyama Town, Ryuudou Temple.
The temple was large, and at this hour just before dawn, it looked rather eerie.
Whoosh!
With a sudden burst of wind, Lev landed in his green overcoat, creating a ripple of spiritual particles. Fu Hua, Kiana, Durandal, and the others manifested shortly after.
"So this is what Servant spirit form looks like... pretty convenient."
Holding out her hand, Li Sushang curiously switched back and forth between spirit and physical form, fascinated by the change.
"The limitations are a bit too severe though. The drop in power is very noticeable." Durandal remarked, clenching her fist and gathering a sphere of force.
"Alright, Valkyries of the Divine Empress, let us begin. The Ceremony of Her Majesty's Descent!"
With arms spread wide and a fierce smile, Lev climbed the stone steps slowly, deliberately, as if emphasizing the ritualistic mood. Soon, they spotted a large mountain gate ahead.
There, leaning casually, was a strikingly handsome man. He wore a traditional purple kimono, his long dark blue hair tied back in a ponytail, a twig in his mouth, and a long katana—about 1.5 meters in length—resting in his arms. He looked as though he had been waiting.
"Visitors this late at night, may I ask your busin—"
"Who wants him?"
Glancing at the man, Fu Hua pinched her chin with one hand and adjusted her red-framed glasses with the other. A sharp glint reflected off the lenses.
"Leave him to me."
In the next instant—shing!
Without offering the man any chance for pleasantries, Raiden Mei's killing intent locked onto him in a flash. With lightning-infused cold steel, she lunged forward like a thunderbolt aimed straight at his forehead.
Boom!
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