As the last rays of sunlight faded, night enveloped Fuyuki City, and its streets visibly emptied. Recent events, consistently reported in the news as explosions caused by aging underground gas pipes, had made the residents of Fuyuki City wary. Many, especially those who had lived through the previous Holy Grail War, vaguely suspected the truth and drew their own conclusions.
That is, when darkness falls, avoid going out unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you might become another unfortunate soul who died in a 'gas pipe explosion' the next day.
"Caster, let's go."
Standing at the entrance of the Tohsaka household, Rin Tohsaka, dressed in practical clothing, coldly regarded Lu Minghao sprawled on the sofa. Even now, she hadn't forgiven him for attacking Shirou Emiya and the others during the day.
Although Rin knew that Lu Minghao's actions were entirely within the rules of the Holy Grail War, and even the correct thing to do.
After all, to win the Holy Grail, which could grant any wish, the seven participants and their Servants would resort to any means, no matter how dirty, evil, or despicable. Everything was for victory.
However, the thought of Shirou Emiya, an ordinary person, suddenly thrust into such a cruel war, and what would happen to Sakura if he died in it, troubled Rin deeply.
"Damn it!"
The more Rin thought, the more frustrated she became. The image of Sakura's despair upon learning of Shirou Emiya's death intensified her dissatisfaction with Lu Minghao. If the incident during the day hadn't happened.
The situation would definitely be different now!
"Master, what's bothering you?"
Just then, Lu Minghao approached Rin, his handsome face bearing a cheeky grin. Suddenly, he feigned realization.
"Could it be that Master is worried about dying in the Holy Grail War, leading to the extinction of the Tohsaka family in your generation?"
"Like hell I'm worried about that!"
Facing Lu Minghao's teasing, Rin, hands on her hips, glared at him with a face full of indignation. How could he make such insensitive remarks at a time like this? Didn't he know that her current annoyance was entirely because of him?
"Let's go, Caster!"
With a huff, Rin tossed her head and strode towards the door. She felt that if she continued to bicker with Lu Minghao, she might be tempted to pull out her jewels and use magic to scar his face.
"What a naive Master, what a pity."
Watching Rin's retreating figure, the cheeky grin on Lu Minghao's face vanished. He shook his head, a hint of regret in his eyes. He had temporarily abandoned the idea of changing Masters after she issued a Command Spell forbidding him from attacking her.
Unexpectedly, less than three days had passed before he had to start planning for the next Master.
..........
Meanwhile, on the other side of Fuyuki City.
Shirou Emiya was wandering the empty streets with Artoria. Having nearly died three times in less than two days had filled Shirou Emiya's heart with a sense of urgency.
Furthermore, learning from Artoria that the Holy Grail could grant any wish.
Shirou Emiya decided to officially join this brutal war. As long as he achieved final victory, he could fulfill not only Artoria's wish but also the wish entrusted to him by his adoptive father.
The man who saved him from the brink of death in his childhood, a man with great ideals, entrusted him with a wish at the last moment of his life... a hero of justice!
"Shirou!"
Suddenly, Artoria appeared in front of Shirou Emiya on the empty street, her face grave as she stared ahead. Two figures, one large and one small, were slowly approaching. The savage aura, like that of a rabid beast, gradually silenced even the chirping of insects in the night.
"Good evening, big brother. This is our second meeting."
In the mist, a cute little girl with silver hair and crimson eyes suddenly tilted her head and greeted Shirou Emiya in an extremely adorable voice.
"Who are you?"
Shirou Emiya looked at the little girl who had suddenly appeared. He wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt as if he had seen her somewhere before.
"Good evening, I am Illya, Illyasviel von Einzbern, one of the participants in this Holy Grail War."
"Illya..."
"Shirou, the situation is very unfavorable for us. That's probably a monster similar to the one from daytime, the Berserker in this Holy Grail War."
Before Shirou Emiya could understand the identity of the Illya who had suddenly appeared, Artoria turned to him with a serious expression. The only way for them to win now was to allow Shirou Emiya to enter the state he was in when he was about to be killed today.
Although that state of Shirou Emiya made Artoria feel uneasy, it could provide a huge amount of magical power, raising all her attributes by half a level. And only in that situation would Shirou Emiya have a chance to survive.
"Have you finished discussing it? Then it's time to start killing. Go, Berserker."
Across from them, Illya looked at the two who were discussing countermeasures with innocent eyes. After confirming that they had finished discussing, she issued the order to attack. Tonight, she would kill her younger brother here, stealing the brother whom Kiritsugu Emiya loved.
"Roar!!"
As Illya issued the order, a beast-like roar echoed. Visibly, Berserker's body, comparable to that of a small giant, swelled again. Underneath his strong muscles, crimson magical power surged rapidly, and the powerful aura even caused the ground to crack.
"Shirou, step back!"
Immediately sensing that Berserker's aura was wrong, Artoria quickly turned around and told Shirou Emiya to step back. Then, she materialized her Invisible Air and rushed forward. However, due to the magical power provided by Shirou Emiya, she couldn't even display her original strength.
With just one collision, she was sent flying by Berserker's terrifying power.
"Saber!"
Shirou Emiya looked at Artoria, who had been sent flying into a nearby park, and shouted with concern. He had personally witnessed Artoria's petite body crash through several large trees before slamming heavily into the ground.
"Roar!"
Just then, Shirou Emiya's body stiffened in place. Hot breath brushed against the back of his head, and the shadow of death, like an abyss, was slowly devouring his sanity. Somehow, Berserker, who had just sent Artoria flying, had appeared behind him.
"Kill him, Berserker."
In the distance, Illya raised her small hand and waved goodbye to Shirou Emiya, while issuing the order to kill Shirou Emiya.
Behind him, Berserker, receiving the order, raised the stone sword in his hand. In the shrill whistling sound, the huge stone sword smashed towards Shirou Emiya's head with terrifying power. It was foreseeable that Shirou Emiya's head would explode like fireworks in the next second, and his entire body would become a puddle of minced meat stuck to the ground.
"Trace... On!"
At this critical moment, Illya looked over with an incredulous gaze, only to see Shirou Emiya suddenly turn around at a speed beyond human limits, a giant stone sword identical to Berserker's appearing in his hand.
The massive stone sword completely blocked Shirou Emiya's body. Although it was shattered by Berserker in a single blow, Shirou Emiya barely managed to withstand this near-fatal attack.
“Roar!”
In the next second, a violent aura erupted from Berserker's body like a tide, the giant blade in his hand raised high once more, the muscles in his arms bulging, and the ground beneath his feet beginning to crack.
‘I can’t block it, and I can’t dodge it!’
Even before the attack, Shirou Emiya felt unprecedented pressure. At this moment, his body felt as if it had been filled with lead, and he could only stand there motionless, feeling locked in place even if he wanted to escape.
Bang!
“Shirou, good job!”
Just as Shirou Emiya thought he was about to die here, Artoria, who had been knocked away earlier, suddenly stood in front of him, steadily receiving Berserker's attack. With a large amount of magical energy injected, Artoria now had the power to contend with Berserker.
“Ha!”
In the next instant, Artoria, who had blocked Berserker's attack, suddenly shouted, and a violent hurricane instantly erupted from the blade, sending Shirou Emiya flying out unexpectedly, landing on the grass not far away.
Seeing that Shirou Emiya had escaped the combat range, Artoria suddenly raised her head to look at Berserker. With a delicate shout, a violent force began to erupt. To Illya's disbelief, Artoria actually pushed Berserker back several meters.
Subsequently, the heroic spirit battle that surpassed human limits and only existed in epics began. The booming sound of the blades expanding, the speed completely exceeding the limit of the naked eye, and each expansion created deep pits in the ground.
Splashing gravel flew around with terrifying speed, and large trees fell one after another.
The residents who had already fallen asleep nearby were awakened by the explosions coming from outside the window and the faint roars like wild beasts. They buried their heads in their blankets, with no intention of going out to check, at most calling the police.
But without exception, the replies they received were either that they were having nightmares, or that aging gas pipes had exploded, and there was no need to worry, in short, there was no intention of sending the police.
“It’s really lively over there.”
At the same time, on the Fuyuki Bridge, Lu Minghao leaned against the steel frame, looked at the huge commotion in the distance, whistled, and said with an indifferent expression.
“Caster, can you see who the heroic spirits fighting over there are?”
Beside him, Rin Tohsaka also looked at the huge battle commotion in the distance. Even with her magic-enhanced eyes, she couldn't see who the heroic spirits were who were fighting.
“It's your classmate Shirou Emiya, Master. He’s fighting with that little loli from the Einzbern family. It’s really a rare and interesting scene, siblings killing each other, it’s really great!”
Lu Minghao looked at Shirou Emiya, who was projecting a long sword and chasing Illya, and the smile on his face became more and more malicious. He didn't know what Shirou Emiya would feel when he returned to normal and knew that the person he was chasing was the daughter of Kiritsugu Emiya, who had adopted him.
That's right, he would have to find a way to let Shirou Emiya know that the one who almost killed him ten years ago, causing his entire family to die and leaving only him, was actually his adoptive father, whom he had always admired.
“It’s really great!”
Just thinking about Shirou Emiya knowing that the man he had always admired, and even inherited his ridiculous dream, was actually the enemy who killed his entire family, Shirou Emiya's expression would definitely be very interesting.
It would definitely allow Shirou Emiya to advance a great distance on the road to blackening and becoming the Heroic Guardian Emiya. After all, the dream of being a hero of justice was also a part of Shirou. Without personally shattering it, how could he become the Heroic Guardian Emiya who had lost everything and had nothing left to lose.
“What, it’s Shirou, and he’s fighting Berserker. No, Caster, we have to help!”
“That won’t do, Master, because our enemy has also come. Isn’t that right, Archer?”
Saying that, Lu Minghao raised his head to look upwards. There, a man wearing a flashy red coat, with a head of white short hair, was looking at him. It was the heroic spirit summoned by Rin Tohsaka in the original story, who would become a guardian of humanity in the future, dreaming of killing his past self, Shirou Emiya.
“Just who are you?”
Above, Archer stared at Lu Minghao with a serious expression. Clearly, in his memory, he would be summoned as Rin Tohsaka's heroic spirit in this Holy Grail War, but now the heroic spirit summoned by Rin Tohsaka was not him.
Instead, it was this unknown heroic spirit who had never appeared in his memory, and there was not even the slightest record of him.
“Isn’t this obvious? Of course, I am the Caster summoned in this Holy Grail War. Don’t you think so, Archer?”
Lu Minghao raised his head and looked at the future Shirou Emiya, generously introducing himself, but the expression and tone were so irritating, looking like a scoundrel, as if saying if you don't like it, come and kill me.
“So you are an anomaly!”
Above, the future Shirou Emiya's face completely darkened. He had seen anomalies in the process of saving humanity. These were existences that had to be eliminated, not to mention that this guy didn't look like a good person at all.
And he was staying by Rin Tohsaka's side. No matter the reason, he had to eliminate him here.
“Oh, are you sure you want to attack? Why not go save that guy over there first? After all, if he dies now, it will become very troublesome for you, right?”
Lu Minghao pointed to Illya and Shirou Emiya's side, who were fighting fiercely in the distance, and looked at Archer with a calm expression.
“.......”
Above, Archer's expression changed after hearing Lu Minghao's words. He knew that this guy already knew his identity. Violent magical energy began to overflow, and the killing intent honed on countless battlefields began to emanate.
“Oh oh! You’re getting serious, then I’ll play around a little too.”
Saying that, Lu Minghao lightly tapped his toes and flew directly into the sky, but Lu Minghao's operation completely confused Rin Tohsaka. She, the Master, was still here, okay? The opponent was Archer, and if there was no protection from the heroic spirit, the opponent would definitely choose to kill the Master first.
“Hmph!”
Above, Archer certainly understood that this was intentional by Lu Minghao, but he really had no way to choose to kill Rin Tohsaka, the simplest way to end this battle.
“Projection, start!”
In the next second, a gorgeous longbow appeared in Archer's hand. As the longbow was drawn, the original short sword turned into an arrow, turning into a stream of light and flying towards Lu Minghao.
And just as the arrow flew in front of Lu Minghao, the arrow suddenly exploded, illuminating the night sky with a huge explosion, and the flames enveloped Lu Minghao's body.
