As evening approached, the afterglow of the setting sun stretched Shirou Emiya's shadow into a long, thin line. With Shirou Emiya's constant back-and-forth movements, the shadow sketched a distorted dynamic picture on the ground.
"Saber, do you think something might have happened to Sakura?"
Looking at the sparse pedestrians on the dim street in front of him, Shirou Emiya turned to face Artoria, his face full of unease. Since Sakura Matou had left in the morning, Shirou Emiya hadn't initially felt anything was amiss.
However, by noon, Sakura Matou still hadn't returned, and he couldn't reach her by phone, adding to the unease in his heart.
Shirou Emiya couldn't help but take Artoria out to search for Sakura Matou, but even after searching the entire Fuyuki City, they still couldn't find her. During their search, they even encountered Medusa, the Rider, but since they were in a crowded area, they tacitly chose to ignore each other.
Until half an hour ago, after searching the entire Fuyuki City and still not finding Sakura Matou, Shirou Emiya had no choice but to take Artoria home, hoping that Sakura Matou might have returned while they were out.
"Shirou, you don't need to worry too much. Sakura is just an ordinary person and won't be involved in the Holy Grail War. Besides, there hasn't been any fighting today. She's probably just been delayed by something."
Artoria said softly, trying to reassure him. If a Servant battle had occurred, she would definitely have sensed it with her intuition.
"Senpai, were you waiting for me?"
Suddenly, Sakura Matou's gentle voice came from the doorway. When Shirou Emiya turned around, he saw Sakura Matou wearing a miniskirt and black stockings, exuding a hint of alluring innocence.
Faced with the suddenly transformed Sakura Matou, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but stare blankly. After all, he was still a hot-blooded young man, especially one who had tasted the delights of the flesh just last night.
Now, gazing at the provocatively dressed Sakura Matou, especially her slender, fair legs accentuated by the black stockings, he subconsciously swallowed.
"Sen~pai... Does it look good?"
Sakura Matou looked at the stunned Shirou Emiya, a shy expression on her face, and leaned close to his ear. Her seductive voice echoed in Shirou Emiya's mind, her warm breath brushing against his face.
"Sakura... Saber is right beside us."
Forcing down the fiery feeling in his heart, Shirou Emiya glanced at Artoria, who was blushing and looking at them. With a Servant's senses, even Sakura Matou's whispered words in Shirou Emiya's ear were as clear as if she had said them in front of her.
"Um, Shirou, I'll go back inside first."
The moment her eyes met Shirou Emiya's, Artoria quickly lowered her head and mumbled, turning around and heading into the house without hesitation. She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would see something she had never encountered before.
"Hehe, Senpai, now..."
"Sakura... Mmm... Mmm..."
Before Shirou Emiya could finish speaking, Sakura Matou, unable to wait any longer, leaned in close to Shirou Emiya, and a sound similar to eating ice cream rang out.
Hearing the sound behind her, Artoria couldn't help but turn her head to look, but in that instant, Artoria's pupils shrank to their limit, and her body instinctively rushed towards Shirou Emiya.
"Shirou, be careful!"
The moment Shirou Emiya heard Artoria's urgent cry, his body, already beyond the limits of ordinary humans, reacted instinctively, grabbing Sakura Matou in front of him and throwing himself forward.
Boom!
Just as Shirou Emiya had left his original position, a streak of crimson light instantly appeared, deeply embedded in the ground.
If Shirou Emiya had hesitated for even a tenth of a second, his head would have been pierced by that arrow.
"Shirou, are you alright!"
Before the next attack arrived, Artoria finally reached Shirou Emiya's side, holding the Sword of Promised Victory, her face vigilant as she stared in the direction from which the arrow had been fired, asking without turning her head.
"I'm fine."
Saying this, Shirou Emiya lowered his head to look at Sakura Matou in his arms. Even in the situation just now, Shirou Emiya had still protected Sakura Matou when he landed. Seeing that Sakura Matou only had a little dust on her skirt, Shirou Emiya finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, Sakura, the situation is very dangerous right now. I'll explain later. You should leave here quickly."
At this moment, Shirou Emiya still regarded Sakura Matou as an ordinary girl and didn't want to involve her in this dangerous battle.
"I understand, Senpai."
Faced with Shirou Emiya's concerned gaze, Sakura Matou reached out and stroked his face, obediently agreeing. However, in a direction Shirou Emiya couldn't see, Sakura Matou's purple eyes suddenly turned blood red, her face full of twisted madness.
'How dare... How dare they hurt her Senpai, absolutely, absolutely not allowed!'
However, when Sakura Matou saw the man on the distant high-rise building holding a bow and arrow, his face indifferent, her crazy expression suddenly froze, and her blood-red eyes returned to their gentle state.
"Senpai~!"
"Sakura, are you calling me?"
At the doorway, Shirou Emiya, who was preparing to face the next attack with Artoria, turned his head and looked curiously at Sakura Matou, wondering if he had just heard her call him.
"Senpai, please be careful. The child and I are still waiting for you."
Looking at Shirou Emiya in front of her, Sakura Matou hesitated for a moment, then stood up and gently stroked her stomach, her eyes full of love as she said this.
"Chi... Child?"
Shirou Emiya looked incredulously at Sakura Matou's abdomen. Was she talking about a child just now?
Could it be his and Sakura's child?
"Yes."
Sakura Matou nodded, looking at him with a smile. This was the fruit of her and Senpai's love. In the future, they would definitely be a happy family, and Senpai would be a good father.
"Sakura! Quickly go to a safe place!"
After seeing Sakura Matou personally admit to this, a complex feeling welled up in Shirou Emiya's heart, and the way he looked at Sakura Matou began to become increasingly gentle, like a new father who had suddenly learned he was going to be a dad.
At this moment, Shirou Emiya's first thought was to quickly get Sakura Matou away from this dangerous place, then defeat the Servant outside and take good care of Sakura Matou.
"I understand, Senpai."
Sakura Matou looked at Shirou Emiya, who was full of concern, nodded, and walked towards the inside of the house. However, before leaving, she raised her head and looked towards the distant high-rise building, her gaze full of complexity and distress.
Which Senpai should she choose? Which Senpai does the child in her belly belong to?
But she believed that both Senpais wouldn't mind, because they were originally the same person.
..........
On the other side, Archer, standing on top of a building, his eyes instantly turned cold after seeing that Sakura Matou had left to a safe enough distance. The attack just now was only to warn Shirou Emiya.
It was to get Sakura Matou to leave, otherwise the power of that attack would not have been so simple.
"Next, it's your turn!"
Saying this, an arrow was projected, and Archer raised his hand and aimed at Shirou Emiya below. For him, as an Archer, he was currently in a position of absolute advantage.
The Shirou Emiya across from him, not knowing Archer's true identity, would definitely not leave the Emiya residence easily to protect Sakura Matou. And Artoria had to protect Shirou Emiya as well, which meant that the two of them were completely sitting ducks.
“For Rin, for Sakura, and for myself, you shall die here!”
The bow was drawn back bit by bit, and substantial magical power began to gather on the arrow. Archer looked at Shirou Emiya's tense face, his mind constantly recalling the things that had happened in the past. He, in the past, was the current Shirou Emiya.
After experiencing the Fifth Holy Grail War, he chose to embark on the path of becoming a hero of justice.
Later, in an operation to save the lives of five hundred people, Shirou Emiya chose to pray for a miracle, and the miracle responded to him. From that moment on, he became a 'Guardian' who protected the continuation of human reason.
But in reality, the so-called 'Guardian' was actually avoiding the possibility of human extinction by massacring humans.
In the process of guarding human reason, Shirou Emiya, who became a Guardian, constantly repeated the process of saving the majority of humans and killing the minority of humans. In this endless repetition, Shirou Emiya, who embarked on the path of becoming a hero of justice, began to feel despair at the ugliness displayed by humans.
Finally, he chose to pray for the Holy Grail to descend a miracle, preparing to kill himself during the Fifth Holy Grail War, preventing himself from embarking on the path of becoming a hero of justice.
This was also the salvation of the hero of justice named Shirou Emiya for his tragic life... that was, to give up becoming a hero of justice and kill his past self.
“This is atonement, and it is also salvation!”
Releasing his fingers, Archer watched the arrow fly out as a stream of light, raised his head, and muttered to himself. He, who once dreamed of saving everyone, had become an executioner who constantly killed and took the lives of others.
This time, killing his past self was both a salvation for him and an atonement for those whose lives he had taken.
“Shirou, it's coming!”
At the same time, Artoria also sensed that the power of this attack was completely different from before, and her expression became unprecedentedly solemn.
“This… what is this!?”
However, Shirou Emiya behind her didn't hear her words at all at this moment, clutching his head tightly, his eyes full of despair and painful roars. At this moment, memories that he had never had before constantly emerged in his mind.
In his memory, a figure constantly took the lives of others, regardless of good or evil, justice or injustice. Simply because the other party's value was lower, everything would be mercilessly taken away.
What made Shirou Emiya most painful was that the person who constantly took the lives of others was himself, the one who dreamed of becoming a hero of justice and saving everyone.
“Shirou! Damn it!”
Looking at Shirou Emiya, who was kneeling on the ground in pain behind her, Artoria wanted to wake him up, but it was completely useless, and the most serious thing was that Archer's attack was already imminent.
If she dodged this attack, she didn't know what would happen behind her, but Shirou Emiya, who had lost his resistance, would definitely be killed. If the Master died, then it would be impossible to win the Holy Grail and realize her wish.
For this reason, Artoria directly rushed forward, and the Sword in the Lake in her hand began to gather power.
“Ha!”
In the next second, the invisible long sword and the arrow collided together, and the Wind Barrier that shrouded the sword was shattered in the first moment. A strong shock wave directly sent Shirou Emiya flying out, and the plants in the surrounding courtyard were shattered one after another.
“S… Saber.”
Slamming heavily on the ground and rolling out several meters, Shirou Emiya, who was affected by the memories constantly emerging in his mind, finally came back to his senses. He raised his head with difficulty and looked at Artoria, who was being forced back by the arrow, his eyes full of anxiety and shouted.
If the memories in his mind were true, then Artoria would be in great danger now.
“Mm!”
Just as Shirou Emiya's voice fell, Artoria's intuition also began to issue warnings, and a strong sense of crisis enveloped her heart, and this sense of crisis came from the arrow in front of her.
Boom!
In the next second, a huge explosion sounded, and Artoria was directly blown away without warning, slamming heavily into the house.
“Saber!”
Looking at the wall that had been smashed into a large hole, Shirou Emiya was about to walk over to check when an arrow flew from the sky again like a shooting star.
However, this time Shirou Emiya's expression changed, his eyes staring fixedly at the figure at the top of the distant building. At this moment, he already understood who the other party was, and also understood his wish to be summoned as a Heroic Spirit.
“Although I know and understand, because you are me, but I will not become you, because the dream of a hero of justice has just been abandoned by me!”
Having the memories of the future Shirou Emiya, he had experienced the same despair and pain as the other party at this time. It was because of this that Shirou Emiya understood Archer's choice, but understanding was understanding, he would not become Archer.
At this time, he had deeply understood the stupidity and ugliness of human beings, who were always repeating the same mistakes. He, Shirou Emiya, gave up the dream he had inherited from his father.
In addition, Sakura had said before that she and the child were waiting for him.
Then, he had to win, he had to win, win to the end, live on, and fulfill his promise to Sakura!
“I am the bone of my sword.”
“Rho Aias! Seven Rings that Cover the Fiery Heavens!”
When the arrow flying like a shooting star was about to pierce through Shirou Emiya, a huge petal unfolded in front of Shirou Emiya, and a ray of light shot out from the center of the flower core, forming seven layers of shields that stood firmly in front of Shirou Emiya.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After shattering three shields in a row, the arrow that had exhausted its magic power fell in front of Shirou Emiya.
“Shirou, you?”
At this moment, Artoria, who had been blown away before, stared blankly at Shirou Emiya at this moment, not understanding what kind of things had happened to him, that he had undergone such a big change in just a few seconds.
“Saber, I'll leave this place to you.”
“Wait, Shirou, what do you want to do?”
Artoria looked at Shirou Emiya with a puzzled expression. Could it be that he was planning to fight the Heroic Spirit as a Master? Even if Shirou Emiya's strength had greatly increased at this moment, this kind of thing was still not... it seemed that it was really possible.
Feeling the magical power constantly flowing into her body from Shirou Emiya, even several times stronger than the magical power that Shirou Emiya provided when he went berserk before, it had completely reached the level of a Heroic Spirit.
On the side, Shirou Emiya at this time didn't know what Artoria was thinking at all, just silently raised his hand and a huge bow was projected out. In Artoria's shocked gaze, an arrow even stronger than the one that had blown her away before was shot out.
In the next second, a huge explosion came from the top of the distant building, and it could be vaguely seen that half of the top of the building had collapsed.
