That night, Ryūdōji's icon lit up, indicating something was happening there.
Yamada Masaharu chose Ryūdōji.
Emiya Shirou and Saber went to investigate.
They had just reached the mountain gate.
Numerous flying insects appeared in the sky, then condensed into the form of Zouken Matou.
Due to the great distance, Zouken Matou seemed not to have noticed Emiya and his companions yet.
"Who is it?!"
Sasaki Kojirou, the Assassin guarding Ryūdōji's gate, his expression turned grim.
Just as he was about to face the enemy, he suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood.
It seemed he had been afflicted with a curse by Zouken Matou at some unknown point.
"To use such despicable methods."
Sasaki Kojirou fell down.
A black arm penetrated through Kojirou's body, followed closely by the rest of his body…
An Assassin wearing a skull mask and completely black, was summoned from Sasaki Kojirou's body.
This was the true Assassin of this Holy Grail War, Hassan of the Cursed Arm.
…
Emiya Shirou and Saber witnessed everything and hurried up the steps, only to find Sasaki Kojirou already dead.
And he had died a very tragic death, his entire body hollowed out from within.
What was that just now?
The black Assassin?
A wave of doubt rose in both their hearts.
Hassan of the Cursed Arm disappeared from view, but Zouken Matou left a group of monsters made of worms here as an interception.
Something must have happened inside.
Emiya Shirou thought.
After defeating the pile of monsters at the entrance, Emiya Shirou and Saber rushed inside Ryūdōji.
They saw the female mage standing inside the house, her eyes fixed on something ahead.
Opposite her was a small, rather deformed Assassin in a black cloak.
Hassan of the Cursed Arm wore a skull mask, but in his hand, he held a man.
The man was the female mage's Master, Souichirou Kuzuki, the teacher. But at this moment, Teacher Kuzuki was in a terrible state, his limbs severed, and he was held in Hassan of the Cursed Arm's grasp, about to be killed in the next second.
"Give me freedom, witch."
Hassan held Souichirou's body, turning his face towards the mage.
The mage's Noble Phantasm, Rule Breaker, was a lightning-shaped dagger with the power to reset magical objects. In other words, if the dagger was thrust into a Servants, it could break the contract she had with her Master.
The magic-based contract would turn into a blank sheet, and the life form born of magic would be extinguished on the spot.
Hassan of the Cursed Arm, as the true Assassin that should have been born, was trapped within Sasaki Kojirou's body, and Sasaki Kojirou was summoned by the witch.
So, by having the mage stab herself with the dagger, Hassan of the Cursed Arm could gain freedom.
The female mage was initially prepared to struggle, but upon seeing Teacher Souichirou held in the opponent's hand, the magic in her hand dimmed.
She summoned Rule Breaker and thrust it fiercely into her own chest.
A black light spread from her body, sweeping through the entire room like a gale, then instantly subsided.
"Are you satisfied now?!"
Hassan of the Cursed Arm, having just gained freedom, moved exceptionally swiftly, first directly killing Souichirou Kuzuki, then rushing towards the female mage.
A dagger pierced out from the mage's throat.
"Ah!" The mage let out a scream.
Without giving her any time to react, Hassan had already arrived behind her in an instant, then stabbed her several more times from behind.
The female mage fell down.
This scene could be said to be quite tragic.
It even gave Yamada Masaharu a considerable shock.
He hadn't expected a mage to sacrifice herself to such an extent for her Master.
…
At this moment, Emiya Shirou and Saber arrived and engaged Hassan, who remained in the house.
This guy was weaker than Yamada Masaharu had imagined. After a few rounds, Hassan of the Cursed Arm was defeated by them.
Hassan did not continue to fight, and with a few leaps, he leaped high over the temple's outer wall and disappeared from Ryūdōji.
"Is this the true Assassin?" Saber asked in confusion.
And just at this moment, on the steps outside the house, a terrifying black shadow crawled up.
This black shadow was like overturned ink, leaving a pitch-black color on the ground.
At the same time, within the blackness, there were red flashes like blood vessels.
A black and red intertwined thing.
But it seemed to have vitality, crawling into the house.
"What is this…?" Emiya Shirou asked with a shocked expression.
"Shirou, be careful."
Saber shielded Emiya behind her.
Fortunately, the crawling black shadow had no intention of attacking them; it merely covered the mage's corpse.
The mage's body quickly turned a black, ash-like color, then melted into the black shadow.
Having devoured the mage's corpse, the black shadow quickly left the place.
…
After returning, Shirou developed a fever.
In a nightmare, he once again saw the great fire from ten years ago.
In the dream, he remembered his conversation with his adoptive father, Emiya Kiritsugu, sitting by the door.
The moonlight in the sky was cold.
At the end of the conversation, Emiya Shirou expressed his determination to inherit Kiritsugu's dream and become a hero of justice.
However, regarding becoming a hero of justice, he still didn't quite understand it.
The next day, Sakura, who had already recovered, voluntarily took on the responsibility of caring for Shirou.
With her diligent care, Shirou's fever finally subsided.
Fortunately, during these few days, they had not encountered any attacks from Masters or Servants.
However, what that black shadow truly was, Emiya Shirou and Saber still hadn't been able to figure out.
…
A few days later, the priest from the church, Father Kotomine Kirei, asked Emiya to have dinner with him, intending to tell him something important.
The two of them ate mapo tofu.
It was clear that Father Kotomine Kirei enjoyed this spicy food, exclaiming "How delightful!" while eating.
"A new Assassin has been born in Ryūdōji."
Father Kotomine Kirei said, "This is my dereliction of duty as a Director, so I have already sent Lancer to investigate. Oh, by the way, I am Lancer's Master."
Despite Yan Feng informing him that he was a Master, Emiya was unexpectedly not too shocked or scared.
Recalling it, he had been at odds with that man from the very beginning.
Somewhere deep in his heart—
No, even deeper, perhaps Emiya instinctively knew not to get too close to that man.
In short, Emiya Shirou's first instinct was that this priest was very dangerous.
Father Kotomine Kirei's next words made Emiya Shirou's heart tremble.
"Lancer has disappeared," Father Kotomine Kirei said casually while eating mapo tofu, "Lancer, who was sent to investigate, seems to have been attacked by something.
At the same time, the Assassin's identity has been confirmed.
Hassan of the Cursed Arm, with his abilities, could not possibly have defeated Lancer. There must be something else.
Something very terrifying."
…
Lancer died too?
Yamada Masaharu felt a surge of doubt. What was that black shadow?
Could it be related to that thing?
The worldview in the game was quite novel. Masters and Servants, bound by their fates, fighting to obtain the Holy Grail that grants wishes. Such a story also attracted Yamada Masaharu.
But this game, so far, didn't seem much like a galgame.
Aside from the daily life with Sakura, it was more like a detective novel or a combat-type game.
But it was indeed a galgame.
…
The murder cases and deaths in the news did not decrease at all; instead, they became more and more frequent.
After Tohsaka Rin's investigation during this period, all clues and reasons pointed to the old man of the Matou—
Zouken Matou.
So Emiya and Tohsaka Rin reached an agreement for a joint operation and went to the Matou together.
As expected, at the Matou's entrance, the group encountered Zouken Matou. After some conversation, Zouken Matou praised the young girl from the Tohsaka family.
Just at this moment, the already deceased Caster staggered towards them.
The Baneful Cuneiform was still stuck in the female mage's chest.
"Shirou, step back. That may be Caster, but it is not Caster. The clothing and abilities are the same, but there's no conscious soul. That is a fake, using Caster's corpse and filling it with something else."
Saber stepped forward.
An invisible sword was clutched in her hand.
Saber was enraged by the act of desecrating an Heroic Spirit's corpse.
The battle officially began, and after a series of fights, Yamada Masaharu successfully defeated the opposing mage with his four-person team, and also defeated Zouken Matou.
Just as Saber was about to deliver the final blow to the mage, ending this act of desecrating an Heroic Spirit.
The mage pulled the dagger from her chest and thrust it fiercely at Saber.
Shirou shouted, "That is…!"
The Baneful Cuneiform, if it pierces a Servants, can revert them to their state before the contract. This means if Saber is pierced by it, her contract with Shirou would be dissolved.
Fortunately, Archer arrived just in time.
With a swift cut, Archer severed the mage's arm.
The hand holding the Baneful Cuneiform was thrown into the sky.
Saber lunged with a sword, directly piercing the mage's body.
As her body became transparent and dissipated, this time the mage was truly dead.
Just then, Archer swiftly attacked Zouken Matou, who was nearby.
With a hiss, Zouken's upper body fell to the ground.
"Hmm, what—!"
A rustling sound emerged.
Zouken Matou, having lost his lower body, was still alive.
His entire lower half was composed of swarming insects that flew into the sky.
"—Huh—?"
Just as Archer was about to continue attacking Zouken Matou, his slashing motion halted.
!
Not only Archer felt it.
Everyone present.
Tohsaka Rin and Saber.
Emiya Shirou and Archer.
Not only that, even the dying Zouken Matou trembled at "its" appearance.
The park was dyed in the color of darkness.
The humid air instantly froze.
Though the heart beat louder and louder, its rhythm dropped.
Something very bad was approaching.
So, they had to escape.
They couldn't get involved with it.
Yes, although the mind understood more than the body, the body refused the command to flee.
Because, fleeing was useless.
Once touched, there would be no escape, so it refused to flee.
Emiya's body trembled as he turned his stiff neck.
He looked towards the park entrance.
—There.
A long, black shadow appeared.
It looked quite strange, like a tombstone taller than a person standing on the ground.
Or perhaps an obelisk, from which many black ribbons extended, spreading out in all directions.
Tohsaka Rin's pupils constricted, "This is… Imaginary Space?"
The "black shadow" remained there, swaying like a mirage.
For some reason, Emiya Shirou felt a sense of déjà vu about that sight.
Yamada Masaharu's heart skipped a beat, and a feeling of unease welled up.
This guy, could it be…
"Impossible—"
The old man let out a hoarse cry.
In this place, the only sound came from that dying old man.
"Impossible, impossible, impossible—!"
He screamed and crawled forward.
To escape Archer's sword, Zouken Matou quickly fled from the park.
It wasn't that Zouken still had such strength.
That guy was simply.
Terrified by that ominous shadow, he was merely whipping his dying body with single-minded desperation.
No one could move.
Emiya and Tohsaka kept trembling.
Saber and Archer stood motionless, as if possessed.
—A monster dwelling in the deep sea.
Everything stopped, returning to a world of silence, only that shadow swayed.
At first, it looked like something fictional.
"It" had no eyes, no limbs, no body.
Even so, a shadow still fell at its feet.
A long shadow stretched out, reflecting the moonlight.
The shadow slowly, like a snake spotting its prey, pointed its tip towards Tohsaka—
Tohsaka remained motionless. She didn't notice the shadow's abnormality.
Saber was too far from her.
Although Archer started running, he was too far away to catch up.
Without warning, the shadow suddenly covered tens of meters of ground in an instant, striking violently at Tohsaka Rin.
"Danger!!!"
Emiya Shirou lunged forward.
He knocked Tohsaka away.
"Classmate…!?"
He couldn't hear her voice.
The moment he knocked Tohsaka down, Emiya was swallowed by that unknown thing.
With a crunch, he felt his body being squeezed.
—, —Ah.
So, my premonition was not wrong.
In the pouring current, like quicksand, I was swallowed from the head down, now feeling as if I were in the deep sea.
But it was so hot.
If it was the sea, this seawater was too hot.
Like boiling asphalt.
My skin was entangled, and my life functions were completely cut off from the root, more so than being in the sea.
"Ah—poof"
It's all your fault.
It's disgusting, it's all your fault.
It's… it's all your fault… disgusting… it's all your fault… vomit… it's all your fault… disgusting… it's all your fault…
In that instant, countless terrifying, dark things flooded into Emiya Shirou's mind, causing him to collapse instantly.
Terrifying images, accompanied by countless indescribable sounds, surged in like seawater.
Directly causing Emiya Shirou's head to explode.
Fortunately, there was no major harm; Shirou only fainted for a while before waking up.
Saber helped Emiya back home, and Sakura had been waiting at the door for who knows how long.
Seeing Emiya's appearance, Sakura seemed a bit angry.
She took Shirou and spoke words that seemed to hold some resentment towards Saber.
Sakura felt that Saber had not fulfilled her duty as a Servants; since she was going out, she should have protected Shirou, but Shirou always returned heavily injured.
This made Sakura's heart ache.
The next day, Emiya's body was noticeably better, and Sakura was cooking in the kitchen.
Emiya gazed out in a daze.
The living room at sunset.
With Sakura there, everyday life flowed by slowly.
He suddenly felt that this was a very precious thing.
Because he would have to go out and fight every night.
He finally realized now how important this time was to him.
". Hmm. I must protect Sakura."
Although Emiya didn't know what Zouken Matou's intentions were, he wouldn't let him lay a hand on Sakura.
These past few days, he had more opportunities to interact with Sakura, and he felt at a loss regarding the strange growth of Sakura's body.
To be honest, Emiya thought he was starting to waver and become infatuated with Sakura as a girl.
But that was different.
[If I were infatuated with her, it would have been a long time ago.]
From the kitchen, he heard her humming a steady tune.
Important things, perhaps, were these small details.
Emiya absentmindedly poured the third cup of tea, gazing at the sunset view.
Did the tea contain alcohol, making the passage of time feel both slow and incredibly gentle?
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