TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki City.
While Tatsuo and Elicia were out confronting Souichirou and his Caster Servant, Medea of Colchis, Sakura did not go back to the hotel like she usually did after her club activities ended. Instead, she walked home with Rin, who was waiting for her outside of the Archery dojo. Naturally, their Servants, Rider and Archer guarded them along the way.
"Onee-Sama." Sakura said, catching Rin's attention from next to her. "Haven't you made your decision yet?"
Hearing that, Rin turned to look at Sakura for a moment. Then, she returned to looking ahead as the two walked through the streets of Miyama Town.
"*Sigh* I have." Rin replied. "And I don't 'think I'll be able to work with all of you on this."
Sakura was taken aback when she heard that. Turning her head to look at her sister with confusion and some measure of heartache, she stayed silent, waiting for her sister to elaborate.
"Although I understand that the tainted Grail is dangerous, I can't give up on the chance to win it." Rin continued, her tone growing more and more resolute with every word. "I have a responsibility, Sakura. As the Head of the Tohsaka Family, I have to do everything I can to return the family to its former glory."
Hearing her sister's declaration, which sounded pretty cool and heroic in her opinion, Sakura's confused and heartbroken expression was completely replaced with a dumbfounded one. In fact, she was so taken aback by her sister's reason that she could not muster the words to retort immediately.
Rin, on the other hand, was growing nervous when she did not hear a response from Sakura. And as time went by, that nervous feeling started slowly transforming into dread.
'Oh no!' Rin thought to herself. 'Is Sakura gonna hate me for this? For not helping the people who saved her from that hell? What should I do? Should I reconsider? But if I don't take this chance to win the Grail, I probably won't have another one. I mean, the Holy Grail Wars usually happen every sixty years. This time is only an exception. I probably won't even be healthy enough to participate next time. Ahh~~~~~! What should I do?'
"Hehehe!"
A soft giggle coming from next to her pulled Rin out of her quickly spiraling thoughts. And when she looked over to the side, she caught sight of Sakura covering her mouth while she tried to hide her giggles.
Naturally, Rin, who was just thinking the worst, was completely confused when she saw Sakura's reaction to her declaration, which she, like Sakura, thought was pretty cool. In fact, she had been practicing it in the mirror and getting Archer's opinion about the speech's cadence and intonation for a while now.
But seeing Sakura trying to hold back laughter was the last thing she expected.
'Was it not as cool as I thought?' Rin asked herself, suddenly a lot less confident in her own opinion. 'Or maybe it was really cringe. *Sigh* I knew I shouldn't have asked for Archer's opinion. He doesn't even remember his own identity… Why did I have any expectations about his taste?'
Though Archer had no way of knowing what was running through Rin's head. For some reason, he felt as though he were being attacked. But for the life of him, he could not figure out why or from whom the feeling was coming from.
"Sorry, Onee-Sama." Sakura replied after getting her giggle-fit under control and seeing the expression on Rin's face. "I'm not laughing at you, really. I'm just… relieved. Relieved that we wouldn't be enemies… Well, I guess we'd still be enemies, as I'm sure we'll fight at some point. But not… Uh… This was a lot easier to say in my head."
Though the dread in Rin's expression was gone, she was thoroughly confused by Sakura's response. At the same time, she was just as relieved when she realized that her sister did not hate her for her decision. Still, the misunderstanding that Sakura mentioned left her at a loss for words.
"What misunderstanding?" Rin asked curiously.
It took a few more seconds for Sakura to get her giggles under complete control. She then took a step forward, gesturing for Rin to do the same before she started to explain.
"A few weeks ago, Taylor-San told me that Assassin found where the Greater Grail was hidden." Sakura said, starting her explanation. "Originally, the plan was to get as many people together as possible to break through the [Bounded Fields] protecting it so that Assassin could use his [Purification Ritual] to cleanse the taint that had accumulated in it."
Nodding in understanding, Rin nodded for Sakura to continue.
"Unfortunately, there weren't enough Masters who had summoned their Servants available to make this plan viable." Sakura continued. "So, they had to wait until more Servants were summoned. But by the time there were enough Servants to push the plan forward, another Servant had claimed the entire surrounding area, Mount Enzou, as their workshop. So, the plans had to change."
"The Servant created a workshop?" Rin asked rhetorically. "Then, that must mean the Servant is a Caster, right?"
"That's right." Sakura replied. "And because fighting a Magus in their workshop is never an easy thing, Taylor-San and Assassin wanted to form an alliance with the other Masters and Servants to take them down. Unfortunately, the only one who agreed was me."
"I see." Rin replied after a moment of contemplation.
"But after taking down Caster and purifying the Grail, the alliance would dissolve, and the Holy Grail War would proceed as usual."
Hearing that, Rin could only smile wryly. It seemed that when Sakura said she was under a misunderstanding, she was completely correct.
"I see." A young-sounding female voice said from not too far away. "That's quite the interesting tale. Mind telling me more?"
Hearing the sound of that voice, both Sakura's and Rin's heads snapped in its direction. A moment later, they caught sight of Illyasviel standing nearby, leaning against a light pole on the side of the road.
"It's you." Rin said with a frown marring her brow.
"Taylor-San and Assassin mentioned you." Sakura said, her expression turning serious. "You're the Master of Berserker."
"And you…" Illyasviel replied as she straightened from leaning against the light pole. "You must be the illusive Master of Rider. Okay~, now that the introductions are over, why don't you tell me more about what you were just talking about? It sounds rather interesting in my opinion."
After standing up from the light pole, Illyasviel, with a smile on her face, started walking towards the two sisters. Then, after a few steps, Berserker, shifting out of his astral form, appeared behind her, following her closely as she drew near.
At the same time, seeing Berserker appear, both rider and Archer also appeared, standing defensively in front of their Masters, who looked more than a little apprehensive at facing who could quite possibly be the strongest Servant in this iteration of the Holy Grail War, ready to fight should a battle begin.
"What's wrong?" Illyasviel, not losing her smile, asked while tilting her head cutely. "You all look so nervous."
"Well, you did try to kill me last time we met." Rin said in a strained tone. "So, yeah."
"Oh, that did happen, didn't it?" Illyasviel replied while straightening her head, looking up slightly, and placing her right index finger on her chin. "Yeah, I guess I can see why you would be so nervous. Especially, since those other two aren't here to save you this time. Though, I wouldn't mind playing with Big Brother and his Servant again."
"Big Brother? You mean Emiya-Senpai, right?" Sakura asked.
"That's right." Illyasviel replied, her smile growing wider as she did so.
"Why are you so fixated on him?" Sakura asked, genuine curiosity in her tone.
What neither Sakura nor Rin expected, however, was how the smile on Illyasviel's face transformed into a monstrous scowl, her emotions quickly doing a one-eighty. At the same time, Berserker, who seemed to be docile, also began to growl angrily, steam escaping from his mouth with every breath.
"It's because of him that my family was destroyed!" Illyasviel shouted. "Because of him, Daddy never came back after the last Holy Grail War! Because of him, I never got to see Mommy again!"
Illyasviel's anger, combined with her flaring magical energy and Berserker's growing rage made the air in the surroundings seemingly begin to vibrate, putting immense pressure on Sakura, Rin, rider, and Archer, the latter two lowering their stances, prepared for battle to erupt at any time.
Yet, despite their wariness, the battle they were expecting never began. Instead, Illyasviel took several deep breaths and forcefully calmed herself down, Berserker calming down proportionally, as well.
"I intend to make him suffer." Illyasviel said, her tone much calmer than when she had her outburst. Yet, it was also much colder than her tone before the outburst. "I'll make him experience the suffering I was forced to go through without Mommy and Daddy for all those years."
As she spoke, memories of a multitude of magical experiments she was forced to undergo by her grandfather made Illyasviel clench her fists in an attempt to keep her anger under control.
"Now, we've talked enough." Illyasviel said, her tone brooking no argument. "Tell me what you know about the Greater Grail's current site. Otherwise, I'll kill you and find out from that other woman."
The intensity in Illyasviel's voice made both Sakura and Rin shudder. However, neither young woman showed a hint of fear. It was clear they were ready to fight should it come to it.
Even so, to avoid a dangerous situation, Sakura and Rin took turns explaining everything they knew about the Holy Grail War, the way it was tainted during the Third Holy grail War, the effect it had on the city during the Fourth Holy Grail War, and finally, Tatsuo's and Elicia's plans to deal with the taint and the rest of the Holy Grail War.
Meanwhile, Illyasviel listened patiently with Berserker standing behind her, ready to end his Master's enemies should they do anything to threaten her.
Eventually, the explanations came to an end and Illyasviel, with a hand cupping her chin, stood in silence with her head lowered in contemplation.
"I see." Illyasviel muttered to herself after a few minutes of deep thought. "So, they're not trying to get everyone to give up the Grail to them. Not that it would matter, Berserker is the strongest. No one can defeat him. So, in the end, the Grail will still be mine."
Neither Sakura, Rin, Rider, or Archer knew how to act next. Though, one thing was abundantly clear. And that was the fact that Illyasviel did not seem as though she was in the mood to attack at the moment.
Or… At least, that's how it would have been if not for…
"Sakura! Tohsaka!" Shirou shouted while running towards the group from the direction of the Emiya Residence. "Saber felt the mana fluctuations and we came to see what was going on and if anyone needed help."
… Shirou and his Servant Saber running towards them after feeling the mana fluctuations from Illyasviel and Berserker's outburst a while ago.
"This isn't good." Rin said, her eyes sharpening as she turned to look at Shirou and Saber.
"Senpai! You need to run, now!" Sakura shouted in a worried tone.
Meanwhile, Illyasviel's smile returned. However, unlike before, it was not playful in the slightest. Instead, there was an insane amount of madness hidden behind that smile. And that naturally triggered Berserker once again.
*Boom!*
In the next instant, Berserker disappeared from behind Illyasviel in a burst of speed. Then, an instant later, he appeared in front of Shirou, who was stunned when he heard Sakura telling him to run, with his axe-sword raised and ready to strike.
"Shirou! Watch out!" Saber shouted as she materialized her sword in her hands.
*Swoosh!*
"Urgh! *Cough* *Cough*" Shirou groaned while coughing up blood.
Unfortunately, Saber was a bit too late, as Berserker had swung his sword, sending Shirou flying while nearly cutting him in half.
"Emiya~~~~~!" Rin shouted.
"Senpai~~~~~!" Sakura shouted in horror at the same time.
Meanwhile, Saber followed through with her attack, despite the fact that it did not work. As a knight, she felt disgraced that she could not protect her ward. So, she intended to make Berserker pay for disgracing her so.
*Clang!*
Despite having swung his weapon at full force when dealing with Shirou, Berserker recovered quickly, pulling it back just in time to defend against Saber's attack.
"Archer! Go help her!" Rin shouted as she sprinted towards Shirou.
Though he would have rather escaped with Rin as quickly as possible, Archer followed the order, [Projecting] his black and white swords into his hands as he rushed forward.
Medusa, on the other hand, stayed near Sakura. Unless ordered to do otherwise, her top priority was protecting her Master. Even so, there was something she could do to help without directly interfering in the battle.
Reaching up for her mask, Rider hesitated for a moment. However, she eventually pulled off her mask, revealing her closed eyes. Yet, she hesitated before opening them. Her eyes, the [Mystic Eyes of Petrification], were indiscriminate weapons, affecting anyone who fell into her line of sight without fail.
As for Sakura, she was in a state of shock after seeing Shirou be so badly injured, his life-or-death unknown at this point. And although she had been developing a crush on Tatsuo ever since he rescued her from the Matou Family, Shirou was someone very dear to her. So, seeing the state he was in was making her emotions go out of control. And along with them her magical energy was beginning to flare uncontrollably, as well.
And as Sakura's mana flared, something that no one noticed thanks to the darkness of the night, happened. Slowly, the shadow under her feat began to extend, blanketing the ground in darkness that seemed to be slithering towards both Illyasviel and Berserker without their knowledge.