Chapter 387

Chapter 387: Chapter 387

Sakura visibly froze at Shirou’s question.

After a moment, however, she shook her head.

"It’s all right, Senpai. He’s already dead. Whatever happened between us, there’s no point holding on to those grudges anymore."

Shirou and Rin’s pupils contracted sharply.

The latter raised a trembling hand.

"Sakura, don’t tell me you..."

"No. It wasn’t me."

Sakura shook her head again.

"When Kiriya and the others were fighting, Shinji was caught in the aftermath. That’s how my bro—how Shinji Matou died."

The Sakura of the past, who had endured everything in silence and gradually become numb to her suffering, would never have been able to speak so openly.

But things were different now.

She was no longer alone.

She had people supporting her, people she could depend on, and she no longer needed to bow her head before everyone around her.

In the past, she had desperately clung to whatever scraps of familial affection she could find, using them to convince herself that her suffering was bearable.

She had constantly tried to please others, afraid that even those tiny fragments of warmth might disappear.

Now, however, she could finally be herself and say what she truly believed.

"So, Nee-san, Senpai, please don’t resist. You can’t defeat Kiriya."

"That guy..."

Rin’s feelings toward Kiriya had become almost impossibly complicated.

As Sakura’s older sister, she ought to be grateful to him for saving her.

Under different circumstances, she might even have done everything within her power to repay that kindness.

But she was also a Magus, the current head of the Tohsaka family, and a Master participating in the Holy Grail War.

She could not simply abandon her ambitions!

She intended to fulfill her father’s wishes and use victory in this war to prove to the entire Magecraft world that she, Rin Tohsaka, was worthy of carrying the Tohsaka family’s legacy.

For that reason, she had to give this Holy Grail War everything she possessed.

"I’m sorry, Sakura."

Rin’s expression became resolute.

"But this time, I have a reason I absolutely must win."

"I’m sorry too," Shirou said, lowering his head slightly.

As someone who aspired to become a hero of justice, he could not feel comfortable allowing the Holy Grail to fall into the hands of Magi whose intentions he could not fully understand.

Sakura’s experiences suggested that Kiriya was not the sort of person who would commit any atrocity necessary to achieve his goals.

But Shirou did not want to gamble on that assumption.

To prevent the Holy Grail from being misused, he still intended to win the war and secure it himself.

"It’s all right, Senpai. And you too, Nee-san. Neither of you needs to apologize."

Sakura smiled gently.

"That’s simply how the Holy Grail War works. Everyone has their own reasons for fighting, and victory goes to whoever can achieve it."

Her confidence remained unwavering.

"But I believe Kiriya will be the one who wins in the end."

’She really does trust that guy, doesn’t she?’

For reasons Rin could not entirely explain, she suddenly felt a faint stab of jealousy toward Kiriya.

Just then, Archer’s voice sounded directly inside her mind.

’Rin, why are you still standing there? Hurry up! I can’t hold them off much longer!’

At almost the same moment, Saber contacted Shirou through their magical connection.

Neither Master hesitated any longer.

"Since you don’t want to come with us, we won’t force you," Rin told Sakura. "We’ll leave for now and come back to see you when we have the chance."

With that, she and Shirou prepared to retreat.

Unfortunately, before they could escape, two figures descended from above and landed directly in their path.

Ryuu and Jeanne.

"I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay here a little longer," Jeanne said.

"Hmph! You think you can stop us?"

Rin stepped forward, placing herself protectively in front of Shirou.

"We’ll see about that!"

Several glittering rubies appeared between her fingers.

"Jeanne..."

Sakura looked toward the Saint, clearly wanting to say something.

Ryuu noticed her hesitation and spoke before she could finish.

"Don’t worry. We won’t hurt them."

"Thank you."

"Hey! Stop ignoring us!"

Rin was thoroughly irritated.

The way those two women were talking made it sound as though capturing her and Shirou was already a foregone conclusion.

How insulting!

She was Rin Tohsaka, a genius Magus!

Did they seriously think she would allow herself to be captured so easily?

"Five, three, four. The giant, and the burning end!"

Rin rapidly recited her incantation.

The gemstones in her hand blazed with magical light before transforming into several brilliant beams that shot toward Ryuu and Jeanne.

A battle between Magecraft and their opponents’ supernatural abilities had begun.

...

Meanwhile, Archer and Saber were finding themselves trapped in an increasingly difficult battle.

That was hardly surprising, considering the opponents they faced.

One was Rider, a monster from Greek mythology who possessed Agility ranked among the highest of all Servants, along with an impressive collection of Noble Phantasms.

The other was Heracles, a legendary hero whose monstrous parameters approached A rank across the board.

Berserker’s martial abilities were extraordinary.

Even without access to elaborate techniques, the sheer force of his axe-sword and his instinctive mastery of combat were enough to overwhelm the overwhelming majority of Servants.

For Saber, facing such an opponent was an enormous challenge.

Although the Saber class theoretically possessed the most favorable overall parameters among the seven standard Servant classes, Artoria was severely limited by her Master’s inadequate aptitude for Magecraft.

Her parameters had suffered considerably as a result.

It was only thanks to her Mana Burst and Instinct Skills that she could continue holding her ground.

Without those two advantages, surviving Berserker’s relentless attacks would have been extraordinarily difficult.

And as though fighting Rider and Heracles weren’t troublesome enough, a Magus from the Age of Gods was lurking nearby, occasionally launching unexpected attacks whenever an opening presented itself.

Caster’s interference made the situation even more dangerous.

Archer and Saber had originally intended to create as much noise and destruction as possible, drawing the enemy’s attention while their respective Masters escaped.

Once Rin and Shirou were safely away, the two Servants could withdraw without having to worry about protecting them.

It was a reasonable plan.

Unfortunately, reality was proving far less cooperative than they had hoped.

Their enemies simply had too many powerful fighters available.

Kiriya had casually dispatched two young women to intercept their Masters, and both possessed strength and combat abilities far beyond what their appearances suggested.

Rin and Shirou were being thoroughly suppressed.

If the situation continued, both Masters would be captured, effectively ending Archer and Saber’s participation in the Holy Grail War.

’This won’t work. I’ll have to use that.’

Archer made his decision.

While using Kanshou and Bakuya, his paired swords, to intercept the relentless attacks of Rider’s chained daggers, he began chanting.

"I am the bone of my sword."

"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood."

Rider immediately sensed a change in the magical energy surrounding him.

’Is he preparing to release his Noble Phantasm?’

A feeling of danger crept into her mind.

She was just about to increase the intensity of her attacks and interrupt his incantation when Kiriya’s slightly excited voice sounded through their magical connection.

’Don’t. Keep playing along. Let him finish that technique.’

’Master, do you know what he’s about to do?’ Rider asked.

’Of course! I’ve been looking forward to seeing this for ages.’

Kiriya sounded genuinely delighted.

’This is where your acting skills come in. Remember, you need to pressure him enough to make the fight convincing, but not so much that he can’t complete the chant.’

’Understood.’

Rider rolled her eyes.

Nevertheless, she obediently launched another series of seemingly ferocious attacks, all of which Archer managed to intercept with his paired swords.

His incantation continued.

"I have forged more than a thousand blades and crossed countless battlefields without defeat."

"Unknown to death, nor known to life, I have never known a true companion."

"I have endured pain to create countless weapons, standing alone atop a hill of swords, intoxicated by victory."

"And yet, all that remained was emptiness."

"Thus, this life holds no meaning."

"So, as I pray, I invoke the Unlimited Blade Works."

"For this body was destined to be born of swords."

Archer’s magical energy surged as he delivered the final words.

"Unlimited Blade Works!"

The moment his incantation ended, the world before Kiriya and the others underwent a dramatic transformation.

The lush woodland estate, with its green trees, birdsong, and flowers, vanished completely.

In its place stretched an endless crimson wasteland.

Countless swords were embedded in the barren ground, standing upright like gravestones scattered across an immense battlefield.

At the distant horizon, flames danced beneath a burning sky, while several enormous gears hung in the distance, their silhouettes overlapping against the fiery landscape.

"This is... a Reality Marble?!"

Caster recognized the nature of the technique almost immediately.

As a Magus from the Age of Gods, she understood exactly what she was witnessing, and the realization left her utterly astonished.

A Reality Marble was the materialization of an individual’s inner world, a supreme form of Magecraft regarded as one of the miracles closest to True Magic.

And now, such an extraordinary phenomenon had manifested through a Heroic Spirit she had never even heard of.

Caster stared at Archer with undisguised disbelief.

’Just who in the world is this man?’