It's inhuman how Toru, despite having endured so much hardship, continues to stand tall, moving forward without stopping. It was even more painful to know the reason for this. Sakura always looked at Toru's back, as she is unable to look him in the face.
With what happened with Gray, she thought she had ruined everything. But she still had a chance. She was going to win Toru over no matter what.
Although that, at this moment, seems impossible.
They are on top of the building where they rented the apartment where they are hiding. Toru stared at the neon lights in silence, with Shigan activated in his eyes, observing every little detail in the city.
He is not an Archer, so he does not have the ability to see from far away, but he has the Eternal Kodou Shigan, which compensates for that weakness. In fact, Shigan compensates for many of Toru's weaknesses in addition to giving him one of the most broken abilities in this world.
Uncomfortable, Sakura approached Toru and tried to talk to him.
"Toru."
"Assassin. I'm Assassin," he interrupted her. His gaze remained fixed on the city, as if nothing else mattered to him but the war.
Beneath his mask, his expression betrayed his absolute concentration.
Sakura looked at the ground. Toru felt extremely distant to her, but when it came to Gray... She clenched her fist tightly as she remembered. Toru is that kind of person, but she has the advantage. Sakura has all of Toru's memories and she was going to use that to her advantage.
From the beginning, Toru was distant. When they arrived in Fuyuki City, Sakura wanted to buy Toru some clothes, but the servant didn't see the logic in that. As a servant, he was supposed to be hidden at all times, which Sakura didn't want.
She wanted Toru to be by her side as if they were a couple in love, but Toru only acted like a robot under her command. He was completely expressionless, just as she remembered, but there was something different.
"Archer and Lancer. I saw them," Assassin said suddenly. The memories of one of his clones came back to him. "Archer fights with swords, for some strange reason. I've never heard of an archer who uses swords. The fight ended with Lancer's retreat, not because he lost, but because of his Master's orders."
Toru was still someone experienced in war, and he wasn't going to let that side of himself go, not at this moment. She decided to leave her feelings for later. The best thing she could do right now was to fight in this war, waiting for the perfect moment to be with Toru.
"The Masters? Were you able to see who they were?"
"I could only see Archer's Master. She's a girl of about sixteen or seventeen. She's a very skilled magus. She was able to escape from Lancer, which started the confrontation between the servants. Archer and Lancer are fast, but I'm even faster and more agile. In a one-on-one battle, I can win."
She nodded. Toru was already sure he could defeat Archer; Lancer too, but there are variables to consider.
"But..." Assassin said, frowning. "I don't know Archer and Lancer's Noble Phantasms. I can't fight them without that information. My Noble Phantasm is of the Anti-Fortress type, so it is at a disadvantage against Archer and Lancer's Anti-Unit Noble Phantasms. Furthermore, I require a lot of time to activate it, while their Noble Phantasms are likely to be immediate action."
Sakura nodded with a serious face. For now, they couldn't fight either of them without knowing exactly what they were up against. The most sensible thing to do was to wait.
"For now, my clones are exploring the rest of the city. It will take me a few hours to cover the entire place. I still haven't found the enemy bases, so I even have to cover the area outside the city."
"I see... When you discover something, something that puts us one step ahead of the other Masters, we will attack immediately."
"That sounds right, but it's still too early to act."
With the right surveillance, Toru could discover all the enemy bases in a few hours. What followed was to draw up a plan, decide who the weakest Masters and Servants were and kill them without mercy, and carry out a whole chain of possible contingencies to face.
***
The clones do their job efficiently, running, jumping, and observing their surroundings. One of them is outside the Ryuudou Temple on Mount Enzo on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.
The clone looked in awe at the gigantic dome that extends around the mountain. He could see with Shigan; it was a large round wall with golden lines showing the existence of prana in the air. It was impossible to enter cautiously because that would mean breaking the barrier or crossing it without shame.
Whatever is hiding inside has enough energy to maintain this thing.
"Why are you hiding so much in your burrow?" thought the clone. It was exasperating not to know the identity of the Servant hiding here.
Could it be Berserker? Lancer? Rider? The information was confusing, but he had to keep watching. With the mana the original Assassin had given him, he had enough time to see if anyone entered or left the temple.
Apart from that, two more clones were spying on the Matou and Tohsaka family mansions. The clone outside the Matou family property saw nothing interesting, but could sense a sinister energy watching him from inside.
That didn't make sense, since the clone was in its ghost form and had the ability to hide its presence, but it waited for a possible enemy.
Nothing could be seen at the Tohsaka family mansion. There was a barrier here that projected an image of the mansion with no one inside.
The clone decided to break through the barrier's security, which was composed of multiple invisible geometric figures that moved erratically, but he could see them thanks to his special eyes.
He dodged with great agility as he jumped into the air. If anyone could see him, they would be left speechless watching the impossible movements the clone performed.
Fortunately, inside the mansion, there were no barriers or anything that could reveal his presence, so he took his time exploring.
—Emiya family residence—
Shirou poured a cup of tea for the little girl, who looked at him with a kind smile. He still didn't know why this girl was here. He let her in because he wanted to ask her some questions before calling the police, but since he was making tea, he didn't have a chance to do so.
"May I know your name? Why were you alone at this hour? Don't you know that bad things have been happening in the city lately?"
The girl blew on the tea and tasted it. Her kind smile widened as she felt the sweet taste of the green leaves.
"My name is Illya."
"Very well, Illya. Do you know where your parents are?"
Illya put the cup down on the table and looked into Shirou's eyes, who was sitting across from her with another cup of tea. Her smile suddenly turned sinister, and in a lively voice, she replied, "They're dead."
Shirou had a bad feeling when he heard that, but he sympathized with her a little. He is also an orphan, but Illya didn't seem to care about that.
"I see. I'm sorry," he lowered his gaze, regretting his question, but decided to continue because he wanted to send this girl back home. "So... what were you doing out so late? Did you get lost?"
"No..." She shook her head, taking a small sip from her teacup. "I was looking for you. I wanted to visit you, onii-san."
"Me?" he whispered, confused.
Illya, calm, took another small sip. She was strangely elegant and had a sinister aura that would make sense a few seconds later.
"Yes. And it seems you haven't summoned it. It's a shame, onii-san, but this brief visit is over..."
A chill ran down Shiro's spine and the bad feeling exploded.
"Berserker," she said...
The world ran in slow motion. The ceiling, floor, and table shattered into pieces. A large amorphous mass of flesh appeared out of nowhere. It looked like a huge man, who broke everything around him with his weight and stature.
Shirou, in a split second, opened his eyes in horror. Illya was still drinking tea with the cup and saucer in her hands, but he had been lifted off the floor that had broken.
That being, huge as a mountain, held a sword that looked more like a club, swinging the object toward Shirou with the clearest intentions of striking.
The blow came faster than Shirou had seen in the slowed-down world. He was sent flying, crashing through the wooden walls and colliding with the wall that marked the boundary of the house.
When he hit the wall, all of Shirou's bones cracked and his organs collided with each other inside his body. He spat blood as he collapsed face down on the floor.
"So that's how it ended..." Illya left the house, with that monster walking behind her.
Shirou lay on the ground; he seemed unconscious, but surprisingly, he moved. With difficulty, he tried to get up from the ground. Illya opened her eyes in surprise, for when Shirou got up, a bunch of green lines covered his body.
At the last moment, Shirou had managed to use Gradation Air on himself and increased his body's resistance.
"Wow. This onii-san is very strong, Berserker." Illya smiled complacently as she spoke to the man behind her. "But is it possible that onii-san can resist any more?"
He felt like his whole body had turned to mush, but he was still in one piece. He was alive. What he saw in front of him was like a monstrous nightmare. A girl accompanied by a beast was something he had only heard about in stories, but even he knew that stories could be real.
Now that he looked at Illya more closely, he realized that she looked a lot like the Einzbern homunculus. That planted many doubts in his mind.
"Who are you?" he spat blood along with that question.
Illya bowed like a fairy-tale princess and replied with that same disturbing smile: "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, onii-san."
He knew it, but he was stubborn and refused to believe it.
"So you... are like them..."
Shirou clenched his fist tightly as blood dripped down his forehead. Suddenly, he felt very angry with this girl. She is part of that family, the family that constantly denies his demands.
He just wanted to meet Kiritsugu's daughter. He wanted to know if she was okay and if he could do anything to make her happy, but people like her, those kinds of people are the ones who deny him his destiny.
"Berserker," said Illya, and he appeared in front of Shirou in a flash.
Berserker, the colossal man who looked like a statue in the darkness, raised his club once more and, with a powerful cry, struck again.
Shiro's body was once again covered in bright green lines that protected him, but he was still sent flying into the shed. He broke through the wall and fell inside the shed, among the dusty boxes.
His blood spilled among the boxes and fell to the floor.
"Ahhhhhh..." Shirou cried out in pain. He couldn't move, but he tried anyway.
Illya approached the hole in the wall and looked at Shirou. She seemed pleased to see Shirou completely shattered. The boy tried to move among the boxes, but the blood and broken bones prevented him from doing so.
It was a great feat that he had been able to withstand two blows from Berserker, but his luck had run out.
With blood-stained eyes, using his only unbroken arm, Shirou crawled forward. His gaze was filled with pure determination. He was angry and wanted to tear this clown to pieces.
"You're just like them," Shirou muttered through the blood. "I won't let you kill me. No one is going to kill me until I get what I want."
Beneath him, where the blood formed a pool, the magic circle left by Irisviel von Einzbern ten years ago began to glow, and Shirou's words traveled through time and space.
"Berserker."
The colossal monster raised its club at its Master's command and prepared to crush Shirou. It exhaled hot air like a bull, and its colossal muscles tensed as it gathered all its strength in its arm.
"No..." Shirou denied his fate. "No..."
In his eyes was a powerful flame that would burn anyone who dared to touch it.
"I won't let them keep her away from me. I'll crawl out of hell and chase after them until I can be with her."
An involuntary chant began...
"She's alone, sad, and waiting for Kiritsugu. I must answer for him. I must be there since he couldn't return to her."
The deepest desire of his heart manifested itself. He saw Kiritsugu dying of sadness, locked within the walls of this mansion. Shirou didn't want to be like him, he didn't want to live dying of regret and loneliness. So he crawled with all his might, looking for a way out of this certain death.
Even Illya hesitated for a second, for the one Shirou was referring to was none other than herself.
"I have to be with her! I have to save her!"
For ten years, that had been his greatest desire.
"I have to become her hero!"
"Berserker!" Illya shouted, refusing to listen to what Shirou wanted to say.
And just as Shirou looked at Berserker with the desire to kill him, Berserker swung his weapon with force and struck. Shirou did not hesitate for a moment. He didn't close his eyes or flinch. He faced death like a man, but he did not accept that fate....
...
But in the end, the blow never came. His death never happened. Instead, there was a metallic clang and Berserker recoiled. A cloud of smoke had formed in front of Shirou, and from that cloud of smoke emerged a girl with golden hair, wearing silver and blue armor, holding an invisible object in her hands as if it were a sword.
Wounded, Shirou looked at her. The full moon broke through the clouds and illuminated the girl. She was extremely beautiful, like a mysterious fairy who had emerged from the darkness.
She, who was looking sternly at Illya and Berserker, turned around and looked at Shirou, and smiled kindly at him, asking, "Are you my Master?"
And the last servant of this war was summoned...