Homurahara Academy.
This was an ordinary school in the coastal town of Fuyuki.
Though ordinary, it perhaps had a few more magi than usual.
For example, Tohsaka Rin, who was currently rushing toward the academy.
Though she wasn't using any magecraft, her feet seemed to carry the wind as she raced toward the school.
The sky was overcast and gloomy, fierce winds howled, and large snowflakes drifted gently down, blanketing the streets in silver.
Logically, it was still daytime, and the Holy Grail War hadn't even officially begun yet.
No matter how you looked at it, a Servant shouldn't be appearing in broad daylight.
Rin had considered this on the way.
But the moment she thought her little sister might be in danger, she didn't hesitate for a second.
Though it was day, the sky was so dark it felt like night had fallen.
The school lights were already on, and students who had just finished lunch were preparing for their afternoon break.
The girl crossed the sports field, passed through a teaching building, and was heading toward Sakura's classroom.
At that moment, in a deserted corner of the building, a hand suddenly grabbed her.
"Rin, wait... Something feels off about this place."
Rin instinctively turned and saw a young man who had somehow appeared behind her.
His slightly bulky clothing concealed his figure, and a black hood covered most of his face...of course, since he was wearing a mask anyway, it didn't matter much.
But seeing him, the girl froze for a second.
Normally, there should be a special connection between Master and Servant, yet she hadn't sensed Alvin's presence at all until now.
Presence Concealment?
Whether it was good luck or bad, Alvin hadn't manifested in the "Saber" class this time.
Among the seven standard classes of the Holy Grail War, the weakest in direct combat was Assassin... and as fate would have it, Alvin's class this time was precisely Assassin.
As for why Assassin... it was likely related to his unique authority, "Guardian of the Night EX."
Rin asked instinctively, "Why did you follow me...?"
"I can't just leave my Master alone and stay home, can I?"
Alvin shrugged and continued, "Someone's set up a special bounded field in this school... and it's probably aimed at you. You can't stay here long."
On the surface, the school looked no different from usual.
But the moment Alvin stepped inside, he had sensed it...this school had been secretly layered with a special bounded field.
And judging from that phone call earlier, the other party was clearly targeting Tohsaka Rin.
"But the Holy Grail War hasn't even started yet. How could someone make a move this early...?"
Tohsaka Rin seemed unable to believe it.
"Didn't you summon your Servant early too?"
Alvin shook his head making the girl speechless for a moment.
If she could summon her Servant ahead of time... then it wasn't impossible for another Master to lay traps in advance.
But...
"Why would they know I'm a Master in this Holy Grail War...?"
"After the Greater Grail system was exposed last time, a lot of people from outside flooded into Fuyuki...
They must have done their investigations in advance."
Alvin glanced around. "Anyway, leave this place to me. I'll find Sakura as quickly as possible. You get out of the school first—"
Before he could finish, Rin interrupted. "I'm coming with you."
"If the enemy is really targeting us... leaving alone right now wouldn't be safe either, would it? Staying with you is actually safer, no?"
Alvin fell silent.
Though he didn't want to admit it, Rin was right.
If he let her go back alone now, she might run straight into an ambush...
"It's a shame your class is Assassin... If it were any other class, it would be better."
A note of regret crept into Rin's voice.
In direct confrontations, Assassins suffered major disadvantages due to their "parameters."
This class only shone when operating from the shadows.
Right now, they were in the open while the enemy lurked in the dark; for an Assassin, this was highly unfavorable.
Alvin stayed quiet, thinking to himself: 'You probably haven't seen what a triple-red-panel Assassin looks like...'
"Let's go. We need to leave this area first."
He took Rin's hand. "We have to stay alert the whole time... We need to find a better spot to counterattack."
"Hold on tight."
Alvin added.
"Huh?"
Rin blinked, not yet grasping what he meant, when she suddenly felt her body lift lightly into the air.
Alvin scooped up her soft figure in a princess carry. A warm aura radiated from his embrace.
Rin jumped in surprise, confusion flooding her eyes as she stammered, "Assassin... what are you doing?"
Alvin looked toward the nearby rooftop. "This place is full of cover. Since the enemy is clearly coming for you... let's go to the roof and wait for them."
Through her soft bangs, Rin stole a glance at him and murmured, "Even on the rooftop, we won't have the advantage..."
She couldn't shake her worry.
Before the Holy Grail War, she had studied the strengths and weaknesses of each class.
For example, Saber, Lancer, and Archer were collectively called the "Three Knight Classes."
Most of them originated from the Age of Gods, so they possessed extremely high Magic Resistance; 99% of modern magi couldn't harm them at all.
As for Assassin... if one had to name its strengths, it was probably intelligence gathering and sneaking in to slit the enemy Master's throat during engagements.
In a positional battle like this, Assassin was actually at a severe disadvantage.
However, Alvin smiled. "We're already here anyway. We can't just run now, can we?"
Rin fell silent.
"Hold on tight so you don't fall!"
Carrying the girl, Alvin leaped over the tall school building in one bound, landing on the rooftop.
In an instant, wind and snow surged toward them.
The piercing cold made Rin instinctively hug her arms around herself.
"So cold!"
With her physical condition, she normally shouldn't feel the cold at all.
But perhaps because of yesterday's "cold wave," or maybe sensing murderous intent lurking in the shadows, the moment she stepped onto the rooftop, a chill crawled up her spine.
Alvin removed his outer garment and draped it over the girl.
Then he walked to the area near the rooftop door and swept away the accumulated snow.
Beneath it revealed a strikingly vivid crimson magical crest.
Rin approached, her eyes narrowing slightly as she instinctively said, "A magecraft engraving?"
Someone really set up a bounded field in the school ahead of time... But why would they do that?
The girl's mind was in chaos.
Then, a sudden chill rose in her heart, a cold that seemed to pierce straight through her body to the marrow.
Immediately after, a vivid crimson light flared behind her.
Whoosh!
The next instant, a heavy clanking sound like colliding chains rang out.
A metallic chain shot toward Rin with deadly intent.
It was too fast.
By the time she reacted, it was already too late to dodge. She could only watch wide-eyed as the chain bore down on her.
Boom!
At that moment, Alvin stepped forward and threw a punch at the incoming chain.
Space trembled as the blow forcibly repelled it.
Alvin didn't pursue and simply stared ahead.
Wind and snow raged; only howling filled their ears.
Tohsaka Rin was about to speak when a cold, ethereal voice suddenly echoed across the rooftop.
"For an Assassin to appear openly in front of another Servant... Should I call that overconfidence, or sheer stupidity?"
Rin's heart tightened as she snapped her head up, eyes fixed on the empty space ahead.
The air seemed to ripple slightly.
Then, a slender, beautiful figure silently materialized in their view.
Long purple hair cascaded down her back.
A bewitching eye patch covered her eyes.
The frigid wind whipped her dress wildly, accentuating her explosively sexy figure.
Beneath the skirt were jade-like, long legs.
The openwork neckline of her outfit revealed glimpses of snowy skin at her full, proud chest.
But the chains coiled around her lent the woman a deadly, murderous aura.
Rin stared intently at this beautiful yet extraordinarily dangerous seductress and spoke, "Where have you hidden Sakura?!"
"Sakura...?"
The purple-haired woman tilted her head in slight confusion, then quickly pressed her vivid red lips together. "You'll get to see her soon enough."
With that said, she turned her head slightly.
Though the eye patch blocked her sight, Alvin could still feel her presence lock onto him.
"Assassin, if I were you, I'd surrender without resistance right now."
As she spoke, she slowly raised the cold chain in her hand. A silver blade hovered in mid-air, swaying gently.
"An Assassin has no chance of winning in a direct confrontation with another Servant."
Alvin smiled. "If I abandon my Master and run now... wouldn't you kill a traitor like me afterward?"
The corner of the purple-haired woman's mouth curved into a cold arc. "I'd love to... but even if you did that, I wouldn't kill you."
"After all, my Master's orders are to bring you back completely unharmed."
Bring me back...?
Alvin froze for a second, thinking: In a Holy Grail War, you don't capture my Master, you want me? Does your Master behind the scenes really think they can supply magical energy to two Servants at once?
"Enough talk..."
The purple-haired woman slowly raised her head. "Are you ready, Assassin!"
The next instant, her figure vanished from sight, leaving only an afterimage.
Rin instinctively clenched her fists, body tensing as her eyes scanned everywhere, but she couldn't catch any trace of the enemy.
This mysterious Servant was simply too fast....too fast for anyone to react.
Whoosh!
The silver blade sliced through the air, abruptly appearing behind Alvin.
The clanking of chains echoed around the purple-haired woman, wrapped in deep purple magical light, stabbing toward Alvin from behind.
"Assassin, watch your back!"
Tohsaka Rin cried out almost involuntarily.
At the exact moment she spoke, Alvin swung his fist backward in a powerful punch.
The purple-haired woman didn't dodge or evade; instead, a faint curve appeared on her lips.
This guy really lacks combat experience... How could an Assassin possibly match the Agility and Strength of one of the Three Knight classes?
She truly didn't understand why her Master was so insistent on obtaining an Assassin.
The purple-haired woman was still pondering this when a sudden chill ran down her back.
Just as Alvin's fist was about to connect, her body tensed abruptly.
As though sensing something, she swiftly shifted sideways.
The punch grazed past her cheek by a hair's breadth.
Then—
BOOM!!!
A vast, ocean-like surge of golden magical energy engulfed the entire rooftop. Alvin's golden fist carried the oppressive weight of a mountain.
Though she avoided the direct hit, the purple-haired woman was still sent flying by the shockwave of magical power, crashing backward with a heavy thud.
Silence fell; only the howling wind and snow continued to swirl across the rooftop.
Tohsaka Rin's expression was slightly dazed.
The worry in her heart had completely vanished, replaced by a single slow-rising thought.
You call this an Assassin...?
At that moment, the purple-haired woman in the distance supported herself and slowly stood.
Her previously expressionless, exquisite face now carried unmistakable gravity.
"I see... So you're not like the Assassins I know?"
"No wonder she's so fixated on you... In that case, I'll have to take this fight seriously..."
As she finished speaking, she began to reach for her eye patch.
Just then, a pleasant, gentle voice sounded in her ear.
"Withdraw for now, Rider."
The purple-haired woman addressed as "Rider" shifted slightly and instinctively replied, "But didn't you want to take him..."
"There's no rush... We can take our time~"
"No matter what, he'll end up as my Servant in the end. Hehehe..."
Hearing the sweet, tender voice filled with affection in her ear, Rider no longer hesitated and slowly retreated backward until, finally, she completely vanished into the wind and snow.
Tohsaka Rin remained tense, staring at the spot where the purple-haired woman had disappeared. A strange, indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.
Under normal circumstances, would a Master in the Holy Grail War become interested in an enemy Servant?
The answer was no.
After all, she had only just summoned the White Dragon a short while ago... How could someone already know she was a Master in the Holy Grail War and that the White Dragon was with her?
Exactly who wanted the White Dragon...?
For some reason, a certain name inexplicably surfaced in her mind.
...
Einzbern Castle.
"Failed, huh..."
Illya lowered her head to look at the magic circle beneath her feet, then raised her gaze to the figure before her, one that was not the one she had hoped for and quickly let out a soft sigh.
"I never expected it to turn out like this."
Irisviel stood to the side, silently watching the Servant in front of her daughter.
Though she wanted to offer comfort, she forcibly swallowed the words she had been about to say.
Her eyes were filled with complexity.
They had prepared his relic so far in advance specifically to summon the White Dragon, yet it had still failed.
...Should she call it terribly bad luck or what?
"It's okay, Illya... If you really want to see him, once we win the Holy Grail War, you can just use it to make a wish."
Irisviel quickly patted her daughter's shoulder gently and spoke in a soft voice.
Illya gave a quiet "mm," but her mood remained somewhat downcast.
"Oh dear, oh dear... Are you two here to participate in the Holy Grail War or to find a person?
Though this big brother doesn't really understand human emotions, being outdone by that guy still makes me a little sad, you know."
At that moment, a somewhat helpless sigh came from ahead.
The Servant wore white robes, held a staff, and his smile carried a hint of frivolity and mystery.
Illya had just raised her head, about to speak, when the white-haired mage continued in his leisurely tone,
"And besides... you don't necessarily need a Grail wish to see him, do you?"
.
.