Shortly after Kirei and Gilgamesh left the Tohsaka mansion—
Arthur, with Rin still sitting on his shoulders, and Aoi passed through the mansion gates.
The iron gate creaked softly as it closed behind them.
"Rin, you should get down from there. And besides, you shouldn't be asking so many questions," Aoi said with a sigh.
"Humph~ I've already decided I'm going to marry Mr. Arthur when I grow up. Isn't it normal for me to want to know more about him?"
Rin made that shocking declaration as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Her voice was firm, determined, and completely free of embarrassment.
She had long since abandoned her original intention of "helping her father win the Holy Grail War."
Now, her thoughts were entirely occupied by something else.
Fortunately, Arthur showed no interest.
He simply lifted her off his shoulders, raised his hand, and lightly pinched her cheek.
"I prefer mature women like my master and her bodyguard. I have no interest whatsoever in children like you." His response was direct.
"Then they're my rivals in love!"
Rin shouted, puffing out her cheeks with an expression that was both cute and fierce.
It was the typical behavior of a six-year-old.
Because, in the end, she was a six-year-old.
Aoi rolled her eyes, completely helpless in the face of her daughter, and continued forward, guiding Arthur toward the room where Tokiomi was.
However, as they walked toward the mansion, Arthur's steps slowed almost imperceptibly.
His eyes narrowed.
Without warning, he grabbed Aoi and Rin and leaped to the side—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The space where Aoi had been standing was pierced by three black daggers that slammed violently into the ground.
"What just happened?" Aoi asked, still stunned, her heart racing from the sudden movement.
"It's Assassin."
Arthur's response was immediate.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
Then, dozens of dark figures slowly emerged from the flowering bushes, completely surrounding Arthur, Aoi, and Rin.
"Assassin? Isn't he Kirei's Servant?" Aoi's voice filled with disbelief.
"Tokiomi!"
The moment Aoi realized something was terribly wrong, her husband's name slipped from her lips.
"Leave them to me," Arthur said.
In the next instant, a golden ripple opened behind him. From it, a red-bladed katana slowly emerged.
"It's been a while since I've used you, Koryuga," he murmured as his fingers firmly wrapped around the hilt.
Then he moved.
Too fast for ordinary eyes to follow.
A few seconds later, they were all dead.
Soon after, the three of them entered the mansion.
As soon as they stepped into Tokiomi's study, Aoi's expression turned completely perplexed.
The bloody scene she had imagined was not there.
Tokiomi was seated in his chair as if nothing were wrong.
Upright, with his hands clasped beneath his chin, his head slightly lowered so that his eyes remained hidden in shadow.
At first glance, he appeared to simply be resting.
"Tokiomi?"
"..."
Aoi called his name, her voice trembling slightly.
No response.
Normally, even if he were dozing, a single call would be enough for him to open his eyes and resolve any situation with his usual elegance and composure.
That was exactly the kind of man Tokiomi was.
"Tokiomi?"
"..."
The lack of response began to erode her rationality.
The sense of incongruity slowly turned into fear.
She called out again, unable to accept what her instincts were already trying to tell her.
But it was useless.
She took two steps toward him—and then stopped.
Her body trembled.
Her hands clutched the hem of her skirt tightly, her fingers turning white from the force of her grip, as if that alone was keeping her from collapsing.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Rin, still too young to fully understand the situation, noticed the change in her mother.
She approached, held her hand, and asked.
"I'm fine, Rin. Please wait for me outside, okay? I need to talk to Tokiomi." She knelt down, placed her hands on Rin's shoulders, and spoke with a firmness that didn't match the tremor in her voice.
Tears began to well up in Aoi's eyes, but she forced a smile.
"But…"
Even at just six years old, Rin could feel her mother's sadness.
She looked at her father and suddenly pulled away from Aoi's hands, running toward him.
"Rin!"
"Dad?"
Rin reached out and lightly touched Tokiomi's clothes.
The moment she did, his body gave way and collapsed to the side like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Rip—
A wet sound echoed through the room as the wound that had been carefully concealed split open at once.
Blood flowed from the wound for a few seconds, forming a new pool on the floor and slowly spreading beneath the desk.
The crimson color filled Rin's vision.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
Immediately afterward, a pair of hands covered her eyes, preventing her from seeing more.
Arthur gently pulled Rin close, shielding her from the scene.
Then, in a calm voice, he declared:
"I'm sorry, but… he's already dead."
"No! That's impossible! How could Tokiomi be dead?!"
Aoi's reaction was immediate.
Completely devoid of her usual composure.
She threw herself onto Tokiomi's body, grabbing him, shaking him desperately, as if enough force could bring him back.
"Tokiomi, stop playing around with us! Wake up! The Holy Grail War isn't over yet—you wanted to reach the 'Root,' didn't you?!"
Her voice trembled, filled with desperation and denial.
She shook his body violently, refusing to accept the lifeless weight beneath her hands, as if persistence alone could force life back into the body that was already beginning to grow cold.
"Waaaaahhhhhhh…"
Her cries gradually broke into uneven sobs.
"Mom… Dad…"
Even without seeing, Rin began to understand what had happened.
Tears came immediately, running hot down her face and soaking Arthur's hands, which still covered her eyes firmly, preventing that scene from being etched into her memory forever.
"..."
Arthur watched everything in silence.
There was nothing he could say to fix it.
"My condolences to both of you…" Arthur sighed as he knelt down and hugged Rin, holding her firmly.
"It's okay. I'll protect you," he said, gently stroking her head.
Suddenly, a bolt of blue lightning struck outside the window.
In the next moment, Iskandar appeared, followed by Waver, crashing through the French windows, shards of glass still clinking in the air.
"Whoa! What happened here? I followed Archer's trail because his behavior was a bit concerning, but that guy was way too fast."
"You're too late, Rider," Arthur replied as he stood up.
Rin had already fallen asleep in his arms, her small body succumbing to exhaustion.
At the sight of another Servant appearing, Aoi instinctively stepped back before hiding behind Arthur.
"Am I late?" Iskandar asked, frowning.
"Yes. Archer's Master is dead."
Arthur stepped slightly aside.
Revealing Tokiomi's body lying on the floor.
"Who did this?" Iskandar's voice turned more serious.
"I have no idea."
Arthur shook his head.
"When we arrived, it was already like this. Whoever killed him even went out of their way to treat the body to make it look like he was still alive."
"Humph, what a disgusting sense of humor," Iskandar commented with a frown.
But his sharp eyes caught another detail.
He clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Even the Command Seals were transplanted. Looks like you wasted your time, Lancer."
His gaze passed over Rin, sleeping in Arthur's arms, and then over Aoi, who was still trembling behind him.
"What do we do now, Rider?" Waver asked, his voice shaky.
"Well, Caster still needs to be eliminated, but…" Iskandar drew his sword.
"These serpents attacking us constantly are an even bigger problem!"
He rolled his shoulders, already preparing for battle.
"Lancer, would you mind letting me handle Assassin? I don't think it's convenient for you to fight like this. As it happens, I've got some unfinished business with them. We can talk about Archer and Caster later."
"All right. Do as you wish," Arthur replied promptly.
---
(End of Chapter)
A/N: For some reason, I have this strange feeling that I'm forgetting something or writing something incorrectly in this fic... But there's one thing I realized: I wanted to connect this universe with Fate/Grand Order so it would make more sense for a future arc in Absolute Demonic Front. However, I overlooked an important detail— in FGO, there's only one Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, in 2004, and Solomon himself is summoned in that war, haha. I can probably find a way to connect everything later, but I genuinely forgot about that fact.