[Fuyuki Private Homurahara Academy]
This was an ordinary school located in the coastal town of Fuyuki. Ordinary, but with slightly more magi inside than usual.
For example, Tohsaka Rin, who was currently hurrying toward the academy.
Even without using any magecraft, it was as if wind was beneath her feet as she ran all the way toward the school.
The sky was overcast, cold winds raged, and large flakes of snow drifted down softly, covering the streets in a layer of silver.
Logically, it was daytime now, and the Holy Grail War hadn't officially begun yet. No matter how you looked at it, Servants shouldn't be appearing in broad daylight.
Rin had thought about this on the way.
But the moment she considered that her sister might be in danger, she didn't hesitate at all.
Even though it was still daytime, the sky was so gloomy it felt like night had fallen. The school lights were already on early, and after lunch, the students were preparing for their midday break.
Rin crossed the field, passed through one of the school buildings, and was about to head toward Sakura Matou's classroom.
At that moment, in a deserted corner of the building, a hand suddenly grabbed her.
"Rin, wait a second. Something about this place feels off."
Rin instinctively turned around and saw that a boy had appeared behind her at some point.
A slightly bulky cloak concealed his figure, and a black hood covered most of his face. Of course, since he was wearing a mask, even without the hood it wouldn't have mattered much.
Rin froze for a moment. Normally, there should be a special connection between a Master and a Servant, but she hadn't sensed Alvin's presence at all just now.
'Presence Concealment?'
It was hard to say whether it was good luck or bad luck, but this time Alvin had not manifested as "Saber."
Among the seven classes in the Holy Grail War, in direct combat, the weakest class was Assassin, and coincidentally, that was exactly the class Alvin had this time.
As for why Assassin, it was likely related to his unique authority, "Watcher EX."
Rin subconsciously asked, "Why did you follow me?"
"I can't just ignore my Master and stay at home, can I?"
Alvin shrugged and continued, "There's a special magical barrier set up in this school. It's probably aimed at you. You can't stay here any longer."
On the surface, the school looked no different from usual.
But the moment Alvin stepped inside, he had already noticed it. Someone had secretly set up a special barrier throughout the school.
And judging from that phone call earlier, the other party was clearly targeting Tohsaka Rin.
"But the Holy Grail War hasn't started yet. Why would someone act in advance?"
Rin seemed unable to believe it.
"Didn't you summon a Servant in advance too?", Alvin shook his head.
Rin was left speechless.
Since she could summon a Servant early, then it wasn't impossible for another Master to secretly set up traps in advance.
It was just…
"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 outsiders flooded into Fuyuki, they probably did their research beforehand."
Alvin glanced around, "Anyway, leave this place to me. I'll find Sakura as soon as possible. You should leave the school first—"
Before he could finish, Rin interrupted, "I'm going with you."
"If the enemy is already targeting us, then leaving on my own right now isn't safe either, right? Following you would be safer."
Alvin fell silent.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, Rin was right.
If he let her go back alone now, she might run into an ambush.
"It's a pity your class is Assassin, if it were another class, it would be better."
There was a hint of regret in Rin's voice.
In direct combat, Assassin had a major disadvantage due to its "parameters." This class was usually at its best when operating from the shadows.
Right now, they were exposed while the enemy was hidden. For an Assassin, this was actually very unfavorable.
Alvin didn't say anything, thinking to himself that she probably hadn't seen what a triple red-parameter Assassin looked like.
"Let's go. We should leave here first."
He grabbed Rin's hand, "We need to stay alert here at all times… we should change to a better place to counterattack."
"Hold on tight," Alvin added.
"Huh?"
Rin blinked, not yet understanding what he meant, when she suddenly felt her body become weightless.
Alvin lifted her soft body into his arms, a warm presence coming from his chest.
Rin was startled, confusion flooding her eyes as she stammered, "Assassin… what are you doing?"
Alvin looked toward the rooftop not far away and said, "There's cover everywhere here. Since the enemy is clearly targeting you, we'll wait for them on the rooftop."
Through her soft bangs, Rin secretly glanced at him and said quietly, "Even on the rooftop, we don't have an advantage…"
She couldn't shake her concern. Before the Holy Grail War, she had already studied the strengths and weaknesses of each class.
For example, Saber, Lancer, and Archer were collectively called the "Three Knight Classes." Most of them came from the Age of Gods, so they had extremely high magic resistance. Ninety-nine percent of modern magi couldn't harm them at all.
As for Assassin, if it had any advantage, it was probably intelligence gathering, or sneaking in during a clash to slit the enemy Master's throat.
In this kind of positional battle, Assassin was actually at a disadvantage.
Alvin smiled, "We're already here. It's not like we can run away now, right?"
Rin fell silent.
"Hold tight, don't fall!"
Carrying Rin, Alvin leaped over the tall school building in a single bound and landed on the rooftop.
In an instant, wind and snow surged toward them, and the biting cold made Rin instinctively hug herself.
"So cold!"
With Rin's physical condition, she normally shouldn't have felt cold.
But perhaps because of yesterday's "cold wave," or perhaps because she sensed the killing intent hidden in the shadows, the moment she stepped onto the rooftop, a chill ran down her spine.
Alvin took off his cloak and draped it over her.
Then he stepped forward to the area near the rooftop door and brushed away the snow.
Underneath, an extremely bright red magical mark was revealed.
Rin stepped closer, her expression changing slightly as she blurted out, "A magic crest?"
So someone really had set up a magical barrier in the school beforehand, but why would they do this?
Her thoughts were in chaos when suddenly a chill rose in her heart... a cold that seemed to pierce straight into her bones.
Immediately after, a crimson light suddenly flared up behind her.
Whoosh!
The next moment, a heavy metallic sound like chains colliding rang out as a chain shot toward Rin.
It was too fast. By the time Rin reacted, she couldn't dodge and could only watch as the chain rushed straight at her.
Boom!
At that moment, Alvin stepped forward and threw a punch at the incoming chain. Space trembled as he forcefully knocked it back.
He didn't pursue, only stared ahead.
Wind and snow howled, filling the air with their roar.
Rin was about to speak when a cold, faint voice suddenly echoed across the rooftop.
"An Assassin appearing openly in front of another Servant… should I call it bold, or just foolish?"
Rin's heart tightened. She suddenly raised her head, her eyes fixed on the empty space ahead.
The space seemed to distort slightly, and then a slender figure silently appeared before them.
She had long purple hair flowing down her back, and a seductive blindfold covered her eyes.
The cold wind lifted her clothes wildly, highlighting her extremely alluring and curvy figure. Beneath her skirt were long, jade-like legs. The open front of her outfit revealed a hint of pale skin, full and firm.
But the chains coiling around her added a sense of deadly menace.
Rin stared at this beautiful yet extremely dangerous woman and demanded, "Where did you hide Sakura?"
"Sakura?"
The purple-haired woman tilted her head slightly in confusion, then soon pressed her red lips together and said, "You'll see her soon enough."
As she spoke, she tilted her head slightly. Even with the blindfold, Alvin could clearly feel her presence locking onto him.
"Assassin, if I were you, I would give up resisting right now."
She slowly raised the cold chain in her hand. A silver blade floated in midair, swaying gently.
"An Assassin fighting another Servant head-on… has no chance of winning."
Alvin smiled, "If I abandon my Master and run now, wouldn't you just kill me afterward for betraying them?"
A cold curve lifted at the corner of the woman's lips, "I would like to… but even if you did that, I wouldn't kill you."
"After all, my Master's order is to take you away unharmed."
'Take me away?'
Alvin was momentarily stunned, 'In a Holy Grail War, instead of capturing my Master, you're targeting me? Does your Master have enough mana to support two Servants at once?'
"Enough talk…"
The purple-haired woman slowly raised her head, "Are you ready, Assassin?"
In the next instant, her figure vanished, leaving only an afterimage.
Rin clenched her fists instinctively, her body tense as her eyes scanned everywhere, but she couldn't catch sight of the enemy at all.
This mysterious Servant was simply too fast, so fast that it left no time to react.
Whoosh!
A silver blade cut through the air, suddenly appearing behind Alvin.
The sound of chains clashed around the purple-haired woman as they wrapped in deep violet magical light, thrusting toward Alvin from behind.
"Assassin, behind you!"
Rin shouted almost instinctively.
At the exact same moment she spoke, Alvin swung his fist and punched backward.
The purple-haired woman didn't dodge. Instead, a faint smile appeared on her face.
'This guy really lacks combat experience… how could an Assassin possibly match the agility and strength of the "Three Knight Classes"?'
'I really don't understand why my Master insists on obtaining an Assassin—'
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