Happy people are always alike.
But suffering people each have their own misfortunes.
Using this phrase to describe the current state of Nikaido Hiro and Rin Tohsaka couldn't be more appropriate.
"Why did things turn out like this!"
Private Homurahara Academy, twilight.
Walking on the road after school, compared to Nikaido Hiro who was constantly vigilant of her surroundings, Rin Tohsaka's tense face held a kind of calm madness.
Actually, even if she summoned Archer again, she could accept it, because Archer certainly couldn't be called weak.
But...
Why is this Archer completely different from the one in her memories?!
"...Apologies, Master. I misspoke earlier. I was merely confirming the situation."
Red Archer, currently in a dematerialized spirit form, was also doubting his life. Still wearing his chef's uniform, when he stepped out of the Heroic Spirit summoning circle, he thought some Servant from Chaldea was playing a prank again.
He had even made a few sarcastic remarks to Rin Tohsaka, mistaking her for Ishtar, and only realized something was wrong when he saw the question marks all over her face.
"How could something like this happen?"
"Why would two contracts exist simultaneously, and the summoning wasn't answered from the Throne of Heroes either... Just thinking about it gives me a headache."
Rubbing his forehead, Red Archer also seemed to be suffering from a migraine.
Because he could feel that his contract with Chaldea hadn't been dissolved, but was merely overlaid by the contract with Rin Tohsaka.
This overlay didn't equate to deletion. It was like painting over Layer B with Layer A; Layer B still objectively existed.
As long as Layer A was moved aside, Layer B could still manifest.
"I feel that managing to summon a normal Servant is already nothing to be dissatisfied about."
"Perhaps I should have chosen a situation where the timing, location, and people were all favorable before summoning... Sigh, it's all because I was too impatient."
To the side, Nikaido Hiro was also rubbing her forehead and sighing, accompanied by an elementary school girl who, according to the Servant herself, couldn't even use spirit form invisibility.
Although she always considered herself quite good with children and got along with them well...
This time, she came to fight the Holy Grail War to become stronger, not to be a babysitter!
Looking at Nikaido Hiro holding the hand of the bewildered elementary school student, Illya, Rin Tohsaka felt slightly comforted.
Okay, well, at least compared to this girl who didn't exist in her memories, she at least had a normal Servant.
But is it really okay? This Heroic Spirit summoner... summoning Jiahao from the class next door would be one thing, but how did she summon an ordinary elementary school student??!!
"Sorry, Sister Hiro. Illya has disappointed you."
The girl named Illya, whose hand was held by Nikaido Hiro and who claimed to be a Caster, looked a bit embarrassed:
"But when it comes to the Holy Grail War, Illya's experience is still very rich!"
"Although Illya can't even use Ruby right now, as long as you believe in Illya, Sister, Illya will bring you victory!"
Illya waved her delicate little fist, looking determined to win victory for her Master.
How should one put it? It was inspiring, sure, but Nikaido Hiro couldn't really find it convincing.
"Illya, you can't use Ruby?"
"Yes, Big Brother Emiya, because of some special reasons..."
"...If you don't want to say, then you don't have to. Let me think. Although I still haven't figured out what happened, seizing the Holy Grail first shouldn't be wrong."
Of course, the thing that puzzled Nikaido Hiro the most was why Archer and Caster acted like old acquaintances.
If they were Servants with historical ties, that would be fine, but looking at their appearances, their art styles were completely different, weren't they?
As for Rin Tohsaka, who could vaguely guess some of the truth by accident, she didn't want to say anything at all.
She was just thinking: in the future, will she also be dragged up to the Throne of Heroes?
Looking at the tone and words Archer used when he was first summoned, it was hard for her not to be suspicious!
"Back to business."
"Archer, I asked you to dematerialize and scout the surroundings earlier. Did you find any enemies?"
Rin Tohsaka looked at Red Archer. Although Nikaido Hiro was strong, she was definitely inferior to Archer, who possessed Independent Action and spirit form capabilities, when it came to gathering intelligence.
Since Nikaido Hiro said they would be attacked after school, she naturally had to be prepared. After all, Nikaido Hiro's performance so far gave Rin Tohsaka a rather reliable feeling.
"I haven't found any enemies for the time being, but things are a bit strange."
Red Archer also put away his helpless expression and became slightly more serious:
"Although this place is roughly the same as the Fuyuki City in my memories, some details make me feel uncomfortable."
"The entire city has been placed with many suggestions resembling magical array rituals, and the magical energy fluctuations of the leylines are also very abnormal. There may be more than seven Servants in this city."
"I don't mean in terms of quantity, I mean classes."
Red Archer emphasized this specifically to avoid Rin Tohsaka misunderstanding that he was talking about Gilgamesh left over from the last Holy Grail War.
"More than seven?"
A question mark popped up above Rin Tohsaka's head.
In the Holy Grail War rules passed down in her family for generations, there were always seven Servant classes, right?
What classes could exist besides these seven?
"I'll explain that when I have the chance."
Red Archer looked around. Although his attributes as a Servant weren't outstanding, he was still quite sharp in certain aspects.
For instance, the surrounding pedestrians were gradually disappearing, as if they had entered a Bounded Field for expelling people, and the aura of magical energy began to surge abnormally.
"I say, to everyone peeping in the dark, please show yourselves."
Projecting Kanshou and Bakuya, although wearing a kitchen apron, Red Archer's imposing manner didn't diminish in the slightest.
He considered himself to be somewhat stronger than during the Fuyuki Holy Grail War period. After all, all those rare magical materials he ate at Chaldea weren't for nothing.
And responding to Red Archer's words, figures wrapped in black mist emerged from the shadows on the ground!
Red Archer immediately recognized what Servants these figures represented.
Assassin, Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
In his memories of the Fifth War, such enemies didn't exist. Moreover, they appeared to be Shadow Servants, looking very suspicious.
"Didn't you say you didn't find any enemies!"
"They are Assassins with Presence Concealment. Isn't it normal that I couldn't discover them?"
Deflecting a hidden weapon thrown by a Hundred Faces Hassan clone with a slash, facing the red-faced Rin Tohsaka's rebuke, Red Archer indicated that this wasn't his fault.
He was just a second-rate Servant; what could he do?
He was just a brick, moved to wherever he was needed!
"As expected, I can't count on you!"
Rin Tohsaka was speechless. In the Holy Grail War of the original history a few years ago, this Servant Archer of hers also frequently went missing for no reason.
Ask him, and he's 'jungling'. Look at him, and his team fight participation rate is terribly low. In the end, he stubbornly claims to look at the damage output!
Although he indeed contributed a lot to defeating the King of Heroes and winning the Holy Grail War, honestly speaking, Rin Tohsaka felt that her compatibility with Archer was very poor.
Biu~!
Rin Tohsaka took out a gem, snapped her fingers to shatter it into several pieces, and immediately, several magical energy rays shot straight towards the attacking Hassans!
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
Rin Tohsaka secured a triple kill on the spot; it was super effective!
"?"
Her move obviously shocked Red Archer as well.
He looked at his Master, who at this point in time should theoretically still be a rookie, with some uncertainty.
But an even greater shock was yet to come.
"Manjusaka!"
With a low cry from Nikaido Hiro, blood-red spider lilies bloomed upon the black blade she held in both hands, turning its blade blood-red!
The girl with long straight black hair executed a horizontal slash, and a beam of blood-colored sword energy, fully three zhang wide, whistled out, bisecting dozens of Hundred Faces Hassans gathering from one direction at the waist!
The residual sword energy even sliced directly into the roadside wall, causing the entire wall, three people high, to collapse into ruins. This power was in no way inferior to the Noble Phantasms of some weaker Servants.
Is this really not a Singularity caused by some Chaldean Servant messing around?
Why is this Master's combat power even fiercer than a Servant's!
"Go, Sister Hiro! Sister Rin!"
Elementary schooler Illya was in charge of cheering for the two, seemingly becoming a cheerleader.
Looking at the two Masters who were clearing out the Hassans with even greater efficiency than himself, a Servant, Red Archer fell into silence once again.
Would unleashing his ultimate move directly here seem like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
Perhaps finding a kitchen to cook would suit him better.
The battle progressed extremely quickly.
The Hundred Faces Hassans, being Shadow Servants, were absolutely no match for Nikaido Hiro and Rin Tohsaka. Hiro hadn't even activated Witch-transformed state; getting killed by the sneak attack previously was purely due to suffering from an intelligence gap.
"Is this all the capability the so-called 'Servants' of the Holy Grail War have?"
Nikaido Hiro suspected that the intelligence provided by the Simulated Universe she saw was incorrect. She remembered the introduction to the Holy Grail War stated that Servants fight and Masters support. Why was it the other way around now?
Is it that she's too strong, or are the Servants in this so-called Holy Grail War too weak? Are there no more formidable powerhouses for her to challenge?
Going on like this won't serve the purpose of improving herself! ...Hmm?
Clap, clap, clap.
A steady round of applause came from the shadows.
"It seems everyone has grown a lot compared to the past. It is truly gratifying."
"Especially you, Rin. Perhaps your father would also feel proud seeing your current appearance."
Accompanied by the hoarse voice of a middle-aged man dressed in Holy Church priest attire, a figure walked out from the shadows, causing Rin Tohsaka's expression to change abruptly and disgust to emerge on her face!
"Kirei Kotomine!"
Rin Tohsaka gritted her teeth and gave a low shout.
In the past at this point in time, she was ignorant and didn't know what kind of person this man—her father's apprentice and her own semi-teacher—was. Does the current her still not know?
"Archer, go! Use your Noble Phantasm to finish him!"
Rin Tohsaka decisively crushed a gem, allowing a massive amount of magical energy to flood into Red Archer's body, directly issuing the command for him to unleash his ultimate.
"...Order received."
Although he knew why his Master hated the other party so much, this priest named Kirei Kotomine always gave Red Archer a feeling that something was wrong.
The magical energy fluctuations on his body were very strange, not like the fluctuations a human would possess.
But things having reached this point, these didn't matter anymore. After all, in a certain sense, the other party was also his enemy.
[I am the bone of my sword...]
The aria came from Red Archer's mouth, and with the pulse of every word, the surrounding scenery changed bit by bit.
This was the Noble Phantasm Archer was proudest of, and his greatest reliance for defeating the strong as the weak—
The Reality Marble [Unlimited Blade Works]!
The sky turned to twilight, and invisible gears and a boundless battlefield emerged!
The expanding Reality Marble instantly encompassed Kirei Kotomine, who had just appeared.
If it were before, Rin Tohsaka's magical energy wouldn't actually be enough to support Red Archer using his Noble Phantasm unless she used a Command Spell.
But this Rin Tohsaka was clearly different. Just a single gem Mystic Code achieved the effect of a Command Spell from the past, taking Red Archer's output to the next level!
"Is this a Noble Phantasm..."
Nikaido Hiro took this opportunity to observe and learn. She was actually wondering if she, as a Master, had a chance to obtain a "Noble Phantasm." After all, she was also quite covetous of it.
The road to becoming stronger is endless. She believed that as she continuously experienced metamorphosis across the myriad worlds, she would definitely realize her dream.
"Truly lamentable. Actually, I had no intention of being enemies with you."
Kirei Kotomine shook his head. Raising his hands, his expression revealed an emotion named disappointment.
He was merely feeling sentimental upon seeing old acquaintances and wanted to chat and catch up.
Actually, except for that black-haired, red-eyed girl who shouldn't exist here, everyone else should be his friend, not his enemy.
After all, he came to this place guided by divine revelation... to eliminate that supreme evil, that future which threatens the birth of countless new lives, and at the same time, to reclaim the accessory belonging to the Lord.
His descent was even affirmed by the Counter Force. If not for that King who discarded his own name being stubborn, perhaps he would have already completed his mission and returned.
But regardless, at least in this moment, the existence named Kirei Kotomine was indeed righteous—to the Counter Force.
"Cut the crap!"
"Archer, no need to be polite with him. I want to avenge my father one more time!"
Rin Tohsaka couldn't care less about all that. The hatred of killing one's father is irreconcilable!
Although she had already taken revenge once in the past, after being reborn, she didn't mind taking revenge once more!
Swish, swish—!
Red Archer didn't waste words either. Hundreds of sword-type Noble Phantasms were projected around Kirei Kotomine in the blink of an eye.
Under the sound of blades breaking the wind, leaving Kirei Kotomine no space to dodge, he vowed to pierce his heart with ten thousand swords simultaneously!
"Hehe..."
Kirei Kotomine just smiled lightly.
Accompanied by his laughter, the priest attire on his body scattered like smoke and dust, and his jet-black hair turned pale.
Beneath that priest attire, dense, unknown incantations interwoven in black and red covered the skin of Kirei Kotomine's upper body!
Red light emitting blasphemy and filth condensed on his chest, forming an invisible barrier.
Under the repeated bombardment of these hundreds and thousands of projected Noble Phantasms, he didn't even move his feet, blocking and annihilating all the Noble Phantasms projected by Unlimited Blade Works!
"?!"
Rin Tohsaka's expression changed abruptly. This was no longer a problem of being different from her memory!
Red Archer also furrowed his brows tightly. As a Servant, he was sharper regarding the abnormal magical energy flickering on this priest.
This was the magical energy of a Spirit Origin, and it belonged to an irregular Spirit Origin.
This Spirit Origin was named—Alter Ego.
The priest before his eyes might not be the Kirei Kotomine of the Holy Church in his memories at all, but a far more complex existence—
"Rin, kill that outsider beside you who shouldn't exist here, and I won't be enemies with you."
"On the contrary, I will answer your confusion and send you back to where you should go."
Kirei Kotomine, whose aura had become incomparably powerful, said to Rin Tohsaka and the others:
"You are committing a foolish act. It is not too late to turn back now..."
"Before you are abandoned by the world."
____
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