The following day.
Tohsaka Rin (female) found herself forced to retreat from the Emiya estate. The atmosphere had grown so frigid that pressing Saber (female) with further questions felt like a fool's errand.
As she walked away, Archer (male), standing invisible at her side in his astral form, spoke to her through their shared telepathic link.
—…Rin. Are you truly going to leave it at this? It would be wise to at least gather intelligence regarding Berserker's nature or his True Name.
"Enough. How could I ask more when she looks like she's on the verge of tears while calling him her lover? Besides, I heard his True Name during the heat of the battle."
When Berserker (male) had been engulfed in the explosion of Archer's arrows, Saber's voice had rung out across the clearing with desperate clarity.
—Elius!!
'...Elius, hmph. A knight of such peerless swordsmanship, possessing the might of a Great Hero… there is only one Servant who fits the name Elius.'
Having deduced Berserker's identity, Rin turned her keen intellect toward Saber, who claimed to know the beast intimately.
Her noble bearing was unmistakable. The way she addressed others as 'Sir' suggested she held a rank of high command over knights. Most tellingly, there was that golden holy sword she had drawn to unleash her Noble Phantasm.
Combining all these pieces—the era, the knightly code, and her bond with Elius—Rin had already pierced the veil of Saber's identity.
"Ugh, seriously! Why does a complete novice who can't even handle basic magecraft get to summon a Saber of such renown?"
"If I were her Master, winning this war would be nothing more than child's play!"
Tohsaka clutched her head, letting out a cry of sheer frustration. Watching her display of ego, Archer spoke with a voice heavy with dry amusement.
—...Hey now. It is rather unpleasant to hear such words spoken directly in front of your current Servant. However, I shall overlook it for now. It seems we have arrived.
"...So it seems."
She came to a halt before a room tucked deep within a local hotel. Yellow caution tape barred the entrance, stark against the somber décor.
[KEEP OUT]
As Rin stared at the forbidden threshold, Archer's voice resonated in her mind once more.
—I can sense it. Faint, but the residue of prana remains here, Master.
"...I knew it. This wasn't just some mundane string of serial killings, was it?"
She recalled the grim details of the spree that had gripped the city overnight. Every victim was found cold in their bed, devoid of any visible trauma or clear cause of death—a complete enigma to the police.
The only connection between the scenes was a chilling message scrawled on the mirrors: 'Welcome to the world of death!' accompanied by a single kiss mark.
The public had already dubbed the culprit 'Mary of Death.' Rin had come here on a hunch, and Archer's confirmation turned suspicion into certainty.
This was the work of a Servant. Rin clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
"...To involve innocent civilians in this..."
Though she could not be certain yet, it was highly probable that the perpetrator was either Caster (female) or Assassin, whose identities remained unknown.
One thing was absolute: she would show no mercy to the Servant, nor the Master who allowed such atrocities.
'As the Second Owner of Fuyuki City, I will not let this stand.'
With that silent vow, Tohsaka steeled her heart.
"...Saber, really. Masters usually avoid the public eye, so don't you think it's unnecessary to follow me this far? I doubt anything like last night will happen again."
Having received a call from Teacher Fujimura, Shirou Emiya (male) was heading to school with his lunch packed. He looked back at Artoria (female), who walked ahead of him with the vigilance of a sentry.
"The 'unforeseen' is a constant in war, Shirou. It is far too perilous to let you wander outside alone."
"Sigh..."
Shirou let out a long breath. He couldn't argue; she was right. Some Masters might indeed choose to strike in broad daylight if they were bold enough.
Still, he felt a measure of relief seeing her in better spirits. Only last night, she had been radiating an aura of profound melancholy.
If she was feeling better, then all was well. Lost in these thoughts, they soon reached the gates of the school.
Upon entering the campus, Shirou glanced at Saber, who was observing the modern architecture with curiosity.
"Saber, if anyone stops to talk to you, don't say anything—just shake your head. If you can manage a look that says 'I don't speak the language,' that would be ideal."
"I understand, Shirou… Hm?"
"What is it?"
Shirou stopped at her sudden change in tone. Artoria narrowed her eyes, scanning the vicinity.
"...I sense the lingering traces of prana. There is an unsettling discordance in the air, though I believe there is no immediate danger."
"See? I told you it wouldn't be dangerous. Come on, Saber. Let's go inside."
Emiya and Artoria stepped into the school building.
In the depth of night, Rin stood upon a rooftop, looking down as a body covered in white cloth was wheeled out of the hotel.
As the ambulance lights flickered against the cold pavement, she spoke to Archer, who watched from a closer vantage point in his astral form.
"...Archer. Is it the same killer?"
—The lack of external trauma and the identical message on the mirror suggests as much. Having viewed the corpse up close, the truth is clear.
"Did you discover something?"
Archer gave a grave affirmation.
—Indeed. Their soul was devoured.
"...What?"
Rin's eyes widened in horror.
"What do you mean by that? Devouring a soul?"
—It is a method of prana replenishment for a Servant. By preying upon humans and consuming their essence, they bypass the need for a Master's supply. It is an efficient, albeit wretched, way to sustain one's existence.
"...So that's why there were no wounds."
Rin grimaced, her features contorted by a rising tide of fury. To use such a loathsome technique in this city—it was an insult to everything she stood for.
However, she could not let anger cloud her tactical judgment.
"...Then the Servant using this method must either be Masterless or bound to a subpar magus."
—Most likely. It is a desperate measure taken to avoid fading or to compensate for a Master's meager circuits. It has the stench of Assassin's handiwork.
Rin nodded in agreement. If it were Caster, she likely wouldn't be picking off victims one by one; it would be more efficient to harvest souls en masse.
This pinpoint, covert predation pointed toward Assassin, a class typically detached from proper magecraft. Rin spoke to Archer, who had since manifested behind her, sitting perched on the ledge.
"...We're going after Assassin. Can you track them, Archer?"
"Hmph. It is possible, but even a lesser Assassin possesses Presence Concealment; the chances of them slipping away are high. Furthermore, I believe you are aware of your own principles. Did you not say it is your policy to avoid attempts at the impossible?"
"......You're right. But this is an exception."
"Is that so? Is your pride so stung that you cannot rest until you've struck back? You would pursue a difficult shadow while leaving a much easier target alone."
Knowing exactly who Archer was referring to, Tohsaka shook her head.
"—Enough. I can deal with that person anytime. As long as he stays hidden in his home, I'll turn a blind eye for the moment."
"—And if Emiya Shirou appears before you, still oblivious to his duty as a Master? What then?"
"...I'll kill him."
Tohsaka's voice was as cold as iron.
"I have no debt of loyalty to someone who doesn't even realize the stakes of the game he's playing."
"...Is that so?"
"It is. Now let's move, Archer. We have an Assassin to hunt."
".......Understood, Master."
Archer watched her retreating back with a complicated gaze for a silent moment before rising to follow his Master into the dark.
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