"The Caster class card."
Holding the Caster class card, Saber felt a sudden chill for some reason. Although she didn't know this Caster, she always had an awkward feeling when approaching her.
"Is it psychological?"
Saber smiled helplessly. It seemed that after staying in this era for ten years, she was inevitably influenced by Akatsuki and the others.
She put away the Caster class card.
"Tohsaka Rin!" "Luvia!"
Tohsaka Rin and Luvia had somehow gotten into a brawl. Illya and Miyu watched the two fighting like children, feeling completely lost.
Just then.
ruby voiced a question.
"Don't you find it strange? Caster has been defeated, and the class card recovered, yet isn't the collapse of this space a bit slow?"
"You actually noticed something like that, Big Sister!"
"sapphire! I'm not just some perverted old man who only flirts with little girls! Of course I can spot an anomaly like this!"
"Yes, what exactly is going on."
"Illya! Miyu! Look out!"
The aftermath of two Holy Swords colliding turned into a shockwave that sent everyone flying. After stabilizing herself, Saber quickly regained her stance and became vigilant. She saw a Saber completely shrouded in black aura facing her from a distance.
"How could this happen! It's a second class card, and it's Saber's! Is she the same person as you?!" Tohsaka Rin's eyes widened.
"Rin, be careful!"
Massive magical energy coiled around the Jet-Black Holy Sword. On the other side, everyone except Saber showed signs of magical energy depletion.
"There's no choice, we have to retreat for now! ruby! Prepare to diseng—"
"Foolish."
A cold voice rang out. The next moment, the Jet-Black Holy Sword was pressed against Tohsaka Rin's neck. The scent of death was like a massive hand gripping her heart tightly.
"Sh-She spoke?!"
"She actually spoke!" Luvia quickly distanced herself from Saber, pulling out the gems in her pocket at the same time. "This woman..."
"Call Akatsuki out!"
"We don't know where Akatsuki is," Tohsaka Rin said through gritted teeth. Black Saber sneered, "Lying. Rin, I don't wish to kill you, but if you refuse to cooperate, I won't show mercy." The sword in her hand pressed down slightly, leaving a streak of blood on Tohsaka Rin's neck.
"Stop!"
Saber shouted loudly, charging forward with her sword, but Black Saber repelled her several steps with a single swing.
"The 'me' from the Fourth Holy Grail War? Even with such vast magical energy, you are still so weak. It's hard to imagine why that Akatsuki chose this side!"
Blood flowed down the Jet-Black Holy Sword onto Black Saber's hand. Black Saber looked at the crowd with a gloomy expression.
"Everyone crossed the bridge of tragedy, yet she disappeared. Unforgivable. How can she, who abandoned an entire timeline, live comfortably in this world!"
"Abandoned an entire timeline..." Tohsaka Rin pondered the meaning of this sentence. She recalled a dream she once had, where she, as the head of the Tohsaka Family, participated in the Fifth Holy Grail War that shouldn't have occurred. "Are you a phantom from that timeline?!"
"A phantom from a timeline, huh. An accurate description. That's certainly your style, Rin."
"That Akatsuki..." Saber looked at Black Saber, who was holding Tohsaka Rin hostage, and pondered deeply. Akatsuki likely knew about Black Saber's existence and knew that Tohsaka Rin and the others couldn't possibly defeat such a Saber on their own. "Is that why she sent me here for support?"
"Never mind. Since she doesn't plan on coming out, I'll just kill all of you here, and then go find her myself!"
"In your dreams!"
Tohsaka Rin threw a gem to a level even with Black Saber's eyes. The gem emitted a dazzling light, causing Black Saber's movements to halt for a split second.
"Baji!"
Taking advantage of that momentary pause, Tohsaka Rin's perfectly trained legs immediately tensed up. Using power from her waist, the Magecraft Crest engraved on her body emitted a faint light. Utilizing the spell to reinforce her body, Tohsaka Rin punched Black Saber in the abdomen.
"!"
After only a momentary halt, Black Saber immediately grabbed Tohsaka Rin's wrist. "Impressive. You truly live up to your name, Tohsaka Rin. If it were my former self, I might have lost after taking that blow to the abdomen, but you are too naive!"
Crack!
The sound of bone shattering rang out. A sharp burst of pain instantly incapacitated Tohsaka Rin. The next second, the pain in her abdomen forced Tohsaka Rin to curl up on the ground.
"This is a return gift. I merely used the same force."
Black Saber looked coldly at the surrounding crowd, completely ignoring Tohsaka Rin, who was convulsing in pain. Since she was no longer a threat, Black Saber stepped over Tohsaka Rin's body, holding the Jet-Black Holy Sword, and fixed her gaze upon the others.
"..."
What happened? My stomach hurts so much—no, not just my stomach, my entire body hurts! What exactly happened! My last memory was only of Tohsaka Rin being struck down.
Illya struggled to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Miyu being stabbed through the chest by Black Saber's sword.
The surrounding environment looked as if it had suffered a catastrophe. Fuyuki Bridge in the distance was split into two, and a massive sword mark appeared on the riverbed of the Miyori River.
"What happened?"
Her transformation state had somehow been undone, and Illya was now only wearing a thin layer of clothing.
"Illya, Sfeel, run..."
"Oh? Illya, you're still alive. As expected, the lesser grail wouldn't die so easily."
Seeing Black Saber approach her, Illya retreated in fear.
"No, don't come closer... I don't want to..."
"How pathetic. The Illyasviel von Einzbern of this world is actually like this. How disgraceful... such a hothouse flower..."
"No, I don't want to!"
Extreme fear filled Illya's heart. The threat of death seemed to touch something deep within her. Illya's consciousness gradually became chaotic. Before losing consciousness, Illya seemed to hear the sound of chains breaking, and then there was nothing else; she lost consciousness.
Massive magical energy was gathering. Centered on Illya, a tornado composed purely of magical energy appeared out of thin air.
"What is this?"
Black Saber frowned tightly while looking at Illya.
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