It was true. Sakura had never stopped hoping to see him again.
'Senpai, that book...'
'Ah, this? It's actually quite interesting. It tells the story of a certain hero.'
'If you're interested, feel free to take it.'
Years ago, seeing that book in Shirou's house had filled Sakura with a rare, genuine joy. As a girl who seldom showed her emotions, she had smiled from the bottom of her heart that day. Even Rin had commented on how happy she looked, as if she had received a treasure more precious than any birthday gift. She had "borrowed" the book from Shirou and had never quite found the right time to return it.
When this war began, she had been certain that by using those [Heavensward Memoirs] as a catalyst, she could summon him to her side. But when the Black Archer appeared instead, her heart had sunk. The disappointment and regret were so profound they had momentarily drained the light from her eyes. Even as she tried to comfort herself with the thought that there was still time, she couldn't help the lingering sense of loss.
It wasn't until she felt that familiar protection earlier that she realized she was still being watched over. The heavy, stagnant weight in her heart finally began to lift.
"Sakura! Are you all right?!"
Rin, Illya, Muramasa, and Shirou burst back into the hall. They had felt the violent surge of unfamiliar magical energy and had come running as fast as they could.
"Yes, I'm fine, Sister." Sakura wiped away a stray tear and offered a bright, genuine smile as she stood to greet them.
"But..." Rin started, her eyes scanning Sakura with suspicion. She didn't know how to put her concern into words.
"I just ran into a bit of trouble, but it's over now."
Sakura didn't want the group to worry or misunderstand what happened, so she explained her encounter as clearly as possible. She didn't leave anything out.
"How did that person manage to reach out to Sakura without any of us noticing?" Rin asked, her worry deepening as she looked at her sister. They weren't afraid of a fair fight. As trained and educated magi, they had the confidence to face any enemy head-on. But these invisible, subtle methods left them feeling exposed and helpless.
"It can influence the negative emotions in a person's heart?"
"That shouldn't be the Archer's original power."
"It sounds like the work of some sort of strange entity or a deranged sorcerer," Muramasa noted, his expression grave. The description reminded him of a past event he had witnessed. Back in the Shimousa Province, he had seen enemies use similar methods to seize control of Heroic Spirits.
'Amakusa Shirou Tokisada...'
The hero who had fallen into the path of demons during that event immediately came to mind.
"Is history going to repeat itself?" Muramasa muttered to himself.
"Old man, do you know something about this?" Rin asked, catching his serious expression.
"No, the methods are different. It just reminds me of a specific incident from my memory." Muramasa shook his head. That incident had been the work of Amakusa being manipulated. Here in Romania, the chances of it being the same person were slim.
"If it can peer into your memories and use them against you... it likely possesses some form of psychic interference or mental manipulation ability," Muramasa concluded.
"So we have to rely entirely on our own awareness to resist it?" Shirou asked, realizing the magnitude of the problem.
"Exactly. It seems the other Archer was compromised during the last engagement." Muramasa offered a grim reminder. "I know it's not much of a solution, but you'll have to rely on your own mental strength."
"Ugh..." Illya slumped her shoulders, a chill running down her spine at the thought.
"Wait, isn't that a bit strange?" Rin interrupted, her brow furrowing. "If the enemy can peer into Sakura's memories, why were they so completely ignorant about the Black Archer's identity?"
She had noticed a glaring inconsistency. If the intruder had access to Sakura's mind, they should have known exactly who they were inhabiting. The Black Archer's habits were distinctive enough that even after only half a day, the entire group had caught on to his identity.
"That, I cannot say," Muramasa replied. "Either the Archer has completely locked his inner self away, or he has no memories left for the enemy to find."
The group fell into a thoughtful silence. For the moment, they had no clear solution or defense against such an insidious threat.
***
"Damn it!"
"What an irritating bunch."
Yubel stood in the center of a secluded valley, her voice echoing off the rocky walls. She had sought refuge in a shallow river, her silhouette obscured by the rising mist. She had taken a heavy blow from the Black Faction earlier, but her encounter with the White Faction had been even worse. Not only had she exhausted her immediate resources, but her Duel Disk had been physically damaged, with two of its vital zones severed.
"There's no choice. I'll have to siphon mana from that one instead."
She growled her dissatisfaction into the damp air. The contract with Sakura was still active, but the flow of magical energy had been cut off entirely. If it weren't for the fact that she was currently inhabiting Sakura's own Servant, she was certain the girl would have used a Command Spell to end her then and there.
Without a safe place to replenish her mana, she was in a precarious position. Fortunately, she had planted several "seeds" earlier, and it was time to reap the rewards.
She was still furious that her original plan had been dismantled. She recalled the golden-haired Saber and vowed to make her pay. If that woman hadn't interfered, Yubel wouldn't be in such a desperate situation. How could a Servant with such absolute "immunity" simply appear out of nowhere? The Black Archer had been so easy to dismantle, yet these people were proving to be an incredibly tough nut to crack.
"Was my influence discovered?"
"I need to investigate the White Faction more thoroughly."
Yubel's brow furrowed as she stared into the distance. She thrived on the darkness in people's hearts, and combined with the power of the [Light of Destruction], she could inhabit others' consciousness and spread her influence like a plague. She had abandoned her original body and fled the Red Faction because she knew Amakusa, being a Saint, was a threat to her ability to control the other Servants and Masters. She had decided to target the Black and White factions instead.
A single wish?
Yubel's ambitions were far grander than that. Even if her original body was sealed, Amakusa wouldn't be able to do anything to her. If she could infect the Black and White factions, she would be the winner regardless of which side emerged victorious. If the winning side was under her control, she might even gain multiple wishes. Since this was a team-based war, the number of wishes granted would depend on the number of survivors. If she could lead her controlled team to a decisive victory, she could potentially claim five or more wishes for herself.
That greed was the reason she had left the Red Faction so abruptly. Her original body remained there as a "safety net," a backup plan in case Amakusa managed to win. She had no intention of abandoning the Archer's body now. Putting all your eggs in one basket was a fool's errand.
With her agents in all three factions, the outcome of the war was irrelevant. She would win no matter what; the only question was how much she would gain.
"But... does this man really have no memories left at all?"
She recalled the reason for her exposure and still couldn't quite fathom it. She had returned to the White Faction believing that since the war had only just begun, the Master and Servant wouldn't be familiar enough with each other to notice a split in behavior. How could she have been so unlucky as to be seen through so quickly? She had tried to peer into the Archer's mind, but she had found nothing of use. It was as if the name "Emiya" was the only piece of information he still possessed.
"Even with amnesia, it shouldn't be this complete," she murmured to herself as she stood up. She had inhabited him so easily that she hadn't questioned it at the time, but now she was beginning to see the cracks in the situation.
"I'll have to look deeper into him later."
With that thought, Yubel began to move. She needed rest and recovery, and she had to be careful not to draw any more attention to herself. She would stay back for now and let the others exhaust themselves. Once she was fully prepared, she would strike based on the state of the war.
***
"Damn it, she vanished just like that."
"It's going to be nearly impossible to find her now."
Artoria bit her lip, frustrated. The enemy clearly knew better than to face them in a direct confrontation. She had almost had the mysterious intruder cornered, only for her to escape at the last second.
"You seemed to know quite a lot about that device in her hand," Red Archer said, turning to her. An ability that could break a Reality Marble so easily was a terrifying prospect.
"No, I only recognize it because I encountered a Servant using the same Noble Phantasm ten years ago."
"I'm ashamed to admit that it took several of us working together just to hold our own against him... and that was when he was already weakened."
Recalling the battle with that Caster, Artoria couldn't help but acknowledge the strength of her former adversary. If she and the others hadn't coordinated their efforts perfectly, she doubted she would be standing here today.
"If we can't neutralize her, she's going to be a massive problem later on."
The thought of those strange "magics" and "monsters" combined with the already complex web of Masters and Servants was enough to give anyone a headache. The situation was devolving into a chaotic mess.
"Let's head back and regroup with Shirou and the others," Artoria said. "We need to be even more cautious from now on."
"Right. I doubt she'll try to approach us again anytime soon."
***
"Are you all right, Caules?"
"I... I still feel a bit weak."
"Don't push yourself. If you're not feeling well, you should go back and rest."
Caules and Fiore stood at the gates of the Yggdmillennia castle, taking in the scenery. The castle had been completely renovated in only a single night.
"It's not as bad as it sounds," Caules said, shaking his head. "Last night just felt like a massive mental blow."
Recalling the sudden events of the previous evening, Caules was still baffled. He, his sister, and Natsu had been traveling back to the castle when he had been struck by a blinding pain that had knocked him unconscious. By the time he woke up, he had missed everything. The castle had been attacked by a mysterious Servant, the Archer's spare bodies had been destroyed, and a legendary "dragon" had appeared in the courtyard.
"But... only one night has passed, and the castle looks completely different," Caules noted, staring at the structure with wide eyes.
"It was Caster's doing," Fiore explained. "Bulma... she used these automated robots for the construction. The efficiency was so high it made Uncle Gordes break out in a cold sweat."
"He was actually quite upset. He said it wasn't right for machines to be more effective than the homunculi he creates."
Fiore chuckled as she recalled Gordes's horrified expression.
"So he's been locked in his room all night?" Caules asked, finally understanding the source of the rumors. Gordes's pride had been wounded by Caster's technological prowess, and he had thrown himself into his own research to compensate.
"But do those machines have any way to defend the castle?"
"I heard they were built strictly for speed, so they aren't equipped with weapons."
"Even for a Caster, there are limits to what she can do in one night. What she's accomplished already is nothing short of a miracle."
The siblings continued to talk as they watched the small robots scurrying about the battlements.
"Once Caster has had some rest today, she's planning to investigate the spell on Saber's body."
"The Assassin who can move freely according to that spell? We definitely need to be on guard, even if we don't know the full extent of its range or mana cost."
They both knew that as long as the spell on Siegfried remained, they were in constant danger. It meant the enemy could launch a surprise attack with their entire team whenever they chose. They couldn't afford to let their guard down for even a moment. Even if a decisive victory wasn't possible, a "hit-and-run" strategy would exhaust them mentally and physically. Siegfried was essentially a walking beacon, which made him vulnerable whenever he was alone. That was why Natsu was staying close to him, ready to counter any sudden attacks.
"By the way... I haven't seen the Clan Head's Servant at all today, have you?"
"I'm not sure where he went. The Clan Head himself has been locked in his study all morning."
"I suppose he's researching ways to deal with the Red and White factions. We should just follow his orders for now."
"I hope so..."
'*'
"Ugh!"
THUD.
Darnic stood in his dark study, a heavy book slipping from his trembling fingers and hitting the floor.
Yes!!
'You should humiliate that man!'
'The magus who caused you so much misery deserves to suffer the same fate!'
Darnic's eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing was shallow and ragged. He knew something was trying to influence him, and he was fighting with everything he had to drive it out. The intruder from last night... she had done something to him. But how? He hadn't touched her, and he hadn't been injured. They had only spoken briefly, yet he was already being corrupted.
Mental interference? A soul distortion? He didn't know the mechanics of the attack, but he knew that without understanding how it worked, he would have a difficult time resisting it. After a few more moments of frantic struggle, the restless energy in his mind began to settle. He slowly stood up and retrieved the fallen book, his movements calm and measured. But for a fleeting second, a manic, fractured light flickered in his eyes.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]