Klipper: No, Archer is an Alaya's dog. Alaya intervenes only in the events following the end of the Age of God... and the Trojan War is a war between gods before the end of the Age of Gods.

New Year Special

A cemetery is a theater. In the rows, listen to the heartbeat of eternity.

Alain Leprest

Tohsaka Rin was in a very bad mood. Moments of anger alternated with a feeling of oppressive depression. She felt... betrayed. In truth, she had never liked Kotomine Kirei. He was an exasperating man with a warped mind. It was as if man exuded a deep gloom, a deep malaise, and boredom of everything. As if he constantly denigrated himself. As if nothing really mattered to him. Often, Rin wanted to yell at him... and sometimes did. But everything that the Tohsaka heiress could say bounced back on Kirei as he was a brick wall.

But Kirei was like a family member.

Her guardian.

Her martial art professor.

Her second Magecraft teacher.

In spite of the hardness intrinsic to her quality as Magus, in spite of all that she had been able to say about Kirei, Rin had become attached to the False Priest. And when she let someone enter into her heart, Rin never let them out. In essence, the Red Devil was a very caring person.

Tohsaka Tokiomi, her father, had been assassinated by another Master during the Fourth Grail War. The murderer had also strangled Tohsaka Aoi, her mother. Fortunately, paramedics had arrived in time to revive Aoi but... the oxygen supply to the brain had been interrupted for too long, causing irreversible damage. Aoi had lost short-term memory, living eternally in the past, unable to learn new things. Aoi had also lost the use of her legs and needed a wheelchair.

While Rin - then eight years old - was dedicated to helping her handicapped mother, Kotomine Kirei, the student of Tohsaka Tokiomi, had received the management of Rin's legacy.

And it had turned into a catastrophe.

Most of the family's wealth had been squandered because of Kirei's mismanagement, but Rin had not blamed him. He was a priest, not a businessman.

The real tragedy had been the death of Tohsaka Aoi.

The last two years of her mother's life had been a true ordeal, a slow and painful physical and mental decline of the young woman. She had soon been bedridden, unable to speak, kept alive by all kinds of machines. In itself, her death had been a liberation.

Rin was a believer, rose in the Christian faith, and hoped that there was indeed a paradise that had accepted her mother after the long torments of her agony.

With Aoi's death, Kirei remained her only family with...

The image of a laughing little girl appeared for a brief moment in Rin's mind but she shook her head to chase away this fantasy. No, she was the only child of her parents. That was what her father wanted.
—Kirei was the last living member of her family. Or maybe he had never been her family. Pressing the pillow of her bed on her chest, Rin struggled to repress her tears. It was her bedroom, the only place where she allowed herself to cry. But Archer could hear and she refused to appear weak in the eyes of her Servant.

What Emiya Pyrrha had taught her upset everything she had believed until then.

Kotomine Kirei explained to her that he had been the first Master of the Fourth Grail War to be eliminated. However, Saber had fought against the Archer of the previous war and had met the real Master of Lancer... Bazett Fraga McRemitz had lost an arm at the same time as her Commands Marks stolen by Kirei who wanted to take her Servant!

If Rin put this new data in the context formed by everything she already knew about Kirei, it changed everything.

If the Last War's Archer was the real Servant of Kirei, the False Priest had only claimed to have lost him. In this case, he had betrayed her father from the beginning. On the other hand, he had got 'Golden Archer' later... But there was only one way to get a new Servant, to take it from another Master.
And her father had been murdered.

Why?
A priori, asking this question seemed absurd. A Master was an easier target than his Servant, and no Servant could survive the disappearance of his Master. But killing a Master was above all the most effective way to get a new Servant. The Heroic Spirits had their own reasons for participating in the Grail War. As they began to disappear, most of them gladly agreed to enter into a contract with another Master.

Kirei had been a member of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. This group of priests was often seen as researchers with vast knowledge of relics and their history. They were responsible for identifying the relics, finding them, and keeping them. This often involved infiltrating and eliminating heretics. Also, the members of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament were trained in assassination techniques.
Who was more competent and better placed than Kirei, her father's own pupil, to approach the Tohsaka Master without warning him, murder him and accuse someone else?

No one!

Worse, what had happened to the Lancer of this Grail War proved that Kirei had no moral scruples to betray an ally.

So there was only one possible conclusion...

Rin buried her face in the pillow, fighting against tears.

At that moment, Archer knocked on her bedroom door.

Archer looked at Rin and nodded slightly.

He had attended the brief conversation between his Master and the one she called the False Priest.

She sullied and thought she was hiding it from him. And EMIYA pretended not to notice that her Master was upset because those kinds of little lies made social life possible.

Emiya had long forgotten the name of that girl. The centuries passed in his Reality Marble and the endless repetition of the killings in the name of the "greatest good of humanity" had eroded the memory and personality of EMIYA, almost reducing it to the role of a mere mobile armory.

Despite everything, he never forgot what the person who taught him the Runic Magecraft looked like. He was not really surprised that she managed to invoke him. Even if -in fact- she was not really the same Rin Tohsaka. Since there was no Emiya Shirou in this version of the Fifth Grail War.

When he understood that he could not kill his "stupid version", Archer promised himself to win this war for Tohsaka, because he owed a huge debt to another version of this girl and also - quite simply- because it was his role as Servant.

And, seeing the pain in Rin's eyes, Archer mentally made a cross in front of Kirei's name... a cross in his list of people he was about to kill.

For once, he fully accepted the role that Alayia had given him. People like Kirei were like viruses... Of course, he could hardly pass for a saint. EMIYA had red blood hands. He had killed countless people, including innocent people. But he had the decency to kill these people face-to-face, without trying to make them suffer.

Alaya's eternal crusade had taught EMIYA at least one thing. Humanity seemed to have an unlimited capacity to generate Kotomine Kirei lookalike, depraved, selfish monsters, taking pleasure only in the suffering of others. Eliminating Kotomine would not revive his victims, it would not prevent the appearance of other degenerates of the same line but at least he could make him stop. And then... for the first time in a very long time, Archer was really angry at someone... Well, someone other than his past self.

"Archer?"
EMIYA shuddered slightly, suddenly conscious of having remained motionless without speaking, looking at Rin.

"Master, there was a letter in the mailbox."

He held out a sealed envelope.

"It's for you. It has your name on it, but it doesn't have your address and it doesn't have a postage stamp on it. Somebody came and put the envelope in the mailbox. I took the liberty of inspecting the mail. It's ordinary paper. There's no curse, no lethal mechanism, no poison. It's just a piece of paper."

Rin looked at the wax stamp on the back of the mail envelope. It was the coat-of-arms of the Edelfelt family. Of course, it had not escaped him that the Edelfelt Twin Mansion - a filthy display of wealth and bad tastes, if asked for her opinion - was once again inhabited. She immediately assumed that the presence of a member of a preeminent Magi family who had participated in a previous Grail War could not be a mere coincidence.

Naturally, she had sent Archer on a reconnaissance mission. What was not particularly difficult, the house - sorry, the huge white marble candy box- was on the same street as her own home. But the mansion was surrounded by a Bounded Field set up by a paranoid at the final stage.

Rin had spent a few hours studying the defense system and felt a strong aversion to its creator.
First, because - although she would probably never recognize it out loud- the result was impressive, there were no weak points and multiple redundancies.

Then because to create such a Bounded Field it was necessary to use rare and expensive catalysts: figurines in pure platinum, multiple precious stones -including at least one diamond the size of a human head (!)- Pentagram based on molten gold. In short, an absolutely indecent display of wealth... literally exposed to Rin's eyes, whose avarice was perhaps the biggest flaw. Suffice to say that the Red Devil drooled with rage and concupiscence whenever she imagined the monetary value of the magic circle generating this Bounded Field.

The last reason for Rin's aversion was simply the "brute force logic" of this Bounded Field. There were still several methods to obtain a result in Formalcraft. For example, most Bounded Fields had a function that could be described as a "principle of invisibility", it made it possible to hide from ordinary people all the events associated with Magecraft. In this area, the protection surrounding the Emiya Residence was a model of its kind. The Bounded Field absorbed the mana discharges emitted from inside the residence enclosure, as well as the violent sounds and lights. The architecture of this Bounded Field was a masterpiece of simplicity that gave an impression of human warmth, reflecting the simple desire to protect his family that Emiya Kiritsugu had felt when creating this Bonded Field. Unlike many Bounded Fields, being inside this protection generated a sense of well-being.
Conversely, the Edelfelt Twin Mansion used the systematic mental coercion of all passers-by! ALL passers-by thus received the order to ignore the existence of the Mansion and to continue their journey without paying attention to what could happen inside the property. It was aggressive and clumsy, and above all, it lacked the most elemental elegance! And since childhood, her father had explained to Rin that she had to be elegant, cunning, and relentless, which were the qualities of a true Magus. Comparing the Emiya Residence and the Edelfelt Twin Mansion was a bit like comparing an artistic advertising display with a mobster who shoves the barrel of a revolver into your left nostril to force you to buy what it sells... a truly barbaric method.

Suffice it to say that the Bounded Field of the Edelfelt Twin Mansion - this terrible clumsy waste- could irritate Tohsaka.

Fortunately...
Fortunately, she looked forward to the moment when this grotesque construction would eventually collapse under its own weight, causing a serious malfunction (1). Rin could then sit quietly with a pack of popcorn and enjoy the show at the Edelfelt's house.

Yes, she had a bad heart... so what?

The letter was simply an invitation in the pompous and traditional style of the Magi. As Luviagelita Edelfelt guaranteed the security and freedom of the Master and Servant by resorting to an oath binding the reputation of her family, Rin understood that it could not be a trap. Not only did she not risk anything (well, nothing except the fact of having to force herself to smile at a human-faced hyena spoiled and arrogant) but Rin could not refuse without tarnishing the reputation of her own lineage.
At the appointed hour, Rin dressed in her usual red turtleneck and black pleated skirt presented herself to the wrought iron gratings of the Edelfelt Twin Mansion.

The remote-controlled gate opened in front of her, and Rin advanced on the gravel-covered path, passing between two French Maids in black dress and white apron. All made an elegant bow.
One of the maids, older, and the severe face one could expect from the chief governess bowed to Rin and asked the Magus to follow her. While Archer materialized at her side, they crossed corridors with floors covered with Venetian parquet floors, walls covered with stucco, and paneled ceilings. Master paintings (Rembrandt, Delacroix, Klimt) covered the walls, Louis XIV furniture signed by Boule supported figurines in gold, or mother-of-pearl, as well as elegant Italian clocks. Many museums could not boast such a prestigious collection of art. However, it was only a 'simple' secondary residence. The stables of the main residence of the Edelfelt were probably more luxuriously furnished.

They finally arrived at a large salon impossible to describe unless I wanted to stun the reader through superlatives. The eye was wounded by such a luxurious display that it would have been easier to list rare materials not used in the decoration (there was no authentic stone from the Moon brought back by the Apollo missions -at $192 a gram- nor radioactive materials and even less antimatter) than the materials used ( for example, the table in the center of the living room was entirely covered with yellow diamonds... the rarest variety of diamonds in the world... the table being covered by the equivalent of the annual world production).

While they were sitting on elegant white leather armchairs and other maids rushed to offer drinks and cupcakes, they were introduced to the locals.

Luviagelita Edelfelt was a medium-sized woman strangely resembling Rin - although both Masters would probably have denied this resemblance with the utmost energy- the biggest difference was her elegant drill hair like a shoujo manga villainess (Illya says) and of course her blue dress.

Behind her stood her servant, Assassin was a young woman of small stature, with sun-kissed skin and features masked by a mask fashioned to resemble a skull.

Sitting next to Luvia was a second Master: Bazett Fraga McRemitz. Her purple hair was cut short and she has a mole under the left eye. Indisputably, she was a beautiful woman, but she was dressed in a male tuxedo whose left sleeve was empty.

As Pyrrha had said, she was Lancer's former Master. But since the day before, she had a new contract with another Servant.

Standing behind Herr Doktor Paracelsus was a handsome young man dressed in a white coat resembling a lab coat. Despite the importance of this diplomatic meeting, he seemed completely disinterested. And reading a thick book while murmuring convoluted sentences, full of nonsensical or abscond remarks, mixed with formulas in dog Latin... in short pure bombastic gibberish.

Luvia smiled:

"I also invited Emiya Pyrrha and Illyaviel von Einzbern. But there was no one at the Emiya residence... a maid received us at Einzbern Castle but it seems that the Einzbern Master is temporarily absent."
Rin nodded her head, rubbing her hand. She had scratched herself while resting her cup, you had to be stupid to want a diamond table, okay, you could hardly make any clingier... but a diamond was sharp.

"Dear Edelfelt-san, you may have heard of the high school's attack this afternoon?"

Luvia's smile disappeared.

'Yes, that's why I didn't invite the Matou Master. There is no question of treating such a poor excuse of a Magus as a guest. Matou Shinji is dragging the name of his lineage through the mud, so the Makiriri must have sunk very low."

Rin nodded. One could say that - for once- she was on the same wavelength.

"Emiya-san and I have decided to join forces to counter the threat Matou-san poses to the innocent people of this city. This is -after all- my duty as Second Owner of the Fuyuki Spiritual Land. I guess Emiya-san must be looking for Rider and her Master right now."

"It honors you," replied Luvia. "Theoretically, as the Supervisor sends by the Church, Kotomine Kirei should support you."

Rin's fake smile grew stronger. She saw where the conversation was leading them:

"Yes, that's his role as the Church Supervisor. Except that his neutrality may be in question. He kept his Servant... I mean the Servant he had used during the previous war, and now uses him against the other Heroic Spirits invoked by the Grail participating in this conflict. Kotomine also controls this war's Lancer after stealing him from McRemitz-san."While saying these words, she bowed slightly to Bazett. "I take this opportunity to express my regrets about your injuries. That a member of the Clocktower's Enforcer was wounded on my territory in the line of duty is a true shame. Nevertheless, I would like to say that I am disappointed by the attitude of the Lords. It would have been most polite to inform me of your presence. I can be of any help if the Lords don't explain to me what's going on in my territory."

The exchange had been pure political guerrilla warfare. Under the guise of congratulating Rin on her handling of the 'Matou Shinji' problem, Luvia had in fact tried to probe Rin about Kotomine and her possible complicity with the False Priest. And Rin responded by pointing out that she wasn't fooled. Luvia and Bazett had been sent by the Clocktower to her territory, a mission she had not been informed of. They could only blame the political blindness of the Lords if things went wrong. Rin refused to take responsibility for their incompetence.

The Red Devil had just scored two points. While Luvia took her cup of tea and avoided touching the table - not to cut herself on the yellow diamonds - she faked a smile with a protruding vein on her temple.

Archer turned to Rin...

And like a mirror, Rin took his cup of tea and smiled... a smile just as fake as Luvia's. She also had a vein on her temple swelling under the effect of anger.

Where their eyes crossed, sparks could be seen... while outside the storm thundered in a sinister way.

Archer shivered with terror...

This whole thing was going to end badly.

Omake

Standing in the middle of the ring, the Head Maid out her glasses back in place with one finger and grabbed her microphone:

"Welcome to Fuyuki for the 2004 Miss Tsundere World Championship!"

Immediately, the public, Servants, Masters, and others personages from the Fate franchise, began to wave and cheer.

"To my left, in red shorts: Rin Tohsaka, eight-time world champion, Japanese champion."

The crowd to the left of the ring stood up cheering Rin while Shirou and Artoria (Saber) lifted the banner 'Rin we love you' high.

"On my right, in blue shorts: Luviagelita Edelfelt, five-time world champion, Finnish champion."

On the right of the ring, a crowd composed of an extravagant number of maids as disciplined as an army in the field but also including Lord El-Melloi II - who seemed to have been dragged by force- but also Reines and Miss Gray and the full band of his students stood up to cheer Luvia.

"The fight will take place under the arbitration of Father Kotomine Kirei."

Kirei went up to the ring in icy silence. A single small group composed solely of Gilgamesh (Archer) seated on his golden throne, and Cù Chulainn (Lancer) forced to move by chains coming out of the Gate of Babylon raised a panel 'Long live the referee'.

Kirei crossed his arms behind his back and stared at the crowd with a scorning smile:

"Thanks to my perfect arbitration, I guarantee that the one who amuses me... pardon... will fight the best will be the winner. I'll hope we get lots of low blows and cheating in this match. I hope the two contestants are ready because ready or not, the game starts."

Immediately, laughing in an evil way he struck the bell.

Rin and Luvia quickly reinforced their bones and muscles before throwing themselves against each other, striking so quickly that even the Servants had trouble following the movements.
At one point, Luvia found herself on her back while Rin imprisoned her head with her legs...
The next moment it was Rin's turn to find herself on the ground. Sitting on Rin's belly, Luvia slapped her two cheeks alternately while laughing elegantly, hiding her mouth with one hand. But she had to let go like Rin grabbed Luvia's arm to bite her hand.

Kirei sounded the end of the round and the two girls were forced to sit in the opposite corners of the ring. While EMIYA (Archer) gave advice to his Master, Serenity (Assassin) massaged Luvia's shoulders.

A lovely maid crossed the ring holding up a sign 'Round 2'. Then the bell rang...

The two girls rushed towards each other throats exchanging blows that lifted dust from the ground and resounded with violent supersonic bangs.

Rin hit Luvia with an elbow in the chest.

Luvia retaliated with a German Supplex, pushing Rin's head into the ground...

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

...
Round 10

... ...

Round 25

... ...

Round 100

... ... ...

The room was plunged into an almost complete silence if one forgot the sleeping breaths and the snoring which rose among the crowd. All the spectators had been asleep for a long time, collapsed on each other.

An exhausted maid crossed the devastated ring, marked with still smoking craters.
She was lifting a sign marked 'Round 657'.

Torn clothes, covered with bruises, Rin and Luvia were lying on the ground. One hardly lifted her arm and struck a blow that would not have stunned a fly before collapsing. But out of pride, the other found the strength to make a blow equally weak...

Breathing hardly, on the verge of fainting, they still challenged themselves:

"You're tough, Tohsaka!"

"I could say the same about you."

"Yeah"
There was a moment of silence...

"You're my best enemy".

"And I won't let you forget it!"

Author's note: This Omake is my gift for the year 2022. May peace reign at home and happiness be always with you.

(1) The creation of a Bounded Field can be compared to the creation of a computer program. It is created one line of code (incantation) after the other, adding functions in a tree-like structure: "If this happens, go to case A " or." If that happens, go to case B". And as in computer programming, the more complex the program, the more likely there are bugs. For example, if two functions are opposed in a particular case. The fans of the Fate saga will obviously understand that I was inspired by the operation of the Bounded Field we see in Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Episode 6 (where Luvia, Gray and Reines are trapped in Luvia's own store ).