As soon as I leave, the pressure on my shoulders finally disappears. Certainly, you could say that getting away from that priest helped. But Tohsaka stood out in her uniform…

…And the blond-haired girl in a raincoat standing near her makes a strangely well-matched sight that somehow takes the pressure off me. Saber has been silent as always. She's looking at me, So It Seems She Is Interested in the Decision I Made.

"Let's go. We're going the same way until we get back to town."

Saying that, Tohsaka starts walking. Following after her, we left the church as well.

The three of us descend the hill together. We didn't talk much on the way here, but there's even less talk now. Even dull as I am, I know why. After what happened at the church, I truly became a master. And that must be the reason Tohsaka is Walking A Little Apart from Us.

"..."

I understand that. I understand, but I don't like thinking about Tohsaka like that.

"Tohsaka. Is your servant okay?"

"Archer is okay. But Saber did mess him up well so he won't be able to materialize for a while."

"So, he's not with you right now?"

"No, he's recovering at my house. So, if he fought another servant, he'll be at a disadvantage."

Unlike my house, I'll bet Tohsaka's house is well prepared against outside attacks. A house is like a fortress for a mage. They will not lose as long as they stay there. That must mean enemies will not attack you as long as you stay on your home ground. The boundary field at my house is merely an alarm against intruders, but even having that makes a big difference.

"Oh yeah, Tohsaka. That guy said he was the overseer of The Numeron War, but does he know your servant?"

"He shouldn't. I haven't told him."

"I see. You guys seem to have a good relationship, so I thought so."

"...Hey Emiya. I'll warn you now. Don't tell anybody about your servant's identity. Keep it a secret even from people you trust or you'll end up exiting this battle early."

"...? What do you mean Saber's identity?"

"What I mean is, which hero the servant is. No matter how strong someone maybe, if you reveal your potential, you'll surely be beaten someday. ...It's fine, so have Saber tell you her real name later on. You should understand what I mean then.

...Though, hang on. You're like this, so it might be better if she didn't tell you."

"Why?"

"Because you can't keep secrets. You'll be able to keep a secret better if you don't know about it."

"...Hey now, what do you think I am? I can take care of myself."

"Really? Then do you have anything you're hiding from me?"

"Huh...? Anything I'm hiding from you, that's..." I say, as my face fires up. I don't have a guilty conscience, but well, would kind of admiring her count as something I'm hiding from her...?

"See. I don't know what you're hiding, but it's no good if it shows on your face. You have other good aspects, so don't worry about it."

"...Hmph. Then what about you? If you're hiding it from that priest, does that mean you don't trust him?"

"Kirei? Hardly. I'm not crazy enough to trust him. He's a cheat who transferred from the church to the mage's association without quitting the church. He'd happily sell my information to the other masters."

...Tohsaka says with annoyance. It seems she doesn't trust that priest. I'm a bit relieved, but still, her words do seem to hold a bit of affection. And we pass the bridge. There's no conversation between us now. the cold winter air and our cold breath. A faint sound of flowing water and the white streetlamps that light up the bridge. Small things like that are engraved into my memory. Oddly, I didn't think about looking at Tohsaka, who's walking next to me.

Right now, it seems walking on a bridge at night together like this is more precious than seeing her face. Me, Tohsaka, and the girl called Saber I know nothing about. The three of us walked together without doing much.

We reached the intersection. The intersection that leads to our houses', the place where we must part with Tohsaka.

"This is where we part ways. Starting tomorrow, we're enemies."

It must be to end the ambiguous position we are in right now. Tohsaka starts talking and cuts off suddenly.

From that, I realized. She did not explain the rules to me out of any sense of obligation. She just supported me, understanding the situation I'm in and acting fairly. So, things are back to normal once the explanations are over. I will just be her target as a master now.

"...Hm?"

But if so, what she just said was strange. Tohsaka must have meant that it would be difficult to fight if she felt empathy for me. For Tohsaka, everything that happened tonight must have been unnecessary.

Tohsaka's smart, so she should know that all too well. But still, she set aside all thoughts of loss or gain and helped me out. So, what happened tonight was totally out of good faith. The Tohsaka in front of me is too different from how she is at school. Even when I put it nicely, she's sour, cranky, unapproachable, and she's so different that I want to scream out.

Man, it feels almost like a fraud.

...Yet, still...

Rin Tohsaka is just how everyone thought she was.

"I see. Tohsaka, you are a good person."

"Huh? What are you saying all of a sudden? I won't go easy on you even if you flatter me."

I know that. She won't go easy on me, and that's why she said it'll be a bother if she feels empathy for me.

"I know. But I don't want to be enemies with you if I can help you. I like people like you."

"Wha..."

Tohsaka falls silent for some reason. I hear Tohsaka's house is in the western-style district in the opposite direction of my place. Since she's taken care of me until now, I would like to walk her home, but...

"A-Anyway, just run to the church if your servant ever gets killed. If you do, at least your life will be safe."

"I won't like it, but still, I'll take that advice. It won't happen, though. However I look at it, I'll die before Saber does."

I calmly analyzed the situation.

"Phew."

Tohsaka reacts strangely once again. After letting out a sigh, she glances at Saber.

"All right. I won't give you any more warnings because that'd be empathy. Just be careful. Even though Saber is strong, it won't matter if you, her master, gets killed."

She turns her back and starts walking.

"..."

But. As if she's seen a ghost, her feet stop dead in their tracks.

"Tohsaka?"

The instant I call out to her, my left-hand throbs in pain.

"Hey, have you finished talking?"

A young voice echoes through the night. The voice like a song is unmistakably that of a young girl. My vision is drawn to the top of the hill. I don't know when the clouds parted, but a bright moon is now shining in the Sky. There. A long shadow. There's a strange shape that shouldn't be here in this pale town of shadow pictures.

"Berserker."

Tohsaka mumbles a word I'm not accustomed to hearing. I don't even need to ask. I can tell that thing is a servant. And at the same time, an overwhelming sense of death, exceedingly even the one in the fire ten years ago.

"..."

"Good evening, Big Brother. It's the second time we've met like this."

The girl smiles as she says so. That innocence sends a chill down my spine. No, spine is an understatement. Not just my body, but my mind is frozen as well. That thing is a monster. I'm not staring at it, but just its presence makes me unable to move. I understand naturally that I will die the instant I move even a muscle. It feels like a knife is pushed right against my naked chest.

…Still, I feel nothing. Probably because there's too little hope of me getting out of this alive. All fears and impatience are drowned by hopelessness, so I don't feel a thing.

"...Crap. He's totally on a completely different level"

Unlike me who's paralyzed, Tohsaka has the composure to stand ready.

…But it'll come to nothing. Even though I can only see her back, I can sense the despair she's feeling.

"Huh? Oh, your servant is taking a rest? That's no fun, I thought I'd kill you both at once."

The girl says unhappily, as she looks down at us from the top of the hill.

…We're in an even worse situation now. That girl knows Tohsaka's Servant is not here.

"Nice to meet you, Rin. My name is Ilya.

'Ilyasviel von Einzbern'."

"Einzbern"

Tohsaka's body moves slightly as she seems to recognize that name. A bunch of strings wrapped around her left arm, forming what looked like a duel disk. So, I guess this kid is also a duelist. So, since I'm the only one here beside her with a servant, I'll have to face her in a shadow duel.

"I'm going to kill you now. Get them, Berserker."

…She orders the strange shape behind her as if she's singing. The larger body flies through the air. The thing called Berserker comes flying down the whole distance from the top of the hill!

"Shirou, stay back...!"

Saber runs. Her raincoat comes off and my vision is blocked for a second. Saber buns to Berserker's landing point and Berserker lands with a huge thud at the same moment.

"Saber!"

"You should focus more on our fight."

She's right. The rules of this war state as servants fight, the masters must face each other in a shadow duel. But, if I make any wrong moves, then Saber will...

But I have no choice. I grabbed my duel disk, inserted my deck, and...

"Lets Duel!"

Shirou – 8000 LP

Ilya – 8000 LP

"I will go first. I summon Gimmick Puppet Des Troy."

Gimmick Puppet Des Troy

Level 4

Dark

Machine

ATK/1200 DEF/2000

It's official, I'm having nightmares tonight.

"Next it's special ability activates. So now it destroys its self."

The freaky horse made of puppets blows up. But I can feel the shockwaves. So that means this is a shadow duel.

"Now, due to Des Troy's ability, when It's destroyed, I can summon 2 Gimmick Puppets from my hand to Replace him. So now I Summon Gimmick Puppet Twilight Joker and Magnet Doll."

Gimmick Puppet Magnet Doll

Level 8

DARK

Machine

ATK/1000 DEF/1000

Gimmick Puppet Twilight Joker

Level 8

DARK

Machine

ATK/800 DEF/1600

Two level eight monsters? This is not good.

"Now I overlay level eight Twilight Joker and Magnet Doll."

Her two monsters turned into beams of purple light and at the same time, a portal that looks like a galaxy appears in the ground.

"With these two monsters, I build the overlay network and XYZ Summon. Now appear Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings."

Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings

Rank 8

DARk

Machine

ATK/3000 DEF/2000

So, that must be her number. And with 3000 attack points, I better be careful.

"I place one cards facedown and end my turn."

It's my turn now. So, I've got to make each move count.

"I draw."

"Kuri Kuri"

Kuriboh. I managed to draw him along with some good cards. I look over my shoulder and see saber still fighting hard against Berserker. I have to finish this quickly before someone gets hurt.

"First, I play the spell, Polymerization. With this, I fuse Elemental Hero Wildheart and Elemental Hero Woodsman in my hand."

The two monsters swirl together as they fuse to form something that might stand a chance.

"I Fusion Summon; Elemental Hero Gaia."

Elemental Hero Gaia

Level 6

Earth

Warrior

ATK/2200 DEF/2600

"Now for his special ability. When fusion summoned, half of your puppet's attack points go to him until the end of the turn."

A sudden blast of steam shoots from below the giant puppet.

Number 30: Gimmick Puppet of String: 3000 - 1500

Elemental Hero Gaia: 2200 - 3700

With 3700 Atk, I should have enough power to send that puppet to the woodchipper. Unless those two facedowns' on her field activate. But I have to end this quickly.

"Now Gaia, cut that puppet off its strings."

Gaia clenches his fist, charges and unleashed a flaming punch at the little girl's number and at the same time, Saber was about to strike Berserker again but, Berserker dodged and delivered a counterblow to her gut. Since the servants' battle is connected to the shadow duel, that means...

As the smoke cleared...

"Do you think that's enough to beat me?"

Shirou - 8000

Ilya - 5800

Her number is still there. But how? My monster was stronger. So, why is it still standing?

"Guess they didn't tell you; numbers can only be destroyed by another number."

So, my attack just now was pointless. This situation just got a lot worse. I look back at Sabers fight and she's being pushed back. This is her third battle and she still isn't healed from her fight with Lancer. Berserker moves and slashes like a raging wind at the wounded Saber and...

"Vier Stil Erschießung…!"

I don't know what kind of magic it is, but Berserker's body explodes from Tohsaka's spell. Judging from the magical energy given out, the magic directly hitting Berserker must be an impact close to that of a high-caliber pistol. Now I really need to hurry with this duel.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"My turn. I draw."

She looks at her card with a smile. Not even hiding her intention to kill. Whatever that card is, it's got to be bad.

"I play the spell, Puppets curse. With this, since I have a Gimmick Puppet monster on my field, you're forced to discard your entire hand and for each card, you take 500 damage."

"What?!"

Since I lost two cards. So, that's 1000 damage.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Shirou - 7000

Ilya - 5800

The pain was so strong that I nearly passed out. But I kept my concentration. Berserker keeps unleashing blow after blow on Saber until...

She was knocked to the ground and covered in blood. This makes me realize how foolish my choice was. Saber doesn't stand a chance against this giant.

"If you keep your focus on them, you will lose for sure. Next, I play facedown, the trap, Puppet Voodoo. As my Gimmick Puppets attack points doubled, your monsters are cut in half."

Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings: 3000 - 6000

Elemental Hero Gaia: 2200 - 1100

She's got me boxed in. Kuriboh is gone and no cards in my hand either. All I have is my one facedown but it's useless. Berserker still has his sights on Saber, ready to kill her the moment she makes a move.

The girl who called herself Ilya narrows her eyes cheerfully. Those are eyes of joy, about to finish off her enemies. I don't even need to say who the ones getting killed are. Saber will be killed right here. Then what am I going to do? If I go save Saber, I will end up dead by that giant's hands. But, even so, I can't abandon anyone who needs help. That's not who I am.

"That the way, Berserker. She's got the ability to regenerate her body. So, you can violate her after beheading her."

As Berserker launches his final attack...

"Now Gimmick Puppet, follow Berserker's lead and behead his Elemental Her... Huh?"

As her monster was about to kill mine, I ran with all my strength. There's no way I can do anything against that monster. So, the least I can do is to push Saber away and save her from Berserker's attack.

"...Huh?"

I fall. Why...? I was going to push Saber away, get Saber away from Berserker, and think about what to do after that, so why...?

"Ga...ha..."

Why? Why am I on the ground, unable to breathe?

"...!?"

...I hear shocked voices. The first is from Saber, who is right in front of me. And Tohsaka is astonished at the distance. And for some reason, Ilya, who is looking down at me dumbfounded, is also surprised.

"...Hu... h?"

I'm missing my stomach. I'm on the ground. On the asphalt are a small amount of blood compared to the wound, soft-looking organs, bones, and many things like that.

"...I see. How stupid of me."

In short, I didn't make it in time. Yes, it was impossible to push Saber out of the way, so I just shielded her. And my stomach was blown out by that sword.

"...Guh."

Geez, I'm ashamed of myself for failing even in a situation like this.

I've been working hard to become a superhero, but I keep making mistakes when it counts.

"Why? This can't be happening. This isn't fun."

The silver-haired girl asks in a daze. After standing there dumbfounded for a while.

"...That's enough. Withdraw, Berserker."

Without finishing off Saber, she calls Berserker back.

"Rin, I'll kill you if I see you again."

The girl leaves. After watching her leave, my vision cuts out. My consciousness fades away. I really can't recover this time. I was somehow saved when I was killed by Lancer, but that won't happen again. There's probably no magic that can save a person who has lost most of their stomach.

"...W-What were you thinking!? Don't you know I can't save you again...!?"

I hear an angry voice. It's probably Tohsaka. She seems angry, and I'm sorry. But it can't be helped. It's not like I can do everything like Tohsaka. All I could use was my body.

...So that's why...

The only thing I could do was to use my body to shield Saber.

Bold cards

Puppet Voodoo

Trap

Target 1 "Gimmick Puppet" monster you control and 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; the ATK of the monster you control becomes double its current ATK, and if it does, the ATK of the monster your opponent controls becomes half its current ATK."

Puppet Curse

Spell

Your opponent has to discard their entire hand, and if they do, for each card discarded by this effect, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.