Chapter 6: The Swallow Catches the Spider

Look at me, starting this chapter immediately after finishing off the previous one. I just really need to get the ideas out before they turn to dust and float out of my head through my facial orifices. What did I just say. Whatever, please enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you again at the end!

Disclaimer: KADOKAWAAAAAAAAA

-Kousuke-

-Day 9, 8th December, Friday, Ryuudouji, Guest house-

Another morning. Caster and I were making breakfast when suddenly, my phone rang.

"Shirou? What is it?"

"I have…something to tell you. Something important."

He sounded strangely serious, so I left the cooking to Caster and went into the living room.

"What happened."

"…Saber is gone."

"…what?"

"Saber…was defeated."

"Shirou…where are you right now."

"On my way to school, why?"

"Will they mind if you're a bit late today?"

"Eh? Why?"

"I want you to come to Ryuudouji now. I want you to tell me everything."

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the phone.

"Alright. I'll be right over."

XXX

-Shirou-

-Ryuudouji-

With heavy footsteps, I climbed up the stairs to Ryuudouji. On my way here, I had a strange feeling, but I think I might have passed through several Bounded Fields. Then, at the base of the temple, it was obvious that there were so many magical protections placed I wondered if even Saber could break through them if she had to.

"…Saber."

No, I cannot let my mind wander. I must honor Saber's death by doing what I can for the rest of the war!

'There you are, Shirou."

At the top of the stairs, I saw Kousuke waiting for me with an extremely expressionless face. Without saying anything, he turned around and started walking.

"Follow me. We can talk inside."

-Guest house-

Once seated, I told Kousuke about every single event that occurred last night. From meeting Assassin in the shrine to Rider saving me from Assassin and Zouken. At the end of it, Kousuke had an extremely troubled expression on his face.

"Could it be…it was the work of…the shadow?"

"Most probably. Saber was gone without a trace, and all that was left was a small bloodstain."

"A small bloodstain? Assuming that the shadow is able to completely consume Servants, why would there be a bloodstain? An injury from Assassin?"

He continued pondering. Suddenly, I remembered about what Kotomine told me about Lancer fighting Assassin in the temple and told him about it.

"Lancer fought Assassin and went missing here? I was right after all."

"About what?"

"A few days ago, before Kojirou was killed he engaged in a brief skirmish with Lancer. Caster was able to analyze Lancer's prana in that fight. Two days ago, we found traces of Lancer's prana around and in the lake behind the temple. However…there were also large traces of prana which had the same feeling as two things."

"Two things?"

"Yes. The shadow…and the site of the Fuyuki fire."

"The park?!"

"Yes. Shirou, was that park in any way involved in the previous Holy Grail War?"

"I don't know…but Tohsaka might."

"Her again. Well that makes sense…dammit!"

Suddenly, he slammed his fist in into the table, and I thought I heard it crack.

"Whoa, Kousuke!"

"There are too many variables…too many unknowns…and not enough information…if only I had more access…Shirou."

"Yes?"

"When is the earliest date you can arrange a meeting with myself and Tohsaka?"

"Eh? Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who knows both of us, and both of us trust you, but we might not trust each other."

I sighed.

"I see. I'm going to meet with her at lunch today, so I'll ask her then."

After that, we were silent for a while.

"Hey…you look really angry, are you alright?"

He really did look quite mad. You couldn't tell from his face, but the way he was clenching his fist, if he was holding the table with that hand he would have probably broke it. After a while, he calmed down and sighed.

"Sorry about that. It's just…ever since I got here…things have been quite hectic…and I never actually fought this much before, and so seriously so…well you get it."

Turning to me, he said-

"Well, thanks for your time, Shirou. Sorry for keeping you. Tell me once you've told Tohsaka about me, ok?"

"Sure. Bye, Kousuke."

XXX

-Lunchtime, Homurahara Gakuen, Rooftop-

It's lunchtime. In accordance with our agreement, I met up with Tohsaka on the rooftop and told her about what happened last night. And the result was-

"Then what?! Matou Zouken is Assassin's Master, and he tried to kill you instead of Saber?!"

-Tohsaka getting really angry.

"That's right. What's with you all of a sudden?!"

"It's not sudden! From what you just told me, Zouken tried to kill you after Saber was defeated. That's strange. The process is wrong no matter how you look at it."

And so, Tohsaka got right in my face and started giving me a lecture. After a long and complicated talk, she sighed and started pondering. I did too.

"…"

I chose to keep fighting. Zouken, Assassin, the black shadow and the battle between Masters over the Holy Grail. I chose to stop them even without Saber. Then it shouldn't matter how I do it. I would need Tohsaka's help as well if I don't want there to be any more victims.

"Tohsaka. I lost Saber and my Command Spells. So I'm not a Master anymore, right?"

"Right. I forgot about that. You have no reason to be involved in the Holy Grail War, and you're less likely to be attacked by other Masters."

"Yeah. I only wanted the Holy Grail because Saber wanted it. I have no interest in it now that Saber is gone."

"I see. Then you're not going to be fighting anymore?"

There was no emotion in Tohsaka's eyes. Her words were merely something she must ask as a Master, devoid of personal interest. This was not a question, but a warning. This was my last chance. She's providing me with a chance to back out, telling me that I'll still make it if I withdraw.

"—I will fight."

And from there, we spiraled into a talk about our truce, us being enemies, and the Holy Grail. Finally, Tohsaka agreed to be my ally. Or rather, I would be Tohsaka's ally, much like a Servant with a contract. She gave me three terms to work with.

One: Will I obey her, no matter what she tells me to do during a battle?

Two: Can I trust her like she'll be trusting me? Will I stay by her side, no matter how ugly things got?

And…

Three: Will I give her my absolute obedience?

I can agree on the first and second, but no way on the third!

"No way! I'll admit that your instructions are better as a magus. But I'm sure you make mistakes once in a while. If you say something ridiculous, I can't just obey you. I'll protest if I think you're wrong. That's what it means to cooperate, right?"

"Of course. I can't cooperate with you unless that's the case. I tend to do things my own way, so I need someone to act as my brakes. It'll be helpful if you can take that role."

That would have been the end of it, but…

"Geez…! I'm asking you if you will let me win or not!"

She said with her cheeks blushing, as if she's sulking. It looked childish, completely unlike Tohsaka.

"Yeah, I'll let you win, since I'm cooperating with you, I promise."

It was actually really cute. However, I just suddenly remembered.

"That's right!"

"Hmm? What is it, Emiya-kun."

"Alright. Listen carefully Tohsaka. I have something important to tell you."

"…what is it."

Putting on my most serious face possible, I told her.

"I have a truce between the Master of Caster and myself."

At first, Tohsaka just showed mild surprise, then her face went blank for a while. Then suddenly, she started smiling. Which was terrifying.

"Emiya-kun. Could you please come a bit closer for a while."

Not daring to defy her, I went a bit closer. And then-

"YOU IDIOOOOOT!"

"AAAAHHHH!"

She slapped me full force, sending me reeling backwards.

"That hurt, Tohsaka!"

"What do you think you're doing! You idiot! How could you ask for a truce from someone else without my permission!"

"Why do I need your permission! And besides, they offered it long before I made a truce with you!"

"Oh? When did you make that truce, exactly?"

"About 5 days ago."

"That's not very long time ago! Idiot!"

"At least hear me out, Tohsaka!"

Despite the fact she was still fuming, she backed away and sat down again.

"Emiya-kun. You have exactly 60 seconds to tell me who they are, how you met them, why they offered you the truce and how much do they know."

And so, I told her about Kousuke and Caster. When I reached the part about Kousuke and Saber's duel…

"Wait. Are you telling me, this Kousuke person, had a duel with Saber, the Servant of the Sword, and it ENDED IN A DRAW?!"

"Well, Saber was still weak from fighting Lancer and Berserker the day before, and although she said she would fight with her full strength, I think she definitely was holding back. But she might have gotten a little serious at the end though."

Right now, Tohsaka was just ignoring me and murmuring to herself.

"And they're at Ryuudouji?! That is literally the Number 1 most suspicious place in Fuyuki right now!"

"Tohsaka, they know that! That's why they've been trying figure out what was wrong with the place! Listen to me!"

So, I continued telling Tohsaka about the events that I knew of which involved them, all the way up to this morning.

"-and so, they want to meet with you to share information and figure out what the shadow really is and what's wrong with the war."

Once again, Tohsaka seemed to have stopped listening and was mumbling to herself again.

"The park…but why…hang on, the Fourth War…that would make sense…but there isn't enough evidence…"

"Um…Tohsaka?"

"Huh? What?!"

"So, they want to meet you."

"I refuse for now. I don't trust them."

"Tohsaka! At least…I know!"

I rummaged in my pocket for my cellphone and dialed Kousuke's number. When it picked up, I heard his now familiar voice.

"Shirou? Shouldn't you be in school now?"

"It's lunchtime. Tohsaka is here."

"…Put her on. Or better yet, set the phone to loudspeaker mode."

Pushing a button, I handed the phone to Tohsaka, who seemed slightly baffled.

"…You don't have to hold it to your ear. Just talk to it," I told her.

"…Hello?"

"Yes, is this Tohsaka, Second Owner of Fuyuki City?"

"Yes. Are you the Master of Servant Caster, currently residing at Ryuudouji?"

"Yes. I am Yagami Kousuke, Master of Servant Caster. It is a pleasure to be finally able to talk to you, Tohsaka."

"What do you want, Yagami-san."

"Hasn't Shirou told you yet? Very well. In short, both Caster and I suspect that there is something wrong with this war and with that incredibly dangerous shadow creature prowling about, I suggest collaboration between us."

"Of what kind?"

"We will share any useful information we have about this Grail War excluding our own Servants, information on the previous Grail Wars as well as any information we have about other Servants and the shadow. Of course, this includes Shirou as well, if he wants to."

"I do," I answered.

"Of course, there will be a ceasefire between us as long as the shadow remains alive. If the shadow is ever defeated, we shall resume the Grail War as normal. However, if only both our Servants survive, then I shall challenge you to a Servant duel, where only our Servants are allowed to fight on neutral ground to determine a winner. Do you accept, Tohsaka?"

"You really thought this through, didn't you, Yagami-san."

"Of course. I have no intention of taking human lives. Like Shirou, I will not attack enemy Masters unless they have proven themselves to be evil, like that Matou Zouken."

"I see…very well. But before this, I suggest that we meet in person first, on neutral ground, so that I can at least lay my eyes on you before we begin cooperating."

"Very well. May I suggest the café, Ahnenerbe, somewhere near the bridge?"

"Alright then. We will be there after school ends."

"Good. I will be waiting with my Servant. Goodbye Shirou, Tohsaka. I will see you soon."

And he hung up. There was a moment's silence, before Tohsaka thrust the phone back at me.

"I still don't trust him."

"Tohsaka…"

"What?"

Unable to find any words to say, I just shook my head. After that, Tohsaka told me that from now on, I would attend 'club activities' at Tohsaka's place to further my Magecraft before abruptly saying goodbye and running off.

"…I'll never be able to truly understand her."

XXX

-Rin-

-After school, Ahnenerbe-

Warily, with Shirou beside me and Archer in spirit form behind me, I walked into the café.

"There they are."

I followed Shirou's gaze to see a young man and woman sitting at a booth at the back of the café.

"…Archer."

"Right."

With Archer materialized, I walked towards the table. As I approached, they looked up and who I assumed to be Yagami stood up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tohsaka."

"Save the pleasantries. What do you want from me."

He sighed and sat back down.

"There's no need for hostilities. Please take a seat. I'm sure you'll find what we have very interesting."

Sitting down with Archer beside me, Shirou pulled up a chair and sat at the outer side of the table. After a quick look around, Kousuke moved his cup away, and started bringing out papers from a briefcase. As I read through them, I grew more and more interested.

"Are these all-"

"Yes. Despite not being part of any of the past wars, my family took interest and kept some records of all four past wars. This was what I printed out and brought with me."

As I read through the papers, he pulled out another sheaf of them.

"These are my investigation results of the city ever since I got here, especially that of Ryuudouji."

I put away the previous war papers to read the more important stuff. Putting on my glasses, I looked at the writings and graphs he was pointing out.

"When we first arrived, ambient mana levels were about medium, and its quality was high. Following that, there was a large spike when I summoned Assassin."

"Wait, hold up, you summoned Assassin?!"

"It's a long story."

And he told me about how he had Caster summon a Servant so that he possessed two, but ultimately his Fake Assassin was somehow used as a catalyst for the summoning of True Assassin.

"I see. Back to the mana levels?"

"On the third night there was a slight increase in ambient mana, but nothing special. The next day it went back to normal, but at night it rose again."

"Yes, I see the pattern."

"On the fifth night, the night my Assassin died, it rose once more, but much more than the previous nights. Then on the sixth night, there was a massive, enormous spike in mana levels, and its source is-"

"The lake?"

"Yes. It was also where Assassin fought and defeated Lancer. But, although the mana was enormous, it had a terrible quality."

"Define 'quality'."

"My current definition of 'mana quality' is how beneficial or detrimental the mana is to both humans and Servants. At this negative level, any human or Servant who goes near it would be consumed immediately, if not gradually."

"Pkmf-"

At that moment, we both looked at Shirou, who seemed to have just stifled a laugh.

"Is something funny, Emiya-kun?"

"N-No! It's just that, seeing you two poring over the research material so intently, and your glasses…it just looks like a pair of the school's smartest students preparing themselves for an exam."

Yagami smiled slightly.

"Group study, huh? I have to admit, it does feel like one. I never had many friends, so I barely participated in them."

"I usually study alone as well," I replied "Wait, are you still a student?"

"12th Grade. I'm graduating next year."

"I see. Wait, this isn't the time to be talking about this!"

"I guess you're right."

We went back to the papers.

"As you can see, since that night, mana levels have been regularly high, while quality has been regularly low, with ambient mana levels still falling in the day and rising in the night. In fact, Caster has installed multiple Bounded Fields, seals and barriers to keep the pollution away from us and the rest of Fuyuki, as well as filter and clean the mana as much as possible."

"Why are you still there then? Because of your Temple?"

"My Temple is one thing," answered Caster "But I'm still drawing mana from the underground leyline, which is still pure. Also, I have to keep the evil mana from potentially spreading to the surrounding area, which would be really bad if it kept up."

I sat back and sighed.

"What is going on?!"

"If I may," started Yagami "I believe that the 'something' living under Ryuudouji or in the lake is connected to the shadow somehow. I have nothing to back that claim but, on to the final thing."

We watched as Caster brought out a pair of mirrors from a bag.

"Please watch this."

We watched as on the first mirror, an image suddenly appeared.

"That's the shrine from yesterday!" exclaimed Shirou.

"After carefully watching the footage from last night's surveillance records, this was what we found."

As we watched, suddenly we saw a massive burst of wind explode out from the side of the shrine.

"That's definitely Saber's Invisible Air. Like I thought, she really was holding back in our duel. Now, watch carefully."

As we kept watching, suddenly, we saw it.

"That's the shadow! But it's on the ground," said Shirou.

"It looks like mud," I said.

"Now, look carefully at that," said Yagami as he pointed to a specific area.

Looking intently, Shirou was the one who saw it first.

"That's Saber's foot!"

He was right. I could just see the bottom of an armored foot from behind the wall. And slowly, we watched as the foot sank into the mud until it was out if sight.

"So that's what happened to Saber…" muttered Shirou as he slumped into his chair.

"We can thusly determine that whatever that shadow is, it devours Servants without leaving a trace. It is unknown what happens to them after and you cannot escape once you are caught in it."

I looked at Archer, and he looked…totally calm. But I could see a tinge of worry in his eyes. Since he was the only one who seemed to know what that shadow was, he was our best hope.

"And now, the next footage. It's much shorter, and much more obvious what happened."

This time, we were looking at the side wall of the shrine. And all of a sudden, Assassin was thrown through the wall and sent flying, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"Wow, who did that?!"

"After careful inspection, we saw the chain detaching itself from Assassin before he was sent flying, so it most probably was-"

"Rider," finished Shirou.

We all looked at him as he spoke.

"Assassin was about to kill me…but she suddenly appeared and saved me. When I asked her what was going on, she said she had received orders to keep me alive. What is Shinji playing at…"

Yagami sighed and adjusted his glasses.

"Well, that concludes all the info I have. Do you trust me now, Tohsaka?"

I sighed as I put away my glasses.

"Well, it looks like I have no choice. I'll be looking forward to solving this problem with you, Yagami-kun."

"Kousuke is fine. By the way, I don't think I ever caught your name?"

"Rin. Tohsaka Rin."

"Alright. I'm looking forward to working with you as well, Rin."

XXX

-Night, Shrine-

Kousuke and Caster walked carefully into the shrine. It was a different one from the one where Saber fought Assassin, and much smaller.

"Caster, is he here?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Alright then, just according to plan."

Caster and her Master split up, with Kousuke entering the building and Caster circling around. Unseen by the both of them, the black shadow seemed to hesitate a little before entering the building.

-Inside-

Inside the building was just a small room, about the size of a living room. As the door swung shut behind Kousuke, the room was considerably plunged into darkness.

"…Kyoka no Magan."

And as he activated his Mystic Eyes, he swung Monohoshizao around to deflect a pair of Darks aimed for his head.

"I knew you would follow me for sure, Assassin."

"Kekekekeke…was this part of your plan?" snickered Assassin as his white mask appeared before Kousuke who just smiled.

"Definitely. After all, no one is able to get in or get out. It's just you and me in this room Assassin. This is the perks of having Caster as a Servant."

"Foolish Master, you can't possibly- What?! How is this possible! I can't contact Zouken! In fact, I can't sense anything else at all outside of this room!"

In a livid voice, Assassin spat at Kousuke.

"What did you do?!"

-Outside-

Caster stood just outside the building. To anyone else, they would see nothing but to her eyes, an octagonal, orange-hued barrier surrounded the building.

"Hachigyō Sōgai…a double dislocation barrier which erases whatever is within it from existence and removes the space it takes up from an outsider's inner consciousness, making it so one cannot even perceive its presence. The very thought of getting close to it does not even occur to those outside it. Normally this spell is a permanent Bounded Field and needs an hour of preparation, but to cast it without preparations is possible. However, it won't last long. Only half an hour."

Caster bit her lip.

"But that doesn't keep Assassin from leaving, so I had to use Hachigyō Sōgai･Happō Fūin. What it does is physically seal any object within the barrier and prevents them from leaving as well as cuts of their communication from the outside. However, I can only keep up this version for 15 minutes tops, so Kousuke…you have to finish Assassin in that timeframe!"

-Inside-

Kousuke smirked and pointed Fake Assassin's nodachi at Assassin.

"Does it matter what I did? All that matters now is that you will die here, Assassin."

"Kukukuku…I'd like to see you try…"

And once more, Assassin melted into the darkness. The decisive battle was about to begin.

XXX

*CHINK* *KLINK* *KLANG*

Using all his skill, Kousuke deflected every single Dark thrown at him over the past five minutes without even moving from the middle of the room. Suffice to say, Assassin grew maddingly frustrated.

"You insolent- Just drop dead!"

"It's useless Assassin. These eyes of mine are able to pierce through your darkness. You can never escape from me within this room. Now, fight me like a proper Servant!"

His answer was more Darks from in front, which were easily dodged and deflected by Kousuke.

"Curses! Even if he is able to see my Darks, he shouldn't be fast enough to dodge and deflect them! What is he?! It doesn't matter, with my Zabaniya, I will- Ha?"

Just as Assassin was about to unwrap his cursed right arm, he chanced a look upwards to see Kousuke right in front of him.

"!"

"Nagaredzuki."

With a slash like a flowing moon, Kousuke struck. But due to sheer luck, Assassin jumped at the last moment and all he got was a shallow cut on his right shoulder.

"Shit, how did he-!"

"I will not allow you to use that cursed arm of yours. If I see you make the slightest motion of unwrapping it, the next thing you'll see is that arm rolling on the floor."

"!اللعنة"

XXX

-Kousuke-

It had been 10 minutes since we began. Darks were lodged everywhere in the ground. Finally the sound of Darks hitting Monohoshizao stopped and once more, Assassin's white mask appeared before me.

"You are-"

"Bakudō: Geki!"

"Wha-!"

There was a red flash as one of the ofuda I dropped on the floor, which was now directly under Assassin, activated at my command, paralyzing Assassin for a split second. But it was all I needed.

"How di-"

"Bakudō: Sajō Sabaku!"

Whipping out 3 ofuda, they glowed and disintegrated to form an incredibly thick rope of bright yellow prana, which immediately wrapped around Assassin who was paralyzed by the previous spell. But I was still worried it wasn't enough, so as a follow up I slapped two more ofuda and chanted-

"Bakudō: Hyapporankan!"

Generating a bluish white rod of energy from the paper talismans, I threw it at Assassin, where it split into a hundred more rods, pinning Assassin to the wall.

"You-!"

"raimei no basha, itoguruma no kangeki, hikari mote kore o mutsu ni wakatsu! Bakudō: Rikujōkōrō!"

Lastly, I tossed out six more ofuda as I chanted, that turned into six thin, wide beams of light which slammed into Assassin's midsection, effectively immobilizing him completely.

"All this time I was fighting you…I was leaving my ofuda on the ground, waiting for the moment you would stand on one of them. All I needed was to immobilize you for just one second, then I could properly bind you up…kuh-"

I stopped mid-sentence with a cough. Casting three medium-high level Bakudō one after another without stopping was quite a feat, and it did quite a number on me, but I got up, and faced Assassin.

"It's no use…you won't be able to free yourself, and your Master will never hear you. Not now, and never again."

"Zouken! What are you doing!"

Taking a calm breath, I stood myself into the same stance Kojirou-sama used to prepare his ultimate move.

"…"

As I have already stated, my version of Tsubame Gaeshi is incomplete, with two illusionary slashes and one true slash. But this time, things were different. I could feel his spirit through this sword…it was like as though he was right next to me. That's right…I had to read into the history of Monohoshizao…duplicate the years of training done by Kojirou…learn the names of all those felled by this sword.

But that would not be enough. I had to use one more trick, my hidden ace…

My origin.

"…Kanpeki Jikkō"

As I called out the name of the spell needed to activate my Origin, I felt all the available mana in my body rush inwards to bring out the full potential of my Origin. That's right. That was my Origin. Perfection. And the name of the spell needed to fully activate its power?

'Perfect Execution'

"Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi!"

"GRAAAAAAAH!"

With an ear-rending scream, Assassin felt the pain of death as the laws of physics were broken through sheer will alone as three simultaneous sword slashes from Monohoshizao sliced cleanly through his body.

"This…can't…be…"

Finally, Assassin fell silent. His dead body fell to the floor of a shrine with a lifeless thump as the Bakudō faded.

"Haah…haah…"

Dropping Monohoshizao, I too slumped to the ground. My Origin…Perfection was a strange one. Naturally, it manifested in myself as slight OCD. I had to arrange all my stuff perfectly but it need not necessarily be neat. As long as everything was in what I thought was in its proper place I would be satisfied. Whenever I wrote anything as long as I felt there was a single word shaped differently than the rest I would liberally white it out and rewrite that one word until I was happy with it.

But that was just in everyday life. My Origin works in two ways. Passive and active. Passively, what it does is 'allows me to learn things much faster than other people'. But, there are conditions. If compared to a normal person, learning the same thing using the same techniques takes me a shorter time than them. For example, if it takes them two weeks to completely study and understand a certain textbook it only takes me a few days, but the amount of work put into it be myself must be the same as the other individual. When it comes to something like sword skills or Thaumaturgy, something that would need a year of practice would only take me a month, but I MUST put in the same amount of effort or MORE than the other individual.

HOWEVER, the definition of 'perfection' must also be considered. In the case of my Origin, the definition of 'perfection' is 'when something is done to its utmost best within the limits of the individual'. Basically, when I have learnt something to 'perfection', someone else who is better than me at that certain something is still able to best me, but they too must be doing it at their utmost best.

However, to use it actively, it takes me a huge amount of prana as well as the command 'Kanpeki Jikkō' or 'Perfect Execution'. A simple explanation is that activating my Origin lets me bypass the time spent and experience needed to do a certain something and pushes it to its most perfect state. For example, when I summoned Caster, I did use my Origin and thus when I summoned her it was akin to if I had summoned her with a few extra decades of training as a magus.

"Hah…kuh…"

However, it does take a toll on my body. Especially after fighting a Servant for 10 minutes and three medium-high level Bakudō, I was pretty much coughing up blood. To the side, I saw Monohoshizao fade away into motes of light. It had served its purpose, and had returned to its master.

"Master?! Are you alright!?"

Right on cue, Caster appeared before me and wiped the blood off my mouth.

"You aren't hurt, are you?!"

"No, no, just overexerted myself."

"Mou, you really should have let me help you."

"No…this was something I had to do myself…I have finally…gotten my revenge…"

Caster looked over at Assassin's corpse, then back at me.

"We have to hurry though. It's coming. The shadow."

A chill ran up my spine as she said that. I got up immediately.

"That's right. Quick, we must hurry."

"Right!"

XXX

It was almost silent in the shrine. Deathly silent. But, the silence was broken by only one thing.

The sound of ragged, laborious breathing.

"HAAaAAaaaaAH…DaMN tHem! I…HeeeeEEEeEEh…will KiLl yoU…MAstEr of…hYeeeeEeeH…caaaaaaaaASTeR!"

Assassin, barely alive and almost in pieces, fought for survival on the floor of the shrine. For him in his current state, every breath was a battle.

"…"

Suddenly, he felt it. It had arrived.
"NooOOOoO!"

Waving its black and red tentacles around, the shadow began its feast.

"ZZZzoooOOOuuUUKkKkkEEENnNN!"

XXX

-Kousuke-

-Midnight, Streets-

"Caster, I can walk on my own you know."

"No! Let me help you! You're my future husband after all!"

I was definitely capable of walking on my own, but still, I definitely didn't mind Tamamo helping me along. The knowledge that we had finally gained a small victory was great.

Of course, even that small shred of hope was crushed by fate.

"Good evening, Servant Caster and Master of Caster."

And right in front of us, down the street stood the personification of our despair.

In the form of a bronze giant and his albino Master.

*SHAAAAAAAAAAAAA*

Ah…even the sky is crying...on this night of fate…

! Well they seem like they fucked up but who knows? Caster is still has a lot of juice left in her though! And I can't believe I wrote half of this months ago and only finished the rest of it today! Well anyway, thanks for reading, favoriting & reviewing and I HOPE I'll be able to write the next chapter soon! Capitalism ho! (Yes I went back to using that because I have no better way of ending this part)