Fate/Stay Night

WARRIOR

Ep.10 Briefly for Battle

"We need to attack the castle now!" Yusuke slammed his left fist on the table with a loud bang, sending the items on it scattering from the force. His face was tense, veins bulging visibly on his forehead.

"You can't just recklessly charge in!" Rin shouted back. "Einzbern isn't some low-tier mage! You'll probably step on a trap and die before you even get to the castle!"

"Then what am I supposed to do!?" Yusuke stood up abruptly, his demeanor angry and defiant. "That guy's just a second-rate mage anyway! If we leave him be, he'll die for sure!"

"Saber is Shirou's master too... At least, I know you here will agree with me." Yusuke turned his eyes to Saber, who stood to his left, crossing his arms as he added a sarcastic remark.

"Even so, I agree with Rin more," Saber said after a brief pause. "Charging in without a plan is the same as walking into a nest of spikes."

"Ugh... seriously?" Yusuke muttered, narrowing his eyes and letting out an exaggerated sigh. "So what should we do, then?"

"This is what we'll do..." Rin pulled out a piece of paper and began sketching with a pencil.

Einzbern Castle stood deep in the forest on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by thick trees on all sides—a natural weapon.

It was clear Einzbern would have set traps throughout the forest, luring us in to be killed before we even reached the castle.

But no matter what kind of traps they were, they couldn't escape Archer's keen eyes. I assigned him to a high vantage point. From there, he could spot traps easily and react if anything happened.

"Rin, watch your step—there's a trap on the ground," Archer's voice came through the air just as Rin was about to step forward.

Instantly, she nodded and carefully stepped back.

"So, this is Einzbern's trap, huh?" Rin bit her lip and smirked. Her left hand reached into the pocket of her red cloak and pulled out a crimson gem, which she flung forward.

When the multi-colored gem hit the ground, it erupted in fiery orange flames, which dissipated as quickly as they appeared.

"What do you see, Archer?" Rin asked, scanning the area with sharp eyes.

"There are still many traps, but you should be able to see them now. They're not high-level magic—easily dismantled," Archer replied, his voice cutting out briefly before continuing, aiming to Yusuke. "But keep an eye on that hothead, too."

Rin turned to Yusuke, who was rushing forward. As soon as she saw him, she raised a hand to stop him.

"What? The path's clear, isn't it?" Yusuke said, irritated.

"Not yet! There are still traps ahead. Don't walk ahead of me unless you want to get burned!" Rin snapped.

Inside the Eisbern castle, a lavishly decorated room gleamed with opulence—gold-trimmed furniture, an ornate vanity, a gilded bedframe, and spotless carpets so clean they seemed freshly laid. Yet, despite its beauty, the room felt grim and oppressive, with blood-red curtains covering every window, casting it into darkness like a dungeon despite being on the upper floor.

In the dim room, Shirou sat restrained on a chair in the center. Although the blindfold covering his eyes had been removed, he could only see faint rays of light filtering through the curtains. The gag had been removed from his mouth, but screaming would do no good.

Creeeak...

The only door to the room opened slowly, revealing a small figure with an unreadable, emotionless expression. Illya stepped inside and climbed onto her bed, her crimson eyes piercing through the darkness, locking onto Shirou in his bindings.

"Why?" Shirou asked, his first question cutting through the silence. "Why did you capture me and lure my friends here?"

Illya's once playful demeanor turned serious.

"I didn't want to do this, but... it's necessary," she said softly.

"Necessary? For the Holy Grail War!?" Shirou snapped, shouting in frustration. "You kill people for something like that!?"

Illya didn't respond immediately, her gaze unwavering as she appeared to carefully form her words.

"Not for that... Not this time."

"Then what!?" Shirou demanded, his confusion evident.

"Your friend…" Illya murmured. "Yusuke."

"Y...Yusuke? What does he have to do with this?" Shirou's expression shifted to one of pure confusion.

Illya climbed down from the bed and walked to the window, pulling back the curtain. Sunlight flooded the room, momentarily blinding Shirou.

"Shirou, you don't understand how dangerous he is. What lies dormant within him... what he can't control," Illya explained, her voice soft but firm.

"That guy? Dangerous?" Shirou scoffed.

"Yes. Inside Yusuke, beyond the power he already controls, there's something else. Something sleeping on the other side of his mind."

"This is ridiculous—wait, you're not saying...!?" Shirou's voice trailed off as realization struck. "You see him as a threat to your victory in the Grail War, don't you!?"

"You really don't understand anything, do you?" Illya turned to face him, her expression unchanged. "You didn't realize he's already been overtaken by that power once, since arriving here."

"Once!?"

"At the school. When you found him unconscious, you must've thought he had fought another Servant or was caught in the crossfire of a battle," Illya explained, stepping closer. "But that destruction... it was caused by the demon inside him."

The air around Shirou turned icy, and his stomach churned. He remembered the aftermath at the school—not long ago, the room was utterly destroyed, as if immense power had exploded within it.

"You must've seen how terrifying it was, even though it was just a fraction of its true strength. No, less than a fraction. Now imagine what would happen if that power fully awakened…"

Shirou leaned back, trying to calm himself. At that moment, Illya stepped closer to him, closing the distance by another step.

"Why are you trying to act like the good guy now?" Shirou asked, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"The good guy?" Illya chuckled softly. "I'm not trying to be a good person." She paused briefly. "I just don't want the world to turn into a land of the corpses."

"Then is there no other way? Other than killing him?"

Illya stared at Shirou for a moment without answering. Then, without a word, she walked past him toward the door. Stopping briefly at the doorway, she murmured quietly to herself.

"Berserker, let's get ready."

"Whoa!" Yusuke leaped onto a tree branch as his shoe caught fire. Beneath him, the ground had been enchanted with a magical trap he hadn't noticed until it was too late.

Rin, sensing the magic, quickly threw a gemstone onto the ground, burning away the lingering traces of the trap until they disappeared completely.

"You can come down now, M...r... Reckless," Rin said, looking up at him with a small, amused smile.

"Yeah, yeah." Yusuke let go of the branch and landed squarely on the ground. "Next time, maybe give me a heads-up first."

"Sure, sure," Rin chuckled, clearly entertained by his frustration. She pointed at him teasingly. "But hey, that was the last one."

"The last one—finally!" Yusuke sighed in relief. "Are we there yet?"

Rin turned her gaze toward the castle in the distance. Though they weren't close to it yet, they'd made it halfway there on foot.

"Why... We're still not at the castle," Rin said with a worried expression. She glanced around cautiously, scanning for any traps they might have missed. "Archer, are you certain there aren't any more traps?"

"Positive, Rin—" Archer's voice floated through the air confidently, but it cut off abruptly.

"Archer!? Hello!? " Rin called out, alarmed.

"Hmm... I'm worried too," Archer's voice returned after a brief pause, softer but still unnerving. "Why wouldn't there be traps on the remaining path?"

Rin's eyes swept over the area once more, searching for anything she might have overlooked.

"What is it, Rin?" Yusuke asked, stepping closer to her. But Rin gently pushed him back.

"Wait! I need to be sure the path is clear," Rin said firmly, raising her left foot cautiously. She inhaled deeply, calming herself. She didn't know what awaited them ahead, but she knew stopping here wasn't an option. If she didn't move forward, Shirou might die, and she'd let down everyone counting on her.

Rin slowly exhaled, opened her eyes, and brought her foot down decisively onto the ground ahead.

Thud.

"Nothing," Rin muttered softly. "Clear."

"No traps?" Saber stepped onto the spot Rin had just tested, equally surprised by the lack of resistance.

"Well, that's good! Makes things easier," Yusuke said, stepping forward confidently.

But in an instant, the atmosphere around Yusuke changed. Darkness enveloped him, as if the entire world had vanished in the blink of an eye. Rin and Saber disappeared from his sight, leaving him alone in an infinite void.

"Rin!? Saber!?" Yusuke called out, spinning around frantically. "What the hell is this!?"

Sweat poured down his face despite the absence of heat or cold. The oppressive sensation of countless eyes watching him from every direction weighed heavily on him.

Trying to stay calm, Yusuke began walking forward, determined to find answers to his predicament. But just as his left foot stepped out, it found nothing. He realized too late that he had walked off solid ground.

Now he was falling, tumbling into an endless abyss of darkness indistinguishable from the void around him.

He knew only one thing for certain—he was falling, and there was no way to stop it. As for where he was falling to, only the gods would know.

"Whoa!"

Suddenly, Yusuke felt as though he was being lifted out of the hellish abyss, carried to safety where he could stand on solid ground again.

"What's going on?" he muttered in confusion. Turning around, he saw the person who had likely saved him.

"Rider!?"

Her long, flowing purple hair, the blindfold covering her eyes, and the off-shoulder outfit—he immediately recognized her. Her face was both beautiful and fearsome, a combination he would never forget. He'd lost count of how many times he'd encountered Rider.

"You nearly lost your life," she said in a calm, steady voice.

"How did you get here?" Yusuke asked, looking around. "And where exactly is this?"

"You are currently within a personal marble phantasm," Rider explained, pausing briefly. "It's a bounded field created by mages to pull a target into a magical space shaped by the user's imagination."

"In short, it's a weapon almost guaranteed to secure victory—provided the target isn't a demigod or an advanced mage."

"Yeah, I don't really get it…" Yusuke admitted, scratching his head. "But what about my friends? Where are they?"

"It seems the user deliberately targeted you alone. Your friends were not caught in the domain," Rider replied.

"So, you're saying that white-haired kid intentionally went after me…" Yusuke said, lowering his gaze. "But how did you get here?"

"My Mystic Eyes of Petrification have additional abilities beyond their primary function. I can see hidden phenomena as well," Rider explained but abruptly stopped, her gaze shifting to the left. "Though even I don't know what lies ahead in this place."

"Then why did you save me... again? Aren't we supposed to be enemies? after that?"

"It was my order." Rider answered straightforwardly, her response making Yusuke frown in confusion.

"By Shinji, you mean? Is this his trick?"

Rider shook her head, surprising Yusuke even more.

"I have a new master."

"What…?" Yusuke acted a bit confused before he came up with something: "Uww... weren't you the one who didn't just come to save me on your own?" Yusuke teased with a smirk.

Rider appeared momentarily flustered before quickly regaining her composure. "Do not misunderstand…"

"Just kidding," Yusuke said with a chuckle. "So, who's this new master of yours?"

"You will meet her soon enough," Rider replied without elaborating. She stood motionless, her expression unreadable.

"Well then, I guess I need to find a way out of here without dying…" Yusuke's eyes widened as a sudden thought crossed his mind. "But what about everyone outside? What's happening to them?"

"They likely won't even realize you've disappeared."

Just then, a faint noise began to echo around them, growing steadily louder. Both Rider and Yusuke turned toward the source.

From the darkness, tiny pinpoints of white light appeared, resembling pairs of glowing eyes. What started as just one pair multiplied rapidly, spreading to encircle the area where they stood.

"Huh!?"

Those eyes stared, unblinking, fixed solely on them. The eerie silence was broken only by faint, birdlike chirps, as if the creatures were pleading for their lives.

But as the haunting sounds faded, a voice called out from the darkness.

"Are you ready to have some fun, Yusuke?"