Even with the support of the Heroic Spirit Emiya, Rin still couldn't afford to relax.
Out of concern for Rin, Tokiomi Tohsaka chose not to make a move himself—but that didn't mean everyone else would show the same restraint.Kenneth was already a towering figure in the world of magecraft, a renowned instructor at the Clock Tower. Compared to him, Tohsaka Rin was outmatched by far more than just a small margin.
Ironically, the one considered a complete novice—Shirou Emiya—was now gripping a battered broom reinforced with magecraft. Unbidden, images of Archer's combat stance surfaced in his mind, and before he realized it, he began to imitate them.
As time passed, Shirou's movements grew smoother and smoother, his presence strengthening at a rate visible even to the naked eye.
Judging purely from how the battle at the Tohsaka estate was unfolding, even if Gilgamesh never lifted a finger, the ones destined to lose would most likely still be Rin and her side.
There was no helping it. Saber had been weakened far too severely and was no longer a match for Lancer.As for Archer, fighting two Heroic Spirits alone was pushing him hard as well.
His base parameters weren't impressive to begin with—so much so that Rin had once half-jokingly labeled him "the weakest guy in the Holy Grail War."
If he were to unveil his trump card—Reality Marble: Unlimited Blade Works—turning the tide wouldn't actually be all that difficult.But Archer knew just as well that the moment he activated Unlimited Blade Works, the ancient king who had been watching from the sidelines would almost certainly stop pretending to be a spectator.
After all, in that man's eyes, Archer was nothing more than a despicable counterfeit…
Just as the situation worsened to the point where even Archer was preparing to throw caution aside and deploy Unlimited Blade Works, the ground suddenly began to shake in a steady, rhythmic tremor.
Illya had arrived—bringing Berserker crashing into the battlefield with her!
While everyone else in Fuyuki sensed the surge of magical energy and chose to stay put, Illya did the opposite and ran straight toward it.Where there was a clash of mana, Heroic Spirits were fighting—and wherever members of the red faction appeared, Kiritsugu Emiya might not be far behind.
Unfortunately, when Illya arrived with the towering black giant Heracles, she didn't find Kiritsugu.Instead, she encountered Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya, both locked in a desperate struggle.
Whether it was lingering feelings toward Shirou, or sheer frustration at failing to find Kiritsugu, the little girl's emotions boiled over.
In any case, the moment Berserker entered the fray, the balance of power flipped instantly in Rin's favor.
As an enemy, Heracles' absurd parameters and nearly cheat-like Noble Phantasm—Twelve Labors—were enough to drive anyone into despair.But as an ally, nothing could inspire greater reassurance.
This was the great hero of legend—Heracles himself. To put it bluntly, in terms of fame and the sheer spread of his legend, not a single Heroic Spirit in this Holy Grail War could compare to him.
Even Gilgamesh, who had previously deigned to look down on everyone else, couldn't help but show a flicker of surprise when he discerned Heracles' true name.
The King of Heroes despised the gods—but Heracles had not been born one. He had completed countless trials as a demi-god, half man and half divine, before finally ascending as a god of strength.
Each of those trials was something that even the gods themselves could not have accomplished.In a sense, this was a form of triumph over the divine—and earning Gilgamesh's recognition because of it was only natural.
With Illya joining the battlefield, Berserker quickly demonstrated power worthy of his legend.
Monstrous parameters combined with martial skill engraved so deeply into his bones that even madness couldn't erase it—once he stepped onto the field, he immediately began a one-sided slaughter.
His body, tempered through endless trials, made his muscles gleam with a dark, metallic sheen. Against the creatures summoned by Caster and Assassin's attacks, Heracles didn't even bother to dodge.
There was no need.Their attacks couldn't even break his defenses.
With Berserker's arrival, the battlefield had effectively become a three-on-three.
Gilgamesh wanted nothing more than to test himself against the legendary hero—but right now, his priority was seeing Tokiomi Tohsaka meet an early demise. Suppressing his curiosity, he chose to keep watching.
Unless Tokiomi used a Command Seal on him, Gilgamesh had fully committed to doing absolutely nothing.And if Tokiomi burned through his last two Command Seals, then his own death would be assured.
Saber versus Lancer—although Saber was clearly at a disadvantage, as long as neither side unleashed their Noble Phantasms, she wouldn't fall just yet.With Berserker on the field, Archer taking on Caster alone now held a decisive advantage.
That left Berserker versus Assassin—a matchup that could only be described as total annihilation.
Even among all Heroic Spirits, Berserker stood firmly at the very top. If Gilgamesh hadn't intervened in the original course of events, the victor of the Fifth Holy Grail War would most likely have been him.
The reason was simple: Twelve Labors was utterly broken. Even though Archer possessed twelve different ways to kill him, he couldn't project the one thing needed to restrain Heracles—the Chains of Heaven.
Without a means of binding him, attempting to kill a peerless warrior like Heracles through projected weapons alone was nothing but a pipe dream.
If Assassin's divided bodies were merely ordinary people to other Heroic Spirits, then to Berserker, they weren't even fodder.
Assassin's daggers couldn't break Berserker's skin, but one swing of Berserker's massive axe-sword would wipe out entire groups at once.
What terrified Assassin the most was that despite Berserker's enormous size, his speed was completely absurd. Even an Assassin found it difficult to escape.
Overwhelmed by Berserker's raw might, Assassin soon became the first Heroic Spirit to be eliminated.
When Berserker turned his gaze toward Lancer after finishing his opponent, Kenneth—who had been dominating Rin moments earlier—finally panicked.
Thanks to the rules of the Holy Grail, he could see Berserker's true name as well. The sheer intimidation of the legendary hero made him fear that Diarmuid might not be able to hold out.
"Head of the Tohsaka family, what the hell are you doing?! Why haven't you ordered your Servant to act yet?I agreed to cooperate with you to win the Holy Grail—not to be dragged into one pitfall after another!"
Kenneth was drowning in regret—regret that he had trusted Tokiomi Tohsaka yet again.
If he had chosen to act alone like Kiritsugu Emiya from the start, things never would have turned out like this.
What should have been a crushing, dragon-on-the-face victory had been turned into a desperate losing battle—all because this idiot had stood around striking poses from the very beginning. How could Kenneth not be furious?
"That's enough. Lancer, take me and withdraw. With your agility, a full retreat should be easy."
Seeing the situation collapse—and after being disappointed by Tokiomi time and again—Kenneth finally snapped.
Rather than staying here and dying alongside Tokiomi, it was better to retreat while he still could.
Lancer had always obeyed Kenneth without question. At his command, he immediately abandoned Saber, scooped Kenneth up in a princess carry, and leapt away from the Tohsaka estate in a few bounds.
With Lancer gone and Assassin eliminated, the loss of two allied Servants finally jolted Tokiomi Tohsaka back to his senses.
He had never imagined that Rin would truly raise her hand against him—but now that it had come to this, he had to admit she was right. The Rin of this world was his enemy.
"Caster, the situation is unfavorable. We'll withdraw for now.You can see it yourself—that's the legendary hero. Trying to defeat him under these circumstances would be reckless."
Assassin was already gone, and thanks to Kenneth, Lancer was no longer an option. Now Tokiomi could only pray that his sole remaining ally, Caster, wouldn't foolishly choose to stay behind and die.
Anyone with eyes could tell that Caster had been more excited upon seeing Saber than upon seeing Tokiomi's daughter from ten years in the future. If someone claimed there was no connection between them, Tokiomi wouldn't believe it for a second.
In the end, Tokiomi Tohsaka, Caster, and Ryunosuke all managed to escape the battle at the Tohsaka estate.
Their safe retreat wasn't because Gilgamesh had a sudden change of heart—it was because, despite her harsh words, Rin still couldn't bring herself to deal the killing blow to her father.
Illya did chase after them with Berserker afterward, but success was far from guaranteed.
This Holy Grail War involved fourteen Heroic Spirits in total across both factions, extending the duration from the usual one week to a full month.
Yet only a single night had passed—and already, two large-scale battles had erupted. The red faction's Assassin had even been eliminated outright.
And aside from those two major clashes, there had also been a smaller skirmish at the Fuyuki Church that night—far less intense, but no less meaningful.
The participants were the red faction's Saber and the blue faction's Lancer, Cú Chulainn.
Unlike Tokiomi, Kiritsugu Emiya did have a place to stay in Fuyuki—but the Emiya residence lacked the deep-rooted defenses of the Tohsaka estate.
Knowing that the blue faction was aware of the previous Holy Grail War's participants, Kiritsugu judged that returning to their old home risked being ambushed.
Thus, the ever-calculating Kiritsugu Emiya chose the Fuyuki Church as a temporary refuge.
No matter the Holy Grail War, the Church was always neutral territory—making it the safest place of all.
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