---o---
Holy shit!!!
It was Emiya Shirou!
Although the audience outside the light curtain had long known that Emiya Shirou had various connections to the girl named Sakura—after all, he was a Heroic Spirit from the future—they never expected him to go to such lengths for her.
Many people pitied Sakura for her circumstances, but... pitiful people often have their detestable aspects. Sakura's past was indeed difficult to stomach, but her current state was completely different from before.
Those lifeless eyes and the evil aura emanating from her body could be felt even by the beings outside the light curtain. The presence of All the World's Evil was no joke.
Even a born villain like DIO felt a shiver run down his spine, to say nothing of Emiya Shirou and Saber who were right there in the scene.
Therefore... Emiya Shirou's actions were completely drawing fire upon himself. After all, the Noble Phantasm he had unleashed before was incredibly cool and powerful, and coupled with his good looks, he had attracted a large following of admirers.
But now...
"Oh, great. So much for being an 'Ally of Justice'. He's got double standards just because it's someone he knows?"
"Exactly! If it were Emiya Kiritsugu, he would have put a bullet in her no matter who she was. Is this the kind of crap the Counter Force sends?"
For a moment, comments like these flooded the screen. The light curtain's comment section had no filter, so unless the viewers blocked them themselves, disgusting remarks would always fill the screen.
---o---
[Inside the Light Curtain—
The sudden appearance of Emiya Shirou blocked Saber's holy sword.
As Saber's former Master, Emiya Shirou had a decent understanding of the sword in her hand, to say the least.
If this Noble Phantasm had been released in its unsealed state, even with just one or two seals broken, it would have been more than enough to completely annihilate him.
And that goes without saying for Sakura. Although the sealed holy sword was classified as an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, its sacred light was still extremely effective against enemies with the 'Evil' attribute.
If the Holy Grail itself took a direct hit, it would be instantly destroyed!
"Archer?"
Saber certainly hadn't expected Shirou's sudden appearance. Although this Archer's behavior was quite strange... he was still a Heroic Spirit sent by the Counter Force to save the world.
"Archer, what are you doing? Are you trying to shelter evil?"
King Arthur was a holy king, and purging evil was one of his duties. Without a doubt, Sakura had completely fused with the fragment of the Holy Grail. The current Sakura Matou... was an incarnation of sin. In King Arthur's eyes, she was an existence that had to be eliminated!
And Archer's actions were, in King Arthur's view, undoubtedly an anomaly. But as a king, one should not pass judgment based on subjective assumptions. One should give the other party a chance to explain. Therefore, Saber did not act rashly, choosing instead to hear Emiya Shirou's explanation first.
Emiya Shirou, having just taken the impact of the holy sword, was panting slightly. It seemed that blocking that blow had not been easy. If he hadn't had some prior knowledge of the sword, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand even the sealed release.
After hearing Saber's words, Archer gave a slight smile and said, "This is just a guilty senior looking after his junior. Saber, her existence won't affect the grand scheme of things. Spare her life. I swear to you, once we deal with that Old Worm, Sakura will never harm another innocent life again!"
How to put it? The moment Emiya Shirou arrived and saw Sakura about to die at Saber's hands, his body had moved faster than his brain. He had blocked the attack without a single thought.
As a worker for the Counter Force, Emiya Shirou had learned some of the secrets of his own Fifth Holy Grail War during his long years of service.
It was something he had never known while he was alive: different timelines create different outcomes.
And no matter the timeline, Sakura's fate was always tragic. She could never obtain what she wanted.
Through his long years of working for the Counter Force, Emiya Shirou had come to a profound understanding.
In this world, everyone is a slave to fate. He was, Sakura was, and even Saber was.
The existence of the Counter Force was like a giant hand, guiding everything down a path it deemed correct.
True... every action the Counter Force took seemed to be for the development of human history, to ensure the existence of mankind.
But... for humanity itself, its existence was not a good thing. If humanity was destined for destruction, the Counter Force would not hesitate to wipe it out completely.
The Counter Force's appearance also stifled the development of human civilization. Humanity already knew enough. It did not want this unprecedentedly intelligent species to become the true masters of the Earth, let alone outer space.
Therefore... Emiya Shirou himself... had long harbored thoughts of becoming a turncoat against the Counter Force. It was just that even his thoughts were manipulated by it, so he didn't dare to think it openly.
At this thought, Emiya Shirou couldn't help but take a deep breath. He didn't know if it was because of the Outer God or Elysia, but at this moment, Heroic Spirit Emiya Shirou felt an unprecedented sense of freedom.
The faint restrictions the Counter Force had placed on him had finally been weakened to their absolute limit!
And the fate of certain ruin that the Counter Force had decreed for Sakura Matou—he would be the one to rewrite it!
---o---
After a night of battle, the pale white of dawn was gradually appearing on the horizon.
However, because of the Outer God, the sky above Fuyuki City remained pitch black. The darkness was eroding its way outwards, with Solomon's barrier as the dividing line. Clearly... the Outer God was gradually seeping its presence into the outside world.
Not even a Grand-class Servant could stop the Outer God's rate of infiltration? Such a powerful corrosive force was indeed something no ordinary person could match.
"Archer, I suggest you get away from that girl. If you don't want to be devoured by that Black Mud."
Saber's lion-like pupils silently watched the Black Mud that was gradually approaching Archer. One look at that mud was enough to know it was nothing good. Once devoured, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Emiya Shirou just sighed helplessly. He had already noticed the Black Mud creeping closer to him. For a Servant, the mud containing All the World's Evil was something that could not be easily resisted.
But he had no intention of dodging. He knew Sakura well. She had indeed fused completely with the Grail fragment, but with her abilities, she was completely incapable of commanding this much Black Mud to fight a Servant.
That left only one possibility—
"Zouken Matou... you bastard. You're hiding on Sakura's body, aren't you!"