Chapter 3: If Nightmares Become Reality
"For anyone who might still come to this hospital, I think there is a way to regroup."
The communication devices brought from the original world were all unusable for some reason. This meant that contacting one another had become difficult. Regarding this, after thinking it over, Shirou asked: "Do you mind if I demonstrate something?"
Seeing that Clan Calatin had no immediate intention of stopping him, Shirou began to move.
A sword manifested in his hand, and he used it to trace markings casually on the ground. The earth carved by this blade parted to both sides like a knife through hot butter, becoming clear, legible script.
The movement was normal. The only confusing thing was... the sword in his hand possessed a prana radiance no less impressive than the armaments of John's colleagues.
It hadn't existed anywhere a moment ago; the sword had essentially appeared out of thin air in mid-blank space, and then Shirou had gripped it and was using it naturally. Even if it was just the mundane task of writing on the ground, no matter how you looked at it, it was a Noble Phantasm, right?
The unbelievable sight made Clan Calatin widen their eyes in succession, doubting whether their eyes were playing tricks on them.
The content left on the ground was a general explanation by the person named Emiya Shirou regarding his plans and intended destination. Subsequently, a cruciform sword appeared in the air before Shirou; it plunged downward, blade-first, embedding itself in the dirt in front of the writing.
"The characteristic of this sword is that even if it is shattered, it can fully restore itself; the fragments will return to the body of the blade. So, next, I just need to break the sword—"
Shirou reached out and gripped the hilt; at that exact moment, the blade shattered into pieces with a roar.
Several of these fragments were placed into a small projected box and left on the spot. Inside the closed space, the fragments hung against one side of the wall, constantly attempting to move toward the longsword, only to be blocked by the wall.
"—This way, they will always know our direction. By the same logic, we can perceive theirs."
Explaining this to the police personnel, Shirou pulled out the notched remains of the blade. For some reason, Clan Calatin began to whisper among themselves.
"Is that a Noble Phantasm?"
"Impossible..."
"Only a Caster should be able to craft a Noble Phantasm, and even then, it requires materials and time... Think about it, our ability to identify Noble Phantasms isn't that great either; we must be seeing it wrong."
Shirou: "..."
'Though it actually is a C-rank Noble Phantasm. Aren't you guys focusing on the wrong thing?'
"John?" Shirou called out softly.
"Eh, uh, ah, yes, I'm here!!"
John's gaze was also fixed on that sword; it took him quite a while to frantically turn back.
"What is your decision?"
Silence blanketed the officers. They wore pinched expressions as if agonizing over a major decision, their held Noble Phantasms touching the ground under the weight of gravity.
After a long while, Shirou's feet shifted slightly, adopting a gait that suggested he was about to move from the spot. Seeming to take this as a precursor to his departure, John immediately grabbed his arm along with the other police members at the hospital.
"...Wait."
John took a deep breath and said: "We're coming with you. Bella said that since they won't be back for a while, we are to make our own decisions if we encounter a truly important situation."
Clan Calatin declared in unison: "We believe this is such a moment."
.
.
.
"Are you saying Shirou is gone?"
"Senpai's life or death is currently unknown!?"
The room was filled with overlapping female voices. Both girls pressed toward Saber, who had returned to the base, almost simultaneously fighting to get their respective questions out. One was the older sister, one was the younger. Beside them, Illya and Rider remained silent.
What cast a shadow over their varied features and statures were their frozen expressions.
"Saber, I'm not blaming you, but speak more clearly now. Your explanation is too vague."
Rin spoke the entire sentence without catching her breath, staring intently at Saber. Her face, composed to the point of being cold, was fixed directly opposite Saber.
"Besides, weren't you there? Didn't you say your duty was to protect Senpai? Saber?"
Sakura bit her lip, her palms clenched tight. After a few seconds, she averted her eyes downward and whispered: "I'm sorry."
'Don't blame others.' That's what Senpai would say.
The sky had just welcomed the sunrise. The ever-present faint and clear sunlight slanted in through the window, hitting the curtains in an untimely manner.
"...It was my failure. It seems I have no right to judge Shirou. I am an incompetent guardian myself."
Because she had saved someone other than Shirou, she had failed to protect the very person she was supposed to keep safe.
"Go do what you want to do," he had said at the time.
His aspirations were aligned with Saber's, so he had made Saber abandon a negligible risk to prioritize saving the someone else she wanted to save. Because he empathized with Saber's feelings, he ensured she wasn't constrained to the spot for his sake, allowing her to achieve what she couldn't even manage in life—to no longer let situations pass by where she stood idly by.
He understood Saber too well, yet this had led to his accident—even if that man's personality meant he likely wouldn't hold a shred of blame against Saber even if he truly died. It was entirely Saber's fault.
Theoretically, Saber could have countered regarding her responsibilities and duties in countless ways, but she just stood there despondently, like a criminal awaiting sentencing, or a lion soaked to the bone.
Even so, she tried her best to consider Rin and Sakura's bodies, which were heaving with their breathing, and said: "...Calm down."
Despite saying this, even Saber herself was dejected, her head hanging low without any spirit.
"How could anyone possibly be calm!?"
"I won't be calm until Senpai comes back anyway!"
Rin replied wordlessly, and Sakura followed up immediately; their voices were interlaced in almost perfect synchronization. The women of the Emiya household fell into a strange silence.
However, after the minute hand ticked twice, Rin took the initiative to sigh and said: "Panicking here won't solve anything. Let's talk. Saber, you don't believe Shirou is dead, right?"
Gaining her answer by looking directly into Saber's eyes, Rin continued: "Then your telling us this isn't out of a sense of duty to report a death, is it? Let me guess... 'Although I don't understand what happened at the Central Hospital, other people who are magi might know'—that's what you were thinking, as a final straw to clutch at. Am I right?"
Saber bowed her head silently, her expression hidden by her bangs, confirming this.
"I'll be blunt too—I don't know. It's impossible to understand something I haven't even seen. A thaumaturgy of that scale is simply nonsensical. However, because things are so wrong, I actually find myself agreeing with one of your thoughts."
Rin stated grumpily: "I don't believe Shirou died there either."
As soon as she said this, Saber's eyes lit up as she looked toward her; even Sakura and Rider looked over. Only Illya, her eyes slightly open, spoke in a soft whisper without looking anywhere in particular: "Goodness, this is the only time our views align, Rin."
"Did you find a clue?"
Rin clicked her tongue noncommittally, not looking at her specifically, but turning back to explain to the two confused Servants and Sakura.
Before she could, Illya closed her eyes completely and explained in Rin's stead: "It has nothing to do with magecraft. You can figure it out using basic theory."
"—The hospital—weren't there six factions gathered there? That police station using Caster's power, the Assassin you glimpsed toward the front gate, that guy named Sigma who also said he had a Servant, plus the other Saber, and finally you and Shirou. If that black mist were a killing magecraft..."
Rin picked up where Illya left off: "...It would mean that Heroic Spirit had won a Holy Grail War all by itself. That's what it would amount to."
This conclusion was clearly absurd. A mist that spread rapidly in all directions before anyone could even be seen—as an offensive Noble Phantasm, its efficiency was too abnormal. Moreover, the fact that there weren't even bodies left on the field after the mist passed was a suspicious point.
Rather than believing this mist also possessed the effect of making corpses vanish without a trace, it was more reasonable to believe its essence was some other effect that allowed it to spread so quickly.
After a moment of hesitation, Saber finally asked: "Is this a certainty?"
"..."
Rin answered flatly: "It is my hope."
In the eyes of the others in the room, the figure of the woman named Tohsaka Rin was reflected as both strong and fragile.
"That said, the wrongness of what Rin mentioned doesn't stop there. Tsubaki Kuruoka, that Master, also vanished, didn't she? If the effect of this spell is death followed by the total disappearance of the body, does that mean she vanished too? Then that Heroic Spirit would have dissipated long ago."
Illya immediately stated the second key point.
"Finally, think carefully. We've seen methods for making people disappear before. The answer is right next to the riddle. Although Shirou's Bounded Field looks like a field of infinite swords to us, what does it look like to a third party who hasn't been pulled in?"
Rin took over the third key point. After exchanging a look, Rin and Illya spoke the conclusion simultaneously.
"I think Shirou was probably pulled into another unknown location."
"Onii-chan should still be alive, he's just unable to contact us."
Just as Rin and Illya said... a certain hope burned in their eyes, and this hope quickly spread to the others. The expressions of the girls shifted rapidly.
"However, in the current situation, we are powerless. We don't know the method to open that space at all. We are likely isolated from Shirou, unable to interfere with that side; we can only wait. If there's anything left to do..."
Rin threw a bucket of cold water with objective facts, but no one seemed too disappointed. As long as they could find a direction, it was an undeniable good. In Rin's own words: hope.
Hope creates goals; goals create action.
"We're going to Snowfield City Central Hospital. I want to figure out the location of that space."
It was expected that the hospital was already covered by the surveillance networks of all magi who had noticed the situation. It would be difficult to investigate without being discovered. But at worst, the women of the Emiya household would simply move from behind the scenes to the center of public attention. Compared to Shirou's return, a price of this level wasn't even worth mentioning.
Snowfield City Central Hospital. A cauldron of chaos, a singular magical domain welcoming the ravages of various figures.
They were headed for the center of all causal lines. The intersection of two worlds. The people walking in different worlds centered themselves on this starting point.
Unable to meet, unable to interfere, unable to contact. Yet, their respective footsteps did not falter.
—I don't know when I'll be able to see them.
—We must be ready for him to come back.
Because they looked forward to the moment of reunion, they took the first step.
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