Fate Coiling Sword Chapter 53 (Patreon)

Not beta read yet

Next update snafu in a few sec and followed by An Archer's Promise.

Sorry for the late post, had to help a friend who wanted to make kimchi. Good news, turned out well for our first try, but damn did it make a messy kitchen.

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-???-

Faint particles of snow drifted down from the gray snowy sky, settling across the rooftops, roads, and surrounding fields as a thick blanket of them covered the rustic village Shirou had just arrived at. 

The sight almost looked like something from a fairytale, beautiful and strangely peaceful despite everything Shirou had already encountered. 

While a snow-covered landscape was not exactly a rarity in Fuyuki, something similar to the sight before him could only be witnessed in the country-side, and looking across the white topped mountains and old rustic buildings gave him a better idea of the kind of place Gray had grown up in. 

He walked through the village taken in the sights as he searched for any clues to understand what was going on.

For a moment, the unfamiliar landscape almost felt inviting, but the strange circumstances surrounding it kept him from lowering his guard.

At first he’d decided that the first thing he should do, involved potentially spending the next several hours searching through one street after another, and checking all the different parts of the village for even a single clue regarding Gray's whereabouts.

The most logical place to start remained her house, yet that created another problem, considering that Shirou had no idea where she even lived here in the first place. He also still didn't understand the risks of what might happen if he interfered too much with this false world. 

'Hard to believe all of this is fake.'

Everything around this place obviously connected to Gray somehow, which meant the village could represent some fragment of her memories, but that didn't make the place any less dangerous given he was originally supposed to be inside an apartment.

Every unfamiliar road could lead him somewhere he didn't need to go, and every wrong turn could potentially pull him deeper into another trap.

He thought about asking the residents, but as far as he could tell there wasn’t a single soul in the town.

…Oh well, If nothing else worked, his last resort involved sending Rider herself throughout the village to search for Gray instead of guarding him.

Still he definitely did see people before coming here, he even managed to talk to that bearded, shaggy guy. Shirou couldn’t shake the feeling that the coated guy they had encountered earlier gave off. Shirou couldn't shake the feeling that he probably held some importance to Gray, considering how accurate the place made him. ‘Ah, I forgot to ask for his name. Though… I think that must have been Bersac.’

‘Bersac was the gravekeeper mage who trained Gray and looked out for her, after she made her transformation.’

From the stories she mentioned, the similarities were there. Not to mention, his willingness to help them reach the main town only strengthened that guess. Whatever connection they shared, he couldn't afford to waste time figuring it out while Gray remained somewhere inside this place.

Unfortunately, the last thing he expected to encounter after reaching the village stood directly ahead of them. A church buried beneath the falling snow, flames consuming parts of the structure while thick black smoke rose toward the sky. Around the village, several shadow-like figures moved away from the burning building; though there were no screams, they were practically fleeing the area with… fear? Elation? Shock?

Hard to say with faceless beings.

Their forms resembled ghosts, dark and almost transparent, moving with enough speed to make them difficult to follow. He had no idea what they represented or who they might have been before whatever happened to them. “Is that really Saber?” His attention couldn't remain on them for long because another figure stood directly in front of the burning church.

"Shirou."

“Hm?”

Rider's warning immediately drew his attention toward the figure ahead. Standing among the flames and smoke, sword already in hand, stood Saber.

"Sorry, I got distracted… but, what is Saber doing here? Was she also caught in the trap?"

That made him question if more innocent bystanders and people living in the floors below were caught too or not. Another detail caught his attention before he could pursue any of them. Something about the Servant in front of them looked wrong. A dark haze covered her body, clinging to her armor and surrounding her like smoke, while her eyes carried none of the life he associated with Saber. 

“Saber!”

Every bit of her being just felt wrong! Even as he called her out, she showed no reaction.

"She cannot hear us." Rider said, mirroring his worries.

“Oi, Saber! It's us, Shirou and Rider! Where is Gray?” 

“...”

Confusion crossed his face as he called her again, louder this time, hoping she might somehow respond. Nothing changed. No reaction, no recognition, not even the slightest movement suggesting she had heard him. A bad feeling settled in his stomach, prompting Shirou to retrieve his handgun and grip it tightly.

"Is she an illusion as well?"

Saber raised her sword without warning. 

“—!”

Whoosh!

A gust of wind swept through the snow as her body vanished from its original position, only to reappear directly in front of them with her blade already descending toward him. The attack came so quickly that he barely had time to react, much less raise his gun. 

Clang!

Rider moved first, bringing her spike tipped chains across the incoming blade and catching the attack before it could reach him. ‘So fast!’ Once again, the redhead was stunned as the sheer speed of a Servant, though his own was no less capable. The force drove her back slightly, but she retaliated with a swift kick that sent Saber crashing through the church wall.

The armored figure had become airborne for just a second, till it got buried under the burning rubble… an exchange that had only lasted a single second or two.

"I see, so it is not just an illusion, that's for sure. And given that's the case, considering the speed and magical energy in the air, that attack won't be enough to put her down."

As soon as Rider finished that statement heavy rubbles, no, entire pieces of the church began tumbling from the damaged building as Saber emerged from within the burning structure. Flames curled around her armor without slowing her down, and pieces of debris fell from the wall behind her while she walked straight through the fire.

"Dammit. Was she brainwashed?" Shirou shook his head, forcing himself to stop dwelling on the possibility. Whatever had happened to Saber, the answer could wait. "Doesn't matter. We'll save her."

Bang! 

Bang!

Bang!

Several shots rang out as he raised his gun and fired. Every round struck the flat side of Saber's sword, each impact deflected with so much ease to make it clear that ordinary gunfire wouldn't accomplish anything. The bullets scattered into the snow or struck nearby structures while the Servant remained completely focused on the two intruders.

"Rider!"

The response came through a simple nod and a tiny smirk. In the next instant, she vanished from his side and crossed the distance with tremendous speed, appearing beside her opponent before launching another chain attack. With a loud clang, the chained spike weapon collided with the longsword, resulting in an impact that produced a shock wave powerful enough to extinguish several smaller fires around them.

What followed quickly exceeded Shirou's ability to perceive. 

The definition of A rank agility presented itself to his very eyes, her movement around Saber could not even be described as simply “fast”, rather a feat no different to teleportation in the eyes of a regular human. Becoming little more than a blur as she attacked from different directions always simultaneously with her legs, and chained weapons. Each attack came from a different angle, forcing Saber to turn and block repeatedly while trying to find an opening but failing at each and every tuen. 

“Hn!” Even with her enhanced senses, the corrupted Servant struggled to keep up at first. “Argh!” Several attacks slipped through her defense, striking her armor and body and forcing her farther backward across the snow.

“Aaaaaaaaah!” 

She continued pressing the assault until Saber suddenly released a furious cry and unleashed a dark blast from her entire body. “Urgh!” The explosion expanded outward like a massive shock wave, throwing snow, debris, and flames in every direction. Immediately abandoning her attack, Rider jumped backward, twisting gracefully through the air before landing beside Shirou.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Watching the exchange for only a moment, he realized remaining beside the fight would accomplish very little. He had already learned what happened when he tried to involve himself directly against powerful Servants such as Caster, and he didn't want to become another burden that she needed to protect. If she could keep Saber occupied, his best contribution involved finding some way to understand this village and locate Gray.

"Are you confident?" While he trusted her with his life, facing this Saber gave him the same sensation of standing before Berserker.

"Of course. I'm your Servant, after all. Besides… she's rather slow, strangely enough."

“Or maybe you're just too fast?”

A slight smile appeared on the purple haired woman's face before she turned back toward Saber and rushed into the fight once again. Shirou took the opportunity to move in the opposite direction, running through the snow-covered village while searching for somewhere high enough to observe the surrounding area. “Hah.. hah… hah…” 

Several buildings had already suffered damage from the battle, but a small bell tower near the cemetery remained standing. He immediately headed toward it and pushed through the entrance, hoping its height would give him a clearer view of the village.

‘I hope Ayako and the rest are fine, if Saber got caught then something similar could have happened to them.’ 

The old wooden stairs creaked beneath his feet as he climbed, and the sounds of combat followed him upward. Crashes echoed between the buildings, metal struck against metal, and powerful explosions shook the surrounding structures. Every impact sent another tremor through the bell tower, causing cracks to spread along the walls while loose dust dropped onto his hair and shoulders. “Hope Gray doesn't get caught in the battle. Ah!” Distracted for a second, he stumbled briefly when another powerful impact shook the building, catching himself against the wall before continuing upward.

By the time he reached the top, the interior of the village finally came into view. From the elevated position, he could see the surrounding rooftops, the cemetery, the burning church, and the distant battle continuing below. Rider and Saber moved through the village like flashes of light, their movements occasionally obscured by smoke, fire, and falling snow. “Ha… alright.” With a calm mind, he steadied himself against the tower's edge and looked across the unfamiliar landscape, trying to determine where Gray could have been hidden while the battle continued in the distance.

Shirou drew a slow breath and forced his attention onto the weapon he intended to create. "Concentrate." Several layers of thoughts echoed across his mind.  “No point using a small round firearm, I'll need something stronger.” 

Having done so with a handgun and ammunition in the past he had already managed to create. A sniper rifle shouldn't have been fundamentally different, the concept remained the same and a Barrett M82 would suffice for what he had in mind. The same principles applied, and if he could reproduce the weapon's structure accurately enough, there was no reason he couldn't create it.

The materials were different, needing to be more sturdy to endure a lot of stress compared to what he usually created. “Please don't break, don't break… don't break…” 

A bigger construct required more energy, blue light gathered around his arm and hands, forming countless particles that shifted and intertwined as he began tracing the weapon. Every detail needed to be recalled, from the weight and feel of the metal to the rigidity of the frame, the shape of each component, the power contained within the weapon, and every other characteristic that allowed it to function as intended. Each and every time he pulled the trigger, the weight behind each recoil  The motes of light gradually took shape, first forming a long black barrel before the rest of the rifle began emerging around it. Piece by piece, the weapon became recognizable until the completed form of a perfect Barrett M82 appeared across his arm. The powerful sniper rifle could fire accurately across distances measured in kilometers, making it more than suitable for what he needed.

"Oof."

The heavy weapon fell into his hands, and Shirou immediately adjusted his stance to compensate for its size. A quick inspection showed that the projection had formed correctly so far. "I actually did it? It looks… good enough."

If the construct managed to not break after a single use, then he would consider it a success. “Feels like I used enough magical energy to project dozens of handguns… not efficient enough.”

Through the scope, he found a clear line toward Saber and waited for the right opportunity. The next part involved tracing the ammunition, so he focused his magecraft on creating a .50 caliber sniper round. The enormous bullet formed in his hand, nearly as large as one of his fingers, before he carefully placed it inside the rifle. Through his connection with Rider, he sent a quick warning.

"Careful, I'll shoot."

He spoke to her as she avoided another sweeping strike from Saber. The chained dagger narrowly passed over her head, allowing the Servant to leap onto her opponent's sword before using the blade as a foothold to launch herself backward. Midair, one of the chains whipped behind her opponent and struck the ground, giving her something to pull against. The sudden change in momentum sent her body forward, and a powerful kick slammed directly into Saber's stomach with enough force to produce a deep boom.

"Not that I need help, but can you even get a clean shot from there? Even if you hit her, there's no guarantee the bullet will penetrate her defenses."

Of course he knew that, but best to try it and see. "Make sure she keeps getting up from the ground."

As expected, Saber recovered from the impact and rose again, brushing herself off as though the attack had done little more than inconvenience her. Rider watched her closely, already recognizing how difficult this opponent would prove to be. "She's a tough one."

A low groan escaped the blonde as one hand went to her head. Her sword swung wildly through the air before a primal roar erupted from her throat and spread throughout the surrounding village. Rider immediately moved back in, attempting to pin her down or knock her unconscious, but Saber's movements had become far more erratic. She swung her sword in broad, unpredictable arcs, forcing the other Servant to weave around each attack rather than simply countering them.

The increasing speed and strength gradually began overwhelming Rider's movements. Shirou noticed the change through the scope, but instead of panicking, he forced himself to ignore everything around him. The burning church, the snow, the crashing sounds of their battle, and even the danger surrounding him faded into the background as his entire focus narrowed onto a single target. His finger tightened around the trigger.

Bang!

The rifle cracked.

A loud bang echoed through the village as the .50 caliber round tore through the air. Circuit-like patterns glowed across the bullet's surface, carrying the reinforcement he had applied during its creation. The shot crossed the distance, passed several houses, and struck Saber's foot. The impact disrupted her stance just enough for her to capitalize.

Both heels came down against Saber's head with tremendous force, smashing the Servant into the ground and creating a crater beneath her.

"I don't need to hurt her to be useful."

Shirou immediately began tracing another round, quietly pleased that his success rate had improved. A short while ago, most of his attempts to reproduce ammunition had broken down almost immediately, but now he could successfully create nine out of ten bullets. The improvement still wasn't perfect, yet it gave him something reliable enough to work with.

The newly formed round slid into the rifle. This time, instead of aiming at Saber herself, Shirou targeted the sword she had grabbed to pull herself back up. The shot struck the weapon and knocked it away, causing her to collapse again before Rider's chains wrapped around her body and pinned her against the ground.

"It doesn't seem like she's coming back to her senses. We still don't know what's happening here, either. It might be this bounded field. If that's what's controlling her, we'll need to find some way to break it down. But we still don't know where Gray is."

"Wasn't she inside the church?"

"No. I don't believe Gray ever went inside, and I didn't see any trace of her there."

Before they could discuss another method of finding her, Saber's body suddenly jerked against the restraints. A larger aura of darkness and crimson erupted around her, spreading across the ground as Rider's chains groaned under the sudden increase in force. “AAAAAAAAAH!” The Servant released another roar, and the restraints finally snapped apart.

A massive burst of mana exploded outward.

Shirou immediately retreated several steps and raised an arm to shield his face from the blast. Even at that distance, the sheer amount of magical energy pouring from Saber's body left him stunned. The pressure surrounding her continued increasing, filling the area with an oppressive presence that felt completely different from the Saber he knew.

"How the hell does Saber have so much magical energy? It feels like we're fighting a Caster and Berserker at the same time. Eh?” The moment those words left him, Saber's head turned. Her gaze locked directly onto him.

A chill ran down his spine. "Damn it!"

Rather than attacking Rider again, the corrupted knight suddenly launched herself toward him. Crossing half of the distance in an instant, sword already raised for the strike. Shirou barely had enough time to react before Rider's chains rattled violently. One remained wrapped around Saber's leg, and the sudden tension brought her charge to a halt.

"You're not done."

With a small grunt, Rider pulled with all her strength and slammed Saber back into the ground. The impact sent snow and debris flying around them, but the corrupted Servant immediately began trying to rise again.

"This is getting dangerous, Shirou."

Hard to argue against that, he pushed himself upright and kept his weapon trained on Saber. "I know. The chains might not be enough to keep her down. We'll need to render her unconscious somehow."

"No. I have a plan."

"What?"

Instead of explaining, Rider reached up and began undoing the blindfold covering her eyes. The cloth slipped free and dropped into the snow, revealing the beautiful green eyes hidden beneath it. 

“...”

Having been together for what he would consider quite a while, her eyes had always been hidden behind that sinister blindfold. Despite their presence, she managed to perfectly make him feel as if her gaze was burning a hole into him. 

There were many times he wondered the possibility of not needing to wear them, but understood she kept them there for a reason. A reason that he came to understand with each passing dream cycle. 

Yet what appeared were not the terrifying gaze of a monster who devoured heroes or turned them into stone. Instead, he saw crystal clear purple jewels, pure and radiant in a way he wished to see them closely. Even with the dangerous consequences of that decision, part of him was willing to push them to the side.

The boy did not remain dazed for long, and immediately understood what she intended only after she turned her eyes toward the struggling Servant as they shined with a sinister purple glow.

"Cybele!"

Her voice echoed across the clearing and the effect came instantly.

Saber, who had been forcing herself upright, froze in place. “A-Ah…” Her body trembled as small gray specks began appearing across her armor and exposed skin. The strange particles rapidly spread outward, covering more and more of her body until sections of her form began taking on the appearance of stone.

His expression tightened as he watched the transformation continue. "Won't this kill her?"

Rider kept her gaze fixed on the blonde, expression fully focused as the petrification spread. "What's her magic resistance?”

Recalling the ability granted to all Masters, Shirou followed her suggestion and focused his attention on the armored figure standing before him. Master's Clairvoyance had initially felt awkward to activate, but repeated use with Rider had gradually made the process easier. At this point, he barely needed to think about it before attempting to invoke the ability, allowing his vision to shift toward the information he expected to see.

"Huh?"

Nothing appeared.

The parameters he expected to see simply weren't there. Saber remained perfectly visible in front of him, yet Master's Clairvoyance revealed nothing about her abilities, physical capabilities, or other information. His vision hadn't become distorted, nor had the ability produced an error that he could recognize. It simply showed him nothing.

"What is going on here?"

Could the ability itself have failed? Perhaps he'd activated it incorrectly? No, that didn't make sense. The redhead had practiced using Master's Clairvoyance several times, and the ability wasn't particularly difficult for a Master to activate in the first place. Compared with some of the other abilities he'd needed to learn, this one relied far more on instinct than complicated technique. 

"What's the matter, Shirou?"

Rider's voice brought him back to the situation. The slight concern in her tone made it clear she'd noticed his prolonged focus.

"I can't see anyth..."

His words abruptly stopped.

"Look out!"

"Raaaaaaah!"

A thunderous roar tore across the village as reality itself seemed to buckle before their eyes. The snowy surroundings abruptly shifted beneath a dark red hue, turning the peaceful village into something far more sinister. Magical energy surged through the area in such an overwhelming concentration that Shirou immediately felt it pressing against his body. “It keeps rising!?” The amount of mana filling the air made little sense! It kept increasing, flooding the surroundings with an intensity that should not have been possible within what he understood to be nothing more than a world created from memories.

"Not good!"

Goosebumps spread across his skin. Something had appeared behind him.

Turning his head, he caught only a glimpse of an enormous shadow before a skeletal hand descended from above, its claws large enough to encompass his entire body.

"—!"

Crash!

The claw smashed into the ground where he'd stood only an instant earlier. “Ah!” He jumped away, but the force behind the impact sent him spiraling through the air. His body twisted uncontrollably as the shock wave threw off his balance, making a proper landing almost impossible. Before he could crash into the ground, Rider caught him and carried him away from the attack, landing at a safer distance.

"Careful. We have company."

Only then did Shirou notice how many figures had begun appearing around them. Wraiths emerged from the ground, the air, and the surrounding streets, each possessing a translucent body that flickered between visibility and darkness. Some wore tattered cloaks that hung from skeletal frames, while others possessed hollow eye sockets and elongated fingers that ended in claws. Their equally disturbing movements filled his vision, jerking and twitching as they surrounded the pair from every direction.

"What are those?"

"Wraiths… troublesome hostile spirits." Rider's dry response did little to make the situation less concerning. More creatures continued materializing around them, their numbers increasing by the second. One emerged behind a building and rose until its head reached above the rooftops, making the smaller creatures surrounding it look insignificant.

"These aren't beings from her memories that just happen to look like shadows, are they?"

"No, they aren't."

Another group appeared farther away, filling the streets that had previously remained empty. Rider's gaze followed them carefully as she tried to understand what they represented.

"They are most likely not real, but constructs made to look and behave like the real thing. Given the sheer amount of energy gathered here, however, they might as well be no different from the real thing."

A loud bang echoed across the village.

Saber rose from the rubble.

Shirou's attention immediately snapped toward her, expecting the wraiths to attack the Servant as well. Instead, every single creature ignored her completely. Their hollow faces remained fixed on Shirou and Rider, and within the next instant, the entire mass rushed toward them.

"Dammit!"

Rider seized Shirou and jumped aside as the first wave crashed through their former position. Claws tore into the snow while skeletal bodies collided with buildings and each other. Shirou immediately traced a handgun and began firing, targeting the smaller creatures as they approached. The bullets tore through some of the weaker wraiths, particularly when he aimed for their skulls, but the larger ones barely reacted to the shots. Their bodies absorbed the impacts with only minimal damage before continuing forward.

The numbers created the real problem.

Dozens became hundreds, and hundreds quickly became more. The previously empty village now looked crowded with wraiths filling the streets, rooftops, and open fields. Even with Shirou destroying the smaller ones as quickly as possible, more simply appeared to replace them.

"We'll need to create some distance."

Rider agreed and immediately tried to move away from the growing swarm, but Saber appeared behind her before she could reach the edge of the village. A sword swept toward her back. She bent backward, letting the blade pass harmlessly over her, then twisted through the air and drove both knees into Saber's face. The impact sent the armored Servant flying backward across the snow.

The Servant of the Mount turned toward the forest, intending to use the opening to escape, only to stop when more wraiths began emerging between the trees.

There were hundreds of them.

Then more appeared behind those.

The number quickly climbed into the thousands.

"Is there no limit to them?"

"It doesn't seem like it."

Rider's attention shifted toward Saber, who had already recovered from the earlier attack. More of her body had turned to stone, spreading across her armor and limbs, yet she continued moving despite the transformation. Her movements had slowed, but she remained capable of fighting.

"Her speed has slowed down, but she's resisting. She must have at least B-rank Magic Resistance. My eyes won't affect her for too long if the amount of energy within her continues to grow like this."

A wraith lunged toward her. 

Pa!

Chains snapped outward, wrapping around its skull before she pulled hard enough to crush it. The creature collapsed into fragments, only for several more to immediately replace it. Her legs moved almost too quickly for Shirou to follow as she shattered skeletal bodies one after another, her chains whipping through the mass and destroying dozens at a time.

Yet Saber continued attacking.

Rider had to avoid the Servant's sword while simultaneously protecting Shirou from the surrounding wraiths. Every movement demanded her attention, and the sheer number of enemies meant that even her overwhelming speed could not keep the situation under control forever.

"You'll have to let go of me so you can handle this easier."

"I would have, if there were somewhere I could drop you without putting you in danger."

Shirou looked across the battlefield, trying to find another option. A machine gun briefly crossed his mind, but he immediately discarded the idea. Even if tracing one proved possible, the sheer rate of fire would create another problem. He could create individual bullets more easily than before, but that didn't mean he could suddenly produce ammunition ten times faster without eventually reaching his limits.

Then his gaze settled on the enormous wraith towering above the others.

"Throw me up high."

Rider looked toward him with visible confusion.

"What?"

"Trust me. I have an idea. Just aim me toward the big one!"

The enormous creature stood in the distance, its body towering over the surrounding buildings.

"Your bullets won't be enough to kill it, Shirou."

"I know."

Rider studied the creature for another moment before looking back toward her Master. Despite the absurdity of the request, the confidence behind his words gave her enough reason to trust the plan.

"I trust you, then."

Her stance shifted as she prepared to launch him toward the massive wraith. “Waaaah!” In an instant, he got sent flying high into the air, giving him enough momentum to reach the enormous wraith. His body jerked from the sudden launch, leaving him briefly unable to control his movements, but as the giant apparition came closer, he managed to steady himself enough to turn his body toward its skull.

"If bullets won't work against you, then how about this?"

In an instant, several thoughts crossed his mind. Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Light flashed across his hands. Instead of another firearm, a long white sword materialized in his grasp, its familiar yin symbol resting on the hilt. Duplicating the composition material.

A mere imitation of a Noble Phantasm, but it remained the only option for him. He needed it to be sharp enough to cut, sturdy enough to not break and mimic the same sensation they had given him when facing the white haired Servant.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

He recalled the sensation, he recalled the overwhelming pressure this weapon imposed upon him. But despite that, he could not help but still admire them, their craftsmanship and the sense of awe each detail brought to him. Even if it were a simple copy, he'd try to make them close enough to serve him well here. To recreate the same experience they'd have gone through being used by the hands of that man.

Reproducing the accumulated years

“Aaaaaah!” 

Excelling every manufacturing process

Recognizing the weapon immediately, he swung it across the wraith's skull with all the force he could muster. The blade cut through the creature as though its skeletal form offered almost no resistance, splitting a deep section of its head and drawing a terrible screech from the monster. Even with half its skull nearly cleaved apart, however, the enormous creature remained standing.

Shirou began falling back toward the village, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the wounded apparition. "Don't worry, I can handle this!"

He shifted his grip and brought the sword down with both hands as he landed. The blade swept through several of the smaller wraiths surrounding him, cutting them apart and scattering their translucent bodies across the ground. More rushed toward him immediately, forcing Shirou to keep moving as the sounds of explosions, crashes, and weapons colliding continued behind him where Rider remained engaged with Saber.

"Is that Archer's sword?" Rider called out while keeping Saber at bay. “Why is that…”

"Just a fake one, but if it works, then it's just as good for me."

Another slash tore through a wraith approaching from the side. Shirou turned with the motion and drove the blade through another creature before kicking its collapsing body away, only to hear the clash of steel behind him again.

"At this rate, trying to restrain Saber will be impossible," she warned. "We'll only remain trapped in this situation. There is a strong possibility that she has some connection to this place. If she disappears, the rest might disappear with her."

The implication did not need to be explained. He understood what his Servant meant. If Saber could not be restrained, Rider might have to use enough force to kill her, restraining herself all this time was no small task. But the opponent just kept getting back up.

"We don't know that. It could be because of Gray."

"Gray could also be in danger. Saber is using an enormous amount of energy, and that power has to come from somewhere. The only source we can identify is her Master."

His teeth clenched as he considered it, only for a gigantic skeletal hand to sweep toward him from the side. “Gah!” Raising the sword just in time, he caught the attack head-on. The force shattered the imperfect weapon, sending fragments of the blade flying as Shirou rolled across the ground and narrowly avoided the remaining claws.

"Shirou!"

"I'm all right."

He lifted one hand while pushing himself upright, allowing another copy of the sword to form within his grasp. Before he could move again, a massive pillar of crimson energy erupted somewhere in the distance, its light cutting through the darkened village.

"Rider!"

No response came.

Worry tightened his chest. Shirou gripped the sword with both hands and began cutting his way toward the crimson pillar, destroying the smaller wraiths that blocked his path while weaving around the larger ones. Their numbers continued to increase, turning the once-empty village into a battlefield crowded with hundreds upon hundreds of creatures. Every step forward brought another enemy into his path, yet he refused to slow down.

A huge shadow suddenly covered him.

The enormous wraith he had attacked earlier stood above him, its split skull already restored. A gigantic claw descended toward his position, forcing Shirou to leap forward as the hand slammed into the ground behind him. The impact created a crater and launched his body through the air, but the sudden burst of momentum carried him closer to the center of the battlefield.

There, through the chaos, he finally caught sight of Rider. Both of her daggers had locked against Saber's sword, the two Servants struggling against each other in a brief stalemate.

Shirou's trajectory carried him directly toward them, leaving him no time to change course. With no other option, he swung his sword at Saber. The corrupted Servant noticed the attack at the last possible moment and shifted her body aside. Instead of cutting through her, the blade struck the armor around her waist, slicing through one section and producing a sickening crack beneath it before Shirou continued past her and crashed onto the ground.

“Oof!”

As he recovered, something landed beside his hand.

Shirou looked down in confusion and found a familiar black box lying in the dirt. The strange face on its surface immediately caught his attention.

"Add?"

Recognition followed a moment later. This belonged to Gray.

Before he could examine it any further, the enormous wraith appeared ahead of Rider and Saber. Its head had vanished, yet the creature continued standing as though decapitation meant nothing to it. Blue flames gathered around one enormous hand, growing brighter as the creature raised its arm.

"Rider!"

The hand came crashing down.

A wall of blue fire erupted outward, swallowing everything around it. Flames expanded across the village in an instant, transforming the battlefield into a blinding blue inferno. Shirou instinctively raised his arm in front of his face, fully expecting the heat to burn through him. 

“Hn!” 

He braced himself for the impact, feeling the approaching heat against his skin.

“...”

Though nothing happened.

Several seconds passed before confusion replaced the fear. Shirou slowly lowered his arm and heard an unfamiliar male voice from somewhere in front of him. "Now what has this brat gotten herself into?"

‘Who…’

His eyes widened.

A lone figure stood between him and the flames, wrapped in cloth with a chainmail armored knight hood concealing most of his features. The man's silhouette remained almost completely hidden, though he could clearly make out his human shape. Somehow, the blue fire stopped before reaching him, leaving the area immediately around Shirou untouched.

The stranger turned his head and gave him a faint smirk.

"Just leave this to me, kid. After all, I'm responsible for cleaning up her mess… also, I'll be borrowing your sword for a bit."

He crouched down and picked up the white sword that Shirou had noticed moments earlier, turning it over briefly before holding onto it. Without showing any concern for the inferno surrounding them, the hooded man stepped forward and walked directly into the flames.

Beyond him stood the enormous headless wraith, its skeletal body surrounded by blue fire. Chains rattled around the stranger's armor with every step, their metallic sounds cutting through the roar of the flames as he approached the towering creature.

“Let's see if I haven't gotten rusty after so long.” 

{Break}

(Around the same time)

Back in the apartment, Ayaka retrieved a blanket and carefully wrapped it around Ayako before doing the same for Kane. Both girls remained unconscious, their bodies having endured considerable mental and physical strain after being trapped inside a bounded field that had preyed directly upon their fears, memories, and other negative emotions. For now, there wasn't much else she could do besides keep watch over them, protect them from whatever entity had created the field, and make certain neither girl was taken again while they remained vulnerable.

“Who!?”

A sudden sensation prickled across the back of her neck. The bespectacled girl spun around, raising one hand and extending it as though lining up a shot toward the empty space behind her. Nothing stood there. No movement, no visible presence, not even a trace of energy she could immediately identify. After keeping her aim trained on the area for several seconds, she finally lowered her hand and let out a tired breath.

"Whatever it is, it's playing with me."

Her attention returned to the two unconscious girls. She crouched beside Kane and checked her temperature, finding only a mild fever and nothing else that immediately concerned her. More importantly, she couldn't detect any foreign energy contaminating the girl's body. That discovery left her somewhat puzzled, because the bounded field had exposed thoughts and emotions she never would have expected from someone like Kane.

"I didn't expect Kane of all people to have those kinds of emotions and thoughts."

From everything Ayaka understood about bounded fields like this one, they didn't simply create random illusions. This field in particular connected themselves to a person's memories and personality, searching through the fears, insecurities, regrets, and other negative emotions buried within them before shaping those vulnerabilities into something the victim could experience. At first, she hadn't been particularly concerned about either girl. Both appeared to be ordinary high school students, and neither seemed likely to possess much knowledge of the supernatural. Ayako, however, had clearly encountered something before. The presence of the chimera-like monsters inside her experience made that much obvious.

Kane presented a different problem.

Nothing about the girl suggested that she had ever encountered the supernatural before, yet the things she had apparently experienced inside the field clearly came from somewhere. Ayaka found herself wondering what kind of memories could produce such images, then immediately shook her head and pushed the thought aside.

"Whatever. I shouldn't think about it too deeply. It's her personal matter. I'm just a stranger."

With that, she turned toward the apartment and carefully made her way back inside. Once she reached the living room, using a small amount of her own blood to draw several markings across the floor, arranging them into a crude bounded field intended to suppress whatever presence might still remain within the building. She didn't expect the formation to accomplish much against an entity possessing that much power, but it could still serve another purpose. If the creature attempted to move beyond the area, the field might react like a warning bell and give her some indication of where it had gone.

A figure stood beside her.

Ayaka's body stiffened, but the tension disappeared almost immediately when she recognized the hooded blonde woman standing there. 

"Your master is still alive. Can you sense Gray and Shirou?"

The Servant shook her head. "I came as soon as I sensed a spike in unusual energy. That's all."

"Can you reach your master?"

Again, Saber shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. But she is still alive." The blonde's attention shifted toward the two girls lying beneath their blankets. "And them?"

"They're fine."

Ayaka headed farther inside, with Saber following close behind. Her weapon remained invisible, yet the way she kept one hand positioned near where the hilt would have been made it clear that she hadn't lowered her guard. 

"There is something here."

"I know. There's no point trying to find it, though. It's hiding too well, and unless you're willing to blow up the entire building just to flush it out, we won't be able to lure it into the open."

"What about Emiya Shirou?"

"I tried finding him just like the other two, but I couldn't spot him or locate his presence."

"He'll be safe. Rider is with him."

Ayaka glanced toward her companion with a faintly puzzled expression. This question kept gnawing at her for a while, and this felt like a good opportunity to bring it forth. "Why are you putting some distance between yourself and your master? If you'd been here, perhaps you could have stayed with Gray and avoided putting her in danger." The question carried no accusation whatsoever nor did she wish it to be interpreted as such. Genuinely wanting to understand, and she quickly added, "Ah, I didn't mean that in a rude way. It was just curiosity. If it's a sensitive topic, you don't need to answer."

A small shake of the head followed. "No, it's fine. I understand. Things are just complicated between us, and I can't blame her. I'm responsible for a lot of the bad things that have happened in her life."

That answer confirmed Ayaka's suspicion that she had touched upon something personal between the two of them… the fact that they shared a face did not escape her notice. Rather than push any further, she allowed the subject to disappear.

"If they don't appear within an hour, it would be best to find someone from the Church who can help us. I have no idea how to properly deal with something like this, and I don't want to gamble with their lives."

A strange crack suddenly split the air.

Both women turned toward the center of the living room. A thin fracture appeared in empty space, spreading across the air like broken glass before bright light began leaking through it.

Whoosh!

Flames followed, forcing their way through the opening as the temperature around them rose.

"Watch out!"

Saber immediately stepped in front of Ayaka and raised her invisible weapon, shielding her from the torrent of blue flames that erupted through the crack. The fire proved less intense than expected, however, and instead of spreading across the room, it began to recede around the opening as three figures emerged from the other side.

Rider appeared first, supporting Hero as they stumbled through. One of his arms remained around her while she helped keep him upright, but the condition of the man immediately drew Ayaka's attention. Burns covered parts of his body, while several wounds and other injuries made it obvious that whatever happened on the other side had been anything but safe.

Yet the most important detail had nothing to do with his injuries.

Shirou carried a girl in his arms.

Gray remained unconscious against his chest, his other arm wrapped tightly around her as though he had no intention of letting anything happen to her again. One of her hands still held onto the strange cube, while some unfamiliar armor surrounding her shoulder began breaking apart piece by piece. The fragments disappeared until nothing remained except the familiar cloak she normally wore.

Both stared at the sight before them.

The redhead finally looked toward them, exhaustion clearly visible across his face. Despite the condition of his body, a faint smile appeared.

"Sorry to make you all worry. Gray is safe and sound."

His hold around the unconscious girl tightened slightly as he kept her close, with the latter even looking like she nestled deeper into his embrace as if to seek more warmth.