Sakura Matou Rewrites Destiny

Repeating the keyword Sakura had spoken, Kiritsugu Emiya's expression turned grave.

However... Kiritsugu still felt puzzled by the excessive vigilance of the two Servants beside him.

Sakura's performance in the courtyard just now did not seem worthy of such attention from two Servants... There had to be something strange going on.

"Oh my, it seems I accidentally said something I shouldn't have...!"

Furrowing her delicate brows as she warily scanned the surroundings, Artoria had already formed her own assessment of Sakura after the courtyard incident and what had just happened... a human child with a terrible sense of humor.

Chakra, or energy from another world.

Neither Artoria nor Leonidas fully believed the words spoken by that mischievous child, Sakura.

The reason they had become unusually grave and alert after Sakura spoke was entirely because, at the instant she made a sound, an aura capable of threatening them had appeared within both her and Leonidas's senses.

Challenging a Servant was practically suicidal for Sakura at present.

Forget facing a Servant head-on—even with a sneak attack, the damage a five-year-old girl could inflict on a Servant would be extremely limited.

Then why did this little girl keep dancing on the edge of death in front of Servants?

Naturally... it was for Destiny Points.

Whether it was running up to Artoria to court death or revealing information she absolutely should not have shared with the enemies before her.

She did it all for Destiny Points...

Just now, at the moment Sakura leaked information to the three of them...

The Destiny Points that had already surged several times since the start of the Pseudo-Holy Grail War rose sharply once more.

In the blink of an eye... when Sakura spoke the first half of her sentence.

On the Panel constantly displayed before Sakura... her Destiny Points jumped directly from 3700 to 4300.

Just half a sentence had brought Sakura a full 600 units of destiny.

And at the very moment her Destiny Points leaped from 3700 to 4300.

Having already decided what character to summon next based on the information she had obtained during last night's conversation with Solomon, Sakura pressed the summon button on the Panel without hesitation.

There were no signs, no abnormalities.

As 4000 units of destiny were deducted, Sakura finished speaking.

A chilling malice and an indescribable aura instantly emerged from Sakura's shadow.

As the summoner, Sakura naturally knew the truth behind this sudden malice.

But for the keenly perceptive Servants, the threat contained within that astonishing malice and aura was already enough to make them raise their guard with all their strength.

Sakura's taunting through "magecraft" continued.

Yet just as Sakura spoke her taunt, her little hand grasped a jade-like slender arm extending from her shadow.

Time Spirit—Kurumi Tokisaki!

A sweet voice that sounded both coquettish and crazed, as pleasant as the voice of a legendary yandere, entered Sakura's ears along with the owner of that jade-like slender arm as she stepped out of the shadows before Sakura.

"Now then... are that strange magus... and those two strange spirits... Sakura's enemies?"

Her black hair, smooth as satin, was tied into twin tails. Her wine-red right eye and faintly visible golden left eye radiated a demonic charm. Petal-soft lips and pearl-white, smooth skin paired with the extravagant Gothic attire she wore...

Madness, chuunibyou... beneath those two seemingly incompatible qualities... Kurumi Tokisaki, summoned at the cost of 4000 units of Sakura's destiny, made her grand entrance!

Letting go of Kurumi Tokisaki's slender arm, Sakura looked at the time "Spirit" from Date A Live before closing her little mouth and stopping the trash talk she had been hurling at Kiritsugu and the others.

"They can't exactly be considered enemies, but they can be considered uninvited guests."

Kurumi raised a slender index finger to the corner of her lips, revealing a captivating smile before nodding.

"Uninvited guests? Then do you need me to drive them away for you, Sakura?"

"Of course... But Sister Kurumi, why did you come out of my shadow...?"

"My, you noticed? Sakura really is perceptive... I turned your shadow into my Shadow Space."

Shadow Space—this was a special space Kurumi had created to hide herself, store her clones, and imprison others.

In other words... aside from the Kurumi standing before Sakura... countless Kurumis were now hidden within Sakura's shadow.

That was right. Although Kurumi's clones could only be regarded as clones for certain reasons, Sakura, who knew their true nature, understood very well that aside from a few minor issues, Kurumi's clones were actually past versions of Kurumi recreated through the Bullet of Time.

Aside from their activity time being limited by the amount of spiritual power possessed by the original Kurumi, they were not much different from Kurumi herself... Of course, if serving as her stand-ins for death counted, then Kurumi's clones had one more trait than Kurumi herself: cannon fodder.

Carrying around a group of Gothic beauties was something Sakura naturally did not mind. In fact, she was more than a little delighted.

What was more, these Gothic beauties could protect her... Sakura minded even less.

"Is that so? Then I'll be relying on you from now on, Sister Kurumi."

"Sakura, I look forward to working with you..."

"Yes, Sister Kurumi, I look forward to working with you too..."

The large and small hands clasped once more. It was obvious that sincere happiness had appeared in both their eyes.

Perhaps this was compatibility.

Some people simply felt goodwill toward one another from the moment they first met.

Like a turtle spotting a mung bean? Love at first sight?... In any case, fate was always wonderfully mysterious.

Their brief exchange ended.

A bullet struck Kurumi...

The next second, Kurumi vanished.

She disappeared directly before Sakura's eyes.

At the entrance to the underground Laboratory, Sakura naturally knew that Kurumi had gone to drive away the so-called uninvited guests.

Sakura had no doubts whatsoever about whether Kurumi could successfully drive away two Servants and a magus.

As long as she had time, Kurumi's clones were infinite, and as long as a clone remained, Kurumi could revive endlessly through them... Killing them might be difficult for Kurumi, but... defeating Kurumi would be equally difficult for them.

Besides... the trio aboveground had a fatal weakness right now...

At the Matou Residence aboveground.

As Kurumi swaggered into the trio's field of vision with two flintlock pistols in hand.

A gunshot rang out, and the battle began.

"Hahahaha, I'll start with you, strange magus—First Bullet!"

Pressing the flintlock pistol to her own temple, Kurumi fired. Just as she had vanished before Sakura, she instantly appeared beside Kiritsugu Emiya within the defensive perimeter.

"Divine Speed Movement!"

"Space Movement!"

Facing Kurumi, who had suddenly appeared inside the defensive perimeter.

Artoria and Leonidas shouted out their respective guesses, their weapons swinging with full force toward Kurumi behind them.

But turning around to swing their weapons was already too late against Kurumi, who only needed to aim at Kiritsugu's heart and pull the trigger...

She pulled the trigger, and the bullet flew forth propelled by spiritual power.

Without any unexpected developments, Kurumi would take Kiritsugu Emiya's life in an instant.

"Reality Marble—Fourfold Acceleration!"

With a low murmur, a miracle nearly akin to magic unfolded within Kiritsugu Emiya's body.

The accumulated result of generations of exploration by the Emiya family manifested upon Kiritsugu Emiya at that moment as Great Magecraft...

Watching the bullet slowly approach his heart.

With his body screaming in agony, Kiritsugu Emiya turned sideways in that seemingly frozen space-time and raised the pistol in his hand.

Time!

This was also an ability Kiritsugu Emiya possessed. Relying on the half Magecraft Crest accumulated by generations of the Emiya family, Kiritsugu could briefly interfere with time in a small area.

Through this ability, Kiritsugu Emiya, whose life had been in danger a second ago, successfully reversed the situation the next moment.

Not only did he turn aside and avoid the incoming bullet, he also pulled the trigger at Kurumi's collarbone, exposed outside her Spiritron Dress.

Bang... bang... bang...

The magazine was emptied, and the slender Kurumi fell into a pool of blood.

"Time... That strange girl's ability is time!"

"Time..."

Hearing Kiritsugu Emiya's explanation, Artoria, who had vaguely caught Kurumi's movement trajectory through Instinct just now, suddenly widened her eyes.

"It's actually time... This is bad!"

Yet before Artoria could finish speaking, the terrible situation she had anticipated unfolded.

Just as before, with only a faint sensation, another Kurumi appeared before them... except this time, the newly appeared Kurumi pressed her gun against Kiritsugu Emiya's chest and pulled the trigger.

Facing a point-blank shot.

Kiritsugu Emiya had no way to evade it this time. After all, his Reality Marble merely interfered with time to create an acceleration-like effect for him.

There was no way Kiritsugu Emiya could dodge a point-blank shot.

With a muffled groan, Kiritsugu Emiya, struck at point-blank range, clutched his chest and collapsed into the pool of blood formed by Kurumi.

"Kiritsugu!"

"Master!"

Checkmate! Kiritsugu's Misjudgment...

A bulletproof vest—once again, a bulletproof vest.

After Artoria and Leonidas escorted the fallen Kiritsugu out from the complex interior of the Matou Residence and into the Garden.

Kiritsugu Emiya, clutching his chest with a pained expression, gradually recovered after reaching the Garden.

However, this was a mistake.

Within the complex indoor terrain, Kurumi's unpredictable appearances were indeed threatening.

With the First Bullet allowing her to accelerate time, Kurumi truly made it difficult for them to respond in such complex terrain.

But... was reaching an open area and leaving themselves enough room to react really the correct choice?

As more than a dozen Kurumis, each wearing a sinister grin like yanderes, appeared in every corner of the Garden.

It was obvious that Artoria and the others had made the wrong judgment.

Clutching his chest with a slightly pale face, knowing he had broken at least one rib, Kiritsugu Emiya looked at the Kurumis surrounding them, and a rare expression of gravity and astonishment appeared on his face.

"Arthur... can Lancer handle this?"

With grave expressions, they shook their heads. Both Artoria and Leonidas had confidence in defeating the Kurumis that had appeared in the courtyard, because aside from that astonishing sudden acceleration, Kurumi had not displayed particularly great power.

Even Kiritsugu Emiya's bullets enhanced with magical energy could successfully kill a "Kurumi."

Yet it was precisely the terrifying Divine Speed Movement displayed by the First Bullet that made Artoria and Leonidas shake their heads.

There was no other reason... They were not afraid of Kurumi ambushing them as she had ambushed Kiritsugu Emiya, and they were confident they could defeat these Kurumis... but they could not guarantee Kiritsugu Emiya's safety during the battle.

Seeing the expressions on his two Servants' faces, Kiritsugu Emiya seemed to understand what Artoria and Leonidas's shaking heads meant...

In a battle at the Servant level... as the Master, he was undoubtedly a burden.

Just as Kiritsugu Emiya anxiously searched for a route out of the Garden... several kilometers away from him, behind Hisau Maya, who was positioned at the edge of a high-rise building with a sniper rifle and constantly providing Kiritsugu Emiya with intelligence... a "Kurumi" had silently appeared behind her at some unknown point.