Dr. Heartless stared fanatically at Aiga before him and praised her.
"As expected of Command Spells bestowed directly by the Root. You can even control Solomon, the King of Magecraft!"
Aiga ignored Dr. Heartless. Instead, she turned to Solomon with a sweet smile, then sprang up from her stool and headed outside.
"'Mother,' everything will proceed according to your plan. But will Rin-chan truly belong to me in the end? Never mind. I'm going to find Rin-chan right now, hahaha!"
Watching Aiga leave, Dr. Heartless turned and fired a Magic Bullet into the middle-aged man before leaving the room as well.
What Dr. Heartless failed to notice was that Solomon, who should have been like a puppet, now had a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
That evening, Rin once again climbed onto her beloved scooter, twisted the throttle, and sped out of the Tohsaka Estate.
Soon, Rin reached the intersection and stopped her scooter. She frowned at the road ahead, which had been sealed off due to a major traffic accident, and an uneasy feeling rose in her heart.
Suddenly, Rin felt an arm wrap around her waist. At the same time, someone appeared on the scooter's back seat.
"Rin-chan, long time no see!"
Hearing the voice beside her ear, goosebumps rose all over Rin's body. She stiffly turned her head and saw Aiga smiling at her with her head tilted, one arm wrapped around Rin's waist.
"Sajyou Manaka, why are you here?"
Aiga pressed herself quietly against Rin, resting her head on Rin's shoulder as she looked at her profile and slowly spoke.
"Of course, I missed you, Rin-chan."
After saying that, mana flashed around the hand Aiga had wrapped around Rin's waist. Rin uncontrollably turned the scooter around and drove toward an unknown destination.
"Sajyou Manaka, where are you taking me?"
"Isn't Rin-chan the one driving?"
Rin snorted at Aiga's words and stopped responding to her, constantly thinking of ways to counter and break Aiga's control.
As time passed, Rin rode her scooter with Aiga behind her into a cluster of abandoned factories on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.
Having reached their destination, Aiga happily leaped off the scooter and slowly walked into one of the factory buildings, with the stiffly moving Rin following behind her.
Rin involuntarily walked to the center of the factory. Watching Aiga circle around her again and again while laughing, the unease in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
"Hahahaha! Rin-chan, didn't you ask where I was taking you? Of course, somewhere without anyone around, so I can get rid of you!"
As Aiga slowly approached, Rin anxiously tried again and again to use her mana to break Aiga's control, but no matter what she did, it had no effect at all.
"Damn it!"
Rin had just been released from Aiga's restraints when her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground. She glared furiously at Aiga, who had her finger in her mouth, and demanded,
"Sajyou Manaka, what exactly do you want?"
"Of course I want to kill you, Rin-chan, but Mother won't allow it right now. That's fine. Once I complete Mother's plan, I'll be able to kill you, Rin-chan! Today was very enjoyable, so goodbye, Rin-chan!"
Panting, Rin climbed to her feet and shouted at Aiga's departing back.
"Sajyou Manaka, wait! Explain yourself!"
Rin tried to chase after Aiga, but the massive blood loss made her legs buckle, and she fell to the ground.
Several hours later, Rin slowly regained consciousness. She licked her dry lips, gradually climbed to her feet, and walked out of the factory.
"Damn it! Why does Aiga want to 'kill' me? Who is her mother? What exactly is this plan?"
With her head full of questions, Rin dragged her exhausted body onto her scooter and rode toward the Tohsaka Estate.
Time returned to that evening. After saying goodbye to Kallian and the others at the school gates, Sakura waited for Rin to pick her up. But after waiting and waiting, Rin still did not come. Thinking Rin had been delayed by something else, Sakura did not pay it much mind. After calling Fujino, she began walking home alone.
After dinner, Sakura still had not seen Rin return, so Fujino pulled her into the mountain behind the Tohsaka Estate.
Sakura looked in surprise at the Servant summoning array on the ground, then turned to Fujino and asked,
"Fujino, when did you set this up?"
"I got it ready during the day. Let's begin, Sakura!"
Seeing Fujino standing at the center of the array, Sakura thought of how she could help Rin. Her heart heated up, and she extended her hand to begin chanting the Servant summoning incantation.
As the array shone brighter and brighter, an indescribable sensation arose in both Sakura and Fujino's hearts.
As the light faded, Fujino, now in her Servant state, could not help rubbing her head.
"So this is the power one should have after receiving mana from a true Holy Grail?"
At that moment, Sakura suddenly felt the back of her right hand grow hot again, and a contract linked itself to her.
Boom!
An explosion rang out not far from Sakura. When the smoke cleared, a white-haired man clad in a red burial shroud stepped out of the crater formed by the blast.
The man narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sakura before him.
Why does Sakura have black hair? Is this a parallel world?
"Are you my Master?"
Sakura looked at the man before her in amazement and involuntarily nodded.
"The contract is established, Master."
Fujino looked at the Servant before her, walked over to Sakura's side, and curiously took Sakura's hand to inspect the Command Spells on the back of it. Then she turned toward the man.
"You're the Servant? Then what are your name and class?"
The white-haired Servant scratched his head with an awkward expression.
"Sorry, there was a problem with the summoning, so I've completely lost my memories. I only know that my class is Archer. You can call me Archer from now on!"
Fujino gave the self-proclaimed Archer a dangerous look. He refuses to explain his origins, and he was summoned early through this incomplete Holy Grail ritual. What exactly is this Servant planning? Maybe I should just kill him. However, with Sakura beside her, she had no choice but to withdraw that dangerous thought.
Sakura looked at Archer before her, hesitated for a moment, and asked,
"Is that really true, Archer?"
Archer looked at Sakura. Something soft deep in his heart seemed to stir, but his resolve was strong enough that, at the instant the truth nearly left his mouth, he forcibly swallowed it back.
"Of course, Master. If you don't believe me, you can use a Command Spell."
Fujino locked her gaze tightly on Archer and warned him.
"No matter who you were in life or how you interfered with this ritual, you should know that I'll be watching you at all times. If you make any suspicious move, I'll kill you immediately!"
After speaking, a rainbow gleam flashed in Fujino's eyes, and in an instant, a vast stretch of trees twisted into fragments.
"Ah, what a dangerous young lady!"
After issuing her warning, Fujino snorted at the indifferent Archer. The red kimono on her body then dissolved into specks of spiritual light, and she exited her Servant state.
Fujino then turned around, took Sakura's hand, and headed down the mountain.
"Archer, stay here for now. You are not allowed to leave without Sakura's summons."
Watching Fujino and Sakura's retreating backs, Archer helplessly scratched his head and muttered to himself,
"What a forceful young lady. But what parallel timeline have I ended up in?"
Rin, utterly disheveled, finally rode her scooter back into Fuyuki City.
Rin stopped her scooter outside a clothing store, then walked into the shop beneath the astonished gazes of everyone around her.
Already in a foul mood, Rin saw the passersby and store clerks beside her arguing more and more intensely while occasionally pointing at her. She could no longer hold back and shouted,
"What are you looking at?!"
Rin then used hypnosis Magecraft to hypnotize everyone nearby. Only after walking to a mirror did she finally see just how bedraggled she looked.
Her bright red jacket was covered in dust from falling to the ground. Her body and face glistened with oil from all the sweat she had shed earlier. Her twin tails, once neat, were now utterly disordered. More importantly, the stockings on her legs had been stained with a large amount of blood due to Aiga's earlier attack. Now that the blood had dried, they felt extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing herself in such a miserable state, Rin involuntarily recalled what had happened in the factory. In humiliation and fury, she punched the mirror before her to pieces, casually picked out several garments, and entered the changing room.
After changing clothes, Rin expertly went to the counter and operated the register to pay for them herself. She then left the store and climbed onto her scooter. Out of spite, Rin did not remove the hypnosis Magecraft from those people before leaving.
Although this was an extremely safe shopping street, those passersby who would have to sleep on the cold floor all night could only hope that thieves would not pay them a visit tonight.
By the time Rin rode her scooter home, it was already eleven at night. She pushed the scooter into the garage and looked at the mostly dark rooms in the mansion. At the front door, she took a deep breath to calm herself, took out her key, unlocked the door, and went inside.
Rin went up to the second floor and stopped outside the study, where the light was still on. She gently knocked, then pushed open the door and walked in.
Looking at Tokiomi sitting at his desk with a thick Magecraft book in hand, Rin slowly spoke.
"Father, I'm back."
Tokiomi put down the book and looked at his daughter. Though Rin had tried her best to disguise it, he still keenly noticed something unnatural in her expression. However, faced with his grown daughter, Tokiomi said nothing. He merely opened a drawer, took out a small box, and placed it on the desk.
"Rin, you need this, don't you?"
"Dad, how did you know?"
Holding the box, Tokiomi walked to Rin's side. Looking at Rin, who had grown nearly as tall as his shoulder, he placed his left hand on top of her head and gently rubbed it, then put the box in her hands.
"Rin, while I may not be a good father, I can at least say that I understand my own daughter. Of course I know what you want. Take it, Rin! Don't worry about your mother and me. We'll leave Fuyuki City tomorrow. Go after what you want without hesitation!"
Looking at the Tokiomi before her, who had begun to show signs of age, Rin's eyes reddened slightly, and she threw herself into his arms.
"No, Dad! You're the best father in the world."
After talking with Tokiomi for a while, Rin took the box and left the Tohsaka Estate. She immediately activated Starlight Mode and flew toward Tohsaka Villa without concern for the mana consumption.
Tokiomi held the worried Aoi Tohsaka in his arms as they stood by the study window and watched Rin rise into the sky.
"Aoi, are you really not going to say goodbye to Rin?"
"There's no need, darling. I believe little Rin will definitely be safe. She's never lost once since she was little, has she?"
"That's right. Rin is a genius! By the way, Aoi, how about we take this chance to travel around the world? Between the Holy Grail War and the cleanup afterward, that girl will be busy for quite some time."
Hearing Tokiomi's words, Aoi Tohsaka looked at him in surprise and asked,
"Darling, aren't we taking Sakura and Fujino with us?"
"Would I still not understand my daughters now? Sakura tried her best to hide it, but didn't she and Fujino go to the back mountain after dinner? When they came back, I noticed the Command Spells on Sakura's hand. I'm afraid neither Sakura nor Fujino will leave with us."
"What?! Sakura is going to do something so dangerous? No, I have to stop her."
Tokiomi tightly held Aoi Tohsaka, not allowing the agitated woman to break free from his embrace.
"Enough, Aoi. Sakura has grown up too. Let those sisters spread their wings! Besides, with Rin and the others looking after her, Sakura will be fine!"
A Reunion After Ten Years
On the outskirts of Fuyuki, Rin rapidly descended from the sky into the courtyard of Tohsaka Villa. Just as she was about to enter, she stared in surprise at Kirei Kotomine, who was walking out of the mansion.
"Kirei, why are you still here so late?"
Kirei Kotomine looked calmly at Rin and answered,
"Rin, I arrived this afternoon. I intended to ask whether you needed me to participate in the Holy Grail War and provide you with assistance."
Rin looked at Kirei Kotomine before her and gave him a smile.
"No need, Kirei. There's no need for you to join this time! You have Kallian and Shirou now, so don't accompany me into danger anymore!"
"Understood. Then I'll take my leave."
"Goodbye, Kirei!"
After Rin entered the mansion, Kirei Kotomine also made his way to the road outside the villa. Facing the bright moonlight, a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He took a test tube filled with blood from his sleeve.
"Lord, please forgive me. I have stolen a friend's possession, but it is worth it for Shirou's sake. Shirou, do not disappoint me. It has been a long time since I experienced supreme pleasure, hahahaha!"
Before you continue