Shirou's Grand Heroic Saga Chapter 5

A card also popped out—the Assassin card.

The battle was over, and it could definitely be called a crushing victory.

With the combat experience and abilities of the Heroic Spirit EMIYA, it was not difficult for Shirou to defeat Shinji.

"Senpai, wait! Don't kill him yet, I want to ask him a few things." Sakura stepped forward, looking at Shinji, her adoptive brother who should have been dead, with a complex expression.

"Huh? Why am I still alive? Didn't I die a long time ago?" Shinji seemed to recall something, trembling as he looked at his own hands. "Five years ago, anyone, me, Grandpa, everyone died. So that's how it is, that's how it is?"

Looking at Shinji, who had lost his mind, Sakura was a little at a loss.

"Sakura, kill me, please. I'm tired. I don't want to be a tool anymore, a tool for the Einzberns. Please, okay?" Shinji pleaded, leaving Sakura speechless.

Although Shirou wanted to ask more, Sakura's gaze softened his heart.

"Then I'll let you scumbag die so quickly." Shirou struck with his sword, and Shinji finally revealed his true form—a puppet.

Author's Notes:

Writing it like this makes Second Brother seem so weak == But Second Brother was always pretty weak anyway...

Chapter 3: The Justice Hero Who Doesn't Smoke or Drink

"That's pretty much how it happened, Senpai." After Little Sakura revealed the fact that Shinji had died five years ago, she couldn't help but glance at the puppet.

Shirou exited the Dream Summon mode and nodded. It seemed that Shinji in this world had met his end before he could become a menace.

In that case, he had wronged this Shinji. He should have been quicker with his blade, allowing Second Brother to die more peacefully.

"I'll dig a hole, and that'll be his grave." Drawing on the feeling from the Dream Summon, Shirou projected Guan Yu and Mo Ye, found a spot in the yard, dug a little, and buried the puppet.

It was already very late tonight, especially after Shinji had attacked the Emiya residence. In this cold winter night, with the Earth's axis severely deviated, Fuyuki was so cold that it felt like winter. It was too dangerous for Sakura to go home alone.

Furthermore, he had heard an important piece of information from Shinji.

"There should be no one left in your family now, right? Besides you," Shirou asked.

Sakura nodded gently, even the usual feigned smile disappearing.

"Five years ago, they all died. In the Holy Grail War."

In the world of Magical Girl Illya, or rather, in Miyu's parallel world, the Holy Grail War was indeed ongoing. The last one had broken out five years ago, completely different from other parallel worlds.

"The Holy Grail War is a ritual created by three mage families known as the Three Founding Families: the Einzberns, the Tohsakas, and the Matous. The victor can obtain the Holy Grail, the wish-granting machine."

"Tohsaka?" Shirou asked with some surprise. He didn't recall the plot mentioning the Tohsaka family at all. Even when Rin asked the Grand Hero if he knew about the Tohsaka family, Shirou had been clueless.

However, at the same time, Sakura Matou's appearance should have indirectly confirmed the existence of the Tohsaka family. Sakura was sent to the Matou family only after the Tohsaka family had two children.

"Mhm." Sakura thought Shirou was questioning this unfamiliar family. Shirou undoubtedly knew Julian from the Einzberns, and Shirou knew Sakura from the Matou family. Only the Tohsaka family remained a mystery.

"Can we not mention it?" But Sakura found this topic difficult, even repulsed by the word "Tohsaka." If she hadn't been sent to the Matou family, her tragedy wouldn't have occurred from the beginning.

Shirou nodded. Since Sakura didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force her. If it were necessary, she would probably say it.

"Actually, it's okay to mention it. They also died in the ritual five years ago."

"All of them?"