The Forged Alliance

After Cú Chulainn and the other retreated, Tohsaka Rin slowly approached Iori with Red Archer. Beneath the moonlight, she looked weighed down by her thoughts.

She looked conflictedly at Sakura and Iori. Though she was glad Sakura had come to save her in that moment of crisis, their conversation at noon was like a thorn deeply lodged in her heart.

Tohsaka Rin could not help wondering whether Sakura's rescue had merely been to prove herself—that only she could defeat Rin.

Before Tohsaka Rin could speak, Red Archer took a step forward first, winked at Iori, and said, "That archer on the other side was Archer too, right? Do you know anything?"

"Archer? The same class was actually summoned twice?" Tohsaka Rin was stunned, turning to look at Red Archer in surprise.

"That's right. A force has invaded Fuyuki City. There are experts among them who directly infiltrated the Holy Grail system," Iori said calmly. "The Holy Grail War we face from here on will probably be a chaotic battle involving around fifteen or sixteen Servants."

"Ah?"

"Another piece of bad news is that they control at least six Heroic Spirits, possibly more."

"Ah?!"

"Stop with the 'ah.' There's another piece of bad news: your guardian, the Holy Church priest Kotomine Kirei, is also one of the enemy."

"Ah?!!"

Under the succession of blows, Tohsaka Rin instinctively crouched down and hugged her head, beginning to mutter to herself.

"You've got to be kidding." "How did this happen?" "What kind of mess did Father leave behind...?"

"What about you? What are you planning to do now?" Iori asked Red Archer somewhat abruptly.

Red Archer sighed and said helplessly, "I don't want to stir up trouble in this timeline either. Let that guy do as he pleases. Right now, I just want to