After night fell, the weather grew colder, but fortunately, the moderate rain seemed to be easing into a light drizzle. At least it wasn't quite so miserable.
The blond young man approaching from nearby wore a white shirt beneath a stylish black leather jacket. His tall, lean frame stood out even more in his fitted black pants.
At that moment, the blond young man walked toward Sasuke and Illya with a faintly amused smile.
Illya furrowed her brow. She could clearly sense that this guy wasn't a normal human, nor was he any kind of ordinary mage...
The only thing she knew for sure was that the blond young man was dangerous.
Illya even considered summoning Berserker right then, but before she did, she glanced at Sasuke beside her.
Sasuke walked alongside Illya with an expressionless face, and he had noticed the blond man as well.
Anyone who went out at this hour either had something urgent to do, had something wrong with them, or was connected to the Holy Grail War.
Clearly, the blond man belonged to the last category.
Illya made no rash move, because she had noticed something.
At first, the blond young man's attention had been on Illya, but it soon shifted to Sasuke, and he looked rather pleased.
Sasuke could naturally tell, but he remained completely unmoved. Until the blond man did something, he couldn't be bothered to make any unnecessary moves.
The three of them drew closer as they walked through the rain, until they passed shoulder to shoulder.
"Interesting."
The blond man's words nearly blended with the sound of rain beating against the ground.
But as he spoke, he had no intention of stopping. He continued on, walking away from Sasuke and Illya.
Only after both parties had gone their separate ways did Illya speak to Sasuke, an unusually cautious look on her face:
"Do you know that guy?"
"No."
Sasuke gazed down the road and answered calmly.
Illya's brow was furrowed now. The blond man had given her such a strange impression that she couldn't help wondering what he was.
And the blond man seemed to have sensed that Sasuke possessed something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said what he did.
The blond man wasn't the only one interested in Sasuke. Illya was, too.
Though he was human, he could contend with Servants who were Heroic Spirits. He possessed Mystic Eyes whose abilities were unclear, and he hadn't even been fighting at full strength.
Most importantly, someone with such talent was living like an ordinary person.
He even worked at an unremarkable fish shop.
Anyone would be curious about what Sasuke had done before.
But Illya felt she wouldn't get any answers if she asked. Sasuke also seemed to pay her no mind, so all she could do was find out gradually.
The two continued onward, and before they knew it, they had reached Enzo Mountain in western Fuyuki.
Ryudou Temple stood on the mountain.
There were stone steps on the path up the mountain, but everywhere else was still a muddy mess.
Still, compared with the city's human scent, this place had more of a natural feel to it.
Illya looked up at her surroundings and smiled faintly.
"Caster did a great job setting up her territory."
"You can sense it too, right?"
The magical energy fluctuating around them was indeed quite noticeable, but to see it clearly, Sasuke would have to activate his Sharingan.
The black Three Tomoe slowly revolved in Sasuke's pupils, which had already turned blood-red.
All around Enzo Mountain stood a scarlet barrier that reached high into the sky. Its magical energy was powerful, and it looked like it was meant to block and defend.
"As a Servant of the Caster class, she has the right to use Territory Creation."
"Caster has made a temple at Ryudou Temple, which she uses as her base to protect herself and her Master."
"You know about the many attacks in the city lately, right? Their victims had their life force drained, and it all flowed to Ryudou Temple."
"That's probably where most of Caster's magical energy comes from."
After hearing Illya explain, Sasuke finally understood the whole situation.
He had known that the attacks on the victims were the work of a Servant, but he had known nothing about how the attacks happened.
Illya reached out and touched the invisible barrier, slowly closing her eyes as she sensed it.
"It seems this barrier repels the very concept of a Servant."
"It can also weaken Magecraft and Noble Phantasms..."
As she spoke, Illya slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the stone path up the mountain, which led to Ryudou Temple. Her expression turned serious as she said:
"But Caster is the only one who hasn't sealed off the path up the mountain."
"A trap?"
"Or does she have some other reason?"
Illya murmured under her breath, then stepped onto the stone stairs leading to Ryudou Temple.
Even if Caster really had some scheme in mind, Illya had no intention of backing down. Her Berserker was the strongest Servant, after all!
Besides, there was another reason: in terms of class advantage, Caster couldn't possibly beat Berserker.
But if Caster was allowed to keep absorbing magical energy, she would become a formidable obstacle given enough time.
So Illya wanted Berserker to kill her before she had a chance to grow any stronger.
Illya knew that Rider and his Master had already been defeated. Six pairs of Masters and Servants remained.
But Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka had formed an alliance for the time being.
Lancer was often nowhere to be found, and no one knew who his Master was.
No one knew where Assassin was hiding, either.
So Illya felt that defeating Caster now was the best choice. Once Caster was taken care of, the other Servants wouldn't be worth worrying about.
That was her duty as a member of the Einzbern family.
Seeing Illya head up the mountain path, Sasuke followed her.
The path up the mountain was utterly quiet, with only the cold wind and light rain for company.
Illya bounced up the steps as if she were going to have fun rather than face a battle.
Sometimes Illya walked too fast and had to wait on the steps for Sasuke, who was making his way up at an even pace.
On the upper steps, Illya walked back and forth in the rain with her hands behind her back, her movements graceful.
"Caster must have noticed us a long time ago, right?"
"Is she still not going to make a move?"
Sasuke hadn't wanted to get involved in the first place, and he didn't care about things like that. As long as Illya was alive and could eat Kaoru's cooking tomorrow at noon, that was all that mattered.
That was what it was like having an idiot at home.
Seeing that Sasuke had no intention of answering, Illya stopped trying to get a response out of him. Instead, she had Berserker turn incorporeal, then mounted him as he sped toward Ryudou Temple!
But something happened that Illya had never expected.
A swordsman in a purple kimono stood before the gate of Ryudou Temple. He looked completely composed, the corner of his mouth lifted in a faint smile.
Illya could clearly sense that he was a Servant.
She already knew who all the other Servants were, except for Assassin and Caster, whom she had never met.
But this man definitely wasn't Caster.
So he could only be Assassin.
But why was Assassin here?
Before you continue