Ryudou Temple on a Rainy Night

As night fell, the weather grew increasingly frigid, though the moderate rain showed signs of tapering off into a drizzle, making the conditions at least bearable.

Approaching from not far off was a blond youth. He wore a white undershirt beneath a trendy black biker jacket, his already slender frame made all the more striking by the form-fitting black trousers he wore.

The blond youth walked toward Sasuke and Illya with a faint, inscrutable smile on his face.

Illya frowned, for she could clearly sense that this fellow was neither a normal human nor any sort of ordinary magus.

The only thing she knew for certain was that this blond youth was dangerous.

Illya felt the urge to summon Berserker right then and there, but before doing so, she glanced at Sasuke beside her.

Sasuke walked alongside Illya with an expressionless face, naturally noticing the blond man as well.

Anyone out at this hour was either on urgent business, had some sort of problem, or was an existence related to the Holy Grail War.

Clearly, this blond man belonged to the latter category.

Illya did not act rashly, as she had noticed something.

The blond youth's attention had initially been on Illya, but it quickly shifted to Sasuke, and his expression appeared somewhat amused.

Sasuke naturally sensed it, yet he remained completely unmoved; until the blond man made a move, he couldn't be bothered to do anything unnecessary.

The three of them, walking through the rain, drew closer and closer until they brushed past one another.

"Interesting."

The blond man's words nearly blended into the sound of the rain lashing against the earth.

Yet, as he spoke, the blond man had no intention of stopping, continuing on his way in the opposite direction of Sasuke and Illya.

Only after both parties had departed did Illya speak to Sasuke, her expression showing a rare hint of caution:

"Do you know that guy?"

"I do not."

Sasuke gazed toward the road ahead, responding with a flat tone.

By now, Illya was frowning, as the feeling the blond man had given her was so strange that she couldn't help but wonder what kind of existence he was.

Moreover, the blond man seemed to have seen through something Sasuke possessed; otherwise, he wouldn't have said what he did.

It wasn't just the blond man who was interested in Sasuke; Illya was as well.

To be a mere human yet capable of contending with a Heroic Spirit, to possess ocular powers of unknown ability, and to have not even used his full strength.

Most importantly, a guy with such talent was living like an ordinary person.

Working at such a mundane fish shop, no less.

Anyone would be curious about what Sasuke used to do.

However, Illya felt she couldn't get a single thing out of him, and since Sasuke seemed indifferent toward her, she would just have to discover it slowly.

The two walked forward, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Enzo Mountain, west of Fuyuki.

Ryudou Temple was situated upon this mountain.

Aside from the stone steps leading up the mountain, the rest of the terrain remained muddy and treacherous.

Yet, compared to the human scent of the city, this place possessed a touch of nature.

Illya looked up at her surroundings and smiled faintly:

"Caster has built quite a formidable territory."

"You can sense it too, right?"

Indeed, the magical fluctuations in the surroundings were obvious, but to see them clearly, he had to activate his Sharingan.

The pitch-black Three Tomoe began to spin slowly within Sasuke's eyes, which had already shifted to a blood-red hue.

Surrounding Enzo Mountain was a crimson barrier that reached toward the heavens. The magical power of the barrier was immense, seemingly designed for obstruction and defense.

"As a Caster-class Servant, she has the right to build a territory."

"Caster has used Ryudou Temple as a base to construct a temple to protect herself and her Master."

"You're aware of the many recent attacks in the city, right? Their life force was drained, and it all flowed toward Ryudou Temple."

"I suspect that is the primary source of Caster's magical energy."

After Illya's explanation, Sasuke finally understood the full picture.

Although Sasuke knew those attacks were the work of a Servant, he had been completely ignorant of the process behind them.

Illya reached out to touch the invisible barrier, slowly closing her eyes to perceive it:

"It seems this barrier is a bounded field capable of repelling the very concept of a Servant."

"It can even weaken the power of magecraft and Noble Phantasms..."

As she spoke, Illya slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the stone path leading up to Ryudou Temple, saying with a stern expression:

"Yet, this Caster fellow is the only one who hasn't sealed off the path up the mountain."

"A trap?"

"Or is there some other intention?"

Illya murmured to herself before stepping onto the stone stairs leading to Ryudou Temple.

Even if Caster truly had some conspiracy, Illya had no intention of backing down, because her Berserker was the strongest Servant!

Furthermore, there was another reason: in terms of class affinity, Caster could never be a match for Berserker.

However, if Caster were allowed to continue absorbing magical energy like this, it would undoubtedly become a formidable obstacle over time.

Therefore, Illya wanted to have Berserker kill Caster before she could fully grow.

Illya was well aware that Rider and his Master had already been defeated, leaving six pairs of Masters and Servants remaining.

But Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka had temporarily formed an alliance.

Lancer was often elusive, and his Master remained unknown.

Assassin was also hiding somewhere, location unknown.

Thus, Illya felt that defeating Caster now was the optimal choice; once she was defeated, the other Servants would be of no concern.

This was also her duty as an Einzbern.

Seeing Illya head toward the mountain path, Sasuke followed.

The path up the mountain was deathly silent, filled only with cold wind and light rain.

Illya skipped and hopped up the stairs, as if she were going out to play rather than heading into battle.

Sometimes, when Illya walked too fast, she would wait on the steps for Sasuke, who was maintaining a steady pace.

Standing on the upper steps with her hands behind her back, Illya moved gracefully through the rain.

"Caster must have already sensed us, right?"

"Is she not planning to make any moves?"

Sasuke, who had never wanted to be involved in this to begin with, didn't care about such things; as long as Illya could stay alive to eat the meal Kaoru was making tomorrow at noon, that was enough.

Having an idiot at home was just how it was.

Seeing that Sasuke had no intention of speaking, Illya couldn't be bothered to make a fool of herself, so she simply had Berserker turn into spirit form and carry her as they dashed toward Ryudou Temple!

However, something Illya never expected occurred.

Standing before the mountain gate of Ryudou Temple was a swordsman wearing a purple kimono, his expression calm with a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Illya could clearly sense that this person was a Servant.

She already knew the identities of the other Servants, with only Assassin and Caster remaining unseen.

But this guy was definitely not Caster.

Therefore, it could only be Assassin.

But why would Assassin appear here?