Undercurrents

Since most of the structures at Ryudou Temple were made of wood, they were easily ignited.

The roaring flames continued to devour the buildings of Ryudou Temple.

At this moment, the dying Soichiro Kuzuki leaned against the courtyard wall and slowly stood up, even assuming a combat stance against them.

The moment Sasuke dispelled his Susanoo, the surrounding heat wave rushed toward them.

For a moment, Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya both felt their skin temperature soaring.

Yet, Shirou Emiya was deeply confused by Soichiro Kuzuki's actions:

"What are you doing, Kuzuki?!"

Shirou Emiya could not understand why Soichiro Kuzuki still wanted to fight; having lost Medea, he could not possibly be a match for Sasuke.

Kuzuki stumbled toward Sasuke and the others, holding his fighting stance, and responded to Shirou Emiya's question:

"Indeed."

"There is no longer a reason to fight."

"However, I was never interested in the Holy Grail to begin with."

"But these matters were ultimately caused by me; it has nothing to do with good or evil, and I cannot leave things unfinished."

As he finished speaking, Soichiro Kuzuki attempted to rush forward to attack Sasuke.

Shirou Emiya tried to intervene, but the next moment, accompanied by a piercing bird-like shriek, Soichiro Kuzuki's heart was pierced by a bolt of lightning shaped like a long spear!

[Chidori Sharp Spear]

By transforming [Lightning Style: Chidori] into an adaptive long spear shape, although its power was inferior to the standard Chidori, it was more than enough to kill an ordinary human.

After Soichiro Kuzuki lost Medea, the magical energy that had been coating his body dissipated; he was not a mage.

But since Soichiro Kuzuki wished to continue fighting, Sasuke naturally honored his request.

Even if Soichiro Kuzuki had not wanted to continue, Sasuke would have kindly sent him on his way.

After all, ever since he had been struck by Medea earlier, Soichiro Kuzuki's life had already entered its final countdown.

Rather than being tortured by pain, it was better to find release early.

Silence.

Other than the crackling of burning wood and the surging heat waves, no one on the scene spoke a word.

There was no one inside the temple buildings; they must have been evacuated beforehand by Soichiro Kuzuki or Medea.

With this, Medea and Assassin were eliminated from this Holy Grail War.

Including the previous Rider, Sasuke had now killed three Servants and two Masters in succession.

The most critical point was that Sasuke was not a Master participating in this Holy Grail War.

Three Heroic Spirits summoned by the Holy Grail had been killed one after another by a mage outside of this war.

No matter how one looked at it, it was an absurdly outrageous affair.

If word got out, it would likely shock the entire mage world.

Rin Tohsaka seemed to realize something and broke the silence:

"Uchiha, thank you for today."

"However, regarding what happened tonight, could we claim that Archer did it?"

"Although due to Medea's barrier, no other Masters should have witnessed what just happened, if this news spreads, it will be very troublesome for you."

"If your abilities become known to the Mage's Association and the Holy Church, they might view you as a heretic."

If you think Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya are typical mages, you are sorely mistaken.

Although Rin Tohsaka's family lineage was authentic, she had lost her father—a true mage—at a young age and had relied almost entirely on self-study, so her true nature had not been suppressed.

Shirou Emiya was a complete amateur; at this point, he could barely even be considered a mage, let alone a traditional one.

The mage world was not as wonderful as one might imagine; mages were often born with a sense of superiority, believing themselves to be above others.

Thus, almost all orthodox mages were cold-blooded and ruthless; in the eyes of ordinary people, they were essentially villains.

If the Mage's Association and the Holy Church discovered Sasuke's extraordinary magical talent, they would likely launch a series of countermeasures against him.

For example, the Mage's Association's Sealing Designation.

Under the guise of protection, the Sealing Designation was used to detain and capture mages who possessed rare talents or had committed taboos, imprisoning them for life.

Because of their bloodlines or constitutions, which allowed for magic that could not be learned through study, the Association treated them as precious artifacts to be pampered and protected.

The Mage's Association would arrest mages under a Sealing Designation, keeping their magical traits intact so they could be passed down to future generations as valuable specimens.

From a certain perspective, it was no different from a specimen soaking in formalin.

To the Association, it was a Sealing Designation based on good intentions, but to the chosen mage, it was equivalent to a death sentence.

The methods of the Holy Church were relatively more brutal; if they labeled someone a heretic, they would stop at nothing to execute them.

Clearly, Sasuke's magical abilities had already met the criteria for both organizations.

Take Rin Tohsaka for example; her family, the Tohsaka house, is under the jurisdiction of the Mage's Association. However, she is not a pedantic person, and furthermore, Sasuke has helped her a great deal.

Therefore, Rin Tohsaka wants to help Sasuke keep this a secret. At this moment, she looks at Sasuke with a serious expression and says:

"I know you are very strong, but I don't think you are the type of person who wants to be plagued by trouble."

Just as Rin Tohsaka said, Sasuke does not want his stable life to be disturbed. If Rin Tohsaka can handle these matters, that would be for the best.

Thus, Sasuke also looks at Rin Tohsaka with an indifferent expression:

"Mm, then I'll leave it to you."

Hearing this, Rin Tohsaka heaves a sigh of relief. From here on out, she just needs to pin everything on Archer.

Attributing everything that happened tonight to the actions of a Servant ensures that no one will notice anything amiss.

At the same time, Rin Tohsaka casts her gaze toward Shirou Emiya. Although she doesn't speak, her meaning is already clear.

Shirou Emiya naturally understands:

"Don't worry, Tohsaka. I won't say a word."

Rin Tohsaka is naturally willing to trust Shirou Emiya's word.

Since Caster, who was draining the life force of the populace, has perished, Sasuke only needs to protect the Sakura family from now on.

Of course, Sasuke could also choose to kill his way through the entire Holy Grail War alone.

He could, but there is no need.

Just as Rin Tohsaka said, interfering too much will only invite trouble.

Besides, this Holy Grail War has nothing to do with Sasuke in the first place; it is just that there are always short-sighted fools around.

"If you have nothing else, I shall take my leave."

Seeing that Sasuke wants to leave, a serious-looking Rin Tohsaka speaks up:

"From here on, Shirou Emiya and I will likely join forces to deal with Berserker."

"This is our only option."

Neither Shirou Emiya nor Saber speaks, as there is nothing wrong with what Rin Tohsaka said.

Not to mention that there is still an elusive Lancer who hasn't been dealt with; if Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka do not cooperate, the final winner will likely be Berserker.

But hindered by the inexplicable relationship between Kaoru Sakura and Illya, Rin Tohsaka still asks this question.

Hearing this, Sasuke's expression does not change in the slightest:

"How you want to deal with her is your business."

"Is there anything else?"

Rin Tohsaka is clearly relieved and shakes her head.

Rin Tohsaka does not expect Sasuke to assist her and Shirou Emiya in dealing with Illya, but she also does not want Illya to receive any help from Sasuke.

Sasuke says nothing more and dispels his Shadow Clone Technique.

As the white smoke dissipates, Sasuke vanishes before everyone's eyes.

Just as Rin Tohsaka is still wondering what kind of magecraft that was, Archer, who had been absent from the start, finally appears.

Rin Tohsaka knew Archer was nearby the whole time, but she didn't point it out while Sasuke was present.

So, when Archer appears, Rin Tohsaka does not give him a pleasant look:

"Archer, are you finally willing to show yourself?"

Archer glances at Shirou Emiya, then looks somewhat helpless:

"Things have reached this point; I don't want to say anything meaningless anymore."

"However, Rin, I want to know how we should deal with Berserker next?"

Rin Tohsaka's thoughts are a bit chaotic right now; it is clear she has not fully considered the next course of action.

For a moment, Rin Tohsaka does not want to answer Archer's question.

At this moment, Shirou Emiya is more concerned about another matter:

"Tohsaka, the others from Ryudou Temple should still be on this mountain. Shall we split up and look for them?"

Just as Rin Tohsaka intends to agree, Archer speaks up first:

"Those guys were all dumped in the wasteland halfway up the mountain. It looks like they were placed under a suggestion by Caster."

"But since that woman Caster is dead, I imagine they will wake up soon, right?"

Hearing Archer's words, Shirou Emiya heaves a sigh of relief.

Rin Tohsaka silently glances at Archer upon hearing this, then turns to face Shirou Emiya:

"Since there is nothing seriously wrong, we should go too."

Shirou Emiya has no objections to this.

Under the cover of night, the group leaves Ryudou Temple.