The Holy Grail's Hole

Miyama Town shopping district, Fuyuki City.

Fish Fresh House.

In the second-floor living room stood Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka, who had just arrived from the Fuyuki Church.

As for Saber and Archer, Rin Tohsaka had already arranged for them to head to Ryudou Temple.

Kaoru Sakura had already fallen under Sasuke Uchiha's genjutsu and been carried back to her room to rest; she likely wouldn't wake up until tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, the unconscious Illya was currently laid out on the sofa.

Sasuke leaned against the wall beside the door to Kaoru Sakura's room, watching the scene before him with a detached expression.

Rin Tohsaka sat on the edge of the sofa, frowning as she looked at Illya and spoke to the others:

"This child is nearing her limit..."

"Although she still has a bit of capacity left, once she overloads, her body will have no choice but to discard the least necessary human functions."

"The more Heroic Spirit souls Illya contains, the more severely her body will be damaged."

"However, as long as we complete the Holy Grail summoning ritual and allow the Heroic Spirit souls to return, Illya should be able to recover."

"Based on what we know and the things Kirei Kotomine mentioned."

"The so-called 'hole' must be using the moment the Heroic Spirits return to the Throne of Heroes located on the far side of the world to pierce the world using their power, then using the vast magical energy accumulated in the Greater Grail to stabilize this hole, thereby creating a gateway to the outside of the world."

"And the 'hole' we are about to destroy is exactly that."

Rin Tohsaka said, looking toward Sasuke:

"Ryudou Temple on Enzo Mountain is the most suitable location for the Holy Grail's descent."

"Sasuke Uchiha, if you are willing, I would like to ask you to bring Illya with us to Enzo Mountain."

As she finished speaking, Rin Tohsaka stood up solemnly and bowed to Sasuke Uchiha, waiting for his response.

Regardless of how this ends, as the administrator of Fuyuki, Rin Tohsaka would likely be held accountable by the Mage's Association.

First, there was the exposure of magecraft to ordinary people, and the fact that certain Heroic Spirits had caused a significant number of casualties.

Furthermore, the scale of this Holy Grail War had been far too massive; the Holy Church in Fuyuki had been razed to the ground, and Kirei Kotomine, the supervisor, was missing and presumed dead.

Not to mention a variety of other messy affairs.

Just thinking about it gave Rin Tohsaka a headache.

And while Rin Tohsaka's sincere request to Sasuke was indeed because she needed his help, she wasn't doing it entirely for her own sake.

Sasuke naturally had no idea what Rin Tohsaka was thinking, nor did he care to know.

However, given that Rin Tohsaka had saved Kaoru Sakura, Sasuke would not refuse to take Illya to Enzo Mountain.

This wasn't entirely to help Rin Tohsaka and the others, either.

It could also be considered helping Kaoru Sakura.

After all, it was Kaoru Sakura who had chosen to make such a troublesome friend as Illya.

Therefore, Sasuke intended to take advantage of his foolish younger sister being fast asleep to put an end to this matter once and for all.

With a calm expression, Sasuke walked to the sofa and scooped up the still-unconscious Illya:

"Let's go."

Seeing that Sasuke had responded with action, Rin Tohsaka looked at Shirou Emiya with a face full of joy:

"Shirou! Let's go!"

Shirou Emiya nodded with a determined look in his eyes, and the group prepared to head to Ryudou Temple on Enzo Mountain.

Before leaving, Sasuke left two Shadow Clones at Fish Fresh House to stand guard over Kaoru Sakura.

Because of the previous incident with Caster, Ryudou Temple was still under reconstruction, so there was absolutely no one there at night.

As Illya drew closer to Enzo Mountain, the entire city of Fuyuki began to change in the shadows.

The Greater Grail of Fuyuki lay within the vast underground cavern of Enzo Mountain.

The Greater Grail drew massive amounts of magical energy from the leylines of Fuyuki City, using it to stabilize the hole leading to the outside of the world.

At this moment, the instant Illya, who carried the souls of the Heroic Spirits, arrived at Ryudou Temple, she automatically completed the connection.

The Heroic Spirit souls detained within Illya's body were released at that very moment.

With this, the ritual executed by the Greater Grail officially commenced!

Under the cover of night, the firmament of Fuyuki City underwent a sudden transformation.

High above, a black-red vortex appeared in the sky.

This was the hole leading to the outside of the world.

It was filled with an unfathomable darkness, its density seemingly capable of crushing everything.

The air seemed to grow scorching hot.

From within that hole, a glob of evil substance suddenly dripped out, followed by another, forming a thin black thread. It was like a hairline crack in a dam, as if it could gush forth at any moment.

That black substance looked similar to mud, yet intuition told everyone present that if they were to be tainted by it, there would certainly be no good outcome.

Even the earth could not bear this black mud; it corroded everything, seeping into the ground and flowing deeper like melting snow.

Fortunately, these things were falling on the back of Enzo Mountain, so they would not cause any catastrophe for the time being.

Rin Tohsaka took a deep breath, looking up at the hole in the sky that kept dripping black mud, and said:

"Next, as long as we destroy this 'hole,' we can end all of this."

As she finished speaking, Rin Tohsaka looked at Saber, who was standing beside Shirou Emiya.

Saber, by unleashing her Noble Phantasm, could destroy this hole.

Saber naturally understood. Having found peace, she turned her head at this moment and said to Shirou Emiya:

"I will destroy it."

With that, Saber walked toward the direction of the hole, and Shirou followed closely behind.

"Shirou, please give the order. Without your command, I cannot destroy it."

"Please use the final Command Spell."

Shirou Emiya looked at Saber with determined eyes, gave a slight nod, and together they walked forward.

Seeing the two of them heading toward the hole, Rin Tohsaka also understood that this would be the final moments Archer had left in this world.

But before Rin Tohsaka could speak, Archer stepped forward and said:

"Rin."

"I want to say a few things to Uchiha before the end."

Rin Tohsaka, who had originally intended to speak, sighed softly as she looked at Archer:

"Fine, Archer."

"It seems that even at the very end, you don't want to tell me the truth."

"Goodbye."

Just as Rin Tohsaka finished saying this and moved to head toward the hole, Archer spoke up once more:

"Goodbye..."

"Tohsaka."

Upon hearing this, Rin Tohsaka turned back abruptly, her clear eyes trembling in that moment.

The two looked at each other with a tacit understanding, neither saying a word.

The next moment, Rin Tohsaka clenched her fists tightly, turned away, and chased after Shirou Emiya ahead.

For a time, the entire area was left with only Sasuke and Archer.

Or rather, Heroic Spirit Shirou Emiya.

Sasuke had originally been the person brought along to prevent any accidents, so as long as no unexpected events occurred, there was indeed nothing for him to do.

The expression of pain that had been on Illya's face while in Sasuke's arms had vanished, and her expression was now incredibly peaceful.

She would probably be full of life again by tomorrow, right?

Archer turned his head to look at the indifferent Sasuke and could not help but sigh:

"It seems that this time, I truly didn't manage to accomplish anything."

"But I suppose this is my last chance to understand you, isn't it?"