Fuyuki City, Miyama Town's shopping district.
Fish Fresh House.
In the living room on the second floor stood Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka, who had just arrived from the Fuyuki Church.
As for Saber and Archer, Rin had arranged for them to go to Ryudou Temple first.
Kaoru Sakura had fallen under Sasuke's genjutsu. Sasuke had carried her back inside to rest, and she probably wouldn't wake until the following morning.
Illya, who had passed out, was lying on the sofa.
Sasuke leaned against the wall beside Kaoru Sakura's bedroom door, watching the scene before him with an impassive expression.
Rin sat beside the sofa, frowning as she looked at Illya and said to the others:
"This child is almost at her limit..."
"She still has a little capacity left, but once she's overloaded, she'll have to sacrifice the bodily functions she needs the least."
"The more Servant souls she contains, the more severely Illya's body will be damaged."
"But as long as we perform the Holy Grail's summoning ritual and send the Servants' souls back, Illya should return to normal."
"Based on what we know and what Kirei told us..."
"The so-called 'hole' is made when the Servants return to the Throne of Heroes on the Reverse Side of the World. Their power is used to pierce the world, and the vast magical energy accumulated in the Greater Grail stabilizes the hole, creating a gate to the world beyond."
"And the 'hole' we have to destroy is that very thing."
As she spoke, Rin looked toward Sasuke.
"Ryudou Temple on Enzo Mountain is the most suitable place for the Holy Grail's summoning ritual."
"Uchiha, if you can, I'd like you to bring Illya with us to Enzo Mountain."
When she finished, Rin rose solemnly and bowed to Sasuke, waiting for his reply.
Whatever happened this time, Rin, as Fuyuki's administrator, would likely be held accountable by the Mage's Association.
First, she had exposed magic to ordinary people, and several people had become casualties because of certain Servants.
On top of that, this Holy Grail War had caused far too much of a commotion. The Holy Church in Fuyuki had been razed to the ground, and Kirei Kotomine, its supervisor, was nowhere to be found—his fate unknown.
And then there were all the other miscellaneous problems.
Just thinking about them gave Rin a headache.
Rin's earnest request for Sasuke's help was certainly because she needed him, but she wasn't doing it solely for her own sake.
Sasuke had no idea what Rin was thinking, and he didn't care to find out.
But since Rin had saved Kaoru Sakura, Sasuke had no reason to refuse to bring Illya to Enzo Mountain.
It wasn't only about helping Rin and the others.
It was also a way of helping Kaoru Sakura.
After all, Kaoru had chosen to befriend such a troublesome girl as Illya.
So today, while his foolish little sister was still fast asleep, Sasuke would put an end to all of this.
Sasuke walked to the sofa with an impassive expression and scooped up the unconscious Illya.
"Then let's go."
Seeing that Sasuke had answered through his actions, Rin turned to Shirou with delight.
"Shirou! Let's go!"
Shirou nodded firmly. They were ready to head for Ryudou Temple on Enzo Mountain.
Before leaving, Sasuke left two Shadow Clones at Fish Fresh House to protect Kaoru Sakura.
Ryudou Temple was still being rebuilt after what Caster had done, so there was no one there at night.
As Illya drew closer to Enzo Mountain, changes began unfolding throughout Fuyuki City, hidden from view.
Fuyuki's Greater Grail lay in the Great Cavern beneath Enzo Mountain.
The Greater Grail drew vast amounts of magical energy from Fuyuki City's leylines and used it to stabilize the hole leading to the world beyond.
The moment Illya, carrying the Servant souls, reached Ryudou Temple, she was automatically connected to the Greater Grail.
The Servant souls held captive inside Illya were released.
With that, the ritual carried out by the Greater Grail officially began!
Beneath the night sky, the heavens over Fuyuki City abruptly changed.
A black-and-red vortex appeared high in the sky.
This was the hole leading to the world beyond.
It was filled with unfathomable darkness, its density seemingly enough to crush anything.
The air seemed to grow hot.
A drop of some sinister substance suddenly dripped from the hole, then another. The drops formed a thin black stream, like a tiny crack in a dam, as if it might burst open at any moment.
The black substance looked like mud. Instinct told everyone present that coming into contact with it would bring no good.
Even the earth couldn't bear the Black Mud. It ate away at the ground and flowed deeper, like melted snow seeping into the soil.
Fortunately, it was falling on the back slope of Enzo Mountain, so it wouldn't cause a disaster right away.
Rin took a deep breath and looked up at the hole, which was continuously leaking Black Mud.
"Now, all we have to do is destroy this 'hole' to end everything."
When she finished, Rin looked at Saber, who stood beside Shirou.
Saber could destroy the hole with her Noble Phantasm.
Saber understood. Now at peace with her decision, she turned to Shirou.
"I'll destroy it."
With that, Saber headed toward the hole, and Shirou followed close behind.
"Shirou, please give the order. I can't destroy it without your command."
"Use your final Command Spell."
Shirou looked at Saber with determination and nodded. Together, they walked forward.
Seeing the two of them head toward the hole, Rin understood that this was Archer's last moment in this world.
But before she could say anything, Archer spoke first.
"Rin."
"I want to talk to Uchiha before the end."
Rin had been about to speak, but now she sighed as she looked at Archer.
"All right, Archer."
"Looks like you still don't want to tell me the truth, even at the very end."
"Goodbye."
But just as Rin finished speaking and started toward the hole, Archer spoke again.
"Goodbye..."
"Tohsaka."
Rin abruptly turned around, her clear eyes trembling.
The two met each other's gaze, understanding passing between them. Neither said a word.
A moment later, Rin clenched her fists and turned away, hurrying after Shirou.
Soon, only Sasuke and Archer remained in the area.
Or rather, Heroic Spirit Shirou Emiya.
Sasuke was here to prevent anything unexpected from happening, so unless trouble arose, there wasn't really anything for him to do.
The pained expression on Illya's face, where she rested in Sasuke's arms, had disappeared. Now she looked completely at peace.
She'd probably be back to her lively self by tomorrow.
Archer turned to Sasuke, who remained impassive, and sighed.
"Looks like I really didn't accomplish a thing this time."
"But this should be my last chance to learn about you, shouldn't it?"
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