The White-Haired Lady shook her head. "Rider probably silenced her already."
"No matter. Perhaps she can still be saved." Luo Shu looked thoughtful.
As the two conversed harmoniously, their figures gradually disappeared into the distance.
At this moment, countless people around the world were seeing red with frustration, beating their chests and stomping their feet in regret.
Damn it, our Noble Phantasm clash just ended like that?
What happened next?
At least finish blasting each other before you leave!
This was way too much of a cliffhanger!
Hirano's Grief, the Infinite Convergence of Worldlines, the Disappearance of the Service Club!
The Heavenly Curtain's background music was melodious and plaintive.
The frantic panting of a girl could be heard clearly, as though she were running in an adrenaline-fueled sprint.
Countless people stared curiously at the screen, wanting to know who had intruded upon this mythical battle.
Inside the school building, a beautiful black-haired figure was running frantically, racing up the stairs to the rooftop.
"What... what was that just now?!"
The beautiful girl was beside herself with panic, regretting her recklessness beyond measure.
Although she had done her utmost to escape, her pursuer remained relentlessly close behind.
The sharp chain gleamed coldly, its sword-tip seemingly about to lash out and pierce her chest.
I'm going to die...
I'm really going to die...
There's no hope of surviving!!
At this moment, the ordinary high school girl Shimo Yukino was in despair.
"My Parallel World self got involved in the battle?!"
In the Heavenly Curtain World, Shimo Yukino stared wide-eyed in shock.
She had imagined countless ways she might make her entrance.
For example, as an elegant, aloof High Mountain Flower, calmly joining the Holy Grail War.
Or perhaps appearing at the Clock Tower in the outside world, mediating the Holy Grail War as an outstanding student.
Or perhaps, to resolve a catastrophe sweeping across the world, her kind self would step forward resolutely and kill the Heroic Spirit version of Yukino who had descended into obsession.
She had never imagined that her Parallel World self would be so ordinary, getting hunted down the moment she appeared and standing on the brink of death.
Audiences around the world were also dumbfounded.
They had thought some expert had been lurking in the shadows, preparing to pull off a mantis stalking a cicada while the oriole waited behind.
Watching the White-Haired Lady and Medusa bombard each other with Noble Phantasms until both were badly wounded.
Only to be discovered by accident.
And this was it?
The Heavenly Curtain flickered, showing Shimo Yukino's memories.
As the sun set, Shizuka Hiratsuka frowned in an office at Hohzuki Academy.
"You want to establish a 'Service Club' to help others?"
Though the name was a little improper, it was indeed a proper organization meant to help people.
Shimo Yukino looked solemn as she said in a deep voice, "Yes, Hiratsuka-sensei. I hope you can agree!"
"From a teacher's standpoint, this isn't permitted. But as family..."
The older single woman sighed faintly, finding the matter rather troublesome.
Ever since Haruno died, she had become Yukino's guardian. After ten years of care and companionship, she already regarded Yukino as her own daughter, so naturally she knew about the girl's twisted sense of justice.
After thinking it over repeatedly and remaining silent for a long while, Shizuka Hiratsuka finally said, "Fine, I approve."
"Approve my ass!!"
In the real world, Shizuka Hiratsuka cursed in the Sobu High School office.
The Heavenly Curtain had made it this obvious. If she still failed to realize this was why Yukino had been staying out all night, then she might as well have lived like a dog all these years.
Yukino had most likely stayed at school because of the Service Club, only to be hunted down afterward.
The Service Club was nothing but bad news!
She glared furiously at the application form on her desk. The applicant was unmistakably Shimo Yukino.
"Rejected! Completely rejected! The Service Club can only bring you misfortune."
Amid a stream of curses, the older single woman made an entirely opposite choice.
First, she drew a cross over the application form.
Then she crumpled it into a ball of waste paper and tossed it into the trash with a disgusted expression.
After that, the Heavenly Curtain's image changed once more.
Night fell.
The girl was carrying her schoolbag and preparing to leave campus when she was surprised to discover a huge commotion in the distance.
Driven by curiosity, Shimo Yukino quietly approached.
"Girl, don't go looking to get yourself killed!!"
Countless people understood the whole story and began complaining.
Could she be about to become the first sacrifice of the Holy Grail War?
Blades clashed, their flashes passing like fleeting shadows, and Hohzuki Academy was instantly left riddled with destruction!
Staring at the shocking scene before her, Shimo Yukino was stunned.
It had been an ordinary night, yet she had witnessed a grand, epic battle of myth. A terrifying aura rushed toward her, making her pupils constrict as she could not help crying out.
Fortunately, the two powerful combatants were immersed in the thrill of slaughter and had not noticed her.
Yukino hid herself as thoroughly as she could, observing the battle from the shadows.
She watched the Heroic Spirits fight in silence. The ground was gradually devastated, filled with deep ravines. Even the school building collapsed with a thunderous crash, while terrifying blade marks were carved into the surrounding structures.
The pockmarked ground looked as though it had been ravaged by a small meteor shower.
That individual power which transcended all else was breathtakingly terrifying!
Watching the exciting scene on the Heavenly Curtain, everyone could not help commenting.
"No, sis, why didn't you leave after seeing this?"
"With such a huge commotion, no one took pictures? Did all the people of Fuyuki City fall asleep?"
"Maybe everyone just sleeps really well?"
"Damn, if anyone could sleep with this going on around them, I'd kneel down and call them Dad on the spot!"
"The citizens of Fuyuki City took a dying amount of sleeping pills."
"If I lived nearby, I'd think someone had launched World War III!"
"They got carpet-bombed with missiles, huh?"
"Judging by her name, she should be related to Yukino Yukino, right?"
"I took a look. She seems very similar to the photo in Uncle Mouri's hand."
"Damn it, ten years have passed. You can tell what a little girl looks like after growing up?"
"At least she has a nose and eyes. Her facial contours haven't changed!"
In the corridor on the top floor of the school building, the two figures had drawn infinitely close.
Moonlight shone through the windows, illuminating the panic and despair on the black-haired girl's face ahead.
Seeing this, Medusa's eyes flashed with a trace of reluctance, but she ultimately raised her fair jade-like hand.
According to the rules of the Holy Grail War, if a battle between Servants was witnessed by an ordinary person, the witness had to be dealt with.
Whoosh!
Accompanied by a piercing sound, the chain with its sharp sword-tip was thrown with deadly precision.
—Squelch!!
Yukino suddenly spat out blood and slowly lowered her head. Terrible pain assaulted her nerves as she looked at the blood staining her pierced chest, a sense of desolation rising in her heart.
Was she going to die here?
She still had so many things she wanted to do, and she had yet to fulfill that ideal...
Then, her pupils lost focus, and she collapsed onto the ground with her mind blank.
As the warmth in her body steadily drained away, her heartbeat also stopped.
"Sorry..."
Medusa bit her lower lip, clenched her fingers, and pulled back the chain.
She had done something she truly hated.
She clearly had not wanted to kill this little girl...
Perhaps this was the fate of being an Anti-Hero.
The purple-haired lady's brows were tinged with melancholy as she dissolved into spirit particles and vanished from the spot with a wistful heart.
Not long after Medusa left, the Archer pair arrived beside the corpse.
"As expected... she's already dead."
The white-haired female Heroic Spirit wore a complicated expression as she looked at her past self's corpse.
Luo Shu crouched down and placed his fair hand over her chest, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Her heart is damaged, but she can still be saved."
As he spoke, he glanced at his own Servant's expression. There was not the slightest hint of surprise on her face.
It was as if she had foreseen the future and clearly knew what he was about to do next.
Not only did she know every detail of his home's layout, she also possessed the same Projection Magic as Yukino. Now, she was displaying something this unbelievable.
So it really was just as he had guessed...
If he untied Archer's ponytail, he would be able to confirm the truth, wouldn't he?
Rustle~.
Facing the corpse, the young noble calmly reached into his pocket and rummaged around, producing a grating scraping sound. He swiftly pulled a Ruby Necklace from a pile of jewels, one containing powerful magic capable of bringing the dead back to life.
Then, after placing the necklace around Yukino's smooth neck.
"This necklace..."
In the Heavenly Curtain World, Shimo Yukino rubbed her eyes, her expression somewhat dazed.
So no matter which worldline it was, she would encounter a fatal crisis in high school.
But because of the necklace Luo-kun gave her, she would escape an otherwise certain death?
"The convergence of worldlines?"
Haruno's expression was solemn. Seeing her younger sister's fate of death pained her deeply.
But this also indirectly confirmed Luo Shu's inevitability.
If Yukino and Luo Shu in the Parallel World were husband and wife, then the same was highly possible in the real world.
Before you continue