Though Rin Tohsaka was resolute, Zuke had his own main mission to complete—he couldn't afford to go easy on her.
If Rin insisted on participating in the Holy Grail War, Zuke wouldn't force her to withdraw. But at most, she'd only get a taste of its brutality.
During the Fourth Holy Grail War, with Zuke as her Servant, Rin had breezed through without facing any real hardship.
But this time, without his help, she'd likely experience true helplessness—especially the kind others had felt when facing Zuke.
Still, Zuke was curious about which Servant Rin would summon.
In the original timeline, Rin summoned EMIYA (Archer) because the gem she'd once used to save Shirou Emiya's life became EMIYA's catalyst.
But in this world, Rin and Shirou had no connection whatsoever—meaning EMIYA shouldn't be summonable.
In fact, it was unclear if EMIYA even existed here. After all, Kiritsugu Emiya had been killed by Zuke during the Fourth Holy Grail War, leaving no chance for him to adopt Shirou.
Moreover, without the corrupted Grail's mud spilling over, there had been no massive fire in Fuyuki, and Shirou never became an orphan.
In this world, Shirou was probably just an ordinary child with an ordinary name, living an ordinary life.
Never exposed to Kiritsugu's ideals of justice or the Holy Grail War, his future would likely be far less turbulent—perhaps even a blessing.
---
After leaving the Tohsaka residence, Zuke took to the skies, flying toward Germany with the advantage of Presence Concealment.
His destination was the Einzbern Castle—where, according to the original timeline, Illyasviel von Einzbern should have been preparing as a Master.
Having failed with an external "Magus Killer," the Einzberns had decided to deploy Illya herself, a living Lesser Grail, as their ultimate Master.
To ensure victory, they would summon her Servant two months early, giving her time to adapt.
In the original story, Illya summoned Heracles as a Berserker—but this time, things were different.
Since Zuke had already been summoned by Reines in the Berserker class, that slot was no longer available.
Meaning Illya's early summon wouldn't be a Berserker.
"Come to think of it, this world's Illya is quite different from mine."
As he flew over Germany, following the coordinates Reines had provided, Zuke mused to himself.
The Illya of the Fate world and the magical-girl Illya from his daily life were fundamentally the same person—yet their experiences and even ages differed drastically.
The Illya from the Prisma Illya world was a genuine 11-year-old elementary schooler.
But the Fate version? A homunculus who looked like a loli but was actually 17.
"If I brought this Illya back too, I'd have two Illyas at home... Wouldn't that get confusing?"
Though he hadn't yet figured out how to take Fate Illya with him, Zuke was already mentally preparing for the possibility.
---
Soon, while lost in thought, Zuke spotted the Einzbern Castle nestled within a snow-covered forest.
To ordinary people, the castle was hidden deep behind layers of bounded fields—impossible to approach.
But for the Mage's Association, its location was no secret. As the acting head of the El-Melloi faction, Reines easily obtained the coordinates.
However, the moment Zuke landed at the castle's front gates, he frowned.
There were no bounded fields.
Normally, the Einzbern Castle was shielded by countless barriers—in the original story, Kiritsugu had turned back precisely because he couldn't breach them.
Not that they could stop Zuke if he wanted in... but their complete absence was an anomaly.
Sensing something amiss, Zuke strode to the castle's massive doors and kicked them open.
"Well, damn..."
The sight inside made him narrow his eyes.
The Einzbern Castle was a bloodbath.
The floors, stairs, and hallways were strewn with corpses—some artificial, some true Einzberns—all bearing the family's signature white hair and red eyes.
Not a single intact body remained.
In one corner, Zuke even spotted the head of the Einzbern family—Jubstacheit von Einzbern—his eyes wide with terror, his body severed at the waist.
A tribute to a certain legendary sorcerer.
"Not a single living soul left in the entire castle."
After confirming the massacre, Zuke scanned the area with his ki sense.
As expected, no life signals remained—not even homunculi. Only corpses.
Notably, Illya's body was missing.
So were her two maids, Sella and Leysritt.
The conclusion was obvious.
"Seems the Einzberns screwed up. Illya summoned something monstrous, and it slaughtered the entire family."
Zuke rubbed his chin, intrigued by the carnage.
While most would be horrified, his Saiyan instincts left him unfazed.
"What did she summon? Jack the Ripper?"
Whatever it was, Illya and her maids were no longer here.
They'd likely headed to Fuyuki.
Originally, Zuke hadn't cared much about investigating the Three Families.
But this?
Now things had gotten interesting.
To be continued…
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