Seeing the "battlefield" growing more intense, Yuuji gradually retreated to avoid being drawn into the chaos.
In Fuyuki City, he wandered aimlessly, looking at the familiar streets he had walked for the past five years. His heart was heavy with reluctance. After the war ended, he would leave this city—he didn't know when or if he would ever return.
As he walked, Yuuji arrived at a small park. His gaze fell on a set of twin horizontal bars, and it brought back memories—the day he first met Sakura and Shinji.
Suddenly, with a sharp whoosh, a chain lashed out at Yuuji like a strike from nowhere. Acting on pure reflex, he projected Crimson Queen into his hand and blocked the assault.
"Not bad. You managed to block my attack."
A figure stepped forward from behind. It was difficult for Yuuji to tell whether the person was male or female—long green hair framed an androgynous face.
"A Servant?" Yuuji narrowed his eyes. "You attacked without warning. I take it you're here to fight?" His expression didn't waver. He looked at the Servant as if they were nothing more than a walking corpse.
"That's the look I like to see. But I'm not here for battle today. Come out, Master," the Servant said with a grin.
From behind the green-haired Servant emerged a petite silver-haired girl, her presence sharp and composed.
"Nice to meet you, big brother. My name is Illya," she introduced herself, smiling faintly.
"Then tell me—why did you take the initiative to find me? What's your purpose?" Yuuji asked, his tone cool. She might have looked cute, but she was still an enemy, and he needed to gauge her intentions first.
"Illya is your older sister. I'm also the daughter of Kiritsugu," she said matter-of-factly.
"Kiritsugu's daughter? I've never heard of that." Yuuji narrowed his eyes, his vigilance rising.
"I just wanted to see what kind of person my father's chosen successor has become. It seems his taste hasn't changed—you're just like him." Illya's eyes studied Yuuji's calm expression, and her tone turned almost mocking. "You're becoming more and more like that cold man from the past."
Yuuji's silence was heavy, but instead of replying, he projected Pandora into his hands, his tone flat and unyielding."You will not speak ill of the old man."
He twisted Pandora's mechanism, switching it to cannon mode, and immediately fired at Illya and her Servant.
"Lancer, stop him," Illya ordered calmly.
Chains burst forth from Lancer's body, forming a barrier to block Pandora's shot.
"This weapon… it's strange," the green-haired Lancer muttered, feeling the backlash of Pandora's power. Even the reinforced chains suffered slight damage. Lancer's stance shifted into caution.
Yuuji saw Lancer deflecting his attack with ease, but he didn't falter. Slowly, he rotated Pandora's gears, reconfiguring its form.
The next moment, Pandora switched to flywheel mode. With a thought, Yuuji sent the weapon spinning like a deadly disc straight toward Lancer.
"Reduce his weapon's range," Lancer muttered, lashing chains under the spinning flywheel to catch and restrain it.
But Pandora was no ordinary weapon. The flywheel twisted, accelerating beyond Lancer's control, and slammed forward. Forced to respond, Lancer used the blessing of her "immortality" attribute to deflect the attack without taking damage.
"So that's it," Yuuji murmured coldly. "Immortality and chains… your range advantage is limited, Lancer."
"Your weapon… it needs to be reconfigured before each strike, doesn't it?" Lancer smirked, analyzing his attack pattern.
"Then I'll close the distance."
With blinding speed, Lancer rushed in. Yuuji had no choice but to switch to Crimson Queen, meeting the assault with fierce parries.
But this Lancer's strikes were heavier and more relentless than even those of Archer. Combined with her inhuman strength, she pressed him hard.
"This won't work—I need to keep my distance," Yuuji muttered. Using Crimson Queen's fiery burst, he created a brief distraction, forcing Lancer back just long enough to reset Pandora.
"Not bad, human. But you won't keep that distance for long," Lancer warned, rushing forward again.
"No… this is enough."
Yuuji snapped Pandora back into laser cannon mode and fired. A blinding beam of destructive light roared toward Lancer.
Lancer's eyes narrowed. If she took the full brunt of that attack, she would be heavily damaged—maybe even unable to protect Illya.
"Command seal—Lancer, retreat!" Illya's voice rang out as the command took hold.
The beam scorched the ground, but Lancer was pulled back to her Master's side in time.
"Thank you, Master. Sorry… that one is stronger than I expected," Lancer admitted, not caring about the cost of using a command seal.
"It's fine, Lancer. It's just one seal. He's… impressive, I'll give him that," Illya said, her crimson eyes narrowing as she studied Yuuji. "I can't imagine what he's been through to fight like this."
"Then, big brother," she called out, her tone sweet yet cold, "next time I'll defeat you for sure."
With that, Illya and Lancer withdrew, vanishing into the night.
Yuuji didn't chase them. The noise of their battle had surely drawn attention. It was time to leave.
"Illya…" he murmured her name softly before turning and walking away.
Elsewhere
"How was he, Lancer? What do you think of Yuuji's strength?"
"A worthy opponent," Lancer admitted without hesitation. "Next time will be a much harder fight—if he doesn't discover my weakness."
Illya's lips curved. "As long as he doesn't figure out who you really are, our odds remain high."
"Understood, Master."
After leaving the battlefield, Yuuji didn't immediately return home. Instead, he made his way toward Ryudoji Temple. Something told him that there, he might find a way to contact God.
Climbing the worn stone steps, he passed through the temple gates. The once-inhabited grounds were now eerily silent.
There was a force… a pull guiding him.
Following it, Yuuji entered a cave beneath the temple grounds. A deep, oppressive magical energy radiated from within.
"So, you've finally found your way here?" A voice, ethereal and commanding, echoed from the shadows. It was God's voice—cutting through his thoughts like a blade.
"Hey, God! Who am I supposed to save in order to complete this mission?!" Yuuji's voice rang out in the cave, his frustration and determination colliding. This question was everything—it would decide whether he could stay in this world.
Yes. After all these years, after everything he'd experienced, Yuuji had come to realize—he wanted to remain here. This was his home now. He wasn't alone anymore.
"I know what you're thinking," God's voice answered, faint but unyielding. "But it's useless. When the time comes, you will leave."
The voice faded, leaving only silence behind.
Yuuji stared at the empty cave, clenching his fists. Would God really force him to leave this place?
"…Forget it. I'll think about that later. For now, let's finish Rin's wish first," he muttered, turning away from the cavern and heading back.