As the purple-haired woman was thinking this, she suddenly felt a faint chill run down her back.
Just as Alvin's fist was about to touch her, her body tensed abruptly, as if she had sensed something, and she quickly shifted to the side.
The punch brushed past her cheek by the narrowest margin.
And then—
BOOM!
Vast, ocean-like golden mana flooded the entire rooftop. Alvin's golden fist was like a towering mountain, radiating an overwhelming, terrifying pressure.
Although she had avoided the punch itself, the purple-haired woman was still blasted backward by the shockwave of mana with a loud bang.
The surroundings fell utterly silent. Only the howling wind and snow continued to echo across the rooftop.
Tohsaka Rin stood there, her expression slightly blank. The worry she had felt earlier had completely vanished, replaced by a single thought slowly surfacing in her mind.
'You call that an Assassin?'
At that moment, the purple-haired woman in the distance pushed herself up and slowly stood. Her once expressionless, delicate face now carried a trace of seriousness.
"I see… It seems you're not like the Assassins I know."
"No wonder she's so fixated on you. In that case, I'll have to take this battle seriously."
As she said this, she reached up, intending to remove her blindfold.
Just then, a gentle, pleasant voice suddenly sounded by her ear.
["Withdraw for now, Rider."]
The purple-haired woman, Rider, showed a slight change in expression and instinctively replied, "But didn't you want to take him—"
["No need to rush… We can take it slow~"]
["No matter what, he'll be my Servant in the end. Hehe!"]
Hearing that soft, sweet voice, Rider no longer hesitated. She slowly stepped back, and in the end, vanished completely into the wind and snow.
Rin remained tense, staring at the spot where the woman had disappeared, a strange, indescribable feeling rising in her heart.
Under normal circumstances, would a Master of the Holy Grail War take interest in an enemy Servant? The answer was no.
After all, she had only just summoned the White Dragon not long ago… So why did someone already know she was a Master, and that the White Dragon was with her?
'Just who is targeting the White Dragon?'
For some reason, a name surfaced in her mind without warning.
———
[Inside Einzbern Castle]
"Failed?"
Illya looked down at the summoning circle at her feet, then raised her head to gaze at the figure before her. The one she hadn't been hoping for. She soon let out a soft sigh.
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Standing nearby, Irisviel quietly observed the Servant before her daughter. Though she wanted to offer comfort, she ultimately swallowed the words she had been about to say.
Her eyes were filled with complexity.
They had prepared his catalyst far in advance, all for the sake of summoning the White Dragon, yet they had still failed.
'Is it simply bad luck, or something else?'
"It's alright, Illya… If you truly want to see him, then after we win the Holy Grail War, you can just make a wish with it."
Irisviel gently patted her daughter's shoulder and spoke softly.
Illya nodded lightly, but her mood remained somewhat low.
"Oh my, oh my… Are you here to fight in the Holy Grail War, or to look for someone? Nii-san here may not understand human emotions, but being compared unfavorably to that guy still stings a little."
At that moment, a slightly helpless sigh came from the Servant ahead.
Dressed in white robes and holding a staff, he wore a faintly frivolous yet mysterious smile.
Illya had just lifted her head to speak when the white-haired mage leisurely continued, "Besides… it's not like you can only see him by making a wish on the Grail, right?"
———
"What's wrong? You look pretty distracted."
The harsh winter wind swept across the rooftop. Alvin lightly patted Tohsaka Rin's shoulder, pulling her back from her thoughts.
She looked up at him instinctively, then shook her head with a forced smile, "It's nothing. Just the wind. It's making me feel a bit off."
Alvin studied her for a moment, then smiled, "In any case, let's head downstairs first. The enemy Servant probably won't make another move for now."
Although he felt that his Master seemed to be hiding something, sometimes it was better to give the other person a bit of space.
Rin hesitated, "But we still haven't found Sakura…"
Alvin shook his head, "You're just an ordinary human. If you catch a cold, it won't be worth it."
With that, he grabbed her wrist and, without waiting for a response, led her toward the rooftop exit.
Rin glanced up at him instinctively, hesitated slightly, but in the end lowered her head and followed him off the rooftop.
The indoor temperature was noticeably warmer. Rin no longer felt the slight trembling from the cold that had plagued her earlier.
She looked up, sneaking glances at the black-haired boy walking ahead, her expression hesitant, as if she wanted to speak but couldn't.
Alvin turned his head and glanced at the pure, delicate girl, "Rin, why do you keep staring at me?"
"I-I…"
Rin's face flushed instantly. Noticing his gaze only made her more flustered. A trace of deer-like panic flickered in her bright eyes as she quickly looked away.
One hand fidgeted with the strands of hair on her forehead, while she occasionally stole another glance at him.
After a while, she puffed her cheeks, as if resigning herself, then looked up at Alvin and said seriously, "I just find it a bit strange. You are an Assassin, right? Why do you feel so different from the Assassins I know?"
Assassin was widely considered the weakest class in direct combat during the Holy Grail War, almost every Master agreed on this, and Rin had always believed the same.
That was why, when Alvin had brought her up to the rooftop earlier, she had actually been a little worried.
And yet… just now, as an Assassin, Alvin had directly driven Rider back. Was that really something an Assassin should be capable of?
Even now, thinking back to what she had just seen, Rin couldn't shake the strange feeling.
If she hadn't witnessed it herself, no one would believe it.
"Not all Assassins are meant only for gathering intelligence or assassinating enemy Masters. But for me, this class does impose quite a few limitations," Alvin said.
In his Saber form, Alvin leaned more toward using various Noble Phantasms. As an Assassin, the power of his Noble Phantasms was far inferior to that of his Saber form. But in exchange, his personal parameters were significantly enhanced.
To put it plainly, Alvin in the Assassin class was a 'triple-Buster' Servant focused on basic attacks.
Rin tilted her head, still not quite understanding.
Before she could ask further, she noticed a familiar figure walking out from the stairwell.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she murmured, "Shinji?"
Alvin quietly faded into a phantom, remaining at Rin's side.
Hearing the familiar voice, Matou Shinji looked up. A hint of surprise quickly appeared on his face.
With his hands in his pockets, he smiled, "Oh, it's you. Didn't I hear you took the day off because of a cold? Why come all the way to school anyway, Tohsaka?"
Rin didn't respond, her expression cold, "Have you seen Sakura today?"
"Sakura?"
Shinji paused, confused, "Didn't she come to school early this morning? Why are you looking for her?"
"So you did see her?", Rin's eyes lit up as she pressed urgently, "Where is she now?"
Perhaps it was Rin's imposing presence, but Shinji answered almost reflexively, "She seemed to faint this morning from low blood sugar. She just went to the infirmary… she should still be resting there now."
Without hesitation, Rin rushed downstairs, heading straight for the infirmary.
"Hey! What do you want with Sakura?"
Shinji called out, but Rin ignored him completely, her figure quickly disappearing down the hallway.
His brows knit together, and he clicked his tongue in irritation.
Staring in the direction she had gone, he suddenly seemed to think of something amusing, a faint smile curling at his lips.
"Heh! Ignoring me, huh? You'll pay for that soon enough, Tohsaka."
———
Clack!
Rin hurried into the infirmary, pushing the door open. At a glance, she saw her younger sister lying on the bed, pure and fragile in demeanor.
She wore her school uniform. Her figure was far more developed than girls her age, a white blanket covering her body. Her long, smooth black hair spread out, framing her delicate, refined face.
Matou Sakura was turned toward the window, staring blankly at the falling snow.
Hearing the hurried footsteps, she turned her head slightly. A hint of confusion soon appeared on her face, "Sister… why are you here?"
Rin quickly walked over, her eyes full of concern, "Sakura, how are you feeling? Are you alright?"
Sakura shook her head lightly, her voice soft and gentle, "I'm fine. I just didn't eat breakfast, so my blood sugar dropped a bit. I'll be okay after some rest."
She looked at her sister, puzzled, "Didn't you take the morning off? Why did you come back?"
At the mention of that, Rin immediately recalled something important. She clasped her sister's cold hands tightly, "I heard you calling for help at home earlier."
She then explained what had happened at the Tohsaka residence that morning.
Seeing the concern and worry in Rin's eyes, Sakura's gaze flickered slightly before she quietly turned her face away.
After a moment, she said softly, "It was probably a trap by the enemy… I didn't call you."
Rin fell into brief thought, "Who would know both the Tohsaka family's phone number and that I'm one of the Masters?"
She quickly set the thought aside and smiled, "Anyway, you need to be careful these days. It seems someone has already summoned a Servant ahead of time, and they're likely in this school. If anything happens, let me know immediately."
"You must have summoned your Servant early too, right, Sister?", Sakura suddenly asked.
Rin was about to answer when she noticed the look in her sister's eyes.
Their gazes met, and Rin froze for a moment.
For that instant, she felt as though she didn't recognize her sister at all.
Because Sakura's eyes at that moment were so empty, so indifferent, it was as if someone else were inhabiting her body.
But in the next second, Sakura had already returned to her usual gentle demeanor, tilting her head slightly, "What's wrong, Sister?"
Rin came back to her senses and nodded, "Yeah, I happened to be late this morning, so I figured I might as well summon a Heroic Spirit first."
"That's basically cheating, Sister."
Sakura smiled faintly, "But don't worry, I'll keep your secret."
Then she continued, "Is he with you?"
The "he" she referred to was, naturally, Alvin.
The smile on Rin's face faded slightly, replaced with a trace of complexity.
She knew all too well how stubborn Sakura had been about the White Dragon all these years. Back then, she had even considered swapping catalysts with her, giving Sakura the chance to summon him instead.
But Sakura had politely refused.
Because, in Sakura's eyes, that would have felt more like charity.
[🎉 Shoutout to Salty, Steffen, what_iz, julien and archer for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]
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