Originally, the girl in the center of the altar vanished, replaced by a strange shadow; behind her was the place of martyrdom for the Saint of Winter, Hustiza.
"What exactly happened? Where is Lord Sōichirō!"
Caster felt a surge of repulsion looking at the shadow in the center; her Magician's intuition told her to run as far as possible!
The next moment.
The shadow suddenly appeared before Caster. As if time and space had frozen, several terrifying tentacles extended from the shadow's body, tightly strangling Caster's throat.
"You?" Caster squeezed out the word with difficulty.
The shadow's body twisted abruptly. The frantic killing intent snapped Caster to her senses. She pulled out her Noble Phantasm and stabbed at the tentacles constricting her neck.
Sensing danger, the tentacles immediately retracted, and the shadow moved away from Caster.
It was a suggestion. Caster retreated hastily; she had actually fallen under the shadow's suggestion just now!
"What on earth are you!" Caster raised her hand, and a massive fireball formed instantly, its scorching heat forcing everyone to stay away.
However, when the fireball touched the shadow, it seemed to be drawn in by some force and entered the shadow's body. As if there were infinite space within her, the fireball grew smaller until it vanished completely.
"No way, is this Imaginary Number Space!?"
At this moment, Akatsuki and Tohsaka Rin also arrived. Seeing the shadow absorb Caster's fireball, Tohsaka Rin exclaimed. Although Caster's attack failing was shocking, the shadow's Imaginary Number Space shocked her even more.
After all, Magicians with the Imaginary Number attribute were far too rare!
And even if there were Magicians with that attribute, they were rarely trained correctly, leading to Imaginary Number Magic becoming increasingly scarce.
In a flash, Akatsuki pushed Tohsaka Rin aside and grabbed the shadow's ribbon-like tentacles, using her power as a True Ancestor to confront Angra Mainyu.
The pitch-black prayers contained within all the worlds evil were difficult for even someone as strong as Akatsuki to completely purge in an instant.
"Rin, you deal with Caster! Find a way to take Saber back!"
Before Akatsuki could finish, Tohsaka Rin was sent flying by a punch from Souichirou Kuzuki, her body embedded directly into a nearby stone pillar. If not for her defensive magic, Rin's life might have ended then and there.
"Vampire, suppress that shadow."
Souichirou Kuzuki grabbed Tohsaka Rin by the throat with one hand and pulled her out of the pillar. Caster also appeared here, bringing with her Saber, who was dressed in a pure white wedding dress.
The situation changed in an instant!
"Setting Archer aside for now, Rider should have recovered by now. Where did she go!"
An inexplicable sense of irritability arose. The situation was still controllable for Akatsuki. This was no joke; if she wanted to, she could completely release the power suppressing her Bloodlust Impulse. At that time, even if a 'Beast' came, it would have to consider if it could kill Akatsuki in one strike.
"But, if I release that power, won't everything be the same as before... I chose to become a True Ancestor and come to this world because I hoped to walk a different path!"
Reconstructing her Black Keys, Akatsuki let go of the shadow's tentacles and rushed toward Souichirou Kuzuki at extreme speed. Even the Caster-reinforced Souichirou Kuzuki couldn't see such rapid movement clearly, but with his powerful intuition, he narrowly avoided Akatsuki's strike.
However, his movement was so large that it gave Akatsuki an opportunity. That strange boxing style was very suitable for a first-time encounter kill, but Akatsuki was fully prepared and snatched Tohsaka Rin back from Souichirou Kuzuki's hand.
As the pitch-black tentacles raged, Souichirou Kuzuki gathered his strength and aimed for Akatsuki's heart, honing his killing techniques to the limit. However, Akatsuki was no pushover; her long-time work in similar fields had given her almost subconscious habits.
"Trace on!"
gan jiang and mo ye flew straight for Caster's heart, only to be shattered by Saber's Invisible Sword in the next instant!
"Shirou?!"
"Shirou Emiya?!"
Saber's voice overlapped with Akatsuki's. Akatsuki had treated Shirou Emiya's injuries herself; she knew his condition better than anyone. He shouldn't have been able to appear here at all!
And it seemed his Projection Magic was almost fully mastered.
"Is this the effect of the protagonist's aura? Or did he successfully evolve into the ultimate lifeform, Kars Shirou, after absorbing the mana in the Red Stone of Aja?"
After pulling away from Souichirou Kuzuki, Akatsuki quickly checked Tohsaka Rin's injuries. Even with defensive magic, Kuzuki's punch had broken several of Rin's ribs, and her internal organs were starting to bleed.
"The situation is not optimistic!"
After casting several healing spells on Tohsaka Rin, Akatsuki patted her shoulder. "Rin, go save Sakura."
"Eh?"
Tohsaka Rin was stunned. She didn't understand what Akatsuki was saying. Wasn't Sakura being used as the vessel for the Holy Grail? Where was Sakura here?
"Even if someone is to be saved, it should be you or Shirou Emiya going, right? Besides, where is Sakura?"
"That shadow is Sakura."
"Wha..."
Perhaps the truth was too shocking; for a moment, Tohsaka Rin's mind went blank. She stared blankly at the shadow filled with curses, despair, and madness.
"Now, only you can save Sakura."
"Me?"
"That's right, only you. Although Shirou Emiya could probably do it too, as you can see, he can't handle Caster and Saber. Just one Kuzuki is enough to exhaust him."
After forcing Souichirou Kuzuki back with a punch, Akatsuki rushed between Shirou Emiya and Saber. "Rin, think carefully. Why has Sakura always worn the hair ribbon you gave her? Why, even after becoming a shadow, is her attack style still similar to a hair ribbon?"
Ordinary Black Keys were certainly no match for Saber's Invisible Sword, but Akatsuki's application of Marble Phantasm was already proficient enough. Reconstructing another Black Key the moment one was destroyed was no problem at all.
"True Ancestor! You aren't even a participant in the Holy Grail War. Why go to such lengths!"
Splitting Caster's mana bullets in two, Akatsuki kicked aside Saber's blade.
"It's simple, Caster. I can't stand your methods! If you only targeted ordinary people, it would be fine since you didn't threaten their lives. But if you break the rules and make the Holy Grail descend early, then don't blame me!"
"You... do you want to be a hero of justice?!"
---------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 30 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon.
patreon.com/TLScarlet
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!