A sharp impact echoed through the hallway as Shinji fell forward, a cry of pain escaping his lips after Rin's kick landed squarely on his back. Rubbing the rising lump on her own forehead—the souvenir of my earlier reprimand—Rin glared down at the pathetic figure.
"Ugh... That still stings..." she muttered.
"You brought that upon yourself," I replied coolly.
"...Perhaps so. But regardless! I will hear no excuses from the likes of you, Shinji! I will ensure you pay the full price for what you have done!"
"H-Hiiiieeeek!"
Shinji let out a pitiful shriek, cowering before the murderous intent radiating from Rin's eyes. Unfazed by his cowardice, she leveled a trembling finger at his head, her voice sharp with fury.
"How could you do it? How could any human being be so cruel? No matter how much you envied her talent, how could you subject your own sister to such things?"
"W-What... what are you talking about—"
"Every sin, every atrocity you committed against Sakura! I heard it all from Caster. I know exactly what you did!"
Rin's hand shook with a rage so profound it seemed to vibrate the very air. In that moment, her mind drifted back to the encounter with Illya.
***
"Greetings, Brother. We meet again, do we not?"
"..."
Rin and Shirou had been racing toward the classroom after descending from the rooftop, having used a Command Spell to summon Saber and strike at the boundary's core. They were intent on saving Sakura when they were intercepted by Illya near the classroom door.
Shirou shifted into a defensive stance, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "...Have you come to fight?"
"Hmm... No, not quite. I merely came to see if Brother was still in one piece. If you were to perish here under Rider's boundary, it would be quite a bore for me."
"...And why should we believe you?" Rin interjected, her eyes sharp. "The last time we met, you were intent on slaughtering us all."
Illya looked at Rin and shook her head with a look of feigned disappointment. "My, how vulgar the Tohsaka line remains."
"Why, you!"
"Believe me or not, it matters little to me."
"...I understand. I'll believe you," Shirou said firmly.
"What?! Shirou!" Rin shouted in disbelief.
"Oh?" Illya tilted her head, her curiosity piqued.
"Are you truly going to trust her just like that?" Rin demanded.
"Yes. She seems like a good girl at heart."
Rin stood speechless at Shirou's naive declaration. Ignoring her exasperation, Shirou looked directly at the young Einzbern master. "Illya. Won't you lend us your aid?"
"..."
Illya stared at his outstretched hand for a long moment before a smile broke across her face. She took his hand and nodded. "Very well! Since I am such a 'good girl,' I shall assist you this once! Caster!"
"...Are you not giving in a bit too easily, Master?"
"Gah?!" Rin recoiled in shock as Medea materialized behind Illya. Understanding dawned on her quickly as she realized the implications of the summon. "A-Another Master?! I was certain you were the Master of Berserker...!"
"Hmph! Unlike a certain Tohsaka, I am a Master of the highest caliber. Managing two Servants is a simple task. So, Brother, how shall we help?"
"...Help me save the students, Illya."
"Consider it done!"
"...Huh?" Shirou blinked, stunned by her immediate compliance. Illya merely giggled at his confusion.
With no time to lose, the group—Shirou, Rin, Illya, and Medea—burst into Sakura's classroom. The sight that met them was horrific. Students lay scattered like broken dolls, frothing at the mouth in a state of collective collapse.
"—Ah...!"
"......."
The scene of the children twitching and seizing on the floor was grotesque. Illya's playful expression hardened instantly, while Rin gasped in horror.
"...Caster. Decelerate the rate of prana absorption to the absolute minimum," Illya commanded.
"Understood, Master."
Responding to the newfound weight in Illya's voice, Medea began weaving her high-tier magecraft. As the magical circles manifested, the violent convulsions racking the students slowly began to subside.
"I have dampened the absorption rate of every student within the school grounds. They should remain stable for the time being."
Shirou nodded solemnly, his face pale as he watched the students' breathing normalize. He wove his way through the unconscious bodies until he found the girl he had been searching for: Sakura, her violet hair spilled across the floor.
He rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms. "She's still breathing. We aren't too late. We need to find Shinji and break this boundary once and for all."
"Then we should regroup with Saber downstairs—"
"No need to worry about that," Illya interrupted. "Berserker is already on the move."
"—Berserker?"
At Illya's nod, a wave of relief washed over both Rin and Shirou. If a Heroic Spirit of Berserker's caliber was hunting the source, the end was inevitable. As if to confirm their thoughts, the oppressive atmosphere suddenly lifted, and the crimson glow bleeding from the sky began to dissipate.
"...It seems Berserker succeeded."
"Naturally! He is my Servant, after all!"
"...Let us move the children to the hallway for now. Rin, what should we do next? Should I call for ambulances?"
"Contact the Holy Church. If you explain the situation to Kirei, he will handle the aftermath and the witnesses."
"I see... Then let's move them."
Shirou began carrying Sakura out of the room, intending to lay her on a blanket Illya had conjured. However, a hand suddenly clamped onto his arm, forcing him to halt. He turned to find Medea looking at him with an expression of deep intensity.
The others paused as well, looking at Caster in confusion.
"...Is something wrong, Caster?"
"Answer me, Master of Saber. Is this girl an acquaintance of yours?"
"Yes. Why...?"
The words that followed from Medea's lips were a cold splash of horror that froze the blood in their veins.
"—Then tell me... why is this child's body infested with Crest Worms?"
**
The truth Medea extracted from Sakura's memories was a nightmare given form. To be desecrated by parasitic worms since childhood was a tragedy in itself, but to learn she had been further violated by the one she called her brother... it was a level of depravity that defied words.
Artoria and I stood in a heavy, suffocating silence after hearing the confession. A dark thought flickered in my mind: I truly should have killed him earlier.*
Rin, realizing that Sakura had only been sent to the Matou household because of the Tohsaka succession, wept openly, her face contorted with guilt and a sorrow that ran to the bone. Shirou, who had always dreamed of being a hero of justice, was drowning in regret for having never noticed the agony of the girl who walked beside him every day.
Leaving Sakura in Medea's care for treatment, they had raced to the focal point of the boundary. There, they found the creature responsible.
Rin grabbed Shinji by the collar, her voice breaking as she screamed into his face.
"Are you even human?! How could you do such things to your own sister?!"
"—You wouldn't understand! The wretchedness of being born without talent! The feeling of being told an outsider is coming to steal your legacy! How could people like you—!"
Crack! Boom!
"Hiiiik!"
A Gandr shot fired from Rin's fingertip grazed Shinji's head, obliterating the wall behind him with a thunderous roar. Shinji shrieked as masonry showered over him.
Rin looked at the trembling coward and spoke in a low, predatory growl. "—Be silent. The only reason I haven't ended your life yet isn't because I value your existence. It is because I, who stood by and did nothing, do not have the right to pass judgment on your crimes."
Rin gritted her teeth so hard it sounded like bone grinding on bone. She wanted nothing more than to put a curse through the skull of the man who had violated Sakura, but she knew the resolution was not hers to claim.
The right to punish him belonged solely to Sakura. Though it galled her, she could not strike the final blow. She could only offer a warning.
"...Remember this. When Sakura wakes and decides your fate, Shirou and I will follow her lead. If you value your life, you had best pray for her mercy."
Her eyes were shards of ice. Shinji shuddered, then found a burst of desperate, indignant energy. He tore his collar from her grasp and screamed back at her.
"—Don't make me laugh! You expect me to beg for mercy from the likes of Sakura? You'll all be dead by the hands of the other Masters anyway... damn you all!"
He turned tail and fled, his screams trailing off as he disappeared down the hall. I turned to Rin, who remained standing still with her eyes closed.
"...Are you certain we should let him go?" I asked.
"I share that sentiment, Rin," Artoria added softly.
"...I have no authority to punish him. Only Sakura does," Rin replied, her voice trembling as she shook her head. She opened her eyes, and the warmth within them was gone.
"However... as one who was once family to Sakura, and as the Second Owner of Fuyuki, I make this vow. He—"
"—will never leave this city alive if he intends further harm."
Her gaze was as cold as the grave.