"Impossible..."
"How is that possible..."
Matou Sakura stared at Morgan's beautiful face in disbelief and instinctively took half a step back.
Even though the power gathered by the Desire Barrier was continuously pouring into her body, she suddenly felt afraid of that power.
Or rather, regretful.
She had been too impatient. In order to let her "body" complete its final evolution faster, in order to be with Alvin sooner, she had even exposed her identity ahead of time.
Because of that, she had overlooked something extremely important.
The Desire Barrier would affect every couple in Fuyuki without exception.
Yes... Every couple.
And naturally, that included her own sister.
As Rin's younger sister, Sakura knew very well whether Rin Tohsaka had feelings for her Servant.
She also knew that because of their relationship as sisters, Rin had always given in to her.
And Sakura had quietly accepted her sister's care.
She had even felt that if she showed a strong enough desire for the "White Dragon Relic," Rin would exchange relics with her.
For some reason though, Sakura never brought up the idea of exchanging relics at the time.
Still, no matter what, as long as she wanted it, even Alvin, Rin would definitely give him to her. Sakura had never doubted that.
However, after Morgan's "reminder," Sakura suddenly felt uneasy.
"You think it's impossible?"
At that moment, Morgan sneered and added another blow, "The barrier prepared by Beast affects everyone equally. Do you really think Rin's magic resistance is high enough to resist the Desire Barrier you personally created?"
Sakura unconsciously stepped back again.
Then, as if she had imagined something she could not accept, she hurried back before turning around and quickly heading toward the Tohsaka residence.
Morgan silently watched her leave.
["Lady Morgan, do you really not mind Alvin and his Master?"]
At that moment, Gray's cautious voice suddenly came from within Morgan's body.
Morgan lowered her head and looked at her slender fingers as she casually asked, "Have you heard my story before?"
["A little..."]
Gray replied.
"Then don't you know how I took my position?"
Looking toward the direction where Sakura had disappeared, Morgan's lips curved into a pleased smile.
"Sisters fighting each other, I have far more experience with that than they do."
———
The damp sensation, along with the intimate breaths falling against each other's faces as their eyes met, created a beautiful scene on the long street.
'Rin's legs really are perfect...'
Alvin looked down at the girl in his arms, then glanced again at her black silk-clad legs and quietly sighed in admiration.
Among all the women Alvin knew, Rin's legs were exceptional.
Full yet slender without lacking softness. Only someone experienced with women could truly understand how perfect that figure was.
"Have you stared enough?"
As if she had noticed his gaze, Rin awkwardly looked away and spoke with embarrassment.
"You seem like you're no longer affected by the Desire Barrier now?", Alvin asked curiously.
"Maybe because I already let out the strongest emotions just now."
Rin secretly glanced at him, "You didn't even try to stop me earlier..."
"And it was out on the street too. If someone saw us, then—Mmph!."
Before she could finish, Alvin suddenly lowered his head and bit her lips again while tightly holding her soft body.
Rin's body trembled. By now she had already regained her reason completely. If she wanted, she should have pushed Alvin away.
But for some reason, she did not resist at all and simply allowed his "nonsense."
After all, she had been the one who crossed the line first earlier. Since he was being a little improper now... she would just treat it as making up for what she did.
The softening body in his arms gradually poked at Alvin's desire.
His hands slowly moved down along Rin's waist.
However, at that moment, Alvin suddenly felt a chill on his back.
He immediately turned his head toward the distant street, and the expression on his face slowly froze.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing his reaction, Rin slowly loosened her arms from around his neck. She lightly licked her lips, and the flushed look on her face gave the usually pure girl a slightly seductive charm.
Seeming to notice a rather piercing gaze nearby, she followed it and turned her head.
Under the dim lights of the street, a silver-haired girl with a mature figure was silently standing at the end of the road at some unknown point. Her eyes were vacant, and the scene from earlier was reflected clearly within them.
A girl with nothing more than a mortal body was pressing the boy against a steel-gray wall, kissing him passionately like a couple deeply in love.
Rin's body jerked, and the "desire" filling her mind seemed to vanish completely.
The sound of the wind echoed through the long street.
After an unknown amount of time, Rin unconsciously called out, "Sakura..."
———
The blizzard carried shards of ice that smashed against the streetlamp's glass cover, blurring people's vision.
Even so, it could not hide the two figures at the entrance of the residence.
Rin stood on tiptoe in the snow, the edges of her black thigh-high stockings covered with tiny snowflakes.
Alvin tightly held her soft waist, and the moment their lips touched, even the storm seemed to stop.
Sakura blankly watched the kiss taking place amid the blizzard. The scene she had imagined countless times had finally become reality, except it was not her lip against Alvin's.
Rin finally snapped awake and instinctively said, "Sakura..."
Before she could finish, Sakura raised her emotionless eyes. The snow beneath her feet melted and boiled away, exposing the asphalt below.
She walked barefoot across the boiling road, melted snowwater soaking her pale feet.
Her silver hair danced in the freezing wind, and almost instantly, both her appearance and aura underwent a complete transformation.
The kimono she wore had already been replaced by a crystal dress woven from Kama's flames. Compared to before, her outfit was especially bold now, with large areas of skin as smooth as white jade exposed to the air.
Although the outfit was not especially seductive, compared to Sakura's usual conservative appearance, it was practically a complete change.
Rin was already stunned.
Even though Alvin had mentioned Sakura's abnormal state earlier, she still had not expected that the girl before her, who seemed to have suddenly changed from human into a "goddess," was actually her own younger sister.
The weak, timid, insecure Sakura made people want to protect her and care for her, but the current "evolved" Sakura had completely unleashed her beauty and presence.
"Be careful!"
Before Rin could properly take in the changes in her sister, Alvin suddenly sensed danger and immediately swept Rin into his arms.
With the girl's startled cry, Alvin jumped up while carrying her. Just as they landed on top of a streetlamp, Rin's stockings snagged on the rusted iron railing.
With a tearing sound, a section of her pale thigh was exposed beneath her skirt.
The girl hurried to cover her skirt, but Alvin pressed her into his chest.
"Don't move around."
"Alvin, what exactly is going on?"
Rin suddenly felt cold all over.
She looked down from the streetlamp and instantly felt her scalp go numb.
At some point, the ground had already transformed into a boiling black swamp. Sakura stood at the center of the vortex while a shadow spread out from beneath her feet, covering the entire street almost instantly.
And from the black sludge, more than ten strange creatures formed from "shadows" quietly emerged into the storm.
Rin stared at the scene and unconsciously asked, "What are those things?"
"This is probably a mutated product created from mixing Black Mud with the Tide of Chaos."
Alvin's expression became extremely serious as he stared at the shadow beneath Sakura's feet.
He had participated in the previous Holy Grail War and had personally witnessed the "Black Mud" controlled by Sajyou Manaka at the time.
Back then, Alvin had not felt much danger from that Black Mud.
But now... he could clearly sense a strong threat from this mass of sludge.
Rin looked toward her sister and said in a low voice, "Sakura... don't keep making mistakes. There's still time."
As long as they removed the magical barrier over the city and purified the corrupted Greater Grail together, everything could still be saved.
Sakura raised her hand and caught a snowflake dyed black, "Am I really the one continuing to make mistakes, Sister?"
"Ever since I was little, I was tossed around like a ball and handed over to the Matou family. I doubt you could understand that feeling. After all, from the moment you were born, Father had already decided to entrust the future of the Tohsaka family to you."
Rin froze and almost instinctively replied, "That was because Father wanted to—"
"Because it was for my own good? Is that what you were about to say?", Sakura calmly cut her off.
"Then Sister was also thinking of me just now when you kissed Senpai in public?"
Rin's expression stiffened, and even her face became somewhat awkward.
No matter how eloquent someone was, there was no way to argue under those circumstances.
Although she had been affected by the Desire Barrier, if she herself had no "desire," then the barrier's power would never have worked.
Which meant, deep down, she truly did hold special feelings toward Alvin, and that was why the Desire Barrier had amplified them.
Sakura tilted her head slightly, "Nothing to say?"
She had thought Rin would fall silent because of that, but after a brief pause, Rin quickly shook her head.
"No... although I really was in the wrong about this, still..."
Rin paused and looked toward the girl standing on the street, "Do you really think the person you like can simply be handed over through 'transfer'?"
"If you truly like him, then come and take him openly, with your own strength, not outside power!", Rin stared at her sister.
"Or do you think feelings can be won through shortcuts? That once I step aside, he'll definitely become yours?"
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
Alvin looked slightly stunned before quickly turning a complicated gaze toward the girl beside him.
He had never expected Rin, who always spoiled her sister, to say something that sounded almost like a challenge.
Sakura clearly had not expected it either. She slowly raised her head and looked at Rin as though she were meeting her for the first time, examining her sister with surprise.
For a brief instant, a trace of gentleness seemed to appear in Sakura's eyes, "You're right, Sister."
Soon, a breathtaking smile appeared on her lips, "If you like someone, then you have to take them yourself..."
Buzz!
Alvin suddenly heard the sound of insect wings beating near his ear.
Then the buzzing spread through the long street like a tide.
Desire insects crawled out from deep beneath the snow, the pink glow from their abdomens dyeing the snowy ground an ambiguous peach color.
Whoosh!