Fighting was out of the question, but Kirei Kotomine could always opt for assassination. As long as it wasn't in a public setting like this, he could make his move however he pleased.
However, Kirei Kotomine definitely wouldn't be able to find a trace of Zenith tonight. Having unlocked a new mod, he had run back to the Overworld to continue grinding for materials and Mana.
With Zenith not at home, Shirou Emiya managed to get a rare good night's sleep. But what he didn't know was that his peaceful life was gone for good starting today.
The little girl of the Tohsaka family had summoned Heroic Spirit Shirou, also known as the Archer-class EMIYA. In other timelines, Shirou Emiya, who wanted to save others, eventually signed a contract with Alaya and became a Heroic Spirit. After experiencing countless battles to stop other battles, he slowly began to doubt himself, his ideals wavering.
He hated his own ideals and wanted to escape this inescapable pain, so he decided to kill his high school self. If Shirou Emiya killed Shirou Emiya, perhaps then he could finally be free.
As school was about to end, Shirou Emiya naturally had no idea what Heroic Spirit Shirou was thinking. The stubborn blockhead was busy cleaning the archery club. Zenith was quite dissatisfied with this. If you stay at school at night to clean someone else's clubroom, who's going to cook my dinner?
Zenith came to the school to look for him. As soon as he walked through the gates, he ran into Rin Tohsaka, who was currently investigating the school with EMIYA.
During school hours in the day, they had keenly noticed that someone had deliberately set up a barrier within the school. Since battles between magi and Heroic Spirits couldn't be seen by ordinary people, they chose to investigate at night.
"It's Zenith! That major entrepreneur!"
The Tohsaka family was also super rich. The most direct proof of this was that their inherited magecraft style was Jewel Magecraft. Every time a spell was cast, it consumed a large, pure gemstone, making them epic-level spendthrifts.
Zenith was a celebrity now too. He raised his hand to greet the two of them. "Young people these days dress so weirdly. He even dyed his hair white. Is this that 'cosplay' thing?"
'What do you mean cosplay? Who the hell is this guy?!'
EMIYA's eyes widened as he looked at Rin Tohsaka. He didn't remember there ever being a person like this in Fuyuki City!
"It's so late, why is Mr. Zenith still around the school? Shouldn't an entrepreneur like you be busy?"
Rin Tohsaka was already exercising a lot of restraint. As a tsundere young lady, treating someone who appeared at a suspicious time in a suspicious place with this attitude was only because Zenith had indeed done good deeds for Fuyuki City.
"Ah, about that. I'm Shirou Emiya's uncle. Normally, he would have gone home by now, but I waited at home for ages and didn't see him return, so I got a little worried."
Zenith pinched his chin in thought and added, "If he doesn't come back, dinner time will have to be pushed back, and eating late-night snacks makes you fat."
This shocked EMIYA for ten thousand years. 'What is going on? How did I suddenly get an uncle out of nowhere? Nobody told me about this in all these years!'
'So Shirou is also at school? That's not good.' A look of worry appeared in the young girl's eyes. She was also someone who had been captivated by Shirou's high jump, harboring a pure, adolescent affection for Shirou Emiya.
He would get caught in the crossfire. Rin Tohsaka didn't want to fight at this time; she wanted to at least wait until Shirou Emiya left. However, the Lancer who had long been hiding in the school wasn't going to give her that chance.
The spearman Heroic Spirit, the Servant whose True Name was Cu Chulainn, was the Child of Light and the Hound of Culann. Under Kirei Kotomine's orders, he had come here to eliminate Rin Tohsaka. And it just so happened that Zenith was here too—this was simply a double blessing!
Clad in a blue bodysuit with armor, Lancer thrust his red spear toward Rin Tohsaka's chest with unstoppable force.
Magi had a higher priority than ordinary people. Since Lancer couldn't sense any Mana inside Zenith's body, his primary target was naturally Rin Tohsaka, who could pose a threat to him.
"Gandr!"
Rin Tohsaka's signature magecraft, a red-and-black bullet of light, was instantly fired, creating an opening for her to escape. And this split second was enough for EMIYA to join the fray.
The twin swords known as Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his palms. As an Archer, he was absolutely no match for Lancer in close combat. In just a few exchanges, twenty-seven of his weapons were continuously shattered.
"What a spectacular fight. It'd be perfect if I had some popcorn."
At some point, Zenith had dragged a chair over and sat down on the spot to watch the show. He even had a freshly opened bottle of cola in his hand.
'Is this guy not afraid of death?'
Rin Tohsaka was dumbfounded. However, for the sake of her own life, she had to support EMIYA. Her Magic Circuits glowed brightly, supplying a steady stream of Mana to EMIYA, while she also used magecraft to provide appropriate backup.
"Ah, Shirou, you're here!"
Zenith waved toward the distance, calling Shirou Emiya over, who had approached after hearing the commotion. "Uncle? Why are you here? Wait, what is going on?!"
'Two weirdly dressed people are fighting, and Tohsaka is actually using magecraft to help. Is this a war between magi?'
"This is the Holy Grail War, Shirou," Zenith said, briefly explaining the rules and origins of the Holy Grail War to Shirou Emiya before continuing, "Magi and Heroic Spirits fight recklessly in the city, silence witnesses, and then blame the destruction of the city on gas explosions. Remember that great fire in Fuyuki City during your childhood? That was because of the Holy Grail War."
Shirou Emiya was furious. As a survivor of that great fire, he always felt that he was living while carrying the wishes of the dead. And now, he had found the source of that disaster.
"I will... stop the Holy Grail War! Heroic Spirits, magi, whatever—I'll defeat them all!"
This kid caught on so fast. Zenith felt extremely gratified. However, if Shirou Emiya didn't participate in the Holy Grail War, what would happen to Saber? If he didn't get to see the Ahoge King, wouldn't coming to this world be a waste?
Well, there was no rush. The magic circle for the summoning ritual was in his shed anyway, and the catalyst to summon Saber, the scabbard Avalon, was buried inside Shirou Emiya's body. Summoning Saber would be a piece of cake.
Shirou Emiya joined the battle. With his current level of magecraft, the most he could do was grab a steel pipe and cast a Reinforcement enchantment on it. Compared to a Heroic Spirit, he was more than a whole dimension behind.
However, Shirou Emiya now had other methods.
"Gold Experience!!"
Along with his shout, the golden Stand materialized beside him. It had a lithe figure, wings symbolizing peace on its shoulders, and purple gemstones covering its joints.
"A Heroic Spirit? No, it's more like a spiritual body created by magecraft. To think I've never heard of it!"
Briefly transforming non-living things into living organisms, Gold Experience lunged forward and punched Lancer's spear. Lancer could feel a bizarre power acting upon his spear, as if it were trying to bring the weapon in his hands to life.
"A bizarre ability, but the power of a Noble Phantasm cannot be shaken by such cheap tricks... What?!"
The true bodies of Heroic Spirits were naturally immune, but the Heroic Spirits participating in the Holy Grail War were nothing more than projections. Gold Experience's ability only took effect for a split second before being forcefully dispelled, but that was enough to prove the immense power of a Stand.
In that instant, the spear in Lancer's hands transformed into a venomous snake that lunged at his neck, but it was blocked by a Rune he drew in midair.
Meanwhile, EMIYA was still in a continuous state of utter bewilderment.
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