"Hey, did you hear? Something happened at the seaside park near the big bridge!"
"I heard it was an explosion caused by a gas pipe leak underground. I even cut out the photo from the newspaper—look!"
"Whoa, that's terrifying!"
After school at Homurahara Academy, Rin Tohsaka overheard students chatting on their way home as she stepped out of the classroom.
By this time, there were barely any students left in the school building.
Starting today, the school had issued a notice: students without club activities were to go home immediately, and even those with clubs had to shorten their activities and avoid spending too much time off-campus.
The recent string of serial murders couldn't be fully covered up—even if the truth was hidden, the consequences were undeniable.
Given the threat to public safety, this was the school's only option.
As for the topic those students were discussing, Rin wasn't about to accept it at face value.
The gas explosion was just a smokescreen.
The truth was that a skirmish between factions had broken out there after the Holy Grail War began.
At least no civilians had been caught in the crossfire, suggesting the Magi involved knew how to keep the supernatural under wraps.
With that in mind, Rin planned to head to the seaside park with Sakura and their Servants to investigate.
As she descended the stairs and crossed the hallway toward Sakura's classroom, she spoke without looking back.
"...Something you need, Matou?"
She addressed the figure leaning against the corridor window behind her.
"Nothing much. Just saying hi," Shinji replied with a grin. "Did you hear? Even our school's talking about the Holy Grail War now."
"So what? The Holy Church and the Mage's Association are handling cleanup. As long as civilians aren't affected, let people gossip all they want." Rin shifted slightly, watching Shinji with caution.
Archer was nearby, so she wasn't worried about Shinji ordering an attack.
"Still, looks like you're taking part in the Holy Grail War after all, huh, Matou?" Rin said. "I heard from Uncle Kariya that the Matou family's Magecraft ended with him. If you've got no aptitude, it's best to back out early."
Shinji's smile faltered. "Is that your advice—out of respect for my uncle?"
"Of course. Uncle Kariya still cared about you. Too bad the Matou family kicked him out," Rin said.
"That was my grandfather's decision. I was just a kid—I couldn't do anything about it," Shinji said with an innocent expression.
In truth, Kariya being cast out was what allowed him—someone without magic aptitude—to undergo Zouken's transformation. For someone like Shinji, obsessed with Magecraft since childhood, it was exactly what he wanted.
Keeping quiet about it was the best outcome.
If someone couldn't understand the nobility of Magecraft lineage, even a qualified uncle wasn't worth his attention.
"So you waited here just to tell me that?" Rin asked skeptically.
"Well, like the fight that broke out at the seaside park, I ran into another faction last night too," Shinji said smugly, running a hand through his hair—carefully omitting the part where he got ambushed and had to retreat wounded.
"Oh, is that so." Rin wasn't the least bit interested and was about to turn away.
Shinji Matou had pestered her more than once before, but she'd shut him down every time. So even as a fellow Master, Rin didn't bother wasting words on him.
"No alliance?" Shinji suddenly asked.
"What?" Rin frowned.
"I know about Sakura Shiomi—she's your sister, right? She was sent away when she was still a kid," Shinji said with a grin. "But in the end, she's no longer a Magus of the Tohsaka family."
He exaggeratedly stretched out a hand in an inviting gesture. "Don't forget why the Holy Grail War ritual in Fuyuki was established in the first place. We're both from the original Three Families. Instead of letting the Grail fall into the hands of outsiders, how about we team up to eliminate the other factions first, and then deal with each other afterward?"
Shinji's speech sounded so righteous he almost convinced himself.
But Rin remained completely unmoved.
"You say that like you already know you can't win with your own Servant," she said, turning around and placing a hand on her hip. "I don't know what state the Matou family's Magecraft is in, but if it's barely made it to your generation, I doubt it's worth much."
"Tohsaka..." Shinji's expression twisted as she struck a nerve, his friendly mask dropping to reveal his irritation.
"Listen carefully, Matou. It's true Sakura was sent away when she was very young, but she's more of a Magus than you—and even more than me," Rin said with a hint of pride. "As one of the original Three Families, this is the only advice I'll give you: drop out of the Holy Grail War now. It's better for the Matou family not to end here."
Just like always, Shinji had approached her full of confidence, only to be completely dismantled by Rin.
This time was no different.
"Tohsaka!"
Shinji snapped, shouting in anger as insects burst from the shadows.
"You want a fight? Fine by me."
Even before they started talking, Rin had already clenched a jewel in her hand.
In the narrow hallway, she could feel countless tiny mana signatures—both visible and hidden. They were all insects, no doubt products of the Matou family's insect Magecraft.
Before she even considered how troublesome they might be, she already felt completely disgusted.
Archer couldn't come to her aid—he was probably being held off by Shinji's Servant.
"Then I'll—"
Shinji raised his hand, just about to command the insects to attack—when something shocking happened.
Behind Rin, a girl suddenly leapt high into the air, immense mana gathering in her hands.
The surge of danger made Shinji instinctively change tactics, hastily ordering the insects to form a shield against the oncoming blast of pure mana.
Rin didn't even have time to turn around. She threw her arms up and reinforced her body with mana, or else the shockwave would've launched her seven or eight meters down the hall.
The cluster of insects was obliterated by Sakura's concentrated mana blast. The rest immediately lost control and scattered.
The corridor walls on both sides were torn apart, and the glass windows shattered.
When the dust settled, Matou Shinji was nowhere to be seen.
"So this is the Matou family's Magecraft? They sure are good at running away," Sakura landed beside Rin with a sigh. "Are you okay, Sister?"
"I'm fine..." Rin brushed the dust off herself and pocketed the jewel.
She hadn't expected Sakura to come looking for her just because she was a bit late.
Well, at least she didn't have to waste a jewel.
As soon as Shinji realized it was about to become a two-on-one, he retreated without a second thought.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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