The Ultimate Lich King of the Multiverse

The blood-soaked battle had come to an end. Yet there stood Saber alone on the empty street, as if her soul had been stripped away.

A sharp pain continued to pulse from her left wrist. For the first time, this proud Heroic Spirit of the Sword realized just how weak—how fragile—she truly was. She could do nothing. Accomplish nothing. Whether it was maintaining a proper relationship with her Master, saving the children, or delivering divine justice to the wicked Servant...

She had failed in all of it.

She had even been cornered, forced into a dire situation, and in the end, saved by the Master of an enemy Servant.

The once-revered King Arthur... reduced to such incompetence. How ironic.

With these bitter thoughts swirling in her mind, Saber forced a strained smile. As she turned to leave in a daze, a jolt suddenly struck her soul.

My Master… he's in danger?!

Feeling the sudden surge of urgency and peril through their contract, Saber immediately shoved aside her useless thoughts and dashed toward the Matou residence.

With her agility ranked A, Saber's speed rivaled even that of an Assassin. Upon sensing her Master's peril, she raced straight to the source without hesitation.

Not far from the Matou estate, in an open clearing, she arrived to find a familiar figure—

A man wielding two spears, one red and one yellow.

"Lancer… Why are you here?!"

Saber stared at him in shock. He was holding his Master, Kayneth, whose body was drenched in blood. His current state was unclear—he might still be alive, or already dead.

"This attack happened because my Master underestimated his opponent. You, Saber's Master—should be thankful to your Servant. If not, I wouldn't just be standing here—I would've already run you through."

Seeing Saber arrive, Lancer gave her a nod in greeting.

Originally, Lancer had been ordered to the battlefield where Caster was being dealt with. But surprisingly, Caster had already been forced to retreat.

Before Lancer even had the chance to materialize and greet Saber, his own Master suddenly found himself on the brink of death. In a panic, Lancer rushed to his side and saw Kayneth collapsed on the ground—Kiritsugu Emiya standing nearby, gun pointed at him.

The scene that followed was exactly what Saber had walked in on. And despite everything, she gave a respectful nod to Lancer in gratitude for his knightly honor.

"Next time we meet, Saber, I hope for a fair and honorable duel. And don't you forget—

You're only alive now thanks to the nobility of the King of Knights."

With a touch of icy sarcasm, Lancer threw this final remark at Kiritsugu before carrying Kayneth away from the scene.

Kiritsugu stood there, dazed. For a brief moment, he seriously considered using a Command Spell to order Saber to kill Lancer's Master. But in the end, he suppressed the urge.

Besides, given Saber's high magic resistance, the command might not have worked. And that slight hesitation would've given Lancer enough time to kill him in retaliation.

Kiritsugu lit a cigarette, lost in thought.

I should have chosen my Servant more carefully.

For the first time, he truly felt the sting of failure. With a sigh, he exhaled a trail of purple smoke.

As always, without even glancing at his Servant, Kiritsugu turned and headed back toward the Matou estate.

Saber's fingers tightened around her sword hilt until they turned white. It looked as if she wanted to say something—

But in the end, she stayed silent and followed him in silence.

And so, the second night of the war ended in an anticlimactic fizzle.

Three Servants had appeared, but the situation had only grown more convoluted.

The seemingly deranged Servant—who should've been a Berserker—left everyone with a lingering doubt:

Was that magic-wielding, monster-summoning Servant really just a Berserker?

Yoru hadn't considered it before either, but this development changed things. If Flandre was indeed just a mindless Berserker, the risk of being ambushed by enemy Servants had risen considerably.

Though in truth, Flandre wasn't entirely thoughtless like a typical Berserker, the dynamic had still shifted against them.

Yoru pondered this on their way back to the Einzbern castle.

At that moment, Irisviel suddenly spoke beside him.

"Why… is there still a child out at this hour?"

Yoru blinked and looked at his wife.

"A child? Where?"

Fuyuki City was still reeling from the recent serial child abduction and murder cases. Though the police repeatedly tried to calm the public, the city remained gripped by fear.

It wasn't that late yet, but the streets were already deserted.

A child running around alone at a time like this was clearly unusual.

"She went that way. Should we follow and check?"

Irisviel asked. Yoru gave a quiet nod, and the three of them followed the direction she pointed.

She hadn't been mistaken. There was indeed a child walking the streets alone.

And it was someone Yoru recognized—

Tohsaka Rin, the older sister of the former Tohsaka Sakura.

Rin knew well what nightfall in Fuyuki City meant.

Seven mages, including her father, were engaged in a deadly war.

Lurking in the night were fatal, supernatural threats.

Because she knew part of the truth, Rin also felt a strong sense of responsibility.

Today, her friend Kotone hadn't shown up to school.

The homeroom teacher said she was out sick, but the rumors around class told a different story.

Rin had even tried calling her house, but Kotone's parents refused to speak with her.

The recent string of child abductions plaguing Fuyuki City wouldn't be solved with simple investigations. Even if the police got involved, most of the children were never returned. Rin understood this, even if the adults—teachers, family, and friends—did not.

Kotone had always trusted Rin. Whether being bullied by boys in class or being unfairly forced to do extra duties by the librarian, Rin always stepped in.

Being respected like that by her peers made Rin proud.

"Always stay graceful"—every time she helped was a chance to live by her family creed.

And now, Kotone was surely waiting—hoping—for Rin to come save her.

With that thought in her heart, Rin had snuck out of her home alone that night, stepping onto the streets in search of her dear friend.

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