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Chapter 216 - Chapter 218: Which Lasts Longer, Rin or Sakura?

Chapter 218: Which Lasts Longer, Rin or Sakura?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"

As the young girl muttered to herself, countless shadows rose up, far exceeding their previous number.

Whether these shadows were responding to Sakura's anxiety or sensing their own impending doom was unclear.

After all, the amount of magic energy Rin had just projected exceeded one hundred million, a figure astonishing for a single magician.

Rin remained completely composed, even taking the time to tease Sakura.

"Sakura, you're really amazing. If someone from the Clock Tower were here, they'd probably faint on the spot. This amount of magic power could keep an entire department running for over a century."

Though she was merely stating a fact, to Sakura, these words sounded like pure mockery.

"Then what about you, Sister?!"

Sakura's voice trembled, as if on the verge of tears. "My magic power is thousands of times greater than yours! My shadows should be impossible for you to dispel alone! And yet—why?!"

Her cry was like the soul-wrenching wail of a woman scorned, confronting a homewrecker in the street. But it did nothing to shake Rin's composure.

"It's simply a matter of using power to determine the victor," Rin replied nonchalantly, flicking her hair. "I can't remove a curse, so I'm just using magic power to cancel it out. If you look closely, you should be able to tell."

"Liar!"

Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, ignoring everything else.

"There's no way you have that much magic power! That light you've been emitting— it looks just like Saber's Excalibur!"

"That's right! So Sister is using some kind of specialized Mystic Code that can activate with even the slightest magic power and is only effective against shadows, right?"

Rin stared at her sister as if she were a complete idiot, scratching her head in frustration.

"Sakura… what exactly have you been learning about magecraft? Did Zouken never teach you common sense?"

"Stop treating me like an idiot! That attitude of yours—"

Rin interrupted coldly, "This isn't some replica of Saber's Noble Phantasm, nor is it a Mystic Code specifically for destroying shadows. Sakura, this is the Tohsaka family's greatest magical masterpiece, passed down through generations—the Jeweled Sword!"

"Who the hell would know that?!"

Sakura's classic retort made Rin feel like an absolute fool.

But what irritated her the most wasn't Sakura's ignorance. Even though Sakura had been adopted into the Matou family, she was still originally from the Tohsaka line. And yet she didn't even know about the Jeweled Sword, the very symbol of their family's legacy!

"Heh, a mere 200-year-old family acting all high and mighty."

Alice gazed at the screen, watching Rin throw a fit, her expression utterly indifferent. In fact, she almost felt like laughing.

For magus families, inheritance was everything. The longer the lineage, the more time they had spent exploring the path of magecraft and the further they had progressed.

Though Alice had gradually started to move away from strict bloodline ideology under the influence of Shinji Matou's philosophy, she still took immense pride in her own ancient family history.

So, watching Rin boast about her family's 200-year legacy on such a public platform left her feeling somewhat resentful.

Being able to showcase one's lineage on such a stage was every magus's dream.

Not to mention, if a newcomer to the world of magecraft were looking for a teacher in the future, they would likely gravitate toward the more well-known Tohsaka family over other lesser-known but equally ancient bloodlines.

This was the power of publicity.

"A mere 200-year-old family… What's so impressive about that? You're only getting this chance to show off thanks to Matou Shinji!"

Alice understood well that Shinji Matou had deliberately given Rin the opportunity to boast about her family's history in order to encourage magi to take pride in their own heritage, regardless of its age.

But still—

"It's so frustrating!"

Alice let out a quiet sigh. Her only solace was that neither her own family nor any of the other magus families she was familiar with had been mentioned by Shinji Matou in this whole affair.

"If only Sir Matou could mention my family... Just a little, just a tiny bit..."

Alice suddenly had a thought.

"The Kuonji Group is, after all, a British magecraft corporation. If we were to invest in Sir Matou's production under the guise of sponsorship, would we be able to receive the same kind of recognition as the Tohsaka family?"

However, securing sponsorship would require careful planning. Annoying that old fossil, Lord Aozaki, would be a bad idea.

"I wonder how that old man would react after watching Heaven's Feel. Maybe I should ask Aoko about it sometime."

Watching the two sisters tear into each other on screen, Alice found herself reminiscing about a certain pair of... affectionate (murderous) siblings.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

On the screen, the brilliance of the Jeweled Sword continued to shine.

The shadows that protected Sakura crumbled before this light, which resembled the Sword of Victory.

Although the Jeweled Sword in Rin's hands was merely a flawed projection created by Emiya Shirou with Illya's assistance—so defective that even the Old Man of the Jewels wouldn't bother to acknowledge it—

It was still a Mystic Code of the Second Magic. No matter how incomplete, it was not merely magecraft, but a true magical phenomenon.

Rin was well aware of the sword's flaws. Its magic output was limited, and if she pushed it too far, it would shatter.

But her opponent, Sakura, had the same problem.

Sakura, fused with the shadow, might possess an unfathomable amount of magical energy, but the capacity of her body—the vessel—was finite.

Just like a dam holding back a reservoir, no matter how strong, it had a maximum release capacity.

Unfortunately for Sakura, the amount of magic she could unleash at once did not exceed the Jeweled Sword's output limit.

"A battle of endurance works in my favor."

Rin smiled with confidence.

Sakura's magical energy, no matter how vast, was not infinite. Meanwhile, Rin could draw from the boundless voids of countless parallel worlds.

"Haa—haa—"

Her shoulders rose and fell violently as her breath grew ragged. Sakura, now weak and exhausted, glared at her composed older sister.

"Sakura, this is the extent of the power you obtained. Maybe it's time to snap out of it. That fevered, frantic mind of yours."

"Don't be ridiculous! This isn't fair! It's always you! It's always been you! Why?!"

Sakura launched yet another desperate assault, but the result remained the same.

Realizing that she still couldn't secure victory, the frustration that had accumulated in her heart for so long erupted—alongside the resentment she held for her only blood relative.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh—!!"

Unforgivable!

Absolutely unforgivable!

She could never forgive this woman—her sister!

"Enough—!"

Sakura shrieked hysterically, her last thread of sanity snapping completely.

"I don't want to hear it! I won't listen to your excuses! You have no idea what I've been through! You stand above me, acting like you have the right to judge! I'll make you feel it—everything I've suffered these past eleven years!"

The blackened girl roared, and countless dark ribbons burst from her body, surging toward Rin from all directions.

Rin gazed at her sister with sorrow in her eyes.

Originally, she had intended to hold out until Shirou arrived. But now, it was clear—she could no longer afford to wait.

No.

From the very beginning, this had been a problem between sisters. Leaving it to someone else had been a mistake.

And so—

"Sakura."

She called her sister's name casually, as if greeting her with a simple "Good morning."

In that instant—

Rin made the move that would decide everything.

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