"Gilgamesh… Isn't he the protagonist of the world's oldest known epic?"
Emiya Shirou stared at the blond man on TV challenging Matou Shinji, digging through his memory for relevant knowledge.
"And he's not an Assassin, right? Caster sure can summon Servants from all kinds of places."
"No… he's probably not Caster's Servant."
Rin Tohsaka examined the intel sent by Bazett—Caster hadn't been spotted anywhere, even at Ryuudou Temple where the soul crystal was displayed. Medusa, with her superior mobility, had already infiltrated it. Looks like Caster won't show up until the dueling event ends.
"I had Jason summon Atalanta to test things out. That poisonous Assassin did give us a way to activate Noble Phantasms, but it didn't work—he was treated like a derivative entity."
"So if Gilgamesh can trigger Caster's Noble Phantasm, he must be a properly summoned Servant."
Shirou followed Rin's logic. "Then why is there an extra properly summoned Servant…?"
Rin recalled something Kirei Kotomine said during their final battle.
"...My effect: discard two cards from hand, and at the start of the next turn, Special Summon one Level 8 or lower Archer from the graveyard in attack position."
Gilgamesh's card during the duel was indeed a Level 8 Archer. Rin didn't believe it was just coincidence.
"So why isn't Sakura back yet? It's almost dinner. Did something happen?"
"Don't worry. According to current rules, no one can be attacked, and there's no duel broadcast either. She's probably just held up."
Rin flipped through channels but didn't see Matou Sakura. She also noticed there seemed to be way more versions of Hundred-Faces than before. It used to be just the one carrying the camera, but now every duel had them handling lighting and microphones too.
"Also, don't just make Sakura cook every time! She's doing all your housework now? Bossed around at school, bossing her around at home too?"
Rin kicked Shirou. "It's our turn today—get to it!"
"Alright, alright…"
Shirou reluctantly got up. He admitted he'd become lazy since Sakura was around, though the girls around him all had… quirky personalities.
Honestly, he'd rather have Archer do the chores—but Red A was out gathering intel too.
"Well, since both of us are cooking, let's make it fancy today!"
Rin rolled up her sleeves. Despite her high-class image, she was great at cooking.
-
Jiang You looked at the purple-clad Servant trying to stay hidden and felt a bit insulted.
"S-sis… This barrier was made by Medea using a soul crystal. Even A+ Presence Concealment won't work here. Just come out."
Jiang You wasn't sure of Sakura's intentions, but Medusa didn't seem hostile.
"Caster, my Master wants to see you…"
Medusa stepped out and explained her purpose, even kindly adding a warning: "Your guards are too weak. If you want to stay hidden, this is a poor place to do it."
"We are not that incompetent."
Hundred-Faces emerged from the shadows. She didn't want her Master to think less of her. "Our Master is granting you this audience, and if he wants to disappear, no one can find him."
She was used to Jiang You's habit of occasionally "disconnecting" like pulling a plug—his Speed 5 ability ignored all rules. Even Medea called it unbeatable.
"Master, I advise against meeting them."
Thanks to her rising fame, Hundred-Faces' Noble Phantasm had become slightly stronger, increasing the number of clones, giving her the manpower to scout effectively.
"Although you and Matou Sakura have a past, she's now part of the group led by Tohsaka and Bazett. They're likely planning a surprise attack to avoid your activities altogether."
"Caster doesn't need to go."
Medusa had already received Sakura's instructions—they had anticipated this.
"My Master will meet him in person."
"That's really unnecessary."
Hundred-Faces had been feeding Rin's updates to Jiang You all along. He had already guessed Sakura's stance. But this kind of side event might help raise favorability. "Sakura doesn't seem interested in the tournament, but to ease her mind, I should at least see her."
Jiang You was more worried about Illyasviel showing up and killing him. This wasn't a standard galgame with preset choices—he hadn't figured out how to explain why he hadn't answered her summons yet. He could only pray her favorability hadn't dropped too much—he hadn't gotten all the rewards yet.
"In that case, I'll be going first."
Medea nodded, and after receiving Jiang You's response, took her leave.
Medusa moved fast, covering half the mountain trail in just a few breaths. But she suddenly stopped midway.
"You've been following long enough. Come out, Archer!"
She didn't turn her head, just shot her chain-sword toward the bushes on the left.
"Sharp senses, as expected of a serpent."
Red Archer dodged the attack and landed in front of Medusa, blocking her path.
"I thought I was the most unstable one, but turns out you, Rider, are the first Servant to betray us."
"So? Want to talk?"
Seeing Medusa ready to strike, Red Archer projected Kanshou and Bakuya.
"No need!"
She removed her self-imposed blindfold—Mystic Eyes of Petrification activated.
Knowing Medusa's true name, Red Archer had his countermeasure—he threw the twin blades to block her sight.
In that instant, chains from all directions closed in on him. Her earlier running wasn't just to move—it was to lay a web of chains.
Now came the harvest.
"Caught me off guard, huh? Doesn't matter!"
Red Archer invoked Jiang You's Noble Phantasm—his blades shattered, and Medusa's Mystic Eyes activated.
"I accept your duel!"