Archer had been tasked with getting the unconscious students to the hospital, and as soon as he left, a suffocating silence filled the air.
The sudden stillness was broken by a sharp shing—a sound that made Shirō's hairs stand on end. The entire school campus was shrouded in an unnatural darkness, a veil that seemed to swallow the light around them. It was as if night had fallen in an instant, the very atmosphere growing thick with an oppressive weight.
Rin's eyes widened, and then she cursed under her breath. She reached out, her hand trembling slightly, but then she froze.
Her connection with Archer was gone. The mental link had been severed, cut off as if it had never been there.
"Shit," Rin muttered, eyes scanning the surroundings in a frantic sweep. She could feel it—something was wrong, something big.
Shirō, sensing the shift in the air, instinctively reached for anything she could use. Her fingers found a bamboo stick lying on the ground, and she grabbed it, holding it tightly as she whispered under her breath.
"Trace, on."
In a heartbeat, the stick began to pulse with energy, reinforcing itself under Shirō's command. The weight of it became more solid, more real. It was sturdy now, like a weapon, but it still felt... temporary.
Rin turned to her, eyebrows furrowed. "What are you doing?"
Shirō blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. "What?"
Rin's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You have Excalibur, don't you?"
Shirō's eyes widened. Oh, that's right. She had almost forgotten.
Without a second thought, Shirō's focus sharpened. In a flash, her form shifted, the school uniform gone in an instant, replaced by the royal blue battle dress, complete with the shimmering gauntlets and armor.
Excalibur. It materialized in her hands, its weight familiar and yet strange at the same time, as though she had wielded it forever and never before.
Rin gave a sharp look. "Make it invisible—quickly!"
Shirō stared at her, confused. "Invisible? How—?"
"Ugh, just do it!" Rin's frustration was palpable, her hands twitching as she prepared her own magic.
Shirō's brow furrowed in concentration. She had no idea how to make Excalibur invisible. She had never had the time to learn. And yet, here Rin was, demanding something she didn't know how to do. The pressure was mounting.
She gritted her teeth. "I don't know how to—"
But before she could finish her sentence, the darkness around them shifted, and Shirō's senses spiked. Her instincts screamed. Something was coming.
Without thinking, she swung Excalibur in front of her. The blade sliced through the air with a deafening whoosh, cleaving through a chain that had appeared from the darkness, aiming directly for Rin's head.
Rin yelped and ducked, barely avoiding the chain's deadly path. She quickly summoned her crystal magic, creating a glowing barrier of sharp, translucent shards around her.
The chain recoiled, retreating into the shadow from which it had come. For a moment, everything was still. The darkness seemed to breathe, waiting.
Rin's eyes flicked to Shirō, her expression grim. "That was too close."
Shirō stood her ground, the weight of Excalibur still in her hands, her heart racing. "What the hell was that?"
"Someone or something is controlling this darkness," Rin said, her voice tight with focus. "And that thing is definitely a threat."
Shirō tightened her grip on Excalibur, her mind racing. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew one thing for certain—this wasn't over yet. The real battle had just begun.