Chapter 76: Rin Tohsaka Only Plays High-Stakes Games
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Despite only having spent a few days together, Saber already felt like she and Akira had the familiarity of an old married couple.
However...
Things didn't go as Saber expected.
Even after closing her eyes, she didn't feel the anticipated touch after a few seconds.
"Huh?"
Confused, Saber opened her eyes.
Then, she saw Akira disappearing into a teleportation circle.
"Sorry, two days have passed, and the Holy Grail War situation has changed. I need to go handle something."
Saber simply watched Akira leave, shaking her head with a bitter smile.
Flirting and then running away—classic him.
A few seconds earlier, Akira had heard a cry for help.
Akira! We're in danger! Please come quickly!
The voice was unfamiliar yet carried a hint of familiarity.
When Akira traced its source, he realized it came from the cross he had given out!
The owner of the cross wasn't Shirley or Natalia, but... Maiya Hisau!
Maiya? Is that you? Akira quickly responded.
Yes, it's me, Akira-sama. Lady Irisviel is in danger. Please come quickly. Our location is...
Got it. I'll be there soon.
It was because of Maiya's urgent plea that Akira had to leave Saber behind and rush to the scene.
Saber watched Akira disappear, feeling like a wife watching her husband leave for work.
"Speaking of which, should I hold another King's Banquet?"
"If it's me now... I should be able to give a different answer than before."
Over the past few days, Saber hadn't just traveled through time with Akira or been intimate with him. She had also learned a lot from him.
Though she still didn't fully understand human hearts, Saber believed she had grown significantly compared to before.
Meanwhile, at Maiya Hisau and Irisviel's location.
While the worldline had changed, some major events would still occur without Akira's direct intervention.
For example—Maiya assisting Kiritsugu during the Holy Grail War.
However, unlike before, Maiya's identity now was... Kiritsugu's senior disciple.
After meeting Akira during the Holy Grail War, Maiya hadn't rushed to reconnect with him. Instead, she focused on her mission—protecting Irisviel.
In Maiya's heart, she felt she had failed to protect her master, Natalia, and couldn't face Akira.
So, she chose to temporarily avoid him, throwing herself fully into protecting Irisviel.
Maiya knew about Akira's relationship with Illya and had deduced that Akira wanted Irisviel, the lesser Grail.
Thus, before meeting Akira again, Maiya decided to protect Irisviel as a way to atone for her failure.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
According to the yellow beast that followed Akira, he had left two days ago, likely traveling through time. If they needed help, they could contact her.
However, Maiya didn't care about seeking help from Agumon.
All she cared about was whether Akira was willing to see her.
Akira's departure hit Maiya hard.
In her eyes, Akira hadn't said goodbye because he hadn't forgiven her for failing to protect Natalia.
So... Maiya felt even more guilty.
This guilt persisted until just now.
When faced with danger, the cross on Maiya's chest emitted a faint light!
Finally, she established a connection with Akira through the cross!
Realizing she hadn't been abandoned and that Akira was still willing to come, Maiya shed tears of relief.
"Huh?"
Kirei Kotomine, watching Maiya cry, looked puzzled.
What's going on?
Today, with Gilgamesh's help, Kirei had finally found Irisviel hiding in the suburbs.
His plan was the same as in the original timeline—capture Irisviel and use her as bait to lure Kiritsugu.
This was a last resort.
For some reason, Kiritsugu had been avoiding confrontation recently.
Neither the Einzbern Castle nor the Emiya residence ten years later yielded any trace of him.
So, Kirei had to rely on the almighty Gilgamesh and his Gate of Babylon for assistance.
Originally, Gilgamesh wouldn't have helped Kirei so readily.
But with the worldline changed, Gilgamesh was even more determined to add Saber to his collection.
Unable to find Saber or Kiritsugu, Gilgamesh decided to target Irisviel first.
Thus, today, after locating Irisviel, Kirei eagerly launched his attack.
Before Akira arrived, the battle had already reached a fever pitch.
Though Irisviel had Rin Tohsaka by her side, they were no match for Kirei.
Kirei faced Rin.
A group of Assassins joined Kirei in ganging up on Rin.
Maiya and Irisviel each fought an Assassin to prevent them from assisting Rin.
As for Gilgamesh...
He only intervened against worthy opponents, so he remained high in the sky, watching the spectacle.
Tch! Where's the backup?!
Rin, gripping her holy sword, bit her lip as she fought Kirei, all while hurling insults.
"Mapo Tofu Priest! You love spicy mapo tofu, huh? Is that the only thing that can stir your emotionless black heart?!"
"Fake priest! Got the guts to fight me one-on-one without your Assassins? I'll take you all on!"
Originally, Rin would've had to fight two opponents.
But with Kirei's multiple Assassins, Rin now claimed she was fighting an entire group.
Kirei, wielding Cu Chulainn's spear, clashed with Rin in a fierce battle.
The Command Seals he obtained from Risei Kotomine not only replenished Gilgamesh and the Assassins' mana but also his own!
Now, he essentially had three Servants with infinite mana! How could Rin possibly win?
After all, unlike him, Rin had to expend her own mana and stamina to use her Servant's powers.
Boom!
Kirei and Rin distanced themselves, the red mana on his spear intensifying.
"Rin... you've really grown."
"As your teacher, I'm delighted!" Kirei's joy was evident.
"Bullshit teacher! In this worldline, I'm not your damn student!"
This worldline's Rin was the legendary, hot-headed Rin Tohsaka.
A Rin who had never been in love, a Rin who lived by her own rules—she was fiery!
"Rin, you're right. In this worldline, we haven't established a teacher-student relationship."
"But! Even so! I still see you as my student!"
Kirei certainly acknowledged Rin as his student.
Otherwise, how could he derive pleasure from killing her?
"I can't let Kirei keep charging up!"
Rin bit her lip.
The Assassins were too troublesome.
If it were just the Assassins, she could handle them. But after fighting Kirei for so long, her mana was depleted, and she couldn't even activate Excalibur.
"Damn it! Sakura and Rin are such liabilities! And that Emiya Shirou too! Can't the backup come any faster?!"
Rin couldn't help but complain.
The girl named Rin Tohsaka was exhausted.
Why did she always end up in high-stakes battles?
First, she fought Gilgamesh and Kirei, then Gilgamesh alone, and now she was being ganged up on by Kirei.
Who wrote this script? It was downright cruel!
Gae Bolg!
Kirei finished charging and hurled the red spear that was destined to pierce the heart!
Instinct!
Facing a causality-defying weapon like Gae Bolg, Rin could only rely on Saber's "Instinct" to counter it...
Normally, she could dodge it with Instinct, suffering only a minor injury.
But now...
Whoosh whoosh~
The remaining Assassins threw daggers at her!
Normally, Rin would use "Mana Burst" to deflect projectiles.
But with Gae Bolg threatening her, Rin chose to take the hits!
Better to be struck by daggers than Gae Bolg!
Slash slash~
The daggers left several wounds on Rin's body.
Luckily, she narrowly avoided Gae Bolg, sustaining only a graze on her side.
Whoosh~
A metallic cross flew toward Rin.
Rin instinctively wanted to use "Mana Burst" to deflect it.
But realizing it was something Maiya had thrown, Rin quickly restrained herself.
"Rin-san! Use this! I've contacted Akira-sama! Backup is on the way!"
As Rin caught the cross, Maiya's voice reached her ears.
"Got it!"
Rin breathed a sigh of relief.
That man, Akira, though he had once abandoned Sakura and Illya, was undeniably powerful.
Just as she thought this, an image of Akira appeared in her mind.
"Huh?!"
As Akira's image appeared, Rin's wounds quickly healed—stopping the bleeding, scabbing over, and fully recovering.
It seems using this cross makes his image appear in my mind.
Well... he's a bastard, but he's definitely good-looking.
"Oh? Interesting... this cross has healing properties?" Kirei raised an eyebrow, surprised Rin had lasted so long despite her depleted mana.
"Rin, you're amazing!"
"This is how it should be!"
Thus, as Rin healed and fought the Assassins, Kirei gleefully began charging another attack.
However...
As Kirei charged, a sudden interruption occurred.
Several gemstones fell from the sky.
Boom boom boom boom!!~
A series of explosions disrupted Kirei's charge, leaving him covered in dust.
"This gem magecraft is...!"
Rin's eyes widened.
She hadn't used gem magecraft just now!
The gem magecraft based on runes—Rin only knew one user of this technique!
That person... came from ten years in the future! Or rather... over a decade in the future!
At the end of her future memories, there was such a person!
Her name was Luvia—Luviagelita Edelfelt!
From the smoke, a blonde girl in a blue-and-white noble dress walked forward.
Her noble upbringing, paired with her wavy golden hair, made her seem like an elegant, high-class lady to anyone who didn't know better.
And she was.
As long as she didn't reveal her violent side, the blonde noble girl named "Luvia" was indeed the epitome of grace.
"Luvia! It's you! Why are you here?" Rin was shocked.
"I came to verify if the memories in my mind were true."
Though Luvia hadn't appeared much, she too had received future memories.
After testing, she found that the spells she remembered could be used, and she could even transform into her adult self.
Originally, she planned to bully Rin as a child, implanting the idea that "Luvia is divine and untouchable."
But as soon as she returned to the Tohsaka territory in Fuyuki City, she was trapped by a barrier.
Unable to leave, Luvia could only head toward the sounds of battle.
And there, she found Rin being ganged up on.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 120 on my patreon go take a look and remember if you reach 120 stones of power I will publish the next chapter.