Shinji Matou at Your Service

On a secluded hill in the suburbs of Tokyo stands a mansion.

No, a mansion is an understatement. In terms of sheer land area, it can be compared to the palatial residences of ancient nobility.

A black iron fence, old but not rusty, encircles the entire hill. The area is large enough to accommodate a primary school with a football field comfortably.

Inside the fence lies a forest garden—yes, the forest is the most fitting word. Within this forest, dozens of houses of various sizes are arranged in an orderly fashion, all surrounding a tall Western-style building in the center. The entire estate exudes a powerful, awe-inspiring presence.

Of course, this presence did not intimidate the two visitors.

"Is this the place, Shinji?"

Arcueid swayed under the bright moonlight, exuding an unusual beauty.

However, Shinji accompanying her had no time to appreciate her beauty, as it was imbued with a chilling killing intent.

"Yes, this is the place. But... do you have to go in now? The sun will rise in two hours. Let me gather some information first. What if I'm wrong?"

"No, you're not wrong."

Arcueid shook her head firmly.

"Although it's faint, I can sense Roa's presence here. Thank you for bringing me here. I know you're right, but I really can't wait any longer, not even for a minute."

"I shouldn't have told you the news in advance."

Shinji scratched his head and sighed. He had overestimated Arcueid's patience or underestimated her hatred for Roa.

Arcueid had a strong curiosity and was very persistent. She didn't listen to phrases like "you'll know when we get there." During the flight, she kept asking Shinji where he was taking her, changing her questions repeatedly. Unable to withstand her relentless questioning, Shinji told her that Roa's current reincarnation might be in the Tohno residence.

Upon hearing Roa's name, Arcueid changed entirely. She became unbearably cold, and her undisguised killing intent froze the air.

She urged Pegasus to accelerate, then accelerate again, and again, even leaving Pegasus' back to lighten its load. When Shinji's mana was insufficient, she directly carried him, flying to the Tohno residence, arriving two hours earlier than expected.

"Well, if you don't want to wait, then let's not wait. But before we go in, I need you to agree to three things."

"What are they?"

"First, only target Roa. Try not to affect anyone else."

"Second, if others are alerted, let me handle them. You focus on Roa."

"Third, and most importantly, no matter what Roa says, you must not kill him. I've already told you the reason—we can't give him the chance to reincarnate again."

Since he had shared information about Roa, Shinji also revealed the plan to end Roa's reincarnation with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. This was why Arcueid was standing here talking to him; otherwise, she would have already stormed in, causing havoc, just like when she destroyed a French town while killing Roa's seventeenth incarnation.

Seeing the worry and concern in Shinji's eyes, Arcueid finally nodded:

"Alright, I agree."

"Follow me. Let's find my friend first and see what she's discovered."

Shinji said, materializing Hades' cloak, and silently landed on a branch of a tree.

Recalling Touko's description and using the moonlight to find his bearings, they stealthily moved toward a small detached house on one side of the Western-style building.

Compared to the tall Western-style building nearby, the small house seemed inconspicuous and uninhabited. But Shinji knew this was the environment Touko preferred.

"Just as I thought. But the activated rune means she's resting."

A rune on the back of a rock outside the house confirmed Shinji's judgment—it was a defensive spell set by Touko, understandable only to fellow rune users like Shinji and Sakura.

"Waking her up won't be easy. We'll have to be a bit rough."

He gestured to Arcueid to wait, then approached the rock.

The moment he stepped over the rune, the spell hidden within the earth and connected to the leylines activated. Cursed magical projectiles shot out from the lawn, heading straight for him.

Shinji did not dodge or evade. Relying on the magic resistance granted by the Golden Apple, he ignored the impact of the magical projectiles and continued forward.

The second wave of attacks followed swiftly and was much harder to deal with.

The first wave was merely a warning, with the curses in the projectiles causing only dizziness. However, continuing forward would mark him as an enemy, triggering a lethal response.

Lightning runes lit up, and bolts of purple and gold electricity intertwined to form an electric net.

Shinji stretched out both hands, tracing two lightning runes to create a gap in the net through mutual cancellation. But before he could pass through, several ghostly shadows emerged around him.

The electric net was just a decoy, a diversion; the real killer move lay elsewhere.

Shinji frowned slightly but acted swiftly. He wielded the long-unused Divine GunBlade, slicing through the shadows, reducing the shadow apostles to pieces in an instant.

"I see, using lightning to cast shadows and summoning shadow apostles from those shadows… as expected of Touko, to devise such a technique. It seems Arcueid's impatience has its advantages. I'm even more curious about what the next wave will be."

No sooner had he spoken than the third wave arrived right on cue.

Shadows, countless shadows swayed. The swaying shadows coalesced into shadow apostles, which brought forth more shadows, summoning additional companions. In the blink of an eye, the lawn outside the house was filled with shadows, making it hard to discern reality from illusion.

"A grand spectacle, but—this won't be enough to stop me."

Activating reinforcement magic, Shinji's blade danced in a blur, and he charged like a tiger amongst sheep, slaughtering the summoned creatures en masse. Having grown accustomed to battling Servants and vampires, these summoned beings were no longer a threat to him. He didn't even need to use his Noble Phantasm; a mere magical blade sufficed to cut them all down.

However, as he continued fighting, he sensed something amiss.

The structure of the spell was indeed excellent, and its defensive effect was top-notch, but Touko was not someone who would be satisfied with merely achieving excellence, especially in the fields of familiars and puppets.

If it were her, she wouldn't be content with simply overwhelming an enemy with numbers. There had to be another trick.

What could it be?

As Shinji pondered, a figure different from the shadows appeared behind him, delivering a karate chop aimed at his neck.