Did the Heroic Spirit I conquered become a reality?

Since the incident at Ryudoji Temple last night, she has felt extremely weak, both physically and mentally, as if something most important in her body had been forcibly stripped away.

"Still denying it?" Kama chuckled. "Little girl, you don't really think that your ability to easily control 'all the evil in this world' and even condense such a 'clone' was your own power, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Sakura Tohsaka's face drained of color instantly. She bit her lower lip tightly and remained silent.

“I may tell you the truth,” Kama said, her tone tinged with undisguised smugness. “If it weren’t for my shattered spirit foundation, depleted magic power, and the fact that I happened to meet you, a perfect ‘container’ with pure ‘imaginary’ attributes and a soul filled with so many…delicious ‘negative emotions’, I…would probably have already returned to nothingness.”

"It was you...it was you who had been using me all along?!" Sakura Tohsaka's voice trembled slightly with shock and a hint of incredulous anger.

She had always believed that the sudden surge of power within her was some kind of "awakening," but she never expected...

"Use? Little girl, you can't say that." Kama's tone remained languid. "We call this 'mutual benefit.' I temporarily take refuge in your body to recover my strength; and you... because of my existence, you've 'tasted' that power that allows you to despise everything, haven't you? That feeling of manipulating 'malice' at will, playing with people's hearts... isn't it wonderful?"

Sakura Tohsaka fell silent. She couldn't deny that during that brief period, she had indeed experienced an unprecedented, almost "omnipotent" illusion.

But that feeling also filled her with immense fear and... a sense of alienation.

“However,” Kama’s tone suddenly changed, carrying a hint of imperceptible solemnity and… deep apprehension, “little girl, you’d better hide me well now. Until you’ve recovered to a level where you can protect yourself, you absolutely cannot reveal my existence, and you must not let anyone know that I am now… ‘residing’ in your body.”

She paused, her voice becoming more serious: "Especially... we absolutely cannot let Tohsaka Yuu become aware of my presence."

Even now, when she recalls the feeling of facing Tiamat at Ryudong Temple, she still feels a deep sense of powerlessness.

That feeling... she never wants to experience it again.

"So... what are we going to do next?" Sakura Tohsaka asked softly to herself, her tone tinged with confusion and unease.

She could sense that although Kama was temporarily "residing" in her body, this mysterious and powerful being did not seem to have completely controlled her will. Instead, it seemed to be more like a... dangerous symbiosis?

"How to do it?"

Upon hearing Sakura Tohsaka's question, Kama suddenly let out a silvery, slightly mocking laugh. "It's simple... just get rid of all the Servants who are in the way during this Holy Grail War, and then devour their cores and souls... In this way, we might be able to 'nurture' a brand new 'Great Holy Grail' that belongs only to us."

She paused, a deep sense of dread in her voice: "Then... I can finally get my revenge on that damned woman!"

Although the power displayed by the mysterious familiar summoned by Caster at Ryudou Temple was indeed... overwhelmingly powerful, Kama felt that if she could become a truly complete Beast, possessing 'all the evil of this world' and the power of all Servants... it might not be impossible... to eliminate her!

By then... hehehehe...

Thinking of this, Kama's heart was filled with unprecedented anticipation and... a twisted pleasure.

……

"Cough...cough..."

The pervasive smoke and dust choked Yu Tohsaka, causing him to cough violently as he crawled out from the twisted and deformed steel and concrete and the burning debris.

In his arms, Ayaka Sajou seemed to have escaped serious injury thanks to his timely magical shield, though her pure white dress was stained with dust and her emerald green eyes held a rare hint of anger.

Not far away, Artoria, holding the Holy Lance, stood solemnly in front of Kenneth, who was also covered in dirt.

The monarch of the clock tower, whose handsome face, which always exuded elegance and composure, now appeared somewhat distorted due to extreme anger.

"Unforgivable... Absolutely unforgivable!"

Kenneth's voice trembled slightly with rage. Looking around at the completely destroyed presidential suite and the other floors of the hotel still burning and billowing smoke outside the window, he felt a surge of blood rush to his head.

Not long ago, he was boasting to his disciples about the impregnable magical barrier here, and bragging that no one could break the El-Melloi school's defensive spells.

As a result... the next second, his proud temporary workshop, along with everything he had carefully arranged, was blown to smithereens in the most brutal and direct way!

This was an outright provocation! It was the most vicious insult to Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald and to the entire El-Melloi family!

"Lancer!" Kenneth roared, "Find that damned attacker! Whoever it is, I'll make him pay the ultimate price!"

Artoria's emerald green eyes swept over the surrounding ruins, she nodded, and prepared to set off to investigate.

However, Yu Tohsaka stood up first.

In the midst of that violent explosion and shock, he keenly caught a faint, yet somewhat familiar, trace of magical remnant—it wasn't the Servant's powerful magic, but rather something more like... a precisely calculated and specially modified explosive device that combined modern technology and magic.

This method... involuntarily reminded him of someone.

"Teacher, Lancer, please keep an eye on Aika for me." After saying this, Yu Tohsaka didn't wait for Kenneth and Artoria to react before she shot off like an arrow, following the faint trace of magic.

He must identify the attackers as soon as possible, and... what their purpose is.

Passing through the smoke-filled corridors and avoiding the panicked hotel survivors and rescuers, Yu Tohsaka quickly tracked down to the rooftop of a relatively low abandoned commercial building adjacent to the Shinto Hotel.

He could feel that the familiar, lingering magical energy had finally vanished from this place.

Yu Tohsaka took a deep breath and pushed open the iron door leading to the rooftop.

The biting night wind carried the acrid smell of burning from a nearby hotel.

The rooftop was empty except for a few abandoned air conditioner units standing there forlornly, as if nothing had ever happened.

Have the attackers escaped?

Just as the thought flashed through Yu Tohsaka's mind, and he was about to carefully examine the surroundings for any clues, his gaze suddenly froze on a corner at the edge of the rooftop.

There, with her back to him, stood a petite figure.

Moonlight filtered through the clouds, dappling her body. She was a young girl dressed in an elegant kimono, with soft, short black hair. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and her figure was so slender that she seemed as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

Yu Tohsaka's heart skipped a beat, and an unbelievable, familiar yet strange feeling instantly surged into her heart.

Almost instinctively, he called out softly in a trembling and uncertain voice:

"Sakura...?"

Upon hearing his voice, the petite figure trembled slightly, and then... slowly turned around.

When Yu Tohsaka saw the girl's delicate yet pale face and her empty, emotionless black eyes, her mind went blank.

It really is Sakura... What's she doing here?

He was completely stunned, and before he could even comprehend the situation, Sakura Tohsaka suddenly moved.

She took a step forward, her bare, snow-white little feet stumbling and running towards Tohsaka Yu.

The next second, she threw herself into the boy's arms, her small arms tightly hugging his waist, burying her face deeply in his chest, as if she wanted to merge herself into his body.

Immediately afterward, a faint, trembling sob, filled with suppressed fear and helplessness, escaped from his embrace, barely audible:

"Brother... I've finally met you..."

Book 1: Chapter 70 Family Reunion

The petite body in his arms trembled slightly with fear, and Tohsaka Yu instinctively tightened his arms, holding the girl's small body tightly.

He used his own body to shield her from the cold night wind and the pervasive smoke of the ruins.

"It's alright...it's alright..." Tohsaka Yu's voice softened as he gently patted the girl's back, trying to soothe her emotions that were fluctuating wildly due to the shock.

"Brother...I...I saw a huge fire...and an explosion...I'm so scared..."

Sakura Tohsaka's voice was broken and intermittent, her body still trembling in his arms, and her fear seemed so real.

Just then, several figures quickly approached from the other side of the ruins.

“Caster!” Artoria, holding the Holy Lance, approached him with a solemn expression. When she saw the trembling little girl in his arms, a hint of surprise flashed in her emerald green eyes.

Kenneth walked over, his face ashen. He glanced at Sakura Tohsaka in Yu's arms, then at the surrounding ruins and the hotel building still billowing smoke in the distance. His voice was filled with suppressed rage: "Yu, have you found the attacker? And... who is this girl?"

“This is my sister.” Tohsaka Yu held Sakura even tighter in his arms, raised his head, and sharply scanned the surroundings. “As for the attacker… I only caught a trace of familiar magical remnants. It seems that the attacker was coming for us, but they were very cautious and fled immediately after the attack.”

As the two were talking, Aika Sajou and Morgan appeared silently not far away.

Sajō Aika still had that innocent and pure look, but when she saw the black-haired little girl clinging tightly to Tohsaka Yu's arms, a very subtle emotion, similar to "displeasure," flashed in the depths of her emerald green eyes.

Morgan, the fairy queen and Ruler, had her icy blue eyes, which always carried a sense of coldness and arrogance, narrow slightly the moment her gaze fell upon Sakura Tohsaka.

She could vaguely sense that the little girl seemed to emanate a strange aura that was subtly similar to the "all the evil in this world" that had been present in the core area of ​​Ryudou Temple the night before, yet it was perfectly concealed by some deeper power.

But that aura vanished in an instant, so quickly that she thought it was her imagination.

"Brother...who are they...?"

Sakura Tohsaka seemed to sense the unfamiliar presence around her, and somewhat fearfully lifted her head from Yu Tohsaka's arms, looking timidly at Kenneth and the others.

Her dark eyes were filled with the pure fear and unease of a child, showing no sign of anything amiss.

"Don't be afraid, they're not bad people," Yu Tohsaka quickly reassured her. He could feel that Sakura in his arms seemed even more nervous because of these unfamiliar and powerful auras.

"Anyway——"

Yu Tohsaka looked at everyone, her tone carrying an undeniable firmness: "It's not safe here. Whatever it is, let's leave first."

Because of the sudden explosion, no one had the leisure to sit down and analyze the situation. After confirming that Sakura was safe, the huge weight that had been hanging over Yuu Tohsaka's heart finally lifted.

“Sakura, 2 (two) 侕|I shirt another% Er$ I’ll take you back first.”

Yu Tohsaka spoke as gently as possible, taking her sister's cold little hand and quickly leading her away from this place of trouble.

The night breeze caressed the two of them, and the streets of Fuyuki City were unusually deserted after the chaos of the first night and the violent explosion just now.

"elder brother……"

Walking down the street, Sakura Tohsaka, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke timidly, her small hand tightening around Yu Tohsaka's hand, "Just now... those people... and that explosion... what exactly happened? I... why did I suddenly end up in a place like that?"

Her voice carried a sense of bewilderment and a barely perceptible fear, as if she had no memory of what had happened before.

Upon hearing this, Tohsaka Yu paused slightly in his steps.

Looking at his sister's pale face and her slightly widened black eyes, filled with tension, he felt a pang of pity. He knew that, given Sakura's personality, she would never willingly go to such a dangerous place.

"You really... don't remember anything?" Yu Tohsaka asked tentatively.

Sakura Tohsaka shook her head vigorously, her small face filled with confusion and lingering fear: "I don't remember... I just remember that a very dark shadow suddenly appeared in my room, and then... then I don't know anything. When I woke up again, I saw you..."

A shadowy figure? Tohsaka Yu frowned slightly. Could it be the work of a Servant or Master? What was their purpose? Were they trying to use Sakura to threaten Tokiomi, or...?

Seeing his sister's still-shaken expression, he ultimately didn't press her for more information. He simply gently ruffled her hair and said softly, "It's alright, it's all in the past. No matter what happens, I will protect you."

"Mmm..." Sakura Tohsaka gently rested her head on Yu Tohsaka's arm, her voice barely audible.

But from an angle that Yu couldn't see, a trace of extremely complex and incomprehensible guilt and unease flashed subtly deep within her lowered black eyes.

In her mind, Kamana's languid voice, tinged with a hint of mockery, rang out again: "Hehe... little girl, you're really putting on a convincing act. Even I, your older sister, almost believed you were a pitiful little girl who knew nothing and had been kidnapped by bad guys."

Sakura Tohsaka didn't respond, but simply buried her face even deeper.

……

Soon, the two arrived at the secluded villa where Rin Tohsaka and Aoi Tohsaka were temporarily staying.

However, just as Yu Tohsaka was about to push open the courtyard gate, his movements suddenly stopped.

He could clearly sense that inside the villa, besides Rin and Aoi Tohsaka's presence, there was another powerful magical energy fluctuation that he recognized as belonging to a high-ranking magician.

...Tokiomi Tohsaka?! What's he doing here?!

Just as Yu Tohsaka was filled with doubt and uncertainty, the villa door slowly opened from the inside out.

Tokiomi Tohsaka, dressed in an impeccably clean dark red suit, exuding elegance and composure, appeared at the door.

His usually thoughtful eyes showed a hint of surprise when he saw Tohsaka Yu outside the door and Sakura timidly tugging at his clothes, but he quickly regained his usual composure.

"Yu? And...Sakura?" Tokiomi Tohsaka's voice carried a barely perceptible fluctuation. "How come you...came back together?"

The head of the Tohsaka family was unaware that Tohsaka Yu was now in Caster's Servant form because he had deliberately concealed all his Servant aura. In addition, no one around him mentioned this to him. To Tohsaka Tokiomi, Tohsaka Yu was still the adopted son who went to study at the Clock Tower three years ago.

However, his sudden appearance, and... the scene of him with Sakura, still filled Tokiomi Tohsaka with doubt.

“Father.” Tohsaka Yu nodded slightly as a greeting, then turned to the side and pulled the somewhat nervous Sakura in front of him. “I just happened to run into Sakura outside. She seemed a little scared being alone, so I brought her back first.”

Tokiomi Tohsaka's gaze lingered on Sakura's slightly pale face for a moment, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Not long ago, after hearing the loud explosion from the New Capital Hotel and sensing the magical fluctuations of several powerful Servants, he became worried about the safety of his family. That's why he changed his original plan to go to the hotel to investigate and rushed back to the villa where his family was temporarily staying.

Upon returning, he discovered that Sakura wasn't in her room, which intensified his unease. Unexpectedly, it was Yu who brought her back.

“Sakura,” Tokiomi Tohsaka’s gaze turned to his daughter, who was timidly hiding behind Yu Tohsaka. Although he tried to soften his tone, it still carried a hint of undeniable sternness, “Where have you been all alone so late?”

Upon hearing this, Sakura Tohsaka involuntarily shrank back behind Yu Tohsaka. Her head was lowered, her short, dark hair obscuring her expression. In a voice barely audible, tinged with hesitation and timidity, she whispered, "I...I don't know...I think...I had a terrible dream..."

Her words were broken and disjointed, sounding like a little girl who had been awakened from a nightmare and was still unable to distinguish between reality and dreams.

Tokiomi Tohsaka frowned even deeper. He certainly didn't believe the explanation of "nightmares." But he could also see that Sakura's current state was indeed a bit off; that genuine fear and unease didn't seem to be feigned.

Just as Tokiomi Tohsaka was about to press for further information, Yu Tohsaka spoke up at the opportune moment, pulling Sakura even closer behind him: "Father, Sakura was indeed quite frightened tonight. I think... she may not really remember exactly what happened."

He paused, then continued, "Why don't we wait until she calms down before discussing anything? Right now, the most important thing is to let her get some rest."

Looking at Tohsaka Yu's protective posture, and then at Sakura's pale, bloodless face, and her trembling as she tightly gripped Tohsaka Yu's clothes, Tohsaka Tokiomi's doubts remained, but the worry that belonged to a father quietly surfaced in his heart.