Did the Heroic Spirit I conquered become a reality?

A creaking, teeth-grinding sound came from its stiff, ceramic face.

Then, a voice, tinged with a hint of mockery and surprise, and sounding somewhat distorted by magic, came from its mouth: "How interesting. I never expected that there would be two magicians in such a small school."

Rin Tohsaka's pupils contracted sharply. She pulled her sister even tighter behind her and coldly demanded, "Who are you?!"

"Leave here first, then you can start investigating my identity," the person controlling the magic puppet replied in a languid voice.

As he spoke, the magical puppets around him, which had been somewhat sluggish, suddenly charged towards Rin Tohsaka as if they had received a command!

"elder sister!"

Seeing this, Sakura Tohsaka no longer hesitated.

A resolute glint flashed in her dark eyes, and a unique, eerie, and ominous magical power, belonging only to "imaginary numbers," emanated from her, transforming into several dark shadows that coiled around the attacking puppets.

However, no matter how skilled the two sisters were, they were still just immature magicians, while the number of magical puppets controlled by their opponent far exceeded their imagination.

Soon, they were forced to retreat step by step, and finally, back to back, they were surrounded in the center of the archery club.

"Sakura," Rin Tohsaka said urgently in a low voice, "I'll try my best to hold them off for a while. You find a chance to escape from here!"

"No way!" Sakura Tohsaka refused without even thinking. "I want to stay with my sister!"

"Heh... You really think you can escape from here?"

The hoarse laughter from behind the scenes rang out again, filled with undisguised contempt, "While he might be considered a somewhat talented magician, he's... nothing more—"

As soon as she finished speaking, Rin Tohsaka immediately threw out three gems. The gems drew dazzling trajectories in mid-air and crashed into the controlled magic doll.

boom!

With a loud bang, the magic puppet shattered.

"Does this treacherous little man, who only dares to hide in the back, really think he has any ability?"

Rin Tohsaka flicked her hand and snorted, "I can crush all these magic puppets into dust in no time!"

However, her words seemed to have thoroughly enraged the enemy.

"Is it?"

This time, the voices seemed to come from all directions, and the person behind the magic puppets sneered: "You can handle ten magic puppets, but what if... a hundred?!"

Before she finished speaking, under Rin Tohsaka's incredulous gaze, even more magical puppets emerged from all directions of the dojo, from the doorways, from the windows, and even from the shadows of the ceiling!

The densely packed, layered structure, with the creaking of wooden joints rubbing together and the crisp sounds of ceramics colliding, created a scene that sent chills down one's spine.

Two of the magic dolls appeared silently behind Rin Tohsaka, like ghosts!

"Sister, watch out!" Sakura Tohsaka's pupils suddenly contracted, and she instinctively cried out in alarm.

But... it was still too late.

She could only watch helplessly as the two magic puppets stretched out their hard, cold wooden arms and gripped her sister's shoulders tightly, rendering her unable to move.

"Is this the Tohsaka family's Jewel Magic? It seems... nothing special, except for dealing with some weak magicians."

The person behind the scenes spoke mockingly, and Rin Tohsaka's eyes were filled with boundless rage, but no matter how she struggled, she could not break free from the iron clamp-like restraints.

Sakura Tohsaka clenched her fists instinctively, her nails digging into her palms, her expression extremely conflicted.

As the magic doll reached out towards her sister, a certain power within her body was surging uncontrollably.

Just then, a magic doll in the distance was flung into the archery club as if its string had been broken.

boom!

Along with it, a bright red gemstone also fell.

"Who?!"

The person behind the scenes suddenly turned to look outside the door, and the magic puppets that were about to attack the Tohsaka sisters also stopped what they were doing.

Their stiff, ceramic heads slowly turned, their empty eye sockets "looking" at the small gem that had fallen into their center.

Immediately afterwards——

boom--! ! ! !

With a deafening roar, the seemingly insignificant gem exploded!

A terrifying torrent of magic swept through the entire dojo like a flood bursting its banks. The hard magic dolls were instantly blasted to pieces by this pure, unreasonable, and immense magical force!

"Sakura, Rin!"

Upon hearing the voice, the two sisters looked towards the door with great surprise and delight at almost the same time.

Amidst the aftershocks of the explosion and the billowing smoke, Tohsaka Yu finally arrived.

He stretched out his arms and pulled his two younger sisters into a tight embrace, then quickly retreated with them.

"Let's go to the rooftop first!"

Without a word, he picked up his two younger sisters, turned around, and rushed towards the rooftop.

Behind them, the surviving magic puppets, and those that re-emerged from the shadows, did not immediately give chase.

They stood silently in place, and suddenly an ominous, eerie red light shone from their empty eye sockets, like will-o'-the-wisps in the night, staring intently at their departing figures.

……

On the rooftop, a fierce wind, mixed with icy rain, lashed relentlessly at the three of them.

"Brother, what are you doing here?!" Rin Tohsaka asked anxiously, wiping the rain off her face.

Yu Tohsaka tilted the umbrella in her hand slightly over her two younger sisters' heads and explained, "I saw it was about to rain and was worried you didn't have umbrellas, so I came to check on you. I never expected... something like this would happen at school."

“Yes,” Rin Tohsaka frowned, her sapphire eyes filled with confusion and seriousness. “Logically speaking, the Holy Grail War hasn’t even officially started yet, and none of us are Masters, so why…why would the enemy specifically attack the school?”

“They might not be after us,” Yu Tohsaka said slowly, looking at the city that appeared somewhat blurry in the rain. “Perhaps… you just happen to be at school today.”

"Just right?" Rin Tohsaka's eyes flickered slightly, as if she had thought of something, but before she could ask further, she was surprised to find that the ominous blood-red magic barrier that had enveloped the entire campus was actually... slowly fading away.

"The enemy... retreated?" she said incredulously.

“Because the other party has already achieved their goal.” Tohsaka Yu’s voice was calm. “He wasn’t targeting us, nor anyone in the school; he simply needed ‘magic power.’ His decision to retreat is probably because he didn’t want to make too much of a fuss.”

He paused, his tone tinged with disdain: "However, relying on such a despicable method of absorbing the life force of ordinary people... this kind of mole that dies in the light should be quiet for a while after it is discovered."

The two sisters reacted differently upon hearing this.

Rin Tohsaka frowned slightly, lost in thought, seemingly analyzing the information in those words.

Sakura Tohsaka, on the other hand, silently and deeply lowered her head, her smooth black hair falling down, perfectly obscuring her expressionless and exquisite face.

I didn't do anything today, but I still got hit by an area-of-effect attack.

At that moment, Yu Tohsaka spoke up, breaking the brief silence: "Anyway, let's go back first."

……

Back at the Tohsaka family mansion, the hall was brightly lit.

After taking a bath and having dinner, the two sisters went back to their room to rest.

After all, what happened today has been a huge drain on their energy.

Yu Tohsaka sat alone on the sofa, holding a steaming cup of black tea, but her gaze was somewhat absent as she stared out the window at the dark courtyard shrouded in rain.

He was still thinking about everything that had happened at school today, and... whether that unknown enemy lurking in the shadows would make another move tonight.

Just then, a soft footstep sound came from the second-floor staircase.

Yu Tohsaka snapped out of her daze, looked up, and saw Rin Tohsaka wearing a pink silk nightgown, slowly walking down the stairs.

Her smooth black hair, which was always tied into neat pigtails, was now casually draped over her shoulders, making her look less arrogant and lively than usual, and more elegant and gentle, a unique quality that belonged to a young girl.

"Rin, do you feel unwell anywhere?" Yu Tohsaka asked with concern, looking at her slightly pale face.

"It's nothing." Rin Tohsaka shook her head gently and sat down next to him.

Yu Tohsaka looked at her profile, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right... wait a minute!"

After saying that, he got up and went into the kitchen.

After a while, under Rin Tohsaka's bewildered gaze, Yu Tohsaka emerged carrying a steaming cup of liquid that exuded a spicy and sweet aroma.

"Drink some ginger tea; it can help ward off the cold." He handed the cup of brown sugar ginger tea to Rin.

“…Thank you.” Rin Tohsaka said her thanks, holding the warm cup in both hands and taking small sips.

"Are you sure your injuries are alright?" Yu Tohsaka asked, still somewhat worried.

"I already said it's nothing... Even my father wouldn't do this."

Rin Tohsaka shook her head and muttered a complaint under her breath, but she felt a sense of joy at being cared for.

But soon, her sapphire-blue eyes turned to look with some concern at the room where Sakura Tohsaka was upstairs, filled with undisguised worry.

Seeing this, Tohsaka Yu couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke the girl's soft hair, just like when they were children.

“You’re one to criticize me, but you’re often too worried about things too.” His voice was gentle. “Sakura has grown up. Sometimes, you don’t have to do everything yourself.”

"That's just you talking without understanding the situation!"

To everyone's surprise, Rin Tohsaka frowned like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and retorted somewhat unhappily, "My father has often been away from home these past few years, and my mother's health has never been very good. I've been the one taking care of all the big and small things at home!"

Yu Tohsaka was taken aback and subconsciously looked at the girl, only to see a look of grievance in Rin Tohsaka's eyes for the first time in the past.

His heart softened, and after a moment of silence, he said softly in an extremely solemn tone, "It's alright, leave it to me from now on."

"At least... while I'm here, you can be a child without worry."

His gaze was incredibly serious as he said this.

Rin Tohsaka was somewhat lost in thought as she gazed at the pure gentleness and earnestness reflected in the boy's dark eyes.

After a while, she suddenly pouted and snorted, "I'm all grown up now, I can do it myself."

"I...I'm a little tired, I'll go upstairs to rest first."

After saying that, as if to escape the heart-pounding atmosphere, she got up and went upstairs.

Yu Tohsaka shook his head helplessly... Sometimes he really didn't know when Rin was being tsundere and when she was being honest.

Being arrogant and smug really does lead to exhaustion...

"correct……"

However, just as Rin Tohsaka stepped onto the stairs, she suddenly stopped.

Yu Tohsaka looked up at her in confusion.

Rin Tohsaka walked over in small steps, raised her slightly flushed face, and stared straight at him with her red eyes.

"What's wrong, Rin?" Yu Tohsaka asked instinctively.

Rin Tohsaka mustered her courage and lowered her voice, saying, "Although I can manage on my own, there are times when I want to rely on others."

While Tohsaka Yu was still in a daze, she said sweetly, "I'll have to trouble you then... brother."

After saying that, without giving Tohsaka Yu a chance to react, he turned around and quickly went upstairs.

Volume 1: Chapter 87 Sesshouin Kiara, All Sides Move (4K)

In Sakura Tohsaka's room.

The girl returned to her cozy and elegant room, lying quietly on the soft bed. Her dark eyes, which always carried a hint of timidity, were now staring blankly at the ceiling, her mind replaying the events of the night.

The brother's sudden return, the sister's heartfelt joy, and... the sudden, ominous, and malicious attack at school.

If only there were no Holy Grail War... For the first time, the girl had this thought.

Do you want to continue your operation tonight?

At that moment, the languid and alluring voice belonging to Kamana within her body gently resounded in her mind.

Sakura Tohsaka hesitated for a moment, but remained silent.

She suddenly felt that after what happened today, perhaps she should take a break.

However, Kama seemed to have seen through something, and chuckled dismissively: "I know what you're thinking, but I think that's precisely why we should act tonight. Right now, I doubt anyone would expect that anyone would dare to continue 'hunting' at a time like this, would they?"

"Moreover," her voice carried a hint of seductive persuasion, "you should absorb enough magic as soon as possible, so that I can better 'help' you later."

"Besides, tonight... is the official start of the Holy Grail War, and most Masters will be performing the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual. You can't possibly perform the Heroic Spirit summoning in your own home, in front of your brother and sister, can you?"