Did the Heroic Spirit I conquered become a reality?

She raised her head, and a hint of determination flashed in her dark eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, she turned and left the empty room that made her feel uneasy.

Upon arriving at the lobby on the first floor, the tall figure clad in a purple tight-fitting combat suit, exuding an overwhelming queenly aura, was already waiting there silently, like the most loyal shadow.

"Oh? Judging from your expression, are you ready to go into battle, Master?" Lancer looked at the girl's pretty face, which was full of determination, and a hint of approval flashed in his wine-red eyes.

Sakura Tohsaka didn't answer, but simply raised her head, her dark eyes fixed on her Servant, and said, word by word, "Lancer, I've found... an opponent worthy of your attention."

"Oh?" Lancer's smile deepened upon hearing this. The desire for a powerful opponent that belonged to the Queen of the Shadow Kingdom made her aura sharpen. "Tell me about it. I hope... it's not some trivial nobody."

"The person I know is perhaps no less capable than you," Sakura Tohsaka said calmly, yet with an undeniable certainty.

"Hehe...very good."

Lancer's face broke into a captivating smile, brimming with anticipation and fighting spirit. "Then let's set off, Master. I hope you're not lying to me, otherwise... the consequences could be severe."

Sakura Tohsaka didn't answer. She simply closed her eyes and used her vast sensory network, like the most sophisticated radar, to spread and search every corner of Fuyuki City.

Soon, she caught the magical aura that she knew so well, the aura that belonged only to her brother.

It's still there after all...

Sakura Tohsaka suddenly opened her eyes, her dark pupils fixed on a certain direction in the new district.

……

The new town area of ​​Fuyuki City was unusually quiet on a rainy night.

Sakura Tohsaka, holding an umbrella, walked briskly through the streets, which were illuminated by neon lights, alongside the spirit-like Lancer.

Her vast sensory network, like the most precise radar, firmly locked onto that incredibly familiar magical aura belonging to her brother.

Getting closer...

She could sense that her brother's presence finally lingered at the entrance of a rather upscale-looking jazz bar located on a street corner.

Sakura Tohsaka paused slightly, a hint of coldness flashing imperceptibly in her dark eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, she pushed open the bar's heavy, intricately carved oak door.

Inside the bar, the lighting was dim, and the air was filled with a unique aroma that blended the rich scent of liquor with the subtle smell of cigar tobacco.

The melodious jazz music flowed slowly from the old-fashioned record player, adding a touch of languid and ambiguous atmosphere to the space.

Yuu Tohsaka was sitting in a relatively quiet corner in front of the bar. He didn't order any drinks, just a glass of iced water.

Beside him, Sesshouin Kiara was gracefully swirling the wine glass in her hand, the scarlet liquid inside resembling flowing rubies, radiating an alluring luster.

"Speaking of which, I don't even know your name yet?" Sesshouin Kiara looked at him, her eyes, which always held a gentle, compassionate quality, now seemed to see right through him. "Could you tell me?"

“Merry,” he answered calmly.

“Merry…?” Sesshouin Kiara softly repeated the name, her smile growing even gentler. “What a beautiful name. Well then, Merry-kun, that 'friend' you couldn’t find must be very important to you, right?”

Her words were soft, yet like an invisible, poison-coated needle, trying to probe the deepest secrets of his heart.

Yu Tohsaka calmly took a sip of ice water, her expression remaining serene.

He was about to speak when—

Squeak.

The bar door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

A petite figure, yet exuding a cold and resolute aura that was completely at odds with her delicate appearance, appeared at the doorway.

Tohsaka Sakura.

She held up her umbrella, raindrops dripping from her hair. Her dark eyes, which always carried a hint of timidity, were now like the sharpest blades, fixed intently on the woman at the bar who was chatting happily with her brother and exuded an aura that she loathed.

Almost the instant he saw the girl, Sesshouin Kihara narrowed his eyes, a hint of amusement in them.

How did this child end up here?

"Sakura?"

Soon, Tohsaka Yuna's voice, tinged with surprise and worry, pulled Sesshouin Kiara back to reality from her thoughts.

He spoke instinctively, quickly walked to the door, pulled his sister to his side, shielded her from the cold wind blowing in from outside, and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here?"

At the same time, he was filled with vigilance and unease.

You must understand that Sesshouin Kiara is a Beast, a terrifying being worthy of being called "human evil." If someone of her level were to clash with him here... the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Because it’s so late and you’re not home…” Sakura Tohsaka looked up, her dark eyes filled with just the right amount of worry and grievance, “So… I was a little worried, so I came out to look for you.”

Upon hearing this, Tohsaka Yu's heart softened, and he was about to say something to comfort his sister.

But just then, Sesshouin Kiara's gentle, smiling voice rang out from beside the bar: "Oh, so you two know each other?"

She paused, as if remembering something, and continued in a sweet and innocent tone, "Speaking of which, I think I saw this little girl around here just now."

Yu Tohsaka's body stiffened abruptly. Almost instinctively, he turned his head and looked at his sister beside him with an incredulous gaze.

How could Sakura possibly be on this street?

He was filled with immense confusion.

The Tohsaka family mansion is located in a traditional residential area full of historical significance on the other side of Fuyuki City.

This is the new urban area, a chaotic entertainment district filled with alcohol and desire.

There is a considerable distance between the two.

Moreover, Rin and Sakura are both excellent students, the pride of the Tohsaka family. How could she possibly come to a place like this alone in the middle of the night?

However, before he could speak, Sakura Tohsaka's voice, trembling and choked with sobs, filled with grievance, rang out first.

"Big sister, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?" She raised her large, dark eyes, which seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment, and looked timidly at Sesshouin Kihara. "I... I've only been here a short time..."

Looking at her pitiful appearance, Sesshouin Kihara's gentle smile deepened. She gently shook her head and said softly in an apologetic tone, "Is that so? Then maybe... I really am seeing things."

“After all,” she paused, then changed the subject, her gentle tone carrying a chilling, all-knowing depth, “how could such a lovely girl be alone so late, in that dark, damp alley, fiddling with such a… ‘dangerous’ magical barrier?”

An alleyway...a dangerous magical barrier...?

Tohsaka Yu suddenly raised her head and stared intently at Sesshouin Kiara's face, which always carried a gentle smile. The doubts that had just been forcibly suppressed in her heart exploded like dry tinder thrown into a spark!

Last night, he discovered the eerie magic barrier that was draining the life force of ordinary people in an alley in the new city!

...She really did know something!

Is she lying, deliberately using this method to mislead and provoke? Or...?

His gaze involuntarily fell on his younger sister.

Sakura Tohsaka lowered her eyes slightly at some point, her beautiful eyes containing a hint of darkness.

That annoying woman...

She never expected to run into Sesshouin Kiara in a place like this.

And... it just so happens that Sesshouin was talking to her brother.

Inside this small bar, as the atmosphere grew increasingly stagnant and oppressive due to the silent confrontation and mistrust—

A melodious female voice, filled with an overwhelming queenly aura and tinged with a hint of languor and fighting spirit, suddenly rang out behind Sakura Tohsaka.

"Master, it seems this 'nun' harbors considerable ill will towards you. Should I... eliminate this trouble for you now?"

As the voices spoke, Lancer, dressed in a purple tight-fitting combat suit, had quietly reverted to his spirit form and appeared in everyone's sight.

Her alluring, wine-red eyes were now scrutinizing Sesshouin Kiara by the bar with great interest, her gaze like that of a master hunter examining its prey.

Upon seeing the purple figure, Tohsaka Yu almost instinctively froze for a moment.

...Scáthach?!

At this moment, Tohsaka Yu was filled with surprise and astonishment.

The surprise is that in this Holy Grail War, Lancer will be Scáthach.

To everyone's surprise, Sakura had ultimately decided to participate in this damned Holy Grail War.

Moreover... the Servant she summoned was actually the Queen of the Land of Shadows.

Sesshouin toyed with the sake cup in her hand, seemingly unaware of Scáthach's battle-ready gaze, and said leisurely, "It seems that your sister and her Servant are not very welcoming to me."

"They didn't do anything at all."

As she finished speaking, her gaze inadvertently drifted to Tohsaka Yu, and she slightly pursed her alluring red lips.

Despite the dim light, Sakura Tohsaka could still see this scene clearly.

At this moment, a feeling called 'jealousy' filled her heart, and her gaze towards Sesshouin became colder.

Behind her, Lancer also took a step forward, his magical power seemingly about to erupt.

However, at that moment, Yu Tohsaka stood up at just the right time and said, "Wait, Lancer!"

He stepped forward, standing between Scáthach and Sesshouin Kiara, and said urgently, "This is the city center. Fighting here will drag ordinary people into it!"

Then he turned his gaze to his younger sister behind him and lowered his voice: "Sakura, calm your Servant down first."

Sakura Tohsaka glanced silently at the boy, then her gaze lingered for a moment on the battle-ready Lancer beside her before she finally spoke softly, "Lancer... wait a minute."

Upon hearing this, Scáthach, though somewhat reluctant, restrained her murderous aura. However, her beautiful wine-red eyes still scanned Tohsaka Yu and Sesshouin Kiara with vigilance and scrutiny.

Seeing this, Sesshouin Kiara smiled sweetly and said, "Fine, since you dislike me so much, I won't bother you all tonight."

As she spoke, she looked at Tohsaka Yu with a smile and said in a charming voice, "See you next time, Merry-kun."

Merry...?

Sakura Tohsaka paused slightly, glancing at Sesshouin with a puzzled look.

At that moment, Yu Tohsaka stood up and said, "Sakura, let's go back first."

After saying that, he grabbed his sister's cold little hand without saying another word and walked towards the bar's door without looking back.

Sesshouin Kiara simply smiled, watching their departing figures, then slowly picked up the wine glass on the table and drank the scarlet liquid in it in one gulp.

What a feast that's getting more and more delicious!

She stuck out her pink tongue and gently licked her full red lips, her eyes sparkling with an indescribable, "demon bodhisattva-like" joy.

……

After leaving the bar, the two remained silent for the rest of the way, with only the cold rain and silence spreading between them.

Scáthach had already understood and quietly disappeared, leaving this private space to the brother and sister with their delicate relationship.

"elder brother……"

Finally, it was Sakura Tohsaka who broke the suffocating silence first.

She stopped and looked up, her dark eyes, in the dim light, carrying a complex emotion that was hard to detect. "Are you... going to blame me for joining the Holy Grail War without saying a word?"

Yu Tohsaka paused for a moment.

He looked at his sister's pretty face, slightly pale from the rain, and finally sighed softly, shaking his head: "You've grown up now, and it's your right to participate in the Holy Grail War... However, it's not child's play, so I hope you can think it through."

"Ultimately," he looked into her eyes and asked earnestly, "what wish do you have that can only be fulfilled by participating in the Holy Grail War?"

Upon hearing this, Sakura Tohsaka simply lowered her eyes silently and did not reply.

The two remained silent throughout the journey.

Before she knew it, she had returned home. Sakura Tohsaka's thin loungewear was completely soaked by the rain, clinging tightly to her skin and perfectly outlining her overly mature and breathtakingly curvaceous figure.

"Go take a shower quickly, don't catch a cold."

Yu Tohsaka immediately took a clean towel from the bathroom and handed it to her.

Since returning, he has not brought up anything about the Holy Grail War, or even what just happened.

Sakura Tohsaka pursed her lips slightly, looking at him with a complicated expression.

Just as Yuto Tohsaka turned to go to the living room to rest, a soft and warm body suddenly hugged him tightly from behind.

For a fleeting moment, his body stiffened.

Then he slowly turned around and looked behind him.

Sakura Tohsaka pressed her cheek tightly against his chest, but her small, fair hands clung tightly to his waist, as if afraid he would suddenly disappear.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet, with only the pattering rain outside tapping against the window.