Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

"There is a way to avoid fighting..."

"Really? How do I do that!"

"All we need to do is offer sacrifices to the beasts! I've seen it in the murals! As long as we offer a prepared 'shrine maiden' as a sacrifice, we can appease the gods' wrath! The village will be safe!"

"That's great, that's great!"

"That way, no one will die, and no one will be eaten!"

"That's right, let's prepare offerings for the beasts together!"

"Sacrificing just one can save so many! That's wonderful! That's wonderful!"

And so, Bavanshi was chosen by the fairies as a sacrifice.

Passed unanimously.

There's no particular reason.

She did nothing wrong, and even the villagers who disliked her thought she was very useful, both obedient and hardworking.

But if we have to choose a sacrificial offering from the village, then it can only be Bawanshi, right?

The fairies are somewhat wary of the witch, who has recently been getting very close to Bavanshi.

However, when the fairies went to inquire, the witch angrily declared, "She is not my attendant!"

Look!

Even the witch abandoned her!

As expected, this annoying person (Bawanshi) was born to become a sacrifice!

The most hated and worthless fairy, Bawanshi.

If sacrificing her alone can save the entire village, then what is "justice"?

By the time Shirou and Morgan arrived, Bavanshi had already been turned into a living sacrifice.

Since it was a sacrifice to wild animals, it was naturally cut into pieces that were easy to eat.

"..."

Shirou walked through the singing fairy procession and went straight to the altar.

Because she is a shrine maiden dedicated to the gods, she must maintain a perfectly beautiful face.

Shirou reached out and stroked Bawanshi's cheek.

In the end, the expression on the girl's face was not fear, anger, or despair, but a faint smile.

"A superfluous fairy like me can only serve this much purpose for others."

"If I work a little harder, everyone in the village will be happy... Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"

Even in her final moments before death, she held onto this thought.

"What a joke... what a joke! You bastard!"

The next instant, a fluorescent green light shot through Shirou's arms like an electric current, and his hands suddenly burst forth with pure white heat.

The dazzling firelight dominated the pitch-black night, and the red-haired boy's raised arm caused the earth to collapse and the atmosphere to boil.

The fairy's song was forcibly stopped, and its lowly life vanished along with it.

In the stillness of the night, where no calamity was about to strike, a roar from a boy from another world echoed.

"Conviction, Trace On —!!!!"

Volume 1, Chapter 90: Tokiomi Tohsaka's Deepest Regret

"Master...Master..."

"Master!!"

"……what."

Shirou responded absentmindedly, jolted awake from his distant memories of the Island of Twilight.

He subconsciously turned to look out the window and realized that it was getting dark and he was sitting on an unmanned bus that had stopped at the terminal station.

"Seriously, Master, what are you daydreaming about?"

Lady Avalon said quietly, "Cheer up! If the other Masters saw you like this, I'd be incredibly embarrassed."

"Shouldn't you be worried about my life before feeling ashamed?"

"Heh, I can hardly imagine what it would be like if Master were killed."

What kind of image do I have in your heart?

Shirou stepped off the bus and stretched out his arms wide.

Then, he gazed thoughtfully at the moon in the night sky and murmured something.

“Hey... Big Sister Avalon.”

"what?"

"Do you really exist?"

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about! Did this child bump his head while dozing off on the bus? Poor kid..."

"I was just thinking, nobody else knows you exist except me, right?"

Lady Avalon never revealed herself to anyone other than Shirou.

Even if she dissolves her spirit form, others... such as Fujimura Taiga, cannot see her existence.

According to Ms. Avalon, this is the highest level (A+) "illusion," and Shirou once accepted this setting.

But looking back now, is that really the case?

Is it really because she used "illusion magic" that others can't see her?

"That's because I have an unspeakable secret that I can't reveal, so I can't show myself..."

"Could it be that you're just a figment of my imagination?"

Shirou interrupted her and spoke his mind directly.

"Sister Avalon's appearance, her fragrance, and even the feel of her are all the same..."

All of this can be explained as electrical currents generated by the brain. So how can you prove that you actually exist?

"What are you talking about? How could I be fake? Have you forgotten who cast the enhancement spell on you?"

"Without them, could you do those things? Could you fight against Servants?"

Faced with the female magician's questioning, the red-haired boy looked at the void beside him and said...

"Because this is my dream, I can become as strong as I want."

"…………ah??"

While riding the bus just now, Shirou dreamt of scenes from the past.

The skies, the earth, the trees, the flowers, and my former companions of Britain, even the feel of the "Blade of Chaos" striking a fairy...

Everything felt so real.

When Shirou woke up, he realized a problem he had never thought of before.

When he first returned to this world, he used projection magic to confirm that his experience in the Fairy Kingdom was real and not a dream.

But, is there a mistake?

Let's flip the chessboard over.

Perhaps... this world (Fuyuki) is a "dream"?

Everything here.

Deep mountain town and new capital, Holy Grail War and Heroic Spirits... it might all be Shirou's fantasies before his death.

"..."

The female magician fell silent.

A few seconds later, she revealed her true form.

The stunning beauty, surrounded by vibrant, colorful flowers, is the very embodiment of the phrase "a dream come true." Who should be captivated by her?

However, the passersby who walked past Shirou were in a hurry, and none of them paid any attention to Lady Avalon.

Even though there were no other people here who knew about the Holy Grail War, Lady Avalon kept her promise to Shirou and only let Shirou see her.

"I am real, Master."

　Ms. Avalon rarely showed a serious expression.

"Master's perceptions and memories are all real..."

Just like how you trusted me even though I'm an extremely suspicious woman—

Follow your heart and believe in everything you believe.

"Yeah, that's true."

Shirou let out a long breath.

"Hehe, Master has figured it out? Your expression has changed a bit."

"No, it's just that I felt much better after expressing my doubts."

Lady Avalon sullenly re-spiritualized: "Tch... I thought I had convinced Master."

"You've convinced me... Even if the world ends, this kind of thing won't happen."

Shirou said, "Alright, let's stop hesitating now and prepare for battle again."

Now that we know the truth about the Holy Grail War, it's time to consider how to deal with it.

As expected, I cannot agree with Kiritsugu Emiya's ideals—

I don't want to sacrifice one person to save many others.

The image of the red-haired fairy being sacrificed flashed through the boy's mind, and he spoke solemnly.

"Whether it's Irisviel or 60 billion people, I want to save them all... Isn't that a bit greedy?"

Lady Avalon replied in a gentle voice, "It is indeed greedy, but that's what a Master would do."

Don't worry, no matter what hell lies ahead, I'll be there to the end this time.

"This time?"

"Please don't worry about the details... Master."

"Ah."

A large Japanese-style mansion appeared in front of Shirou, its size no less than that of the Amemiya residence.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is that a man and a young girl were standing at the entrance of the mansion.

The gentlemanly-looking man half-squatted down and reached out to stroke the hair of the little girl in front of him.

The young girl let the large hand stroke her head, but she didn't show any joy or happiness. Instead, she stared at the man with her dark, bright eyes.

There was not a trace of unease or confusion in her eyes, only boundless respect and trust.

Shirou was stunned by the father-daughter interaction between Tokiomi Tohsaka and Rin Tohsaka.

In his mind, Tokiomi Tohsaka was a cold-blooded magician who wouldn't invest too much emotion in his children, and a serious father who would never stroke his daughter's hair.

at this time--

Rin Tohsaka: "...Ah!!!"

Shirou: "..."