Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Irisviel said with a serious expression.

The silver-haired android sensed the pulse in its magic circuits—an alarm signal that the forest barrier had been triggered.

Having received the warning, the two quickly switched to combat mode, but everything happened too suddenly.

Caster, the invader of the forest, is not alone; he is followed by dozens of children.

These children were a class of elementary school students he encountered by chance on his way to Einzbern, whom he brought over using suggestive magic.

Irisviel had no time to go out and deal with the situation, and she didn't know if it was a trap, so she could only observe through the magic of farsight for the time being.

They had assumed the children were Caster's hostages.

Clearly, they couldn't understand the madman's thinking.

As soon as they entered the forest, Caster declared that he would dedicate these lovely children to Joan of Arc.

"It's nothing really, just a simple little game—please allow me to use a small corner of your esteemed residence."

Seeing him happily break the hypnosis on the children, Saber felt a chill run down her spine.

"Come on, children, let's start the game of hide-and-seek!"

"The rules are simple: just get away from me as much as possible, otherwise—"

Caster approached one of the red-haired elementary school boys with a gentle smile.

"stop!!!!"

Saber shouted out.

Then, just as she had predicted, happened.

Blood sprayed into the air, tracing an elegant parabola, but—

It wasn't the elementary school boy's brains and eyeballs that flew off, but Caster's arm.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Caster clutched his bleeding severed limb and kept backing away.

The children screamed pitifully and ran in all directions.

As for the red-haired elementary school student whose head Caster had just stroked, two blades connected by chains appeared in his hands.

……

……

Shirou's encounter with Caster was purely accidental; his original plan for the night was to travel to Einzbern Castle.

"What? Master, you're going to see Saber? Me too! Me too!"

Ms. Avalon happily followed.

On the way, Shirou encountered Caster, who was dressed as a dark magician, and was so surprised that he couldn't speak.

Caster had stopped a school bus and used a suggestive magic trick to control the driver, and Shirou joined the bus at that moment.

Although it is important to go to Einzbern to confirm "something".

However, after learning about Caster's evil deeds, Shirou could no longer contain himself.

Looking back now, I realize I really do have a connection with the Caster group.

Shirou felt that Ryunosuke Uryu was the one who had planted the "cause," and that he had to take responsibility for the "effect."

This is one aspect; the other is "personal grudges"—

We all rely on affinity to find our soulmates, so how come you guys manage to find yours?!

Ms. Avalon: Hehe~☆

With both old and new grudges combined, Shirou decides to make them leave the stage tonight.

Caster may seem mad, but he is actually extremely wary, and the magic book in his hand is always active with defensive spells.

Furthermore, since this area is still within the city limits, Shirou can only remain inactive for the time being and continue to wait for an opportunity.

As a result, the school bus drove all the way towards the Einzbern Forest.

After entering the forest pretending to be hypnotized, Shirou sensed that Caster had activated a new spell, and he immediately realized that this dark magician was planning a human sacrifice.

Then came the scene just now.

Just as Caster walked up to Shirou, intending to crush the boy's head, Shirou seized the opportunity and slashed off his right arm.

What's going on...?

Saber is in a state of chaos.

Why could that red-haired boy injure the Servant?

Is this Caster's performance to lure us into the past? Or is it a trap?

Just as she was at a loss, Irisviel suddenly stood up.

"Saber, let's go."

"...?"

Irisviel exuded a fierce aura.

This was the first time Saber had seen her Master so serious and resolute... a sense of justice? But that didn't quite seem right.

Even during the battle of Warehouse Street, she wasn't as spirited as she is now.

Irisviel stared at the red-haired boy in the telescopic magic, clenching her small fists:

Wait for me, Shinji-kun...

Mom... your sister is coming to save you right now!!

------------

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Volume 1, Chapter 55: What are you, Arthur?

"Hey, get ready to work, Ms. Avalon!"

"The enhancement magic has already been applied! Fight with all your might, Master!"

After a brief exchange, Shirou felt a surge of power instantly flow into his body and limbs.

He didn't stop for a moment, rushing towards the retreating Caster.

Caster had previously absorbed a massive amount of magic power, almost equivalent to Saber's, without restraint through the Soul Absorption Barrier. If a tug-of-war were to break out, he would have no chance of winning.

However, just as Shirou was rushing toward Caster, the ground suddenly glowed and a large number of monsters surged out. Several tentacles wrapped around Shirou's feet and threw him into the sky.

"Tsk!"

Shirou cleanly severed the tentacle with a single slash, landed steadily, and when he looked up, he was surrounded by tentacle monsters covered in teeth and suckers.

Dozens of anemone-like monsters, waving their terrifying tentacles, surrounded the red-haired boy.

That wasn't the worst of it; what was worse was that the children who were fleeing in all directions were also attacked by monsters, and cries and screams echoed throughout the forest.

"Oh no, Master! This is a spell that can turn the victims into monsters! Let's retreat with the children!"

With no other option, Shirou had to abandon his plan to kill Caster and instead cover the retreat of the other children.

"Goooooo... You! What's wrong with you, you brat! I'm going to kill you!!!"

Caster yelled hysterically at Shirou.

Shirou ignored them and simply fought his way through the monsters, leading the children away from the forest.

Although he had done everything in his power to rescue the vast majority of the children in the class, several of them were seriously injured along the way because they ran around aimlessly.

"I'm never doing this again. Taking care of a child is even harder than the massacre at Darlington," Shirou thought to himself.

……

……

Saber carried Irisviel into the forest and covered five kilometers in just two minutes to reach the scene of the incident.

Then, they were greeted by a ground littered with the remains of monsters, all the work of a mere elementary school student.

The forest looked as if it had just been rained blood; the land was stained purplish-red by the monster's bodily fluids.

The scene was chaotic and I had no idea what had happened. Did Shinji escape unharmed?

Irisviel thought uneasily.

"Welcome, Joan of Arc. I have been waiting for you here for a long time."

Caster has already healed his arm.

As if his earlier lapse in composure had never happened, he greeted the Silver Knight with great joy.

"Although there was a minor mishap, it's nothing serious."

I hope you won't be discouraged, I've also prepared a second plan for you..."

Saber didn't want to hear another word of this man's nonsense.

The earth cracked, and the girl flew out like a cannonball, instantly closing the distance by more than ten meters by using "magic release".

However, at that moment, the monster flesh chunks on the ground around them suddenly began to stir.

Of course, that also includes the corpses at the Master's feet.

Saber possesses an "intuition" that is almost like predicting the future. Sensing that something was wrong, she immediately turned back to her Master.

As expected, the monster corpses transformed into new tentacles once again.

In the blink of an eye, the forest transformed into a paradise of otherworldly tentacles, their numbers now more than ten times greater than before.

"Irisviel!"

Saber yelled and charged toward her Master, but tentacles quickly climbed onto her armor as well.

Suction cup tentacles, thicker than the girl's wrist, tightly bound her hands and feet.

Nevertheless, the Sword Knight remained calm and composed.

"That's all there is to it!"

In the instant she was completely enveloped by the monsters, Saber's petite body suddenly erupted with a terrifying surge of magical power.

The tentacles exploded, turning into tiny pieces of flesh that scattered in all directions. Even the slime clinging to the armor was shaken away completely, and the silver armor regained its flawless luster.

There was no need to even swing a sword; the girl blew away and burned the evil monster with a single breath (release of magic).

That majestic posture was like the strongest fantasy of the Age of Gods, which had already vanished from the earth's surface—

It can only be a dragon.

"Oh, Joan of Arc! Even the gods are insignificant before your valor!"

Upon seeing this, Caster became even more ecstatic, dancing wildly with exaggeratedly outstretched arms and shouting the name of the Holy Virgin.

The monsters, taking his call as a signal, surged toward Saber like a tidal wave.

Although Saber easily blew away the attacking tentacles, the endless stream of monsters still blocked the path between her and her Master.

"What do you think, Joan of Arc?"

Caster said excitedly.

"This magic book left behind by my comrade Prellati taught me the magic to command a legion of monsters. No army that has ever been assembled in Orleans has ever been as magnificent as this one."

Saber did not answer, but silently slashed down the monsters that pounced on her and headed towards her Master's location.

Because the Master and the monsters were so close, Saber couldn't use her prized Star Sword to sweep away the enemies in one fell swoop, and could only kill them one by one in a methodical manner.

On the other side, Irisviel did not surrender to the tentacles. She retaliated with the alchemy of the Einzbern family and eliminated many monsters.

However, the number is simply too large.

Irisviel is undoubtedly the strongest Master, but that conclusion is only drawn from the perspective of mana supply.

She was overwhelmed by the horde of monsters that surged towards her like a tidal wave—