You call this a projection?

”Sakura?

Sakura! Don’t scare me like this?!

How did it turn into this? It’s impossible... could it be...!?”

’Is it the Crest Worms!?’

On the other side, Tohsaka Rin, who was rushing over from the Matou residence, had a grim expression as she looked at the suddenly unconscious Matou Sakura. At this moment, she felt none of the joy from her recent successful raid on the Matou house to rescue Sakura.

Instead, all she felt was the worry that had surfaced when Emiya Shirou first told her the secrets regarding the Matou family—the same worry that had driven her to save Sakura even if it meant severing the alliance between the Tohsaka and Matou families, two of the Three Founding Families.

”Even though, according to Emiya-kun, that old worm of the Matou family was modifying and using Sakura as a Holy Grail...

Knowing he had those intentions, it was obvious he wouldn’t let us rescue Sakura so easily. But I didn’t expect the old worm’s retaliation to come this quickly...”

She forcibly pried open Sakura’s lips.

While Rin didn’t know the specific details of the Matou family’s magecraft, she wasn’t entirely sure why Sakura had collapsed. However, she figured it was likely due to magecraft, a curse, or something similar.

In that case...

Rin pulled a gem from her pocket and forced it into Sakura’s mouth, making her swallow it. While using her magical energy to stimulate the gem inside Sakura’s stomach—allowing it to act as a physical defense against external magecraft—she urgently asked Archer:

”Archer, haven’t you found him yet?

Where exactly is Emiya-kun right now? Is he at the Church, or Ryudou Temple?”

Of course, if Rin knew that Sakura’s current condition was actually related to Emiya Shirou, she probably wouldn’t be seeking his help in such a tone. That’s right—strictly speaking, Sakura’s sudden loss of consciousness had a great deal to do with Shirou.

However, things weren’t actually moving in a negative direction.

It happened when Shirou used the Stand ability of [Pseudo-Atum] to seize Matou Zouken’s soul and completely extract it from his insect familiars.

Not only at Ryudou Temple...

The body of Matou Zouken that Shirou held in his hand completely crumbled. This wasn’t the kind of crumbling where Zouken intended to transform into a swarm of insects to escape. Rather, with Zouken’s soul gone, he could no longer control his familiars, leading to their collapse and rampage.

The same applied to the Crest Worms inside Sakura’s body and the specific worm housing Zouken’s true essence. This was what triggered Sakura’s collapse from the shock.

Even though Shirou had taken precautions before deciding to act—for instance, as soon as Zouken’s soul was fully extracted by [Pseudo-Atum], he quickly inserted a mental command DISC from [Pseudo-Whitesnake] into the defenseless soul, forcing him to maintain control over the rampaging familiars and even order them to self-destruct—Rin and the others didn’t know that.

They only saw the devastation Sakura’s body suffered after the Crest Worms went wild.

It wasn’t just Rin, who was frantic with worry. Even Archer, who usually didn’t get along with Shirou, set aside his grievances at this moment.

Without a word, he activated his [Clairvoyance] to search Fuyuki City for Shirou to ask for help.

-

-

-

At the gates of Ryudou Temple

Was Shirou aware that a casual, unintentional move of his had caused Rin and the others to react as if facing a great enemy? He likely was. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have specifically projected [Pseudo-Whitesnake] as insurance.

However, just as Rin believed that finding Shirou would resolve Sakura’s situation, Shirou—having suppressed the rampage of the Crest Worms via [Pseudo-Whitesnake] and solved the most difficult issue—believed that Rin would handle Sakura’s brief discomfort.

Therefore, having anticipated that the insect familiars and Crest Worms would riot the moment Zouken’s soul was taken, Shirou did not pass up the opportunity to kill him. Afterward, he didn’t feel the urgent need to find the others as Rin did.

Instead, after dealing with Matou Zouken, he turned to look at Assassin, who was standing by the wooden gate of Ryudou Temple, also watching him.

”Splendid.”

Without attacking or letting the silence linger, Assassin was the first to speak in admiration. ”Though my Master is a cunning vixen... her... well, to use the new knowledge acquired in my brain, her level of ’Magecraft’ is something even I must admire.

Yet even she suffered a loss at the hands of that heretic. A bizarre magecraft that almost ensnared even me was easily solved by you. That was truly a remarkable strike, though I confess I have no idea how you accomplished it.”

After his praise, Assassin spoke truthfully. Perhaps in the world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, with Assassin’s level of swordsmanship, his skills would have evolved into a Stand, making him a Stand User.

Unfortunately, the Nasuverse does not support the ”outsider” setting of Stands. Shirou only possessed one because he used Projection Magecraft to ”package” the foreign concept of a Stand into something native to the world.

Consequently, all Assassin could perceive—through his powerful intuition and the mental state of Knowledge of the Respect and Harmony—was a slight disturbance in the airflow. He vaguely sensed that there was something akin to an invisible man standing beside Shirou.

”In any other circumstance, I would never draw my blade against a benefactor who essentially saved my life. But alas, that vixen’s command was for me to guard this place.”

Apologizing even as he spoke, he gripped his sword with both hands and stood firmly in Shirou’s path.

With a hint of helplessness mixed with genuine excitement, Assassin said:

”And as luck would have it, I happen to be quite fond of a challenge.”

Read ahead (100 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting