Kiritsugu carried Emiya on his back, and Archer carried Rin in his arms as they shot across the sky.
Not far from them, Rider and Saber were jumping off the buildings as well.
In the sky, Black and Medea were flying next to each other.
Together, they reached the location mentioned in the news, landing on top of a tall building.
And the moment they landed, a darkness swept across the entire city, lights going out one by one.
"… It's here…" Black said, narrowing his eyes as the surroundings darkened. "… Follow the plan. Medea, do it."
It had taken some time to reach here, coming up with a viable plan on the route.
As Black called her out, Caster vanished in a mass of purple butterflies.
On the other side, Rin nodded at Archer, making him take the higher ground as well. Assassin had already disappeared, leaving Shirou next to his Master.
Saber and Rider positioned themselves in front of the three Masters, then.
"Where's Berserker?!" Rin asked as Archer told her he couldn't sense it.
Black looked at Rin. "He will be here if needed…"
"What's that supposed to…"
Rin couldn't finish her question.
Something flickered in her vision; in all their visions.
It seemed to have started miles away. A glitch. Blinking in and out of existence.
With a flicker, it crossed half the distance between them. With another, it appeared even farther from before.
Then, as if distance meant nothing to it, it was there — right in front of them.
Gliding low over the ground, almost slithering, it was a figure, clad in a red-black striped dress. Even the top of its head was covered. Like a veil, showing no hint of skin.
But everyone here, from Masters to Servants, had faced Dark Sakura before. Even if they couldn't see its face, the Evil it carried in its surroundings couldn't be any more real.
The Shadow was here.
"Caster!" Black shouted.
The space hummed.
Buildings cracked as shards of mirror replaced reality.
In an instant, a vast Bounded Field manifested, covering a field the size of several football fields.
Given the size, it was much weaker, too.
It would take one attack for Dark Sakura to tear it down from the inside… only if she got the chance…
Boooooooom!
Saber and Rider shot toward The Shadow from opposite directions.
The invisible sword in Saber's hands hummed, letting out strong gusts of magical wind. Two chained needles manifested in Rider's hands as well, the mask on her face coming off, tiny purple electric bolts rumbling in her surroundings.
Rin took out a handful of black-colored jewels and threw them toward The Shadow, chanting a spell.
In the very next moment, the jewels enlarged before falling on the target, pinning it down.
Simultaneously, Rider's Mystic Eyes of Petrification landed on it as well, making a stony texture appear on both The Shadow and the jewels pinning it down.
And then Saber and Rider attacked.
Cr… Crack!
Dozens of red and black strips came exploding out of the petrified jewels, parrying Saber and Rider's blows.
The power behind those strips was so much that it threw the two Servants off their balance, both skidding back hundreds of meters.
And, before either of Saber or Rider could even move, the red and black strips were upon them, defying all logic of speed and teleportation.
Both Saber and Rider had lost their evil halves.
However, as they were Servants, The Root had refilled the lost parts, making them a touch stronger than their original selves.
So, unlike Enkidu, Archer, and Assassin, who were special Heroic Spirits, if The Shadow merely touched them, it would still corrupt Saber and Rider.
Time seemed to pause in their surroundings.
There were just too many of those red-black strips… They were just too fast… Even the likes of Archer wouldn't be able to shoot down every one of them. Not in time.
However, just as The Shadow was about to touch the two Heroic Spirits, they paused.
There was a distinct hum in the air, the red-black strips shaking with such a vibration that they looked like a blur.
The Shadow hadn't paused willingly.
Something was keeping the ridiculous existence from even moving…
"… Ahhhhhh!" Black let out a low shout, facing his palms toward Saber and Rider, holding onto The Shadow's hands with his Telekinesis. The corners of his eyes had already split apart. His teeth were grinding on each other, a chattering sound resonating with his shaking body.
"… GO!" Black cried.
"Trace…" Shirou blurred like a missile shooting across space, mere inches over the earth. "… On!!"
Cyan colored bolts of electricity danced in Shirou's hands as Kanshou and Bakuya, Archer's twin swords, materialized in his left and right hands.
Simultaneously, hundreds of red-colored arrows rained down, landing on the tips of the red-black strips, which were still hung midair under Black's hold.
Then, raising the dual swords high and putting his back into it, Shirou hacked.
Squelch!
The blow never landed.
The swords couldn't even nick The Shadow.
A sphere of bobbling blackness had appeared between it and Shirou, a long spike running through his stomach, skewering him like a piece of meat.
"SHIROU!!!" Rin and Saber shouted together.
Assassin suddenly appeared behind Shirou and pulled him back, firing a bullet toward The Shadow with a bang.
However, before the bullet could even reach it, despite being less than a foot away, it disappeared into another blob of blackness.
And, seeing this, a chill ran down everyone's spines.
Because The Shadow they had fought a few days ago… hadn't been capable of countering Assassin's attack at all.
Not to mention, because of the separation of original Sakura from Dark Sakura, The Shadow could only access the Imaginary Space and couldn't use the Hollow Element to attack.
That's what had given them the confidence to attack it, to begin with.
Because, even if Archer and Assassin didn't fear The Shadow's touch…
… if it could use the Hollow Element, then they could still die here!
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