Crackle!!
A streak of blazing lightning tore across the skies above Trifas like a meteor. When it passed a certain point—
The bolt suddenly accelerated, bursting with a shockwave that rattled the air, before diving straight down to the ground!
BOOM!
With a heavy crash, the impact of Electro sent dirt flying, shockwaves rippling outward. Dust and gravel whirled in every direction.
The blast drew the eyes of nearly every civilian nearby. All turned toward the center of the street, where violet lightning crackled in a crater like the mark of a fallen star.
Some daring souls even tried to approach for a closer look… but the next instant, another surge of thunder erupted!
BZZZT~!
"Waaah!!" ×N
The sudden burst sent them scrambling backward, nearly falling onto their rears. Those who had tried to draw near now fled on all fours, crawling away in fright.
Gradually, the dense violet particles of lightning began to gather, forming a slender and beautiful silhouette. From right to left, her face and figure took shape, until at last all the crackling energy converged into the body of one woman. The ground bore only the charred scar of impact.
The onlookers stiffened, then scattered in terror. Within half a minute, the streets were deserted, save for the occasional chirping of sparrows and the whisper of the wind.
The Shogun, now fully materialized, paid no heed to the fleeing humans. She strode a few steps forward, her violet eyes sweeping the surroundings carefully.
Dusk had already fallen… Night would soon arrive. From atop the power lines, crows cawed incessantly, as though to deepen the twilight mood. She lifted her gaze toward a tall building in the distance.
A figure stood atop it—Chiron, bow at the ready. Feeling her eyes upon him, he nodded in acknowledgment.
And he wasn't the only one. Jeanne was here too, approaching from another path. Rider circled high above, scouting the skies.
From the moment Jack the Ripper had attacked Fiore, her fate had been sealed. She would be eliminated. Leaving her alive would mean endless danger.
Buzz~
The Shogun opened her Elemental Sight. Pale violet hues covered all of Trifas, pulsing outward like sonar.
On the ground, faint glowing trails appeared—bloodstains.
Assassin had passed this way, wounded. But strangely, the blood trail stopped abruptly. Ahead lay the open street, with not a trace in the alleys either.
"..."
The Shogun lowered her gaze in thought, then flashed away in lightning to the roof of a nearby house. Taking a few steps, she soon found more drops of blood.
So—that was it. To hide her tracks, Jack had chosen more secluded paths.
A minute later…
She followed the faint trail across the rooftops, step by step. At last, it ended at the eaves of a certain house. Beyond this, no more traces remained. Through the window opposite, she could see civilians inside. And directly below, she heard the sound of a piano.
She knew little of music, but the notes were fast, practiced.
Tap, tap.
She dropped lightly to the doorstep of the house, standing before the door.
...
Just minutes earlier… Gentle piano music filled the room. A woman with tea-brown hair sat at the keys, eyes closed, immersed in the melody she wove, as though telling a story through sound.
She was Assassin's Master—Reika Rikudou. Today, her "daughter" had gone out to hunt but had yet to return. To ease the loneliness of being alone, the mother played music.
But then—
Clack…
"!"
The door burst open hastily from outside, then locked again. A small girl staggered in, clutching her bleeding arm, barely propping herself against the floor as she gasped.
"Mom…"
The tiny Assassin's voice was weak, like the mewl of a kitten, as she called to her "mother."
"Jack!"
Reika immediately stood, abandoning the piano, and rushed over to kneel at her daughter's side, supporting her trembling body.
"What happened?! Are you badly hurt?!"
"No… it was just a cut on my arm… Mama, give me a heart to eat."
"Mm! Wait here…"
At her words, Reika Rikudou rose swiftly, plunging her hand into a nearby corpse whose chest had already been split open. She pulled free its heart without hesitation, her face calm and unflinching—so accustomed was she to such gore. She gently held the soft organ to the girl's lips.
"Here… eat quickly."
Her voice was as tender as any mother's.
Slurp~
The girl devoured it in one bite, savoring it as though it melted on her tongue. To an outside ear, the sound might have been mistaken for someone enjoying a bowl of noodles.
Already, her wound was healing. The gash on her arm knitted together, the scar vanishing as though it had never been.
"Haa…"
Exhaling deeply, the girl leaned weakly against her mother.
Reika lifted her into her arms and carried her back to the piano bench, seating her on her lap.
"Who did this to you?"
Reika asked softly.
"…A beautiful sister with a naginata."
Jack whispered.
"…Saber?"
"Mm…"
"..."
Reika's brow furrowed.
Even she, who had not joined that earlier battle, knew of Saber—the one who had cut down three Servants in a single night. They had planned to strike while Black's Masters were distracted investigating Trifas, to lure Saber away and kill her Master. But the enemy had discovered their intent so quickly. Now retribution would surely come.
Reika pressed her fingers once more to the piano keys. The tune, once light, turned dark and oppressive, heavy with gloom.
"Mama… your playing is so beautiful."
Listening to the flowing notes, Jack looked up and praised her.
"I learned long ago. It has been many years."
She answered gently, eyes closed.
"What song is this?"
"Traumerei… It means 'dream.'"
"Why does a dream sound so heavy?"
"Hehe… Because this is my dream. Or rather, everyone's dreams are heavy. I wanted to give voice to that feeling—so I play this piece."
"..."
Jack fell silent, then spoke again.
"Mama…"
"Mm?"
"…Will we always be together?"
The piano stopped. Reika stilled her fingers, gazing at the girl in her arms.
"…Yes. We will. Forever."
Even in death.
Tap, tap…
Footsteps sounded outside the door. Soft, but in the silence of the room, they rang loud and clear.
"!" ×2
Both froze, staring toward the entrance. No figure appeared, but they could feel it—the presence beyond the door, heavy as a curse.
"Mama… she's here."
Even Jack, a Servant, trembled with fear. That beautiful sister… was terrifying.
"Mm…"
Reika, tense, clutched her daughter tightly and hurried from the parlor. Panting anxiously, she threw open a window, leapt agilely through the back, and fled.
The next instant—
BOOM!!
A violent explosion ripped through the house. Hearing it, Reika ran faster, clutching Jack, dashing desperately into the alleys beyond.
Standing outside the door, the Shogun paused as the piano inside abruptly fell silent. She lifted her hand as if to knock, but after a moment's thought, lowered it again. Then—
Her body surged with current, and from the front she unleashed a wave of Electro!
BOOM!!!
The door before her splintered instantly under the impact, fragments scattering into the room beyond.
Tap, tap…
Her heels struck the floor with a dull rhythm as she stepped inside, scanning the parlor. Empty. But by the entryway lay a fresh pool of blood—proof someone had just been here. Moving into the piano room, she noted the uncovered keys and—
She bent slightly, slender fingers brushing the table. Still warm. Her eyes rose to the dusty window opposite, its frame disturbed.
"They sensed me coming."
The footsteps she'd heard earlier… The instant the piano stopped, they had fled, not even using the front door.
[Shogun… I think you'd make a fine police captain in charge of daily patrols. Perhaps you should teach Kujou Sara how to investigate.]
Ei's tone was half teasing, half admiring. After all, her beloved puppet was sharper than even she had been. But it made sense—the Shogun had been awakened by the last fragment of Makoto's soul. Cleverness was inevitable.
"Ei… Do not jest."
The Shogun murmured softly, almost indulgently.
[I'm not jesting. I'm praising your insight. This kind of work isn't for me.]
"…Very well."
She relented, as always. Their talks often went this way—she yielding, Ei pressing. Perhaps because Ei was like a mother to her… or perhaps because she wished to indulge her.
[Will you pursue them?]
"Of course."
With that, she stepped back outside, circling toward the rear garden. Activating Elemental Sight, she followed the faint tracks invisible to ordinary eyes.
...
Tap, tap!
"Hurry… Jack!"
Reika Rikudou tugged her daughter's hand, pulling her into the narrow gap of a back-alley. She peeked cautiously around the corner. No pursuers. She exhaled in relief.
But this couldn't continue. Two options remained—keep fleeing, or risk everything on one final strike. Perhaps they could take a Master by surprise. She knew already that Trifas was surrounded, the Black Masters combing the city for them. Yet one crucial fact remained:
They didn't know her face. Not even Saber knew it. That was their one chance.
She could use that to escape—but she didn't want to. If they ran, it would mean nothing. She would return to that wretched life, and Jack would eventually leave her. She would be alone again.
With no hope left for her life, only one purpose remained—to make a final hunt with Jack. To stay with her daughter, as she had promised.
"Jack…"
"Mama…"
Their gazes met with wordless understanding.
"Together, let's—"
"I know, Mama."
The girl answered before she could finish, as though she already knew.
"…Mm."
They parted to put their plan into motion. Jack pressed her back against a wall and activated her Noble Phantasm—
"The Mist."
Her childish voice echoed softly, and all of Trifas was suddenly shrouded in a dense, suffocating barrier.
"Hehe… This will be our final hunt~!"
Whoosh!
Her small figure vanished into the choking haze.
...
"?"
Walking down an empty street, the Shogun stopped abruptly.
Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her face upward. The sky above was now thick with dark clouds. Soon, strong winds whipped at her kimono and bangs.
The air grew colder. Her skin prickled with the dropping temperature.
Plink—
A cool touch fell on her cheek. Reaching up, she found a raindrop.
Patter, patter…
In the next moment, rain began to fall, droplets striking the ground with delicate sound. Dust rose in a haze, blurring the world around her.
She raised her hand, forming a shield of Electro around herself. Each raindrop that touched it evaporated instantly, rising as faint wisps of steam.
[The mist is rising…]
Ei murmured.
"Similar to before…"
[Visibility is low, Shogun… be wary of the corners. The enemy may strike from the shadows.]
Just as she said, all of Trifas was soon drowned in a heavy gray fog, thickened by the rain. Heavier than clouds, vision shrank to mere meters. The town became a ghost city, its buildings swallowed in haze.
The Shogun's steps slowed, her grip firm on Engulfing Lightning. She knew such fog well—Inazuma's Tsurumi Island was the same, a place of endless mist where one could lose all sense of direction, never to return. A labyrinth of fog.
Tap, tap…
She caught the sound of approaching steps. Turning with anticipation, she leveled her blade crackling with violet lightning.
"Wait… it's an ally."
From the mist, Jeanne's figure emerged.
"Any leads?"
The Shogun lowered her weapon and asked.
"Regrettably… none. In this fog, finding someone is like reaching the heavens. Perhaps we must wait for the enemy to show themselves."
Jeanne replied quietly.
"…"
The Shogun fell silent. She had tracked the trail this far with Elemental Sight, but now it was gone. And this mist was different—no storm of lightning could disperse it. This was no ordinary fog, but a forced barrier.
Above, she could see neither Chiron nor Astolfo. Understandable, given the density.
"I'll search the other side. Saber, I leave this area to you."
The Shogun nodded. Jeanne vanished back into the haze.
In that moment… from the eaves of a rooftop, a pair of glowing crimson eyes appeared.
"From here begins hell—we are fire, we are rain, we are power."
The childlike voice whispered the chant. Black-red prana poured from her small frame, daggers blazing with a horrific bloodlight.
Her crimson gaze locked onto the kimono-clad woman's back, aiming for her heart. The very air warped with pressure.
Next instant!
Whoosh!
Her body turned into a streak of red light, plunging down like a dragon.
"Maria the Ripper!!"
She shouted her Noble Phantasm's name.
Within the Plane of Euthymia, Ei's violet eyes snapped open—
[Shogun, behind you.]
Whoosh!
At the very instant the words reached her, the Shogun's body moved without hesitation. No pause, no delay. She turned, gathered Electro, and swung her blade—
All in one seamless motion!
CLASH!!
The crimson daggers struck against the raging violet blade, Assassin's Noble Phantasm utterly negated.
BOOOM!!
Lightning and blood-red light collided, blasting stone and gravel into the air.
"Eh?!"
Jack's eyes widened in disbelief. How had she reacted so fast? It was as though she had eyes in the back of her head. With her aura hidden and Maria the Ripper unleashed, she should have been undetectable!
But what Jack did not know was this—
The name "Raiden Shogun"… had never referred to just one person.