-Some years ago-
That star shone gloriously in the center of the large glass booth. Its blue light caused everyone in the place to applaud at such an event, they applauded the achievement of that man....
The...
[The Hero of humanity]
That expressionless man who watched his work with his arms folded. With his long gown down to his knees, his glasses slightly cracked, he sighed.
"It can get better..."
He said. Everyone else looked on in amazement at how this man downplays his own accomplishment. He literally just saved the planet by giving humans a second chance to redeem their chaos, but even that man knew that this is only the beginning.
Even in his mind echoes that wish; the wish that was born that day when he fell from above.
"There is still a long way to go before humanity reaches perfection."
-In the present-
He moved in the shadows after witnessing Saber's power.
'That light...'
A light that evoked a distant memory in him. A nostalgic light that shook his entire mind, making him feel a warm sensation in his chest.
'Nostalgia, is that what I'm feeling?'
He had no way of finding an explanation for this. Why did Saber's light make him feel this way?
The feeling of seeing that light somehow became familiar. Too familiar...
'Never mind. I'll have more time to think about that later. Right now...'
The reason he was moving through the darkness in his dematerialized mode was because at this very moment he is following Kirei, who is carrying Matō Kariya on his back.
After Excalibur's light went out, confused, he started to follow these two strange guys.
When he realized where Kirei stopped, Toru opened his eyes and felt the presence of someone familiar.
In front of him stood the large, gloomy residence of the Matō family.
He watched as Kirei left Kariya at the door of the house and walked away with a troubled expression on his face, as if he had just discovered something inside himself. Still, even if that man betrayed him, Toru moved through the bushes on the other side of the street and hopped across until he was standing over the door.
'He's still alive...'
Kariya's condition is stable. Although he has burns on his body, with magic he will be able to heal them easily.
"But..."
He didn't have the chance to come to this place being at war and being Kirei's Servant. However... this... the place Sakura is in....
There is a magical barrier around the house that protects the inside. Toru could not cross that barrier easily, but it is not impossible either, as this barrier is much poorer and weaker than that of the Einzbern Castle.
So, blinded by the memory of that shy but cheerful girl, he moved with great agility among the invisible entities that moved around the place.
He crossed all the obstacles in less than two seconds and then walked around the house observing the windows and all possible entrances. Sure, he's in his dematerialized mode, but he couldn't risk going inside and realizing that the barrier inside the house will be much better crafted.
It was better to do this from outside where there is less security.
As he moved, the Shigan in his eyes activated unconsciously. The lines of death showed into existence, where a long golden line led to the window on the right side of the house.
He followed the line and began to walk on the wall.
As he approached the window, he saw who was on the other side....
"Sakura..."
At this time of night, with a lamp illuminating the books, little Sakura was studying restlessly.
However, seeing her like this, something strange happened to Toru.
He opened his eyes in horror, for at that very moment his memories of Sakura overlapped with reality.
That girl had an empty look, and judging by her face, she was very tired. Much of her hair had turned violet blue except for the ends, which still maintained a little of its brown color. She was a little pale and the expression on her face was very dull and vacant....
In addition, with the Shigan, he could see more "lives" inside Sakura, which were twisted with the death lines of that girl.
...
She...
She is no longer the girl he knew.
...
He looked at this in silence for three eternal seconds.
Slowly he looked down and, with his hair covering his eyes, he asked himself:
'Why?'
Toru again saw himself reflected in this girl.
He saw Sakura's vacant gaze and remembered the boy with brown hair and silver eyes, the boy looking at his own wounds in the mirror....
'I...what have I been doing all this time?
In these last days he has been thinking only of himself and his own desire. He freed himself from the chains of his tortuous past and walked free again on his path to victory. People's blood stained his hands again and the darkness of his being embraced him tightly, making it clear to him that the only thing that matters is his desire and nothing else.
Anyone who gets in his way deserves nothing but death.
That was the way it was until a few seconds ago, for from so much thinking about himself, he forgot that his wish was also for other people, not just for himself.
He didn't kill so many people just for his wish. He was supposed to be doing all this to make other people happy, but....
He finally realized that he was doing all this for his own selfishness....
A selfish person who thought of no one but himself. Someone who in the end forgot about everyone because it didn't matter to him.
'Sakura... what have they done to you...?'
He put his hand on the window pane.
She felt a painful pressure in her chest. He gritted his teeth hard realizing that this girl is going through the same thing he once went through.
'I allowed this to happen...'
He wanted to blame himself, but he really wasn't to blame for Tokiomi's decision.
'Forgive me...'
He closed his eyes tightly. He didn't want someone like Sakura to suffer like he suffered. She didn't deserve it. Someone as kind and pure as Sakura shouldn't be treated this way.
She, as a normal girl, should play, she should learn from life, she should smile together with her loved ones. She should be happy... something Toru could not do in his childhood.
When he thought of this, he slowly opened his eyes and the expression on his face changed drastically. His gaze became as cold as the night itself, accompanied by his strangely expressionless porcelain doll face. He let out a cold sigh and then....
'I couldn't do anything to stop you from becoming part of this family. I was a stupid puppet who followed other people's orders like a dog. Ironically I was doing the same thing I did in my past life, but now...'
But now he is free...
'Sakura... I... I will destroy this place... I will destroy them all and get you out of here. I just need you to hold on a little longer. I will win this war and regain all my power. When that happens, whoever has harmed you, I will see to it that they suffer a horrible hell until they wish for their own death...'
But even if he wanted to do that, he couldn't afford to wait for the other Servants to kill each other.
'If I want to win, I must speed up the process of this war. I don't know how yet, but... wait for me Sakura. You will smile happily again together with your family...'
So, he timidly moved his hand away from the window and climbed down from the wall.
He saw the place for the last time, and after that, he went through the walls of the place, not caring if he alerted the people in charge of this house.
-Hours later-
In an abandoned place, the blood of two corpses had spilled completely on the ground.
The sun had barely risen, dimly illuminating the scene where that boy lay.
"Gunshot wounds... I knew it..."
He knew that this woman's death would be ironic. Maybe it was due to his eyes that he could sense the death of others, or it was simply guesses of a guy gone mad, but that didn't matter now.
In front of him something good had presented itself.
"With this, I guess Lancer is dead."
Saber, Rider, Archer, Berserker and....
"I... there are only five of us left."
Walking away from the scene, Toru thought. He arrived at this place after two hours of exploration. What he encountered marked half the time in this war. Sola-Ui and Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald are dead, and along with them, Lancer also perished.
'Good news...'
Toru faltered...
"And bad too..."
He felt his body begin to weaken more and more.
Putting it simply, Toru's body right now is like a sieve. If you try to pour water into the strainer, it would run out of the holes in the strainer. Toru's body is presenting the same thing but with mana.
As more time passes, the mana in his body drains more and more. There is no way to stop it unless Toru manages to get a Master. But that right now is not something he can do.
Kariya still has Berserker. Kirei is not a good option, much less Emiya Kiritsugu who has Saber or Waver Velvet, with his Servant Rider. Tokiomi was not an option either.
"Everything gets more complicated..."
The only way to avoid disappearing is to kill even more. Before there were little more than fifty criminals, perhaps today there are twice as many.
In any case...
"I'll have to visit another city if I don't want to disappear."
And without further ado, he continued to advance through the shadows as he always tends to do.
***
And while the hours and the events pass in time, a sudden Magus meeting takes place.
Tokiomi organized this meeting in the church to come to an agreement with Irisviel. He sees Berserker and Rider as a threat. The only way to move forward in this war and get the desired result is to reach that agreement with the Einzbern family side.
Once Berserker and Rider are out of the way, the war can resume between the two remaining families.
This seemed like a tempting offer to Irisviel, but she was not going to accept. Instead, she herself said:
"We will take care of the other Masters. In return, provide all the information you have on the Rider and Berserker Master."
The first condition was favorable to Tokiomi. But there was something else.
Kirei is someone very dangerous in Kiritsugu's way. If there is anyone who can prevent him from winning the Grail, it is Kirei. So, for that, Irisviel thought of something.
"And I also want Kotomine Kirei to abandon this war immediately."
Tokiomi looked at Kirei and Kirei understood what she meant.
"In any case, we have a deal..."
Irisviel nodded at Tokiomi's affirmative and left the church together with Saber and Maiya.
-In two places at the same time-
It was thus that the final stretch of this war began to be seen at the bottom of this city's crimson ocean of blood.
At night, while the frightened policemen watched a monster killing criminals, in another place, Tokiomi bid farewell to Kirei by giving him his will in case of a tragedy.
Blood continued to spill in the penitentiary of another city.
Tokiomi presented Kirei with a ceremonial dagger as a token that he has ceased to be a Magus apprentice.
The daggers move violently slashing and killing.
Tokiomi realizes that it is too late and decides to leave to continue the war, but...
...
Blood spilled like a puddle on the ground.
Toru, surrounded by lifeless bodies, closed his eyes and felt the mana inside his body.
Kirei, with the corpse of his mentor bleeding out on the ground, as the same dagger he gifted to his apprentice was now stuck in his back.
While Toru was preparing to flee due to being surrounded by the police at the moment....
Kirei smiled at the sight of Tokiomi's corpse.
With this, there are two days left for this war to end....
To be continued...