In the forest, Archer gritted his teeth, staring intently at the shadowy figure before him.
Although he was still barely breathing and had minimal blood loss, a Servant wasn't human.
Even if their body were pierced, unless it was a fatal blow, there was always a chance for regeneration.
However, Archer's current injuries were clearly beyond the realm of recovery.
The "shadow" was the nemesis and executioner of Servants.
Regardless of how strong the Heroic Spirit was, as long as they were summoned by the Holy Grail, they would be restrained by the "shadow."
Although the Heaven's Feel (HF) route never explicitly confirmed such a rule, the shadow's achievements and behavior made it implicitly clear to the audience.
Even if someone couldn't deduce this, they would easily understand it by watching the black corruption spreading from the points where EMIYA was struck.
"This can't be happening… Archer! What are you doing? Archer!"
Rin Tohsaka called out in a trembling voice. Struggling to stand from the ground, she prepared to walk toward Archer.
Archer, lying on the ground in a very peculiar position, suddenly became alarmed. He turned back to Rin and shouted, "Don't come here, idiot! Run! Don't stop!"
Archer's reprimand startled Rin into freezing in place. She looked at the scene before her, panicking, utterly at a loss for what to do.
Everyone watching outside the screen was shocked by the desperate state of Shirou's group. The only exception was Shinji, who is about to slip away before being stopped by Sakura.
"Onii-sama, are you thinking about sneaking away?"
"I'm not— I—"
Before he could finish, Shinji noticed a ribbon tied around his wrist. The other end of the ribbon was in Sakura's hand.
"Don't even think about running away, Onii-sama~," Sakura said with an innocent and sweet smile.
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "What if I need to use the restroom?"
Without missing a beat, Sakura replied, "Senpai can escort you."
"..."
Shinji made up his mind—no matter what, he would avoid going to the restroom tonight.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
On the screen, the "shadow" started to move again.
As the blackness continued to engulf the forest, all the magical energy in the area was being devoured by the shadow.
Without a doubt, the forest was dead.
At this moment, the "shadow" gave the audience the impression of an overfilled balloon.
Though already stretched to its limit, it continued to be filled with more and more water.
Everyone watching could tell that when the balloon exceeded its capacity, it would burst.
And then—all that it contained would rush out in a torrent!
"Damn it!!"
Sensing the impending disaster, Shirou and EMIYA moved simultaneously.
Without any hesitation, the two raced toward Rin and Illyasviel, respectively. At this point, hesitation was not an option.
"Rho——Aias!! (The Seven Rings that Cover the Burning Heavens!)"
"Ilya, get down!"
As Archer projected a shield, Shirou pulled Illya tightly into his arms.
As the two moved simultaneously, the explosion occurred.
Boom—!
The black, blinding light erupted as if bent on destroying everything, with the "shadow" at its epicenter unleashing a violent storm that ravaged the surrounding area.
Compressed and released magical energy waves transformed into tangible destructive power, corroding the forest. The screen's imagery became exceptionally chaotic: Archer using his projections, Rin clutching her body, Illya in Shirou's arms, and the now-maddened "shadow"—a storm of disorienting, fragmented images flashed rapidly.
The audience could only witness the chaotic visuals of the black storm interspersed with indistinct noises.
Eventually, the screen faded into darkness, and the noise dissolved into silence.
The perspective shifted to Shirou's first-person view. Through a dim and flickering camera angle, the audience could observe the aftermath of the explosion: the flattened forest, an unconscious Rin, a weeping Illya, and Shirou himself missing an arm.
"Ah... ah... ah..."
Shirou let out faint, pained groans. He seemed to struggle to rise, but with half his body lost, it was impossible.
The only silver lining was that the cursed "shadow" had vanished after the explosion.
Whether it had left out of boredom or was too exhausted to fight further, Shirou couldn't tell.
The audience outside the screen was just as uncertain, still reeling from the rapid progression of events.
"Based on the preview at the end of the last episode, I thought the shadow's ambush directly led to this! I didn't expect so much to happen in between!" one viewer complained. "Shinji Matou is so infuriating, cutting out such a huge chunk!"
"Judging by the main group's injuries, the next protagonist should be Sakura, right?" speculated another, stroking their chin.
"The final bosses are probably Kirei and Zouken who are working together, with Sakura standing up for Shirou and Rin to defy her family, becoming the team's strongest ally!"
Without prior knowledge of the game's plot and Shinji's intentional cliffhangers, many audience members had yet to deduce the true nature of the "shadow." Most only knew it was Zouken Matou's secret weapon, linked to Sakura but not necessarily identical to her.
Some viewers more familiar with magical lore speculated the "shadow" might be tied to the Holy Grail, but little beyond that.
"That theory isn't unreasonable. Female leads usually play a bigger role. Shinji doesn't often create pure eye-candy characters," one viewer mused.
"But something feels... off. Like there's a problem somewhere," added another.
They glanced at a fellow viewer—Aoko, whose mouth was taped shut.
Despite Aoko's repeated assurances that she hadn't seen episode four in advance, Alice had taped her mouth just in case.
While the restraint wasn't as severe this time, Aoko still felt affronted by the lack of trust.
Aoko internally fumed, wanting desperately to correct their theories and flaunt spoilers.
Just as Aoko wrestled with frustration, Alice suddenly tore off the tape.
"Alice..."
"It's a bit inhumane to keep you silent for so long," Alice said, tossing her a bag of chips. "This will have to do for now."
"Thank you~~!"
Tears of gratitude welled up in Aoko's eyes as she began munching.
Alice turned back to the screen and murmured, "Sir Matou storytelling really is hard to predict."
"Don't overthink it. Guessing plots is all about intuition," Aoko replied between bites. "Even I get stumped sometimes. Shinji's thought process is more elusive than any magecraft."
"Aoko..."
Alice's smile darkened.
"You have seen it, haven't you? Otherwise, why so certain we're wrong?"
"You tricked me! That's so low!"
"Die!"
Boom!
Another explosive sound rang out as the invincible Aoko Aozaki collapsed—yet again.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
On screen, EMIYA's condition wasn't much better. His once-bright red coat had turned dull, like a flickering candle about to extinguish.
More startling to Shirou, though, was Rider's sudden appearance.
With only a sliver of consciousness left, Shirou didn't even have the strength to question it.
"—Are you sure? If you do this, you'll—"
"No need to overthink it. If we do nothing, two people will disappear."
Listening to Rider and Archer's exchange, they seemed to be arguing over some crucial decision.
"If we transplant it, it'll at least save one."
From Shirou's fading perspective, the audience saw Archer quietly approach Rin.
"No matter what, this body is already at its limit. If I'm going to vanish anyway, I might as well leave something behind," Archer said, glancing at Shirou.
"In normal circumstances, a physical body connecting to a spirit would only cause worse consequences. But this kid and I are exceptions."
After a brief hesitation, Archer added, "I'll do the basics first. When Rin wakes up, she should be able to handle the rest."
Tenderly brushing Rin's hair, Archer's expression softened.
The screen dimmed as Shirou's body reached its limit, his consciousness slipping into darkness.
"This is as far as I can go. Do your best, Rin."
In his fading awareness, Shirou and the audience heard Archer's youthful voice bidding his Master farewell.
Then came the sound of a blade slicing through flesh.
When the screen lit up again, it cut to Sakura's horrified expression.
Staring at Shirou's arm, now wrapped in red cloth, she seemed utterly flabbergasted.
"Can someone PLEASE explain what the hell just happened??!!!"
Though unspoken, everyone watching could almost hear Sakura screaming this in The Scream art style.
<+>
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