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Summary:
Shirou is having another dream about Saber. This time, he hears the unhappy murmurings of her men after she sacrificed a village to win a battle. Waking up from the dream, he starts wondering what she meant back when she told him about the duty she didn’t accomplish in her lifetime and that she wanted to start over. The girls have gathered in the dining room, where Sakura has cooked enough food for everyone, which now includes herself, Fuji-nee, Saber, Rin, Ilya, and Shirou. Sakura appears to be worried after hearing about another gas leak accident on the news. Relating to what they saw on TV, Rin, Shirou, and Saber discuss the Ryuudoji situation. Ilya joins them and explains that there are two Servants there: Assassin and Caster. Caster was the one who summoned Assassin, and killed her original master. Her current master is not a mage, but just a normal human. Ilya also says that Caster was originally Medea.
Issei drops by to see Shirou. When the topic of Kuzuki comes up, Issei says that their teacher has been living at Ryuudoji for 3 years. Rin overhears this and starts suspecting that Kuzuki is the master. In order to find out for sure, Rin, Saber, and Shirou ambush him that night on the street. However, Caster appears and blocks Rin’s magic – Kuzuki is indeed Caster’s master. He says that he doesn’t care that she’s taking people’s lives. Kuzuki admits that he’s not a mage and that he has no interest in the Holy Grail War – he’s just a horrific killer. Caster launches a magic attack at Shirou, but Saber deflects it. She attacks Kuzuki, but he’s able to avoid all of her swings and even catches her blade between his elbow and his knee. He has Caster enhance his fists and is easily able to defeat Saber and then Rin. After Kuzuki shatters the pole Shirou was using as a weapon, Shirou realizes that he needs something stronger and remembers Archer. He recreates Archer’s two swords (Kanshou and Bakuya) and starts fighting Kuzuki with them. However, Kuzuki is still far superior in technique and in strength. The impact of the blows wound Shirou’s arms to the point of bleeding.
Caster stops the fight and proposes that they work together. She explains that there is a way to summon the Holy Grail without killing each other. If they help her out, she’ll give them some of the Holy Grail’s benefits. Rin figures out that in order to do this, Caster needs a mage – a sacrifice. Of course Shirou and company aren’t going to work with Caster, so she takes Kuzuki and disappears after mentioning that she knows of an appropriate mage. Rin and Shirou think that it must be Ilya and they all rush home. Saber gets there first and finds Sakura on the floor. She helps Sakura up, but Sakura stabs Saber in the chest – it’s actually Caster controlling Sakura. She’s used her Noble Phantasm “Rule Breaker,” but with Sakura’s level of magical power, it can’t cancel out Saber’s contract. Instead, Saber just won’t be able to use her sword anymore. Shirou and Rin arrive to find Saber on the ground and Sakura floating outside. Caster says that she’ll be using Sakura as the sacrifice needed to summon the Holy Grail. If they want her back, they’re welcome to come to the temple. Sakura then flies off and disappears.
Preview:
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So all of the Sakura hints they kept dropping really do mean that she’s getting involved in the story now. But Sakura herself doesn’t appear to be evil, it’s just Caster controlling her. I’m still personally hoping that Rider will make a return, but that seems unlikely (though not entirely impossible).
I was very surprised to see Shirou recreate Kanshou and Bakuya. Doing so seems to only further reinforces the links between him and Archer. With the way they’re going, maybe Shirou will learn to use Unlimited Blade Works before this is all over.
And I really didn’t expect Kuzuki himself to kick so much ass. With Caster’s magic buffing him up, I don’t see a way for Shirou, Rin, or Saber to stop Kuzuki. And they also have Assassin to worry about if they plan to attack the temple, which is what they appear to be doing in the preview. It appears to be more fusion of the three storylines.
