Chapter 127

"You said it was Assassin? But Assassin has already disappeared," Red Archer said, frowning in confusion at the current situation.

"It was the true Assassin," Rider replied succinctly, standing beside Shinji and keeping her eyes locked on Shinji's body, held by a grief-stricken Shirou.

"Damn it!" Rin, standing nearby, clenched her teeth and cursed softly, her face obscured by shadows.

"Whoever summoned that Assassin... I swear I'll kill them!"

"I don't know, but they're hiding nearby. I heard their voice at that time…"

As Rider finished speaking, Bazett turned, and Lancer walked in the opposite direction.

Both were fueled by a singular thought: avenge this boy who had proven to be quite remarkable during their short time together!

Even if Red Archer had analyzed that Shinji had hidden motives and secret plans during this Holy Grail War, it didn't diminish their determination to seek revenge for him!

Moreover, in Illya's account, Shinji was portrayed as a saint fighting to save all of humanity!

Upon discovering the Grail's corruption, he dismantled the system to prevent potential tragedy at its source!

Rin, too, was filled with fury and wanted to find Assassin's Master and tear them apart!

"Why didn't he say anything? That jerk!" Rin's voice trembled with anger. "Was it because of his stupid pride? Always so confident, so arrogant… What an infuriating bastard!"

"What is your objective, Archer?!" Saber demanded, holding her sword, facing Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh, hands in pockets and wearing his usual disdainful expression, snorted, clearly not inclined to engage with Saber.

Gilgamesh was truly furious, enraged that a convict he had personally punished was killed by an unknown clown (the old sixth).

Under the King's watchful eye, no less!

Unforgivable! Unforgivable!

For context, because the entity that had possessed Shinji also took part of Shinji's soul, their soul colors were identical. Neither Gilgamesh nor Medusa had detected anything amiss.

Even Assassin, summoned at that moment, did not notice anything wrong. To Hassan, the orders came from his rightful Master.

With his personality and thoughts protected by the system, even Gilgamesh's omniscient star couldn't see that Shinji's persona had been swapped.

"Consider yourself lucky, Saber. The King isn't in the mood to play with you today."

With that, Gilgamesh turned, intending to find out who had dared to cause trouble right under his nose! And anyone who dared would face the King's punishment!

Meanwhile, far away...

The real Shinji, having hastily woven a makeshift grass skirt to cover his essentials after abandoning his body and six souls, using an incomplete Third Magic to escape with his three souls and persona, looked at the two-kilometer-wide ruins with a sigh.

Though he knew the entity's goal was total domination rather than simple possession, taking both his soul and body, Shinji found it rather uninteresting. After ten years of secretly playing along, he had won so easily?

No fun at all. He had expected a grand conspiracy or an impressive final move, but the entity had foolishly celebrated as soon as it took over, laughing about its future harem without even checking the situation.

Right underneath you was the Third Magic, you idiot. Why would you think I wouldn't notice and escape?

Sighing deeply, Shinji looked down at his temporary body.

"I need to get my body back soon. This one won't last long."

Muttering to himself, Shinji moved towards the ruins' center. But before he could take a step, he saw Rin and the others around his corpse.

In that moment, Shinji, full of mischief and curiosity, wondered if he could attend his own funeral by not switching back immediately.

It might be fun!

But then he thought about the possibility of being cremated, which would be a disaster. Although he could ask someone curious about his soul to help, they might confine him for research.

After weighing his options, Shinji decided to greet his acquaintances seeking revenge for him and retrieve his body.

Of course, his decision to reveal himself wasn't solely his choice; a certain golden citizen had already noticed him.

When Gilgamesh sensed the silver-haired, red-eyed Shinji, he paused, then turned to look at Shinji's lifeless body.

"Hmph!"

Hearing Gilgamesh's characteristic snort and seeing his all-knowing expression, Shinji silently cursed.

You haven't seen anything! You know nothing!

But Gilgamesh's expression wouldn't change, even if he knew nothing. It was his habit.

Meanwhile, seeing Gilgamesh stop, Saber gripped her sword tightly, wary of the formidable enemy she had faced in the last Holy Grail War.

"Hey, is everyone here for a party?"

Shinji's sudden voice drew everyone's attention.

Seeing the silver-haired, red-eyed Shinji, identical in features and demeanor to the usual Shinji, everyone froze.

Rin was the first to recover, reaching into her pocket to grip a gemstone, her brows furrowed in alertness.

"Who are you?!"

Illya, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "You're not dead… The Third Magic? You've reconstituted the Third Magic?!"

Too smart for your own good, Shinji thought, while leisurely walking towards the group.

"It's not exactly reconstitution. I used Justeaze's circuits fused with the leylines and the mana left by Caster. So, it's an incomplete Third Magic."

"And your body?" Illya asked, looking somewhat excited.

"Just Justeaze's remnants. It will soon collapse."

"Hmm?" Rin, picking up on key elements of their conversation, gave Shinji a curious look. "Are you… Shinji?"

"Shinji?" Shirou, still holding Shinji's body, looked confused, glancing between the body and the approaching figure, sensing something was off.

Illya then took a deep breath.

"Matou Shinji is a thief—!"

Seeing Illya puff her cheeks adorably, Shinji immediately retorted, "Hey, hey, I don't like the sound of that. I only borrowed Justeaze's remnants. I didn't steal or rob. I'll return it in a bit, alright?"

Illya crossed her arms and turned away with a heavy humph, "Humph! The Makiri heir is a thief!"

Shirou, finally comprehending, stood up and looked at Shinji. "So, Illya, does that mean this person is Shinji?"

"He's just a thief! Hmph!"

"Stop playing, Illya. Who is this person…"

Before Shirou could finish, Rin, clenching her fists, walked step by step towards Shinji.

"You… bastard!"

Smack!

Catching Rin's raised hand, Shinji sighed, "Anyway, I've got business to attend to. This temporary body won't last long. I need to switch back quickly."

"Temporary? You're just trash! Total trash!"

Hearing Rin's insult, Rider silently nodded in approval.

"Don't praise me too much; I'll get embarrassed."

"Who's praising you?! And what's with this outfit? It's disgusting!"

"What could I do in this forest? Besides, I'm the one being looked at. If anyone should be embarrassed, it's me…"

Seeing Shinji feign shyness, Rin's forehead veins bulged. She wanted to knock him to the ground and beat him up!

"But it's good you came. Saves me the trouble of looking for you."

With that, Shinji reached for Rin's chest.

Rin flinched, covering her chest and cursing him in her mind.

But feeling a strange sensation, she looked down at the ring on her finger, glowing through her fingers.

"What is this…"

Watching Shinji pull a small vial of emerald green liquid and a box of lollipops from the ring, Rin was even more baffled.

"Think of it as an application of the Second Magic."

"Second Magic? So, you took these from the ring? How do you know Second Magic? And why didn't I notice?"

Seeing Rin shake the ring and bombard him with questions, Shinji sighed.

"Give me your hand."

"What for?" Rin asked, suspicious but complying.

"Trying to cast a magical contract won't work. This is another system's equivalent to the Second Magic, requiring a third factor for a contract. Let me help you."