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As he sensed someone approaching from behind, the man swiftly spun around, aiming his handgun at Shirou. The dark barrel emitted a menacing aura.

"It's you." However, upon recognizing Shirou, the man paused, his grip on the handgun relaxing.

"Have you sensed something off about this place too, Kiritsugu?" Shirou raised an eyebrow and asked.

The man before him was none other than Emiya Kiritsugu, a former magus killer turned writer.

Kiritsugu nodded, not saying much.

Despite having given up being a Magus Killer for many years, he had always been a person of few words, keeping his emotions to himself. He had a reserved and serious personality, possibly channeling all his feelings and affection into his writings.

But Shirou found it a bit peculiar. Thanks to his ability as the Eternal King, he could sense that something was amiss. How did Kiritsugu also notice that something was wrong?

He posed the question to Kiritsugu.

"Earlier this afternoon, there was an unusual incident here. A massive tree mysteriously shattered into pieces. It made me concerned that a Dead Apostle or a rogue magus might be causing trouble in the city, so I decided to investigate under the cover of night."

"I see. But it seems like your skills have declined. In the past, you wouldn't have come here so openly,"

Kiritsugu shook his head and responded, "I've been observing from a distance with a sniper rifle for nine hours, and there haven't been any other disruptions. That's why I decided to come here."

"Did you discover anything?"

"Unfortunately, no. There are no signs of magical rituals or abnormal fluctuations in magical energy. It's as if there's nothing at all. What about you? The fact that you're here suggests that you've also noticed something, right?"

"Indeed, there's one over here, and another one in the high school division of Homurahara Academy. Two anomalies."

"Anomalies... huh? If it's a magus or a Dead Apostle, what could be their motive? Are they after the Holy Grail again?" Kiritsugu furrowed his brow. "But the Holy Grail's been sealed, and its Crystal has been taken away. Nine years ago, that Dead Apostle Ancestor, the Night of Walachia, drained the last bit of value from the Holy Grail. It's a worthless piece now. In theory, it shouldn't be a target anymore."

Out of nowhere, two tipsy office workers stumbled towards them, their arms around each other, engaged in a slurred conversation.

In an instant...

Shirou narrowed his eyes and swiftly grabbed the back of Kiritsugu's collar, giving him a forceful tug.

Then, he clenched his fist, causing a surge of black mud to rise and form a protective wall in front of the drunken duo.

"Boom—"

A sharp wave of sword-like energy sliced through the ground, aiming directly at Kiritsugu's previous position and threatening to strike the drunk men. But the wall of black mud stood firm, blocking the attack.

"What is happening?" Kiritsugu's grip on the gun handle tightened.

Three cracks split the ground, and strangely enough, the previously untouched black wall now bore multiple intersecting sword marks, as if they had always been there.

The once vibrant trees surrounding them inexplicably withered, their lush foliage replaced by lifeless, dry wood.

It all felt like some twisted prank being played on them.

The two drunken men stumbled straight into the mud wall, their bleary eyes unable to focus on anything clearly. They grumbled and cursed, but then, two hands emerged from the mud wall, firmly gripping their collars and forcefully tossing them aside.

With a solid thud, the two men slumped down, unconscious and resting against each other on the street.

Shirou glanced at Kiritsugu and asked. "You have a better understanding of modern magi than I do. Did you notice anything?"

Shirou never had any interest in understanding modern magecraft, whether it was in the era of Camelot or the present. Becoming a magus was never part of his plans.

Kiritsugu scratched his head thoughtfully and said, "I'm not entirely sure. I don't see any signs of ritual activation, but the destruction we're witnessing has a similar pattern. It's almost like a reversal of cause and effect. How about your senses? What are they telling you?"

Shirou paused for a moment, deep in thought, and then replied, "All I can say is that it's definitely not a Reality Marble. If it were, my 'evil' would have consumed it a long time ago. And based on what I'm sensing, this attack doesn't seem to originate from our plane of existence."

"Are you suggesting it's a dimensional attack?"

Shirou nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's quite troublesome. The only individuals with the ability to meddle with dimensions are the users of the Second Magic," Kiritsugu said, his expression turning into a frown.

"Not necessarily. You should go back. You've already made the decision to distance yourself from the world of magi, so there's no need for you to get involved again. I'll take care of this matter."

Kiritsugu remained silent for a moment, then nodded and walked away.

As Shirou watched Kiritsugu's figure fade into the distance, he turned and made his way back home.

Indeed, Zelretch, the Wizard Marshal, was renowned for his expertise in space interference. However, that didn't imply that there were no other means to tamper with the boundaries between space.

By using Sakura's Imaginary Numbers and leveraging the principles of the Root, it became feasible to forge a pathway into an alternate dimensional space within the very fabric of the world.

To put it simply, it's akin to a gateway that grants access to different realms or spaces.

While Sakura's Imaginary Numbers possessed distinctions from Zelretch's abilities, preventing her from traversing parallel worlds at will, it was still within her capabilities to open gateways to other spaces.

Shirou stepped into Sakura's room and flicked on the lights.

"Sakura, Sakura, wake up!" he gently nudged her.

"What's the matter, brother?" Sakura stretched and rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep.

"Could you get up for a moment? I need your help."

"Oh..." she nodded and then stared blankly at him.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and get up!" he raised an eyebrow and urged her.

Sakura clutched the blanket, blushing slightly, and shyly said, "Um... I... I need to change my clothes, brother... Could you please leave first?"

As he glanced at Sakura's smooth shoulders, he raised an eyebrow and instinctively started to scan the room. However, she hastily said, "Don't look! Quickly go out!"

Shirou didn't say much but simply nodded. He turned around, closed the door, and stood outside, patiently waiting.

After a brief moment, Sakura emerged with a tinge of anxiety, now dressed in her school uniform.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, brother."

"I'm the one who asked for your help. No need to apologize,"

She asked cautiously, "Um... Did you happen to see anything?"

It was embarrassing, considering she had a habit of sleeping naked.

All her clothes were neatly laid out on the table.

She felt a jumble of emotions inside her. Part of her worried about Shirou seeing her naked, while another part of her couldn't deny the rush of excitement she felt.

However, he reassured her, "No, I didn't see anything."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief, but deep down, she couldn't shake off an odd feeling of regret.

It was truly a contradictory and peculiar situation she found herself in.

"Brother, what do you need my help with..." she began.

"Come with me," he interrupted, leading her to the nearby streets. To his surprise, all the cracks on the ground, the sword marks on the walls, and even the withered trees had vanished. Everything looked as if nothing had happened.

Shirou couldn't help but frown, "I need you to open a passage here. I think there might be some sort of dimensional interference."

Sakura's face turned serious as she caught sight of his expression. She nodded and replied, "I understand, brother."

Her eyes shimmered with an otherworldly light as she concentrated, and her snow-white hair seemed to float in the air. Suddenly, a pitch-black void materialized before them.

But in that very moment, a touch of confusion flickered in Sakura's eyes, "Strange..."

"What's wrong?"

"There's something really strange about this place... It's like there's this extra layer of alternate space here," she said, her voice filled with confusion.

His eyes narrowed, "That's it! We need to connect to that space!"

"Yes—!" she replied eagerly, nodding as she quickly opened up the passage.

Shirou stepped forward and entered the passage, but before he could even catch a glimpse of what lay beyond the passage, a bone-chilling wave of blade came slashing towards him!