Chapter 469 - 416 Bait
"You killed him..."
Rin Tohsaka’s beautiful eyes were wide with disbelief.
My God, it was already incredible that this guy could contend with a Heroic Spirit, and now this is even more outrageous!
That shining golden Heroic Spirit’s strength was well-known, and the number of his Noble Phantasms was beyond comprehension.
Yet, such a mighty Heroic Spirit, the one that even Hashirama Senju’s summoned colossal Buddha was chopped to pieces by, was so effortlessly defeated?
Incomprehensible and unbelievable!
"Young friend, your strength is indeed peculiar, congratulations,"
Mr. Men smiled at Tao Yu, seemingly aware that he had gained some substantial rewards.
"Haha, I must thank you for your assistance, Mr. Men. What problem did you encounter? Can we help you with it?"
Tao Yu had always been the type to go with the flow. He previously disliked meddling in others’ affairs, but now, with Mr. Men’s help in defeating the glistening spirit and obtaining the Chains of Heaven, he was genuinely in high spirits.
However, upon hearing Tao Yu’s words, Mr. Men’s expression became somewhat enigmatic.
"With the uniqueness you’ve shown, you might have the chance to help me, but you’re still far from it."
Mr. Men sighed, but then looked at Tao Yu and smiled mysteriously.
"However, I have a premonition that we will have the opportunity to meet again. When that time comes, I hope you truly possess the ability to help me…"
Mr. Men’s words made Tao Yu pause, meet again?
Isn’t this a meeting now?
But Mr. Men had always spoken in riddles. If not for his Command Seals dissipating over time, Tao Yu really wanted Treya to command him to divulge the whole truth.
"Now that this unexpected Heroic Spirit is gone, I think we should hasten to find Sakura and stop her,"
Rin Tohsaka said anxiously.
She didn’t want Sakura to end up like this; she wanted to stop her, to save her.
"Indeed, Mr. Men might leave after another day, so we have to make the most of this time."
The strengths of Black Rider and Black Saber were well recognized, withstanding Archer’s explosion effortlessly and knocking away Uncle B with superior attributes in one strike.
It was clear they would be troublesome.
It was only because Lancer and that shining golden Heroic Spirit were restrained that they weren’t more of a problem to deal with.
"But we don’t know where she is right now. Earlier, I had Hashirama search the Matou household and he didn’t find her,"
Tao Yu reminded them.
During the day, Hashirama mainly went to the Matou house and trailed Kotomine Kirei.
Who would have thought that Kotomine Kirei was wrongfully accused and that something had happened at the church as well.
It seemed that Fuyuki had a lot of missing persons cases, and it was unknown whether Kotomine Kirei and Shinji Matou were dead or alive, seemingly involved in them.
"Night has fallen; let’s rest for now. During the day, we’ll find them."
Shirou Emiya then spoke up and suggested, and afterwards, Mr. Men moved them from the Ainz Beren Castle to Ryudo Temple.
During the evening’s battle, the people of Ryudo Temple were out volunteering, completely unaware of the situation.
The damaged forest was temporarily mended by Hashirama, and as darkness fell, it was harder to discern.
Another peaceful day had passed…
…
Due to Tao Yu’s show of strength and still having Command Seals to summon Hashirama Senju for support,
the next day still saw Hashirama Senju and Mr. Men head out to search for Sakura Matou and the corrupted Heroic Spirits, while Tao Yu continued to learn magic rituals with Rin Tohsaka.
Illyasviel joined the teaching team as well. Without the burden that Rin carried, she brought along her own maids and even shared some doll-making techniques from the Ainz Beren Clan.
However, the complexity of these alchemical dolls far exceeded the basic principles and rituals Rin had explained. For the time being, Tao Yu could only memorize the information hastily, almost without any practical use. Continue your story on NovelBin.Côm
"Actually, with the strength you have, why are you still learning this?"
Rin handed Tao Yu a small defensive barrier, a rather limited one that seemed utterly superfluous to her.
In view of Tao Yu’s previously demonstrated power, such rituals would be useless even if they could be instantaneously cast. A direct punch from him would be more effective.
"It’s always useful to broaden one’s knowledge and accumulate experience."
Tao Yu had no disdain for the efficacy of these magical rituals and continued to absorb and record them diligently.
"If it could be systematized, it would be very effective for us, unfortunately..."
Treya still hadn’t mastered even one, and she sighed with some regret.
She truly lacked talent. This was too difficult.
"Are you hiding something from us? You’re unnaturally strong."
Rin Tohsaka was also refreshingly direct.
Considering the opponent’s strength, the fact that they had never attempted a sneak attack was already quite sincere, so her trust in them had increased a lot.
"I am indeed keeping some things from you, but you’ll find out after the Holy Grail War is over."
"You’re not from the Mage’s Association? So, are you from some other mysterious organization or group?"
Rin Tohsaka guessed persistently.
Unfortunately, her channels for learning had also diminished considerably, and her knowledge in many areas was likewise superficial.
"You’re kind of right about another organization, but you’d never guess it. Don’t waste your energy."
"When one is learning, they call someone ’teacher’, and once they’ve finished, it’s ’don’t waste your energy’, huh~"
Rin Tohsaka chuckled, seemingly having seen through Tao Yu’s true nature.
"Oh dear, to hear Teacher Rin put it like that, you know I respect you very much. I can promise you that what I’m doing will not harm Fuyuki, and I will indeed solve the current predicament here."
Tao Yu said this to Rin Tohsaka with sincerity, his direct gaze making it hard for her to handle, causing her to huff and turn her head away.
At that moment, Tao Yu also saw a somewhat dazed Shirou Emiya following Red A out from the thicket, which took him by surprise.
From Shirou’s expression, there was a high chance Red A had laid his cards on the table.
Indeed, with the drastic changes in Fuyuki and the abduction of Saber right under their noses, it was normal for Red A’s mentality to change and to take the opportunity to clarify things with Shirou Emiya.
"Hey, Archer, weren’t you supposed to be protecting Rin? What were you doing with Shirou?"
Tao Yu waved at Red A.
"As long as you are here, and you’re stronger than me, and there’s also Berserker."
Having cooperated and seen Tao Yu kill "Golden-Sparkle", Red A’s perception of him had significantly improved.
Uncle B seemed to have heard Red A’s call, he glanced at Red A from his rigid stance aside, but then turned his head back to continue standing behind Illyasviel.
"What kind of little secrets are you two discussing?"
"Nothing much, just that during the next battle I can hold off Rider alone for a while, and the rest of you can work together to free Saber first."
Red A revealed his plan, with the Innate Barrier of Unlimited Blade Works almost akin to creating an entirely new world, Red A’s ability to tie up an enemy was formidable. In the FSN route, he lost to Uncle B due to stamina issues but took several of his lives, while in the UBW route Shirou used Unlimited Blade Works to defeat the careless "Golden-Sparkle".
Though Medusa’s power was strong after her dark transformation, Red A could effectively trap her using Unlimited Blade Works. @@novelbin@@
"Taking out one first... you’ll die, won’t you?"
Tao Yu had compared Red A’s strength with Rider’s, admitting to himself that after her transformation, he was not a match for her...
"Don’t Heroic Spirits eventually die in the Holy Grail War? It’s just fate. I can’t beat Assassin nor you, so an early exit isn’t so bad. I just need you to handle things later, so I don’t get captured as well."
Red A shrugged it off with a laugh, causing Rin Tohsaka, who was setting up a new ritual, to tremble her fingers, but eventually, she said nothing.
"What’s the matter, can’t bear to let go?"
Tao Yu turned his head back to look at Rin Tohsaka.
"Haha, just disappointed that my own Servant can’t win the Holy Grail."
Rin Tohsaka said untruthfully.
Her obsession with the Holy Grail was more about her father’s last wish and the revival of her family, she personally didn’t care much about it.
"You really do say one thing and mean another. But Big Brother Archer is right, the ritual will have to be completed eventually, and the Holy Grail will need a vessel in the end."
Illyasviel said this with a smile.
The topic again became heavy.
"There will always be a solution, won’t there."
Tao Yu continued to observe the ritual pieced together by Rin Tohsaka, speaking calmly.
Illyasviel had taught him some Ainz Beren Clan skills, and given their bond, he didn’t want to do anything he disliked unless absolutely necessary.
According to the original plot, once a sufficient number of Heroic Spirits had died, the Holy Grail would almost be formed, only needing a vessel for the final Shaping.
Since it was likely the corrupted Heart of the World, he should be able to consume it when it materializes; after all, he wasn’t afraid of corruption, so it wasn’t necessary to involve Illyasviel...
"Actually, I think there might be another way that could help us find Sakura."
After a long silence, Shirou Emiya spoke up.
"Oh? What way?"
Treya asked curiously.
Tao Yu and Rin Tohsaka had some idea of what he was talking about, as they had already learned from Scathach that Sakura’s dark transformation was triggered by Shirou Emiya.
But Treya had never met Sakura and didn’t understand the relationship between her and Shirou, hence no useful information had been gleaned.
"I’ll try to draw Sakura out. Just myself, and then, you’ll find a way to come through Mr. Men..."
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