"Part of what comes next will be my personal memories. There are still some missing pieces here and there, but it should not affect your understanding of Shirou's past."
After the screen went completely dark, Illya took a deep breath and calmed her emotions somewhat.
Even though she had already experienced it once, watching it again was still painful.
As she finished speaking, she waved her hand, and the image lit up once more.
The perspective was similar to Shirou's, though distant objects appeared slightly blurred.
It was probably related to the difference in their visual ranges.
Shirou's eyesight really was absurdly good.
In any case, everyone's viewpoint was usually centered around him, so the details of faraway scenery were not particularly important.
As the scene resumed, they discovered that Shirou and the others were now inside the Shirou residence.
The person lying in bed was Shirou himself.
Beside him were Rin, Illya, and Rider, all tending to him.
"So it has already been attached?"
Blaze had absolutely no interest in Rider's appearance.
Instead, she immediately crouched down and began examining Shirou's exposed right arm.
It was visibly thicker than normal.
The skin tone clearly differed from Shirou's own, and it was noticeably longer than his left arm.
Layer upon layer of red cloth strips were wrapped around it.
If she remembered correctly, Shirou himself often wore a similar wrapping hidden beneath his clothing around his right arm.
"Yes. Archer and Berserker have both already disappeared. The only Servant on our side now is Rider, who suddenly came to help us. Though she will only provide support and will not participate in combat."
Illya briefly explained the situation so everyone could quickly catch up.
The reason she had skipped ahead to this part was because the preceding scenes were considerably bloodier.
More importantly, Rider would provide a great deal of critical information.
Not directly, but enough clues could be pieced together from her words.
For example, Shinji was not the true Master.
Sakura was.
Shinji's death was connected to Sakura.
The abnormalities surrounding the Holy Grail also appeared to be connected to Sakura.
Most importantly, Rider was helping them because of Sakura's final Command Seal.
"Protect Shirou."
That had been Sakura's command.
That was why Rider was here.
However, beyond that, she would provide no further assistance.
If Shirou's group intended to oppose Sakura, Rider would no longer protect them.
Another thing they could confirm was that Berserker had been completely corrupted by the black mud.
The next time they met, he would be an enemy.
As for the golden Servant, Gilgamesh had apparently withdrawn safely.
The current situation could only be described as overwhelmingly disadvantageous for Shirou's side.
With virtually no Servants left, they would have to face the golden Archer as well as the corrupted Berserker and Saber.
"Mm..."
As the three continued discussing their situation, the unconscious Shirou appeared to awaken from the noise.
He let out a groan before opening his eyes.
After he woke up, it became immediately obvious that his right arm was no longer under his control.
Several times he instinctively tried to support himself with it and failed.
In the end, Rin and Illya had to help pull him upright.
Even after sitting up, Shirou still seemed dazed.
After staring blankly for a long while, he finally regained his bearings and asked about everything that had happened afterward, as well as why Rider was there.
Rin and Illya quickly summarized their current circumstances and Rider's situation.
Then they asked whether he felt any discomfort anywhere.
At first, Shirou did not understand why Rin was asking.
Only after noticing that both girls were staring at his right arm did he finally realize something was wrong.
He had initially assumed the lack of control was simply because he had just woken up.
Apparently the reality was far worse than he had imagined.
Neither of them needed to explain whose arm it was.
The fragmented memories from before he lost consciousness began resurfacing.
After a moment of silence, Shirou did not ask any further questions.
Instead, he asked what they planned to do next.
Since it had already happened, there was nothing to do except accept it.
Given the situation at the time, magecraft could have been used to stop the bleeding.
It would have been dangerous, but not so dangerous as to require this.
Archer must have had a reason for leaving him this arm.
After all, Archer had entrusted him with defeating the other golden Archer.
As for how he was supposed to use it...
Shirou had no idea.
At the moment, he could not even move a finger, let alone utilize the arm's power.
Rin and Illya had already told him:
Once he activated this arm, there would be no turning back.
To fully draw out its power, he would need nearly ten years.
Shirou already knew his answer.
That was why he had asked what they should do next.
The moment he spoke, everyone understood what choice he had made.
Rin merely sighed.
Her expression practically said, I knew it would come to this.
But she did not try to persuade him otherwise.
She knew roughly what Archer had gone through.
Shirou making this decision did not surprise her.
And at present, they genuinely needed Shirou's power.
Illya, on the other hand, was far less pleased.
However, a crucial part of their upcoming plan required Shirou's Projection Magecraft, so she could not really object.
Even so, her cheeks puffed out in frustration.
Anyone could tell exactly what she was thinking.
The sight was unexpectedly amusing.
For a moment, the oppressive atmosphere that had hung over everyone finally eased.
After deciding on their next course of action, Rin planned to set out as soon as daybreak arrived.
The sooner they obtained that item, the greater their chances of ending this Holy Grail War.
"They really are carrying everything on their shoulders, are they not? Both Shirou and Rin."
Talulah suddenly spoke up.
Among everyone here, besides Shirou, the person she paid the most attention to was Saber. Rin came second.
The reason she paid special attention to the former was because Saber possessed many qualities that intrigued her.
As for the latter... after learning about Rin's relationship with Sakura Matou, she had naturally begun paying closer attention to her as well.
Rin was always criticizing Shirou for his way of doing things, yet she consistently made decisions very similar to his.
Perhaps that was to be expected from Archer's Master.
In that regard, they were surprisingly alike.
"That is very Shirou."
After thinking for quite a while, Croissant could only come up with that single sentence.
She did not even feel like making a joke.
Ever since she had met him, Shirou had always thrown himself wholeheartedly into whatever needed to be done.
No matter how dangerous it was.
"...So after activating that arm, Shirou will temporarily gain Archer's power?"
Blaze had no intention of dwelling on the previous topic.
She had seen plenty of people like that before.
Compared to them, Shirou's only real difference was that he was not actually obligated to shoulder all those responsibilities.
She could not say there was anything wrong with his way of thinking.
Without people like him, the world might be even darker and crueler than it already was.
That was especially true for people like them, the Infected.
She simply disliked spending too much time thinking about complicated matters.
That did not mean she could not understand them.
Precisely because she understood, she wanted to change and improve the situation faced by the Infected.
There was no absolute right or wrong in matters like these.
They were simply different beliefs and ideals.
"No," Illya replied, shaking her head.
"At the end of the day, it is only Archer's arm. Expecting Shirou to surpass its original owner through a single arm alone is unrealistic."
"The important part is the memories and techniques contained within it."
"Shirou's biggest challenge right now is whether he can endure the memories inside that arm, as well as the power that far exceeds his own."
"The good news is that he does not need to worry about being consumed by the arm for the time being."
"However, a container can only hold so much."
"Once that container becomes full and starts overflowing, that is when Shirou will suffer the arm's backlash."
"Backlash? What does that mean?"
Amiya looked somewhat confused.
She was not the only one.
Everyone present seemed equally puzzled.
Judging from Illya's tone, it sounded like something very bad.
"It means what Shirou looks like now."
Illya paused.
"I mean the Shirou outside."
"..."
After that reminder, everyone immediately understood how severe this so-called backlash was.
They had seen it with their own eyes.
Countless blades bursting from within his body.
It looked almost like the final stages of Oripathy, when crystals erupted throughout an Infected's body.
The sensation of something like that...
None of them could even begin to imagine it.
"On top of that, Shirou had already exhausted his magical energy beforehand."
"That is why using the Emiya Kuro's power produced those effects."
"However, the problem itself is not particularly serious."
"Someone else has already taken care of it."
Seeing everyone's expressions grow even heavier, Illya quickly added an explanation.
She wanted to reassure them that Shirou's condition would soon be resolved.
After all, she had not brought them here just to make them miserable.
"Oh, it is fine? That is good."
Hearing Illya's reassurance, everyone visibly relaxed.
After all, what they were watching now was merely a memory of the past.
What truly mattered was Shirou's current condition outside.
Now that Illya had confirmed he would be fine, they could finally put their worries to rest.
As they gradually came to understand Shirou's condition, Shirou and the others had already begun making preparations to depart.
According to Rin, they were going to use Shirou's Projection Magecraft to recreate an incredibly powerful weapon.
At the very least, it would give them enough combat capability to stand against Servants.
Whether it would actually be enough to win was another matter entirely.
Still, it was better than charging into battle empty-handed.
Simply put, Rin and Illya would assist Shirou, allowing him to use his memories to travel back into the past, examine the weapon's structure, and then project it.
As for how he would see it through memory...
It was much like what Amiya and the others were experiencing right now.
At that moment, Amiya and the others witnessed the process by which the Holy Grail War had originally been established.
They clearly saw the entire ritual sacrifice of an enlarged version of Illya.
The images were extremely disturbing.
Several people turned their heads away, unable to continue watching.
By the time Shirou came back to his senses, a rather unusual-looking sword had already appeared in his hand.
That was the power they would later use to deal with those Servants and the mud of the Holy Grail.
After that, perhaps because Shirou had untied the red cloth wrapped around his arm and begun using Projection Magecraft, he would often make some strange moves from time to time.
For example, he would suddenly become absent-minded, stare blankly into space, or say strange things.
According to Illya, Shirou's memories were now gradually being eroded and overwritten by Archer's arm. These were all early symptoms.
The three people from Rhodes Island were very familiar with these symptoms, because Nameless had often been like this during his final few months as well.
After that, whenever the memory scenes focused on Shirou alone, they would often become fragmented and intermittent. Only when viewed from Illya's perspective did they become somewhat more coherent.
Everyone understood the reason behind it, so nobody asked any further questions.
"Archer has a gemstone necklace like that one too."
Seeing Shirou sitting alone in the room, staring blankly at a heart-shaped gemstone necklace in his hand, Alina said.
Previously, she had not understood the meaning of that necklace, but now she did.
It was something that had once saved his life, something extremely important to him.
It was also the bond between Heroic Spirit Emiya and Rin Tohsaka, the catalyst that had led to his summoning in this Holy Grail War.
Rin was aware of Shirou's condition as well. She merely looked at the necklace with a somewhat complicated expression before reminding him that he could carry it with him.
Most of its magical energy had been used to save the critically injured Shirou back then, but there was still some residual magical energy remaining within it.
Perhaps it would be able to help Shirou in the battles to come.
At present, Shirou, who possessed Archer's arm, and Rin, who wielded the Jeweled Sword, were already the strongest combat forces in the group. If they had to fight Servants, it would inevitably be the two of them who would have to handle it.
Rider could not be relied upon at the moment. After confirming that Shirou and the others intended to stand against Sakura, she frequently disappeared from sight.
She neither opposed nor supported their actions.
Following Sakura's final command was the only thing she believed she should do.
Bearing the pressure of having three powerful Servants, Berserker, Saber, and Gilgamesh as enemies, Shirou and the others decided that their next step would be…
To bypass those Servants entirely and destroy the Holy Grail directly!