Shirou waited in the dim underground cavern beneath Ryuudou Temple, using [Evil] to contact his main body and guide Adam, who was protecting him, in the right direction.
"Is it there?" Adam asked, cupping his body in both palms as he felt Shirou's pull and shuffled in that direction.
It's just over here, Adam. Shirou answered silently.
Truthfully, being exiled to the dimensional rift was like being lost travelers wandering an endless maze, with no way of knowing which way led out. It was possible they'd be trapped there for the rest of their lives.
But the [Council's] summons gave him a compass, offering direction when he had none.
To be honest, Shirou's heart was filled with gratitude. If he ever met the person who summoned him here, he would thank them sincerely.
However, this same gratitude kept him from destroying the black grail. If it was gone, he'd return to his main body, trapped and dying in that maze.
So before Adam retrieved his main body, he was determined to protect the black grail.
He also wanted to figure out the Council's motives. Summoning him here to protect this place seemed like more than a passing whim. There was purpose behind it.
After all, this black grail's crystallization quality didn't even compare to the one owned by Amakusa. If they went through the effort to forcibly summon and appoint him guardian of something so inferior, there must be more to it.
So he decided to bide his time until Adam retrieved his original body. Hopefully he could also uncover the Council's motives in the process - any intel on them would be invaluable.
If Chaldea showed up, he planned to send them back first. But so far there were no signs they'd discovered this anomaly.
Could they still be unaware of this connection point?
Suddenly—
"Hmm?"
Shirou frowned as the black grail flashed, warning him of intruders.
"I just said they might not come, and now they're already here?" He sighed with resignation. He was used to being proven wrong by himself at this point.
Still, with Chaldeans now invading, a senior Captain like Gray would surely lead them, even for a supposed depth E newbie connection point.
So what should he do?
Adam needed to find his way out with his main body, so Shirou couldn't hand over the black grail to the Chaldea now. But at the same time, he also couldn't help Chaldea in destroying the anomaly.
Of course, he could hide the black grail and then help Chaldea. The only problem was, it was hard to guarantee the Council hadn't installed some kind of self-destruct mechanism inside the black grail. If the grail exploded, his Servant Vessel would return to the Throne of Heroes as a record, leaving his main body and Adam wandering the dimensional rift.
So what should he do?
After thinking for a moment, Shirou said, "Might as well send Assassin to die first."
With the black grail in hand, he couldn't be defeated. But the other altered Servants could be taken out by Chaldea first. That way, even if the Council had rigged the grail to self-destruct, it wouldn't matter. He hadn't turned traitor after all!
Assassin and the rest were inferior. Their demise was their own doing. What did that have to do with Eternal King Alter?
Hmm...
Shirou nodded to himself. He felt his plan was pretty decent.
As for whether Assassin would die - wasn't that a given? Based on his experience, even if some of the ones entering were newbies, there would still be veterans like the reliable Gray leading the team. So what was there to worry about?
He just needed to secretly send his subordinates over one by one, like sacrificial lambs, to be disposed of by Chaldea.
...
After a dizzying transition, Kiara looked around at the surrounding buildings, feeling both nervous and thrilled.
Although she had already experienced one connection point battle before, with a Beast and evil God appearing no less.
But that connection point still belonged to Senior Gray and Senior Mash in the end.
This one was truly her own starting point!
Most importantly, according to Chaldea's rules, if she failed the practical combat test, her qualifications as a Master would be revoked. She'd be turned into a technical staff member, or worse, made to do chores...
I don't want to be doing chores!
Kiara cheered herself on mentally. Do your best!
She glanced around at her companions and saw they also looked rather tense, with shaking hands and legs. Especially her friend, Ayaka Sajyou, with her brown hair and delicate features tipped down in anxiety.
Hinako pushed up her glasses, then clapped her hands, drawing everyone's gaze. "Alright, it looks like everyone has adapted to the discomfort. Good."
Kiara and the others looked at Hinako expectantly. According to what Mash and Gray-senpai said, the senior leading newbies would teach them step-by-step how to clear connection points through hands-on experience.
So without a doubt, Hinako-senpai would also be teaching them in a hands-on way how to clear this anomaly. Kiara and company looked at Hinako in anticipation.
But then... nothing.
Hinako completely failed to comprehend the meaning behind their expectant gazes. She simply turned around, about to start clearing the anomaly as usual.
"Umm..." Seeing Hinako showing no intention to explain anything, Kiara couldn't help but timidly raise her hand, catching her attention. "Umm... Senpai... what should we do next?"
Hmm? Hinako looked at Kiara. Oh right, she vaguely remembered Morgan mentioning something about teaching newbies the steps for clearing anomalies... Ah! How annoying. That damn vixen, pushing this tedious thing on me. I'll definitely get back at her!
Hinako said, "What we need to do is very simple: formulate clearing tactics and plans! Plans represent goals. With a complete plan, our thought processes, logic, and actions become much clearer and more efficient. Remember, first thing when entering an anomaly is making a plan. A Master who can't plan isn't a good Master."
There, done. Shouldn't have missed anything important. Hinako nodded. That should cover the proper spiel.
As for making plans...well, that was just lip service. Hinako had never actually done it herself up till now. It was always Morgan who handled that part while she focused on action.
That's probably why she forgot about this little detail.
Kiara and the others kept looking at Hinako expectantly, waiting for her to continue.
And then?
There was no "then".
No follow up or elaboration.
"Alright, start making your plans then," Hinako simply said.
The five clueless newbies exchanged confused looks with each other.
Kiara timidly raised her hand again and asked, "Umm... Hinako senpai, we still don't understand this place's environment and information yet. H-How do we make plans?"
Huh? Oh right... Hinako suddenly realized. She gave Kiara an icy stare.
Kiara shrank back with a whimper. Had she said something wrong? But wasn't she right? How could they make plan without gathering information first?
Hinako said, "This is exactly what I wanted to remind you of next. You must investigate your surroundings and gather information before making plans."
"As expected of Hinako senpai, so reliable!"
"Yeah! This must be the proper order. I knew it, Group A's seniors must be amazing. This is real stuff!" everyone chattered.
But...
"Doesn't it feel like something's missing somehow?" Ayako muttered.
"Now that you mention it, it does feel that way..." Kiara nodded slowly. She felt it too - something was off.
Hearing this, Hinako also frowned. To be honest, ever since arriving, she'd had a nagging feeling that something was lacking. But what? She was here, and so were the five newbies she had to lead. Nothing seemed missing!
Suddenly—
"Whoosh!"
Hinako heard the sound of a blade slicing the air right by her ear.
Enemy attack!
She shifted just in time to see a flash of black flash. A short blade cut through the darkness, barely grazing past her. If she hadn't dodged to the side in time, she would've surely been struck.
Hinako whirled around to see a Heroic Spirit cloaked in black cloak, wearing a skull mask. He watched them from a street lamp not far away.
"It's, it's a Heroic Spirit!" someone yelled.
"An enemy Servant!" Kiara was startled.
"Don't panic!" Hinako said sternly.
Everyone calmed down. Oh right - the one leading them is a A-Team senior! One of Chaldea's ace Masters! With such a reliable leader by their side, what did they have to worry about?
"Gao Changgong, go—!" Hinako shouted.
And then...
No one was there.
Let alone any response.
Oh.
Right.
Hinako remembered.
She remembered what she was missing.
She—she seemed to have left her Servant Gao Changgong behind in Chaldea...
"Kakaka..." Assassin let out an eerie laugh, seeing their plight.
Meanwhile, back in Chaldea, a beautiful youth looked at Hinako's coffin chamber and yelled in frustration, "Lady Hinako, you forgot about me again ahhhhhh!!"
...
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