Or, why don’t you find another savior?

"To use magic that is not suitable for oneself will lead to one's own destruction." Rider said calmly while trying his best to fight against Saber, "From this point of view, both your Master and Archer's Master are impeccable."

Saber grinned and approached Rider proudly: "Why, are you envious? It's not too late to surrender now. My Master is excellent, and it's no problem for him to bring one more Servant."

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.” Rider refused without hesitation. He exerted force with his hands and pushed Saber away with her sword. “Even if he is a useless Master, I don’t intend to sit back and watch him destroy himself.”

“That’s a good realization. What next?” Saber asked with a smile, tilting her head.

“I will defeat you here, and all of you.” Rider’s deeply furrowed brows contained a stern determination.

Even Saber had to admit that the enemy was a hero with a clear conscience.

"Then, you should die first!"

Saber roared and rushed forward, colliding with Rider's blade again.

This time, Rider did not have the energy to check on the Master's condition.

Hit by the electric shock and thunder, Shinji Matou, whose whole body was charred and smoking, fell from the tree, rolled on the ground several times, and struggled in pain.

"Suddenly she appeared from behind..." Shinji glared at Sakura fiercely, "Is there such a magic..."

"Yes, there are so-called magic ways that are endless. Even I have only just started." Sakura said, pointing her wand at Shinji again, her voice becoming cold and hard, "I can't stand you showing up to cause trouble again and again like this."

Since they are all opponents in the Holy Grail War, we might as well defeat them now.

Although she has never killed anyone in a magic battle, Shiomi believes that that day will come sooner or later, and has done a lot of psychological preparation for Sakura.

therefore--

"He's just a guy sent away by the Tohsaka family. Why should you be so proud?" Shinji climbed up with the help of the tree trunk. "Let me show you the difference in inheritance!"

The sound of the wind whistling through the forest suddenly became noisy. It was the sound of hundreds of membranous wings vibrating together. They vibrated together, forming a regular and unsettling noisy sound waves that made people feel unhappy.

But this is just a side effect.

In just a short moment, Sakura was surrounded by countless winged insects that emerged from the forest.

"I see. I am in danger too," Sakura commented lightly, twirling the wand in her hand.

The moment these winged insects were ordered to launch the attack, flames swept across the forest in front of the castle.

Chapter 36: Pointless Inferiority

Winters are dry, making it very easy for fires to start in the forest.

It would not be difficult for any magician to set the Einzbern Forest on fire; the so-called forest barrier did not have the ability to prevent fire.

Standing in the center of the burning woods, Sakura ignored the thick smoke and heat, and just calmly looked at Shinji Matou who was on fire in front of her.

Sakura Shiomi was spotless from head to toe, forming a sharp contrast to Shinji's dishevel.

He looked at Sakura with resentment, feeling both envious and jealous of those who were born with magical talent and had studied the ways of magic since childhood.

Even the magic that Shinji is good at cannot threaten the opponent.

Bugs are weak to fire, so use fire to defend and counterattack. Sakura's tactics are simple and effective.

"It would be better to surrender now?" Sakura persuaded kindly, "For Uncle Kariya's sake, if you are willing to use the Command Seal now to make your Servant commit suicide and withdraw from the Holy Grail War, I will let you go."

“Kareya, Kariya, Kariya!” Shinji repeated his uncle’s name, his voice rising each time. “Why should we care about a guy who betrayed our family? I am the one who inherited the magic ways of the Matou family. I am the only one who is qualified to pursue the Holy Grail!”

The crested bugs used to transform his aptitude are rioting in Shinji's body, and Rider and Saber have already started fighting, although the perfect Greek hero is restraining the magic power taken from Shinji.

But for him who does not have normal magic circuits, the operation of magic power means great pain.

Before this, Shinji had always regarded this kind of pain as a glory different from that of ordinary people, and the nobility of a magus family.

Unfortunately, this nobility is nothing but a castle in the air. In front of a real magician, no one would even look at him with admiration, and would only look at him with pity like Sakura did.

"Is it really necessary to pursue this kind of magic that devours lives?" Sakura couldn't understand.

Dad always said that the path of a magician is not easy to follow, and that if you feel tired or troubled, you can give up at any time. With her ability, she will never have to worry about the attraction between her own talent and the magic path, causing trouble in her life.

So for Sakura, magic is just her interest and ideal, something she wants to do and is willing to do, and she will never pay the price with her life.

"You have such strength, but you still don't like magic..." Shinji said indignantly, "Why can people like you become magicians!"

Jealousy and resentment turned into anger and hatred, causing the crest worms that replaced the magic circuits in Shinji's body to become active, causing severe pain and chills to spread throughout his body. But he had already accepted it and regarded it as his own happiness.

Devour me, devour my body. Shinji roared in his heart.

Anyway, he originally wanted to become a true magician after obtaining the Holy Grail. As long as he had one breath left, no matter how high the price was, it didn't matter.

Perseus, who lived a happy life, also said that his wish was to fulfill the Master's wish. Shinji couldn't ask for more, the Holy Grail would belong to him alone.

The swarm of insects gathered from the dark corners of the forest and behind the fallen and burning trees like a tsunami.

These horrific worms look like maggots, but are the size of a fat mouse. They are all the "fangs" given to Shinji when he was transformed by his grandfather Zouken.

"Maybe this is fate." Sakura raised her cane and pointed it at Shinji.

The other party had no intention of surrendering, and she didn't intend to waste any more words.

I will go back and make a sincere apology to Uncle Kariya for not being able to save his nephew who has gone astray.

There is no possibility of reconciliation between the two types of magicians.

Sakura also thought, if she was born as an ordinary child, would she not have left the Tohsaka family and left her sister?

But if I do that, I won’t be able to be my dad’s daughter anymore.

She often has such contradictions, but often feels that there is actually no difference.

Just like now, her sister is fighting alongside her.

We need to deal with the enemy in front of us as soon as possible, and then deal with the more troublesome Berserker.

"Hey! What are you looking at!" Shinji yelled.

He realized that this woman had never taken him or this battle seriously from the beginning.

I'm going to kill you and Toosaka, and feed your bodies to that hero who always has a compassionate expression on his face.

To tarnish, to ridicule, to insult.

Shinji Matou just wants to kill everything he sees.

Feeling the host's hatred, the insects began to wriggle their bodies, as if they were convulsing in pain. Straight cracks appeared on their backs, revealing their shiny black shells and wings that looked like steel.

Just like that, one after another, giant beetles emerged from the worms' skins and spread their wings, making a noisy sound. The beetles formed a formation around Shinji in the sky, and soon a large group of them gathered.

Winged Blade Bug is one of the few deadly attack methods that Shinji can master among the insect manipulation magic of the Matou family.

He was even better at letting bugs attach themselves to people's bodies, gnawing on their flesh and energy, and converting it into his own magic power.

But there was nothing to be done, Shinji's bugs couldn't even get close enough to Sakura before being burned to ashes by the magic flames.

Therefore, they had to win by numbers. That kind of fire magic that swept through the forest would inevitably consume a lot of mana, and Shinji expected that Sakura would not be able to use it frequently.

As long as one winged blade insect breaks through the defense line, even the bones of a yak will be chewed into pieces.

Faced with such a large group of enemies, Sakura just frowned slightly, not out of nervousness, but disgust.

Influenced by her mother, she doesn't like dealing with insects.

"I see. Those bugs just now were just the vanguard, and these are the reserve troops." Sakura raised the magic wand that had been tempered with magical power for several years.

If you continue to perform fire magic, you might start a forest fire.

Sakura took this into consideration and changed her strategy.

The winter wind that was originally just gently blowing against her clothes suddenly made the forest sway, and the hem of Sakura's Hogunhara uniform skirt, which she had temporarily purchased as an exchange student, also slapped her slender legs, making a rustling sound.

"After the flames, there is a violent wind..." Shinji's eyes were filled with malicious resentment. He kept saying that the other party could use magic of more than one attribute. "One by one, to what extent do you want to look down on others!"

With his roar, the army of winged insects launched a charge.

Under the strong wind, ordinary insects would have been dizzy and unable to fly smoothly, but the winged-blade insects were different. They were the magician's familiars and were beings with magical powers.

Even if the wind blows away the clouds, it will not affect their flight.

Unless, the strong wind has turned into sharp blades, capable of tearing apart any enemy that enters this area.

Chapter 37: Unconstrained

In terms of close combat, it is no exaggeration to say that the Saber class is the strongest among the seven classes.

Among servants of the same specifications, Lancer is often easily suppressed because his ability value is slightly lower than Saber.

Rider, the Greek hero Perseus who turned into Perseus after his death, was not known for his pure martial arts in the legend. This was much worse than Hercules who was still fighting fiercely with Berserker and Rin.

Therefore, although it is said that it can leave wounds that cannot be healed, Rider's sword cannot hurt Saber, not to mention that she is wearing armor woven with magic power. Even if he hits her by chance, it will only cause a series of sparks.

So Rider changed his battle strategy. He fought and retreated, leading Saber to the nearby Einzbern Castle.

The castle itself is not very tall, with the highest point only having six floors. Compared to the buildings in the city, the height has to be increased by a few more numbers.

Rider ran on the castle walls as if they were walking on flat ground, and so did Saber.

The two men clashed several times on the city wall in a way that violated the laws of physics.

But unlike Saber who had to constantly jump up from the city wall and stay suspended in the air to fight with Rider, Rider sometimes put away his sword and flew backwards when he was about to be hit by Saber's sword.

After learning Rider's real name, Saber, with Sakura's help, made up for the legend of Perseus.

This man, who was favored by the Greek gods, had obtained many treasures.

In addition to the sword that cut off Medusa's head, and the bag that was previously set up as a barrier to abduct Sakura and Rin, Rider's current flying ability should be the shoes given to him by Hermes.

Clinging to the castle wall, Saber was troubled by the variability of Rider's abilities, while taking advantage of the breaks in the battle to analyze Rider's fighting style.

She found it a bit strange. Although he possessed many Noble Phantasms, Rider either just flew up to dodge or canceled his flight and slashed at her head with his sickle sword.

Could it be that--

Saber had a guess in her mind. She observed Rider's flying trajectory, predicted the route of Rider's next attack, and released the accumulated magic power in one breath.

"Red Thunder!"

The huge magical force tore apart the thick walls of Einzbern Castle, and the old bricks and stones fell to the ground.

Saber stepped on the window sill as a point of force, and like a cannonball, she charged straight at Rider, who was about to release his flying ability and take out his long sword to attack.

“?!” Rider obviously did not expect Saber to be able to shorten the distance in one breath.

The difference in agility between them was not too great, and he was unable to dodge. Although he avoided the fatal blow from Saber's blade, he still took a strong hit.

“Guha…”

Rider was caught off guard and vomited blood. He quickly stepped back to avoid Saber's second slash.

He had not expected Saber to be so reckless as to rashly jump to a distance higher than the castle to launch an attack without the ability to fly.

After the power of jumping disappeared, Saber could only fall towards the castle.

Although falling from this height would be uncomfortable even for a Servant...

But since he is a follower, he has the means to avoid this danger.

Spiritualization.

Saber transformed into a spirit, fell back onto the rooftop on one side of the castle, and reappeared.

“An excellent strike.” Rider took a deep breath, and after recovering from his injuries, he uttered words of praise.

“You are unwilling to show your true ability.” Saber tapped her shoulder armor with her long sword and said disapprovingly, “As expected, a third-rate master is dragging down the strength of the great hero.”

Rider wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression becoming grim: "Saber, even though we are enemies, I cannot ignore you if you continue to insult the Master."

He did try not to use too much magic power for the sake of his master's life.

However, the feeling transmitted through the magic channel made Rider feel uneasy. Perhaps the Master could no longer hold on and was about to be defeated.

Because Saber was right, the gap between the Masters was too big.

The purple-haired girl was no ordinary magician. Perseus' experience told him that, given time, the girl might even surpass Circe, who lived in a similar era to him.

Being blessed with talent, and carefully honing this talent.

From the very beginning, Perseus's Master lost.

When he was summoned by Matou Shinji, he realized his master's fate of not being loved by magic.

The more you practice magic, the more your life will be reduced, and eventually you will die from it.