That afternoon, Tong Shen, who had slept for eight hours, finally got up. After dinner, he went to the room again with Toosaka Rin and Emiya Shirou to discuss the next strategy.

"…Now Caster already knows Emiya-san's address, and may have found out our identities, so the most urgent thing is to find Caster as soon as possible and kill her or her Master."

"According to Tong's analysis, Caster may have absorbed human souls to replenish his magic power."

"And with Caster's class, to do this, he must have a base, which is what we call a magic workshop, or a magic house or something like that."

"With that in mind, I arranged for Archer to go out and investigate while we were on break."

As she spoke, Toosaka Rin looked at Hong A who was folding her arms behind her and whispered, "Tell us your findings!"

Hong A raised his head slightly and said calmly: "I wrote down Caster's magical characteristics during the battle, and three hours ago, I detected similar magical fluctuations in the southwest."

"...Southwest?"

Emiya Shirou was slightly startled.

Toosaka Rin and Tong Shen glanced at him and asked, "Emiya-san, you should know something about the area in that direction, right?"

Emiya Shirou frowned, and then his pupils shrank as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Could it be... No! Impossible!"

Toosaka Rin frowned slightly: "Emiya-san, we are exchanging information. If you have any guesses, please speak up quickly, even if it's just an idea!"

"……All right."

Emiya Shirou gritted his teeth and said, "If it's southwest of my house, or... maybe it's Ryudo Temple!"

"Ryudo Temple?"

Toosaka Rin was slightly startled, then she pinched her chin thoughtfully: "If I remember correctly, the president of the student union in the school, Yanagi Ichisei, is the son of the abbot of Yanagi Temple!"

"……really."

Emiya Shirou nodded nervously.

Tong Shen glanced at him: "Are you nervous?"

Emiya Shirou stammered, "No...no!"

Toosaka Rin chuckled and said, "Are you worried that Yanagi Ichisei is Caster's Master?"

"I know that you two have been friends for many years. If he is really Caster's Master and allows his Heroic Spirit to absorb human souls to replenish magic power, you should be very sad, right?"

"..." Emiya Shirou fell silent.

As Toosaka Rin said, he and Yanagido Kazunari have been friends for many years, and he really doesn't want to doubt him unless it is necessary.

Toosaka Rin said calmly: "So, if you really remember any clues, tell them as soon as possible to avoid making a big mistake."

Shirou Emiya hesitated, and after struggling for a while, he sighed and said, "I just think that the fact that Caster came directly to our door means that she or her Master may know our identity, so..."

Toosaka Rin frowned and said, "So Yanagido Issei, who is our classmate, is the biggest suspect."

The atmosphere in the room became silent for a moment.

Tong Shen looked at Shirou Emiya, then at Rin Toosaka, and shook his head, saying, "We can't just judge like that. Uncle Bu had a fierce battle with Hercules in the early morning. Caster might have noticed us because of this battle."

“…That’s indeed a possibility.”

Toosaka Rin nodded slowly, and Emiya Shirou perked up, seeming to hope that this was the truth.

Hong A said calmly: "But in the final analysis, Liudong Temple is still the most suspicious."

Lu Bu's eyes swept across everyone's faces, and suddenly he said impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense. Since you are not sure, why not go to his house and test it directly? Young man Emiya, you are that person's good friend, can't you take us to visit him?"

“Ah, this…”

Shirou Emiya blinked his eyes: "Yeah, that seems to be a solution, what do you think, Toosaka-san?"

"Wait!" Toosaka Rin frowned and said, "If Yanagi Ikari is really Caster's master, then Yanagi Temple is likely to become her magic studio. If we go there rashly, wouldn't we be walking into a trap?"

"So what?"

Lu Bu glanced at her and said calmly: "No matter what kind of dangerous place it is, with me and the two of them by your side, are you still worried about any danger? At worst, I can just destroy this Liudong Temple..."

Very good, a classic Lu Bu-style speech!

Toosaka Rin complained in her heart, but she also felt that Lu Bu's suggestion was not impossible to implement.

After all, they have three Heroic Spirits. Although they cannot take away air superiority from the flying Caster for the time being, at least they should have no problem protecting their own safety.

"That's it!"

Tong Shen calmly decided, "Let's go to Liudong Temple."

Shirou Emiya was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked: "When?"

Tong Shen glanced at him and said slowly: "Now!"

…

…

If other classes of heroes are early-stage heroes adapted to the current version, then Caster is a typical late-stage hero. Although he can't beat anyone at the beginning, once he develops, he will definitely be in charge of the game in the late stage.

Therefore, whether for the Holy Grail War or for the humans of Fuyuki City, Tong Shen could not allow her to continue replenishing her magic power and must get rid of her as soon as possible.

So, after a brief discussion, the group of six left the Emiya household at dusk.

At the same time, a small insect the size of a mung bean was lying on the tree trunk outside the Emiya family's door, and its compound eyes silently took in the scene in front of it.

Outside the gate of Ryudo Temple, Medea, dressed in a dark purple robe, raised the corner of her mouth, and lightly pointed her right hand in front of her with her black magic glove. The purple light curtain floating in front of her suddenly shattered and turned into light spots that dissipated in the air.

"Sure enough, it's coming this way."

Medea narrowed her eyes slightly, and a hint of murderous intent appeared in her enchanting eyes.

"Yes, the most powerful trio has finally come to kill us!"

Next to Medea, a man in a lavender kimono was leaning against the wall, holding a long sheathed samurai sword in both hands. His long dark blue hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head, with his temples hanging down to his collarbone. There was a faint smile on his handsome face, and a green branch in his mouth. He exuded a calm and unhurried demeanor.

“…Do your best to stop it!”

Medea lowered her fair arms, and her light blue eyes looked indifferently at the man in front of her through the shadow of the bottom edge of the hood.

"If you can't stop me, then I'll just let you die..."

"What a coincidence, I thought so too!"

The blue-haired man was biting the branch in his mouth with a smile, his eyes seemed to be able to cross the space and see the people rushing towards him.

"I am just an unknown swordsman lost in the old times. This is what a 'lonely ghost' is."

"But even I am able to transcend time and space and fight with the strong men from many different eras..."

“What an exciting thing this is!”

"For this, even if I die under their swords, what does it matter?"

The blue-haired man smiled carefreely, glanced at Medea with his deep blue eyes, and sighed.

"The only flaw is that I have a mediocre Master."

“…”

Medea's mouth twitched twice. She was about to get angry, but suddenly she seemed to have thought of something and smiled: "Forget it, he is just a dying man. Whatever you say, as long as we can defend the mountain gate, that's enough..."

The blue-haired man sighed, "You see, this is what I hate about you."

Caster chuckled twice indifferently, waved his sleeves and walked into the mountain gate.

"Keep a good look at the mountain gate, my Servant..."

“…”

The blue-haired man curled his lips, sat on the stone steps in front of the mountain gate with a samurai sword in his arms, quietly waiting for the upcoming life-and-death battle.

…

…

On the other side, the closer they got to Ryudo Temple, the more Toosaka Rin and the others could sense the indescribable huge magical power.

Lu Bu walked quietly beside Tong Shen, with blue light shining in his dark eyes. It was Deng Yougang who was observing the situation in Liudong Temple through Lu Bu's spiritual body.

In Deng Yougang's eyes, the colorful and glittering light shield was like an inverted sea bowl, covering the entire Liudong Temple. A huge amount of magic power was faintly rising and dissipating from the light shield.

Judging from the amount of magic power stored, the other party should have secretly murdered at least a dozen residents of Fuyuki City.

"Although I am very upset by this kind of disregard for human life, but when I think about how we are doing well here, I still can't get angry..."

Deng Yougang complained inside Lu Bu's body.

Lu Bu didn't care about this at all. Instead, he felt a little uninterested because of the nature of Medea's job.

At the same time, Emiya Shirou held his cell phone and kept trying to dial a number with an anxious look on his face.

Tong Shen glanced at him and asked, "Why, still no news?"

"Well, still no." Emiya Shirou put down his phone with a frown on his face. "I've called more than ten times since I left the house, but Issei never answered. I'm worried..."

Emiya Shirou didn't finish his words, but everyone understood what he meant.

Toosaka Rin sighed and said, "Caster is a Heroic Spirit who descended in the name of a magician. Even if he possesses the Command Spell, he still needs to be guarded against. If Yanagi-san is really the Master, he may have become a puppet that supplies magic power. If Yanagi-san is not the Master..."

"What will happen?"

Emiya Shirou asked nervously.

Toosaka Rin looked hesitant and didn't say anything.

Tong Shen said nonchalantly: "Perhaps it has become the nutrient for the other party to replenish his magic power..."

Shirou Emiya looked dazed: "How could this happen?"

Hong A shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. A rabbit doesn't eat grass near its burrow. Building a magic workshop is not something that can be done overnight. In order not to attract attention from the outside world, Caster may not take action against the monks of Ryudo Temple."

Toosaka Rin nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, wasn't Yanagi-san alive and well when we were in school before?"

“…Don’t comfort me.”

Shirou Emiya shook his head, his expression gradually becoming firm: "I am not such a fragile person. Whether Yicheng is dead or not, I will do my best to rescue him!"

Tong Shen showed a hint of appreciation on his face.

“clang——”

At this moment, the crisp sound of sword rang out.

Saber, who was wearing silver armor, suddenly stopped, drew out the invisible sword covered by the barrier, and pointed it towards the stone steps with a serious expression.

There, a blue-purple figure stood quietly, carrying a purple samurai sword that was one and a half meters long, and his deep blue eyes looked down with joy.

“It’s finally here!”

The blue-haired man in a lavender kimono gently lowered the long sword in his hand and glanced at the three heroic spirits below with joy.

"Then, my three Excellencies, who will be my opponent?"