"You need to be careful on your own." Astolfo cautioned.
Leonidas frowned, then spoke after some thought. "This castle is quite unsettling. Be wary of the woman inside."
"I know. You two should head back first." Red Archer nodded, indicating he'd be careful, then watched Astolfo and the others leave. Once they were gone, he murmured, "The Matou Family... Sakura, could it be you?" He then vanished, heading towards the Matou residence.
At the Emiya Residence, a group of people stared oddly at the two individuals Astolfo had brought back.
"Shinji?" Emiya exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the unconscious Matou Shinji.
"Huh? Shirou, you know this annoying guy?" Astolfo pulled out his signature stick from somewhere and poked Matou Shinji's face with it.
"Uh, he's kind of an old classmate of mine. This guy used to bully Sakura a lot, so I beat him up a few times when I found out. So... we're not exactly on good terms." Emiya Shirou scratched his cheek, a bit embarrassed to talk about his reckless youth.
"Good job, Shirou! Thumbs up!" Astolfo gave Emiya a thumbs-up.
Tohsaka Rin also knew Matou Shinji and disliked him even more, but she also noticed Leonidas and spoke up. "This must be Matou Shinji's Servant, Lancer?"
Leonidas glanced at Tohsaka Rin, initially not wanting to answer, but after Astolfo glared at him, Leonidas cleared his throat and said, "Lancer, Leonidas I. Pleased to meet you all."
It was a greeting of sorts. Tohsaka Rin nodded at Leonidas, and then Astolfo said, "I brought this guy back so you all could figure something out. This Matou Shinji character is just too repulsive. He doesn't deserve to be a Master at all. Who among you will take his Command Seals and become Lancer's new Master?"
At his words, everyone present was momentarily stunned.
Tohsaka Rin and Luvia exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of excitement in the other's eyes.
"Lancer, do you agree to this?" Luvia asked, wanting to get his consent first.
To their surprise, Leonidas scoffed, pointed at Matou Shinji on the ground, and said, "This guy insulted me repeatedly. A warrior can be killed, but not disgraced. I agree to a change of Master. If not, the final outcome is either his death or my demise. I have Battle Continuation, so even if he uses a Command Seal to make me kill myself, I'll use my last ounce of strength to kill him!"
Leonidas was truly angry; he was a man of passion and wouldn't tolerate such indignity.
After confirming Leonidas's wishes, Tohsaka Rin nodded. "Then it's no problem. We can help you transfer the Command Seals. However, there aren't many suitable people left here to become a Master."
Tohsaka Rin looked around. The three of them were immediately excluded. Emiya had Saber, so he was out too. That left only Gray and Miyu.
Gray was too shy, so...
"Miyu, come here."
"Huh? Coming." Miyu walked over to Luvia, who smiled and said, "How about her? She's very powerful, you know." Luvia wasn't lying; Miyu in her Magical Girl state was truly formidable.
"Hmm? A mere little girl?" Leonidas was somewhat displeased. He was the King of Sparta! How could he acknowledge a little girl as his Master!
"No, no, is there no one else? I think he looks good!" Leonidas turned to look at Mo Shuying, who looked around, then realized he was referring to him.
"Me? Sorry, I'm a Heroic Spirit too, even though I'm human now... But, I'm not interested in taking a muscular man as a Servant." Mo Shuying refused with a smile. Are you kidding? You want to be his Servant? Men are out of the question. If it were Jeanne d'Arc, Medusa, Scathach, Astolfo, Tamamo-no-Mae, Mordred, or Minamoto-no-Raikou, then he might consider it.
What? Did something strange slip in? Well, don't worry about such minor details.
Rejected.
Leonidas looked at the others again and realized there really was no one else.
This house full of valiant heroes was quite intimidating.
He turned back to Miyu, who felt a bit uncomfortable under Leonidas's gaze.
It took Leonidas a full minute to approach Miyu, kneel down, and meet her gaze.
"Where I come from, women don't hold a high status, but we understand their importance. 'No women on the battlefield' is so that women can better continue the bloodline of Sparta. This is what we men protect. There's no shame in protecting women. My beautiful lady, may I know your name?"
In that moment, Leonidas's eyes were gentle. Miyu looked at his sincere gaze and let go of her fear.
"Miyu... Miyu Edelfelt."
"Alright, Miss Miyu, are you willing to accept me, a 'traitor,' as your Servant?"
"Oh, you're too kind, Mr. Leonidas. I'd be delighted!"
At that moment, Miyu smiled, and Leonidas smiled too.
Tohsaka Rin and Luvia exchanged glances, and Luvia spoke.
"Alright, let's go inside to transfer the Command Seal. Bazett, bring that half-dead guy in from the floor."
Luvia was referring to Matou Shinji. Bazett nodded, walked over, picked him up with one hand, and followed Tohsaka Rin and the others into the room.
Mo Shuying leaned towards Astolfo and asked, "Astolfo, where's Red Archer? Didn't he go out with you guys? Why isn't he back with you?"
Astolfo shrugged. "That guy went off exploring by himself. Don't worry, Momo, with his strength, nothing will happen to him."
Mo Shuying frowned at this. "Where did he go exploring?"
"Uh... that... uh... the Matou Family! Yes, that's the name." Astolfo lightly tapped his head before remembering.
Hearing that Red Archer had gone to the Matou Family, Mo Shuying's frown deepened.
Astolfo noticed Mo Shuying's unease and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Mo Shuying shook his head and sighed. "Nothing... I just remembered that whenever Red Archer acts alone, it never seems to end well for him..."
Astolfo: "...Huh??"
...
Meanwhile, at the Matou Family residence.
Red Archer navigated around various warning traps and entered the old manor.
As soon as he entered, he felt an incredibly dense concentration of Mana. This feeling of condensed Mana reminded him of Ryuudou Temple when the Greater Grail appeared.
The air was filled with a dark, evil Mana, making Red Archer even more cautious. He crept deeper into the manor and soon discovered something unusual on an open-air platform!
On a spacious open-air platform, various Magecraft patterns were drawn, and countless Mana converged there. In the very center of these patterns lay a purple-haired girl!
"Sakura!" Red Archer was startled. His Clairvoyance showed that Matou Sakura's face was very pale! Her lips were black and purple, her face bloodless, and her breathing was extremely faint!
Seeing this, Red Archer's heart raced. He accelerated towards Matou Sakura, intending to rescue her first. But after a few steps, Red Archer reacted! His heart suddenly sank!
"Damn it! I fell for it!"
Red Archer turned to run! But the surrounding Magecraft patterns suddenly spewed out a large cloud of pink mist. Although Red Archer covered his mouth and nose immediately, it was no use. Red Archer only felt his vision go black, and then he knew nothing more.
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