Just then, a black shadow shot toward Alvin like a ghostly specter, and along with it came countless Desire Insects.

Seeing the attack, Alvin threw a punch, as if even the void itself trembled with it, instantly draining the surrounding magical energy.

The mountain-like shockwave of the punch carried overwhelming pressure, and the black shadow was smashed apart in an instant, blasting into a rain of insect corpses.

Thick fluid splattered and bloomed into ghastly flowers at Tohsaka Rin's feet.

"Go to Mt. Enzō and find Merlin and Illya!"

Alvin picked up Tohsaka Rin and leapt down, then pushed the girl toward the street corner.

These black shadows were equivalent to the "Greater Grail's" rules.

The moment he clashed with them, he knew only one of them could leave.

…As a Servant, the only thing he could do was make sure Rin escaped safely first.

Hearing his words, the girl hesitated for a moment.

But when she saw the swarm-like shadows writhing behind Matou Sakura like dancing demons, she bit her lip and finally turned, running against the wind and snow toward the end of the long street.

At the same time, the black shadow that Alvin had just destroyed quietly re-formed into tentacles and wrapped around him, dragging him toward Matou Sakura.

"Are you still worried about Sister, Senpai?"

The latter floated above the whirlpool of black mud.

Beneath the crystal skirt, a pair of lustrous white bare feet were revealed.

The girl looked as if she were stepping on empty air, though she stood at the center of the black mire, not a speck of dirt touched her toes.

She gazed at the boy and suddenly laughed softly. "Don't worry, I won't chase her… After all, even if Sister climbs to Mt. Enzō, it won't help at all."

After all, those magi and even the Servants like Morgan and Merlin might be powerful, but in Fuyuki City, she alone was the only "god."

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Alvin said in a low voice, "You should know that if the Desire Barrier spell is truly completed… you might be replaced by "It.""

"That's not something I need to think about right now."

Matou Sakura suddenly leaned close to the young man's ear, her breath carrying a faint sandalwood fragrance. "Let me take you somewhere first, Senpai~ I think you'll be very surprised."

At the same time, the black mud vortex beneath her feet began to turn, pulling both her and Alvin down into the depths of the "black mud"…

The next second, every thing changed.

The humming of space seemed to pierce the eardrums, bringing a suffocating feeling like falling into the deep sea.

As the black mud washed over Alvin's vision, he vaguely smelled a dizzying, sweet fragrance, causing his breath to hitch as he looked around...and the moment he did, shock quickly appeared on his face.

The surroundings were no longer the street from before, but a temple.

When he lifted his head to look at the dome, his breathing stalled a bit.

Pink crystals hung upside down from the ceiling, and inside each one were scenes of different couples spending some passionate time together.

Among them, Alvin even saw Matou Sakura at different ages: a helpless girl trembling at the sight of the worm pit; the admiration in her eyes after being saved as she looked at the boy; her lonely envy while watching her radiant sister from a corner; the girl speaking to "another self" in the mirror; and—

The bewitching, beautiful incarnation of Kama floating before the throne.

"Magnificent, isn't it?"

Matou Sakura's voice came from ahead.

She reclined sideways on a throne carved from black ice, legs crossed.

A crystal dress formed from blazing flames barely wrapped her delicate body, highlighting her full and seductive curves.

Alvin stared at the Desire Crystals on the dome and asked in a deep voice, "Where exactly is this place?"

"Matou Sakura" raised a fingertip and tapped the armrest as shadowy tentacles coiled tightly around the boy's body and lightly lifted him to the center of the great hall.

"Welcome to my temple."

Matou Sakura stood up and walked down the steps covered in red carpet with bare feet, each step seeming to ripple with magical power.

"Every trace of magical energy here is filled with people's strongest emotions — the hatred of being abandoned, the deepest desire for a lover, or perhaps it should simply be called — love."

As she spoke, she came before Alvin and gently pressed a hand to his chest.

The cool touch of her pale hand seemed to drop the temperature of the entire temple as she looked up at the young man and smiled. "Senpai's heartbeat… sounds just as lovely as those people whose emotions were devoured."

"I really want to feel that heartbeat more deeply… It would be nice if you could give that desire to me."

The Desire Crystals draw out a person's most intense emotions.

Not long ago, Alvin and Tohsaka Rin had just kissed… yet the Desire Crystal could not extract that feeling from him.

Alvin stared at the enchanting beauty. "You're not Sakura, are you? Where did you hide her?"

"Are you so certain I'm not her?"

Matou Sakura circled around the young man, then suddenly leaned close to his ear, breathing out a sweet, moist whisper. "Is it because you think Sakura wouldn't do this kind of thing to you?"

"But everything I'm doing now is that child's original desire, you know?"

"Everyone has desires, but having desire doesn't mean they will definitely act on it. Most people just keep it buried deep inside and restrain it."

Alvin looked at the tall, curvy figure of "Matou Sakura" and said, "And you're amplifying those people's desires."

Matou Sakura blinked and froze for a moment.

"Pfft!"

She quickly broke into a charming laugh, her body shaking with amusement. "I really didn't expect to hear such righteous words from the demonic dragon of Britain, who's known for his desires."

Her slender fingertips moved upward and lightly touched Alvin's cheek as she said with a smile, "But… when you kissed my sister tonight, it didn't look like you restrained your desire either, did it?"

"Or do you think being intimate with your own Master is something forbidden and immoral?"

That's Tohsaka Rin, no one can restrain their desires against her especially when she is actively seducing.

Of course, if the other party was simply Sakura, it would be the same too...after all, Alvin knew that he liked her a lot too, but it was not her.

It was something far too dangerous, so, at this moment, he really didn't want to think with his lower body.

But bringing that up now was rather pointless.

Alvin's expression turned a bit subtle as he silently glanced at the brightly smiling Matou Sakura.

If he didn't know that this wasn't the real Sakura, he might even suspect these were her true inner thoughts.

"You're something from inside the Greater Grail?" Alvin suddenly asked.

Matou Sakura glanced at the boy and replied calmly, "I'm not the same as that useless thing born from hatred after failure."

"All the world's evils" was merely the product left behind from the Third Holy Grail War.

As for Matou Sakura, she was nurtured within the Greater Grail as another aspect of All the World's Evils.

Her name was Kama, a special being who manifested as Beast III/L.

If Sessyoin Kiara was the embodiment of self-love that "fills the universe with one person's love," then Kama was the embodiment of love for others that "drains the universe dry through love for all humanity."

She despises humans and hates everything in the world, yet she can love any living being.

However, that love is not for their sake, but simply to make them fall.

Therefore, when Alvin spoke about being able to restrain desire, "Matou Sakura"—or rather, Kama, felt both disdainful and annoyed.

She looked him over a few times, then suddenly laughed softly. "Come to think of it, you said earlier that you can restrain your own desires, right?"

As she spoke, she raised her right hand, and a desire crystal drifted lightly into her palm.

"There's still some time… let me have a little taste."

If things went smoothly, she might even devour the White Dragon's emotions before the evolution ritual was complete.

What would he taste like, she wondered?

As if thinking of something interesting, Kama's face soon bloomed with a captivating smile. "I'm quite curious how far this so-called restraint of one's desires can really go."

Her beautiful eyes, slightly moist, gazed into Alvin's.

Shadowy tentacles formed from darkness tightened around him, holding him fast and allowing him to look straight into Matou Sakura's tender, affectionate eyes, and the moment he did, Alvin's gaze wavered slightly.

Even though he clearly knew what she intended to do and knew that he could not be led by her...his eyes were still drawn uncontrollably to "Matou Sakura," and the desire in his stare gradually rose.

As an Assassin-class Servant, he did not possess especially high magic resistance.

Not to mention, as White Dragon, as a normal young man, he was quite prone to be led by his lower half.

After all, the women he's met have always been charming, and, after experiencing so many CG's...his desires, well, weren't exactly low either.

On top of that, he was facing a Beast that had been lurking in Fuyuki for ten years, making resistance far more difficult.

So...

"Matou Sakura's" eyes shimmered, gentle and alluring as she softly held the boy's face.

Then her soft red lips lightly pressed against his, greedily savoring his warmth, though a faintly superior, pleased look showed in her beautiful eyes.

After a moment, she quietly pulled her lips away.

The crystal dress on her body burned like flames, her seductive figure faintly visible within the glow.

"It seems you're not that good at restraining your desires either."

Looking down at his throbbing heat, the girl leaned close to Alvin, like a little devil and whispered with a charming smile.

Her beautiful, seductive voice, and warmth beside his ear, made him shiver.

"Senpai~"

The gorgeous crystal dress gathered around her body burned away in the flames.

Ryuudou Mountain.

"You called me here just to talk about cooperation, Merlin-san?"

At the steps near the mountain summit, a blonde girl with loose hair looked at the white-haired magus in front of her, her tone somewhat cold. "If that's the topic, we can skip all that.

I'm not interested in cooperation."

"If you can make him become my Servant… then I might consider it."

Merlin smiled and tried to persuade her. "Don't say that, Miss Sajyou… the situation is quite urgent right now. If we don't deal with the Beast in Fuyuki, there won't be any future to talk about."

As he spoke, he looked toward the girl standing in the darkness with her arms folded and said with a grin,

"And Miss Reines… I know why you joined this Holy Grail War, but now isn't the time for us to fight separately, is it?"

"I didn't expect the legendary court magus to personally try to persuade me… I'm almost flattered."

The latter stared at the ever-smiling white-haired magus.

Not long ago, she had been secretly gathering intelligence from all sides, when her Servant suddenly informed her that there was a Servant presence on Ryuudou Mountain.

After climbing the mountain, Merlin hadn't hidden his presence at all .

Well, because his purpose was to attract the various Masters.

She had thought he was plotting something… but after meeting him, his first words were about seeking cooperation, which was truly unexpected.

"What do you think, Lancer?" Reines asked softly.

Merlin's ears twitched slightly as he looked toward the Servant beside Reines.

At some point, a woman in a tight combat outfit quietly stepped out of the darkness.

— Scáthach!

She examined Merlin for a moment and said, "If what Caster says is true… then now really isn't the time to be fighting a Holy Grail War."

The existence of a Beast would affect the foundation of humanity.

If allowed to develop unchecked, the consequences would be disastrous.

Hearing this, Merlin seemed to relax inwardly with relief.

To be honest, he had been worried that Scáthach's side would be just as hard to persuade as Sajyou Manaka, after all, she was a known Battle Maniac.

Maybe the only reason she was here, was because she could fight some powerful Servant...well, just remove maybe.

If they had to fight alone, things would become troublesome.

Thinking this, Merlin looked again at Sajyou Manaka and said. "Miss Sajyou, why not reconsider and deal with the Beast together first?"

The latter smiled faintly and said calmly, "I'm not interested in cooperation, Mr. Merlin."

If the person, who came to persuade her was Alvin, that might've been different, but Merlin?

Who was he?

As for things like saving the world or preserving humanity, she had no interest at all.

She only cared about the one she loved, nothing else.

To be honest, when Merlin invited them, she thought he had something important to say, but it turned out to be just this boring talk about saving humanity.

With that thought, Sajyou Manaka turned to leave, uninterested.

However...at that moment, she suddenly heard hurried breathing and running footsteps through the wind and snow.

Merlin looked over and soon saw a girl in a school uniform, looking extremely disheveled, climbing up to the summit.

"Rin…?"

Illya sensed something was wrong and asked instinctively, "What happened to you?"

"Alvin…"

Tohsaka Rin steadied her breathing as much as she could and, under Sajyou Manaka's slowly freezing gaze, said in a low voice:

"Alvin was taken by the Beast."

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