The dark hand representing the Shadow Game seized Gilgamesh. Having lost two duels in a row, he had no strength left to resist. He was slowly dragged into the darkness.
This was the first servant to have their soul stripped away by a Shadow Game. Previously, all those killed in Shadow Games had been magi capable of producing Soul Crystals. Jiang You was curious about what would happen when a servant was killed in this manner.
As it turned out, nothing happened.
"Seriously? Gilgamesh is worth more than a Magus, right?" Jiang You was deeply disappointed. Although he had added the Elixir of Immortality, a practical card with an effect similar to Monster Reborn, to his Gilgamesh deck, he had expected some additional rewards.
"Illya, he won." Minamoto no Raikou noticed Illya's lack of attention to the Duel that could affect the entire city and kindly reminded her.
"As expected. That golden guy has lost to him countless times already." Illya was focused on tracking down the Magus with the star. Currently ranked fourth, she was in a precarious position. Most Magi had hidden cards up their sleeves, and the third-place holder was an unknown Magus.
Meanwhile, Jason's acquisition of Gilgamesh's star had propelled him straight to second place.
"Now that he's shown himself, why don't you go meet him directly?" Despite being a Berserker, Minamoto no Raikou possessed an A+ Riding skill. Even with modern vehicles, she could easily catch up to Jiang You.
"If he's someone who has captured Illya's attention so completely, this mother wants to meet him too."
Minamoto no Raikou's gaze held a hint of danger. While she would do her best to fulfill Illya's needs, her terrifying possessiveness saw Jiang You as an enemy who might steal her child away.
"If he wants to play this game, I'll follow his rules," she declared.
Illya turned toward the Vimana. "If I win, he'll have nothing to say! I'll teach him a proper lesson then!"
"But there's a problem," Illya said, pressing her hand against her chest, the core of her existence as the Lesser Grail. "Gilgamesh is likely a servant left over from the previous war. Unlike Jason's temporary servants or those summoned by Jiang You, he's a soul capable of manifesting through the Greater Grail. So why haven't I collected his soul?"
Illya felt a growing unease. This Holy Grail War might be another instance of someone meddling behind the scenes.
"If I'd known it would be this easy, I would have activated the Shadow Game back then!" Jason grumbled, hindsight coloring his words. In truth, he hadn't dared to wager his soul against Gilgamesh in that situation.
"Caster can use other people's decks? ... Wait, there are also Assassin cards, and some I don't recognize..."
Rin Tohsaka watched Jiang You's hand, which held cards from at least three different Heroic Spirits and Masters, and noted that to defeat him, she would first have to win their Duel. The Information Gathering room was crucial.
Now that the matter was resolved, Jason had no intention of lingering. He didn't want to be in such close proximity to Medea for any longer than necessary; given her personality, the probability of her turning him into a puppet was alarmingly high. He surreptitiously tugged at Rin Tohsaka, hoping to slip away while Medea was distracted by the livestream.
His instincts proved correct. The moment he turned to leave, a dagger plunged into his back.
"Jason!"
Rin Tohsaka tried to unleash Jewel Magic in retaliation, but Medea had anticipated this and restrained her with Binding Magic.
"Cough... Didn't you say you wouldn't kill me to ensure Caster could properly report the event?" Jason gasped, recalling Medea's earlier explanation of Jiang You's plan. As one of the few servants who had actually participated in a Duel, Jiang You had specifically instructed her not to harm Jason prematurely.
"Two questions in total. Let me answer them one by one." Medea withdrew the dagger. Jason felt the magical energy Rin Tohsaka had been supplying him fading, replaced by a new connection forming between him and Medea.
"First, I truly didn't kill you. My condition for helping Caster was to obtain my own Deck and settle my score with you. You recognize this dagger, don't you? That's right, it's Rule Breaker. From now on, I am your Master."
"Second, you couldn't act prematurely. But without my intervention, you and your little Master would already be headless corpses. So, you two are effectively out of the game now."
Jason couldn't deny it; in that situation, he truly couldn't have protected his Master.
"Therefore, from this moment forward, I am your Master, my 'deceased husband.' Strive to stay alive until you make me happy!"
Medea grinned savagely, abandoning all pretense of composure.
"You vile witch!" Rin Tohsaka struggled against Medea's restraints. Losing her servant would mean losing her only means of opposing Jiang You. She vented her fury with a shout, inadvertently triggering Medea's wrath.
"Witch?" Medea's expression twisted into a ferocious snarl. "It seems this little girl lacks proper education! Let me give you a proper lesson your parents should have taught you!"
Magic surged, ready to strike. Though Medea knew Jiang You preferred to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, she aimed to cripple Rin Tohsaka with this attack.
"Stop! Medea."
A red-clad Heroic Spirit stepped in front of Rin Tohsaka.
"Archer, are you trying to protect this girl? Surely helping your Master by eliminating obstacles aligns with your interests?"
Medea knew Archer had betrayed Rin Tohsaka's camp. If he truly wanted to help her, attacking would be more logical than physically blocking her path. Seizing this opportunity to save face, Medea slowly withdrew her magical power.
Medea dared not displease Jiang You. If he sent her back, she would have nowhere to turn.
"My useless Master has already exhausted him Command Spells. I showed him mercy by not killing him—how could I possibly continue to serve him?"
Archer genuinely believed this. "And Caster desires a spectacular final battle. Rin Tohsaka has compelling reasons to participate. Keeping her around to satisfy Caster's expectations wouldn't be detrimental, would it?"
Archer continued, "From now on, I will fight as Rin Tohsaka's Heroic Spirit."
"Shirou Emiya..."
"He won't object." Archer gave a firm reply. "He certainly won't object."
In this timeline, Shirou had never experienced life-or-death battles. The Shirou Emiya who arrived here was utterly bewildered. He didn't understand why he had summoned a Servant, why combat had turned into a card game, or why the Holy Grail War's traditional chaos had been replaced by a globally streamed card game tournament.
Archer couldn't predict what fate awaited this version of Shirou Emiya.