Book 6: Chapter 13:1: Time Witch—Luo Li, Part 1
Things weren’t playing out as Tohsaka Rin had anticipated. Has this Holy Grail War taken another unexpected turn because of me?
With a furrowed brow, Tohsaka Rin sat in her chair, mulling over the situation. The already challenging Holy Grail War seemed to have a new twist. She wasn’t sure if this change was for the better or for the worse.
The self-proclaimed black-side Saber Heroic Spirit standing before her didn’t scare Tohsaka Rin too much. After all, she had been in the Re:Life Chat Group for some time now, and through it, she had acquired a few items that could save her life or at least aid her escape.
Although I can’t defeat you, it doesn’t mean I respect you. A Heroic Spirit stooping to surprise-attack children, aren’t you shameless?
Tohsaka Rin had placed marks on her younger sister and mother. If she transmigrated to another world, she could choose to take them with her. As for her father? At least before being backstabbed by Kotomine Kirei, Golden Glitter would protect him; nothing would go wrong. While Golden Glitter was very indifferent, he was incredibly powerful.
Furthermore, if things went out of control, she could consult her all-powerful chat group friends.
Although the Re:Life Chat Group was a bit somber, the re:lifers within the group were pretty good to their own. They would be willing to help in any way they could.
This group was nothing like the Dimension Administrators Association. The people in the Re:Life Chat Group joined the chat after dying once, most of them murdered or nursing deep-seated vendettas. Those who died of natural causes or accidents, earthquakes, for instance, were few. Few held no grudges.
Would you expect a group of people who’ve died once—and most bearing heavy grudges—to have a jovial atmosphere when they gathered?
One member of the Re:Life Chat Group, known as Little Soul Ball, held deep resentment. No one knew why, and he never talked about it, only constantly cursed someone named Shaohao instead.
According to Alice, Little Soul Ball had asked her for a vial of T-virus, but for what purpose, no one knew.
[TL Note: Little Soul Ball took quite a bit of research to find. This character is from a Chinese game not translated into English, and it is the player character. The game’s name is X2 – Eclipse. You can read more about this game from this English review of the game: /2020/11/x2-eclipse-quick-look-at-new-mobile-action-rpg-launched-in-china/. Shaohao is a character from the same game. He seems to be one of the main characters besides the player and at least part of the story is about him. This game has rogue-like elements in the map generation and is an action RPG. The game’s worldview draws from deities of different cultures. Shaohao is likely inspired by a Chinese mythological figure of the same name. Here is more information about that mythological figure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaohao. Alice is from the Resident Evil movie universe, and here is more information about her and the T-virus: /wiki/Alice and /wiki/T-virus_(Anderson).]
“That’s not something you can know,” Chen Heng stated, evading Tohsaka Rin’s questions.
“So, are you, a Heroic Spirit, planning to harm the family of a Holy Grail War participant like me? That doesn’t sound very heroic.”
Although she hadn’t seen Chen Heng in any anime, that didn’t stop her from throwing sarcastic jabs at him. Being summoned for the Holy Grail War meant he was a hero known through the ages—except for cases like Emiya Shirou, who was essentially a lackey of Alaya.
[TL Note: Emiya Shirou is a Counter Guardian mentioned in B02C004. Here is more information on him as a person rather than a Servant: /wiki/Shirou_Emiya.]
“You hurl insults at me, yet you’re not worried about your mother and sister?” Chen Heng brushed off Tohsaka Rin’s derisive words. He wasn’t there as a hero or to pick a fight with her.
“Humph!” Tohsaka Rin merely snorted at Chen Heng’s words, not dignifying them with a response. She wasn’t about to tell him she had placed malice-detecting marks on her mother and sister that would alert her if they got hurt.
Chen Heng knew about these malice-detecting marks. That was why he hadn’t harmed Tohsaka Aoi or Sakura but merely put them to sleep for a while. Furthermore, it was out of kindness, so he didn’t trigger Tohsaka Rin’s marks.
“Young one, don’t trust too heavily in your abilities. Look, what is this?” He pulled a hair clip from his pocket and tossed it to her.
“This-this is…” When Tohsaka Rin caught the purple hair clip, her calm demeanor shattered. She recognized the clip—it was a gift she had given Sakura.
Having foreseen this situation using his Absolute Precognition, Chen Heng had deliberately taken a hair clip from Sakura’s table to intimidate Tohsaka Rin.
He had done this solely to facilitate the conversation with Tohsaka Rin, absolutely not because he knew she would scorn him internally.
Right, there’s nothing wrong with this. Well, that’s the way it is. If you can convince yourself that a lie is true, then it becomes the truth. Whether you believe it or not, at least Chen Heng believed it.
Tohsaka Rin challenged him, “This isn’t science or Magecraft. How could you kidnap my younger sister without triggering the malice-detecting mark?”
“Malice-detecting marks, what an apt name! However, what if I held no malice when kidnapping her? It’s as simple as that. If I truly believe my actions are for their own good, I won’t trigger the malice mark, right?” Chen Heng gave Tohsaka Rin a baffled look—just tit for tat.
“How twisted can you get, thinking that kidnapping is beneficial for others?” For some reason, Tohsaka Rin, who had initially been rather flustered, suddenly mocked Chen Heng with newfound confidence.
“Are you trying to buy time?” Chen Heng pondered, stroking his chin, and activated the Absolute Precognition.
“Since you’re already mocking me, it wouldn’t be polite if I didn’t act. So, first, I’ll cut—”
“Wait, I was wrong!” Tohsaka Rin apologized hastily before Chen Heng could finish his sentence.
Heroic Spirit without a known true name, just you wait. My reinforcements will arrive in a minute. I’ll have you crying for your mother. Of course, Tohsaka Rin only dared to voice these words in her heart. Her backup had not yet arrived.
When it came to the matter of her reinforcements, Tohsaka Rin found it a bit odd. She and this “Time Witch” Luo Li weren’t close. She didn’t understand why Luo Li agreed to help her, but she looked forward to her aid.
In her search for assistance, she had started a livestream, hoping the other group members could identify the Heroic Spirit she was up against. However, no one recognized him, not even the person who claimed to have played the Fate/Grand Order mobile game.
Then, Time Witch announced her intention to help Tohsaka Rin in the group chat. After seeing this, the other members didn’t compete with her for the role.
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