Reborn with Steve Stand

Seeing Emiya Shirou lying dead on the ground, Fang Mo couldn't hold back his frustration.

To be honest, he was baffled. This wasn't how things played out in the original story. Shirou was supposed to be chased, then accidentally summon Saber to fight back.

"Huh…"

After a moment of hesitation, Fang Mo turned to Rin Tohsaka and said, "He seems… kinda dead."

"Emiya-kun!"

Rin didn't need Fang Mo to tell her. She saw the blood-soaked body of Shirou herself and immediately ran over in a panic.

However, upon reaching him and getting a closer look, despair washed over her. Emiya Shirou was indeed dead, his heart pierced from behind. His body was cold, without a heartbeat or pulse. Modern medicine couldn't help him now, and even in the magical world, not even the gods could save someone in his state.

"Please… don't die…"

Rin was truly panicking now, her mind in chaos. "What am I going to do? How can I face her tomorrow?"

Just then, a warm, steady hand suddenly rested on her head. Rin felt a moment of calm wash over her, as if recalling a time when her father used to comfort her, promising that no matter what mistakes she made, everything would be taken care of.

"Don't panic, there's still hope," came Fang Mo's voice.

"What?"

Rin turned her head toward him, as if grasping onto a lifeline. With a glimmer of hope in her eyes, she asked in disbelief, "You… really mean that?!"

"Idiot! The technology of the Great German Reich is the best in the world!" Fang Mo suddenly shouted with confidence, startling Rin into silence. He then continued with the same conviction, "Our empire possesses countless advanced black technologies. Mere death? It's nothing! NOTHING AT ALL!"

"Is that… true?"

Rin, still doubtful, hesitated.

"But time is of the essence. We have at most five minutes to begin the operation," Fang Mo added without leaving room for argument. "Any longer, and it'll be too late to save him."

"Take him to his house!" Rin immediately responded. "It's not far from here, just around the corner!"

"Got it."

Without another word, Fang Mo lifted Shirou's lifeless body and got back on the bike.

The trip was uneventful, and soon they arrived at Emiya Shirou's home. To Rin's surprise, his house was quite large—more like a traditional Japanese estate than an apartment. In addition to the main house, there were several guest rooms, a warehouse, and other structures, typical of a country estate.

It was far from the usual setting for a typical Japanese anime protagonist.

It seemed Shirou's adoptive father, Kiritsugu Emiya, had prepared everything for him quite well.

Once inside, Fang Mo wasted no time in setting up. With a mere thought, a vast array of surgical equipment appeared from his storage space, instantly transforming the quaint living room into a makeshift battlefield surgery room. The eerie old-fashioned lights gave the room an unsettling, almost sinister atmosphere.

"Alright, I'm about to fully activate my Noble Phantasm."

After a brief setup, Fang Mo turned to Rin. "What happens next may be a bit disturbing for you, physically. I suggest you step outside and set up some detection spells. This process consumes a lot of mana, and if anyone tries to ambush us, I won't be able to hold them off."

"I understand."

Rin nodded, quickly recognizing the seriousness of the situation. "I'll leave Emiya-kun in your hands."

Without hesitation, she turned and left the room.

As for Fang Mo, he immediately got to work setting up a dark ritual altar.

The truth was, Fang Mo wasn't actually the German Führer, and all his so-called "black technologies" were just a ploy to amuse Rin. Bringing someone back from the dead through technology was impossible for him. To revive Shirou, he would have to use dark magic.

To be fair, even Fang Mo's existence as a Servant was a façade. His supposed magical links, perception abilities, and Noble Phantasms were all fabrications. Eventually, it was bound to come out.

With this in mind, Fang Mo had already activated his hypnosis technique from the "Kyouka Suigetsu" ability, which he had gained after fusing with Jason's abilities. After consuming two Golden Apples, Jason's power had evolved to the point where he could now create illusions based on the target's subconscious memories, making them completely indistinguishable from reality.

With no need to hold back, Fang Mo pulled out his Abyssal Tome and began the resurrection ritual.

"Honestly, I can't believe how weak this protagonist is," Fang Mo muttered while preparing the ritual. "His protagonist aura is practically non-existent. Sure, I might have caused some butterfly effect, but being killed by a mere minion is just embarrassing."

In truth, Emiya Shirou's death wasn't entirely his fault. Fang Mo's interference had played a significant role.

As mentioned earlier, Fang Mo wasn't overly familiar with the Fate series. He'd watched the anime a long time ago and could only remember the broad strokes of the plot, with many of the finer details slipping his mind.

One such detail happened to be that in the original Fate anime, Shirou was indeed targeted by Lancer after witnessing the battle between Servants.

In the original story, Lancer was supposed to stop his fight with Archer to hunt down and eliminate Shirou after spotting him. Shirou then fled into the school building, but Lancer caught up to him and pierced his heart with a single strike, leaving him for dead.

However, because Fang Mo hadn't interfered in the original, Rin had immediately rushed into the school to save Shirou. Even though his heart had been pierced, Shirou still had some faint signs of life, possibly thanks to the protection of Avalon or a near-death state.

Rin used a precious gemstone pendant inherited from her father to cast a powerful healing spell, temporarily replacing Shirou's heart with a false organ, possibly assisted by the protective powers of Avalon. By some miracle, Shirou was brought back from the brink of death.

When Shirou woke up, he had no idea who had saved him and returned home in a daze. Lancer, realizing that Shirou had survived, pursued him to his house. Fearing for his life, Shirou unintentionally activated the summoning circle left behind by his adoptive father, summoning the legendary Saber, Artoria Pendragon.

But Fang Mo had forgotten these crucial details.

Even if he remembered, it wouldn't matter. Shirou had been lying there for too long—he was well and truly dead. Not even a heart transplant could save him at this point.

At this stage, the only way to revive him was through the dark resurrection ritual from the Abyss.

And, to be honest, Fang Mo wasn't particularly invested in Shirou himself. What he truly cared about was summoning the Saber class Servant, Artoria, who had an iconic ahoge (hair strand) and a straightforward personality—someone Fang Mo found particularly fun to mess with.

But now, the storyline had gone completely off the rails.

That was the real headache for Fang Mo.

In the original story, Shirou had summoned Saber out of desperation in a life-or-death situation. But now, with Shirou already dead, even if Fang Mo could revive him, Lancer wasn't going to come back and attack him again. Lancer was likely on the brink of death himself.

Without that mortal danger, the conditions for summoning Saber were impossible to meet.

Yes, Fang Mo could bring Shirou back, but Rin would never let him participate in the Holy Grail War. And even if she agreed, Shirou would probably be too traumatized to participate after being killed by Lancer.

"Damn, what a hassle."

Fang Mo thought to himself as he continued preparing the ritual. "I guess I'll have to use some other method…"

…

About five minutes later, Rin was anxiously waiting in the courtyard.

Her magical talents were excellent, and she had already set up a defensive barrier around the house.

However, her biggest worry wasn't an attack from another Servant but rather that Fang Mo would emerge with bad news—that they couldn't save Shirou. She didn't know how she would face Sakura if that happened.

Rin's relationship with her younger sister, Sakura, was complicated.

Although they were biological sisters, the magical world followed different rules than the mundane one.

As mentioned earlier, Sakura had been adopted into the Matou family at a young age. Rin and Sakura had little contact after that.

Rin knew that her sister's life with the Matou family wasn't easy, and though she had tried reaching out, Sakura seemed to be deliberately distancing herself, possibly out of resentment. Perhaps she blamed Rin for her fate.

Sakura's only real friend appeared to be Shirou Emiya.

Rin wasn't stupid—she had a strong suspicion that Sakura had feelings for Shirou. The boy was kind-hearted and gentle, after all. If Shirou died, Sakura would likely despise Rin for the rest of her life.

Just as Rin was lost in thought, the silence of the night was shattered by a loud, commanding voice.

"Second Battalion! Where the hell is my Italian artillery!?"

"!"

Rin's pupils contracted in shock. The voice came from just outside the front gate, and her magical defenses were triggered at the same time. There was no mistaking it—an enemy Servant had arrived!

No time to think.

Rin immediately activated her magic.

A gemstone in her hand shattered, transforming into a shimmering, translucent green shield.

"Fire the damn cannon at him!"

At the same time, the rough, booming voice outside roared again.

A blinding white light suddenly flashed, followed by a deafening explosion. The iron gate instantly shattered into countless fragments, and all the defensive magic surrounding the house was rendered useless at once.

"What the..."

Rin Tohsaka's face turned pale as she quickly rolled to the side to avoid the blast.

Even though she had dodged it, the white light didn't stop. It crashed into the green shield she had just summoned from her top-tier gemstones, shattering it like fragile glass in less than a second. The white light then continued its path, shooting toward the main house.

"Archer!"

Rin cried out in alarm.

In response to her shout, a ripple appeared in the air above the main house, and suddenly, with a loud thud, a Tiger tank fell from the sky, shaking the entire Emiya estate as it landed.

"What..."

Covered in dust, Rin lay on the ground, dazed as she stared at the scene in front of her. "Archer?"

But before she could get an answer, footsteps echoed from outside the gate.

Rin turned to see a man dressed in gray-blue attire walking slowly through the destroyed entrance.

Unlike Lancer, this man wasn't handsome. He looked older, with a weathered face that carried the weight of many battles. Though he wasn't particularly good-looking, he exuded a rugged masculinity. His eyes, wide and intense, glared like copper bells, radiating a menacing aura that made Rin's hair stand on end.

He was holding a large machete in his right hand, and his gaze was filled with murderous intent as he scanned his surroundings. "Where the hell are those little Japanese rats hiding?"

Hearing his words, Rin's entire body shuddered.

She had read plenty of historical records to prepare for the Holy Grail War. She knew that the only people who referred to the Japanese in such a way came from that specific country and period.

From what she understood, if this man was indeed a Heroic Spirit from that time of war, it meant he bore an intense grudge against her homeland. Rin's heart pounded in fear, and she clasped her hands over her mouth, desperately trying to hide. She wished she could bury herself underground, terrified of being noticed by him.

At the same time, she was mentally exhausted.

How could this even happen? First, she had summoned a terrifying European evil spirit, and now another enemy had shown up. The Holy Grail War was turning into something she couldn't even comprehend anymore.

And just when Rin thought things couldn't get worse, the door to the main house creaked open.

A figure burst out in a panic, and when Rin looked up, she realized it wasn't her Servant. Instead, it was Emiya Shirou, his face full of terror. He was glancing back repeatedly as if something terrifying was chasing him from within the house.

"Huh?"

His sudden appearance immediately caught the attention of the Heroic Spirit standing at the entrance.

"Oh no..."

Seeing this, Rin panicked even more. She was glad Shirou had been revived, but now he was about to get himself killed again. In a panic, she shouted, "Emiya-kun! Watch out!!"

"Huh?"

Shirou, startled by her voice, hesitated for a second. But it was already too late. The Heroic Spirit at the entrance had charged forward, raising his large machete and swinging it toward Shirou's neck. It was clear this attack was even more brutal than Lancer's—a deadly blow meant to decapitate him.

"!"

Perhaps because of Rin's warning, Shirou instinctively ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a sharp pain erupted in his waist. The Heroic Spirit had swiftly kicked him, and the force was so strong that Shirou felt like he had been hit by a truck. His body flew through the air, crashing heavily into a nearby warehouse.