Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]

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Winter Days, A Fateful Night Oct 11, 2014 Shirō Emiya is woken up by Sakura, a close friend of his who visits his home frequently. After having breakfast with her and Taiga, who is his legal guardian, he goes to school and fixes a heater for Issei, which is briefly observed by Rin. Issei remarks that Shirō never hesitates in helping people in need and warns him that he may be taken advantage of by inconsiderate people. While walking home from school, he encounters a silver-haired girl, who warns him to summon a Servant soon before vanishing.

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The Curtain Goes Up Oct 18, 2014 Back in Shirō's home, Rin explains that he had been chosen as a Master for the Holy Grail War, then explains the basics behind it. When Shirō is unable to comprehend the situation, Rin decides to take him to see Kirei Kotomine, a priest who is her legal guardian and also the overseer of the Holy Grail War. When they arrive at Kirei's church and meet up with him, Shirō learns that once someone is chosen to fight as a Master, their responsibilities are unavoidable. He then learns about the Holy Grail and the purpose of the Holy Grail War.

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The First Battle Oct 25, 2014 The girl introduces herself as Illyasviel von Einzbern, a name which Rin recognizes. She and Archer evaluate Berserker's strength before Archer moves to a farther position so he can attack Berserker from a distance. Berserker then attacks Saber, who is overwhelmed by his brute strength and agility. Archer and Rin try to provide support for Saber, but Berserker constantly winds up being unaffected by their strikes. When the fight moves away into the suburbs, Rin orders Shirō to run, but he remembers his agreement with Saber and instead follows them.

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Finding the Will to Fight Nov 1, 2014 Shirō wakes up in his home, uninjured and Rin sitting at his side. She leaves, but not before telling him that when they meet next time, it will be as enemies. Shirō then finds Saber in the dojo, and she reveals that he has self-healing magical capabilities, explaining the absence of the injuries he sustained in the battle with Berserker. Saber then explains the mechanics of the seven Servants and the advantages and disadvantages of knowing a Servant's real-life identity, then asks that she not reveal her identity to him since he is an inexperienced mage, a request he approves of.

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Dancing After School Nov 8, 2014 Five years ago, Kiritsugu tells Shirō about how he once wished to become a hero of justice. Shirō promises him that he will fulfill that dream for him, after which Kiritsugu passes away in satisfaction. In the present day, Shirō goes to school alone, despite Saber's insistence that she accompany him. At school, he learns from Issei that Mitsuzuri had gone missing the previous day and that she was last seen arguing with Shinji, who is currently absent, with no one able to contact him. As school ends for the day, Shirō is confronted by Rin, who attacks him despite his protests.

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Mirage Nov 15, 2014 While walking back home, Shirō senses Archer following him. After a brief conversation, Archer responds that he doesn't have any interest in the Holy Grail. He then explains that Servants are no more than mere tools for their Masters and reveals that he died with no unfulfilled dreams before disappearing. Returning home, Shirō learns from Taiga that Mitsuzuri was found alive without any visible injuries. He then meets up with Saber and tells her of the truce he made with Rin, which she approves of.

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The Reward for the Fight to the Death Nov 22, 2014 Saber engages Assassin in battle after he threatens the safety of Shirō, and is shocked to find that despite her advantages in strength and agility, she cannot break through his defenses. At Ryuudou Temple, Caster reveals that Assassin is her own Servant, as she is a mage as well. Archer claims that she broke the rules of the Holy Grail War and insults her tactics before engaging her in battle. After a while, Archer manages to critically wound Caster, prompting Assassin to finish his assault prematurely with his Noble Phantasm.

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Time of Departure Apr 4, 2015 Shirō returns home and reminisces about how Kiritsugu's ideals and the Fuyuki City fire ten years ago inspired him to become a hero of justice. Meanwhile, at Kirei's church, Caster visits a captive Saber, who is resisting magical torture. She is then confronted by Kuzuki, who learns that her last two attacks had been of her own free will and that she intends to use the church to obtain the Holy Grail's vessel. After waking up from a dream about Archer, Rin goes to Kirei's church with Archer and finds bloodstains. She concludes that Caster attacked Kirei but he somehow managed to survive. The two then confront Caster and Kuzuki, but when Rin tries to fight them, Archer suddenly defends them from her attacks. Citing Saber's change in alliegance to Caster's side, Archer pledges his allegiance to Caster, revealing that she is the ancient Greek princess Medea and allowing her to stab him with Rule Breaker, which removes Rin's Command Seals.

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Princess of Colchis Apr 11, 2015 At his home, Shirō tells Rin that he plans on continuing to fight in the Holy Grail War, even without a Servant. She replies that she has no choice but to let him before reaffirming their partnership. While discussing a strategy to defeat Caster and rescue Saber, the two decide to team up with Illyasviel, since Archer had told Rin that Berserker is in fact the ancient Greek hero Heracles, which might give them an advantage against Caster. Meanwhile, Caster recounts the time when she was summoned for the Holy Grail War by another magus, only to be unsatisfied by his inefficient method of acquiring mana for her. After Caster asked that she be allowed to acquire mana herself, the magus realized he could not trust a magic user better than himself. As a result, he contacted Kirei and asked for another Servant, but Kirei told him to dispatch Caster first before making another Master-Servant pact.

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A Legendary Showdown Apr 18, 2015 Ten years ago, in the aftermath of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Illyasviel had a vision of her mother Irisviel, who claimed her husband and Illyasviel's father, a participant in the war, betrayed them by refusing to accept the Holy Grail when it presented itself to him. At first, she refused to believe it, but realized the truth when her father did not return home. As time passed, she stumbled upon a room in her home, containing numerous homunculi that were created to serve Illyasviel's purpose, only to fail in their missions. Realizing she too is a homunculus from their dying messages, Illyasviel became disillusioned with her life. Later on, she met her current maids, who assisted her in summoning Berserker. However, she initially did not want him, resolving to participate and win the Holy Grail War by herself.

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Winter Days, the Form Wishes Take Apr 26, 2015 As Shinji's Servant tears out Illyasviel's heart from her corpse, Shirō and Rin confront him and Shinji himself. When Rin threatens to kill Shinji, the two are forced to leave, but not before Shinji reveals his Servant's name to be Gilgamesh. While burying Illyasviel, Rin confronts Shirō about his ideals and tells him that he needs to prioritize himself over others, otherwise he will break. He refutes this by telling her of the time Kiritsugu rescued him, which caused him to admire him. However, Rin tells him that it is still wrong to value the lives of others over his own, citing that someone who was spared from a terrible tragedy has to live out their life to the fullest and that wishing for the happiness of others is no different from a machine.

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The Dark Sword Bares Its Fangs May 3, 2015 Shirō and Rin confront Caster and Kuzuki, who engage them in battle. Meanwhile, Lancer overwhelms Archer with his attacks, after which Archer mocks his sense of loyalty and honor, thus infuriating him. As a result, Lancer tries to use his powerful Noble Phantasm to strike him down, but Archer is barely able to counter it with a magical barrier, which expends most of his strength in the process and destroys the church. After praising Lancer's power, Archer reveals he staged his betrayal of Rin so he could take advantage of Caster when she had her guard down, prompting Lancer to leave. Back at the church, Shirō and Rin are both overwhelmed by their opponents, but Archer suddenly appears and ambushes Kuzuki, firing several swords at his direction. Caster shields Kuzuki from the swords and is impaled herself. As she dies, she confesses to Kuzuki that her wish was already granted. Kuzuki then tries to fight Archer, explaining that since he had helped in disrupting the usual proceedings of the Holy Grail War, he had to finish what he started. He is then stabbed by Archer and crushed by a collapsing pillar. As Shirō attends to the captive Saber, Archer suddenly traps Rin inside a cage of swords and declares his intention, as a "Guardian", to kill Shirō.

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Idealism's End (The Answer) May 16, 2015 Shirō, Saber, and Lancer arrive at Illysaviel's villa, where they are met by Archer, who exposits on the true nature of his summoning: Rin had not in fact summoned him by chance, and the catalyst for his summoning was actually the pendent he carries, identical to the one Rin used to save Shirō. While Lancer runs off to retrieve Rin, Saber demands to know why Archer is so intent on killing Shirō. Archer responds that, like Shirō, he aspired to become a hero of justice and actually fulfilled that ideal, but became disillusioned by it and became a Servant so he could rectify it. He then forces Saber to reveal her back-story to Shirō: her true identity is that of King Arthur, who hoped to use the Holy Grail to undo her decision to become the king of Britain, as she believes it was her rule that eventually resulted in the country's destruction. When she then remarks that she and Archer are different in terms of how much they were able to live up to their ideals, Archer elaborates that when he became a Guardian in order to become a true hero of justice, he became disillusioned after he was forced to take lives in order to save many more. He eventually concluded that his ideals were shallow and that it was impossible to save everyone, just as he envisioned. Archer then reveals his true identity: Shirō's future self, the Heroic Spirit Emiya. Meanwhile, Shinji tries to rape Rin, only for Lancer to arrive and incapacitate him. Then, Kirei suddenly appears, exposes himself as Lancer's Master, and reveals he was the one who killed Rin's father in the previous Holy Grail War. He then orders Lancer to kill Rin, intending to use her body as a vessel for the Holy Grail. When Lancer refuses, Kirei uses one of his many Command Seals and orders him to commit suicide, which he does. Back at the main entrance, Emiya tosses Shirō one of his swords and orders him to kill himself with it. However, Shirō refuses, proclaiming that since he learned Emiya's story, he will do all he can to avoid becoming him. As a result, he and Emiya prepare to engage each other in battle.

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Unlimited Blade Works May 23, 2015 hirō and Emiya begin their battle, with Shirō finding that while he is only barely able to hold off Emiya's attacks, he is slowly becoming stronger the longer he clashes with Emiya. Meanwhile, Kirei prepares to take Rin's heart against Shinji's protests. However, Lancer, mortally wounded but still alive, fatally stabs Kirei. Shinji, on the verge of insanity, takes this opportunity to try and rape Rin again, only to be chased off by Lancer, who lightly wounds him. After freeing Rin, he collapses to the ground and laments how he would have liked for Rin to be his Master. Both Rin and Lancer bid farewell to each other, and as Rin leaves, Lancer sets a fire to destroy both him and Kirei's corpse. Back at the main entrance, Shirō and Emiya continue to battle, with Emiya activating Unlimited Blade Works and slowly gaining the upper hand. As their swords clash, Shirō begins to see Emiya's memories and becomes aware of what his future holds in store for him. With his belief shaken, Shirō is quickly defeated by Emiya and left on the verge of death. As he lies on the ground, Shirō begins to reflect on the memories he gained from Emiya, as well as the memories of Kiritsugu saving him ten years ago. From this, Shirō concludes his ideals are not wrong, and he decides to continue to fight. At that moment, Saber's scabbard Avalon, which Kiritsugu had placed inside Shirō to restore the injuries he sustained from the fire, activates and heals Shirō's wounds. With his confidence in his ideals restored, Shirō prepares to battle Emiya again, with the declaration that he will defeat him.