Chapter 399: The Priest's Corpse in the Church
Lord El-Melloi II—originally named Waver Velvet—was a participant in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Strictly speaking, his combat strength was only second-rate, certainly not comparable to the top-tier students at the Clock Tower. However, he was simultaneously the most popular professor at the institution. While he could not personally practice the advanced magecraft he developed, he possessed a super-genius-level ability to understand magical theory and provide clear, systematic explanations for it. Although not favored by his peers, he was essentially the Carl Sagan of the magecraft world.
Carl Sagan was a world-renowned astronomer and physicist, though not recognized by academia as a top-tier scientist. He was highly active throughout his life and earned global recognition, not as a researcher, but as a master of popular science and a famous critic of pseudoscience. Truth be told, many famous popular science works of later generations, like Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, are actually quite difficult to understand if one hasn't studied the corresponding fundamentals. Sagan, however, was famous for his ability to explain complex science in layman's terms; his works were gripping even to laypeople. He was a premier popular science writer whose works won Hugo, Nebula, and Pulitzer prizes, topping the U.S. bestseller lists for weeks on end. He was a popular television host and a tenured professor at Harvard who was deeply loved by his students.
As a fighter against nuclear war, during the tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union when the world faced a nuclear crisis and was overly optimistic about the dangers of nuclear weapons, Sagan organized his peers to jointly propose the famous "Nuclear Winter" hypothesis. It suggested that a large-scale nuclear exchange would cause global temperatures to plummet, forcing the general public to realize for the first time that a nuclear war wasn't just a local affair—the entire world would be affected. While correct modeling showed the threat wasn't as exaggerated as he promoted—at most a "Nuclear Autumn" that would dissipate within three or four months—his hypothesis caused a sensation at the time and contributed to preventing nuclear war.
However, because his popularization lacked scientific rigor, academic peers viewed him as unprofessional. Despite teaching at Harvard, he never received tenure, and his repeated applications to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences were all rejected. Conversely, his first wife, Lynn Margulis, who had worked alongside him for years, also possessed the writing skills to produce great works. With her vast knowledge, determination to pursue truth, and talent, she persevered when her academic theories were initially rejected, eventually winning recognition. As the developer of the "Endosymbiotic Theory" regarding the origin of cells, she pushed biological research forward and surpassed her husband in academic achievement, becoming a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
A famous teacher known for their own abilities doesn't necessarily produce great students, while some teachers who are not particularly outstanding themselves are always able to foster students who "surpass the master." Even sages need teachers in their youth. Such
teachers are perhaps not those who achieve greatness through their own application of knowledge, but those who, after learning and understanding it, are better at imparting it to others.
Lord El-Melloi II was likely such a character—a professor beloved by students, a "Big Ben" star, the No. 1 man Clock Tower girls most wanted to spend the night with, and a man who possessed the ability to turn stones into gold. Any "raw stone" with talent, no matter how fatally flawed, could become a shining jewel once guided by him. Yet, due to his own limitations, he had to watch as one genius after another used his knowledge and techniques to become Great Magi he could only look up to. Throughout his life, he possessed knowledge and understanding exceeding the vast majority of magi, insight into the essence of magecraft, but lacked the body to manifest it. As for the "Root" that magi sought so desperately, he didn't even have the qualification to dream of it due to his lack of inherent talent.
Shirou, a first-generation magus, likely had more magic circuits than him, to say nothing of his "Sword" attribute (enough to warrant a Sealing Designation) or his cheat-level Projection Magecraft. While other Servants could only possess one Noble Phantasm, to him, they were a wholesale arsenal. When using them, he could even temporarily acquire the Servant's physical stats and martial arts. Faced with such people, El-Melloi II could only curse while teaching them with all his heart—he was a softie at his core, a hardworking man destined to fret over all kinds of troubles.
Yet, because of this, amidst the power struggles of the three great factions at the Clock Tower, he relied on his extraordinary intellect to repeatedly turn crises into opportunities, forging his reputation. Together with his talented disciples, he formed the El-Melloi Classroom—one of the four major powers of the Type-Moon world—barely escaping being killed by his rivals. Otherwise, his "Mystic Eyes of Preservation," formed through world-traveling experience and profound theoretical knowledge, were existence-level exclusive skills that could even sublime into those of a Heroic Spirit. With a little effort, he could see through the principles of magecraft that others spent their entire lives perfecting—mysteries passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years. While he didn't hide his knowledge—writing papers that contributed to uncovering those mysteries—he also understood their weaknesses and loopholes, enough to have been assassinated thousands of times by magus lineages wanting to keep their secrets.
Whether it was the trap set by the Department of Law at the City of Stripping, the death of the Golden Princess at the Twin-Faced Tower, meeting Olga Marie on the Rail Zeppelin, encountering the female version of the Young Emperor, or bumping into the Wallachia Night during the Atlas Institute contract incident—not to mention exploring the Spirit Tomb of Albion beneath the Clock Tower—a teacher of his status was destined for endless bloodshed. If Rin could go to him, it would indeed be mutually beneficial. After all, the girl's aspiration was to achieve the Second Magic and reach the Root. She was destined to go to London, and only at the Clock Tower could she possibly meet the elusive Zelretch. With memories from before her rebirth, the girl could avoid a great deal of suffering.
Knowing that this girl, who had shared time with him in a past world, could welcome a more ideal and free life made him feel at peace.
After thinking it through, Shirou smiled slightly and said to Rin: "I understand. That sounds good."
Rin smiled and agreed, then looked at the boy and asked: "Right. What about you, Shirou?"
"Me? I came here to help you resolve the anomalies in Fuyuki and restore peace to this world... Let's go; there are still five left." Shirou paused, then agreed.
"Mm." Rin looked at the boy's face. She always felt he was hiding something, but this was certainly not the time for talk, so she decided to let it go for now. Since Shirou wanted to hide the truth, she had plenty of ways to find out later. The girl nodded and followed him.
The Servants reeking of black aura were behaving abnormally; the lack of Masters appearing was truly bizarre. After consulting with Shirou, Rin decided to go to the Church first to see if there was any information.
The Greater Grail system of Fuyuki City was extremely precious and rare. The Einzberns were descendants of the Third Magician, possessing unparalleled achievements in the realm of the soul. Matou Zouken, or Makiri Zolgen, was also a formidable Great Magus; 500 years ago, he was a genius who pioneered the field of Worm Magecraft and familiar control—both Da Vinci and the great alchemist Paracelsus held him in high regard. Beyond his life-prolonging worm magecraft, he was skilled at controlling various familiars; the Command Spells used to bind Servants in the Holy Grail War were his invention. And Tohsaka Nagato, who joined as the landowner providing the Leyline, was a disciple of the Second Magician. None of the founding three families who built the Heaven's Feel were weak.
Although many in history had imitated the original script, attempting to create a Holy Grail—excluding a few anomalous existences—in terms of human magi, Fuyuki City could be called the first to successfully summon Heroic Spirits to descend and use humanity's strongest existences as familiars. Both the Mage's Association and the Holy Church had long wanted to seize it from the three families. However, the Holy Grail system of this world had already been destroyed during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Since it was a fait accompli, both sides could do nothing.
When Shirou and Rin, with Gudako in tow, walked into the church and pushed open the solemn, heavy doors of the chapel, they saw a clergyman collapsed in a pool of blood. The priest sent by the Holy Church to sit in Fuyuki, qualified to replace the missing Kirei Kotomine, was by no means a simple character. But he was dead, and the manner of his death was tragic: his heart had been hollowed out.
Shirou observed the surrounding signs and said: "There are no traces of a struggle nearby. He must have been ambushed. The only one capable of this is an Assassin with Presence Concealment!"
Rin contemplated: "It's not Sasaki Kojiro of Ryudoji Temple, then, but the traditional Old Man of the Mountain."
Shirou and Rin searched the basement, but it was completely empty; they did not find the orphans adopted by Kirei Kotomine who were used to supply the King of Heroes with magical energy in the previous life.
Suddenly, a massive aura of magical energy drifted in from outside, faintly tinged with killing intent.
"Senpai?!" At that moment, Gudako felt a chill go through her entire body, a premonition that something dangerous was outside.
"Let's go out first." Shirou and Rin felt it too; they exchanged glances and the three ran outside.
"Hey, hey, so this is how you welcome us..." Shirou said helplessly.
"In terms of numbers, isn't this a bit too enthusiastic?" Rin looked around at the black shadows appearing on all sides. Four enemy Servants had appeared at once, their entire bodies condensed with substantial, massive magical energy. They seemed ready to bombard the church with Noble Phantasms, intending to bury the three of them inside.
On the roof to the left stood a black, bald giant, draped in gaudy gold ornaments, holding two large golden axes. Behind him stood a giant elephant with long, sharp tusks, dragging a war chariot—it appeared to be a Rider. However, if he were a Rider, he exuded an aura as wild as a Berserker.
Beside him was a man in tights, holding a red sword in one hand and a yellow one in the other—a strong, sturdy dual-wielder. His hair was spiked high, with only a curl hanging down the middle, and he had a tear mole under his eye. He radiated a piercing sword aura, making his existence distinct from the black giant.
On the roof to the right were two figures, one black and one white.
The figure in black, wearing a skull mask, was the Old Man of the Mountain. A hand, several times larger than normal, was wrapped in bandages, seemingly hiding some evil power.
The youth in the white mage's robe with braided hair reached into his cloak and pulled out a dagger, aiming it at Shirou and the others below.
"That's! The Azoth sword! Look out!" Rin recognized the dagger and shouted.
Shirou felt the danger too; he picked up Gudako and jumped high into the air.
The Five Great Elements swirled around the dagger, rotating rapidly, finally converging into a beam of light that shot straight toward the ground where Shirou and the others had just been standing.
"That's the prototype of the Azoth sword—the demonic sword of the Great Alchemist of the Philosopher's Stone, Paracelsus!" Rin said, just as the alchemist's dagger gathered the Five Great Elements again, shining brightly toward her.
"Seriously! What kind of speed is that!" The girl had to duck quickly to avoid the incoming beam of light, shouting in a disheveled state.
At that moment, the chariot ridden by the berserk elephant crashed toward them! The girl hurriedly grabbed the Sky Ship and rushed into the sky, narrowly dodging the locomotive-like impact. The black giant's chariot could not stop its momentum and crashed into the church, tearing a four-meter-high hole in the wall, revealing everything inside.
But the enemy's offensive wasn't over!
High in the sky, the man holding the dual swords leaped high, positioning himself right over Rin's head. He held the two swords together above his head, charging at her like a spiral drill. Rin quickly let go of the Sky Ship, fell to the ground, and scrambled to dodge the spiral drill attack.
"Why! Why! Why is everyone targeting me!!!" Rin screamed in a frenzy.
"Probably because of primal instinct—hunting the weak first. These Servants have hollow, dead eyes; their state is abnormal. It looks like they're fighting on instinct, more like beasts," Gudako noted from the side.
"Gudako! You girl! Stop blabbering!!" Rin turned her head in a rage, yelling at Gudako.
However, when the black-haired girl turned back, what she saw was a skull: a pitch-black figure had silently appeared behind her. It had exited its concealment state, and the bandaged hand was twisting, revealing a hideous, terrifying demonic claw.
"Waahhh!" Rin screamed, raised her foot, and kicked out directly.
Assassin was caught off guard; he hadn't expected Rin to turn around as if she had precognition. He was sent flying with a heavy kick.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting