Hatress: "..."
"Your plan is to use the Divine Spirit Iskandar to restore Age of Gods Magecraft. The reason the Clock Tower dedicates itself day and night to boring conspiracies is to fight over the fading Mystery. In that case, one simply needs to retrieve the Age of Gods Magecraft that makes such behavior meaningless."
"Am I right, former head of the Department of Modern Magecraft, Dr. Hatress?"
Hatress looked at Akatsuki and fell silent. He had thought that the True Ancestor before him was unaware of the various circumstances regarding himself and the internal affairs of the Clock Tower, but now it seemed she knew better than anyone. What a terrifying intelligence network!
"Do you want to know the reason I gave up on the greater grail?"
"Exactly. Your goal was within reach; why did you give up?"
As she spoke, Akatsuki seemed to realize something and warned, "Do not attempt to deceive me, or your journey with Faker will end early in Fuyuki City."
Hatress took a deep breath and said slowly, "Because if I use the greater grail to achieve my goal, there would be many unstable factors involved."
"For instance, regarding reaching the Root via the greater grail—if one does not stick to their own path but seeks a shortcut like the greater grail, even if they successfully bypass the counter force and reach the Root, they will only be erased. Someone without power can achieve nothing upon reaching the Root."
"It is the same for me."
Akatsuki understood. She seemed to grasp Hatress's meaning. To use an example from the cultivation novels she had read before, it was like someone in the Qi Condensation stage using some form of cheating to pass the Immortal Tribulation and reach the Immortal Realm; in the end, they would still only be at the Qi Condensation stage and unable to use immortal qi, only leading to their own destruction.
"But, you just need to take the grail; finding the right way to use it shouldn't even be an issue worth mentioning, right?"
"Exactly." The corners of Hatress's mouth curled up slightly. "That's why I'm telling you to let go of Faker!"
"By the power of a command spells! Faker, take the grail and leave here immediately!"
"Don't even think about it!"
"Heh, 'Invert, My Heart'!"
Hatress's eyes flashed with an eerie light. For a moment, Akatsuki's vision went dark; her sight had been stolen. This was the Mystic Eyes of Usurpation, which could seize one's field of vision.
It was originally just at the level of finding lost items—a rare but low-grade Mystic Eye.
However, after the incident in the Fairy Realm, it mutated into a 'Mystic Eye that can even usurp the vision of other Mystic Eyes.'
"Heh, with just this?"
Even in darkness, Akatsuki remained expressionless. She swiftly threw two Black Keys at the rapidly moving Faker, the blades piercing Faker's hands and pinning them firmly to the rock wall of the Great Underground Cavern.
"By the power of the third command spells! Faker, return to my—! Ah!"
"Muda muda muda!"
A Black Key pierced through Hatress's command spells. Carrying magic-breaking power, the Black Key directly destroyed the internal structure of the command spells and Hatress's magic circuits along with it!
The magic circuits are pseudo-nerves within a Magician's body, proof of their aptitude as a Magician. They are paths that convert life force into magical energy, connected to the foundations and Great Rituals.
Destroying magic circuits is like destroying a person's nerves while they're alive; it's not just pain, but the very meaning of a Magician's existence being annihilated.
"How is this possible!?"
Exerting his last bit of strength, Hatress tried to make a wish to the greater grail. However, a Black Key directly took off his head. Even if Faker wanted to do something, she was now completely powerless.
"You almost got away."
After her vision returned, Akatsuki picked up the greater grail from the ground and shook her head at Hatress's corpse.
Similarly, after the Fairy Realm incident, Hatress had lost his heart. In its place was a sort of alternate space—a Portal (similar to a rift)—that seemed to have been processed by Imaginary Number Magecraft.
By chanting the incantation 'Invert, My Heart,' he could transfer external objects, as well as himself, into that alternate space, and vice versa.
But this was not some special technique; it was a pure defect. As Lord El-Melloi II had seen through in the original work, the act of inverting the heart was less an ability and more a pure flaw.
By connecting his heart, which had been discarded in the Fairy Realm, with the inside of his hollowed-out body, Hatress achieved a pseudo-transfer close to the realm of true magic, acting as if he were performing surgery to invert his heart.
A small flame rose from Hatress's body. Akatsuki watched as his flesh turned to ash before leaving the Great Underground Cavern with the greater grail.
The omnipotent wish-granting machine was complete; all that remained was to make a wish.
However, Akatsuki didn't have any wishes for now, so she planned to store it away first. Perhaps Tohsaka Rin and the others would need it. Of course, the greater grail could not be given to Artoria; otherwise, the Singularity—Eternal Britain—might appear.
Trouble would surely follow then. It might even attract the attention of Solomon or the Alien God. If gaia or alaya couldn't handle it, they would drag her in to clean up the mess.
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the field of flowers emitting a faint blue light. She couldn't understand why she always had these strange dreams and was dragged into bizarre battles, though this time it seemed she didn't need to take the field.
Looking at the bright moon in the sky, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but reflect on her life.
She had just gone to donate blood, yet she ended up becoming Chaldea's last Master. To survive, she constantly traveled to Singularities to fight. Now, she was just one step away. As long as Solomon was dealt with, the Proper Human History Incineration would be resolved, frozen time would resume, and everything would return to normal.
Lying in the field of flowers, Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly felt a bit sleepy.
"Waking up already? Then, have a safe journey."
Akatsuki smiled at the spot where Fujimaru Ritsuka disappeared. The journey through the Singularities was nearing its end; the Roots of Fantasy were about to descend, and new crises known as Planetary Desiccation and Lostbelt were approaching.
"Since you dreamed of me, I'll give you a little benefit to make your future journey easier."
The blessing of the earth uo crossed world lines and took root deep within Fujimaru Ritsuka's soul. When she encounters a crisis, she will receive the protection known as the 'Will of the Stars.'
"Fou! Fou, fou, fou!"
"Ah, Senpai! You're finally awake!"
Opening her eyes, it felt as if everything just now had been a dream. Her memories faded rapidly—after all, for Fujimaru Ritsuka, it really was a dream.
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