"Ladies and gentlemen: we are now approaching Fuyuki City Airport. The aircraft is descending. Please cooperate with our safety procedures by returning your seatbacks to the upright position, fastening your seatbelts, and securing tray tables. Make sure all carry-on items are properly stowed."
"Thank you for your cooperation. We wish you a pleasant journey."
High above the earth, tens of kilometers from Fuyuki City, an Airbus A320 flying from London to Fuyuki City was beginning its descent under the guidance of the airport tower.
The formulaic announcement signaled to passengers that they were nearing their destination.
Seated by the window, a gaunt man in a red coat with a beige scarf and unkempt long hair gazed through the window at the brightly lit coastal airport growing ever closer. A flicker of melancholy passed through his eyes.
Everything outside the window looked unchanged.
Only the once impetuous youth had grown mature—in an ironic twist, even inheriting the title of the mentor he once seemed to loathe.
"So I'm back..."
After ten years, Lord El-Melloi II—no, the magus Waver Velvet—was once again en route to Fuyuki City.
Aboard the plane, he had once more thoroughly read the familiar documents on the Fuyuki Holy Grail War handed to him by the Director of the Department of Spiritual Evocation.
"Tohsaka, Einzbern, Matou (Makiri)..."
No doubt about it, the so-called Three Great Families of Fuyuki were already in decline.
The Tohsaka line was down to a single heir. The Einzbern family, according to rumors, was now merely sustained by homunculi bearing the family name, with most of the core bloodline dead.
As for the Matou, formerly the Makiri, their fate was even more tragic. At least the other two still had magic-wielding descendants. The Matou lineage had likely gone extinct, with their magical heritage utterly severed.
"Mission: Investigate the anomalies of the Fifth Fuyuki Holy Grail War and destroy the Grail. If necessary, completely dismantle the Greater Grail system and terminate the Holy Grail Ritual in the Far East."
Recalling the mission entrusted to him, Waver Velvet sank into thought.
Was the problem with the Greater Grail? Or with the participants of this Grail War? Something was seriously wrong!
Otherwise, why would the Clock Tower's reclusive sorcerers, those ancient monsters who relentlessly pursued the Root, suddenly take interest in a tiny Far Eastern magical ritual?
Why didn't they come personally? Wouldn't that be safer? Why send someone like him—a third-rate magus—on a second round?
Maybe they didn't want to. Maybe they couldn't. Or maybe they were constrained by some unknown law... Waver didn't want to think about it. Perhaps it was something his pseudo-lord status couldn't yet comprehend.
Just thinking of their cryptic nonsense—"fate," "destiny," "irresistible trends," "Alaya," "the Age of Gods," "Human Order"—gave him a headache.
Damn riddlers, get out of my lecture hall!
"The tainted Grail, Angra Mainyu..."
As he spoke, a memory he could never forget resurfaced—
The black sun. A crimson world. Charred, twisted corpses. Screams of pain and despair. A city in flames. It all felt like a lifetime ago.
"This is going to be a problem..."
Waver Velvet rubbed his forehead, his expression turning grim. Was it Angra Mainyu?
As for what to do with the Holy Grail after winning the war, those old foxes hadn't said anything explicitly. It seemed he could decide for himself—make a wish, stop the wish, or simply destroy everything.
But Webber Velvet was certain: those old monsters must already have their contingencies in place.
If he chose to destroy the Grail, fine. But if he got greedy and tried to claim it for himself, odds were he'd be expelled from the Clock Tower the moment the war ended.
He might even find that the retrieval squad had been following him the whole time.
"Hah, they've calculated everything down to the bone. Betting on the fact that I can't let go of the El-Melloi classroom...."
To put it bluntly, even his adopted sister Reines El-Melloi Archisorte, his student Gray, and his close friend Melvin Weins were essentially hostages.
Hopefully those old fossils' preparations would actually work.
"Sir, you seem a bit pale. Are you feeling unwell? Is there anything I can help with?"
With a professional smile, a well-dressed stewardess with an East Asian face leaned down, speaking standard British-accented English.
"Ah, thank you, I'm fine."
It was only then that Webber realized the plane had landed, and the connection to the taxiway was already underway. Passengers around him were busy gathering their belongings.
He was still sitting motionless, frowning—no wonder he stood out.
"Very well, sir. Have a pleasant journey."
Grabbing his suitcase, Webber nodded and followed the crowd off the plane.
At that moment, day was shifting into night. Upon disembarking, the bright spotlights ahead made him instinctively raise his left hand to shield his eyes.
"Hm?"
Just then, a tingling pain spread across the back of his hand. Looking closely, a trace of jet-black ink had crept out from beneath his leather glove.
On the back of his hand, etched like a tattoo, was a Command Seal—proof that the Holy Grail had recognized Webber Velvet as a Master.
A black Command Seal... an emergency mechanism from the Greater Grail, then.
Webber narrowed his eyes.
According to the Clock Tower's documents, aside from the conventional seven-Servant battle like the one he experienced in the Fourth War, the Greater Grail also included auxiliary features, such as redistributing Command Seals as needed.
While rare, this emergency system would activate if all seven Servants came under the control of a single individual or faction.
The original system created by the three founding families had accounted for this.
Since the Grail hadn't been used and had been destroyed ten years ago, the magical energy accumulated over seventy years was still intact. Even if seven extra Servants were summoned, it wasn't completely unexpected.
Although... one wrong move, and it might deplete the spiritual leylines beneath Fuyuki City entirely.
"But... seven Servants, all under one person? Just how did they manage that?"
Barring illegal summoning, he couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Another magus blinded by desire, is it...."
The Holy Grail War—this so-called wish-granting ritual—now seemed to him little more than a lure for moths to flame.
Even the Servants slaughtering one another—it was essentially meaningless.
Simply because it was so elegantly designed, the truth had been hidden. Ironically, even the founding families—who understood the truth (though not the current participants)—were still required to take part fairly.
Unlike the nervousness of his first visit, ten years later, setting foot on this land again, Waver Velvet felt only a deep sense of nostalgia.
"Ruler... the Ruler-class, Arbiter. Compared to Rider, what kind of Servant will this one be...?"
Following the signs toward the airport exit, he gripped the briefcase containing the Holy Relic tightly.
...
"Ah, crap, crap, crap!"
"Why did the fight have to break out there of all places?! That idiot Emiya better not have been targeted by another Servant!"
Due to the deterrence barrier against bystanders, the road near Homurahara Academy was completely deserted. The first thing that appeared was the flustered back of a girl in a crimson jacket running at full speed.
Her long black hair was tied into twin tails behind her ears with a black ribbon, swaying up and down as she ran. Below her skirt and jacket, her slender legs were wrapped snugly in black stockings.
Nice. As the seasoned veteran Shinji once said: "I could enjoy her for a whole year."
"What happened at the school...? This magical energy... a multi-Servant free-for-all?"
"Archer! Go check—oof!"
Suddenly, Archer appeared ahead and bumped into her, sending Rin stumbling. "Archer!"
"You'd better give me a good explanation." Frowning, she glared at the red-cloaked Servant with intense pressure.
"Uh..."
'Better come up with something or it's death by Master rage,' read Archer silently as he sighed and materialized his twin black-and-white blades. "Rin, be careful. That's a Servant's mana signature."
In the next instant—boom!
As the dust from the impact settled, a dark shield and cherry blossom-colored hair came into view.
"Sorry to interrupt! Are you this Master...?"
Standing before Rin and Archer was a gentle-looking young man in a black Chaldea uniform.
With short black hair and cyan-blue eyes, Rin felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity the moment she saw him. He looked... oddly like her.
Her slightly eccentric mind spun into overdrive. Wait—could he be my father's secret love child...? Waaaa, sorry, Father! That was rude!
When the young man extended his hand, Rin quickly noticed the Command Spells clearly marked on the back of his right hand. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
But then—wait. The pattern and insignia on his uniform... they resembled the crest of Animusphere, one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower's Astronomy Department!
Unlike half-baked magi like Emiya Shirou and Shinji Matou, Rin had received a formal magecraft education from a young age and was intimately familiar with the Mage's Association and the Clock Tower.
For someone to impersonate a Lord family like Animusphere would bring severe consequences.
So she didn't immediately suspect this young mage of faking the crest.
No way!
Ughhh, this is such a pain! It's bad enough there are rogue summoners—now even Lord families are involved?!
"My name is Ritsuka Fujimaru. This is Mash."
The next moment, the other Master's introduction made Rin Tohsaka freeze slightly. Uh... are you sure you're from the Animusphere family? Because you give off the exact same clueless energy as Emiya Shirou.
"This little guy is Fou."
"Fou~ Fou!"
He even introduced a little white creature that looked like a cross between a fox and a dog. The creature let out a cheerful "Fou fou" at her without the slightest trace of fear.
Huh, even brought a pet?
"Rin, should I engage?" Archer asked via mind link.
"Hold on." Rin tilted her head with practiced elegance.
"Rin Tohsaka." Upholding the Tohsaka family motto of graceful composure, she finally collected herself. Patting the dust off her skirt, she offered a poised self-introduction to Ritsuka Fujimaru:
"Well then, good evening, Ritsuka Fujimaru... sir."
"No need for honorifics. Just Ritsuka is fine."
"Miss Tohsaka, I was hoping to—"
"Any detailed alliance talks will have to wait! I'm very busy right now."
Truthfully, it wasn't just Rin who felt Ritsuka looked familiar—he too felt Rin resembled himself. But their vibes were totally different. Compared to him, Rin had a forceful, commanding aura.
Despite being caught off guard, her cyan-blue eyes met his directly with no trace of hesitation. Her fair face wore a calm and composed look. Though she was around 160 centimeters and shorter than Ritsuka, she somehow projected far greater presence.
Those gem-like eyes pierced straight through him, ignoring the shy shield-bearing Servant at his side. Her brows furrowed slightly, and the downturned corners of her pink lips showed clear annoyance:
"Out of my way."
She marched past Ritsuka without hesitation. "...."
"Senpai... what do we do now? I have no clue how to proceed." Mash whispered. To be honest, she too was intrigued by how strangely similar Rin looked to Ritsuka.
Watching Archer spirit-form and Rin's retreating figure, something clicked for Ritsuka.
"It's him. That fallen Archer."
Mash blinked. "The one we encountered during our first Rayshift?"
"Yeah. Fuyuki... Fuyuki. I see now."
Ritsuka's eyes lit up in realization.
Just then—"Hey, hey? This is the Chaldea Command Room. Can you hear me? Ritsuka, do you copy?"
A blue holographic screen popped up midair, displaying Romani Archaman in Chaldea uniform.
Seeing the connection restored, he urgently shouted, "Ritsuka, follow that girl—Tohsaka Rin! The direction she's heading matches the location of the strongest corrupting energy signature!"
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