"Ladies and gentlemen, our aircraft will be taking off shortly. Please ensure your seatbelts are securely fastened..."
Moments later, mankind's steel bird spread its wings and soared into the azure skies.
Inside the cabin, a man sat quietly with his eyes closed, appearing like just another weary soul among the masses.
Yet once he arrived in London, England, and presented his credentials, the gates of the mystical stronghold—the Clock Tower of the Mage's Association—would open for him.
Even if he wasn't truly a member of the Department of Policies, but rather a traveler from another world, a mobile nuclear weapon incarnated as a Servant.
The man known as 'Sakatsuki,' the pretender, rested with his eyes shut.
The overseer from the previous night hadn't put up much resistance. Under Sakatsuki's "physical persuasion," they had wisely revealed their identity and handed over the key to enter the Clock Tower.
Yes, a key.
In the current climate, with the declaration of war by the Yggdmillennia, the once-lenient Clock Tower had tightened its security. High-level magical barriers had long been erected around London. Even for a magus of considerable rank, without proper authorization, entry was impossible.
While a Servant's spiritual form could bypass ordinary obstacles, it would still trigger the alarms of these barriers.
And if possible, Sakatsuki preferred not to make too much noise. Though the Yggdmillennia had only recently declared war, and he hadn't yet confirmed the exact timeline, their patriarch, Darnic, had likely already summoned that formidable Lancer.
"Lancer—Vlad III, the ruler who once dominated Romania..."
The seemingly asleep man murmured under his breath, his tone devoid of any carelessness.
All the talk of "a melody that rends the heart, where can one find a kindred spirit?" was just a meme. With his EX-ranked skill, Demonic Defender of the State, the Voivode of Wallachia received immense reinforcement within his own territory, his power rivaling even that of the top-tier Servants—such as the 'Little Sun' Karna, one of the Three Golden Luminaries.
If Sakatsuki were to force his way through the Clock Tower's defenses and alert the Yggdmillennia's scouts, he had no desire to be skewered like a kebab by the Impaler's stakes while caught off guard.
Shifting his thoughts away from the enemy, Sakatsuki turned his focus back to himself.
The effect of Double Existence allowed him to be both a Master and a Servant, but the reason this skill reached the realm of EX was due to another, far more dangerous ability—
[Endless Sorrow: EX]
Slowly chewing over the name of the skill, Sakatsuki felt a weight in his heart.
After the great battle of the Second Singularity, this curse had grown even more extreme. While it elevated a certain capability to its peak, it also inflicted unimaginable corruption upon the Servant's Spirit Origin—a blessing from the Evil of Humanity.
He had sensed it during his decisive battle with Draco. For Sakatsuki in the Caster class, this Beast's blessing had made him more arrogant, further estranged from the nature of a magus.
And now, as an Assassin, what changes had the blessing from Beast VI/S wrought upon him...?
Kill, kill, kill.
The wailing souls of the slaughtered family surged endlessly through the young man's memories.
Opening his golden, yet not slit-pupiled eyes, Sakatsuki grasped the direction of this blessing in the depths of his consciousness.
"Emiya... Kiritsugu..."
Before he could think further, the plane's announcement sounded once more.
"Dear passengers: We have safely arrived at our destination. The aircraft will now taxi to the designated parking area. For your safety..."
London Airport—they had arrived.
Moments later, the plane touched down. The mobile boarding bridge connected to the cabin door, which then opened.
Passengers filed out one after another onto the tarmac, yet no one noticed that one passenger did not leave the plane. Instead, after pinpointing the convergence of the ley lines, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
A displacement magecraft unfolded, a rhombus-shaped space descending, erasing the young man's figure from the cabin.
When he reappeared, the black-robed assassin, ghostlike, stood amidst the ancient streets, squinting in the midday sun as he surveyed his surroundings.
No matter the world, upon stepping into the territory of the Clock Tower, the endless stream of tourists vanished. The twelfth-century architecture remained impeccably preserved here, a scene where medieval and modern elements intertwined seamlessly.
With the key provided by the overseer of the Mage's Association's Department of Policies, Sakatsuki smoothly passed through the barrier's scrutiny and entered the heart of the Clock Tower. Navigating the familiar twists and turns, he soon arrived at the end of a certain street.
As expected, after losing the Dragonkind Modification, his magical energy had plummeted drastically... A single large-scale displacement magecraft had already drained a quarter of his reserves.
Just as Sakatsuki thought this, a reddish-brown building came into view. Today, the apartment where a certain someone resided still stood gloomily under the midday sun.
At the familiar sight, despite the weight on his mind, the young man couldn't help but smile with amusement, his eyes gleaming with a light identical to that of a certain little devil's.
"Well then, a traveler who has crossed countless worlds comes calling. Rise and shine, Lord who's still lazing around in bed—or should I say, Waver Velvet."
Waver Velvet.
Within the Clock Tower, he was far better known by another title.
Big Ben☆London Star—no... Professor Charisma, vetoed... Master V, rejected... The man Clock Tower's female students most wanted to ■■■ with, ranked number one—ahem, cough...
Had he been present, the man himself would undoubtedly have worn an expression of stomach-churning displeasure, cursing a certain blond student a hundred times in his heart before insisting on being addressed by the name he equally disliked—
Lord El-Melloi II.
That was the title he had been forced to inherit from a certain stepsister after the Fourth Holy Grail War, a name steeped in blood and glory that would accompany Waver Velvet for the greater part of his life.
And at this very moment, the Lord of the Modern Magecraft Department and hardcore gaming otaku, having pulled an all-nighter grinding for rare materials, was still sprawled on the cold floor well past noon. After being hauled up by Sakatsuki and treated to a few hearty slaps—his favorite—he remained dazed for a good while before flailing about like a fish out of water.
"This strangely familiar force... Wait, put me down first, hey!"
With a thud, the long-neglected leg jabbed into the floor, letting out a chilling screech from the recoil. Sakatsuki watched as Waver's expression turned from pale to ashen before he wobbled and collapsed onto the sofa. Only then did Sakatsuki leisurely speak:
"Awake now, Lord El-Melloi II? I have a task for you."
Rubbing his sore ankle, the long-haired man frowned and scrutinized the black-cloaked figure before him.
An unfamiliar magical presence, an unknown person—yet he seemed intimately familiar with my arrangements and habits. Moreover, this killing intent and chill... something I haven't felt in years.
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind, but from the very beginning, Waver was certain of one thing.
If he dares to punch me, I'll make him kneel and beg me not to die.
When outmatched, lie flat and surrender. In this regard, the battle-weak Lord was nothing if not experienced.
"How should I address you? And what is it you want from me?"
"Call me Sakatsuki. The Yggdmillennia have officially declared war on you, haven't they?" Sakatsuki made no attempt to conceal his identity. To Waver from the Fate/Apocrypha timeline, he was a complete stranger.
"What is the Clock Tower planning now? Tell me."
Yggdmillennia? So, someone interested in this rebellion incident? Are they involved, or just observing from the sidelines?
Lord El-Melloi II studied the shadowy figure wrapped in black robes, his outline indistinct. After a moment of contemplation, he replied.
"There's nothing much to say. The Association will dispatch a specialized 'Cleanup Team'—fifty first-rate magi. More than enough to handle the patchwork Yggdmillennia clan."
"Hmm." The black-robed figure nodded, unfazed by the deliberate bias in Waver's words. After a brief pause, he spoke again.
"In that case, I need absolute command over the 'Cleanup Team,' a token symbolizing the Mage's Association, and also—"
"No, wait a moment, sir." Even Waver was somewhat exasperated by Sakatsuki's presumptuous attitude. "I'm merely an inexperienced Lord. The operation against Yggdmillennia isn't solely under my jurisdiction. There are also—"
"—The successor to the Lord of the Spiritual Evocation Department and the head of the Summoning Department, correct?"
The robed figure swayed slightly, casually revealing classified information about the Clock Tower before turning his gaze toward the door. Sunlight fell on the slightly brown doorframe, reflecting a silver arc.
"But before that, we should deal with the restless little mouse outside."
"Run, Reines!" Lord El-Melloi II's expression changed drastically as he shouted desperately.
But when had that girl ever listened to Waver's warnings?
The door shattered as a maid formed from mercury swung a massive hammer, aiming straight for the black-robed figure!
"Are you alright, Brother?"
Though not yet an adult, the girl—already showing signs of beauty—dashed inside. Seizing the moment the mercury maid attacked, she quickly closed the distance to Waver. Her crimson eyes struggled to remain calm as she reached out with a pale arm, trying to rescue her troublesome adoptive brother.
Yet, in response to his sister's aid, Waver silently shook his head and sighed, lighting a cigar with an air of resignation.
"You shouldn't have come here."
As if to echo Waver's words, a young man's calm voice rang out nearby:
"Burial, mei sanguis."
"What—!" Reines turned in shock, only to be met with the dark muzzle of a gun and the sharp blade extending beneath it.
Beside the black shadow wielding the pistol, the mercury maid Trimmau, crafted from the second-generation Lunar Mystic Code, had been stripped of its mystery, reduced to a basic solution that flowed across the ground—bringing endless astonishment to Reines El-Melloi Archisorte.
Who was he?
Why was he so familiar with the secret magecraft of the Archibald family? How could he dismantle the existence of the mercury maid with just a single incantation?!
"That is an opponent we magi cannot hope to defeat, my Lady."
In this world, the man who had summoned the Conqueror in the Subcategory Holy Grail War and stood opposed to their teacher Kayneth gazed at the figure clad in black robes, his eyes seemingly tracing every past encounter.
"His is a... Servant."
***
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