Britain, outskirts of London.The headquarters of the Clock Tower.Fifty thousand meters underground.
That is an extremely deep depth. Though it's still only a thin layer compared to the whole planet, by the standards of modern human civilization—developed through science and technology—this is absolutely an unreachable domain. By "physical" rules, the temperature here should be extremely high due to proximity to the mantle's asthenosphere where earth's magma moves; it can exceed a thousand degrees, a range in which life absolutely cannot function. Even ordinary rock would grow soft and pulpy, and only metals with high melting points and special crystals could exist.
But beneath Big Ben, where mystery gathers, things are different.
Inside the "cavern" once bored open by the eldest world-dragon, Albion, conditions are otherwise.The temperature here isn't high, yet it fluctuates violently, cycling day and night between −20°C and +50°C. The ground is carpeted with prismatic, ghost-blue crystals—not metal or mineral ore, but "magical ore" formed by the condensation of high-density mana, crystals of magical power.
The very air is saturated with the final pulse of life from an ancient dragon-kind, dragon mana that approaches True Ether under the conditions of the Age of Gods. A normal living being, without exceptional adaptability to the arcane, would have its lungs destroyed in an instant from a single breath.
This is both the deepest region of Albion's Tomb—the place of the dragon's "ancient heart"—and the site within the Clock Tower where the most profound deliberations are held, the venue of the "Crown-Rank Resolution" in which the Twelve Monarchs decide matters of great weight.
When a Crown-Rank Resolution is convened, the "dam" leading to the uppermost layer of Albion's Tomb is opened. That is the passage by which the monarchs arrive; from there ancient magical power wells upward to permeate all things here. Such is the scene at this moment, upon the ancient altar deeper within this "ancient heart."
"Then, could you explain the purpose for which this 'resolution' is being convened—Monarch of Barthomeloi?"
Atop a white dais formed by two interlocked hexagrams and woven from the stacked inheritances of the Twelve Monarchs, a figure slowly opened his eyes; a voice followed, sonorous and full, dignified and weighty.
The body was clearly not present—what showed was a projection woven of intangible motes of light—yet even as a magical projection, the middle-aged man's tall, powerfully built frame radiated the dignity of a "monarch." He occupied one of the dais's three most "central" points, a placement that symbolized an exalted standing even among the monarchs. His name was Magdaniel Trambelio Elrod, the current Director of the Department of General Fundamentals, Monarch of House Trambelio, a color-attribute magus—he bore his house's all-purpose Crest and, with it, the number of circuits that gave him overwhelming quality and quantity of magical power over other magi.
The instant his eyes opened, he questioned another figure occupying a core position: the aged, not-yet-retired Monarch of Barthomeloi.
That too was a projection: lean, yet upright and long-limbed.
"It does warrant an explanation."
But before the elderly Barthomeloi could speak, another voice sounded from the side, echoing.
This was a man also elderly—about seventy—whose gray-white complexion and wholly grizzled beard and hair made him seem older than the Barthomeloi of similar age. Cane in hand, dressed in a suit under an overcoat, he looked somewhat tremulous, yet none present would dare slight him.
The Director of the Department of Spirit Evocation: Monarch Lufreus Nazele Ulifis.
However frail the exterior might appear, a man who presides over "spirit" magic—the modern arcane's highest peak—commands a mystery that moves all to respect.
He said, "If this old man remembers rightly, our last Crown-Rank Resolution concerned authorizing a 'Sealing Designation' bounty against one of the era's few Crown-class magi, Aozaki Tōko, yes?"
A Sealing Designation against a Crown-class magus does indeed warrant rousing the monarchs en masse.
"But if this time we're not dealing with something of comparable weight, then, Barthomeloi, you owe us compensation for wasting our time."
Even before the Clock Tower's practical governor—the Monarch of the Department of Policies and Law—Monarch Ulifis showed no fear.Monarchs all, each apex figures of modern mystery, may have factions with pecking orders, but as individuals they stand on equal ground. At least in this generation, so it is.
The name "Tōko" brought an evident look of displeasure to the face of a noblewoman's projection seated beside Monarch Trambelio: the Monarch of the Department of Creation, Inolai Baluyeleta Atoloholm. Aozaki Tōko's Western magical techniques learned at the Clock Tower had once been under her tutelage. The Creation Department encompasses magic systems of beauty and art; puppetry is among them. Yet faced with the breach of "precepts" by her own student, Monarch Baluyeleta, though displeased, said nothing.
Another monarch spoke instead.
"Speaking of time—Monarch Trambelio—I've heard that of late you've been searching for the trail of 'the Holy of Secrets,' Victor's successor, have you not?"
A youthful-looking monarch with long white hair tied into a single ponytail. His tone was courteous, gentle, naturally affable.
"And if I am, what of it, Monarch Marisbury Animusphere?"
He was the Monarch of the Department of Astromancy, and administrator of the observatory "Kallion" eight thousand meters below the deepest layer of Albion's Tomb—where the "Inner Sea of the Stars" is observed. That site also adjoins the repository of forbidden mysteries under Sealing Designation.
Magdaniel said, "'The Holy of Secrets' was a great enemy of House Trambelio's forebears, and what was recorded six hundred years ago as the dispatch of our Crest has forever shamed us. As descendants, if a chance presents itself, we must defeat that successor openly, to display the Trambelio lion's majesty!"
"If any news reaches you, do also inform me," said the Astromancy monarch. "I am likewise keenly interested in the secret history surrounding 'the Holy of Secrets'..."
"Ahem."
The Spirit Evocation monarch interrupted their discussion: "Now isn't the time."
"It seems only five monarchs are present today."
The Creation monarch added, "Policies and Law, General Fundamentals, Astromancy, Spirit Evocation, and Creation."
"With four or more monarchs, we may convene a 'resolution'—we can begin now!"
As those who each hold a corner of modern mystery's summit, the Association's monarchs cannot simply come whenever called. Each has matters to handle—for the sake of their houses' inheritance, and for their "Crown Designations": the family lines' research goals set for their heirs.
Thus, one third attendance suffices.
All turned their eyes to the aging Monarch of Barthomeloi.Only then did the lean, upright elder speak, slowly, to those assembled.
"In that case, I shall be brief.
"—You all understand the existence of the 'Throne of Heroes' record, yes?
"You know the place where the foundation of Human Order is laid.
"The 'pillar' and 'proof' that supports the existence of human history!"
…
Beyond the first stratum of Albion's Tomb, there is no distinction between day and night in the depths; yet it was early morning in London now—and, across the ocean in far-eastern Japan, precisely midnight.
Within Ryūdō-ji Temple in the hills behind Fuyuki City, a blue magical circle braided itself complete in an instant in Lu Kang's hand. The mystery that simulated the authority of "Magic" manifested whole in his grasp.
As if time itself turned backward in that moment.
High above, Kuonji Alice lowered her gaze and saw a staggering sight.
Amid the grand strokes of midnight's bell, borne on the softly stirring night wind, the morning bell and the evening drum seemed to mingle as one. The ancient temple, in an instant, appeared "renovated"—time reversed."Old" became "new.""Broken" became "whole."
With a subterranean roar the leylines surged; tremendous magical power gushed up from the depths of the earth, becoming a rainbow brilliance that lit the night.
Within that rainbow flow, three figures surfaced.
Named—
"Tōsaka Nagato, ancestor of the Tōsaka house, who provided the leylines as the power source for the great ritual that built the Greater Grail."
"Makiri Zolgen—young enough still to bear that name before becoming 'Matō Zouken'—head of the Matō house, who supplied water-attribute magical laws to stabilize the Greater Grail."
"And last—
"Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern of the Einzbern house, the 'Winter Saint,' who provided the core theory of the Greater Grail: a fragment of the Third Magic, 'Materialization of the Soul.'"
…
Silence filled the depths of Albion's Tomb.
Gazing at the mirrored projection of that distant scene—maintained by the Barthomeloi monarch's magic—the attending monarchs looked at one another. Before their eyes appeared not only the three figures recorded in the leyline surge above Ryūdō-ji when the Greater Grail was first constructed; there also came the ends of the last two "Holy Grail Wars" thereafter.
Though each war ended in failure and the Greater Grail's rite did not fully start, the figures who clashed across that city—and those imprints of human order from ages past—were genuine. Enough to shock the "monarchs."
None felt that shock more than the Spirit Evocation monarch, Lufreus Nazele Ulifis. Whether descending gods into men, or lowering "Heroic Spirits" into "Servants," both fall under Spirit Evocation's purview. Yet whether the former or the latter, even he, as monarch, found them near impossible under present conditions. The Department does possess such magics for summoning Heroic Spirits, but they are not achievable in the modern era's environment. And now, such impossibilities had occurred in an out-of-the-way corner of the Far East—twice already—and a third time was imminent!
"'The Holy Grail War'… If I'm not mistaken, Monarch of Spirit Evocation, your future son-in-law—the Director of Mineralogy, Monarch of House El-Melloi, Lord Kenneth—has lately been making preparations with regard to this matter, has he not?"
The Astromancy monarch glanced meaningfully at the gray-faced elder.Heroes, Heroic Spirits—the Throne's record. These terms crowded Ulifis's mind, for once unsettling him. Even the General Fundamentals monarch, Magdaniel Trambelio Elrod, expressed reverence for the older mysteries: "If this projection is genuine, then those monarchs absent today will regret missing this 'Crown' session!"
Mystery— the older, the stronger. However much you degrade it, its essence resists change.
Because a projection spanned half a globe, and because Lu Kang deliberately veiled things, they could not discern the substrate of what they were seeing. They perceived it as a record of true history—when in fact it was a recall of real time-slices: a combination of a fragment of the Fifth Magic with a fragment of the Third. They simply felt it must be real.
"'Winter Saint' Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern… If I recall correctly, that should be the ancestress of the homunculus line created in a secret workshop hidden somewhere in Germany by the disciples of the ancient Third Magician, to re-enact the mystery of Magic."
So spoke the noblewoman of Creation, giving the final confirmation. However unbelievable, once the power of "Magic" is mixed in, all becomes reasonable. The Einzbern are scarcely known. As for the local Tōsaka and Matō, the monarchs dismissed them outright. In their eyes, the natives hardly merited mention. Even Lu Kang, who reproduced this scene, they ignored. They saw only "Magic," only the existence called the "Throne's record."
"Then let us begin the resolution."
The Monarch of Barthomeloi spoke solemnly. Looking across at that scene half a world away, his expression gained an unmistakable gravity and earnestness. Lorelei truly had dropped a great problem in his lap. He truly had not expected the Far East to hold a mystery of this specification. If not for Lorelei's insistence, the Association might indeed have missed so precious a "mystery"…
He said, "The resolution concerns whether to undertake an operation targeting the 'Far East'—
"And to hold the coronation of the next Monarch of Barthomeloi on that eastern soil, in parallel!"
The monarchs' gazes burned. No reply was needed; their intent was self-evident. Having preliminarily grasped the structure of the Holy Grail War from this "historical record," they were itching to take part—like the Mineralogy monarch, Kenneth—and seize those ancient arcane truths.
…
But unfortunately—
"Who may participate, and who may not—in the end, that's for me to say."
The projection curtain ended above Ryūdō-ji.The leyline surge and the temple's ringing both ceased at once. When the rainbow light faded, only silence remained where magic had burned—only Lu Kang standing there.
And suspended before him, not dispersed with the retreating pageant of history: a golden Grail.
And visible only to him, the true body of the Greater Grail—the "spirit form" of the silver-haired, red-eyed Winter Saint named "Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern."