Chapter 8: The Reason to Fight
In the original Magecraft World, the so-called Projection Magecraft was actually considered a minor, insignificant form of magic.
Its essence is the Magecraft of materializing a mirror image or imitation of an object that has existed in reality using magical power. Its duration is only a few short minutes, and it dissipates when the illusion is flawed, making it a highly inefficient practice.
But it wasn't until Emiya Shirou began to assimilate with Archer EMIYA that he realized his 'Projection Magecraft' was fundamentally different from the conventional concept of projection.
Although it can only be used to project weapons and is restricted to armaments based on the concept of a "sword", the weapons he projects are nearly perfect replicas, including their material composition.
Even when projecting the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits, Archer EMIYA's projected items are almost flawless, even mimicking the Heroic Spirits' fighting techniques. The only flaw is that the Noble Phantasm's rank drops by one grade.
For example, a Noble Phantasm originally ranked B would only have C-rank strength when projected.
But even so, most people should realize how terrifying this is.
All manner of swords and martial arts gathered in one person's hands—does anyone truly believe such a Heroic Spirit would be weak?
And there is an even more important point: although the scope of Projection Magecraft is limited to the "sword", defensive Noble Phantasms can also be projected instantly, provided Archer EMIYA is willing to maintain the enormous magical energy cost.
The duration is very short, but that small window of opportunity is enough to turn the tide of a battle.
Actually, even before his shift with Archer EMIYA, Emiya Shirou had learned many useful forms of Magecraft from Kiritsugu.
However, upon arriving in this world, they all, without exception, stopped working.
Unlike the Age of Gods Magecraft, which could be cast solely by relying on vast amounts of magical power and one's own body, modern Magecraft relies entirely on something called a "Magic Foundation.
For a modern Magus to use Magecraft, the Magus must use magical power and chant a spell to write an instruction, and this instruction is input into a pre-established Magic Foundation for the magical phenomenon to be completed.
This world is not the original world of the Magi; Emiya knew that long ago.
Therefore, the Magic Foundation, which is woven in advance by Magi, does not exist in this world either. This caused most of the Magecraft Emiya had mastered to lose its efficacy, leaving only two forms:
Reinforcement Magecraft and Projection Magecraft.
The former's essence is simply using magical power to directly strengthen the presence of an object to achieve an upgrade, while the latter is a unique technique belonging to Archer EMIYA.
In Emiya Shirou's view, it is more like the ability to materialize conceptual objects, bearing no resemblance to so-called modern Magecraft.
Fortunately, the current Emiya does not need to figure out its principles, only to master the application of this ability.
"Projection Magecraft...?"
Staring at the dagger that mysteriously appeared in Emiya's hand, almost indistinguishable from a real object, Nanami Kento deeply understood the concept of limited knowledge.
He did not sense any clear flow of Cursed Energy, and the dagger in front of him was clearly not an aggregate of Cursed Energy. This even gave him the illusion that this might not be Cursed Technique at all.
But on second thought, if an Innate Technique were so easily seen through, it wouldn't be unique to each individual.
Perhaps the essence of this Technique is to construct forms using some unknown substance other than Cursed Energy; otherwise, simple Cursed Energy would find it difficult to construct matter of this size.
If Nanami Kento remembered correctly, there was a student at Jujutsu High with a construction-type Technique.
However, her Technique relies on her own Cursed Energy as a foundation to construct matter from scratch, leading to extremely high Cursed Energy consumption.
The young man in front of him... seemed completely unaffected by the construction of this dagger, meaning his Technique at least has great potential yet to be unlocked.
In that case, things are getting complicated.
If it was merely the Yin-Yang Eye, he could pretend not to see it and allow the child to continue enjoying an ordinary life. But a Sorcerer who has already awakened and even possesses an Innate Technique cannot be ignored.
It's fortunate that he met Emiya first; if he had been encountered by a Curse User or a powerful Cursed Spirit first, the situation would likely not be this harmonious.
But before all that, Nanami Kento still had a question to ask—
"Even I cannot afford to disregard a Sorcerer who has awakened an Innate Technique.
So, are you willing to fight, even if it means risking your life, young man?"
Nanami Kento knew that when asked such a question abruptly, most people's instinctive answer would be negative.
In fact, if he could help it, he wouldn't want more people to become Sorcerers.
Born in a peaceful era, yet they must risk their lives to fight. Furthermore, colleagues often die due to intelligence errors.
In this trash of a profession, sacrifice is the norm.
"If I refuse, can I avoid fighting those kinds of evil spirits?" Emiya chose to ask this question.
"Yes. I will do my best to arrange you in a support position so you won't necessarily have to fight.
I've always believed that no matter how bad this country and society are, they are nowhere near the point where children must risk their lives.
If it ever reaches that point, humanity is probably close to being finished anyway."
It was fine to speak such discouraging words because this was the most sincere thought in Nanami Kento's heart.
This was the first time Emiya Shirou had encountered such a person.
The man wasn't proclaiming any grand ideals, yet he firmly adhered to his own beliefs—he believed that as a Sorcerer, he was obligated to protect humanity, and as an adult, he was obligated to stand in front of children.
But there was no great reason for any of this; it simply was.
"Then what is the reason to fight?" Emiya asked.
After fulfilling his wish for Miyu to be happy, Emiya Shirou had essentially lost his reason to continue fighting.
The self who wanted to be a "Hero of Justice" had long been discarded, and the only person close to him had embarked on a path to find happiness, leaving behind only the shell named Emiya Shirou.
He still possessed pure benevolence, but that couldn't be a reason for him to fight blindly.
Perhaps not everything needs a reason, but this particular thing is an exception.
Something Nanami Kento had not anticipated finally happened; he never thought Emiya would ask this question.
Asking about the treatment of Sorcerers, or considering the dangers of being a Sorcerer—either of those would have been fine... but he never expected someone to ask him this.
Yes, the reason to fight—it's something every Sorcerer should have, but which is unclear even to themselves.
But this did not include Nanami Kento.
"In all of Japan, over fifty thousand people go missing or die every year under mysterious circumstances, and most of those incidents are the work of Cursed Spirits."
"The mission of Sorcerers is to eliminate Cursed Spirits, thereby achieving the goal of maintaining social peace and protecting humanity.
But.
I think that reason is garbage!"
Nanami Kento simply and reasonably stated what others would consider a rebellious statement.
"Society will continue to function without anyone, and the Sorcery World won't fall apart because of someone's departure... but!
If the bakery worker dies, people will be troubled because they can't eat bread; if the bus driver dies, children won't be able to get to and from school on time; if a father dies, his wife and child will be heartbroken...
Therefore, that is my reason for being a Sorcerer and for fighting."
Nanami Kento wasn't ashamed that his reason wasn't grandiose, because fantasizing about being the center of the world is what children do.
"So, young man, tell me, do you want to become a Sorcerer?"
The question was still free of any coercion, merely an inquiry.
If Emiya chose to refuse, he would absolutely not force him.
Compared to any magnificent ideals, these words moved Emiya more. He remembered his dream from the night before and the words of Archer EMIYA.
["I am not dreaming of a world without conflict; I merely wish that, in the world I knew, no one would ever cry again."]
Is that it...?
It's not for a grand ideal like Justice; it's simply a refusal to see the sorrow of the people right in front of him.
Emiya Shirou finally made up his mind and nodded.
"Yes, I am willing to fight for that."