In all my time here, I have never encountered a clean-up job quite this simple.
Ciel-san mentioned that Sister Yuika might face allegations of colluding with the Mages' Association, but after I casually asked if it would be alright to drop a meteor on the Vatican, she quickly decided to argue for leniency instead.
Arcueid, brushing off Akiha Tohno's attempts to restrain her, began dragging Shiki Tohno around town under the pretense of enjoying a date. Thus, as usual, the responsibility of tidying up this mess fell entirely on my shoulders.
"The next incident is the 13th Hierarchy... How do you intend to handle it?"
Godword Mayday questioned me regarding the upcoming events of Melty Blood. I gave him a simple answer, as if the matter were of little consequence.
"That incident takes place in Misaki City as well, so we'll just call Arcueid... In my heart, I'd like to call Aoko-nee just in case, but Zepia would surely throw a hysterical fit, so let's pass on that."
"Indeed. With you and me present, a Dead Apostle who is nothing more than a 'phenomenon' would truly be trivial."
"I don't really get what that's supposed to be... anyway, I helped with the snake hunting, so that should be enough, right? I'm heading back; Mikiya is waiting for me."
"Yes, Ryougi-san. You were a great help."
"Keep the flattery... I'll let you know when we set the wedding date. You'd better come."
With those words, she vanished from Misaki City. I drafted a formal report and dispatched it to the Clock Tower via familiar.
The contents were concise: Nrvnqsr Chaos, of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, and the extra-hierarchical Michael Roa Valdamjong appeared in my hometown. They were in the way, so I killed them.
Alice-san requested that her name be omitted to avoid unnecessary complications, so I only included the names of Arcueid and Ciel in the report. If I had foolishly mentioned something as ominous as the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, those lunatics obsessed with the Root would undoubtedly have tried to slap a Sealing Designation on Shiki Tohno. That would have inevitably forced Aoko-nee to go through the tedious task of leveling the Department of Policies a second time.
Regardless... that was a secondary concern. The primary focus was my objective.
"Arcueid-san, how is your bloodlust holding up?"
"It's quite fascinating. Normally, I have to suppress the vampiric impulse using my own power, but to think it could almost entirely vanish through the Unified Language... Is this that 'placebo effect' I've heard about?"
Arcueid, who had reclaimed the power Roa had stolen upon his elimination, had returned to her high-tension state.
Of course, that meant she was clinging to Shiki Tohno even more than before... well, let's just consider Tohno-kun a necessary sacrifice for the cause.
"It's similar, but I think it's a bit more profound than that... anyway, can we count on your cooperation for our project?"
"I don't know what you're planning... but Shiki seems quite interested in this project of yours. If Shiki says he'll do it, then I'll do it too."
Manipulating someone like Shiki Tohno was hardly a challenge for me... The real question was Ciel.
Ciel had technically cooperated with us, and judging by the way her eyes softened every time she looked at Shiki Tohno, it seemed his 'Curse of Women' was as strong as in the original work... but why did I have this nagging feeling of unease in a corner of my heart?
"Anxiety?"
"No... call it a sort of intuition. Whenever I feel this knot in my stomach, a major catastrophe usually follows."
In my childhood, I was kidnapped by Lugh Beowulf, leaving my arm and ribs shattered. During the Fourth Holy Grail War, an Evil of Humanity manifested to wreak havoc. In the timeline of The Garden of Sinners, I was ambushed by Fujino Asagami and nearly had my limbs twisted off. Then the Clock Tower tried to abduct me, forcing me to invade England and drop Tengai Shinsei on their heads.
Usually, this sensation crops up just when things are going too smoothly... Wait, is this a flag?
"It's just an unfounded fear... surely?"
"You're not even a Servant; an intuition is just an intuition. You were taught first and foremost that a magus must verify everything with logical evidence, weren't you?"
"That's true, but..."
If we're going by that logic... what the hell was Artoria Pendragon then? That 'Munchkin' who had maxed-out Instinct?
*
The banquet to celebrate our victory was held, of all places, at the Tohno estate.
While everyone else partook in a luxurious full-course meal, Ciel—who insisted on having three-minute instant curry—was a bit of an outlier, but the banquet itself was enjoyable in many ways.
Arcueid was busy clinging to Shiki and feeding him various things, while Ciel and Akiha were desperately trying to pry the two apart from both sides. Godword burst into laughter watching the spectacle, while Alice-san and I simply sighed and focused on our steaks.
Beowulf, who had invited himself along at some point, tried to snag a medium-rare Wagyu steak from the table only to be caught in a guillotine choke by Arcueid. He began thrashing about while we chuckled at the sight before returning to our combat-speed eating.
"I suppose it really was just an unfounded fear?"
Everyone was present at the banquet, including Sister Yuika, who was essentially my first contact within the 'Mystical Society.' Ciel looked at her with blatant disapproval, but since Alice-san and I glared back every time she voiced it, Ciel settled for aggressively shoveling curry into her mouth.
"Don't be too hard on her, Karma-kun. The Burial Agency is, after all, the most exclusionary organization within the entire Holy Church."
"Her bullying Sister Yuika doesn't seem to have much to do with institutional tendencies..."
"Hey, I'm fine. More importantly, how is that 'anxiety' you mentioned, Karma-kun?"
"Yeah, I think it was just a groundless worry."
Eventually, Beowulf—having finally filled his belly despite Arcueid's interference—sprawled out on the floor in an 'X' shape. Godword Mayday, perhaps tipsy from the wine, began to doze off as well.
Shiki Tohno was already snoring lightly with his head resting in Arcueid Brunestud's lap, and Alice-san was fast asleep, using her arm as a pillow.
"Now that the Tsukihime events are concluded... how many tasks remain?"
With Godword and Arcueid on my side, Melty Blood was practically a free pass.
The Fifth Holy Grail War, which would no longer occur.
The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II, the progression of which was now entirely unpredictable since I had already been awarded the Grand rank.
Similarly, the enigmas of Strange Fake, Apocrypha, and even Prototype...
Discounting the gag-universe of Prisma Illya or the EXTRA world which was the starting point of my identity theft—since they technically won't happen here—the remaining pivotal events are Shiki's adventure to find a gift for Arcueid in Tsukihime 2, Melty Blood, and the Grand Order.
"The Crypters will also be making their appearances soon."
Kirschtaria, Ophelia, and Kadoc were surely already being watched by Waver and Kayneth with hawk-like intensity. As for Daybit, Peperoncino, and Yu Mei-ren, I planned to deal with them personally.
Furthermore, having recruited several 'Connected Ones' as allies, I could respond to whatever attack the Demon God King might launch.
Marisbury, the Demon God King, the Alien God... even Chaldeas.
The Incineration of the Human Order was at most twelve years away. Until then, I had to effectively seize control of all Chaldea's facilities. Arcueid, Touko Aozaki, and Aoko-nee would serve as an excellent Deterrence to prevent the Clock Tower or the UN from interfering once I took over, and Kayneth could provide the political leverage needed to fill the power vacuum left by Marisbury's eventual demise.
"...Sigh, words are cheap. I need to move into action."
Killing Marisbury was a task to be done only after gathering all the Crypters, and that would likely take another ten years. Peperoncino and Daybit would be more complicated since I'd have to recruit them directly...
I didn't know what kind of nonsense Marisbury or Solomon might pull until then, nor how the power balance might shift, but I had to do my best.
"By the way, everyone's asleep. Alice-san usually never falls asleep anywhere other than her own mansion."
Arcueid was dozing while letting Shiki rest on her lap, and Beowulf was snoring loudly enough to shake the room.
Watching them, I felt like I needed a permanent marker. Mostly for doodling... or maybe just for doodling...
"...Wait, do Phantasmal Species even sleep?"
A simple question. As someone who wielded the Animal Path and had summoned hundreds of Phantasmal Species... the moment I voiced this 'trivial' doubt, I felt something incredibly discordant.
...Is it normal for everyone to fall asleep simultaneously like this? Especially the four strongest people here—Arcueid, Ciel, Alice-san, and Beowulf—all at once?
Moreover, the scene looked strange.
Arcueid Brunestud was providing a lap-pillow for Shiki Tohno, but the posture looked strangely unnatural. Ciel was not in her school uniform, but in the combat habit of a Burial Agency sister.
The rest of the group were no longer dressed for a banquet; they were wearing their combat gear, or at least the attire they donned when preparing for war... I quickly activated the Rinnegan and scanned the surroundings.
Whether they weren't even trying to hide it or simply didn't care, a veil of ominous yet high-purity magical energy was undulating around us. High-density prana, thick enough to crush one's lungs upon inhalation, was dissolved in the atmosphere.
They say the atmosphere of the Age of Gods contained True Ether—Od-Ether—crystals of pure magical energy. This felt like having that substance poured directly into my lungs without filtration.
"Rinnegan, Release."
The Rinnegan's power was not merely for observing prana. It possessed the insight of a 'Eye of Insight' capable of seeing through illusions that distorted the five senses and piercing the truth of the world. This was why Lord Brishisan and Zelretch called my vision 'True Ether-seeing, or a sight nearing Clairvoyance.' Though I didn't use it often, I had used this vision to decipher magical energy or pierce through Kirie Fujo's Dual Existence.
Of course, just like Shiki Tohno's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, overclocking it caused a headache, but it lacked the life-shortening side effects. Any damage to the brain could simply be treated with Seal Absorption.
As I fully activated the Rinnegan and looked around... I felt the sensation of something shattering.
The lavishly decorated mansion was gone. In its place was nothing but a pitch-black sky and a grayish, rugged, uneven ground stretching out in all directions.
The others who had been sleeping so peacefully vanished as if they were nothing more than mirages. I stood alone in the center of this void-like landscape.
I quickly summoned my puppets to surround me and began absorbing the ambient magical energy with the Preta Path, only to be struck by shock.
'What is this... Not just the atmosphere, but even the land itself is pure magical energy? This isn't just prana with the attributes of a leyline; it's True Ether—the Od-Ether itself... Even the first-class leylines of Fuyuki City have at least minor impurities, so what on earth...?'
This was no ordinary problem.
I didn't know where this craggy, desolate land was, but locations this untouched by human presence were extremely rare.
If we exclude the Bermuda Triangle which is connected to the demon realm and thus ignored by humans—since this was land—this could be the territory in South America where the 'Spider' resides, where the previous head of the Department of Archaeology lost all his colleagues... or perhaps Area 51, closed off for unknown reasons.
"Wait... these indentations. Looking closer, they aren't just holes; they're craters. And that black night sky... don't tell me, is this the Moon?"
"Indeed, young one. It is a satellite formed by the will of Gaia—pure and unadulterated. To compare it to the lowly places tainted by the hands of wretched humans is quite laughable."
The voice didn't enter through my ears; it felt as if it were driven directly into my mind.
I turned my head toward the source of the voice... and there stood 'something' that looked exactly like Arcueid Brunestud.
The red eyes and the impressive body lines were the same, but every other detail was different.
She wore a provocative, chest-window dress quite unlike Arcueid's usual attire. Her hair, which Arcueid kept short because of Altrouge, was golden and long enough to reach her waist. She carried a high-and-mighty attitude that looked down on everything as insignificant... and then there was the overwhelming bloodlust, seemingly capable of crushing the entire world.
Radiating a killing intent that could rival or even surpass the Evils of Humanity I had personally faced, she looked at me with an arrogant yet faint smile and asked:
"So. You, who wield the Root while remaining unbound by the regulations of the Counter Force. Who might you be?"
Above the jagged lunar surface, the Crimson Moon hung loftily in the sky.