"I hereby proclaim—"
At the base of the Department of Mineralogy.
Two figures—one tall, one shorter—were busy at work. Surrounded by countless precious gemstones and rare materials, Kayneth swapped out yet another batch of exceptionally high-grade catalysts.
"…Still not working?"
Kayneth stared at the relic in front of him. It shone faintly, but still failed to fully respond to his summoning. In the end, he could only take it down with a frustrated sigh.
Beside him stood the smaller figure—Waver Velvet—who had been recording everything for a long time now. At the moment, he was serving as Kayneth's lab assistant.
"Waver. Put this away, then prepare the next batch. We'll attempt the summoning again."
After removing the "premium" relics he'd borrowed from the British Museum, Kayneth stepped down from the altar and tossed a box to Waver.
Inside was a fragment of Karna's wheel—a piece of the "Son of the Sun God" artifact.
"Yes, Professor Kayneth."
Waver nodded immediately and stored the box with painstaking care, terrified of damaging it even slightly. The item was so valuable that even selling himself wouldn't be enough to repay it.
"By the way… Waver Velvet."
After Waver finished putting away the set of relics, Kayneth—still wearing a grim expression—spoke again.
"How many Heroic Spirit summonings have we conducted?"
Waver's posture snapped straight, and he began his report like a soldier.
"Report! Professor Kayneth: within one week, we have performed seven Heroic Spirit summonings. The Servants we attempted to call include, but are not limited to…"
He listed them off one by one:
Finn, Heracles, Agl—, Romulus, Ramesses II, Enkidu, and just now—Karna.
"I see."
Kayneth nodded, listening in silence.
Every name Waver mentioned belonged to a top-tier Servant—protagonist-class figures in their legends, the kind of monsters who could practically fight multiple opponents alone in a Holy Grail War.
So why was he failing every time?
That was what Kayneth couldn't understand.
At first, he suspected the catalysts. But each relic had been borrowed from the British Museum and carefully selected; every one was authentic. There was no way they were fake.
To resist a "certain death" fate—to seize as much early advantage as possible—he had chosen only catalysts capable of summoning Servants who could overwhelm the field.
He refined the ritual. He swapped in stronger and stronger relics.
And yet, fate itself seemed determined to spite him.
The summoning site, the mana supply, the catalysts, the chant—everything was flawless. He could even feel the other side responding.
But at the final instant, an abnormal force would "correct" the result, and all his work would collapse into nothing.
After repeated failures, Kayneth finally accepted it:
Something was wrong.
It was fate—Fate—interfering. Fate was "adjusting" reality, refusing to let him obtain the greatest advantage right at the start.
Because Kayneth had already planned it: if he could successfully summon someone like Karna or Enkidu, then together with the Conqueror King that Waver intended to summon, they would strike on the very first night—using the broad intel he remembered—to assassinate Tohsaka's Archer and the Einzbern Saber immediately.
End the war in two nights.
Break the cursed destiny cleanly—no room for it to wriggle back into place.
But fate had played him like a joke.
"Um… Professor Kayneth. Should we continue?"
"We still have relics for Siegfried, Arjuna, Rama, and Arash that we haven't tried yet."
Sensing Kayneth's gloom, Waver offered the suggestion in a quiet attempt to encourage him.
"No."
Kayneth shook his head.
"There's no point continuing with meaningless effort."
He was done. He already knew that no matter how many times he tried, it would still be "corrected" at the end.
And besides—
Even if fate had "bound" his Servant choice, that didn't mean he would surrender or accept it meekly.
It wasn't that he couldn't summon a Servant.
It was that his candidate had been fixed.
That Servant might not be the absolute strongest in the coming battles, but he wasn't a useless drunk either. If used properly, there was still room for a reversal.
And even if Kayneth couldn't crush the war by Servant power alone—so what?
He was a top-tier Lord. The Holy Grail War was never simply "whose Servant is stronger."
It was which pairing was stronger.
Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi believed with absolute certainty:
Even without the very strongest Servant, he could still surpass that hateful, pathetic destiny.
"The experiment ends here."
"Return the relics."
Having made his decision, Kayneth turned away—his tone returning to its old steadiness.
"Yes, Professor."
Waver was full of questions, but he obeyed, turning to organize the priceless artifacts.
Then—without warning—Kayneth tossed him a small wooden case.
Waver caught it by reflex, looked down through the glass panel, and saw a dark red fragment of cloak resting inside. Its weave seemed to carry the lingering warmth of history.
"This is…?"
Waver recognized it—precious, familiar—yet he couldn't place why Kayneth would hand it to him.
Before he could ask, Kayneth spoke flatly:
"It's Iskandar's cloak—the Conqueror King's."
"Use it for your summoning."
No further explanation. Kayneth simply returned the relic that had always belonged to Waver—then left in a hurry, moving to find the relic meant for his own summoning.
Even though he already knew which Servant fate had assigned him, Kayneth still had plans.
He might not have time to deeply dismantle the Holy Grail system itself, but after a week of relentless attempts, he now understood the summoning mechanism far better.
And even if his Servant was "chosen"—
that didn't mean there were no loopholes.
Because the legend of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne wasn't limited to twin spears.
His sword legend—the stories tied to the Saber aspect—was undeniably stronger.
Kayneth could predict that by now, the Einzberns had likely locked in King Arthur and secured the most suitable Saber slot.
But that didn't mean it was impossible.
After all, he was a lecturer in Spirit Evocation. His talent in that field even surpassed his Mineralogy, and he was hailed as a once-in-a-century genius. More than one Lord had considered him a better fit for the position of head of that department than the current holder.
For someone like him, even if he couldn't crack the Grail War system in time, modifying a Heroic Spirit summoning ritual?
That was not beyond him.
He would use his own ability to strike back at destiny as hard as possible.
His fate would be decided by his own hands.
With that thought, Kayneth left without looking back.
Behind him, Waver stared at Kayneth's retreating figure and fell silent.
After serving as an assistant for so long, he'd noticed changes in Kayneth—no, more accurately, this was the first time he had truly met and understood his teacher.
He finally grasped how vast the gap was between his own talent and Kayneth's.
So vast that Waver couldn't help doubting:
Was his thesis really correct?
Kayneth hadn't given him a direct answer. He had only told him calmly that the truth would be revealed in the future.
Waver didn't know what he should feel about that.
But he did know one thing—
This was an opportunity.
An opportunity to prove himself to Kayneth.
No matter what, he would not change his beliefs so easily.
If Kayneth had given him a stage, then he would seize it—firmly—and prove himself.
This Holy Grail War would be the best stage imaginable.
With that, Waver lowered his gaze to the cloak fragment in his hand and made his final decision.
"Don't worry, Professor Kayneth… I'll prove it to you."
He would shine in the Grail War.
And in the end, he would defeat Kayneth—forcing him, from the bottom of his heart, to acknowledge Waver Velvet.
——
"So, you're saying…"
"We can only stay here and watch and wait?"
In the suburbs some distance away from Fuyuki City.
A young woman with long orange-red hair asked anxiously.
Beside her, a middle-aged man known as Lord El-Melloi II took a deep drag from his cigarette, his expression weary.
"Tachibana, I know you're worried about your brother."
"But some things can't be solved by rushing."
He looked down and spoke with resignation.
"Don't forget what happened last time."
"Even though we ultimately won that Holy Grail War, the Singularity didn't disappear."
"Instead, we were ejected—and the Singularity entered another reset."
"So until we find the real core problem of this Singularity, all we can do is observe."
"Only after we identify the root can we rescue your brother."
"Yes," another voice added with a sigh.
From the projection device, Doctor Roman—a staff member—spoke up as well.
"Tachibana, we know you're worried about Ritsuka's safety."
"But Lord El-Melloi II is right."
"We have no time left for trial and error."
"If we don't resolve this Singularity soon, Human Order itself could be destroyed."
"I know, but… Ritsuka…"
Tachibana understood their logic.
But as an older sister—having finally found the world where her brother was trapped—being unable to do anything, unable even to meet him… how could she possibly sit still?
Especially when she remembered the last time Ritsuka disappeared right in front of her, and she was powerless to stop it—
her heart felt like it was being carved open.
Now that she knew her brother might be somewhere inside that city, how could she remain here doing nothing?
And yet… she also knew El-Melloi II and Dr. Roman were making sense.
But still—
"Alright, alright."
"Stop putting the kid through the wringer."
"I'll go take a look for her."
Just as the atmosphere knotted into indecision, a blue-haired young man—who had been sitting by the shore and had just reeled in a fish—sprang lightly to his feet and leapt over, landing beside them.
He volunteered casually.
"Cú Chulainn!"
Tachibana's face lit up in surprise.
"Seriously," the blue-haired man said, pulling back his thick hood and revealing a handsome, brash grin.
"You're telling me we're making this complicated?"
"Infiltrate the Singularity, check what's real, and look for the last Master of humanity."
"I'll take the job."
He twirled the staff that, moments ago, he'd been using as a fishing rod.
"Wouldn't it be better to send a Servant in, rather than sitting here waiting for the outcome?"
"And since that shield girl isn't around, I'm the best fit for it."
Cú Chulainn, acting as the Caster who once helped Chaldea clear the burning Fuyuki Singularity, knew the situation:
Because of poor magical compatibility, Tachibana could undergo Rayshift but couldn't function as a proper Master.
And now that the last Master of humanity had gone missing, he chose to remain with Chaldea—to lend Human Order a hand.
The man called Lord El-Melloi II was the same—an affiliated Servant calling himself Zhuge Liang, essentially a Demi-Servant. That was why they addressed Tachibana by name rather than calling her "Master."
Their contracts and mana supply were currently maintained by Chaldea. It could cover short-term needs, but without a Master—without Command Seals—they were inevitably weakened.
They could operate like this briefly.
But for a full Human Order Restoration operation?
Impossible.
That was why they were desperate to find the only remaining, missing Master.
Now that they knew he was in this world, Cú Chulainn was determined to bring him back—this wasn't only for Tachibana.
It was for all of Human Order.
"Then… I'll be counting on you, Mr. Cú Chulainn."
Tachibana looked at him with sincere gratitude.
"If Caster is going to scout, that's not a bad move," El-Melloi II admitted.
His own plan had been to preserve strength and appear only near the end, when the origin of the Singularity finally surfaced.
But Cú Chulainn had a point: waiting could conserve power, but it could also miss crucial intelligence.
If a single Servant could slip into the Holy Grail War and feed them information in real time, it would be a strong play.
So El-Melloi II didn't object—but knowing Cú Chulainn's personality, he still issued a warning:
"Caster. Don't forget our objective."
"Don't get dragged into a fight."
"Prioritize intelligence gathering above all else."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Cú Chulainn lifted a hand and flashed an OK sign.
"Leave it to me. I know what matters."
And with that, he leapt away, charging toward Fuyuki City—fast and loud, like a storm given human form.
Watching him go, El-Melloi II couldn't help but wonder—
Is it really safe to send that guy as a scout?
He's not going to start brawling with other Servants, is he?
And as he thought about their situation—this murky, tangled mess—
he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.
A dull, familiar pain.
A stomachache.
He muttered bitterly:
"I had to work overtime when I was alive…"
"So why am I still exhausting myself after death?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
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