Rin looked at the mark on the back of her right hand, and after her spiritual consciousness touched the mark, the information it returned was that the target could be captured.
Even a lingering obsession that couldn't even be called a fragment could be taken as a target. If so, if she could summon one of the few "Rulers" from the Throne of Heroes, as long as she could get her help, at least it would be of great help in dealing with all the worlds evils.
"Hmm, if it's Joan of Arc, not as a supervisor of the Holy Grail, but just summoned as my personal heroic spirit, there's still a good chance to persuade her to help me achieve victory. And my goal itself isn't to obtain the chalice, but to destroy the black chalice that harms the present world. I think Joan of Arc, as a Saint, would still be willing to assist me."
Having made up her mind, Rin decided to give it a try, so she began a comprehensive investigation of the surrounding environment: topography, passages, routes to get there, like a thorough reconnaissance. The actual summoning ritual would have to be performed at midnight when no one was around.
Subsequently, after understanding all the information she needed, Rin left the Church of Saint Joan of Arc, checked into a hotel not far from there, set an alarm for one in the morning, and began to sleep soundly.
As for why she slept from 11 AM until early morning, it was because her last money had gone to booking the room, and Rin had no money for food... To have enough energy for action, it was best to minimize consumption for now.
In the dead of night, the starless and moonless sky was covered by dark clouds—a truly dark and windy night, perfect for murder, arson, and petty theft. A shadowy figure leaped from the hotel window, like a nocturnal black cat, silently disappearing into the night.
The shadowy figure was, of course, Rin. It was already 1:30 AM, and by the time she reached the Church of Saint Joan of Arc, it would be around 2 AM, the peak of Rin's magical fluctuations.
Her invisibility spell fooled the cameras, and her spiritual vision easily saw through infrared. With movements and methods that would put professional thieves to shame, she silently bypassed all the defenses composed of modern technology.
The dark, lightless church appeared especially eerie. The somber, hazy stained glass lacked the bright, dreamy quality of daytime, and the solemn, dignified statue of the Saint took on an uncanny and mysterious aura in the darkness. Soon after, Rin arrived at the place where that wisp of obsession lingered.
In her spiritual vision, on the empty space, a faint, smoke-like black essence slowly drifted less than ten centimeters above the ground. Rin still harbored a slight doubt: "Is this really a lingering resentment left by Saint Joan of Arc?"
But what was here, it seemed, couldn't be related to any other figures either.
Rin walked to the position where the obsession floated in her spiritual vision, quietly calming her somewhat secretly excited mood. After all, as a Magus, being able to personally cast magic, even Rin herself couldn't help but be uncontrollably excited.
Before commencing the ritual, Rin first set up layers of various barriers to isolate any possibility of detection from the outside world. The use of magic had to be extremely cautious, especially for a Magus who was not a Magus to use the lost Third Magic. Once detected, it would inevitably cause a storm in the mysterious world.
All preparations complete, Rin lowered herself, placed her right hand on the ground, and activated the array mark on the back of her hand with her mental fluctuations. The manifested magic array mark emitted a faint glow like moonlight on a lake, expanding from Rin's hand to brand itself onto the ground, fixing at a diameter of about three meters. The trace of the soul fluctuation of that wisp of obsession was pulled by an invisible force to the center of the array.
Rin buried her head, carefully observing the complete operational array of the Third Magic. The drawing method was surprisingly simple; the depiction of the array's core was similar to a pair of hands cupping a chalice. Perhaps that's why it was called the chalice.
Indeed, so-called magic could no longer be recorded and planned by human magical texts. The so-called magical array was merely a vessel for the manifestation of invisible magical miracles; there was no need for it to be complex or not.
Rin, who had examined the magic array inscribed in the Jeweled Sword, thought to herself, confirming her conclusion.
No wonder God told me that magic couldn't be obtained from the Jeweled Sword and the Heavenly Garment.
Just as Rin was pondering, the chalice pattern inscribed in the array suddenly overflowed with a water-like luminescence! Then, truly like a liquid, it flowed along the array's patterns, filling the entire operational pattern of the array within a few seconds.
Seeing this scene, Rin couldn't help but secretly praise, "Not only did it cross time and space to engrave future magic into the present, but it also liquefied and stored the magical power for releasing magic within the array. My future self has indeed reached an unimaginable height!"
Why did it feel like she was boasting?
The array, full of magical power, began to operate. Mysterious and unfathomable invisible laws were at work. Rin, immersed in it, had an indescribable feeling, as if an invisible, untouchable entity, like a swimming fish, was converging here from the air.
Soul gathering?
The faint, smoke-like black obsession in the center of the array rapidly solidified under the operation of the Third Magic. Moments later, it transformed into a ball of black flame, clearly visible even without spiritual vision.
Rin's expression grew increasingly solemn upon seeing this ink-black, flickering flame, because this absolutely should not be the manifestation of Saint Joan of Arc. It seemed she had summoned something unexpected.
As the array operated, the flame flickered more and more joyfully, finally erupting with a roar when it reached a critical point! The towering flames instantly swept through everything around! Rin, who was always mindful of crisis, had already erected a fire-resistant magical shield wall a step earlier, but when the flames swept past, there was no impact as Rin had expected. Rin, puzzled, dispersed her magical power and was instantly stunned by what she saw.
The world... had changed...
Rin was in an open square, surrounded by houses that had all transformed into ancient French medieval styles, but Rin felt no classical elegance, because the entire city, no, or rather, the entire world, was burning!
Houses, trees, streets, the sky—everything in the entire world was burning, except for the small square where Rin stood. The screams of cats and dogs, the pained cries of men, women, young, and old, mingled into a chaotic din. People pushed and shoved, children fell into the flames, their desperate pleas for help ignored. Elderly people were trampled in the crowded throngs, never to rise again, becoming stepping stones for the crowd.
Is this hell?
Scanning her surroundings, Rin couldn't help but wonder, but why hadn't anyone come to this only flame-free square where Rin stood?
But as Rin scanned around and her gaze returned to its starting point, she felt she understood…
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.