"W-What is this!?"
Waver Wilvet stared in shock at the weapons Shirou had given him.
Several heavy, matte-black modern firearms.
"Hm? These are what you'll be using when you fight Professor Kayneth. I prepared them specially for you.
Asking you to fight Professor Kayneth with Magecraft would be too much, so use these instead."
Waver: "Huh???"
Let's turn the clock back two hours.
Before the operation began, Shirou first listened to Waver's explanation of El-Melloi's supreme Mystic Code, [Volumen Hydrargyrum].
Then he brought Waver to a room on one of the Hyatt Hotel's middle floors and pulled a suitcase full of guns out from under the bed.
"Shinji, why are you able to come and go from these rooms so freely?"
As he slipped the key card back into his pocket, Shirou answered as if it were nothing.
"Because I rented out the whole building from the fifteenth floor to the thirtieth?"
"...Huh?"
"My grandfather is rich. I moved some money out of his overseas bank account to use as war funds," Shirou explained.
"That's not the issue! Shinji, were you planning to fight Professor Kayneth here from the very beginning?"
Hearing Waver's question, Shirou turned and answered,
"No. My original plan was to blow up the entire building."
Waver was left speechless, unable to tell whether the boy was serious or joking.
Seeing the look on his face, Shirou tried to reassure him.
"Relax. A rookie like you would only be throwing your life away even if you fought Kayneth with a gun.
[Volumen Hydrargyrum] really is a terrifying Mystic Code. That thing might even be the kind that can fight a Servant head-on."
"What part of that is supposed to reassure me?" Waver's lips twitched.
Shirou said, "These guns are mainly for drawing his attention and provoking him.
My real trump card is the large number of Magecraft traps I've set up throughout this building. Those are what you'll actually be using."
As he said that, the red-haired boy pulled out a thick booklet. It recorded all the mechanisms he had set up in the rooms and corridors across the Hyatt Hotel's middle floors, with helpful notes written in the margins.
Shirou stuffed the manual into Waver's hands.
"There's an hour and a half left. Memorize everything in that notebook."
"..."
Waver took the manual, still half-convinced at best, but he could not help muttering to himself,
"Can this really hold Professor Kayneth back?"
Shirou did not answer him directly.
"Waver, do you know what your greatest advantage is?"
The boy from the Clock Tower answered without a second thought.
"Obviously my talent and potential as a Magus."
Shirou: "..."
"T-That's true, sure, but aside from talent, you've also got another huge natural advantage."
"What is it?"
"Since the fight is happening indoors, Kayneth will probably keep the output of his Mystic Code as low as possible. After all, he probably doesn't want to end up homeless because he destroyed the hotel he's staying in.
So [Volumen Hydrargyrum] is terrifying, but it isn't completely unbeatable."
"I see."
Shirou's words made Waver fall into thought.
So tonight's goal was to make proper use of the terrain and exploit the other side's psychology... Huh? Wait.
Waver suddenly realized, to his surprise, that Shirou's tactics matched his own theory of Magecraft perfectly.
The thesis Kayneth had torn apart was titled On the Path of Magecraft in the New Century. In that work, which Waver had spent three years developing, the central argument was this:
Experience and technique can make up for a gap in Magecraft talent.
Waver believed that no matter how great the difference in family history, it could be overcome through accumulated experience. Even if someone had only a small number of Magic Circuits, as long as they understood formulas more deeply and could use Mana more efficiently, bridging those inborn differences was not difficult at all.
At the Clock Tower, everyone from lecturers to students had sneered at his theory. That was also why Waver had come to Japan in anger, determined to prove himself.
Waver had already grown disappointed in this rotten world of Magecraft, so he never would have imagined that in Japan he would meet someone who shared the same beliefs he did.
Could it be that he's just like me...?
The boy's mouth fell half-open in excitement.
"Sh-Shinji... what generation Magus are you? Are you within six generations?"
"Me?"
Shirou frowned and thought about it.
Back in the Fairy Kingdom, Morgan had once said that his ancestors probably had not been Magi, which would make Shirou a genuine first-generation Magus.
But the Savior had also said that even setting aside Shirou's extremely unusual origin, he still possessed qualities that could be called exceptional among first-generation Magi.
So Shirou answered honestly,
"I think I'm probably the first generation."
"...!!"
In that instant, Waver suddenly felt something that could only be called destiny.
He grabbed Shirou's hand and spoke with wild excitement, practically spraying spit everywhere.
"I'll do my best! I'll definitely hold Professor Kayneth back and show him that bloodline and Magic Circuits do not decide everything!
Shinji! Let's make our dream come true together! Let the world see our theory!"
Huh? What dream?
Shirou looked completely baffled.
You want to compete with me in the national karuta championship too?
...
...
Following the instructions in the letter, Kayneth arrived on the twenty-fourth floor of the Hyatt Hotel.
The moment he got there, he used a simple detection spell and found traces of magical energy left in the hallway.
The faint reaction made it obvious that it was Waver Velvet. He really had entered the building.
"As your letter instructed, I've come, Mr. Waver Velvet. Are you not going to show yourself?"
A fearless smile spread across Kayneth's face as he poured magical energy into his voice, making sure his declaration reached every corner of the floor.
"I had assumed you were nothing more than an empty-headed student with a taste for wild fantasies.
But contrary to my expectations, you actually have a little courage. To think you would dare challenge me to a duel between Magi. That does make me see you in a new light.
Let me praise you for once. You should feel honored by your own stupidity and recklessness, Waver-kun."
Kayneth's cold, cutting voice passed through the walls and reached Waver Velvet's ears.
At that moment, the boy was curled up in the darkness of a room, clutching the submachine gun he had only just learned how to use.
Although Shirou's encouragement had given him some courage earlier, the moment he heard Kayneth's voice, his body still trembled instinctively with fear. He had wanted to throw back a few harsh words in reply, but in the end, he swallowed them down.
Elsewhere, seeing that Waver Velvet had no intention of revealing himself, Kayneth pulled a test tube from his pocket.
"You really are troublesome, Mr. Waver Velvet. Very well, I shall give you a special extracurricular lesson.
I will thoroughly teach you the true meaning of Magi slaughtering one another. That terror and pain. You should consider it an honor."
With that, he poured the silvery liquid from the test tube onto the hotel carpet.
"Boil, my blood [Fervor, mei sanguis]."
After Kayneth quietly spoke the words of activation, the silver liquid on the floor suddenly swelled into a massive solid sphere.
This was [Volumen Hydrargyrum], the proud creation of Lord El-Melloi.
At first glance, one might think the silver liquid was some kind of living magical construct, somewhat similar to the Einzbern alchemy that used silver threads to create artificial life.
But in truth, neither the scale of its Mystery nor the techniques involved in its formula could be compared to ordinary alchemy.
Its true nature was a Mystic Code created by Lord El-Melloi, one equipped with tremendous computational power.
"Automated Defense: Automated Search: Attack on command [Automatoportum defensio: Automatoportum quaerere: Dilectus incursio]."
Each time Kayneth intoned a spiritual phrase in a low voice, the surface of the mercury mass gave off faint vibrations, then rolled along beside him as he advanced.
Kayneth possessed the rare dual attributes of Water and Wind, uncommon even among Magi, and he excelled most in the shared discipline of fluid manipulation.
The unique combat Magecraft he had developed used mercury infused with magical energy as a weapon, allowing him to control it freely at will.
Mercury had no fixed shape. From another perspective, that also meant it could become any shape.
"Scalp."
With Kayneth's sharp shout, part of the mercury sphere instantly stretched into a long, narrow ribbon and sliced the guest room door into countless fragments.
With the support of Kayneth's superior Magic Circuits, there was nothing [Volumen Hydrargyrum] could not cut through.
"I distinctly remember your letter saying you wished to duel me. Was I mistaken?
Mr. Waver Velvet, did you invite me here to play hide-and-seek?"
Mocking him all the while, Kayneth strode openly into the first room.
But at that moment, he heard the scrape of metal.
He turned toward the sound and saw four black gun barrels in the four corners of the ceiling, all swinging toward him.
"Dadadadadadadada!!!"
In the next instant, the four machine guns mounted in the upper corners of the room opened fire on Kayneth.
They were four machine-gun mounts linked to a Magecraft trap. The moment someone stepped into the room, they would automatically aim at the doorway.
It was a new kind of Magecraft trap created by Shirou after his return, combining Magecraft, firearms, and electronic devices.
Because it was a fully autonomous weapon, he had rented out the entire floor and barred anyone from entering so that no innocent bystanders would get caught in the attack.
And now, the first victim of this cutting-edge Magecraft trap was about to appear.
Except that did not happen.
The instant the bullets flew, [Volumen Hydrargyrum] activated its Autonomous Defense command, completely enveloping Kayneth and blocking every shot without leaving a single opening.
The mercury film was less than a centimeter thick, but compressed by magical energy, its tension and hardness surpassed any material on Earth.
Even after all four M249 machine guns had emptied their magazines, Kayneth remained completely unharmed. The only result was that the room had been reduced to a mess.
"Hmph. So this is what you learned in this country, Mr. Waver Velvet."
After releasing his defense, Kayneth let out a cold snort and stepped back out of the room.
"Because you have no talent for Magecraft, you resort to these side paths and petty tricks. You are even more foolish than I imagined."
To drag out the Waver Velvet hiding somewhere nearby, Kayneth entered the next room.
Waiting for him there was a modern weapon known as a Claymore mine.
The entire room was blown to pieces in an instant by the directional mine. Of course, it still failed to break through the defense of [Volumen Hydrargyrum].
Kayneth seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the feeling of the hunt as he entered the next room with a smile.
On the other side, Waver Velvet sucked in a sharp breath.
As expected, autonomous weaponry is useless against Professor Kayneth!
Which meant that in the end, he still had to fight Kayneth as a Magus.
My advantage...
Waver Velvet glanced down at the floor map and the trap markers in his arms.
Reluctant as he was, during the past nearly two hours he had already memorized the layout of the surrounding floors.
Waver Velvet did not have outstanding Magic Circuits, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with his theoretical knowledge. After all, he was talented enough to enter the Clock Tower through self-study alone.
To Waver Velvet, Shirou's Magecraft traps were so advanced they felt completely out of step with the current age.
The autonomous machine-gun trap and the Claymore mine from earlier had only been appetizers. In truth, there were even more sophisticated Magecraft traps waiting beyond them.
For example, a room where the entire space had been turned into the stomach of a monster.
Or a spiral staircase that could never be reached to the end.
Or a room that scorched anyone who entered with heat like the Earth's core, and another that recreated something close to the vacuum of outer space.
Every one of those traps stood at a level modern Magi could never hope to reach. Calling them a Workshop hardly did them justice. They were closer to a temple.
Was Shinji really only eight years old?
The more Waver Velvet studied those Magecraft mechanisms, the more unbelievable they seemed.
So, could Shirou's traps defeat [Volumen Hydrargyrum]?
Waver Velvet believed the answer was yes.
After watching what had happened in the previous rooms, he had already grasped most of [Volumen Hydrargyrum]'s basic functions.
Its method of attack was whip-like slashing strikes, while its method of defense was wide-area membrane-like deformation.
As for how it searched for targets... based on Waver Velvet's observations, it probably relied on vibrations in the air and heat sources.
A flawless magical weapon that combined offense and defense into one. No wonder Professor Kayneth was so proud of it.
But Waver Velvet had also noticed a weakness in that seemingly perfect Mystic Code.
The key lay in its autonomous thought function.
To conserve magical energy, [Volumen Hydrargyrum] always adjusted its defensive strength to the precise level needed to block an attack perfectly.
Could a Mystic Code actually have a personality like a human?
[Volumen Hydrargyrum] was every bit as overconfident and arrogant as its master.
If he made proper use of Shinji's traps and escalated them in the right order, then maybe, just maybe, he really could break through Professor Kayneth's [Volumen Hydrargyrum], Waver Velvet thought.
To pull that off, he would have to show himself in front of Kayneth and serve as bait, luring him into the designated trap.
[Volumen Hydrargyrum] possessed a powerful autonomous search function. It was like a supercomputer from a science fiction film, able to judge the danger waiting behind a door without even opening it.
Kayneth would never deliberately step into a trap that posed a real threat, so Waver Velvet would have to guide him into one.
By the time he came back to himself, Waver Velvet realized his legs were trembling.
Rider was not by his side.
The only person he could rely on was himself.
Can I really hold Kayneth off for more than thirty minutes?
No. This is not about whether I can. I have to do it!
Professor Kayneth's fiancée is in Lancer's hands right now. He must be even more frantic than I am.
He may look calm and confident, but that is only an act for Lancer's sake.
He may be a hopeless scumbag of a professor, but... right now, I'm the only one who can help him!
Clutching the cold firearm tightly in his arms, Waver Velvet crawled out from under the bed.
...
Even Kayneth was taken aback when he saw Waver Velvet appear openly before him.
"You have changed my opinion of you tonight, Waver-kun.
I thought you would hide to the very end like a rat in the sewer."
What answered Kayneth's mockery was not the boy's voice, but the submachine gun in his hands.
"Dadadadadada!"
"Fool!"
Kayneth barked the word, and mercury instantly formed a protective membrane that blocked every bullet fired from the Thompson.
But when the membrane withdrew, Kayneth found that the boy who had been standing at the end of the hallway had vanished again.
"Hmph. So in the end, you still choose to run."
Kayneth quickly gave chase.
Perhaps Waver Velvet thought he could use the terrain to wage a guerrilla battle. If so, he was underestimating a Lord of the Clock Tower.
Not even the slightest trace of heat would escape [Volumen Hydrargyrum]'s autonomous search.
It did not take long for him to follow the trail to a room.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
To his surprise, Kayneth found himself in an empty room with an abnormally high temperature.
Then, at that exact moment, the sound of Thompson fire came from behind him.
So that is how it was, Kayneth realized.
This room had been heated in advance, while the room opposite it was probably being cooled with air conditioning.
That was how Waver Velvet had slipped past [Volumen Hydrargyrum]'s target detection. He had hidden in the opposite room and waited until Kayneth entered before launching a surprise attack from behind.
A clever idea, but this level of petty cleverness could never break through El-Melloi's supreme Mystic Code.
Even an attack from behind would trigger an automatic defensive response. That was what made it Kayneth's proudest masterpiece.
Wrapped inside the mercury membrane, Kayneth sneered to himself.
What nonsense about experience making up for the gap in Magic Crests. Don't be ridiculous!
But just as he was basking in that sense of superiority, a faint feeling of unease rose in his chest.
He had no time to think it through before that unease turned into a horrifying reality.
"Boom!!!"
With his vision completely blocked by the mercury, Kayneth had no idea what had happened, but he could tell at once that the membrane was deforming in an unnatural way.
"What did you do?!"
Kayneth shouted.
The defensive membrane, which could block even machine-gun fire, was collapsing.
"Wait, could this be...?!"
In the next instant, the mercury sphere ruptured, and a massive volume of water flooded into [Volumen Hydrargyrum], completely submerging Kayneth.
This was the weakness in [Volumen Hydrargyrum] that Waver Velvet had noticed.
In order to deal with the barrage from the Thompson submachine gun, the Mystic Code had already reshaped itself into the most suitable defensive form.
But what would happen if, at that exact moment, a stronger attack than the submachine gun was added on top of it?
Once [Volumen Hydrargyrum] had fixed its defensive strength, it could no longer readjust. It could only meet the next attack with that same level of defense.
That was right. While firing the submachine gun, Waver Velvet had manually activated the Magecraft trap in Kayneth's room.
This was one of several rooms where Shirou had installed traps that required manual activation.
The instant Waver Velvet triggered the mechanism, the luxury hotel room in the Hyatt was replaced with an alternate space equivalent to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench.
More than a ton of pressure crushed every square centimeter. [Volumen Hydrargyrum], already locked into its defensive posture, could not endure it. After holding out for a few seconds, it completely collapsed.
Kayneth's furious cursing rang out from inside the mercury sphere, but it quickly became broken and intermittent.
Kayneth was drowning.
Waver Velvet could practically picture it. Lord El-Melloi, a man who valued his composure and appearance above everything else, trapped in a sealed space, submerged in water, and flailing in helpless confusion.
All right, it is about time to retreat.
A trap on this level could never hold Professor Kayneth forever. Time to prepare the next one.
Waver Velvet ran for the corridor, but from behind him came the furious roar of the Lord.
"Scalp!"
"Eek!?!!"
Waver Velvet let out a scream and collapsed to the floor. The corridor in front of him had suddenly become a sheer cliff that cut off his escape.
[Volumen Hydrargyrum], which had been crushed by the pressure of the deep sea, reformed into a whip and sliced straight through the middle of the entire floor.
This was the true power of one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower.
If he got serious, then no matter how many little tricks Waver Velvet used, there was no way he could win.
"This game of hide-and-seek ends here."
After coughing up water in the room for quite a while, Kayneth finally staggered out while supporting himself against the wall, then made his way over to Waver Velvet, who had been pinned down by the mercury.
He had long since lost the imposing air he had at the start. He was soaked from head to toe, and even his carefully slicked-back hair had fallen loose.
"Just look at the mess you've made, Waver-kun.
How exactly should I repay you for this? I trust you have prepared yourself for it."
Wearing a disturbingly genial smile, Kayneth stepped closer, grabbed Waver Velvet by the collar, and lifted him into the air.
Waver Velvet's face went deathly pale, his legs trembling.
"C-Could we make peace?"
"Make peace? Waver-kun, surely you jest."
Although Kayneth looked absolutely terrifying at that moment, strangely enough, he was not actually all that angry.
Perhaps that drenching cold water had extinguished his rage. Right now, Kayneth was unusually calm.
To be honest, Waver Velvet's performance had exceeded his expectations.
That one of the Clock Tower's most hopeless students had managed to see through [Volumen Hydrargyrum]'s properties in such a short time, and even use the Mystic Code's characteristics to engineer a counterattack, truly astonished him.
He could not help recalling Waver Velvet's thesis.
A Magus's experience and technique can make up for the gap in lineage and talent... was it?
Kayneth gave a snort of contempt. Impossible. Pure fantasy.
Impossible though it was, even mediocrities had their own way of fighting. At least, he did acknowledge Waver Velvet's efforts tonight.
Just as Kayneth was about to teach Waver Velvet a lesson he would never forget.
"T-Truly... as expected of the youngest lecturer in the history of the Department of Spiritual Evocation, my respected professor! The great Lord El-Melloi!
Not only are you unmatched in Magecraft, but as a warrior, you are flawlessly formidable!
Your student, Waver Velvet, is now completely convinced of his defeat and sincerely submits from the bottom of his heart!"
Still hanging in the air, Waver Velvet suddenly shouted all of that in a way that utterly shattered his usual persona, leaving Kayneth speechless.
There was no way that Waver Velvet, who had always been absurdly proud and was notorious at the Clock Tower for refusing to admit defeat, would ever say something like that on his own.
In reality, those were the surrender lines Shirou had taught him before the fight, to be used if Kayneth defeated him.
If you say this, then at the very least you will keep your life.
At the time, Waver Velvet's reaction had been: Who would ever say that?! I would rather die than say something like that!
Now, Waver Velvet recited the lines Shirou had prepared with practiced fluency.
Kayneth stared suspiciously at the boy, who was drenched in sweat.
"So, in other words, you understand your mistake now?"
"Y-Yes! Ever since coming to Japan, I have regretted my impulsive actions and reflected constantly on the crime of stealing your catalyst.
At every moment, all I wanted was to come before you at once and confess my wrongdoing to you, Professor!"
Kayneth frowned.
"Then why did you not come?"
Waver Velvet continued repeating Shirou's script.
"Because I felt that words alone would always be pale and empty. Only by proving to you that I had grown could my apology carry true sincerity.
That is precisely why I arranged tonight's duel. To show you my growth!"
"This is what you call growth? These cheap little tricks?"
Kayneth gave a cold snort, clearly not buying it.
With a pale face, Waver Velvet continued reading in a stiff, mechanical tone.
"Through my battle with you, Professor, I have come to understand even more deeply my own shallowness, and your greatness!
Sure enough, only Lord El-Melloi is worthy of the Holy Grail of the Far East. I-If possible, then please allow me to become your vassal from now on, and let Rider and me assist you in obtaining the Holy Grail!
Once you claim the Holy Grail, Miss Sola-Ui will surely have a change of heart and realize what a dependable man you are! That, too, is my wish!"
...Why is Sola being brought up here?
How does this brat know that what I want most right now is for Sola to change her mind?
Kayneth was suspicious, but under that relentless barrage of flattery, his mood did improve quite a bit.
Slowly, he released Waver Velvet.
"...Phew."
Waver Velvet's shoulders sagged as he let out a breath of relief.
I'm saved.
"Waver-kun."
"Y-Yes! What instructions do you have, Professor?"
Once he had thrown away his dignity once, there was nothing left to hesitate over. Waver Velvet had now entered a state where he could switch gears effortlessly.
Just as Kayneth was about to say something lofty, berate him from top to bottom, and then spare his life.
Suddenly, a loud ringing sound burst out from Waver Velvet's body.
"Waver, are you still alive?"
Shinji's voice came from the communication device on the Clock Tower boy.
"I've finished things on my side. Miss Sola-Ui is already under my control, so you should get ready to retreat too."
"Phew, thank goodness..."
Hearing that Sola had already been safely rescued, the weight hanging over Waver Velvet's heart finally lifted.
As expected of Shinji. He did not let anyone down. He really did break through Professor Kayneth's bounded field...
Exhausted from overexertion and the intense mental strain, Waver Velvet dropped straight to the floor.
But before he could relax, he felt a pressure unlike anything before.
He looked up and saw Kayneth's face twisted with fury like a vicious demon.
"Waver Velvet... You actually dared to join forces with an outsider and deceive me!!!!"
Waver Velvet: "...Huh?"