"So long, my ray of light."
The words of the mysterious girl who lived inside that library resounded inside him.
"So long... my momentary dream."
Opening his eyes, he found a pale young girl with long, black hair reaching her waist staring at him with worry-filled eyes.
"Dal-" He was about to call out to her, but discovereed that her Victorian-style black dress was covered in blood... her own blood.
"Yo-you are hurt...! Hold on, I can, I can fix this." He tried to stand up, but failed as he had used up all his strength earlier. "I can fix this...!"
"...You need to go, now. The counter force will soon arrive." The girl whispered and touched his chin softly.
"No, wait-"
"That's enough." She smiled sadly at him. "The longer I exist, the more people will try to cross the boundaries of the world. It's better if I am gone..."
"I'm not leaving without you...!"
"Really... you are too kind... However, I am sorry." Tears filled her eyes. She was no longer the flippant and rude girl that he knew. "My inner world is already collapsing... both she and I won't make it."
"...For the last time." The pale girl passed him a golden key. "...I ask of thee. Art thou mankind?"
"...Yes, I am human..." He took the key and gave the girl one last farewell. "And I have always been one..."
"Yes... that is the #%^# I know of..." She returned his smile. It was her most sincere smile which he will never ever forget.
"I am truly glad to have met you, #%^#..."
Beep beep!
Mikiya woke up at the sound of the alarm clock. He sat up and turned it off, looking at the date and time, it was November 10, 8:00 a.m. He quickly washed up and ran downstairs, heading towards the direction of his workplace.
Last night when he visited Shiki, she wasn't inside her apartment room. Although it was not unusual for the kimono girl to wander around the city at night, Mikiya was still worried about her since the bad premonition he felt at yesterday's noon was still haunting him.
However, what could have happened to someone as strong as Shiki? He and Miss Touko had went to check out the Ogawa Apartment Complex yesterday and found nothing strange excluding the building's distasteful decorations.
He suddenly shook recalling the event that occurred after they left the building.
...
Mikiya trembled at the woman who was screaming in rage. He and Touko had left the building a while ago and found out that a parking violation ticket was pasted on her favorite car's window.
"Why the hell did I get a ticket?!" Touko was furious as she yanked the yellow paper from her love car and ripped it into pieces. "Look at this empty space! No one actually passes through this road! What's wrong with me parking my car here?! Don't you have something better to do, you damn traffic cops?!"
"Ah. Calm down, Touko-san." Mikiya attempted to appease the redhead but all he accomplished was switching the aggro target from the cops to him.
"Shut up!"
...
Sigh.
"What really happened? Shiki..." Mikiya tried to call Shiki again, but all he heard was the same voice message. "...please be safe..."
The only thing he could do now is to ask his employer for help since no matter hard he tried, he was still a normal human who wasn't affiliated with the supernatural world. The black-haired boy clenched his fist and continued moving towards Garan no Dou with heavy steps.
"TA-MA-MO!" With a bang, the kitsune's door was kicked open as Circe rudely barged into her room.
"Hnn?" The Greek goddess paused immediately upon witnessing the sight of Tamamo and Kiyohime's strange looks. She was completely ignored by the pair because the two were trying their best at holding back their laughter at the third and fourth presence inside the room.
"You think that I didn't know you were sneaking out at night the past few months?" The Queen of the Land of Shadows was poking at a tiny black blob. "Acting at your leisure is inviting death. What is your aim? Speak. Come, speak. Speak quickly. Show it to me."
W-What is going on here?' Circe was speechless at the 'crime scene' in front of her.
"Uh, there's no need to poke him with the spear..." It was at this moment that she finally noticed the fifth presence inside the room. She hasn't notice Titus since he was standing at her blind spot. "I'm the one who let him out at night. It's an agreement I had made with Sir Geryon Ashborn, a Magus from the Clock Tower."
"Hm? You're the one who allowed him to run rampant in the alleys?" Scáthach stopped poking the trembling slime, it must have been really scared of the female Lancer.
"Yes, it's a synthetic beast Sir Ashborn is working on." Titus caught the black blob. It jerked once as if it was breathing a sigh of relief, that reaction was surprisingly humane considering that it was coming from a mass of unknown material.
"Didn't this thing killed innocent citizens?" The purple-haired woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Though I do not mind it, but you didn't seem to be someone who would perform experiments that can endanger human lives."
"I am not a hero of justice." The lone Master laughed. "But you don't have to get flustered, all the victims were criminals. Thugs, drug dealers, gang members, rapists, the usual bunch that no one would remember when they just disappear."
"Is that so?" Scáthach seemed satisfied with the answer. "Well then. Why are you here, Circe?"
"Ah, yes!" Circe felt like crying seeing that they have finally noticed her. It's not like she had Presence Concealment, right? "I am finally done with my ultimate creation!"
"Here it is!" The pink-haired girl pulled out a white box that came out of nowhere. It was decorated with a big red ribbon.
""""Ohhh."""" Titus and the other Servants clapped as they cheered blandly.
"You shall witness the crystallization of great magic, designed and baked by this goddess herself!" Circe had her head held high as she gestured her hand at her waist.
""""Ohhh..."""" Once again, the four clapped and cheered, although it was with less enthusiasm.
The pink-haired demi-goddess unveiled the contents of the box.
""""Oh-"""" Titus, Scáthach, Tamamo, and Kiyohime were silenced before they could cheer again.
It was a cake.
No. To be more exact, it was a chocolate and vanilla cake with strawberries and cream as its topping.
"This here, is the Infinite Cake!" Circe placed the 'Infinite Cake' on Tamamo's japanese-styled short-legged wooden table. She then turned to lecture the four about her great creation. "It can be eaten again and again, infinitely, as long as some parts of it remained. In other words, we will have unlimited sweets if we don't finish the whole cake every time we decide to eat it!"
"""""Ah.""""
"Huh?" Hearing the four, the Greek goddess turned around and glanced at her cake.
"..."
"..." Nobunaga, who was actually hiding beneath the table this whole time, was sitting beside the table.
"..." The cake was gone.
"...Hi." Traces of the cake were on the Japanese warlord's face.
"You." Circe pointed her quivering finger at the black-haired girl as she stared at the cream that was stuck on Nobunaga's mouth. "You... you...!"
"...Yes?" The cake demon answered in her finest innocent tone.
"You're dead to me!" The Infinite Cake, which she spent so much efforts to make, was completely eaten by Nobunaga...!
"See ya later!" The panicking girl immediately ran away when she saw the furious demi-goddess pull out her magic staff.
On that day, The building's residents were able to see a charred-black Demon King and a certain pink-haired Caster's live depiction of 'The Scream'.
Mikiya ran out of the exhibition center, trying to hold back his cold rage. He was having a conversation with Touko when the female Magus detected a magical signature crossing her Bounded Field. She had threw a ring that looked like it was made out of grass at him and ordered him to hold it.
"Don't wear it. Don't draw attention to yourself. Don't bump on anything. And not so much as a peep out of you. If you do it right, our uninvited guest will leave without even noticing you." She explained that the ring would make him invisible.
A man who was most likely in his twenties came inside the building exactly when Mikiya followed the puppet maker's instructions and stood at the corner. The man had blonde hair and blue eyes, typical of someone from an European lineage. He donned a crimson long coat and top hat while holding a wooden cane.
The man introduced himself as Cornelius Alba, a Magus who studied at the London branch of the Mage's Association along with Touko. Mikiya knew it was true since he had seen a picture of Touko, Alba, and an unknown Asian man in a picture three days ago.
The two Magi then proceeded to 'banter' on the topics of Akasha, the Swirl of the Root. Alba had found it uninteresting, even though it was the ultimate goal of all Mages out there, Touko included. Their discussion turned hostile when Alba admitted that he made the System of the Apartment Complex they had visited yesterday.
The conversation ended when Mikiya revealed himself since the blonde Magus confessed that they had captured Shiki. Alba had laughed and left the exhibition center after that, but not before telling Touko that he believed Mikiya was her apprentice.
"Calm down, Mikiya. I'll bring Shiki back tonight." Seeing her favorite employee's eagerness to save his crush, the puppet maker told him to stay out of trouble and departed from the building. However, the black-haired boy had completely ignored the redhead's warning and ran back to his apartment to prepare for a rescue mission.
To the west, an orange sunset blazed. Aozaki Touko sighed and entered the Apartment Complex. Instead of going up through the central elevator, she turned right and moved to the east lobby, discovering Cornelius Alba who was standing in the middle of room.
She dropped her suitcase onto the floor and a monstrous cat rushed out, swallowing the blonde Mage into itself. The magical creature flew around the room, but then it was suddenly stopped and knocked onto the ground.
"...So you have finally shown yourself." Touko glanced at the man who stood on the second floor balcony.
"It's been a while, Aozaki." Araya, who suddenly appeared, had saved Alba
"Yeah." Touko said. "I'm sure we didn't want to see each other though."
"It seems Alba did more than he should have." The black Magus commented emotionlessly. "He just can't let go of his hatred for you, doesn't he?."
"So?" Touko glared at Araya. "Would the Origin open here?"
"All the people I have gathered here are burdened with different deaths." Araya replied. "It could be said that it is a world that is on a smaller scale. I conjectured that the door to Akasha exists at the end of this repetitious world which ends in a day... But I didn't find the door."
"So that's why you took notice of Shiki?" Touko asked.
"Yes." The robust man affirmed without the slightest hint of remorse at the damaging events he had caused. "I used Fujou Kirie and Asagami Fujino so that the Counter Force wouldn't notice, and I made her realize that her body is connected of the Origin."
"But how will you open it?" The puppet maker caressed her cat familiar's head.
"I shall take that body." Araya answered.
"Huh?" Touko stared at the opposite man as if he was insane. "Don't tell me that you intend to transplant your brain into Shiki's body?"
"What a sick guy you are." She mocked seeing that Araya wasn't denying it. "Why do you go so far to open it? There might not be anything within it. The world might also collapse the moment you reach Akasha."
"...My reason is long forgotten." The robust man responded. "My wish will come true with a few more steps. Anything that stands in my way shall be regarded as the Counter Force."
"Hah. So the only option is for us to fight." Touko said with satire as her opponent started moving down the stairs and towards her.
"Araya, what do you seek?"
"True wisdom."
"Araya, where do you seek it?"
"Nowhere else but within myself."
"Go!" The monstrous cat rushed at the centuries old Mage, ready to tore him apart. Despite its extreme speed, it was blocked by Araya's three-layered Bounded Field. It tried to circle around the room and attack its opponent when he's off guard, however...
Araya pointed his open palm at the familar and clenched. The cat immediately froze and cried out in pain as its body started to distort. Within seconds, the Magecraft that Touko was so proud of was crushed into nothingness. The aftershock from the twisted space sent the redhead flying meters away.
"Damn, how many ribs did he break?" Touko coughed out blood while agonizing over her wound.
"Your puppet is gone now." Araya declared his victory while remaining on the stairway. "A puppet user has lost the instant her puppet loses. That's what you said back when we were students."
"I haven't change my theory." Touko, who should have been panicking, smirked. "But this is amazing. Being here is like being inside of your body, and you can crush any space at will. So I've already walked into a large spell the moment I entered building, huh?"
That is true. The entire Ogawa Apartment Complex was his workshop where his ultimate Bounded Field was set up. The building could be called the embodiment of his internal world, very similar to the concept of a Reality Marble, which gives him complete control over its internal workings.
Within the Apartment Complex, he gains the ability of instant teleportation anywhere within his Bounded Field, omniscience of any occurrences within the building, and the ability to crush space itself. The Bounded Field here has long since left the realm of Magecraft and has already breached into the realm of Magic.
"If you were so prepared, why were you cornered by Shiki?" Touko looked at Araya doubtfully. With his strength, he should have been able to easily beat Shiki with a simple bending of space.
"I would've crushed her if I had gone full force." Araya replied. Twisting spaces or any other methods he could use were too harmful since he needed Shiki's body in pristine condition.
"Ha! Just hope that doesn't turn out to be a bad choice." Touko's voice was filled with mockery. "Araya, there are three conditions to terrify someone. Do you know what they are?"
"One, the monster cannot speak." The redhead gestured the orders with her fingers. "Two, the monster had to be unidentifiable. Three, it's meaningless if the monster can die."
Swoosh! The red cat that should have been dead reappeared behind Araya and lunged at him, throwing him into mid-air.
"If you're going to kill, do it in one shot." Touko ridiculed while her familiar returned into the suitcase. "That's how you pull off a surprise attack."
Squelch.
"Huh?" The female Magus suddenly felt pain. She looked down and found an arm through her chest. Araya, who should have been lying dead on the floor, was behind her with his arm inside her chest.
"Kill in one shot, huh?" The robust man held his friend's heart in his hand. "I see, that was a good lesson."
"...Was that a puppet?" Touko spitted out blood and gazed at the ground near her suitcase. A man with Araya's appearance was sprawled down on the floor.
"Of course. And you are real." Araya whispered into the female Mage's ear. "There is no mistake to your heart's rage."
"This is unfortunate." He looked at Touko's heart as it was still beating furiously. "I accurately rated you because we once competed to reach the Origin. To be honest, I held you in high regard... However, you degenerated."
"That may be true... but I like my life right now." The puppet maker winced at the pain she was feeling. "...I like this spiral called daily life accumulated from many miracles and chances, so I merely tried to protect it as best as I can."
"Araya... what do you wish for?"
"I do not wish for anything."
"How pathetic." Touko chuckled. And with that, the robust man crushed her heart and decapitated her head.
"What a fool."
Estelotte: Silver Dawn Which Reflects the Moonlight's Depth
Owner: ?
Type: Anti-Unit
Rank: C
Range: 1~Infinite
Maximum number of targets: 1
A silver sabre that has the power to manipulate its wielder's concept of distance, granting them a power to move to a location instantaneously.
However, it is not a form of spatial transportation but a type of transportation where the concept of "distance" is altered. Additionally, its power can only affect its wielder.
Although the pseudo-teleportation is limited to one's vision, the Servant who wields this Noble Phantasm possesses the highest level of Clairvoyance, which in turn makes this weapon's potential to increase to an incredible level.
This weapon will return to its owner when commanded, and the magical energy consumed for the usage of this Noble Phantasm is negligible as even a Servant with the lowest ranked Mana won't feel tired after using it thousands of times since their Mana regenerates faster than it is being used.
Author's Note:
So as I pray... Infinite Cake Works!
Yesshhh. Finally, all my perks are above level 20 in Killing Floor 2.
First Noble Phantasm revealed! And it's the one that he had used against Zouken!
Also, who can guess what crossover the dream is from :o? It's one of his Noble Phantasms, btw.
Darkjaden: Harem all the waaaayy. Though I actually regret it a little since it's quite hard to write about seven characters rather than just a single one. I had to research and look up their information and history, not to mention how troublesome it is to get their personalities right.
All reviews are appreciated :D