Sorry for the delay, but I was on vacation for a week. Well, here I go with my next installment. No summaries. We return with the story.

On reviews:

1740: I also think that Ichiruki has more chemistry than the rest, but it is not the official ship of the series either. Bleach is somewhat of a harem anime, but not as strongly as in Fate or Highschool DxD since Ichigo doesn't have as much interaction with female characters except for Yoruichi and Neliel. There is also the fact that in the last Arc he had no interaction with some of the Quincys girls except for a short fight.

I wish I could see at least one IchigoxBambietta. Shirou beats him with his Harem Protagonist Rank EX. XD.

Angelvan105: Thank you.

Chapter 23: The slaughterhouse of killer

25/07/2021


Ichigo let out a soft sigh as his body was lying down on the motel bedroom bed with his hands behind his head. His mind was wandering over the events after his 'exhibition' fight with his Servant in which he would almost have ended up with a brain injury or worse. The blonde was not content with anything and attacked him relentlessly if it weren't for some miracle, nothing unfamiliar to him since it had feeling to him before during his first confrontation with Renji before taking Rukia away. He felt it once more during his second confrontation in Soul Society, except this time he was conscious and in control. This time it was something unusual but the same as the first time, and that later became an object of interest for future plans.

He was also reflecting when he and his friends were forced to reveal to Waver, Rider and Saber where exactly they are from, who they are and their history before arriving here. Honestly, Ichigo thought that maybe none of the 3 would take this well and they would feel uneasy and mistrustful about working with non-world people as if they were aliens, and Waver would be the first to confirm his fears. However, to everyone's surprise, Rider did not appear skeptical at all and instead stated that, by being honest with them, he allowed the alliance to continue for now. Somehow Ichigo was relieved by it despite the British magus's intrigues, and as for Saber, he thought that she would have a reaction similar to Waver, but on the contrary, she was feeling curious, but nothing more.

After having guaranteed the survival of the alliance, Urahara raised a new topic that would be of great importance and is the one he was thinking about now.

The activation of his Magic Circuits.

He had already learned a great deal about how they worked, and it was clear that it was the key to his problem of not always appearing so helpless in the face of other adversities. At the same time they discovered a viable method to activate them instantly without having to wait their time, but nothing came without any price as he would have to experience severe pain in the process. Ichigo was not worried about any of that since he had decided to accept the risk if it is in order to gain power and face the magi. However, what really worried him was that Urahara insisted that once activated, he would have to learn 2 unusual spells that could be of great help to him were it not for the complications involved in learning and using them.


Flashback

"Look closely." Urahara indicated as he pointed out on a blank notebook sheet with numerous drawings of human silhouettes with funny smiles. They all had a sphere drawn on the chest of each drawing. Ichigo just squinted a little annoyed to learn that this was one of sandal-hat's corny learnings.

"As you can see these drawings represent all the human inhabitants of this world's, do you understand?"

Ichigo didn't need to nod at something he obviously already knew from the start, so his expression didn't change at all.

"Physically and intellectually, they are identical to those of our world except for one difference." While Ishida and Inoue paid more attention, Ichigo showed little interest knowing what he was going to say.

"That they are all od users."

Well, that just caught him off guard.

"Everyone?" Ishida asked in amazement.

"Exactly. And when I say everyone, I mean without exceptions, whether they are magi or normal humans who know absolutely nothing about the subject. Remember the od is the vital force of every living being within living organisms of this Earth, already be humans and animals. It is also considered magical energy, but on a smaller scale." Urahara explained once more. "Before I continue explaining with this topic ..." Urahara turned the page and then showed them a scribble of the Earth with a big smile.

"Let me remind you that this world is alive as it has its own soul and manufactures within it its own spiritual vital energy that later expels it to the surface in the form of particles very similar to the 'reishi' called 'mana' and spreads through the atmosphere and the environment. environment.

What I want to get to is that I have no record of how long the Earth has been sending mana into the atmosphere, but considering that it could be since the planet was formed, it would not be strange that it could also have influenced the formation of the first life forms that inhabited millions of years ago and therefore have a small fragment of its essence."

Just as he expected, his audience absorbed this information with interest and understanding hit them.

"That would make sense since the Gaians consider the Earth as a living entity and that all humanity are their children, that is to say, of Mother Earth." Ishida argued seeing the meaning of the interaction between the man and Gaia.

"Very well said. Where I want to go is that for this reason all living beings of this Earth were born with a small fragment of Gaia's soul within them. The problem is that not everyone knows it and to access it they must unite their minds and souls in one and that is where the Magic Circuits come in."

Finally, sandal-hat started on the subject.

Urahara turned the page showing the larger drawing of a person with the od inside, and a system of lines that branched out all over the body starting from the inside of the head.

"As you can see, this is the bridge that connects both the soul with the body; the magical Circuits." He said pointing to the lines. "As you already know, they are like a spiritual version of the nervous system and their function is more or less similar to the latter, but they can also do more." He turned his gaze to Ishida. "Tell me Ishida-san, do you know how many nerves a person has inside?"

"About 100 billion neurons."

"That's right. As Waver-kun told us, a magus has at least an average of 20 circuits inserted into his soul. Apparently, magi only get it by inheritance from their parents since they are born, but there are also cases in which one get even if their parents don't have. In theory, all humans in this world can become magi from birth, but not all are born with Magic Circuits so it will be impossible for them to learn magecraft. Even so, it is said that there is a remedy for a normal human to become a magus and is to insert a magus's circuit, but this would be very risky since the process would be very similar to an organ transplant."

He was somewhat silent as the teens registered that last bit of information in their heads.

"Now I will tell you the function they have." He started at last. "For a maguss to be able to perform a spell he has to make his od flow through his circuits. You see, the circuits are something like a pipe system that connects the spiritual and physical body of the user, and the od acts like the fluid that goes through these pipes. Can someone tell me that they are tubular reactors?"

Hearing the question, Ichigo, Orihime and Kon shook their heads a bit, but Ishida didn't as he knew very well what they are.

"Tubular reactors are kind of like the pipes that are used to mold a chemical introduced there and turn it into renewable energy, right?"

"That's right. The circuits fulfill more or less the same function since if od is introduced what the circuits do is mold it and convert it into energy in a raw state very similar to reiryoku, although in this case it could be mastered as magical energy." Urahara continued explaining making his audience absorb this part and understand the concept better. "The underlying principle is that a magus must feed their circuits with od and convert it to phenomena or mysteries."

Ishida put a hand on his chin as he pondered this fact.

"I see. Then it would be almost the same when a Shinigami uses their reiatsu to increase their combat skills and fight, right? You could say they use their inner power."

"Yes, but they can also use energy from outside." Urahara replied gaining more attention from the Quincy and the others. "Even using his own personal od to cast spells, it also can also use the mana from the atmosphere to increase the scale and performance of that spell. Almost a lot like what the Quincys do. In any case, the abilities of magi are very similar to those of a Shinigami and Quincy together." He said that last sentence looking at Ichigo with a mysterious smile.

Ichigo barely tensed knowing very well what sandal-hat was referring to. In fact, it was no longer a secret about his other heritage besides Shinigami and hollow.

"Curiously, taking into account that magical energy is very similar to reiryoku, also the phenomena or spells magi can perform are very similar to the kidō of the Shinigami such as the Hadō or Bakudō. Do you understand?"

Ichigo and the others cocked a bit thoughtfully at the abstraction of the explanation. They really didn't know much about the Kidōs techniques of the Shinigami, but they knew what they were like, even though they only saw it. Ichigo was never taught any of those tricks as he was only immersed in mastering his Zanpakutō plus he was overconfident when he got the Bankai and kicked Byakuya during his second round. His confrontation with his inner hollow and the subsequent kidnapping of Orihime also hampered a possible training to learn a trick.

"But I don't think you need to do any of those tricks." Urahara continued. "Since what you have to do when you dominate it, is make use of that energy to increase the physique of your arms or legs (as in the case of Rin and Luvia) as explained by Waver-kun before."

He took a moment of silence to let Kurosaki reflect on what the young British magus explained to him.

"Besides that, I think there are also 2 tricks that could be very useful to you, but the problem is that I don't know if you will achieve it in time for the war to resume."

"And what is it about?" Ichigo asked looking really curious to know what the shopkeeper had in mind to teach him once he had activated his Magic Circuits.

Urahara just adjusted his hat and gave a slightly serious look before answering. "I've been doing some research in the book and have come across some unique spells known as Reinforcement and Projection."

Ichigo and the others listened carefully to the older man to find out more.

"Reinforcement is a skill that involves scanning, manipulating, and enhancing the natural properties of an object at will." Urahara explained causing his audience to look at him barely understanding the concept. In that, he decided to clarify. "You see, as I said before, the mana that the Earth emits is distributed throughout the environment so it can also influence not only living beings, but also inert or inanimate objects such as stones, wood, metal etc. In other words, it would be as if the objects of the world, whether natural or artificial, had a soul of their own. "

Both Ichigo and Orihime were dumbfounded upon hearing that except for Uryū who already knew about this because the same thing happens in his world with the reishi.

"Because of this, magi are able to spiritually communicate with such objects. Reinforcement is a better way to do it and for this a magus needs to inject his magical energy into one of those objects, for example, this table." Urahara extended an arm towards the table and touched the base with his hand to dissimulate teaching. "Once physical contact is made with the table, the magus pours his magical energy and synchronizes it with the latter's mana. Once this is done, the magus will be able to scan and know every structure and every detail of this table either when the wood was formed, when its construction began in what it is now and how many times it has been broken and repaired through the generations as if it were telling you the story of its existence."

Ichigo and his gang (except Saber) assimilated the information with some amazement as this would be like a kind of scanner collecting accurate information from each object. However, for Ichigo it barely showed that much interest as this was not what he had to learn to fight or defend himself.

"But the best thing about it is that as I said before, you can mold and strengthen objects, for example, if you decide to take a stone and want to strengthen it to make it more durable, you will have to fill it with magical energy like a balloon with air." His audience absorbed This and Ichigo showed a little more interest. "Another example would be with a knife." He said as he now took a kitchen knife and showed it. "Imagine that this knife has no edge either because it was forged this way or for another reason why the one that would no longer serve to cut meat, but it does not matter since at the same time that you pour magical energy into it, you have to imagine that you want to increase its edge and that's it. Success requires a good understanding of the internal structure to fill the openings with magical energy. Reinforcing the purpose of existence would be increasing the sharpness of a knife, the nourishment of food, or in the case of a living creature, physical strength and durability. Do you understand me?"

As expected, the audience nodded understanding as they took in this, and for Ichigo it might be useful.

"However, the biggest problem is that just like when you inflate a balloon too much, it explodes. The same happens with objects if you inject too much energy, But unlike the fact that a balloon exploded in your face is harmless, the objects that explode turn out to be deadly. In short, learning magecraft can also be dangerous, and one misstep would be enough to kill you, so be very careful."

Ichigo nodded with narrowed eyes hearing the seriousness of the situation. He already knew very well that this would not be easy, and everything had its risks. The same thing happened when he was still working to learn Bankai and when he faced his inner hollow to learn hollowfication.

"Well, that aside, Reinforcement is actually a difficult spell to master, and it would take an amount of time to do so. However, you can also use it to increase your strength and fortitude by becoming almost superhuman." Urahara continued before changing the subject. "The next spell I came up with for you to learn is Projection which is somewhat similar to Reinforcement except that you don't need a physical object to manifest a weapon."

Ichigo and the others paid more attention.

"It is a magecraft capable of materializing objects, according to the user's imagination, through the use of magical energy."

"In other words, he's capable of creating weapons out of nothing from his imagination, isn't he?" Ishida said perfectly understanding the basic operation of the spell.

"That's right, but in principle you will need a physical object to be able to give it the desired shape. For example, if the magus used a couple of branches, he could turn them into a bow and arrow, including a sword. This is how you start, but it will improve over time and not need the help of an object to create a weapon from scratch."

Then he looked Kurosaki. "Kurosaki-san, do you still remember Zangetsu?"

"Huh?" Ichigo's expression lit up with surprise upon hearing the mention of his most faithful companion he had since he gained his true Shinigami powers. "You mean Ossan? Why?"

"I was referring to the physical form of the sword. Do you still remember it?"

What a stupid question. How could he forget the look of the blade that he always kept at his back and drew it to keep close at hand? It was a part of her soul after all.

"Of course, I do. I remember every detail about him." He replied with a tone of fact.

The shopkeeper smiled placidly. "Well, I guess that would make things easier."

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked with a frown not understanding what the point of this was.

"I have been thinking that if you really still remember every detail of your Zanpakutō after 17 months without seeing it I am sure that you will still be able to project it in your mind and materialize it in your hands." Urahara replied bluntly.

Compression seized the guests when they heard that, and they immediately understood where the shopkeeper wanted to go.

"My idea is that if you could learn Projection, in theory you could materialize your Zanpakutō since it is a fragment of your soul and therefore your characteristic weapon, don't you think?" He added more to emphasize the idea. Of course, this seemed to work and if what the blond Shinigami was saying were true, then undoubtedly Ichigo would be able to pull it off.

"Unfortunately..." He once more spoke, except that his expression turned serious. "The item is not everlasting, as it is recognized by the world as a phantasm that doesn't belong in the natural world, and it will be erased as an inconsistency. In other words, even if you manage to materialize a weapon with Projection, it would only be a matter of time before vanish like an illusion."

The atmosphere in the room dropped upon hearing that and their spirits or hopes seemed to fade.

"And nothing can be done?" Ishida asked trying to find some hope to fix this problem. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper didn't give any.

"I'm afraid not." He responded by shaking his head. "There are still things I don't know yet, and the only thing I can think of is that both Reinforcement and Projection would be the only spells that Kurosaki-san would be able to learn despite their drawbacks."

Ichigo's expression got even worse upon hearing this and although he could learn that Projection spell to materialize Zangetsu, he didn't know if he would be able to handle it properly or use it in the same way when he was a Shinigami and shoot a Getsuga Tenshō... Now that he thought about it. The shopkeeper did not mention if that materialized Zangetsu is exactly the same one he used to have when he was a Shinigami or perhaps a replica created by him. If the latter were the case, he would also not know if he would have the same attributes and unleash his signature technique. He would have to ask later.

"Well, we'll worry about that later." He said how he automatically regained his humor. "Now that you know how magic circuits work in a conventional way, the key question is… What would happen if instead of od, Kurosaki-san's reiatsu was injected into the circuits and what results will they give?"

That was the main reason everyone was meeting here and learning about the basic functions of Magic Circuits. They had already registered how exactly it worked with the od and what results they would have. Now would be the time to discuss how this would be the case with the reiatsu.

Even with this case previously occurring 2 times on different occasions, Ichigo couldn't see a difference as he had done it unconsciously and perhaps out of control. The objective of the training is apart from learning to control it once activated, it is to find out if they were able to convert their reiatsu into magical energy or something very similar to reiryoku. He still wasn't sure. He knew that both reiatsu and od had a lot in common despite being elements from different worlds, but he didn't know if they would give the same result.

Another thing that worried him was that in case the experiment worked and his reiatsu was modified to become raw energy (reiryoku for that matter), what was it going to turn him into? In a magus or… in a kind of Shinigami magus? The idea sounded strange and ridiculous to him since a Shinigami and a magus are very different things that have nothing to do with each other, but that thought gained more force when he knew that he could materialize his Zanpakutō out of nowhere with the help of his modified reiatsu. He didn't know if he would have to do it as a normal magus or as a Shinigami.

"Well? What are we waiting to find out?" Despite his doubts or fears, the former Substitute was very eager to try it and what results it would have. It was time to take action!

However, a simple shake of the head ended her hasty reformed determination. "Not so fast, Kurosaki-san. I know you want to start as soon as possible, but we have to go step by step."

Ichigo nodded disappointed and was forced to listen.

"An apprentice magus can't activate his circuits and learn magecraft overnight, like a Shinigami apprentice can't control his reiatsu or get his own Zanpakutō all of a sudden unlike you. It would take time and I'm still unaware of conventional methods to do it without endangering your life. Remember that learning magecraft has its risks and could be deadly. "

Again, the atmosphere in the room was discouraged at hearing that and everyone saw that this would lead nowhere. Or maybe yes.

"Maybe this can help you." The one who said this was Saber causing everyone to looked her.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked curiously. She simply looked at her Master with her arms crossed and a serious face.

"Perhaps this method can help you activate your circuits instantly like my mother did it with me."

This really caught everyone's attention. Did Saber have her own Magic Circuits that were activated once in life and she have learned magecraft? For those who knew more about her legend, it wasn't that surprising.

" It's true. According to your legend or story, your mother was quite a powerful sorceress on a par with Merlin." Urahara exclaimed filled with euphoria. "If that's true, you too should be a magus and know more about magecraft, right?"

"Of course not!" Saber snapped suddenly to quench the blond jester's annoying euphoria. "My mother did not bother that I continue on her way since all she wanted was to activate my Magic Circuits to strengthen my strenght, nothing more."

The audience got the point and decided not to ask any more questions about it, save for one.

"Alright but what we want to know is the method your mother used to activate your circuits, which is what interests us now." Urahara spoke in a reasonable manner.

The only response the blonde gave was a blank look directed at the audience as if she were remembering the painful method her mother used to do it even if it was at the cost of her own life. It didn't take Ichigo and the others to be fortune-tellers to know from that look that the method was not at all pleasant.

"What my mother did was touch my back and inject her magical energy through the inside of my body." Her gaze turned grim as she remembered what happened. There goes the bad part. "As I did so I felt an intense pain as if my body was burning like hell and my muscles were about to explode."

The audience took notice and barely shuddered to imagine what the blonde had to go through by that method.

"I don't know how long it lasted, but when it was over, I had passed out." She ended that part with some weariness in her voice. She was really relieved that this torture was over. "And when I woke up, I already had my circuits activated and my od circulating it. After that, I wasted no time to train and strengthen them without needing to learn a spell."

Viewers absorbed that last part, and some did not see it as a very safe method.

" So, if magic energy were poured into the body of a person with Magic Circuits, it would form a reaction that would cause the circuits to activate, right?" Kisuke deduced understanding the concept.

"That's right." Saber replied with a nod before looking at her Master. "The truth is that I don't even know about that reiatsu or if it will work with the circuits, but to activate them I suppose that you should be injected him this."

Kisuke and the rest were thoughtful upon hearing that and immediately understood what had to be done. For some, they still thought that this method might be risky based on what Saber told them earlier, but for others they decided there was no time to waste.

" I think I am capable of it." Urahara said suddenly drawing the attention of the others. "I suppose I can use my reiatsu to align it with Kurosaki-san's and see if I can activate those circuits, although of course, it will be my first time."

They all looked at the shopkeeper with some hope, pondering if he really can do that.

"And when do we start doing it?" Ichigo asked with his resolve perked up, ready to test the risk. She didn't think this was any worse when she was about to become a hollow in the well of despair.

"Not at the moment." That was all the shopkeeper answered him not long after to the surprise of the eighth Master. "Like I said before, it will be my first time and I have to make sure I don't make a mistake." Then he gave an understanding look. "We will do the experiment later. I promise."

Ichigo made a face at this setback but decided not to discuss it further thinking that it was better to do this little by little and not so hastily. With that said, he will wait for the time to come.

End of flashback


This was all that sandal-hat could explain to him about this strange element and despite having learned everything for the most part, in addition to ensuring a method to activate his circuits at once even with the risk involved, but he accepted it anyway thinking that might survive. What he was really concerned about is whether he would be able to handle them and learn these 2 tricks the shopkeeper mentioned earlier in no time at all. Despite understanding how both worked and the functions of each, it was still difficult for him to learn them all at once. However, he was still pondering the latest spell, Projection, that Urahara thought he could learn from.

If it was true that he could materialize Zangetsu from his modified reiatsu and be able to share the same attributes he knew, is it possible that he can probably meet Ossan again?

Ichigo would be lying to himself if he said that he was not anxious to see who had been his guide in all the battles he fought when he was a Shinigami and he was like a sensei that despite his stoic, reserved behavior and among other things, he cared about him more than anyone like a father to the point of not wanting to teach him Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō when he needed it most. Ossan was always by his side, saving him from despair and urging him to keep moving forward.

Ever since he found out what the true existence of the Zanpakutōs was, being instead of mere tools, living extensions of the user's soul with names and all, Ichigo had been committed to knowing and learning more about his Zanpakutō even if only little by little. However, the presence of his inner hollow and the assimilation of Ossan by the former caused them to no longer interact, but that was until Ichigo defeated his hollow and Ossan became the source of his power again.

He learned a bit more when Muramasa cast a spell on him and turned him against him, but it wasn't because Muramasa ordered him to. What the renegade Zanpakutō did was release his instinct, extract Zangetsu's truest wishes, but he deformed them to make the target only care about fulfilling that wish no matter the cost. His wish was to determine if Ichigo was strong enough to defeat him and if not, he would do whatever it took to make him stronger and protect him.

This was further shown when Zangetsu (in the form of Tensa Zangetsu) had steadfastly refused to teach him the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō as he knew the risk involved in using it. During their fight, Ichigo could only feel loneliness and sadness coming from Tensa over the fact that he did not fulfill his role of protecting him if Ichigo lost his powers.

"If you use this technique, you will lose all of your Shinigami powers… Farewell, Ichigo."

Those were his last words when Tensa decided to agree to teach him the secret after he impaled Ichigo with his sword. Once he learned the truth, Ichigo knew that he would no longer feel or speak to his faithful spiritual companion and would lose all of his Shinigami powers. Even though this was a fairly low blow, it was a price willing to pay if it was to defeat Aizen and save his friends and family.

That is how in the end he merged with the Getsuga and unleashed Mugetsu on the mutated Shinigami, ending him at once, and after he lost consciousness for a month, he could no longer feel his own reiatsu or Ossan's. He had lost his Shinigami powers and spent 17 months successfully facing reality up to this point.

Since now he had to face the fact that he was involved in another supernatural war and it was only up to him to win this, that strange element that could be of great help connecting his body and his soul in some way similar to when he was a Shinigami, would be the key to seeing Zangetsu again, although it is only a miniscule possibility.

Either way, if he could truly meet him again, it is possible that he could also regain his Shinigami powers once more. He didn't know for sure. He was still struggling with that decision. Right now, he was supposed to follow a new path being that of magic rather than spiritual. Honestly, the latter sounds more comfortable than the former.

Ichigo let out a weary sigh as he realized that he had been thinking too much about those possibilities in addition to lying in bed too long without being able to talk to Ishida, Inoue or Saber for a change, so he was getting bored.

Not long ago, Inoue had decided to go shopping and Urahara and Kon decided to accompany her leaving Ishida and Saber alone to watch over him. He mentally snorted at the memory. As if he needs a couple of babysitters to take care of him.

He lazily lifted himself up still sitting on the sheet and looked out the window to see how the day was. To his surprise he saw that it was already dusk with the sky a slight bright orange and the sun still setting. And that had been an hour since they returned to the hotel, although surely this was because he spent too much time at Waver's house that time had flown by without him noticing.

'I guess I should take advantage of the rest of the day.' Ichigo thought to himself as he stood fully on his feet on the ground and walked towards the exit to chatted with the Quincy or his Servant. Until…

*CRACKLE*

The sound of thunder was heard from outside alerting the eighth Master to look out the window to see if a storm was brewing. How strange, until a moment ago the sky was clear and there was no indication that a storm was coming. Unless…

When he approached the window to open it and lean out to see better, the first thing he saw was that everything seemed clear, but when he wanted to realize it, he looked up to see a strange formation of storm clouds that released sparks and blue electricity... and from his point of view, it was too close.

Ichigo could only look in shock at the strange familiar phenomenon.

"Wh-what ...?"

He did not have to guess what it was when he heard the loud bellowing of bulls from the cloud accompanied by the sound of a couple of gallops and finally saw an object similar to a war chariot pulled down by 2 large bulls and his driver screaming madly.

"ALALALALA!"

The chariot descended like lightning and hit the ground in the garden not far away where Ichigo had his head stuck out the window. The impact caused a small shock wave but strong enough to hit Ichigo and causing the latter to crash backwards onto the bed sheet, but he was comically dizzy from the crash.

Not long after, Uryū and Saber suddenly entered, alarmed by the noise they heard.

"Kurosaki!" Uryū yelled in concern before taking a good look at the person responsible for this ruckus. They saw that it was Rider's chariot with the same King of Conquerors (battle suit) riding it together with his young Master (a bit airsicked) at his side.

"Oiii, Winter War hero, are you here?" Rider shouted out loud for said person with that title to hear him. Not long after, Ichigo managed to get up still a bit stunned to look at the big king who had broken into the motel yard.

"If you are here, we would like you to join us!" The giant Servant declared with a big smile earning confused looks from the 3 wondering what he wanted now.


"What? Did you find the place where Caster and his Master are hiding?" Uryū asked surprised by the news. Upon arrival, the King of Conquerors bluntly informed them that their Master had located Caster's lair, surprising both Ichigo, Saber, and Uryū.

"Yeah, the boy was investigating the decomposition of the river water to find some kind of magical trail through one of his alchemy games, and he was able to find a trail belonging to Caster, right?" He asked looking at his little Master who frowned.

"I told you they are not games." Waver scolded his clearly annoyed Servant before looking his allies, albeit with some caution. He still couldn't fully trust them. "Uh, listen, just like Rider said, I was investigating each area of the river to look for any residual traces of magical energy spilled there. I found several samples and took them to my room to investigate it with my alchemy team. You know what it is, right?"

"Yes, in our world it is some kind of traditional chemistry associated with magic. The Quincys also have our own version of alchemy." Uryū replied immediately to Waver's relief as that would save him from having to explain what alchemy is.

"I was doing some research with the water samples from each sector of the river in test tubes and then I mixed them with some reagents to detect magical residues."

Even if Ichigo wasn't totally familiar with chemistry, he understood the concept since his school studied that, but chemistry class wasn't his source.

"The result it gave me was 3 different colors; red, black and transparent." The 2 older teens and Saber listened well and waited for more details. "You see, when the reagent shows me that it is red, it means that the water is sprinkled with latent magic, the black is when it has the strongest traces and the transparent one is that it is completely clean."

Then he took out a brochure map of Fuyuki and showed them the image of the Mion River with a row of alphabet letters drawn on the west bank. "Every letter you see is where I got the samples and labeled them on the tubes where I tested the reagents." Then he pointed to the P and the Q respectively. "The tube of the P is the one that showed me the black residue that had the most trace of magical energy, while the Q is the one that is clean. That is, the strongest traces must come from point P and the Q is where it ends, I'm sure Caster had something to do with it and his lair will be in the 2 points.

Ichigo, Uryū and Saber absorbed the information well and got the point of this, but there were still a few unknowns.

"Wait, are you 100% sure the residue you found belongs to Caster? Were you able to identify him?" Uryū asked to be sure of the British wizard's assumptions.

"No. I can't identify it as I don't have his samples." Waver replied.

"And how can you be sure it belongs to Caster or another Servant?" Saber asked looking skeptical with her arms crossed.

"I asked Rider if there was anything like a sewer pipe in the area, and he said yes." He replied before looking at his Servant who nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, I flew by and saw some kind of irrigation canal on the bank of the river big enough for my chariot to go in. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the ideal hiding place for dangerous criminals like them."

The 3 seemed to be somewhat convinced by this and also thought that the city's sewers might be the perfect place for a serial killer to hide.

"The thing is, the boy and I decided to go there to check it out and I also decided that it would be worth it for you to come too. What do you think?"

Ichigo didn't know what to say about it. If it was true that they have found the lair of that monster and Rider is thinking of assaulting it with him and Saber, it would be worth the attempt to take advantage of it and put an end to his misdeeds once and for all. That disgusting beast couldn't be allowed to exist any longer to keep kidnapping innocent children and doing whatever it wanted like that night, and therefore Ichigo was more than willing to put an end to this.

However, he immediately remembered that he had not yet activated his magic circuits nor have undergone the training to master them so he will not be able to take immediate action at the moment. Damn sandal-hat. Why does he take enough time at a time like this?

"And what are we waiting for?" Saber asked suddenly looking really eager to participate in the assault. "Let's go over there and put an end to that miserable beast."

"Wait a moment, please." Uryū suddenly warned. "We still can't do something as Kurosaki hasn't activated his magic circuits yet."

"Hmm? Didn't you find a way to do it?" Rider asked.

"It's not that. Urahara-san told us everything he knew about the circuits, and we found a way to activate them, but he said he would do it later." Uryū explained.

"And why wait?"

"Apparently, it's about injecting magical energy through the body to activate them, isn't it?" Uryū asked looking at Waver for the latter to confirm his guess on how to activate them.

"Uh, yeah, that's true. But it's too risky to do so as you could suffer an internal collapse that could end in a coma or worse."

Ichigo and Uryū assimilated those words and although the former took it into account before, the idea of ending up in a comatose state was chilling, but he had no choice but to accept the risk if it is for the sake of getting power and fighting directly in the war.

"Too bad. Well, I guess it's just me and the boy going to go." Rider said disappointed. "I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"Wait!" Saber yelled suddenly just as Rider was about to grab the reins to leave. "Let me go."

They all stared at the blonde dumbfounded by what she said.

"Saber! What do you think you're doing?" Ichigo asked surprised.

"I'm not waiting for that stupid hatter to come back while Rider got all the action." Saber stated stubbornly. "I also have an account with that bastard and I'm not going to let it go for anything."

Ichigo let out an exasperated sigh at his Servant's stubbornness. He understood very well how she felt about that bastard's misdeeds or personal things like mistaking her for a saint or humiliating her, but the latter was irrelevant to him since she shouldn't go into battle alone without him because she wanted to.

"Come on, why don't you come too? I know you're looking forward to going there too to see me tear that monster apart, right?"

Uryū and Waver couldn't believe what they were hearing. Was she trying to urge her Master to come with her? It was clear that she was doing it so that she was with them without problems.

Ichigo didn't say anything as he pondered whether or not to go to Caster's supposed lair. It would have been easy to turn down the offer and stay on the sidelines without recklessly rushing into the wolf's mouth. He had common sense, something the tomboy knight seemed to lack. However, an image of that dead boy in that park flashed in his mind and made him shudder as he remembered that as long as that demon continued to exist, many children would suffer the same fate and he could not wait or trust other Masters to move chips on the matter.

No. He had to do something about it if he wanted to prevent more tragedies like these from happening again.

With that settled, he made a decision.

"Alright. I'll go." He answered resolutely. The Quincy could only gape at him in disbelief.


At this time of night, the entrance that led to the sewer piping tunnels was as dark as the mouth of the wolf. Its waters appeared black, blending in with the shadows and filth of the sewer to cast a stygian vision of the underworld which would generate a certain fear and insecurity for those who dared to explore inside, and even more so when it was the secret guard of a couple of serial killers who caused all kinds of havoc like kidnapping children. Of course, this did not force the pair of Masters and Servants to back down when the mighty Gordius war chariot pulled by the divine bulls made its way inside. The blue sparks produced by the rolling of the wheels merely illuminated the darkness around them, helping passengers see a little, but for the more spiritually aware they did not need small lights to orient themselves. Uryū kept his Ginrei Kojaku out for caution.

"Well, it seems that we have already entered their territory. It is time for the reckoning." Rider stated as he kept the course. The duo of Masters and the Quincy did not nod as they knew perfectly well that they were now in enemy territory and remembering what happened the night before, they will be prepared for the worst.

This time around they won't let that monster get away with it, though they job here will be to find his Master and kick him while Saber and Rider take care of Caster and his worms. Yes. This time they'll take down those bastards and make sure they don't hurt anyone else again. With that steely resolve in Ichigo's eyes, his gaze did not hesitate to press forward eager to meet his enemies.

Saber was just as eager to meet that worm again, but she wouldn't be content to kill him instantly with her sword. That scum deserved a more humiliating and painless death that would make his previous death just be a small mercy. Hell, even her former comrades of the Round Table including father would agree to that given the gravity of his crimes and misdeeds, and she wish father was here to witness how she will rid that disgusting beast of this world and see what she would think her now.

But even if it weren't for his misdeeds, the red knight had already developed a strong of dislike for him for having mistaken her for a virgin maiden of all things, and that served to piss her off as well as running away without even fighting like a damn coward. But the most shocking thing was during their second meeting in which he caught her tying her in the air by those damn tentacles leaving her in a humiliating position... and in front of her father of all people and that damn spearman who shared the same story of that adulterous bastard! She hadn't been able to forget that and couldn't even hit back when he fled again with her tail between his legs.

But this time it will be different. When he is at her mercy, she will cut all off his limbs to the point of looking like a head and torso shaped thing and hang him in a public place until his remains disintegrate. She couldn't help but draw a big vicious smile on her face as she imagined such an event.

Meanwhile, Uryū was on alert at all times, waiting for any threat that crossed his path. It was enough that the foolish Kurosaki went with them on the hunt for the renegade Master-Servant couple and he would have been forced to accompany him to ensure his safety and not do anything stupid. He actually knew how the former spirit fighter felt regarding his desire for revenge against that monster, but he also couldn't let his recklessness blind him and become his undoing.

Putting that aside, the Quincy wondered if Caster had already regained his power after losing it when he destroyed his magic book. He didn't know much about the basic abilities in that book other than summoning a large number of those monstrous familiars, but there is also the 2 standard abilities of his class known as Territory Creation and Item Construction, although at the moment he didn't know if he is able to do so since the Caster class is unsuitable for him. In any case, that did not leave the fact that it was a serious threat to everyone including the reckless Kurosaki, and because of that he will be in charge of defending him until his Circuits are activated.

"It seems our enemy has already recovered." Rider warned alerting Ichigo and the others to look further forward to see a horde of those disgusting monsters several meters away writhing on the ground. Uryū narrowed his eyes. This is what he needed to see to confirm that Caster had already regained his power.

"Tch, worms." Saber growled before preparing to strike. "I'll take care of-

"Do not bother yourself." Rider interrupted with a savage grin on his face before gripping the reins tighter. "Hold on tighter!" The passengers barely had time to prepare for what was to come next.

"Via Expugnatio!"

Following the declaration of his first Noble Phantasm, the bulls let out a loud bellow before accelerating even faster causing Ichigo, Uryū, and Waver to recoil from the momentum. Blue lightning crackled from between the wheels, releasing sparks and electricity, giving the impression that the war chariot was being propelled by a pair of rockets.

Rider screamed at the top of his lungs as the bulls closed the distance between them and the creatures. No instant passed when the bulls made physical contact and charged at the hordes of familiars who got in their way. The power of the divine bulls was such that they crushed and flew the creatures and they continued forward as if they were mere obstacles to them. As Rider laughed like mad man at the relentless power of his divine beasts, Ichigo and the rest clung tightly to something as if they were traveling down a very bumpy road.

It was only a matter of moments before all the defenses were reduced to a pile of squashed meat turned into pulps and they continued to advance.

"Hahaha! I was right. You see? Everything has worked out!" Rider exclaimed excitedly when he saw how they crossed that insignificant obstacle. On the contrary, neither Ichigo, nor Uryū and Waver enjoyed this turbulent journey.

Not long after, they reached the end of the tunnel when they found the entrance to a warehouse in which it supposedly served as Caster's workshop.. The Masters saw this and prepared for whatever was to come once they got there. But for Uryū Saber and Rider who had more advanced senses, they did not detect any threat so it could only mean one thing.

"Hmph! Unfortunately, Caster appears to be away." Rider snorted in disappointment before pulling the reins back causing the bulls to slow down and stop once they entered a completely dark sort of warehouse.

Saber also grunted in disappointment seeing that that sickly bastard was nowhere to be found. She bet the coward must have fled again when he sensed them coming for him and didn't want to risk fighting her again. Damn coward. Was he not a marshal who led armies to fight the descendants of the barbarian Saxons? Or maybe he was just a coward who only messed with the weakest like children? Either way, his non-warrior behavior annoyed her greatly and she will make sure to make his pay dearly for his cowardice.

Meanwhile, the 2 Masters and the Quincy began to survey the place around them. Although they couldn't see much of it due to how dark it was and how dimly lit it was, they wanted to have at least minimal detail about its exact location.

"Is this some kind of water storage system?" Waver asked looking from side to side and Ichigo did the same. However, the Quincy noticed something strange in the environment that made him put on his guard. It wasn't about magical energy or anything to do with Caster, but there was something here that he didn't like. He was not the only one.

Even with her anger and frustration at not meeting Caster, Saber's instincts activated, alerting her that there was something very unpleasant here. Too unpleasant. And familiar.

"Hey, don't you smell something strange in here?" Ichigo asked before exhaling the air from the place and then his expression wrinkled as his nostrils registered the bad smell. "Yuck. Smells like garbage." He complained while holding his nose.

Waver also sniffed the air and detected that same rotten smell.

"Yes. It seems to me that we are in the sewers."

"Not exactly, boy." Rider said suddenly in a low tone. "I think we should go."

Ichigo and Waver blinked in confusion at the huge Servant's statement, though Ichigo was only struck by the low, indifferent tone he used.

"What are you talking about? If Caster isn't here, we should at least search for clues to his whereabouts." Waver rebutted to his Servant without regard to his concern.

"That's as may be, but don't do it." Rider warned again in the same vague and cold tone. At this point, Uryū joined him.

"I think he's right. We should go immediately." He spoke with the same gravity as Rider. Ichigo was somewhat dumbfounded by the Quincy's tone. Seeing normally his normally serious 4-eyed companion, but nothing unpleasant, with that gloomy expression worried him a bit as it would be like someone who has seen something quite horrible to say the least.

He turned his attention to Saber who to his surprise she had the same expression, although he could not be sure due to the darkness of the place. There was definitely something here that was bothering them!

"Don't know that you're scared, but I'm going to light this up right away." Waver declared ignoring his Servant's warnings and cast some kind of enlightenment spell. The light spread to every corner of the interior allowing anyone who did not have a supernatural sight to see with total clarity, and then they would regret their decision.

By the time Ichigo, Uryū, and Waver had a good look, their expressions froze in white as their eyes widened like saucers as they stared at what kept their Servants so disturbed. Their brains were trying to correctly analyze what they were witnessing, but it was very easy to decipher what they were seeing was something very unusual these days and very horrible.

Children… hundreds of them. Their bodies being piled up on the ground completely still like dolls made of stiff meat to the point when it was hard to tell that they used to be alive before. This place was no doubt the playground of a mad butcher.

...

No one said anything as they continued to stare at this scene of sheer horror in front of them. Even Saber was at a loss for words at the carnage she was witnessing. She already knew previously that she would encounter a scene similar to this because she had previously recognized the stench smell of dead meat as it was the usual smell after it ended a battle.

But. this. had. not. NAME!

Normally she was used to seeing spilled blood and corpses of her enemies scattered on a battlefield since that was her life as a knight. She was a warrior at heart after all. However, this had nothing to do with it.

Having to witness the bodies of innocent people so defenseless and unarmed was a rare show for her, and even more so if they were children, innocent little creatures. Even at this distance, he could see that some had their limbs probably forcibly removed and others had their eyes gutted.

She couldn't help but feel really disturbed by this.

Waver wanted to cry. What I was seeing was totally grotesque. It was horrible. It was cruel! Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and fell to his knees as he let the food, he had eaten earlier travel down his throat and finally be expelled out of his mouth.

Uryū was equally shocked by this great carnage, although 'great' would not be the right word. And to think that he had become used to seeing lifeless bodies of those who died in his father's hospital, but this was too much. And for some mysterious reason he couldn't see the spirits of the deceased. It will surely be because they will have died some time ago and their souls will be in Heaven of this dimension. He hoped.

As for Ichigo ...

...

"¿Kurosaki…?"

Ichigo ignored the Quincy as he got out of the chariot and walked vaguely and slowly towards the pile of corpses as if his mind was absent.

Ishida wanted to warn the idiot not to go, but something told him that he would not listen to him no matter how much he insisted so he let him approach feeling almost powerless.

Ichigo stopped a few yards from the first corpse being that of a girl. He looked at her expression. As expected, she was completely inert like a doll, but something caught her eye and it was in the way she died.

It was quite clear that she and the rest had been tortured to death and in the most painful way possible if the state of their bodies was something to go by.

The image of that kid he tried to save from Caster the other night with his back exploding in a horrible bloody sight flashed through his mind and served to indicate him that the one he was seeing now had suffered the same fate. This had nothing to do with when he saw the corpse of his beloved mother so many years ago when she passed away, but at least she did not have to suffer so much. He fought hard not to vomit. He struggled to hold back the tears and not cry like on that fateful night of June 17.

Instead, a rising anger began to build up inside him.

"I warned you." Rider said with a distant tone. "I told you not to look."

"Shut up! Damn it, stop making fun of me…" Waver groaned while still whimpering.

At that moment, Saber also decided to get out of the chariot to lumber towards her Master and stood by his side to better contemplate the pile of bodies. Her expression was so darkened that he ironically resembled father's were it not for her lip that curled into a dangerous growl thus showing her clenched teeth, and if someone had looked closely, they would have noticed that her canines looked more like to the fangs of a wolf or a lion.

Ichigo's expression was just as grim, and he stood motionless like a statue being forced to look at the countless corpses of the children. His face showed no outward emotion, but inside it was chaos. His hands were tightly wrinkled to the point where the nails were piercing his skin and blood spilled, but he didn't give a damn about that.

After a short indeterminate time since they arrived here and witnessed this horror, Uryū decided he had enough, and it was time to leave.

"Kurosaki, we should go now. Here-

Suddenly the atmosphere around him became a bit heavy. He was not the only one. Both Saber how Rider including Waver (in his case it was difficult for him to breathe) noticed this change in the environment and they fixed their gazes towards the source being the form of Ichigo Kurosaki who was still immobile like a statue, but they all noticed a bluish aura brimming with energy it surrounded his body.

Uryū immediately recognized her as reiatsu. Its quality is a bit dense, but captivating enough to turn heads. This was the fourth time he had felt it since this mess with the Grail War started and it was little like when Kurosaki released it during his climax in his fight with Saber, except this time he was being fueled by strong anger. It was nothing strange that this happened like this since who would not react in that way when witnessing such an atrocity? However, he was concerned that something else might happen or get the attention of others. What the second did not take long to happen.

"KUROSAKI!"

...

It had already been too late for the rage-blinded Master when he reacted to his friend / rival's shout and turned to the right to see something come flying like a dart towards him at a speed similar to how a ninja would throw it.

At the last second, Clarent deflected the dagger thrown like a projectile before it smashed into Ichigo's forehead. Everyone was shocked by this sudden attack and went on alert.

"Tch!"

The attacker was not long in showing himself when everyone saw a nearly half-tall humanoid figure with dark skin, a naked torso, baggy pants and a white skull-shaped mask. For an instant, Ichigo (his reiatsu aura had faded) and Uryū gave him the impression that he was an Arrancar, but without a hole punched in his belly.

"And that one there?" Uryū asked in surprise as he aimed his bow.

"It's Assassin!" Waver yelled in response which generated confusion on the part of the group.

"Assassin?" Ichigo asked surprised.

"Wasn't that the Servant that had been eliminated earlier?" Uryū asked confused as he remembered how the British magus had told him that Assassin had been the first to fall when he was intercepted by Archer at the Tohsaka mansion. Waver was also in a state of confusion and shock from this.

He had witnessed Assassin's death through his familiar's vision when he was bombarded by Archer's weapons. The individual he was looking at was incredibly identical to the Servant of the Shadows and he couldn't understand what was going on.

"Don't let your guard down. It seems he's not the only one here." Rider warned, making the rest also notice more presences and they saw 2 figures identical to the other emerged from the shadows; a woman with purple hair and another man. Everyone was shocked by this.

"What the hell is happening here?" Saber demanded as she stood guard and prepared for the fight.

"Are there more Assassins?" Uryū asked as he also prepared for the inevitable attack.

"It's possible." Rider replied also putting himself on guard. "But one thing is certain... anyone who believe in Assassin's demise has been deceived."

This caught the attention of Uryū who began to reflect that something like this seemed like some kind of ruse to deceive the enemy that his opponent had fallen when in fact it was not true. He did not know what this Servant's ability is other than his standard ability; Concealment of Presence, but if considering that their way of fighting is very similar to that of the ninjas and can also multiply their body, it would be logical to think that the one that was believed to have been annihilated was one of those copies, and the others will still be running. He wondered who was behind all this.

"It doesn't matter! I'll wipe them all out!" Saber declared with a thirst for blood causing Clarent's blade to release a torrent of crimson energy full of malice that lit up a bit around her. The Assassins barely tensed as they saw the display of the great demonic sword shining like a torch.

"Well? Who's the first?"

None of the 3 dared to attack what before they believed to be easy targets. The original objective of their mission here was only reconnaissance and not intervening unless they saw it necessary. However, when they saw the Master of the second Saber release a strange torrent of energy one deduced that he could be an important matter and decided to emerge from the shadows to finish him off. Too bad the reflections of his Saber interfered.

And to top it all, they noticed the aura of pure malice that Saber gave off together with her thirst for blood that showed on her face was enough to intimidate them a bit. Despite knowing her identity and the only feat that was strongly remembered in history was assassinating a famous king of Britain and leaving his kingdom in ruins, they did not feel confident enough to face her, much less Rider at his command side. With that in mind, the Assassin woman motioned for her companions to retreat, to which they responded hesitantly.

"Not so fast!" Saber yelled how she charged towards the one who dared to try to kill her Master.

...!

*STAB*

The unfortunate Assassin did not have a chance to escape when his torso was completely impaled by Clarent. His companions shuddered, but could do nothing about it, and decided to retreat into the shadows.

"Wait!" Yelled Uryū while aiming his Ginrei Kojaku aimed to try to intercept them.

"Let them go." Rider interrupted suddenly before the Quincy could take any action. "Right now, it's useless that you are going to attack them once they have hidden in the shadows. Besides…" He stated as he fixed on Saber's victim who began to disintegrate into particles when the red knight unearthed her sword from his abdomen. "It seems we have already annihilated other of them. There is no need to go after them anymore."

"What's going on here? Didn't you say that Assassin had been eliminated?" Ichigo asked Waver questioningly. The latter choked.

"I-I don't know what's going on, okay? I don't understand how there can be 4 Assassins at the same time." It didn't make sense that there were more than the same Servant Class in the same war, with the exception of the 2 Sabers, but this was different. It just didn't make sense.

"I'm not really sure about it, but I'm sure this will have something to do with his ability to appear simultaneously." Rider replied as he pondered the possibilities.

"Simultaneously?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

That seemed to give the answer to the Quincy theory.

"You mean that Assassin likely has the ability to multiply and create copies of himself to operate anywhere simultaneously?" Uryū asked looking at Rider.

The King of Conquerors nodded in recognition at this information and saw that it made sense.

"Yes, it is likely. I may not be an expert, but I think that is the only explanation I can think of."

Waver was puzzled. A Noble Phantasm that allows him to make copies of himself and attack all at once? That sounded like a dirty trick as well as dangerous if they had to face an opponent like that.

"So, the one I saw being wiped out by Archer was just one of those copies?" He asked how the understanding of what exactly happened in the mansion came to mind.

"It would have been no mystery if that was the case." Rider replied with a nod. "If so, it is obvious that all this must be part of a ploy to mislead us and make us believe that Assassin had been annihilated."

"Hmph. Cowards." Saber growled at one of her enemies' cowardly tactics to trick them off guard. She wasn't too surprised either, considering that he was just a paltry shoddy warrior who liked to hide in the shadows instead of attacking directly.

"Either way, there is nothing left here but us." Rider stated looking around. "We should leave immediately."

"You are right." Uryū said before look Ichigo. "Kurosaki."

Despite his call, Ichigo ignored it while still staring at the corpses in utter silence. It was quite clear that he was affected by this senseless slaughter and his mind was absent. He understood very well how Kurosaki felt, but he didn't have to be carried away by such sentimentality either.

"Come on, spikey hair. This is not the time to whine here." Rider warned a grieving Ichigo. "If you stay here long enough, you will lose the opportunity to finish off Caster and his Master."

Ichigo heard that and knew he was right about that. He wouldn't achieve anything by standing here doing nothing like a lost child. He was a man already and had lived through a war some time ago before coming here and therefore had to move on. Taking one last look, the eighth Master did not hesitate to turn around to get on the chariot along with Saber.

As Rider prepared to pull the reins, Waver spoke first.

"Should we really leave this place the way it is?" He asked in reference to the pile of corpses that were still scattered around the warehouse. They did not know how many families will be looking for their kidnapped children or if they thought they would see them again in a ransom, but the certainty is that they will not want to find them in this state and may never find it.

Either way, the accumulated putrefaction could pollute the river and endanger the people of Fuyuki who depend on it for their survival.

"The only thing I can do for them is give them a decent burial." It was all he could say when he pulled on the reins and the bulls were on the move. When they did, the wheels expelled large amounts of flames in their wake that filled the place and covered all the corpses they found.

Waver, Uryū, and Saber were somewhat comforted to see that the flames would reduce all the corpses there so that no one would find them, but that didn't mean this nightmare was over. As long as those 2 monsters continued to exist, this carnage will never end, and Ichigo knew it better than ever. And so, he swore by his soul that he would end his existences of this world at once.

And for that, he had to activate his Magic Circuits now.


That was it for today, I hope you liked them. As you can see, much of this chapter focused on a flashback that Ichigo had while learning what exactly Magic Circuits are and what their functions were, including the hypothesis of what would happen if it were filled with reiatsu instead of od. The truth is that I am not an expert on what a fusion of these 2 different elements would be like, and alsoI had another problem regarding how to activate them. I came up with a way to do it when I remembered how Archer (Emiya) activated Shirou's circuits in episode 11 of Fate Unlimited Blade Works. I could do the same, but there was no one from Ichigo's group who could do it, apart from Saber, but the problem was that as we all know, Ichigo is a reiatsu user, and I suppose it has to be another user from the same source the one in charge of opening them.

That was why I decided to add an ability to Shinigamis in my story that allows them to synchronize or align their reiatsu with another of their own as some kind of Kidō, something similar to the transfer of mana. Anyway, it's just an idea of mine, I hope there are no drawbacks.

Another interesting fact that I added was the fact that Mordred has her own Magic Circuits, inherited from her mother obviously. The idea was that she could take advantage of it to increase her physical abilities through a Reinforcement sorcery (much like Rin and Luvia's case). Speaking of supernatural heritage, something that struck me about Mordred's ancestry was that Morgan la Fay was labeled a fairy, and reportedly inherited from her 'supposed' father Uther Pendragon, which is quite rare considering realize that he is not a fairy. There is also the fact that no data or information appeared about her mother being Igraine, and it was not confirmed that she had a supernatural ancestry like Uther so I should only speculate that she was related to fairies and thus Morgan may have inherited from her.

Another thing that caught my attention was how Artoria was born. As we all know, Artoria was born as a kind of avatar with the body of a human and the soul of a dragon. Does that mean that Artoria is a homunculus like her daughter Mordred? If so, the fact that her life was not as short as her daughter was due to her sheathing Caliburn from the pedestal granting her pseudo immortality, in addition to Avalon, of course.

Finally, let's talk about the second half of the chapter. Yeah. Forgive me again for having made Ichigo someone who despite his character, has not done anything relevant and having to depend on others to defend him as in the case in which he was about to be killed by Assassin if not for his Saber, and I made him hurry recklessly in a futile attempt to reunite with Caster only to witness a dump of children's corpses. I don't really want to make him suffer so much but what happens is that Fate / Zero is a series with dark themes in contrast to the softness of Bleach where none of our heroes die (or at least at the end of the manga) and I just make Ichigo adapt to this. It is really difficult to write a crossover of different themes. I also wanted this experience to reinforce his resolve. I know this bothers you because we always see our favorite Substitute having everything under control. Almost. One of the biggest challenges I had to do was Ichigo's reaction to seeing the corpses of the children, and only that occurred to me. I hope I did well. I'm still a newbie as a writer.

Anyway, I will not allow this to continue like this, and in the next chapter we will see how Ichigo awakens his circuits and begins his training.

Ja ne!