"How is it that Rome was not destroyed?" and "Man, I feel as disappointed as Salvatore Doni. She just ran."

These two remarks have the same answer. Rome was not destroyed because Altera put an end to the fight. Although Altera is the female version of Attila the Hun, she has Lawful Good alignment. She fought in an uninhabited area (an archaeological park... but she doesn't have much respect for old monuments because she is a destroyer of 'bad' civilization). The fact that Doni survived her Noble Phantasm makes Altera understands that the fight was likely to last and would cause much damage. Altera has not yet decided if the Campioneverse is a good or bad civilization and gave up the fight... Maybe also that Altera doesn't want to fight a naked man... she's actually very shy and as innocent as a child.

Altera doesn't actually have long hair. That's an illusion caused by her veil in most of her art. If you take a closer look, her hair is about chin-length, shoulder-length at the longest.

For me, it's already long hair.

In the previous chapter, Shirou mentioned how Gilgamesh owns every magical artifact there is but doesn't Gilgamesh have access to more than that?

And who's talking? It's Shirou. And what's in Shirou's head? Swords swords swords swords... If it was Ishtar talking, she probably would have said that Gilgamesh had 'all the treasures of the world'... because she is stingy and has nothing but jewels and precious stones in her head. The way people speak reflects their point of view... rarely a higher truth.

I would like to take this opportunity to make a more general comment. Often (in this FanFiction and in many others) readers write in Reviews something like "that you write is wrong because in Lore it's written this..." often readers are right. Nevertheless, the author makes the characters talk like human characters with their qualities, their defects, and their points of view. They may be wrong. They may not know the right answer. They're supposed to be human. They're not Nasuverse walking bibles.

In another FanFiction, I had Shirou (as a child, long before he created Tracing) say that the Projection Magecraft was useless. A reader answered me by quoting Lord El-Melloi's lesson explaining the multiple uses of Projection.

The reader was perfectly correct from the point of view of the Lore (Lord El-Melloi II was right). But Shirou simply did not attend El Melloi's lesson. He only knew what his Old Man had told him. And, for Kiritsugu, Projection was a Magecraft with a very narrow interest.

hahahahaha, Doni is so crazy even Altera doesn't want to fight him, Shirou will have to avoid him or he will be constantly asked to make random swords.

Indeed, Doni made Altera very uncomfortable (as said above, despite a frosty appearance... Altera is very shy and innocent).

As for the future relationship between Doni and Shirou... I confess that I had not thought of it. But you are absolutely right. As soon as Doni met Shirou the Italian Campione will ask him to Trace swords, worse... ask Shirou to teach him Tracing. You have just given me plenty of horrible ideas, to turn Shirou's stay in the Campioneverse into a true nightmare! Thank you! Niark niark niark (patented Palapatine's evil laughter)

In Campione is it that only females can use magic while males mostly end up as knights?

No Alec Gascoigne is a Wizard (he's one of the best wizards on Earth). A very large number of secondary characters, all males, are mages. For example, the three men who attend the fight between Godou and Erica at the Coliseum are representatives of the Italian Mage Associations.

Conversely, Erica and Liliana are both knights.

That said most of the main characters (with a name and who frequently appear around Godou) whether they are mages or knights are women (strangely always young and pretty)... what a strange coincidence (said in a monotone voice).

Evil Imugi

Gaeun-Eup, South Korea.

Gaeun-Eup was a mountain in the northwest of the Gyeongsangbuk-Do region of South Korea. This mountain was approximately at the geographical center of this country, and on its flank had been built the Buddhist temple of Ogcheon-Am.

There was nothing very impressive about this temple. Inside a simple enclosure fenced by a white stone wall, one could only see a modern house (also painted white) with a roof of blue-black tiles and some trees. Without the sign at the entrance, a visitor would probably have thought it was an individual property.

However, this temple was currently home to several men dressed in a blue Hanfu, with their hair in buns. These Chinese in traditional dress were patiently waiting around a magic circle they had drawn on the ground with colored powders. This circle was inscribed in a four-pointed star bearing the ideograms of the four directions. And in its center was the Chinese ideogram corresponding to the word 'lǚ xíng' (travel). The rest of the divisions and sections of the magic symbol were decorated with hexagrams of the I-Ching, the Book of Change.

When the circle began to radiate, the Chinese flattened themselves, faces to the ground, as if to greet the arrival of the Son of Heaven.

Several people materialized in the transport circle.

First, there was a young woman dressed in a beautiful female Hanfu. Her green eyes and more developed chest than most Asians indicated that she was probably not of pure Chinese ancestry. She was Her Eminence Luo Hao Cueilan, Devil King of China and the Leader of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains.

The second character to appear was a Japanese teenager simply dressed in canvas pants and a white shirt. He was rather athletic and attractive with his mocking smile and messy hair. He was - of course- Godou Kusanagi, the Japanese Campione.

A second Japanese teenager - a little older - accompanied him. He had red hair with the exception of a white lock and amber eyes. He was dressed in a blue and white long sleeve baseball jersey T-shirt and blue slim straight jeans. His name was Shirou Emiya.

The last four members of the small troop were Godou's 'harem': Erica Blandelli, Liliana Kranjcar, Yuri Mariya, and Ena Sheishuuin. All were dressed in their usual 'combat clothes'.

Luo Hao turned to the man in front of the others.

"You can get up, my young eagle."

Lu Yinghua, Luo Hao's favorite disciple, obeys.

"Welcome to Korea, High Priestess Luo Hao."

"Is everything ready" questioned the Ruler of the Martial Art.

"Of course, High Priestess Luo Hao."

Gathered around a teapot, Luo Hao turned to her six companions. They had accompanied her to Korea for a 'special training' but she had told them nothing more.

"What do you know about Korean dragons?"

The people present got together. Neither Godou nor Shirou had ever taken an interest in the matter. Despite her shyness, Yuri Mariya was the first to respond.

"Korean dragons are very similar to Chinese dragons. They govern the clouds and are therefore considered benevolent deities of agriculture. They are called Yong."

"There are also the Gangcheori... but despite their appearance, they are not real dragons. These destructive monsters are enemies of humans who appear in many legends," explained Ena.

"I think we can finish this list with the Gye-Lyong, the Chicken dragon. But it is also not a real dragon. In reality, it's the creature that pulls the chariots of the Korean gods and heroes. The Gye-Lyong is closer to the European cockatrice than a real dragon," says Erica.

Luo Hao replied with a nod.

"Good answer, but it's Yong that this Luo Hao wants to talk about. Yuri Mariya?

"Hai (yes)?" The Hime-Miko bowed deeply, joining her hands to greet. "What can I do for Her Eminence Luo Hao?"

"What do you know about the Yong life cycle?"

"They are born in the form of a simple horned viper called Imugi that grows over time. After several millennia, Heaven rewards the most deserving horned vipers by giving them a fiery pearl called Yeouiju in Korean. A horned viper swallowing a pearl of fire becomes a real dragon. What the Koreans call a Yong, also known as Mireu."

Luo Hao took a sip of tea and nodded.

"This Luo Hao congratulates you on your scholarship, Yuri Mariya."

The young Hime-Miko blushed slightly under the compliment. Nevertheless, the Ruler of the Martial Art had not finished.

"And do you know what happens to horny vipers that haven't been considered worthy?"

"I... I don't know," replied Yuri, hiding her face in her long sleeves.

"The dumbest become furious, ravage one or two cities, and slaughter their inhabitants before a hero or a Campione kills them. The smartest fall asleep for a few centuries waiting for the gods to offer a Yeouiju to another Imugi, then attack him to steal the pearl of fire and turn into an evil Yong."

Shirou and Godou exchanged a long glance and the second sighed... he began to understand why they were in Korea. Shirou raised a hand.

"Excuse me, Your Eminence Luo Hao... are we to understand that there is an Imugi sleeping nearby... an evil Imugi?"

"Indeed Shirou Emiya. This is a four-thousand-year-old horned viper who has already failed several times to steal a Yeouiju."

Four thousand years! The creature must have had time to grow to a rather terrifying size!

"Uh... Your Eminence, if you knew where to find this evil Imugi, why didn't you kill him before?"

"This Luo Hao was waiting for the evil creature to kill a good Imugi and steal his pearl of fire and turn into an evil Yong."

Shirou remained a moment speechless by her tranquil admission, while Godou shook his head while massaging his forehead because of a killer headache coming... As usual, Luo Hao did not take into account that the fight against an evil Yong could ravage entire Korea... All she cared about was having an opponent who would allow her to push her limits

"Will you excuse me?"

It was Liliana who just spoke.

"Why did you change your mind?"

Once again Luo Hao nodded while drinking a sip of tea.

"Good question... if killing a mere Imugi would not benefit me, it would be an enriching experience for my younger brother Godou as for Shirou Emiya. With the arrival of the Servants of Sefar, it is important to accelerate their growth. As they are now, they have no chance of victory in a one-on-one fight."

Kneeling in front of a rock face that looked like any other rock face, Lu Yinghua had just drawn a magic circle with many ideograms sometimes circled or surrounded by I-King hexagrams.

He spoke a few words in Chinese and the circle began to shine with a golden light.

The wall began to fluctuate before disappearing, revealing a natural cave hidden for centuries by a powerful spell.

Out of it came a purple mist of perfectly disgusting appearance.

Luo Hao faced Shirou, Godou, and his 'harem'.

"You will kill the evil Imugi and bring me his Core."

"His Core," asked Godou.

"Yes, when you kill the Imugi, it will return to its original form, that of a mere snake. But in his corpse, you will find a spherical nodule. Bring it back to me."

The four young women and two young men hesitated for a moment, not really excited about entering the dark cave filled with purple mists. Shirou was the first to enter.

"The sooner we're done, the sooner we'll get back to Tokyo," he says.

When they disappeared into the darkness, Luo Hao turned to the members of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains.

"Prepare everything for their return."

Her smile was not reassuring. The training of the Ruler of the Martial Art would not consist only in facing the Divine Beast.

" I am the bone of my sword
Steel is my body and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades"

The first three lines of Shirou's Aria formed the pre-projection process. He only had to utter them aloud to hypnotize himself and enter a particular state where the cost of Tracing was reduced and weapons materialized more quickly.

The Faker focused for a moment on a particular weapon whose blueprint was in Unlimited Bladework.

Archer could Trace several dragon-slaying swords, but it was not certain that a horned viper could be qualified as a dragon... at least before swallowing the Heaven Fire Pearl. Also, Shirou chose a different, less specific weapon.

In a flicker of blue light appeared a typically Asian sword, almost like a Chinese Jiang. However, the blade was longer and wider, thicker too, and therefore less flexible. It was a Korean Geom.

That said the geographical origin of the sword was not the most important, because it was above all a 'named sword' (1). The weapon belonged to Admiral Yin Sun-Sin, Korea's national hero. It was rather ironic that Shirou - a Japanese man- used this Noble Phantasm because Yin Sun-Sin had become a hero for having saved his country from a Japanese invasion during the Imjin war (2).

Nevertheless, this Noble Phantasm was the crystallization of the legend of a hero invincible against all the enemies of Korea.

The violet mist became thicker and thicker creating a really spooky ambiance. Liliana, at the head of the column for a few minutes, suddenly stopped. She lit a huge crystal with her electric torch to examine it.

"What it is? I've never seen anything like it."

Shirou moved closer as the other expedition members lighted other crystals on the ground, walls, and even the ceiling. Some reached the size of a human head. Using Structural Grasp, Shirou analyzed what they had discovered and nodded.

"This is a Geumkang Crystal."

"Oh, I know what it is," exclaimed Ena Sheishuuin. "In Korean legends, these crystals are used to forge magical weapons."

"And there are tons of them," remarked Erica. "It must be a fortune."

Yuri Mariya looked at the crystals glistening in the darkness and noticed a red oval-shaped glow.

"What about that red crystal?"

The others turned in the direction the young Hime Miko indicated... but at that moment a noise of friction, like something rough that was dragged on the ground, startled everyone. The red "crystal" rose to the top of the cave... and there were now two scarlet gleams.

"Ssssssssss!"

The electric torches illuminated a huge snake head with a long horn on the front. The "red crystals' were two eyes with a narrow vertical pupil.

"I think we found the Evil Imugi," said Ena.

"Unless there are two" tried to joke Erica.

But the monster attacked, putting an end to the jokes. Leaping in front of Yuri, Godou repelled the monster with the help of Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi. The divine sword burst several scales near the monster's muzzle. With a hissing of pain, the giant viper receded, surprised by the resistance of these pathetic humans.

The Japanese Campione smiled. As always, he was excited to face a dangerous opponent.

"I don't think there are two like him in this cave. He obviously doesn't like company."

Tohsaka Mansion, Tokyo

As the kettle began to whistle, Hakuno removed it from the fire. Being careful not to spill anything, she poured the water into the teapot. She was busy completing the set when the phone rang.

Sighing, the young Japanese woman ran to the entrance hall and picked up.

"Moshi-Moshi (hello)?"

A male voice answered, speaking perfect Japanese but with a musical Italian accent.

"Pronto? Am I at the Tohsaka Mansion?"

"Yes."

"Could I speak to Shirou Emiya?"

"No."

"Uh... no?"

"He is not here."

There was silence. Then the voice resumed.

"And he'll be back soon?"

"I don't know."

There was again a long silence.

"And could you leave a message for Shirou Emiya?"

As is often the case, Hakuno's answer was very simple.

"Yes."

"Okay... then tell this to Shirou Emiya..."

The Sovereign of the Moon wrote quickly under dictation, said goodbye, and hung up.

Detaching the post-it from the block next to the phone, Hakuno went up to the second floor and glued the sheet to Shirou's door. This is what the Inheritor had written: "Salvatore Doni called. He wants you to teach him sword's Tracing."

Carrying the tray with the teapot, three cups, and sambei cookies, Hakuno went down to the cellar. It had been converted into a gym during the last renovation. Except for Shirou, no one used the different weight machines. A door hidden by a Bounded Field appeared on her approach before opening itself to reveal the 'temple' of Ishtar and Ereshkigal (as she called it). It was actually a workshop that they shared... a very difficult sharing, by the way.

The walls were covered with magic books and strange artifacts provided by the History Compilation Committee. There was also a large central table and two smaller work tables. Ishtar's work table was filled with delicate crystal sculptures and jars of precious stones, dusty old scrolls, and antique books. On the other hand, Ereshkigal's work table was centered on a computer with several monitors that made one think of the den of a relentless gamer rather than that of a spell caster. It must be said that the Mistress of the Underworld was a Spiritron Hacker.

As soon as Hakuno crossed the door frame, she entered the magical barrier that prevented the sounds from passing through. And her ears suffered.

Ereskhigal was screaming, a feat since Ishtar was trying to gag her with one hand while pulling her pigtail with the other hand.

"... and I tell you we should use the Zimer-Parraud method!"

Ishtar was trying to shout louder than her sister (which was a lot of noise), but Ereshkigal was hitting her on the head with an electronic instrument trying to silence her, while pulling her pigtail.

"... and I say that we should use the formula of Lord El-Melloi II! Ouch... stop biting!"

Seeing that Hakuno was back with the tea, the two sisters seemed to teleport to their respective chairs. Both were now looking at the ceiling painted white with as much interest as if it were the dome of the Sistine Chapel. With their arms crossed over their chests, the sisters fled Hakuno's gaze.

The latter placed the tray on a free corner of the large table, cluttered with magic books, papers covered with drawings, and incomprehensible texts (often rolled up in a ball or ragingly scratched) but above all with a strange apparatus being built. We could see electronic components but also precious stones embedded in complex magical circles.

Inspired by what they had seen at Chaldea, the two sisters sought to create a magic sensor capable of detecting Servants from a great distance. It must be said that, for two weeks, the apparitions of Sefar's envoys had multiplied. The Servants appeared in one place and disappeared almost as fast without anyone being able to stop them. Once the detector will be complete, the Mesopotamian goddesses could finally counter-attack.

"Dispute" asked Hakuno in her habitual flat tone.

Ereshkigal tried to laugh.

"But no, Ishtar and I get along great. It was just a slight disagreement. Nothing more. Right?"

Ishtar nodded vigorously.

"Absolutely. Just a matter of detail, nothing you need to worry about Hakuno-chan."

The problem was that Ishtar was a technophobe of the worst kind, and making her work on a technological 'thingy' tended to piss her off. And it wasn't a great idea to piss off Ishtar.

Besides, a few days ago...

Special Event: " Moonchild Carnival Phantasm"

Ishtar knelt down in front of the 'thing' located in the furniture under the home cinema and blinked, her fingers touched the object as if to ascertain its reality.

"This isn't a videotape recorder!"

Indeed, the intake slot was too small for a videotape... and there was a logo representing a blue b on the device.

"No Way... it's the rumored MegaDisc?!"

Having heard Ishtar speak, Hakuno Kishinami was curious and entered to see what the Mistress of Venus was doing. She discovered the goddess examining the recorder.

"It's a Bluray recorder, Ishtar."

The goddess jumped and turned, red with confusion. And Hakuno made a Head Tilt... had she imagined the cloud of steam that had just enveloped Ishtar's head?

The Goddess of Heaven coughed in her fist, awkwardly pretending to relax.

"Of course, it's a... a... Blueray recorder... a technology of these puny humans, nothing that can surpass the wisdom of the great Mesopotamian goddess of love and war... ah ah ah!"

Hakuno blinked.

"I can help you if you like."

Ishtar pouted, crossing her arms on her chest, and turned her head arrogantly (even though she was still red with embarrassment).

"Mind your business. I can record a show by myself just fine!"

Hakuno agreed but decided to stay in the room. Maybe the goddess would need her. After all, it was enough for the Inheritor to use a simple Code Cast to understand how a machine works and even take control of it. In a technological world, the Spiritrons Hackers were formidable. Even computers controlling the nuclear arsenal of great nations were not immune to her Code Casts... so a Blueray recorder...

But Ishtar was too proud to ask for help. Before leaving for his daily training with Luo Hao, Shirou (her secret love interest... well... secret... only for a certain moronic redhead) had asked the goddess to record a culinary program that was playing on Tv Asashi. He had asked her, not Ereshkigal or Hakuno. And she had every intention of doing so herself.

And yes, Ishtar was proud AND stubborn...

Ishtar clapped her fist in the palm of her hand, suddenly smiling. And Hakuno blinked... had she just seen a light bulb briefly appear above the goddess's head?

"Right, I need to see if there's a disc inside or not first. It's possible that Shirou accidentally forgot to put one in!"

Hakuno watched Ishtar heading for the Blueray recorder with the intuition of an impending catastrophe...

Ishtar found the right button (it was marked 'eject' after all...). With a little noise, the drawer opened, revealing that the player was empty!

"There's really no disc! Shirou, you dummy!"

Ishtar looked into the various Blueray stores in the cabinet, but there was no blank Blueray.

"What I should do? Can I record one of these lying around? But I shouldn't be looking at someone else's stuff without permission!"

In Ishtar's head, a very precise scene was formed. She was looking at the contents of a Blueray on the big screen and... discovered that Shirou liked S&M stuff... [Phantasm Mode: On].

Again Hakuno blinked, not understanding why the Goddess of Venus was all red and shrouded in hot vapor...

A few minutes later, having resolved to ask Hakuno for help, Ishtar had managed (after several failures) to turn on the Blueray recorder. But now the Goddess of Heaven stood in front of a blue screen, with no idea what to do.

"S-so how do I play the video? I- I have to choose between 'hard-disk' and 'Blueray'? What's that? I have pressed a strange button... I hope it won't blow up or something... Wh- which is the rewind button? Is there enough space?!"

Now Ishtar was rolling on the ground rubbing her head, eyes rolling in their sockets.

"No, I can't take this anymore! It's all Shirou's fault! It's because he didn't put a blank Blueray in!"

"Ishtar?"

The goddess stopped rolling on the ground and turned on Hakuno.

"The Blueray recorder has a harddisk. So you don't need a blank Blueray to record. You just need to press the 'record' button to record."

It was a long explanation for the Sovereign of the Moon, more used to answering two or three words.

But Hakuno's response snapped the mind of the goddess.

She turned on the Bleuray recorder with eyes injected with blood:

"You dared to ridicule a goddess! It is a crime that deserves death!"

A rain of golden gandr fell on the innocent Blueray recorder... smashing it, the home cinema... and the wall behind them. Finally relaxed, Ishtar laughed hysterically.

That day Hakuno had learned that the Mistress of Heaven was proud, stubborn, that she had no patience, that she was angry, couldn't stand to lose face... and especially that she was incurably allergic to technology!

Back to the present.

—of course, the History Compilation Committee had replaced the Home Cinema and its props. They used to, at least The Mistress of Heaven not destroy historical monuments like Godou. Since then, on the video cabinet, there was a sticker 'forbidden to Ishtar' and the goddess had the good taste to blush with shame every time she saw it.

Hakuno also found it surprising that the detector of Servant had not yet exploded, the victim of a nervous breakdown of the Goddess of Love.

Lost in thought, the Sovereign jumped, suddenly realizing that the two goddesses had started to argue again.

"I think a Kruvert posito-alternator would be more appropriate."

Arms tight on her chest Ishtar shook her head.

"No! In the Tohsaka Magic Crest, there is a Formalcraft ritual to transmute a ruby to become an Od generator."

"My method is more reliable and less expensive" contradicts Ereshkigal.

"My method generates more Od!"

"Reliability," says Ereshkigal.

"Power" replied Ishtar.

They pulled their hair again when a hologram appeared between them on the large worktable. It was a kind of machine element with electronic devices, but also gemstones embedded in a complex magic circle.

The two sisters turned to Hakuno, the teen girl was concentrated and several translucent windows appeared around her. The Moon Cell had just scanned the whole room and created a device that could be used from existing magical and electronic supplies.

Ereshkigal had approached the hologram and she uttered a small cry.

"It's ingenious... with this, the amount of Od should be sufficient to power the detector and without risk of interruption."

A little offended, Ishtar turned to Hakuno.

"Is this from the Moon Cell's databank?"

The Inheritor of the Moon nodded.

"Couldn't you have helped us sooner?"

"You didn't ask," replied Hakuno very logically.

Imugi Cave, Gaeun-Eup, South Korea.

Yuri Mariya uttered a cry of terror as the Evil Imugi returned to attack her again. Having transformed Cuore di Leone into a shield, Erica Blandelli blocked the head of the monstrous horned viper.

"Why does the Imugi concentrate his attacks on Mariya?"

Leaping next to Yuri, Ena Seishuuin launched an Engetsurin (3); the weapon struck the titanic viper without injuring him.

"I have heard that the Evil Imugi often demanded sacrifices from young virgins of great purity. It's typical of dragon-like creatures..."

Retreating backward, the viper slammed his tail like a whip. Godou was forced to take Yuri Mariya in his arms and leaped to put her in safety.

Erik blocked this new attack with her shield but fell back. She was saved by a jet of water under heavy pressure that struck the monster's head as he returned to the assault.

Shirou Emiya wielded the sword of Admiral Yin Sun-Sin by using large gestures... and a whirlwind of water wrapped around him. Following Shirou's gesture, the whirlpool of water struck the Imugi who recoiled like a boxer struck by his opponent.

The Faker had just created an opening and Liliana Kranjcar took advantage of it. She had turned her sword (Il Maestro) into a bow and while her companions continued to harass the viper, she prepared for a decisive attack.

"Hear the sorrow of David, people! Alas, may the heroes fall! Alas, may the weapons of war be destroyed! O' mountains of Gilboa, I pray that dew and rain will not fall upon your peaks! I pray that your lands grow infertile, unable to flourish! There, the shield of the hero was cast away! The shield of Saul, unpolished with oil, was cast away over yonder! Undrinking blood of murderers, the unretreating bow of Jonathan! Unconsuming oil of the brave soul, returning the sword of Saul in vain! Alas, the heroes, fallen in the midst of battle! O' bow of Jonathan, with eagle's swiftness and lion's strength, a hero's weapon. Go forth in assault, upon my fleeing enemies!"

Several arrows appeared in the air in front of Liliana in response to her incantation. With an address almost rivaling that of Shirou, she drew the arrows in rapid succession. Several projectiles plunged into the monster's scales... but she had pointed two arrows at the eyes of the Imugi.

Blind, the gigantic horned snake convulsed on the ground of the cave, breaking piles of crystals with its tail!

"For I am strongest amoungst the strong. Truly, I am one that holds each and every victory. I care not whom challenges me, whether man or devil; I may face all my foes and all my enemies. Regardless, I shall crush all those who wouldst stand in my way!"

The Japanese Campione had just appealed to the power of the bull's avatar, gaining a force equal to that of the Imugi and he leaps forward, pouncing on the monster.

Without consulting with him, Shirou had imitated the Godslayer. Goudou wielded the legendary divine Grasscutter sword, while Shirou used the sword of the Korean national hero. As the Campione bounced against the walls, and his lightning attacks drew bloody furrows on the scales of the horned viper, the waves of the ocean responded to the movements of Yin Sun-Sin's sword to hit the monster with the violence of a battering ram.

Finally, in a state-of-the-art mix of anger and despair, the evil Imugi collapsed aside.

While Yuri used her magic to heal the wounds that Erica had received while protecting her, Ena advanced toward the corpse of the giant viper. The remains generated an intense violet light and steam of the same color... but above all... the Imugi was shrinking!

When the creature was reduced to the size of an ordinary viper, Ena lifted it between two fingers with a pout of disgust. Looking at the spherical shape in the middle of the body, she nodded.

"It must be the Core."

Taking a Kunai (ninja knife) out of her skirt, she slits the scaly skin to extract a kind of purple, slightly luminous nodule.

"Well, that's what Her Eminence asked us to look for. I don't think there's any reason to linger."

Shirou looked at the clusters of crystals.

"I'll still take these things... I've already forgotten the name."

"Geumkang Crystals?"

"Yes, is this... Ishtar is very passionate about magic crystals... especially if they have great material valor."

Tracing a large sports bag, he began to fill it with crystals of all sizes. Shirou had a smile of discomfort... If he dared to return empty-handed after a stay in the den of a dragon... Ishtar could confuse him with a Blueray recorder.

They came out in the open air to discover that the sky was lit with pink by the setting sun disappearing behind Mount Gaeun-Eup.

And they weren't alone...

Nine individuals were standing in front of the cave entrance. They were dressed in black and form-fitting garments. Each of them had a white mask with red patterns' decorations varying from one individual to another. All had traditional Chinese weapons, but also Malaysians, like chain weapons, a pair of sabers, a sword, a halberd...

Shirou sighed.

"I think our troubles are not over... "

Mechanically, he used Structural Grasp on the attackers' weapons. And was not surprised that he already knew the names of two of the attackers...

Yet he decided to keep his mouth shut, understanding why the Ninjas (4) were attacking them.

(1) In Korea it is called 'named sword' a blade (having or not received a name) famous or infamous for having participated in great battles or horrible massacres. It is more or less the Korean equivalent of the Japanese word Hogun (Noble Phantasm), but more specific (concern only swords).

(2) Invasion of Korea by Japan between 1592 and 1598.

(3) A throwing crescent-shaped weapon used by ninjas. I read that, like a boomerang, once launched the Engetsurin returns to the thrower... But I doubt it. A more scientific mind explains to me that a war boomerang is too heavy to turn around and come back (it's a matter of aerodynamics).

(4) Even if it surprises you, the term Ninja is not used in Japan (they say 'Shinobi'... exactly Shinobi mono). The word Ninja is... in Chinese and means 'the person who hides'. The Ninja is not a Japanese assassin. He is a Chinese spy.