Disclaimer: FATE does not belong to me, all its history and characters belong to Type-Moon.
Chapter 14, The Predator Forest.
They were both silent, looking at each other.
Finally, despite the possible danger posed by the girl in front of him, Shirou decided to take a chance because, anyway, if what Altrouge had told him was true, then Manaka wouldn't kill him without thinking.
"Why are you trying to hide it?" the redhead began, "I don't understand."
"Shi-kun, how much do you remember?" she asked, interested but calm, or at least, that's what she seemed because deep down, she worried.
If he had had this conversation years ago, he would have responded immediately, without much thought, but living with mages for several years had taught him some caution, "I remember that you are part of a family of mages and that I met you in this park almost a decade ago. Am I correct?"
This was a lie since the only thing Shirou knew for sure was that he and Manaka had met in this park, that his younger version had caught her attention of him, and that, for almost a week, he had been trying to talk to her so that she would start to open up to him. He knew that, over time, they had become close and constantly played in the park with Tachie and Ayaka, which, oddly enough, was the name of Manaka's younger sister, which she had the same name as her classmate, which was not very strange.
However, both her survival against the black mud and her claim that she had her Od force him to walk when he had no strength during the accident, was more than enough evidence to let him know that Manaka was related to the World of the Magecraft.
"I see…" Deep down, she had calmed down. So only remember that… Then, she smiled again with her typical smile that denoted innocence, "Yes, it's as you say. I guess the right thing to do would be to introduce myself again: my name is Manaka Sajyou. You and I met in this park almost a decade ago, we became friends here, and we hung out together until the accident happened, and we've been together ever since."
Sajyou!? Same as Ayaka!? But what is the probability that there are two magus families with the same last name in the same country? Logic said that considering the number of people in Japan, the odds were high; however, considering the magi's pride, it was unlikely that they would agree to share their last name with another family, furthermore, hadn't Ayaka told him about her enormously talented older sister?
Ought to...? Shirou looked doubtfully at the girl, "Mana-chan…"
She beamed, "Yes, Shi-kun?"
"Ayaka, my partner in the Clock Tower, is she your little sister?"
It was only for a few moments, but Manaka's gaze showed a really worrying coldness; however, she returned to her usual attitude quickly, "That's right, Shi-kun. I'm also as surprised as you; our father wasn't very fond of the Clock Tower, so seeing her studying there surprised me quite a bit."
"But that doesn't make sense. I didn't recognize her because of my amnesia, but why didn't she recognize me?" the boy asked.
Manaka made a thoughtful gesture clasping her chin, "Perhaps she suffered something similar to what you suffered? Perhaps her memories of what happened before the accident were erased..."
If what he knew was true, he was the only person who escaped unscathed from that fire, so if Ayaka had been involved in the accident that spelled the end of the war, she should have been counted along with him as the only two who came out of the disaster unscathed, right? On the other hand, it is possible that she would not have been taken to a hospital and that, on the other hand, her family would have taken care of her.
"I see… But why did you try to hide our relationship from me? I see no reason to."
She looked down, "I was hoping to spare you bad memories."
"Bad memories?" he asked, confused, "It's… it's true, seeing all that I've lost… It's painful, but…" Shirou smiled, "they're still a part of me, important memories that I treasure. I may not see my parents or Tachi again, but at least I will see you and Ayaka. Remembering the times I spent with both of you, even if it brings some pain, is not something I can ignore."
"Shi-kun…" Manaka smiled. Even if he had "lost" his memory, he was still the same guy who helped others with a smile and was extraordinarily stubborn when he set his mind to something, "You haven't changed much, Shi-kun. You even keep the same dream."
"Huh? The same dream?"
Manaka nodded, "Sometime after we met, you confessed to me that you had inherited the dream of your ancestors: the dream of creating the ultimate sword."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, yes. And I promised you that I would help you achieve it."
"Is that why you were talking about fulfilling my dream?"
She smiled, "Exactly! I'll help you fulfill your dream of creating the ultimate sword. After all, I'm a really amazing magus, you know?"
"Ayaka said that you really were a prodigy like no other."
She nodded happily.
"By the way, Mana-chan...?"
"Yeah?"
He was careful not to implicate her directly with his next question since he didn't know how she could take it, "Do you know anything about the holy grail war? Since your family was present in the city when the ritual was performed."
She nodded, "Yes, my father did a lot of research on that ritual, but he didn't tell me much about it."
So, it's like with Rin? I mean, her family participated, but she stayed away? Makes a certain sense since Manaka must have been barely entering her teens by then.
"By the way, Shi-kun," she said as she sat on one swing and invited Shirou to sit on the other.
He accepted the invitation, "Yes?"
"I was already awake before you fell asleep, so I heard and saw some things. Tell me: how are you going to kill Einnashe's forest? You have a plan, right?"
Shirou smiled a bit nervously, "Yeah, sort of."
Manaka narrowed her eyes, "Shi-kun…? What is your plan?"
"Well, the Einnashe Forest isn't the apostle itself. It's a Reality Marble generated by the dead apostle, which is in the center of it."
Manaka shook her head, "You are wrong, Shi-kun. Einnashe was a magus who became a Dead Apostle and was killed by the White Princess of True Ancestors, who left his body near a blood-sucking tree. This tree took the blood from Einnashe's corpse, making it the second generation of the dead apostle."
"Oh really?" This surprised Shirou, "Even so, the key to eliminating Einnashe, whether it is the forest or the apostle, remains the same: it is not to destroy the entire forest but to destroy the original bloodsucking tree that absorbed the dead apostle's blood."
The girl nodded, "But there are things you seem not to have considered, Shi-kun…"
"Like what?"
"The forest is a phantasmal species that feeds on the environment and magical energy, so the magical energy is under its control of it. So only skills that work solely with Od can be used, while skills that rely on outside energy are unfeasible. In short, High Thaumaturgy is unfeasible."
"I know, but I hope this makes a difference."
"This?" she said as she swayed and looked at Shirou.
"Vorpal, it's one of my swords; it's specifically strong against phantasmal species." Shirou began to swing just like Manaka, "I hope that carrying it makes a difference and weakens Einnashe's dominance enough that I can use my magic circuits to convert the mana from the environment into magical energy."
"Hmm, not bad, but there's still something else…"
"Tell me."
"How do you intend to locate within the forest? Its core is impossible to find due to its constant movement. Its size is not extremely large, but it is difficult to locate something that does not stay in the same place within the time it manifests."
"If I manage to use magecraft inside the forest, I'll be able to use Berkano and Raidho to guide me as well as hide inside the forest, and also, I'll be able to use the rune I recently learned to improve my speed, I hope it won't take more than a few hours to reach the core."
"Not bad, but it all depends on whether that weapon works. Still, I'll teach you something else; use it if you are in danger..."
"Eh, what...?"
Manaka began to draw a rune in front of the boy, "This rune is CWeorþ, the concept of it refers to the sacred fire that burns and consumes the body of the fallen. Under this approach, the CWEORÞ rune represents the purifying and reducing action of fire itself, so, in essence, it has a very close relationship to Myspell or the primal fire of creation. This purifying fire is extremely effective against the murderous forest that feeds on those it killed."
"CWeorþ? I don't think I've ever heard of this..." the boy said, confused.
Manaka smiled, "Didn't I tell you? I'm an amazing magus. Now, I want you to learn this one too: Yr."
"Yr? What does this rune mean?"
Manaka explained, "The exact meaning of this rune is difficult to explain; however, you can interpret it as 'part of the war machine.' The rune has been given two possible aspects. The second aspect refers to the discipline and responsibility that implies carrying and knowing how to use weapons. In summary, the rune helps to use the weapon more efficiently."
Shirou nodded, "I understand. If I use it on Vorpal, it can be of great help."
"Exactly, but I suggest you use it when you're near the original tree since if you use it early on, the forest will recognize you as a much bigger threat and try to kill you harder." Then, she approached the boy, standing behind him, "Now I'm going to teach you how to record them and other effects they can produce depending on how you use them..."
"Y-Yeah..." At this moment, Shirou felt a little uncomfortable, Manaka was too close to him, and probably, she was doing it on purpose. This feeling was not just from having a beautiful girl so close to his person, but despite everything, he still did not forget how dangerous she could be, and yet he was sure that pushing her away would only bring him even more problems.
During the time that the dream lasted, which for Shirou seemed much longer than it should be, Manaka kept explaining everything about them, how to record them, their different meanings, their effects depending on how they were used, etc. To the boy's surprise, Manaka was an excellent teacher, as she made sure that he understood her explanations and adjusted her teachings to his learning pace, and they stayed that way until the world began to whiten...
"Looks like our time is up. Moouu… I want to spend more time with you…"
Shirou smiled, "Well, it's not like we haven't been seeing each other lately…"
She smiled, "That means I'm on the mend. Soon we'll be able to see each other in reality and not just in dreams, so look forward to me, Shi-kun. I'll take you as my own when the time comes… Don't you dare die until then, okay?"
Those last words gave him a chill, for they were too sweet for their meaning; however, he could not answer her because the world vanished in a matter of moments.
When he opened his eyes, an announcement was heard over the speakers:
"Dear passengers, much to our regret, this train has entered the Einnashe Predator Forest. While we fix the problem, we ask that you take care of your own safety."
Shirou got up, knowing that this was his cue.
Marie jumped out of bed and rushed to the window, and there she could see it: A totally black forest, almost like a strange world wrapped in darkness, even in broad daylight. Everything glowed with a dark reddish coloration that made the trees resemble the entrails of an animal. If a person looked closely at the trees, they could see that they were covered with snow due to the weather, and more importantly, the roots of the forest and trees were secreting blood as if they were sap. For a moment, growling seemed to be heard from within it.
Gray, for her part, got up confused, muttering the word Faker...
"Th-This is the seventh dead apostle?" Marie asked, terrified.
Even Rin, who was a person who had a hard time getting up in the morning, got up immediately, and her reaction was no different from Lord Animusphere's, "H-How the hell did we end up here?"
Gray approached the windows confused, "This forest… there is something wrong with this forest," for a moment, the image of a certain magus and the monster she turned into flashed in her memory, but, in comparison, this was really worse, "I-I'm going to examine it."
"Wait!" Marie yelled, "Do you want to die!?"
"Gray…" Rin said, in a whisper, "Look outside for a bit longer."
Three magi had exited the train despite the warning. It seemed that their pride was too great to listen to reason.
"Embodiment of Desire, Noble Spirit!" the three yelled.
This spell should summon flames that the magi would surely use to burn the forest, but none were summoned, and, in a matter of seconds, the branches of the trees attacked the magi, impaling them and devouring their blood.
"This is Einnashe's Predator Forest, and the magecraft is practically useless here," Altrouge said as Shirou handed her what appeared to be an amulet.
"I found it while we were looking for the head; give it to the professor when he wakes up, maybe it will help..."
The Princess nodded.
"How are we going to escape?" Gray asked, "Maybe if we collaborate…"
Marie shook her head, "It won't be enough. I understand that the Rail Zeppelin has a trump card, a mystic eye projector, but even I doubt that it will be enough to rid us of the forest," Lord Animusphere said worriedly, about to lose her self-control, "Wh-what do we do?"
"The forest has used its branches and roots to trap the train, so we can't do anything. The only thing we can do is wait for the conductor and the auctioneer to give us a solution," the Tohsaka heiress spoke worriedly. " What do you think, Shirou-kun?" Rin turned to see her partner, "What are you doing?"
They all turned to look at the boy, who was taking his swords, "Getting me ready to leave…"
"What? What the hell are you talking about!?" Rin asked.
"Are you insane, Emiya!? Didn't you see what just happened!?" Lord Animusphere yelled, "What about our contract!? You have to protect me! Or have you forgotten!?"
"Of course not, Lord, but, in this case, the only way to protect you is to eliminate the enemy itself, or otherwise, it will be a matter of time before the forest consumes the Rail Zeppelin."
"And how do you plan to do it, Shirou-kun!? Do you even have a plan!?"
Shirou nodded, "Yeah, not the best, but I have one. I'm going into the forest. I have tools that should allow me to get to the core, and once there, all I have to do is destroy the original tree."
"Original tree? What are you talking about? Do you know how insane that sounds!?" Rin asked, surprised and worried.
"Yes, but it's our only option. I highly doubt that even by mobilizing the Animusphere family and the El-Melloi family, we'll be able to escape this mess easily. Also, if I'm honest with you, this is the response of the train managers."
"What are you talking about?" Gray asked.
"They called us last night; they hired us to kill the seventh apostle," Altrouge replied.
This shocked those present, "That's crazy!" Marie said.
"Relax, let's just say the admins have a backup plan in case I fail, but this is our only option, at least for now." Then, he turned to Marie, "I'll raid inside Ainnash, and in the meantime, Rouge will stay here to protect you, so we will continue to honor our contract."
Shirou took to Vorpal and Neocaliburn and then looked at his third weapon: Black Barrel. He didn't know if he should take it with him, unlike his swords which, while heavy, were still light when compared to the weight of his rifle. Shirou could awkwardly use Neocaliburn with one hand, and Vorpal was easy to use that way, but the Black Barrel had to be used with both hands. This was bigger and longer than his swords, so he had to carry it on his back, and, on top of everything else, it was heavier than a current rifle, and this could slow him down, but, on the other hand, he was facing the dead seventh apostle, he couldn't spare any expense or rather weapons.
He took the rifle, and loaded it on his back, "See you later." With that said, Shirou left the room.
"Aren't you going to do anything to stop it?" Rin asked the Princess, "Even you must know it's crazy."
"I know, but he was the one who decided it." Then she smiled, "Besides, just because I let him try doesn't mean I'm going to let him die."
Rin felt like she was about to have a terrible headache, "What do you think, Gray?" But, to her surprise, the girl was no longer in the room, "Gray?"
"She left shortly after Shirou left," Altrouge spoke.
…
In the corridors of the train...
"Shirou!"
"Gray? What are you doing here?"
The girl came and stopped behind him, "If we both go, we have a better chance of beating the forest."
Shirou shook his head, "Yes, you're right, but if we both go, who will take care of the professor?"
This made the girl lower her gaze.
"If Faker attacks again, Rin will not be able to fight her alone, and the only one who can face her directly is you." Shirou did not doubt that Altrouge could crush Faker with her eyes closed, but he also did not doubt that the Princess really cared little or nothing for the safety of his professor.
"But…"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to die yet. I wouldn't consider something like this if I couldn't do it," after saying this, the redhead opened the door, and the icy wind entered the train. "Okay, see you later."
Gray was about to grab his hand but stopped at the last second. She could only watch as the boy entered the murderous forest...
"Insecure Gray! Indecisive Gray! When will you step forward!?"
In this situation, Gray would shake Add's box to silence him, but this time, she believed he had a point, and again, Marie's words echoed in her head. Also, the image of Touko living as freely as she wanted, which she saw during the case of Iselma's twins, came back to her memory... Even so, she couldn't do anything anymore because Shirou was right: at this point, if Faker were to return to attacking them, she was the only one who had any chance of defeating her. Knowing this, she returned to her room.
On his side, Shirou entered the forest, and once he took the first step, he felt a chill run through his entire body, and a feeling of apprehension enveloped him. The redhead tried to use his magic circuits to transform the mana from the environment into energy; however, it was impossible.
"Okay, just as I imagined... Now let's hope it works the way I hope it does."
Shirou drew Vorpal and raised it in front of him, and suddenly, he felt a change, and his circuits began to be able to transform the magical energy at the same time that the forest had given him disappeared around him, "Okay, let's try it again."
Vorpal's weakening effect worked by nullifying the forest's domain and allowing him to use his circuits to transform mana; however, it seemed that the power of the forest was so great that Vorpal's effect could only weaken the hold of the forest around him.
Suddenly, three branches lunged at him, trying to impale him, but, using Vorpal, he quickly cut them down. Without delay, he held up a small stone with the Berkano rune carved on it.
Berkano. He remembered his investigations about this, "The most obvious truth is hidden in the deepest, and only you will know it," it is a rune that could be used in various ways; for example, it can be used to track, although this was not its most efficient use.
Afterward, he wrote the rune with his shoes, Raidho, to guide him. Raidho, "The journey is the destination," is a rune more focused on travel and can also be used as a form of tracking along with Berkano. Raidho will expose hidden dangers along the way so that no strange places or new circumstances may haunt him during his travels. Together with Berkano, they form a kind of protection that favors a safe trip to the indicated destination.
Then, he wrote Ihwaz in front of his eyes, "The road is hard and lonely, and there is no end in sight," Ihwaz is said to represent the flow of mental energy, bringing "cosmic consciousness," obviously, with his level of mastery of the runes, the most the boy could do, was to increase his vision even more, in addition to giving him some help in terms of spatial vision, increasing it.
After getting everything ready, he said the aria, "Time alter, Double Accel."
The less time he spends in the woods, the better. So he launched himself at full speed into the depths of this...
Outside the dimension of the Rail Zeppelin...
Some zombies were getting dangerously close to a cook dressed in white who, from inside his clothes, pulled out a pair of pistols while saying, "Zombie kitchen with Jean-Mario Supinera!" And then he proceeded to shoot the zombies in the head, "Let's enjoy one more day of a good charred zombie." All this while he was cooking a steak, "Here ends the zombie kitchen!"
"Cut, we're left with the scene!"
The cook, Jean-Mario Supinera, was a tall blond man. He had great charisma and a fine beard. He was wearing an entirely white suit.
Kairi applauded Mario's performance while Luvia looked at him in surprise. Apparently, they were filming a cooking show.
Kairi and Mario hugged, the former congratulating the latter.
"Good job, Jean-Mario!"
"Thank you, Kairi."
Luvia looked at them in confusion, "Does this man really have information about the Clock Tower?"
"Of course. I present to you, Luvia, this is my old friend, Jean-Mario Supinera."
Mario raised his hand in greeting, "Charmed, miss, I know all about gastronomy and the press," he said as he bowed, "While we talk, would you mind if we eat something?"
Luvia, Kairi, and Mario sat at a table. Mario served each of them a steak.
"This taste good! The meat is just right, and the sauce gives it just the right flavor," said Luvia pleasantly as she tasted the food. But this reminded her of something: Now that I think back, I still haven't tried Shero's food.
Mario was pleased by the compliments, "Thank you very much. The sauce has Madeira wine and a little soy sauce."
"That's great, but can we get down to business?" Kairi said.
"Of course."
"I understood you would be boarding the Rail Zeppelin, and I don't think you gave up on the idea because you had a last-minute recording, did you?"
Mario grew severe at the implication, "Of course not, but Kairi, do you know who's inside the Rail Zeppelin right now?"
"I don't know all the passengers, but I currently work for one."
"Then let me enlighten you: Two Lords, a Church assassin, the boss of one of the most dangerous mafias today, the son of the magus killer..." Mario smiled, "Once I heard that all those names were meeting in the same place, I decided that that mixture was too explosive for my taste, and I preferred to let it go this time."
"I see. Do you remember the case of the headless bodies in London from 10 years ago?"
"I do every magus associated with the press does."
"A similar case was repeated on the Rail Zeppelin," Kairi said as he finished eating his steak.
"I see… In the past, there were seven victims. All of them were believed to possess a mystic eye."
"I don't remember hearing about such a case," said Luvia.
"The Clock Tower and the Church silenced it. It was only talked about a couple of times on the local networks. And the Clock Tower keeps the tapes."
"Did they solve the case?"
"They investigated together with the Church and solved it; a friend from Scotland Yard confirmed it to me. But…"
"Something happened?" Kairi asked.
Mario gestured, placing a hand on his chin, "Not then, but it seems like it's been getting attention again lately. A woman from Astromancy recently came to ask about this one."
"A woman of Astromancy?". Luvia slipped Mario a check, "Could you tell us her name?"
Mario took the check and said, "Trisha Fellows."
This made Kairi and Luvia look at each other in surprise.
Back to the train...
Marie and Altrouge had left the room.
"It's very cold," Rin said, sitting on one of the beds, "I don't think the heating on the train is enough."
"How is the Sir?" Gray asked; she was sitting next to the bed.
"He's fine, I don't know what you and Shirou did, but the damage is completely gone. He just needs to wake up."
Suddenly, a bloody hand smeared on the window.
The two girls were surprised; however, Gray calmed down a bit when she saw that it was Melvin who, for some reason, was outside the train.
"Why is someone outside…?" Rin asked as she watched Melvin bleed to death.
After a few minutes, the tuner was drinking hot chocolate inside the train.
"When I knew that Waver was here, I came by helicopter. But suddenly this forest appeared and knocked it down and swallowed it, for a moment, I thought that I would die, but I managed to survive the crash, and luckily, I was close to the train and still like this, the branches attacked me, and I almost died several times."
"Wow…" exclaimed the gravekeeper.
"What a surprise, the professor knows the legendary tuner..." Rin said.
"Yes, we've known each other for years," Melvin got up and walked over to where Waver was, "What a fool you really are. You're still as stupid as ever. You could choose to live a much easier life," Melvin reached out a hand to Lord's forehead, "Gray, may I ask you a question?"
"Hmm?"
"Who left Waver in this state?" Melvin flashed a rather aggressive smile, "If it wasn't me, then who?"
"Well, what happened was that…"
However, there was a knock on the door...
Melvin opened it, and outside the room, were: Karabo, Yvette, and Rodin.
They asked them to accompany them to one of the wagons...
"Do you want our help to free the train?" Rin asked.
"Not exactly. It's impossible to free the train since the forest already has it trapped entirety. Soon, the Rail Zeppelin will be devoured within its domain, and even inside the train, we won't be able to use our magecraft," Rodin explained.
"So?"
"We're looking to get the forest domain away from the train, if only momentarily," Yvette spoke.
"But how are we going to do it?" asked the young Tohsaka.
"I have some knowledge of the Einnashe Forest because it is sometimes spoken of it in the Holy Church."
"In the Holy Church?"
Karabo nodded, "We have tried to destroy it for centuries. Einnashe, the forest itself, is a living being that thinks and devours. It is said to be a reality marble, which has been altered and is controlled by a dead apostle with the same name." Karabo took several of his black keys, "If we mark several points on the leylines near the train, we can reactivate them and momentarily move the forest domain away from the train."
"We asked the rest of the passengers for help, but they have all locked themselves in," said Rodin.
"The lady of snakes and Lord Animusphere also refused to help. How uncooperative they all are."
"It's better to have reinforcements," Karabo spoke, "Will you help us?"
Gray and Rin looked at each other for a few seconds, and seeing that they had no other choice, both nodded.
"We will…" Gray said.
"Am I allowed to join too?" Melvin asked.
"No," Rin said, "Someone has to take care of the professor, and it better be his friend, don't you think?" Melvin nodded, albeit a little depressed. After speaking with the tuner, Rin turned to the driver, "How are we supposed to fight the forest if we can't use Magecraft?"
"I think I can help you with that…" Melvin took a small case, which he always carried with him, and from it, he took out a violin and began to play it.
"This is?" Rin asked as she felt her magic circuits activate.
"My body is heating up…" Gray said, at the same time her circuits activated.
"The sound resonates with our magic circuits and activates them," Yvette said as her circuits activated, "How nice it feels... Are you Melvin Weins? The legendary tuner?"
"Interesting…" Karabo spoke as he watched the circuitry of all the mages become perceptible.
"I tuned your circuits to forest domain, now they will be able to absorb mana from the environment, but the effect is momentary; it will last less than an hour, and the effectiveness of your circuits will be quite less than usual. But hopefully, it will be useful."
"Thank you very much, but why are you doing it?" Gray asked.
"I do whatever it takes to watch fun stuff," Melvin replied with a smile.
Thus, the group left the train and saw how it was almost entirely covered by forest branches.
"Be careful; it is likely that when we least expect it, it will attack us. We are lucky that, despite being inside the forest, being in the vicinity of the train, its dominance is not absolute."
"What if it was?" Rin asked Karabo.
"The forest would not allow us to see anything. We would be forced to improve our eyesight or enter a world of perpetual darkness."
The group moved a bit away from the train until they reached a tree, then Karabo threw a black key near the tree, but without touching its roots because if it did, the forest would attack them immediately. After tossing the key, the line reactivated, and the tree momentarily glowed with white light.
"I'll look for the other lines," Yvette said as she made a peace sign, and several spirits surrounded her.
"I thought your magecraft was based solely on your mystic eye, so, when did you decide to learn Spirit Evocation?" Rin asked.
"A magus must try everything, so I decided to give it a chance," the spirits began to point in a direction, "come on, they say the forest is starting to notice us, but it seems to be concentrating on something more important, so we must hurry."
"It would be nice to find two more points. Let's keep going," Karabo said as everyone followed Yvette.
"Gray…"
"What's wrong, Add?"
"This is bad: besides the forest, another terrible thing is watching us. Run away, right now!"
"Huh? Don't tell me...!?" Gray exclaimed, stopping.
"What is it, disciple?" Yvette said as she and the other two members of the group stopped.
"Sorry, go ahead."
"Why? Leaving you alone in this forest while it's snowing is a death sentence!" Rin said.
"Please, I assure everyone that I will catch up with you later."
"What do we do?" Yvette asked.
Karabo nodded, "Okay, we'll be waiting for you."
Rin complained, "You two are just as stubborn sometimes!" And then, she firmly demanded of Gray while trying to hide her concern for her, "Listen, don't go too far from the train. If the forest starts to react, run towards it."
Gray nodded, and after hearing her words, she separated from the rest of the group. Then, she turned around and, a few meters away, was Faker.
She smiled, "That could have been the dumbest thing you could have done. Did you manage to sense me on your own?"
"Add."
Add sighed, "I thought we'd end up like this... how annoying it is to always be right."
Add took his scythe form, and Gray prepared to face the servant.
"From what I see, the eccentric didn't come this time."
"Why did you attack the Sir?"
"Because I dislike him, just like I said," Faker replied.
"There must be another reason... for something else, you made him come to the train."
"Then try to make me talk with your weapon; that's how warriors understand each other."
"I already told you that's not my way of acting."
"So you fight with your words and not with your fists," she said with a smile, "Then why do you carry that weapon?"
Gray looked at her scythe, "I… I won't submit. But I want you to return the relic to the Sir by talking."
"I see, so you're only up for that." Faker didn't just think twice, and she drew her short sword and attacked…
…
On the other hand, Rin, Yvette, and Karabo were fighting against the branches and roots of the trees.
Karabo slashed at anything that came near with surprising speed for a man his age. Rin fired her Gandr rapidly at any branch or root that got close to her. Yvette, for her part, was casting powerful elemental spells with fire-based magecraft to burn the trees, such as the Noble Spirit Spell the mages had tried to use earlier.
"It seems that reactivating the previous line made the forest consider us a threat!"
"Let's keep running! The moment we stop, it will finish us off," Karabo yelled.
"The next leyline is to the right, at one o'clock, under a giant rock!"
Karabo saw the rock and threw the black key.
…
Meanwhile…
Gray and Faker exchanged attacks in the middle of the snowy field.
Faker was smiling. "I thought there were no warriors in this age anymore, so I'm glad I ran into you two. Although you're still kids, you have potential."
"Potential? Who?" Gray asked.
"You and the boy. You walk between life and death while clinging to the former, and unlike mages, you fight directly as warriors."
"The Sir's pain is worth more than that!"
Faker laughed, "I understand. You are both motivated by different things, the boy wishes to surpass figures from the past like me, and you have your loyalty to your precious teacher, but you're both heading for the same result. If that's the case, face me with everything you've got to prove yourself!"
…
With the other group...
"There are too many!" Rin yelled.
"Something is wrong. The spirits are telling me that the forest is getting even more impatient."
"Quick! Let's slide!" Karabo shouted.
The girls and Karabo dashed down a hill avoiding being momentarily impaled by the branches.
"In the center of that hole! There's the last leyline!" Yvette yelled.
Karabo threw the last black key, and as in the previous two, the area glowed before the environment changed slightly, momentarily pushing away Einnashe's domain.
"GGGGGGROOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"
"What's that?" Rin asked.
"Einnashe, we must run, and we must be fast!" Karabo said.
"But we hadn't freed the surroundings from its domain?"
"We have only released Einnashe's influence on the surrounding leylines, and that does not mean that the entire forest stops serving him," Karabo said as he ran with the rest of the group to the Rail.
The trees moved violently and attacked with twice as much fury as before, the roots shook the ground with force, and the snow fell more fiercely.
"There it is, quick!" Yvette yelled.
But before they could reach the train, the branches of the trees and their trunks surrounded them, creating a kind of wooden cage bathed in blood. Karabo tried to cut the stems, and Yvette wanted to set them on fire, but they were too strong and replaced each other once cut.
"T-The air, it's getting heavy," Rin said.
"Are they planning to drown us before they devour us?" Yvette asked.
Several branches shot out from all angles, and Karabo tried to block all of them, but he couldn't, and several branches stuck into his body, "Ahhh…!"
Little by little, the cage was closed, which made it more difficult to see the outside.
"We have to get out, quick!" the Church envoy shouted.
Yvette had to jump back to avoid being impaled, and, for a moment, she began to whisper: "Turn around..."
However, all went silent as a large amount of mana gathered into a blade that Rin was holding.
"An Azoth's sword?" Yvette asked.
The mana flow increased and turned into a torrent of flames, "Intensive Einäscherung!" Rin yelled, and a magic circle appeared in front of the blade, from which the torrent shot like a massive flamethrower against the wooden walls of the cage, piercing through it and creating a huge opening.
"Come on!" the Church member yelled.
…
A few minutes ago, in another part of the snowy field...
Clink! Clank!
Gray and Faker were trading attacks, but unlike Faker, Gray was panting from exhaustion.
"I'm surprised that you can fight at my level. You're not a normal girl; you really are worthy of admiration!"
"GGGGGGROOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"
"The forest?" Gray asked, "An avalanche?" A massive avalanche of snow was coming towards both of them.
"It's nothing more than the monster's wrath. Because it lost control over the leylines, its hold has been weakened." Faker turned and walked away from Gray, but sensing that she wasn't moving away from her, she turned around and asked her, "What are you doing? If you don't run away, you will die."
"If I let you run away now, then the Sir will suffer later, so I won't let you escape."
"Oh…"
"Limit cancel: first level!" Gray stopped holding her scythe as Add transformed into a big hammer, "You won't go near the Sir!"
The heroic spirit smiled, "Well said!"
After this exchange of words, both of them rushed at each other, at the same time being covered by the storm.
Meanwhile, even deeper into the forest...
Shirou ran at full speed while being chased by the branches and roots of the forest. At first, not many were chasing him, but the closer he got to his target, the more branches and roots gave chase. At this time, he had used Anzus on Vorpal, covering the blade of the sword in flames, and in this way, Shirou tried to push away any branch or root that got close to him.
Shirou had to turn quickly because a tree appeared out of nowhere, "Really, this forest is totally against me."
"Literally, yes. Though, did you expect anything different? You're trying to kill it."
A disembodied voice echoed throughout the place. The speaker was another of the 27 Dead Apostles: Merem Solomon. He and Shirou had met a few minutes ago, and apparently, Merem wasn't really in the forest, but he was nearby and projected his voice to where the redhead was.
"So, you're here just to feed your daemons?"
"That's right. Believe it or not, the soil in this forest works well as food for my daemon beasts."
Shirou slid around some branches heading towards his head, "And isn't getting close to the forest too dangerous just to feed them?"
"Yes, that's why I let them go eat while I stay outside. By the way, Shirou-chan, do you know that Einnashe is dead?"
"Shirou-chan? I thought you would hate me."
"Why? Because of your relationship with Altrouge? I hate her, and I'll probably kill you if you try to stop me from killing her, but your relationship with her arouses my curiosity more than anything else."
Shirou shook his head, "Yes, I know of the death of the first generation. But what does that matter right now?"
"Nothing, nothing, it's just that I plan to take you to the core if you tell me how he died."
Roots rose from the depths of the earth, but Shirou managed to dodge them just before they could pierce him. Afterward, he threw multiple stones with the Sowilo rune engraved on them and set the roots on fire to prevent them from following him.
"I already have a way of guiding myself."
"Oh yes, I can see it. But that shape won't tell you things like, if you continue in that direction, you'll enter a part of the forest where the air has turned poisonous. Turn right, by the way."
"What?"
"Turn right."
Shirou followed the apostle's advice and avoided having his arm ripped off by a branch.
"Fine, I'll tell you: Einnashe was killed by the White Princess, but she left his corpse near a blood-sucking tree, and it absorbed his blood; that's the origin of the forest."
"Ohhh, so that's how it happened. Good, mystery solved." Then he laughed, "A promise is a promise; I'll guide you to the core. You won't be long there if you keep up this pace."
"Thank you. But I don't think I can maintain this speed for long."
"Relax, there's an area with fewer trees where the ley lines have momentarily broken free of Einnashe's hold if you continue down this path. You can slow down there."
"I understand…"
Back inside the Rail Zeppelin…
In the world of unconsciousness...
"Wake up..."
"What?"
"Wake up, Waver Velvet."
"Huh?" A younger version of Waver opened his eyes to find himself in the El-Melloi classroom.
"My classes are so absurd that you can't listen to them?" Kayneth asked. He is an older adult with light blonde hair and bright green eyes. He wore a navy-blue coat with white gloves, black pants, and shoes of the same color.
"It's not that..."
"In that case," Kayneth slammed the table before Waver, "why do you want to participate in a new Holy Grail War? What do you want to get with the relic you stole from me?"
"I… I want to see him again!"
"Fool. The servants are mere pawns. He won't remember you the next time you summon him."
"Even so… I want to show that, of the two of us, I was the incompetent one. That he… I want to prove that Rider should have been the winner."
"Do you still think so? You lost the relic, and that servant did not recognize you as a vassal of the King of Conquerors. Even so... will you fight?"
Waver clenched his fists, "Of course!"
Suddenly the whole room disappeared...
"I'll ask you something else. What is a victory for a magus?"
"Achieving a goal by getting rid of all prejudices," Waver replied.
"And what is your goal? Tell me your answer, Lord El-Melloi II!"
"Yes! I will answer, professor! What I wish now is…"
…
Rin, Karabo, and Yvette had returned to the train and were currently opening the door to the stateroom where Waver and Melvin were.
Melvin got up from his chair, "And Gray?"
"We got separated in the woods. She said she'd come back on her own."
Melvin smiled, "I hope she brings back an interesting story when she returns from the woods."
On the other hand, back inside the Einnashe's forest. Inside a cave...
Gray and Faker were inside it, sitting around a campfire.
Gray looked at Faker for a moment, "Why did you save me?"
"Because you are a warrior," the servant replied as she watched the fire.
"Hmm?"
"Warriors must die on the field of battle."
"In our next fight, I will kill you," Gray declared.
To the girl's surprise, Faker smiled, "Yeah… In a way, you look like me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your weapon is based on the heroic treasure of a great hero, and you, on the other hand, are the copy of a distant ideal." Faker laughed, "Human beings never change." Then, she looked at Gray, "But even a copy has desires and can fight for itself, so we're the same."
"How come you... and I... I still don't know what I want.."
"You won't be able to reach your full potential without knowing it," Faker added more wood to the fire, "I guess that's what separates you and the boy."
"Shirou?"
Faker nodded, "Both you and he are related to the past, albeit in different ways. He knows what his goal is... his sword... when we met again in that magus' workshop, he named it Neocaliburn."
This surprised the girl, "Neocaliburn? Shirou's sword?"
Faker nodded, "It doesn't take a savant to figure out why the sword's name: is a recreation of a legendary sword. I suppose it makes sense that he wanted to be the one to defeat the specter of King Arthur, even if it was madness to do it on his own."
"Spectre of King Arthur?"
"The leader of the Wild Hunt…" Faker smiled, "It's normal for new warriors to want to surpass the old. To surpass the legend, that is his goal."
Gray shook her head, "It's not. Shirou's goal is to create the ultimate sword."
"And how is that different? Overcoming the King and overcoming his sword are not mutually exclusive. Both follow the same path but with a further distance." Then, she turned her gaze to the girl, "You must find your wish, or you will die on the battlefield sooner or later."
Gray lowered her gaze, "I want to continue with the Sir, though I don't want him to put himself in danger. I want to fulfill his wish! I want him to finish his journey with the King of Conquerors so he can move on with his life!"
"That contradiction could cost you your life." Faker added more firewood to the bonfire, "Is that all?"
"Hmm?"
"I am asking you: what will you do when you both have to part?"
"Separate us?"
Faker nodded, "I followed Iskandar to the end of his days, but that was because vassals cannot live without their King, but your master is not a King, and you are not his vassal. If he really is a good professor, there will be a time when he has to let you fly on your own, so what will you do then?"
"I… parting with Sir…"
"Don't fear separation, be proud of it. It means your master believes you are ready to walk your own path. Just as he wants to end his journey with my King so he can continue his."
"Going my own way... What did Iskandar mean to you?"
Faker smiled, recalling old memories, "The King is like the sun, and his warmth embraces everything. There was no other King like him. His words gave us the strength to move forward, even if we got sick. He told us that we would see the end of the sea, and he always encouraged us to give more, and I cannot describe with words how brilliant he was. I was his right hand, and I will not allow anyone to deny that."
"But if that's true, why did you blame Iskandar?"
"Huh?" Suddenly, the woman's attitude changed, "You… What did you see?" Faker used her mystic eye of compulsion to take control of Gray's body, "Answer me! What did you see!?"
"I-I saw you in a dream. Y-You were asking him if that was what he longed for. You asked him why he didn't get rid of it, and you wanted an answer."
Faker stopped using her mystic eye, and Gray fell to the ground gasping.
"I should have realized... you are a priestess. An expert in possession."
"GGGGGGROOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"
The servant stood up, "It's stopped snowing. It seems the monster is busy with something else. When you can move, leave before it regains control of the leylines."
Out of the woods and out of the dimension of the Rail Zeppelin. At the Fargo's house...
"I'm Mary Lir Fargo."
Luvia and Kairi were having tea at the Fargo's house.
As Kairi sniffed at the tea, Luvia asked, "Can you tell us about Trisha Fellows? We understand that you both studied at the same department and that their families are affiliated with the Animusphere family."
Mary looked down, "She's an old friend of mine." Mary took a breath, "She passed away, didn't she? I still can't believe it."
"She was investigating some murders from ten years ago; do you know anything about why?" the mercenary asked as he drank his tea.
"Olga Marie's abandonment. That's what Trisha said…"
"Olga Marie? She is the young Lord of Astromancy, isn't she?"
Luvia nodded.
"Last time I saw her, it was a month ago. She said to me, '10 years ago, Lord Animusphere was investigating the Holy Grail War.'"
"The former Lord Animusphere participated in the last Holy Grail War, didn't he?" Kairi asked.
Mary nodded, "He was investigating the war before it started, and around that time, the killings started. Somehow, Lord Animusphere got information about the ritual," Mary sipped her tea, "I didn't understand why the Lord cared so much about a minor eastern ritual, so what Trisha told me surprised me."
"What was it?" asked Luvia.
"After inquiring about the ritual, the Lord lost all interest in Olga Marie, transferred his crest to her, and prepared to engage in war."
"But that doesn't make sense. After investigating the war, the Lord didn't find out that the grail was corrupted?"
"It should be like that, but he still decided to participate. Trisha wanted to know: What was the Lord's reason for participating in that ritual? Why did he abandon his daughter? Was he somehow connected to the murders?"
"Trisha investigated the holy grail war, which led her to board the Rail Zeppelin," Luvia concluded.
Kairi placed a hand on his chin, "All the victims had a mystic eye, including Trisha. Do you know anything else?"
"The Heartless Man."
"What?" Luvia exclaimed.
"Someone who goes by the name heartless man investigated the war for Lord Animusphere. That's what she said."
Luvia stood up, "Thank you for your help."
Luvia and Kairi left Fargo's mansion and got into the car.
"What is it, miss? You look very serious," Kairi asked.
"The man without a heart... I heard rumors of a dangerous magus whose heart was stolen by the fairies," Luvia replied.
"Fairies?"
"If he's who I think he is, he's got a stepsister in the Law Department, and she's on the train."
"What do you mean?"
…
Back inside the train...
Melvin and Rin were in the last car of the Rail Zeppelin.
"Really, the Rail Zeppelin is amazing; as long as there are spirit lines, it can oppose Einnashe's domain."
"Don't look outside so easily; the branches still cover much of the train. Besides, why are you so happy?"
"I'm sorry about Gray, of course. But she seems like a very resilient girl," he said with a smile.
Rin looked down, "It's not just her that I'm worried about because, in her case, at least she's near the train."
This piqued Melvin's curiosity, "What do you mean?"
"Shirou, he is another member of El-Melloi's class."
"Ohhh! The son of the magus killer! Isn't that so!?"
Rin nodded, "He was hired by the train managers to kill Einnashe."
"Oh really!?" Melvin put his hands on Rin's shoulders and, seriously, he said, "If he comes back alive, how much do you think he would charge me to tell me what he lived inside the forest?"
"You…" Rin said as she clenched her fist.
Slash! Slash!
Suddenly, they saw how several branches were quickly cut by someone coming out of the forest.
Gray leaped from it, slashing at all the branches that tried to cut or impale her.
"Make room, please!" Melvin and Rin stepped aside, and Gray rushed in, then closed the door behind her. "Ahhh, we did it."
"You made it back!" Rin approached, followed by Melvin.
"This gets more interesting as time goes by! It was worth smashing a helicopter."
After calming down, Gray asked, "How is the Sir?"
"He's fine, and he should wake up shortly."
Gray sighed, "I see…"
"You ran out of strength!? You used me like a sickle to cut through the brush! That's exploitation! You should treat me better!" And to shut Add up, Gray took him in her hands and shook him hard. "Stop, Gray! Stop it! Gray!"
Suddenly, the wagon door opened, and on the other side was Adashino, "Oh? You've arrived, Gray. All of you come to the vestibule car. I'll play detective since the usual detective is still sleeping."
Melvin and Rin went to the vestibule car, while Gray decided to go first by the wagon where Waver was resting. Several of the train's passengers were in the wagon; however, most of them were still locked up, so those present were: Karabo, Rin, Melvin, Yvette, Leandra, Rodin, Adashino, Fernando Lee, and a girl with a raven.
"Why have you gathered us here?" Fernando asked.
"As part of Legislation, I want to talk to you about the recent murder. Specifically, I want to talk to you about the person responsible."
"Well said, detective," Melvin said, clapping from his seat.
"Ten years ago, there were similar serial killings in London," the Legislation envoy continued.
"Excuse me, but I don't remember such a case," the girl of the crow spoke.
"The information was regulated by legislation," Adashino replied.
"And you reveal it yourself?" Melvin said.
"But we were not the only ones to intervene; the Church also intervened." Then Adashino turned to the Church agent, "You were the one investigating, weren't you, Karabo Frampton?"
"Yes, that's how it is."
"If you have information on the case, then you could have said it," Melvin told him.
"It was confidential, so I did what I had to do."
"I understand," Adashino started to move, "although you can see the past, you failed to see the crimes."
"And Trisha couldn't protect herself despite being able to see into the future."
"I see. Neither could see the crimes in the past or the future," Yvette said.
"So, the answer is clear and simple: the crime scene was another."
Yvette clapped her hands, "Sure, makes sense."
"Despite possessing mystic eyes, the vision of the present and the future only affects time, and to use it effectively, both must be present in the scene."
"Are you saying that she was not murdered in her stateroom?" Rin asked.
"So, who killed Trisha?" Melvin asked.
Adashino smiled, "Let's welcome a new witness."
Having said this, Marie entered the wagon, carrying the container of Trisha's head. Furthermore, Marie was accompanied by Altrouge, who had Fou on her shoulder. The young Lord of Astromancy stopped next to Adashino and showed the head.
"What does this mean?" Karabo asked.
"She hid her head using a pocket of imaginary numbers," Adashino replied, "The one who hid it was Trisha herself."
"Did she hide her own head?"
"She must have seen that she would be decapitated in the future and created a pocket where her head would fall. The key is that, inside that pocket, time stops, so her head was alive when we took it out."
"She was alive?"
The Legislation envoy nodded, "What do you think she said with her last breath? It was only one word: Karabo."
"What?"
Adashino adjusted her glasses, "Your mystic eye allows you to measure the past, right?"
Karabo put his hands to his face looking worried.
"Measure the past?" Melvin asked.
"It's used to see the past; the eye recognizes something that happened," answered Yvette.
"But seeing the past doesn't allow you to kill anyone."
"What? Yeah, well…" Yvette didn't know how to answer.
"Among the most powerful eyes, some can reflect something into reality. Like the Mystic Eye of Death Perception, for example."
"That legendary eye?" Yvette asked, "But it would be rainbow or jeweled rank."
Adashino smiled, "If the rumors are true, yes." Then she turned to Karabo, "But his mystic eye is similar." Adashino grabbed an apple from a table, took out a knife, and sliced through the air leaving the cut engraved in place, and then passed the apple across that spot, which split into two, "It records the cut and leaves it in one place, then, all it takes is for the owner of the eye to look at it, and the cut plays back exactly as it was recorded."
"I understand," Fernando said.
Adashino pointed her knife at the Church agent, "It was you, Karabo."
Karabo covered his mouth with an arm, "Are you accusing me?"
She slid the knife over the apple, "Your plan called for the train to move on fixed tracks. If you cut into the void, at the front car, your vision into the past would let you know where the seats were." Adashino sliced into the apple, "When the body was found, the train had stopped, and you were outside, so all you had to do was look out the window. The place would be dragged back in time, and the slice would replay, taking Trisha Fellows' head with it."
"The murders from ten years ago too?" Melvin asked.
"I doubt there is another person with such a specific mystic eye," Yvette said.
"So, the person responsible for the murder was also the one who worked on the investigation?" Fernando asked.
"Wait! I didn't…!" Karabo tried to object.
"I won't say that you are the culprit. But it's reason enough to take action."
"Wait!"
Adashino turned her gaze towards the source of the voice and smiled as she saw an awakened Lord El-Melloi accompanied by Gray, "My, you're finally awake, Lord El-Melloi II."
"Waver!" Melvin exclaimed.
"I didn't expect you to come too, Melvin."
"It's natural to run when a friend is in danger," smiled the tuner.
"I do not need your help!" Waver walked towards the rest of the group, "Miss Adashino, your deduction raises some questions for me."
She put away her knife, "Will you delight us with one of your brilliant deductions?"
"Yours lacks the mobile."
"The famous one: why done it?"
"Yes, there is no such thing as a crime without a motive."
Adashino looked at the apple, "If it's so important that there's a motive, it's possible that his mystic eye made him compare himself to the murderer."
"What?"
"Watching the murders from ten years ago caused his ego to get mixed up with the murderer's ego, and If he lost control of his mystic eye, it's not unthinkable."
"Are you serious?"
"What's the difference between being serious or joking? We are magi."
"Is that the scenario you envision? But, is Karabo's mystic eye really capable of something like that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Someone demonstrated that it can transport to the present what it recorded in the past?"
Adashino narrowed her eyes, "Are you saying it's just a theory of mine?"
"It can't be called a deduction, nor does it have substantial proof, so it's an illusion. Do you intend to judge him based on that?"
"Don't worry about that. Just let the Rail Zeppelin appraise its mystic eye."
"Yes, that would be possible."
Everyone present turned their gaze to where the voice came from. This included Altrouge, who, since she entered the wagon, had paid little or no attention to the matter and kept looking at the forest.
"It is possible to project a cut from the past into the present," Rita's emanation spoke.
Leandra, who was sitting, got up, "Let me introduce you: this is the manager."
"It's time, so I came to collect the mystic eyes for the auction."
"It's time?" Karabo asked.
"They should have warned all of you that we would hold the auction half a day earlier to calm the rest of the passengers," the emanation spoke.
"Were you planning to let the Rail Zeppelin back up your theory?" Waver asked.
Adashino smiled, "Correct."
"Wait! Not yet… AAAHHH!"
The emanation stuck its fingers into Karabo's eye sockets and took them into its own hands. The pain was so great that the Church agent fainted.
"Manager..." Leandra said as she brought her a glass container.
The manager left the mystic eyes in the container, and they remained floating inside it. Then she disappeared.
"Magnificent! They don't reach rainbows, but they are jeweled, without a doubt."
"So, is it true?" Rin asked.
"Can cause a vestige of the past to reappear as foam, the transient mystic eye."
Following this, Adashino clapped her hands, "I'm sorry for taking up some of your precious time. Now everyone has more reason to look forward to the start of the last auction."
After saying this, everyone withdrew from the hall...
...
...
Melvin, Gray, Waver, and Karabo were in the same stateroom.
"Did you have to follow me?" Waver asked.
"Of course! We are bosom friends. Don't be cold to me, or I'll cry," Melvin said as he mimicked crying. "Or I'll cough up blood!"
Waver sighed.
"Do you think Karabo killed Trisha, Sir?"
Waver shook his head, "There is a huge gap between possibility and reality."
Karabo was unconscious and sitting on the floor. When he woke up, he instinctively touched his eyes, which were covered by a bandage, and then, feeling something on his leg, he reached his hand towards it and found that it was a shackle.
"Sorry, we had to immobilize you," Lord El-Melloi said.
"I understand," the Church agent replied.
"Were you really involved in the murders ten years ago?"
"Don't know." Karabo touched his forehead with one hand, "I forgot I was related to them until a year ago."
"It's an effect of the mystic eye..."
"I could see the past whether I wanted to or not, whether my eyes were open or closed, memories come at me like an inevitable avalanche and at the same time destroy my own memories; that's how that eye works."
"In other words, you couldn't control it."
"That's right. If I had it now," Karabo touched his blindfold as if he could still feel the mystic eyes, his hands shaking, "Maybe I would have revealed the truth."
"So, if we buy them at auction…" Gray said.
"They could be useful, but I can't afford them."
"So we have to buy them…" Melvin spoke.
"Melvin?"
"They will probably be the most expensive, so I don't guarantee anything." Melvin got up and put one of his hands on Waver's shoulders, "But I can try to get them, as long as I win some fun… What do you say, Waver?"
Waver removed his hand from his shoulder, "I will not sell my soul to the devil."
Melvin shrugged, "Too bad. Isn't there anything that makes the case more exciting?"
"By the way, when I ran into Trisha…" Gray looked down in embarrassment, "Well… she was wearing an indecent amulet."
"What?" Waver asked Gray in surprise, "Say that again! What did you see!?"
"They were… a man and a woman entwined!" yelled the embarrassed undertaker.
"It's not surprising that she had something like that since, for example, I also prepared myself to defend myself, but we didn't find anything similar at the scene, and we don't know if it was a true mystic eye canceller. Which could mean which has another use."
"Sir?"
"This is not a deduction, but if my imagination is close to reality, the culprit is my enemy. I will solve this case!"
"Good! A master detective's struggle to uncover a mysterious murderer, and at the same time, on the other hand, his student's struggle to defeat a murderous forest, was really worth destroying a helicopter!"
"What? What are you talking about, Melvin?"
Melvin looked at him strangely, "You haven't noticed, Waver, we're inside the Predator Forest!"
Waver nodded, "I know. Gray briefed me on where we are, and I understand the train managers are working on a way to free us."
Melvin nodded, "Yes, they hired your student… what was he called… Oh yes! Shirou! They hired him to assassinate the dead apostle who controls the forest."
"What!?" Waver turned to Gray, "Is that true!?"
Gray looked down but nodded, "Yes, he left early in the morning."
"Hey, Waver? Where are you going!?" Melvin asked.
"I have to talk to that girl!"
On the other hand, inside the forest...
"You're almost there, Shirou-chan! Einnashe's throne is up ahead."
"HA... ha... ha... Throne?" the boy asked, panting.
"It is what the center of the forest is called. Since the people believed that Einnashe was alive, they believed that he had his throne in the core of the forest."
"I... see..."
"Be careful!"
The tree branches attacked Shirou, and he projected Ascalon. This was a peculiar sword since its power comes not from the capacity to defeat foes but from the ability to defend from all harm. However, by reversing its protective power, it becomes a sword that pierces any type of armor.
"Ascalon!" Sensing that its bearer was about to be attacked by an evil power, Ascalon reversed its protective power by destroying all the trees in front.
"Oh, it's Ascalon! Can you copy legendary swords, Shirou-chan!?"
"Something like that…"
Ascalon opened a path for Shirou to reach the center of the forest.
"By the way, Shirou-chan, that's Vorpal, isn't it? Did you steal it from Louvre?"
"I took it after defeating his children."
Merem laughed, "You murdered his children and stole his treasures. I'm sure he would try to take your head if he wasn't weak."
"It does not bother you?"
"Not at all. I hated the idea of triplets from the beginning."
"Triplets?"
Merem sounded disgusted, "Louvre only had a power equal to one of the twenty-seven when he was at the side of his sons, and without them, he is no match. Furthermore, he lost much of his brood in the assault on Atlas."
"The assault on Atlas?"
"Yes. He managed to coordinate with Tatari so that the institute principal was away during his attack, so he had an easier time attacking Atlas while it was without her. Though the numbers of his Ghouls and Dead have highly decreased, it is rumored that he managed to steal one of the weapons sealed within Atlas; however, for some reason, he hasn't flaunted this one, so maybe it's just a rumor. "
"Who is Tatari?"
"Oh, don't you know? Tatari is a phenomenon created by Altrouge hundreds of years ago, and now he ranks as the thirteenth dead apostle."
"I see…" Shirou didn't have much time to process the information he just received as he finished crossing the path and reached the core of the forest.
After the path ended, the boy came to a large clearing.
"That is?"
"Yes, the Throne of Einnashe. Lately, the forest has been active for much longer, so perhaps it has begun to have difficulty feeding…"
A huge blackish tree that exhaled blood as if it were sap stood in the middle of the clearing. As for its features, it was the size of a six or seven-story building, its shape was twisted and elongated, and it had no leaves on its branches, and also, a single reddish fruit hung from its highest branch.
When Shirou gave a step into the clearing...
"GGGGGGROOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"
The tree roared like a beast, its trunk separated in two revealing a huge circular mouth, and this was adorned with countless fangs that made it look like a big crusher, and inside it, a large red sphere could be seen that pulsated as if it was a heart.
Well, the bad: it's bigger than I thought. The good: if I burn it down, I'll destroy the entire forest. Shirou prepared himself to face the original bloodsucking tree of the forest, Vorpal in one hand and Ascalon in the other. He decided not to draw his ace up his sleeve until he was sure he knew how this enemy attacked.
With everything ready, the real fight began...
Author Notes:
Hello everyone, this time it took me less time to upload the next part (at least compared to the last one). I hope to maintain a more or less similar pace, although everything will depend on the chapters.
Regarding the comments:
Daua002: You'll see...
Guiltyr2: It already appeared in past chapters.
HNH058513: It's not a mistake. I don't follow the same continuity as Tsukihime or El-Melloi.
Tendoo: It's already been published. It's called Fate AR: A Broken World.
FallenSage: The fifth war was in 2004.
Without more to say, it is but that you enjoyed the chapter. For those who want to support the translation, you can follow me on P_treon where I upload the translation in parts and the chapters with images. And see you in the next one.