Fate: Hammer Time

by TedTheRabbit

Shirou Emiya wanted to become a hero. That was clear to all who truly know him. For a long time though, he lacked the power to actually achieve that goal. No longer. No longer will he lack the power, now that the Hammer of the Odinson has chosen him as new wielder. Prepare for Thunder. ShirouxMultiple, Thor-Shirou.

32. More Tutoring

More Tutoring

---

When Magi wanted to communicate with each other, they usually had various means at their disposal.

There was the postal service of course, for delivering letters, or alternatively, if a Magus wanted a faster and more secure way of communication, there were crystal balls, scrying bowls, and magical mirrors.

Recently though, a new form of communication had been introduced to the Clocktower.

The phone.

Though eschewed by most traditional Magi, the phone had been readily accepted by some of the more open-minded types, and it should come as absolutely no surprise that Waver Velvet had one installed right in his office.

It was an ancient thing, one of those old machines that required you to hold the earpiece and mouthpiece separately. By all rights, it shouldn't have been able to contact any of the more modern networks that most people use these days. The same went for all other phones in the Clocktower.

In their typical fashion of making things ridiculously more complicated than they had to be however, the 'technicians' employed by the Magus Association just decided to throw some Magecraft at the problem. Through that Magecraft, the phones could get onto any network they wanted, from old phone cell lines to the most modern of Wi-Fi-networks, without requiring any landlines, connections, or anything else.

It was a much too complicated solution for a problem that they could have solved easily with a bit of technological know-how, but it worked, and that was all that counted in the end.

Not that Waver used the phone all that much. Generally, all the people he wanted to contact either lived in the Clocktower, which meant he could simply visit them, or had no phone at all, forcing him to use magical means to contact them anyway.

Today however, he was making a call to someone who was guaranteed to have a phone.

After a long conversation that was as much small talk as it was business, Waver put the old phone back on its hook with an uncharacteristically large smile on his face. It was a smile that his friends would be surprised to see, his enemies would be greatly unnerved by, and that his Archibald leash-holders would immediately want to wipe away, if only out of spite.

He knew that it wasn't very smart to show his emotions so openly, even if he was alone in his office, but he couldn't help himself. Fighting the smile was futile, so he allowed himself the momentary show of happiness.

It wasn't every day after all that he could talk freely to an old friend.

Bishop Dilo and he went back years, to a point well before Waver had even concocted the idea of participating in the Fourth Grail War.

He'd been fifteen years old at the time, and he'd just been thrown out of the hotel room by Kayneth, who had taken his students on a 'field trip' to Lile, a city in France. As Waver had nowhere else to go, he'd wandered around the city, until he'd run into bishop Dilo, who had been giving a small sermon in the city at the time. The old man had seen that Waver had been lost, in more ways than one, and he'd reached out towards the small teen, to offer whatever guidance he could.

Somehow though, that small conversation between a kind man of the cloth and a troubled teen had changed into a fight with several local criminals, a scuffle with a corrupt police officer, a high-speed chase through town in a truck holding three pet goats, and several other unexpected happenings that had turned the entire city on its head.

Safe to say, neither Waver nor Dilo were welcome in Lile anymore.

The old bishop had just laughed however when they'd been thrown out of the city, and had exchanged contact information with Waver. Ever since then, the bishop had been the closest thing Waver had to a father figure.

It was strange, that a man of the Clocktower and a man of the Church could be so close, but Waver and Dilo made it work for them. Neither of them had ever regretted their friendship, to the contrary even, it had only grown dearer to them over the years.

Hence Waver's large smile.

After fixing his expression again, he called Grey, whom he had dismissed to her own room earlier when he called the bishop.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her with the contents of the talk, not at all, he trusted Grey with his life. It was just that conversations between him and bishop Dilo tended to get very informal very quickly, and he would rather not have his apprentice see him when he had tears in his eyes from laughter and regularly almost fell over in hilarity as he recounted old tales.

That wouldn't be professional or teacher-like at all, and her opinion of him would surely suffer if she saw him behave in such a way.

He knocked on Grey's door several times, and it took her only a few seconds to emerge, promptly coming to stand next to him, peering up at his face from under her hood.

"You seem happy, sir." She told him, cocking her head to the side in curiosity. "Did everything go well?"

"Happy? Well, I suppose it was a rather productive conversation, yes." Waver nodded, keeping a firm lid on his surprise that Grey was able to pick up on his good mood so easily. "Bishop Dilo and I arranged the finer details of our cooperation to combat whatever or whoever is behind the sudden rise of mundane Dead Apostles."

He didn't hesitate to tell Grey about the business side of their conversation. She was already aware of the existence of the mundane Apostles, and since she would be accompanying him wherever he went, it was only wise to give her all the information, so she wouldn't be unpleasantly surprised later.

He would be depending quite heavily on her for his security after all.

"Bishop Dilo is already moving to assemble a force under his command." Waver continued when Grey stayed silent, continuing to peer at him from the shadows of her hood. "He'll have to be careful not to make anyone suspicious, but if he claims to just feel the need to hunt heretics again, most people should not give the matter a second thought."

"What about you, sir?" Grey asked, not particularly interested in what the bishop would be doing.

"I will do something similar, gather a task force of my own. As I am not nearly as powerful in the Clocktower as bishop Dilo is in the Church however, my options are far more limited. I have Bazett, miss Ortensia, you, Svin, Flat, and hopefully, mister Fujimaru will agree to join us as well." Waver quickly summed up. "Perhaps I can recruit several Enforcers too. Then I can coordinate with bishop Dilo on the upcoming missions."

"Will so few people be enough to keep you safe though, sir?" Grey's voice became harder, a tiny bit of steel entering her tone as she began lifting her head. The steel in her voice was offset by the worry in her eyes however. "I cannot agree with you stepping into danger with so little protection."

"Well, I was also planning on informing Lady Barthomeloi and Lady Montmorency, who I imagine will be similarly unhappy with the concept of mundane Dead Apostles." Waver explained, having to fight the urge to quail under Grey's gaze. The gaze that was so similar to hers. "With some luck, they will see the gravity of the situation and will significantly increase our numbers and amassed power."

"That is a relief, but sir, we cannot do much with our forces if we don't know where to send them." Grey lifted an eyebrow, her heritage now shining through as she mercilessly poked a massive hole in his plan. "Do you have any idea where your 'task forces' would be going?"

Her question was a good one. Even if he somehow managed to gather the most powerful army the world had ever seen, there wasn't a damn thing he could do with it if he had no idea where to send them.

Bishop Dilo and he had thought about that however, and they both already had their most skilled informants poking around Europe, not to mention they had already found several lines of inquiry they were planning to pursue.

It might take some time, but they were sure to find their targets, no matter how well they tried to hide themselves.

So he turned back to Grey to explain that, but before he could get a word out, he was forced to turn away again at the sight of her exposed face.

"Grey, your face." He chided her, and there was a soft sound of realisation, before he heard the rustling of a hood being pulled over a head again. He was glad she was so accommodating, but at the same time, he felt incredibly guilty. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She whispered softly, her tone warm and appreciative. "I really like that you hate my face."

She had meant to set him at ease by saying that, but she did the opposite. Waver flinched in guilt, and he forced himself to turn to Grey again, managing to catch a glimpse of her face under the shadows of her hood. He held steady for several seconds, but then had to turn away again.

It was just Grey who stood there, kind, shy, ever-loyal Grey, but Waver could no longer see that. He only saw the face of the woman who had almost killed him. The woman who had butchered his helpless teacher like an animal. The woman who had ended his world as he knew it.

The woman who haunted his nightmares almost as much as the golden demon.

The atmosphere was becoming unbearable, and Waver almost bit himself a bloody lip, as he desperately tried to find the right words to say.

Before he could however, Fate decided to intervene.

If Fate had a frail body, white hair, and a terrible personality.

'KNOCK-KNOCK'

It was a harsh, rude knock on the door, more of a ramming really, a fist slammed repeatedly against the wood, but Waver didn't care. It was a distraction, and he couldn't be happier about the timing of whoever wanted to get into his office.

"Ent-" He began, when the door was already slammed open with full force, and a panicked Melvin stormed through.

"Waver!" He screamed in a very high-pitched tone, grabbing the lord's shoulders tightly. "What did you do?!"

The question was accentuated by the white-haired man's attempt to shake Waver to and from, but since Melvin was a sickly and frail man who had never once exercised in his life, even Waver was strong enough to keep himself steady.

"What did I do?" Waver frowned at his 'friend', wondering what could have shattered the normally calm man's composure like this. "Can you make that question any more non-descriptive?"

"I want you to think back." Melvin hissed, probably not even having heard Waver's retort. "I want you to think back, Waver, on your actions over the past months. Is there anything you have done that could have adverse effects on me?"

"Melvin, I don't follow you." Waver wasn't angry, the situation was too strange to get angry over, but Melvin's panic was contagious, and after having just suffered through a flashback to the Grail War as well, Waver began feeling a little irritated with his friend. "What are you even talking about?"

"Lorelei Barthomeloi has demanded a meeting with you. It's said that she is planning something, and that it apparently involves you." Melvin whispered breathlessly, his eyes flitting this way and that. "Everyone knows about the stuff that's been happening lately. The murders, the blatant disregard for the rules. People are saying Barthomeloi might be planning a purge."

Ah, so that was what had Melvin so spooked.

"And you think she is going to start by purging me?"

"Maybe." Melvin whined, before his grip on Waver's shoulders tightened. "But do you know what that means? I am your friend! Everyone knows that! If you are purged, I might be next! I might die if you don't do anything!"

"…You are such a coward." Waver gave his 'friend' a disgusted glare when it became clear the only reason Melvin was panicking was because he might be caught up in something himself. "And here I thought you were concerned about me."

"I am! A bit at least. But think about this from my perspective!" Melvin protested, again trying to shake Waver by his shoulders and again failing to move him at all. "I don't fear dying if my death is cool and awesome and memorable, but Lorelei Barthomeloi will just stomp on me like an insect. I will die in an insignificant way! You know that is my greatest fear, Waver!"

"Stop shaking me." Waver groused, grabbing Melvin's wrists and prying the smaller man loose from his vestments. "And stop panicking. If you just think rationally about this for two seconds instead of running around like a chicken without a head, you will see your fears are nonsensical."

"I… Well- That is…"

"Breathe, Melvin, breath." Waver urged him, and Melvin obediently gasped for air, once, twice, thrice…

His panic really was senseless. Waver wasn't going to be purged. He hadn't done anything he should be purged for, not to mention that, if Lorelei Barthomeloi was in fact planning on purging him, she wouldn't warn him in advance.

"Better?" Waver asked in a falsely kind voice when Melvin got his breathing under control, having come to the same conclusion as Waver himself.

"Better." The white-haired man nodded, letting out a long breath, before smiling sheepishly. "Ahahaha, sorry about that, Waver. I don't know what came over me. I just heard a few rumours that the Vice Director was going to put an end to you, and I guess I just panicked."

"Melvin, to be clear, did the Vice-Director actually invite me to a meeting, or is this all just hearsay?" Waver asked suspiciously. True, Melvin did have a lot of connections, most notably his mother, who would tip him off if anything like this happened, but Melvin also wasn't very bright, so he could easily have let his fantasies get away from him after hearing but the merest rumour.

"You thought something very unkind about me again." Melvin whined, before wincing when both Waver and Grey shot him a withering look. "No, look. She did in fact send for you. She wants you in her office as soon as possible. That's why I ran here, to give you a chance to run away."

"I am not going to run away." Waver shook his head. "I have no reason to. I will go to her now."

"Do you want me to accompany you, sir?" Grey asked promptly, her head slightly bowed again.

It was a tempting offer, a very tempting offer, if only to have someone in his corner, but in the end, Grey had no business coming along for this.

"No." He thus refused her, shaking his head lightly. "If the Vice-Director wanted you present, she would have said so. Better that you sit this one out, Grey. I'll tell you everything when I return."

"If you return." Melvin muttered gloomily, before snapping his mouth shut when Grey glared at him.

"Watch the office for me, you two." Waver sighed as he shrugged on his coat.

"S-Sir, you're going now?" Grey's gaze snapped away from Melvin to stare at him in surprise. "Immediately?"

"I have nothing else to do anyway." That, and Barthomeloi would likely get more annoyed the longer she had to wait. "I'll be back shortly."

"Good luck, sir." Grey said obediently, while Melvin waved at him, still struck silent by Grey's earlier glare.

Once Waver was in the hallway and had shut the door behind him, he sighed deeply yet again. Not because of the matter with Melvin and Barthomeloi, but because of what had happened just before that.

How pathetic he was, for being so cold to his own apprentice.

It wasn't that he feared Grey, really not. It was just that her likeness to that person was too much for him. That beautiful, intense, powerful, majestic, and utterly terrifying person whose gaze was strong enough to crush the very soul of those weaker than her.

Waver admired, feared, and hated that woman at the same time, and though he usually could keep in mind well enough that Grey wasn't her, sometimes, when she behaved in a particular way, the resemblance hit him like a truck.

And rather than facing it, he turned away each and every time, while Grey smiled brightly, so very grateful that he had taken her in and was looking after her as his apprentice, and so happy he disliked her face.

It filled him with immense pity every time.

And a bit of self-hatred.

But now was not the time to think about that.

Waver steeled his resolve, and, putting on his best poker face, began the march towards Lorelei Barthomeloi's office.

She had called for him, and he better go and see what she wanted.

---

Shirou found Eduardo di Stanza in the library of the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory, exactly where they had arranged to meet the day before.

Though 'arranged' was perhaps the wrong word to use. It was more that Di Stanza had dictated it, and Shirou, who had nothing else to do anyway, had decided to show up. Not for the guy himself, but to get Lord El-Melloi to agree to cover up his trip to Germany.

He just had to keep that in mind. No matter how annoying or infuriating this was going to be, he needed to endure, for Illya's sake.

The redhead repeated that mantra to himself one more time, and then entered the library.

He had made sure to arrive a little early, but it seemed Di Stanza had come even earlier, for the young man was already sitting at a table in a far corner, reading a book while taking notes on the sheet of paper that lay before him.

"Mister Di Stanza." Shirou called once he reached the man's table, keeping his voice to a whisper so he wouldn't disturb the other guests, or worse, the librarian, an elderly man with white hair, a bushy white beard, and a glare that would have made a Phantasmal Beast feel intimidated.

Shirou wasn't expecting the heartiest of welcomes from Di Stanza, who had already shown himself to be an arrogant blowhard, but the exasperated sigh he received in response to his greeting still threw him off a little.

The irritated glare that followed didn't do much to make up for that first impression, nor did the annoyed huff and the lack of a greeting in return.

It wouldn't be the first time he had to deal with such behaviour though, so Shirou put his poker face back on and sat down in front of his temporary student, taking a moment to look at the books that were lying on the table.

Most of them were about Curses of various kinds. Curses were spells that could deal damage, but not in a direct way, like fireballs or lightning bolts, but by dealing massive bad luck, or sucking the life right out of its target, or causing infertility or grievous disability in whoever was unlucky enough to be hit.

It was a distasteful field in Shirou's opinion, but if Di Stanza was only interested in the theory, he wouldn't comment on it.

"Well then. Aren't you going to say anything?" Di Stanza suddenly spat, looking up from his book again to glare at Shirou. "I didn't ask you here so you could stare at me."

"I was merely orienting myself on your field of study." Shirou replied, letting the acidic remark slide. "I wouldn't want to waste your time by telling you things you aren't interested in. I see you are working mainly with curses."

"El-Melloi didn't tell you that?" The black-haired man sneered, crossing his arms in an almost violent motion.

"Lord El-Melloi has been too busy to speak with me so far. Besides, I am sure you can explain your research much better than he can."

"I am not showing you my research." Di Stanza's voice became suspicious, and he leaned backwards, as if expecting Shirou to take a swing him.

"That is fine, mister Di Stanza. I am not here to see your research. I merely wish to know what you need my help for." Shirou assured him calmly, internally sighed deeply at the difficulty of even just getting started.

Di Stanza kept glaring suspiciously at him for several more seconds, during which Shirou tried to look as innocently as possible, before he nodded slowly, and leaned forward again.

"I am developing Curses." He huffed, gesturing to his books with a sharp, jerky motion. "It just doesn't make much sense to me, is all."

"The entire concept of Curses or one part in particular?" Shirou asked, happy they were finally getting somewhere.

"Mainly this part." Di Stanza picked up the book he'd been taking notes from and turned it around so Shirou could read it. "They start like this, which I understand, but then they suddenly turn the whole matter on its head here, in this sentence, and I really don't understand why they do that."

Shirou read the part that Di Stanza was struggling with, and he saw to his satisfaction that it was something he could actually help the other man with.

"Well, you see, that has everything to do with this earlier statement here. If you take that together with this sentence, you'll find you arrive at the same conclusion as the author of the book…"

Shirou wasn't exactly an expert at Curses, he freely admitted that. However, he was still able to help Di Stanza, mostly because Curses shared a lot of basic characteristics with combat evocations, and even some with Structural Analysis.

It was a lot like French, Spanish, and Italian. They were different languages, but they all had their roots in Latin. With a good knowledge of French, you'd be able to understand a bit of Italian as well.

So with a good knowledge of elemental attack-spells and a prodigious knowledge of Structural Analysis, Shirou was able to get pretty far in Curses too.

Gemcraft though, that stuff was Swahili as far as Shirou was concerned. It was unlike anything else he knew. If someone wanted tutoring in that, he'd have to contact Rin for help. All he could do was analyse Gems, and that was more Structural Analysis again than Gemcraft.

As they firmly remained on the subject of Curses however, the tutoring session progressed rather nicely. It greatly improved Shirou's mood to see everything go so smoothly, and even Di Stanza was noticeably mellowing out over time. Instead of sneering at Shirou every chance he got, his expression remained largely neutral now. There was even a rare smile whenever Shirou helped him over a particularly high hurdle.

It seemed the Magus was warming up to him, if only slightly, and Shirou was happy to see it. He would take a cordial or neutral relationship above plain dislike any day.

The session continued for a few hours, as Di Stanza pointed out the parts of his research that he was having trouble with and Shirou did his best to provide enough help to get the Italian past the hurdle.

Eventually, after approximately two-and-a-half hours, Di Stanza closed the book again.

"That was all." He said, beginning to pack his books and his notes. "Thank you for your assistance. I have no more questions."

"Ah." Shirou didn't quite have an answer ready for the abrupt conclusion of the session, but after a short moment, he smiled at the young man. "I am happy I was able to be of assistance."

"Hm, yes. I suppose I owe you a favour. Feel free to cash in whenever you like." Di Stanza brushed him off, standing up from his chair and turning around to walk away, his bag of books over his shoulder.

Before he left though, he turned around one more time, looking at Shirou with hesitance in his eyes.

"You spoke with the Vice-Director, didn't you, Fujimaru?" He asked, addressing Shirou by name for the first time since they'd met.

"I did." Shirou nodded, standing up as well, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"What was she like?" Di Stanza leaned forward in interest, as did everyone within hearing range around them. "Did you learn anything about her?"

"She was entirely professional at all times." Shirou replied shortly, both because it was true and because he was not about to share details about a private meeting. "She only spoke with me about business. She did not seem interested in anything else."

"Is that everything?" Di Stanza looked disappointed at Shirou's answer, before he seemed to catch himself being too emotive and put his poker face back on, looking down at the table. "Well, I suppose there is nothing for it then. It makes sense she didn't say much to you."

"Why the sudden interest though?" Shirou couldn't help but ask.

"Huh? Are you jesting? This is the queen we are talking about!" Di Stanza's head shot up again, an almost wild look in his eyes. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to start a conversation with her? Or to keep a conversation going past a few sentences? It's almost impossible!"

"Well, I suppose." Shirou nodded. "She didn't give the impression of being a very sociable person."

"How are you supposed to get closer to her then?" Di Stanza asked in an aggrieved tone. "I mean, you can't do it through the arena. You'd have to be a fool to try."

"I had an uncle who tried." An unfamiliar girl sitting a bit further away added, not even trying to hide she was listening in anymore. "She defeated and humiliated him. That's what she does with everyone who tries to challenge her in terms of strength or fighting ability."

"And all the while, the Barthomeloi-family keeps telling us we are free to make an attempt as many times as we want." Di Stanza added, sounding supremely frustrated. "I'd almost think they are mocking us."

"The Barthomeloi do not mock anyone. I doubt they can even summon the necessary emotions to do so." Another onlooker added, irritation clear in his words.

That triggered a storm of annoyed complaints about the Barthomeloi and their way of running things, and poor Shirou was left horribly confused.

If Lorelei Barthomeloi was so awful, why were they trying so hard to get closer to her? Why were they going so far as to challenge the strongest Magus of the generation to a fight over it?

Just for the political power that being a friend of the Barthomeloi would provide?

Well, perhaps a Magus would consider that a worthy prize, but Shirou was mainly just confused and exasperated.

He had nothing more to add to the discussion, so he said a quick goodbye to Di Stanza and then hightailed it out of the library, before they would get the idea to make him participate in their complaining.

Magi.

What a weird lot they were.

---

"Welcome back, oh glorious King." Kirei intoned, bowing deeply to the figure that strolled into the church like he owned the place, which wasn't necessarily incorrect. "You have been sorely missed."

He'd meant for it to sound flattering, but he couldn't quite get the tone right, and it was visible in the reaction of the one he'd tried to flatter.

"Cease the insincere flattery, priest, it tires me." The man, shining in the light of the sun as if he were bedecked with gold, huffed, his smooth voice sounding supremely disinterested in whatever Kirei had to say.

"I was merely expressing my happiness to lay my eyes upon you again, my King." Kirei replied, giving the same pasted-on smile as he always did. "Your radiance lightens this church far beyond what it could ever achieve on its own."

Now that compliment came out much better, and the figure smirked in approval.

"That is what happens when the one who has inspired the very tale of the person upon whom your religion is based appears before you. Behold in me your Messiah." The arrogance dripped off the blasphemous words, but the priest merely nodded, knowing very well any overt disagreement could cost him a limb, if he was lucky, or his life, if he was unlucky.

Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was not someone who suffered disobedience from his subjects lightly, and to him, every single person in existence was a subject and any word spoken against him, no matter how true, was disobedience.

Considering that attitude, it was a miracle the Servant-like creature –Kirei could no longer call him an actual Servant after what had happened—had not revealed his existence to anyone but Kirei yet.

Not even Emiya Kiritsugu had known that the Archer was still around, which was a testament to how well Gilgamesh could hide himself if he so desired. Quite impressive for someone who wore nothing but gold and other gaudy colours while touting his own superiority wherever he went.

A glare from the Golden King made Kirei stuff those dangerous thoughts away, inside a deep crevice in his mind, where even that man's gaze couldn't reach. It turned out to be sufficient to stave off the king's rage, for those terrible eyes turned away again after a moment, leaving Kirei unmaimed.

The priest then did his best to keep his mind empty and free of disobedient thoughts, while Gilgamesh strolled through the church, inspecting every nook and cranny for the slightest speck of dust.

Of course, the king had seen immediately that everything was clean the moment he entered the building, but Gilgamesh loved to play mind games with his servants, and since Kirei was his only servant at the moment, it meant that the priest had to bear all of the king's whims.

Over the course of his life, Kirei had been forced to make numerous sacrifices to achieve his dream, some more difficult than others, but having to bear the Golden King's presence for years and years easily ranked among the top three of most difficult and exhausting things he'd ever done.

"It seems you have kept this place in proper condition while I was away." Gilgamesh noted. There was a glint of approval in his eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. "I expected nothing less. Even if this is but a temporary accommodation for me, it must reflect my greatness accurately. It cannot be so that I am forced to live in a dirty hovel among mongrels. I am after all the greatest there ever was, is, or will be."

From almost anyone else in the world, those words would have been arrogant to the extreme, and a sign of severe delusional tendencies.

From Gilgamesh, they were nothing but the truth.

Even when he was wearing a flannel shirt depicting all kinds of tropical fruits, with short blue pants and open shoes, Gilgamesh was a presence unlike anything the twenty-first century had to offer.

Grand, magnificent, terrible, and beautiful all at once, he was like a force of nature. Gorgeous when calm, disastrous when roused.

Every other despot in the world, puffing up their chests and waving their weapons around, were nothing but small and insecure boys compared to this original despot, the one all others had been copied from. The world's first Hero and greatest king.

That was why Gilgamesh was known as the King of Heroes.

Only the King of Conquerors and the King of Knights had been able to somewhat approach him in terms of magnificence, and they were no longer around now that the Fourth War had ended, meaning that Gilgamesh was by far the greatest being in existence on this World.

Or at least, he had been, until several months ago.

"It still has not disappeared." Gilgamesh remarked irritably, abruptly switching the subject before Kirei could express his gratitude for the king's praise. "I found nothing in my homeland, or at any other spiritual places, yet it is still present everywhere I go. Even here."

"You speak of the divinity you noticed several months ago?" Kirei inquired carefully, remembering how a sudden event back then had put the king in a most foul mood, and how it had taken several days of careful prodding before Gilgamesh would tell him why.

"Of course. What else would I speak of?" The Golden King snapped irritably. "Do not interrupt me for such inane questions."

"Begging your pardon, my king."

"It is as if a haze has been lifted before my eyes." The golden tyrant continued, his eyes narrowing to slits. "Something has clouded my vision, hiding things from me that they do not want me to know. They obscure my sight, hoping I will not notice the return of the Divine. But I can still sense it, smell it. I can still tell there are gods out there once more."

"Then they have truly returned?" Kirei asked, realising that if that was true, he'd have to make an immediate report to the Church.

"No." Gilgamesh firmly shook his head. "No, it would be much more obvious if the gods of old had returned. They would never hide in the shadows. Even the humblest and stealthiest of them would have shown itself at least once by now."

"But the divinity…?" Kirei very carefully prompted the king.

"Is from an unknown source that I have been trying to track down." Gilgamesh grumbled, making even that petulant act seem majestic and royal. "I have travelled to my homeland in pursuit of whatever this is. I reasoned that the place where the gods were originally born would also be the place where they would be born anew."

"A most wise reasoning." Kirei said, falling back to the automatic, praising platitudes that he had mastered so well over the past years.

"It was not. There was nothing there. The entire land was empty but for modern men and women, as well as strange cave-dwellers in love with their guns. Even the remains of my city were empty. I found nothing there but a Girtablilu, which I swiftly dispatched when it awoke at my approach."

The king sounded entirely dismissive of the matter, but Kirei felt like his heart had just stopped from shock. Which would have been very special, considering where his heart came from.

A Girtablilu, or 'scorpion man', was an Ancient Babylonian Phantasmal Beast. A creature of incalculable danger, which had poison strong enough to wipe out a small village with one drop.

If Gilgamesh hadn't stumbled upon it when he did, if it had been allowed to run amok for any amount of time, the results would have been catastrophic.

Kirei clacked his tongue at the missed opportunity, shaking his head in disappointment. Gilgamesh had taken away a great source of misery before it could even begin its job, and Kirei felt saddened by it.

He would have liked to see what the beast could do, and how the Magus Association and the Church would hide the incident afterwards, if they ever managed to bring it down to begin with.

How his black heart would have rejoiced…

"Of course, a Girtablilu existing in this day and age, and being so close to awakening even, is strange enough in itself." Gilgamesh mused idly, bringing a hand to his chin. "The mongrels of the current era would never have been able to slay it by themselves. It would have wrought great destruction wherever it went. I almost regret dispatching it."

And that was why Kirei continued serving Gilgamesh. They saw eye to eye on so many things.

Not that the priest ever deluded himself into thinking that the golden tyrant cared for him in any way. There were a few things Gilgamesh cared about, things he would hesitate ever so slightly to destroy, but Kirei wasn't one of those things.

He was nothing but a mere servant and entertainer, and could be replaced in an instant should the king wish it.

"You sell yourself short." The red eyes, which had doubtlessly perceived Kirei's thoughts flawlessly, held a spark of amusement now. "You have been more useful to me than nearly any other mongrel that I have ever seen, in my time or any other. I would not lightly kill you, priest. There is much you can yet achieve in this life."

"I thank you for your kind words, my liege." Kirei bowed deeply, trying to appear as grateful as he could.

"As you should." Gilgamesh nodded, before again switching the subject without a hint of warning. "Where is that pitiful worm? I can no longer perceive his crawling presence on the earth."

"Matou Zouken is dead." Kirei replied smoothly, too used to the king's swings in mood and subject to be caught by surprise anymore. "His body, his worms, and his essence were all destroyed."

That got the king's attention. Where before the absence of the worms had just been a passing curiosity, now it had turned into something potentially interesting. His gaze demanded Kirei continue talking.

"It appears his practice of parasitising his 'granddaughter' was discovered by the granddaughter's lover." Kirei explained shortly, passing over the details of what Matou Zouken had done to the former Tohsaka as Gilgamesh already knew all about that. "He destroyed Matou Zouken and claimed the girl for himself."

"Ahahahahaha! Wonderful!" Gilgamesh exclaimed joyously, raising a hand in the air as if to grasp the sun from the sky. "So even in this day and age there are people who know the proper ways. A man stealing a girl he desires from her family. That is how it should be."

Spoken like the rapist he was.

"This boy, who is he?" Gilgamesh demanded. Had he paid any attention at all to Matou Sakura or Matou Zouken, he would have known about the younger Emiya already, but Kirei supposed the king had no interest in mongrels.

"Emiya Shirou." Kirei replied, taking note of the king's raised eyebrow. "Son of Emiya Kiritsugu."

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Gilgamesh laughed even louder than before. "So even an assassin's son may grow up into a proper man. How wonderful indeed!"

"I regret to inform you however that he is not present in the city. He has left for an unknown destination and has not returned yet." Kirei continued, heading the king off before he could demand a meeting with the boy.

When Gilgamesh wanted something impossible, it was always better to immediately head him off before the king could ask about it. If you let him ask first and only then told him it couldn't be done, he could become prone to violence.

"Has he? How regrettable." Contrary to his words, the king's smile didn't lessen. "I myself will leave soon as well. It seems fate has declared we will not meet for now. I guess I have something to look forward to then."

"You are leaving again, my liege?" Kirei asked, leaving the matter of Emiya Shirou aside. "So soon?"

"I will not rest until I have found the source of the divinity." Gilgamesh replied evenly, his smile disappearing and a bored look taking its place, indicating he had tired from the conversation already. "To this end, I will continue to travel the world until I find it, or until the next War begins."

"Very well, my liege." Kirei nodded, not saying anything more. He'd gotten away with asking questions before because Gilgamesh had been in a talkative mood, but the king was bored now, which meant any unnecessary talking would be punished harshly.

"I will leave soon." Gilgamesh added. "The only thing left to do here is to meet the girl whom Emiya killed the worm for. I wish to know what she is like, to have a man pine after her so voraciously as to slay a monster for her."

Kirei bowed once more, and stayed in that position until the king had left.

Then, he went to prepare the next sermon.

Whether the golden king was present or not, Kirei took his duties as a priest seriously.

---

When Waver arrived at Lady Barthomeloi's office, he noted that the door was completely unguarded. There were no sentries, and aside from a Bounded Field that allowed Lady Barthomeloi to see who was standing in front of her door, there were no Magical defences either.

For most other lords in the Clocktower, being so lax with their security would have been tantamount to suicide. For Lady Barthomeloi, it was the standard. It had been no different the previous times that Waver had visited her office, and it was unlikely to ever change.

He knocked on the door, before standing still as the Bounded Field on the door took effect, allowing the Vice Director to see it was him.

"Enter."

Waver promptly followed the command and entered the office.

"I was made aware that you wished to speak with me." He said after he gave a small bow to the Vice-Director, before sitting down in the nearest chair. "I came as soon as I heard."

A show of assertiveness by sitting down on one of her chairs without asking for permission, coupled with respectful words that indicated he would obey her direct commands. It was a careful balance between defiance and obedience that he had to maintain.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Lord El-Melloi." Lady Barthomeloi said, her neutral tone telling him he'd struck the right balance. "We have much to discuss."

"I am listening, of course." Waver nodded, placing his fingers together as he leaned forward slightly.

"I want your assistance with a mission."

"I see." Waver replied calmly, though on the inside, he was anything but calm. "What kind of mission?"

"Before I tell you, I will provide you with the necessary background knowledge first. It has recently come to my attention that the Clocktower has become infested with criminals and rebels. There are many who flaunt the laws and actively resist my edicts." Something that clearly angered her, if the tightening of the skin around her eyes was anything to go by. "There are dozens of Magi, over a hundred perhaps, who have committed and are still committing offenses worthy of a Sealing Designation."

"Have you Sealed them?" Waver asked, though he honestly felt that was a superfluous question. Of course she had Sealed them.

"I have not."

"Wha…?! Why not?!"

It wasn't the most respectful sentence he'd ever spoken, but Waver felt he was entitled to a little surprise. Lorelei Barthomeloi, not Sealing people who were running roughshod all over her authority?

"We have no proof." Barthomeloi explained coolly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, inadvertently revealing that her jaw was clenched ever so slightly. "They are all shielded by the Meluastea-family."

The Meluastea-family?

Waver was familiar with them of course. The Meluastea-family headed the Neutral Faction, and on top of that, they not only controlled the Department of Archaeology, but also the Department of Mineralogy, which they had taken from the Archibald after their fall.

Waver didn't personally know any Meluastea, but he'd heard the rumours about them, both good and bad. That they were seemingly accepting, generous, and kind, but that they hid many dark things in the belly of their department.

Waver himself had always been suspicious of them. When a family put that much effort into maintaining a good reputation, they were inevitably hiding something evil. That was simply a law of nature.

His gut told him in no uncertain terms that they couldn't be trusted.

And now his gut was vindicated, as Lorelei Barthomeloi herself told him that the Meluastea were shielding potential Sealing Designees from the consequences of their actions.

"I knew something was wrong with that family." Waver grumbled. "Though I expected them to just be the usual backstabbers. But this goes further than that, doesn't it?"

"Much further." The brunette beauty nodded severely. "They always make sure to keep their own hands clean, but the families under their employ engage in forbidden research on an unacceptably large scale."

"…Forbidden research?" Waver inquired, suddenly seeing a connection between this matter and the one he'd been working on himself over the past days. "Dead Apostle Research?"

"For instance." Lady Barthomeloi nodded, just about confirming Waver's suspicions that the Meluastea were involved in the mundane Apostle problem. "But also forbidden curses, unauthorised studies on Crests, necromancy, demonology, and involvement in numerous murders committed recently, as well as extensive extortion and blackmail of Asian attendees at the Clocktower."

"Extortion and blackmail? Since when do you care about such things?" Waver wondered openly, feeling he was quite safe in saying so, since it was no secret the Barthomeloi didn't care about politics between Magi at all.

"Since it drastically lowers the reputation of the Clocktower and keeps away prospective Far-East students." Barthomeloi explained shortly, indeed not appearing the slightest bit insulted by his question. "The number of Asian students attending the Clocktower has shrunk considerably over the past several years, and it is nearly all due to the blackmailing-practises of the Meluastea-family. This is a loss of personnel, power, and knowledge we cannot afford. The Meluastea-family must be stopped before they do too much damage."

"The damage may already have been done." Waver countered, feeling the lady wouldn't be served by him staying quiet now. "You might be right that the Meluastea-family exacerbated the problem, but racism against Asians has been a wide-spread issue for a very long time. The Clocktower is already known as a severely racist institute, and no amount of purging is going to change that."

"…I was not aware the problem had already increased to such magnitude." Lady Barthomeloi admitted. "What would you suggest, Lord El-Melloi?"

"Rather than hunting down the symptoms, you could try addressing the underlying issues, such as the wide-spread prejudice." Waver suggested. "Punishing any overt racism for instance, or perhaps taking on an Asian student yourself."

"I am not supposed to take on students." The line was said robotically, undoubtedly something that had been imprinted into her from a very young age. "I cannot show favouritism to any of the Clocktower's families."

"Then choose a student most people have never heard of. One without political power whatsoever. There must be plenty of Magi like that in Asia."

"I will not accept a talentless apprentice." Now there was actual heat in her voice.

"Then select a talented one. Certainly, there have to be at least a few Asian Magi around who can meet your standards and are from relatively unknown and powerless families. Just try to compile a list and select the best of them. Have Lady Montmorency do it if you're too busy. Just take some initiative in this to show your sincerity in wanting to keep the Asian students here."

"…I don't suppose there is any chance I can take Fujimaru as my apprentice?" Barthomeloi inquired calmly, nodding when Waver shook his head. "I thought not."

"He did ask me to take on a friend of his as an apprentice as well." Waver volunteered the information freely, as Fujimaru had never said anything about wanting to keep that quiet. "You might want to consider choosing that friend."

"I will keep that in mind."

There was a finality in the tone that indicated the subject was closed, and indeed, when she spoke, she had returned to the matter of the Meluastea's crimes.

"The Meluastea-family's crimes are many and varied. They must be stopped quickly."

"It might even be worse than you think." Waver quickly added, seeing a golden opportunity to address the problem he'd been working on for the past week or so. "Their Dead Apostle research has yielded something terrible."

"Something terrible?" Lady Barthomeloi's eyes narrowed. "Continue."

And that was what he did. Waver told her about the mundane Apostles that had been roaming Europe, and how his 'contacts' had discovered that the Alva-family was likely responsible, and that the Alva-family were direct subordinates of the Meluastea.

Just like Waver and bishop Dilo, Lady Barthomeloi immediately saw the immense dangers that mundane Apostles could represent, and she needed not a second to make a decision.

"I will assist you in hunting down these mundane Apostles should any more of them appear." She promised promptly. "But it is more important that we deal with the source."

"Yes." Waver agreed, knowing that combatting the mundane Apostles without dealing with the ones creating them would be like mopping the floor while the sink was still overflowing. "We need to stop the Alva-family, though I shall admit I do not know where they are."

"Lady Montmorency's investigations have found that the Meluastea harbour many of their servants inside the Clocktower itself, the Alva-family probably included." Lady Barthomeloi was quick to tell him, and Waver could only envy Lady Montmorency's intelligence network. "Most of them are located in the Department of Archaeology, and thus beyond my reach."

"Beyond your reach?" Waver almost couldn't believe his ears when she said that. "Beyond your reach?"

"My hands are tied because of the law of proper cause." Lorelei Barthomeloi didn't grumble, but she came very close to it at that moment. "I cannot act without giving a plausible cause to justify my actions."

That… made sense, unfortunately. Still though, just because Lady Barthomeloi could not act in a legal capacity did not mean she couldn't do anything at all, right?

"Is it then not a good idea to use… 'underground activities' to deal with these 'underground activities'?"

Hiring a few capable assassins should fix things quickly enough. Waver wasn't a fan of such means, but even his King had employed hired killers at times, when it was the best option available.

His interlocutor did not agree however.

"Lord El-Melloi, I certainly hope you aren't suggesting I use dishonourable and dishonest means to achieve my goals?" Lady Barthomeloi's tone didn't change, her expression remained perfectly neutral, but the warning in her words was clear as day.

"By no means." Waver shook his head, feeling cold sweat break out on his back but showing nothing of it on his face. "I simply entertained the notion of fighting fire with fire."

"It would leave us with nothing but ash in the end." The refusal was resolute, and Waver nodded quickly in acceptance. "A last resort perhaps, but not while alternative options are yet available."

"There are other options?"

"The Meluastea have allowed their greed to control them." A vicious smile bloomed on the gorgeous face, one that sent shivers down Waver's spine, and not of the good sort. "They should have kept their practises limited to the Department of Archaeology, where they are beyond my reach, but they did not."

"I see." From the context, Waver deduced the law of proper cause was only valid inside the Clocktower itself, meaning that any activities taking place away from the main base of the Magus Association were free game to investigate. "And have you found anything? Anything outside the Clocktower?"

"Three nests so far." Lady Barthomeloi nodded, the marvellously blue eyes shining in satisfaction at how quickly he grasped what she was trying to tell him. "I plan to leave the destruction of one of them to you, the German nest to be specific."

That revelation was so out of the left field that Waver didn't quite understand what she'd said for a moment.

Then the penny dropped, and his mouth fell open.

Him?! She was going to leave this to him?!

"You may of course take your apprentices with you, as well as whoever else you want to bring." She continued, paying no mind to his dumbstruck expression.

It remained silent for a few seconds after, but then Waver found his voice again.

"…I am grateful for the honour." He spoke slowly, carefully, making sure not to show any ungratefulness or a lack of appreciation. "But why?"

Why would Lorelei Barthomeloi ever part with her prey? That wasn't in character at all. She absolutely hated people who interfered with her hunts, to the point of executing them.

But now she had conceded her prey to him? Him of all people? The weakest lord in the entire Clocktower? No! No, he had to be dreaming, or hallucinating. There was no way she'd do such a thing.

There was nothing for her to gain by it.

Unless…

'You may of course take your apprentices with you'

Unless it was not Waver who she was after to begin with.

"It is not you I am interested in, Lord El-Melloi." Lady Barthomeloi confirmed his suspicion, not a trace of apology present anywhere in her expression or tone. "I am only interested in Fujimaru's help. I need him if I am to bring down the Meluastea-family."

"I see." Waver nodded, having guessed as much. "I must inquire why. It cannot be for his power, as you have power in spades."

"You are correct, Lord El-Melloi." Lady Barthomeloi nodded in agreement. "I have no lack of strength, skill, and experience in my ranks. I want Fujimaru to join the operation purely because of his sensory abilities."

"His sensory abilities?"

"The ability that allowed him to discover and discern the function of the Bounded Fields in my office. That enabled him to correctly identify the functions of every artefact you can see behind you in but a moment. That hopefully will let him discover and track down any nest of criminals here at the Clocktower."

"Ah, you want him to find your targets for you." Waver nodded. He wasn't aware of Fujimaru's sensory abilities being anything special, but he could easily believe they were. That boy had numerous secrets, and Waver had probably not even discovered half of them yet.

"Fujimaru will track down their Workshops." The brunette sketched the general picture. "And when he has, I will allow him the privilege of assisting me as I wipe out the criminal scum and make them suffer for their crimes!"

Lady Barthomeloi's elegant façade cracked for the shortest of moments, and for a split second, there was a hint of fury on her face.

Waver very wisely made no mention of it. Before you knew it, she'd kill him to make sure no one else ever heard about her loss of control.

"I will speak with Fujimaru about him possibly joining your taskforce." Waver promised once she had calmed down again. "I cannot guarantee he will accept however."

"I am aware that you cannot guarantee that." Lady Barthomeloi nodded, her expression once more cool and neutral as she leaned back in her chair with practised and poised grace. "That is why I am sending you to wipe out one of the nests. I have no doubt that once you and your apprentices see what atrocities the followers of the Meluastea regularly indulge in, you will be eager to join me in destroying that family and those related to them."

Waver frowned. In other words, she was taking advantage of the fact that Fujimaru and he were more soft-hearted than most Magi to essentially lure them in with the prospect of defeating evildoers.

That was unexpectedly devious of her. So the Vice-Director did have a cunning bone in her body, unlike what her detractors often claimed.

"Lord El-Melloi, do you accept this task?" Lady Barthomeloi pressed. "Will you travel to Germany to stamp out the nest?"

"And if I don't?" Waver tried, just as a hypothetical.

"If you don't, nothing will happen." There was a shrug of graceful shoulders that conveyed her perfect uncaringness. "I will not retaliate against you, but I will not move against the German stronghold either."

"Meaning the victims there will be left to their fate?"

"Correct."

"That is blackmail."

"Correct."

"You are a hypocrite."

"It is for the sake of a cause I believe to be objectively just." Lady Barthomeloi dismissed his complaints, lazily closing her eyes.

"…Fine." Waver grumbled after thinking it over for a moment, prompting Barthomeloi to open her eyes again. "We'll do it."

"I am most grateful, and I promise you will receive adequate compensation." Lady Barthomeloi presented the carrot to replace the earlier stick. "I will give you free reign for this, Lord El-Melloi. Do what you feel is necessary to bring this nest down, and bring back any concrete evidence of wrongdoings by the Meluastea-family that you can find."

"Noted." Waver nodded, before he rose from his chair. "If there is nothing else?"

"There is not." Lady Barthomeloi dismissed him. "Good luck with your hunt, Lord El-Melloi."

"Thank you, Lady Barthomeloi." He replied, before bowing again and walking out of the office. Unlike last time, he didn't look back, keeping his expression strictly neutral.

"Uuuuuugh." When he was back in his own office though, with the door safely closed, he fell backwards against the nearest wall, groaning loudly, giving voice to the incredible mix of emotions he was feeling right now.

"S-Sir?!" Grey, who had faithfully waited for him to return, recoiled in shock at the noise.

"Grey." He said in lieu of a reply to her shocked exclamation, smiling brightly at her. "How do you feel about a short holiday to Germany?"

"Huh?"

---

After the tutoring of Di Stanza had become a great success, Shirou was in an excellent mood when he entered the garage of the Clocktower, where he'd agreed to meet up with Mary Lil Fargo.

His mood become even better when he noticed that the Edelfelt's car was no longer in its previous spot, nor anywhere else in the garage. It had probably been towed away for repairs, which it surely needed after what Shirou had done to it.

It had been a bit mean-spirited of him to destroy their car, he admitted that, but they had practically asked for it with their behaviour, and it had genuinely been funny to see their confused and agitated faces afterwards.

With a shake of his head and a half-smile, Shirou pushed the matter into a corner of his mind, and instead focused on the garage again, looking around to see if Mary had arrived yet.

As if summoned by that thought, a car came driving into the garage at that exact moment, making its way over to him.

It was not the biggest or most opulent car in the garage –more on the low end rather– but it was still leaps and bounds better than the wreck that Lord El-Melloi travelled in, and a fair bit better than even Raiga's best car.

The car came to a stop quickly, parking in the closest free spot, and Shirou took the opportunity to take a look inside.

The windows were blinded, but that didn't stop Shirou's gaze, as he peered right through to see Mary Lil Fargo sitting in the front passenger seat, with a female driver wearing a beautiful maid uniform behind the wheel.

Shirou did look away though when Mary leaned to the side to tenderly kiss the maid's cheek, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment.

It only lasted a second though, after which Mary opened the door of the car.

"Mister Fujimaru, over here." She called out, waving a hand at him to make sure he saw her, and Shirou quickly walked up to her.

"Good evening, miss Mary." He greeted when he arrived within polite conversation distance. "How are you?"

"I am well, mister Fujimaru. Thank you for coming, truly." She professed, pressing a hand to her heart as the door on the driver's side opened as well and the maid gracefully stepped out of the car.

"I promised to come, didn't I?" Shirou assured her with a smile, rubbing the back of his head. "I am well too, by the way."

"I am very glad to hear it." Mary nodded with a blinding smile of her own, before turning towards the maid, her smile becoming more tender as she did so. "Let me introduce you to the family-maid, Claire."

"It is an honour to meet you, sir Fujimaru." Claire curtsied, not making eye contact with him for a single moment. "Thank you for indulging Lady Mary's request."

"The honour is all mine, miss Claire." Shirou replied kindly, noting how her eyes seemed to widen for a fraction of a second at his reply. "And it is no trouble. Shall we?"

"Of course." Mary nodded, before she stepped back into the car. Claire held the door open for Shirou, before getting in herself as well.

Once the three of them were in the car, Claire started the engine and deftly drove them out of the garage, before heading East, away from the Clocktower and its holdings.

It didn't take Shirou long to figure out she intended to leave London altogether.

"May I ask where your house is located, miss Mary?" Shirou asked after noticing that. "It isn't in London, is it?"

"Ah! No, it is not." Mary shook her head, giving him a smile. "I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner. It's in the countryside, actually. My family owns a huge area of land, around forty kilometres away from London, where our estate is located."

"Is it a nice place?" Shirou asked, partially out of polite curiosity, and partially because he was actually interested.

"Yes! We truly are blessed to have such a location at our disposal. The landscape is idyllic, and the sunset is beautiful to watch. The estate is built on a small hill, you see, and at the end of the day, you can watch the sun set, over the estate on the hill." Her voice was happy as she talked, content even, and from the loving gaze she gave Claire, Shirou could take a good guess with whom Mary tended to watch the sun go down.

The feeling of intruding on something private was back by the way.

While Mary talked, Claire had managed to get them out of London, and she sped up to almost eighty kilometres per hour, rapidly bringing them towards their destination.

"What is your house like, mister Fujimaru?" Mary asked him after a while, perhaps recognising he hadn't said much yet. "Do you like it?"

"Well, I suppose I do. My father bought it several years ago, and I've lived there ever since."

"Your father? Did he not accompany you to the Clocktower?"

"My father passed away three years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Mary pressed a hand to her mouth, wincing at her faux pas. "I didn't mean to open any old wounds."

"You didn't, miss Mary." Shirou assured her. "We knew for a long time he would be dying, and we had no regrets in the end."

"…You loved him." It was a statement, not a question, but Shirou still felt it fit to answer.

"I did, I still do. He wasn't the best father around, but he did his best."

"Hm."

Something seemed to have spoiled Mary's mood, as she fell silent, broodingly looking at her lap.

She probably didn't have the best relationship with her father. Not surprising, very few Magi had. Sakura and Rin sure didn't, and neither did Shinji, though he wasn't really a Magus.

However, with Mary now silent, Shirou's mind was free to wander to several important topics that he would have to address before the night was over.

One; the fear that was still present in Mary.

Two; the fact that he was getting progressively more certain that she didn't need his help with her research at all.

Three; the spot on the back of Mary's right hand that continued to emit a foul smell. Something that reminded Shirou of rusty chains, stale bread, and rotting water.

Four; the horrendous assortment of bruises and cuts on Claire's body. They were hidden beneath the Maid uniform, but Shirou had taken a quick look through her sleeves to ensure there were no hidden weapons there and had immediately spotted the injuries.

He didn't know where she had gotten all those wounds, but it was exceedingly unlikely that Mary had given them to her. Even if those two were into some… kinky stuff, the injuries were far too ugly and not... in the right places, to have been caused by anyone who didn't truly want to harm Claire, and they had been left largely untreated as well.

As an aspiring Hero of Justice, there was no way he could close his eyes to any of this. He'd have to start interfering again.

'I'm sorry, Illya. It seems I'll be busy tonight. I'll finish this before morning though, so don't worry. I will be back on your case before you know it!'

---

"HACHOOO!"

"Bless you, mistress." Was Sella's placid response to Illya's sudden sneeze.

"Bless… you." Leysritt repeated dutifully.

"Thank you, 'sniff'." Illya rubbed her nose, feeling the pressure of another sneeze coming up yet unable to call it forth. "Come on, get out of my nose."

"Mistress-?"

"HACHOOOO!"

"…Bless you."

"Someone must be thinking about me." Illya stated with all the certainty of a ten-year-old, closing her eyes contently when Sella's hands resumed combing her hair. "I bet it's Shirou."

"Just like all the other times you have sneezed so far?" Sella seemed sceptical, but Illya paid it no mind, causing the maid to sigh. "Mistress, while I am glad you are so confident in your… brother, you cannot keep going on like this. What if he disappoints you? You haven't seen him or heard of him even once so far. You don't even know for sure if he intends to rescue you at all."

"I told you, he's busy. And I do know that he wants to save me. He is at the Clocktower now, preparing to rescue me."

"Mistress, with all due respect, you don't know that."

Sella remained adamant it was impossible for Illya to know what her brother was doing, but the little girl knew what she saw. Her dreams had been far too detailed and vivid lately to be mere dreams. Someone was keeping her updated on what was happening outside of the castle, perhaps the same being that had granted her a meeting with her parents.

That was how Illya knew that her brother was an awesome Magus, that he had a hammer that was possibly the most powerful Mystic Code she'd ever seen, that he had fought crime like a superhero, had killed a creepy old guy, and now had two girlfriends.

Her brother was awesome!

Now if only Sella would listen to her.

Leysritt already did though. Leysritt fully believed everything she said.

That was why she was Illya's favourite.

Just kidding! She had no favourite. She liked her maids equally, without any preference whatsoever.

Having preferences and playing people against each other was what her grandfather did, and she wasn't like him, ever.

Still, would it kill Sella to just believe her? Or at least be a tiny bit less sceptical?

'Ugh, Shirou, I know you are busy, but could you maybe perhaps get a move on with rescuing me? It doesn't have to be immediately, but like, before the end of summer perhaps? Sella will only get more annoying if you don't hurry up.'

---

It was well over an hour after they'd left London that Shirou, Mary, and Claire arrived at the Fargo-estate.

Shirou's first impression of it was that it was old. Not incredibly old, but certainly well over a thousand years of age, though it had likely been destroyed, rebuilt, and renovated many times over the course of its existence.

That rebuilding and renovating had done nothing however to remove or diminish the power captured within the walls, and Shirou could have sworn his hair wanted to stand on end as if he were in the presence of a source of static electricity.

He didn't know if the Fargo had lived in the estate since it had first been built, but it was clear that the building itself had been involved with the Moonlit World since before it was even completed.

It really gave the house an air of stateliness and magnificence. It probably made performing Magecraft inside a lot easier too.

'Rin would love to have her house be more like this.' Shirou mused, taking a good look at the place, wondering if the powerful atmosphere was something he could artificially replicate.

Now was not the time to be pondering about that in depth however, so he put the subject out of his mind, shushed an excited Mjolnir who was about to present a way to change Rin's house into something more like the Fargo-estate, though he promised to listen later, and turned towards Mary, who had been looking nervously at him.

"You have a very impressive house." He smiled at her. "Its age is astonishing."

"You can tell its age?" That seemed to confuse Mary, who cocked her head to the side in bewilderment, before she shook her head. "I mean, yes, it's very old. My family only obtained it three hundred years ago though, so I wouldn't know precisely how old."

"At least a thousand years, possibly as much as twelve hundred." Shirou estimated, giving the house another good look.

"Twelve hundred years? That old?" Mary gave a small gasp, apparently not questioning his statement even though common sense dictated he had no way of knowing how old her home was. "Alec said it was six hundred years old, but I thought that was already exaggerated."

"It's between a thousand years and twelve hundred years old." Shirou reaffirmed, sure enough of his case to assure Mary of that with no hesitation.

"Wow..." Mary marvelled at the number, and even Claire interrupted her solemn silence to give the estate a quick glance.

Then the door of the estate was thrown open and a figure stepped into view.

"Mary." The figure, a small man with greying hair, a lot of wrinkles, and a hooked nose, spat out, glaring at the girl, who visibly shrunk beneath the hard gaze. "Where have you been, you foolish little-"

The man tapered off when he saw Shirou standing beside Mary, and his intense glare shifted from the brunette to the redhead instead.

He quailed immediately however when Shirou glared back, and quickly turned to Mary again.

"Who is that?" He demanded, puffing his chest out.

"I-It's Shirou Fujimaru, father." Mary explained hurriedly, wringing her hands, her pupils so dilated that they almost covered her entire iris. "I-I told you about him. He's here to-"

"You told me nothing about bringing him here!" The man, Mary's father, spat angrily, and Shirou got the idea that he would have marched straight up to her if it hadn't been for Shirou's presence at her side.

"B-But I-I did-" Mary protested feebly, before stepping back in fright when her father sneered at her.

"Are you calling me a liar?" He demanded in a voice Shirou could only describe as whiny, though it also carried an undertone of a barely hidden threat.

Mary had gone pale, her teeth chattering in fear, while Claire ran over to stand in front of her protectively, and Shirou…

Shirou marched up to the estate, ascended the stairs leading up to the door, and placed himself right in front of the man, completely disregarding his personal space.

"W-Wha-What are y-you doing?" The old man demanded in a shrill voice, stumbling backwards in fear. He seemed about to run away, so Shirou quickly cornered him, pinning him against a wall.

It would be incredibly easy to knock the man unconscious, but since that would only cause him to take his pain and humiliation out on Mary and Claire later, when Shirou wasn't around anymore, Shirou opted for a different tactic.

"I am sorry, Lord Fargo, Mary must have made a mistake." He said kindly, smiling pleasantly as he took a small step back. "You see, your daughter asked me to help her with some problems she had with her research. It has been bothering her, and Lord El-Melloi recommended me for assistance and tutoring."

"E-Ehm, eck, I-I see." Fargo stuttered, the look on his face telling Shirou that he knew that already, which meant Mary had indeed told him in advance and he was just playing mind games when he pretended that she had not. "W-Well, y-you see, there is a family meeting t-tonight, so it r-really is i-inconvenient that you are h-here. C-Can you not do this later?"

Fargo was completely focused on Shirou, terrified as he was of the golden-eyed teen, so he missed how Mary and Claire had walked up to them, and how Mary, having overheard his last words, immediately shot Shirou a pleading look, putting her hands together in a begging gesture as she rapidly shook her head.

"I once more apologise, but I am very short on time these days." Shirou half-lied, still smiling brightly. "Certainly, you don't need Mary in your meeting for the entire night?"

"S-She has to welcome the family, a-as the heir-"

"Then she shall welcome them, and then you will take over from her. You are the head of the family, so, surely, you are much more important than a mere heir?" Shirou tried his hand at flattery, stroking the man's bruised ego. He wouldn't say it was a very good attempt, but it turned out to work just fine.

For the first time in the conversation, there was a glint of pride in the weaselly eyes, and Fargo rapidly nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, of course." Presented with a choice between painful humiliation or a way out that would allow him to preserve his pride, the cowardly man eagerly took the latter option. "Just a short speech is fine. Mary can join you after that."

Shirou gave a firm nod, before stepping back, letting Fargo go for now.

The man wasted no time in rushing back into the house, not glancing back even once as he practically fled the scene.

Mary gave him a very grateful look, before following after her father, in turn being followed by Claire, who had just locked the front door again. The maid's expression was neutral, but there was no way Shirou could miss the immense amount of relief practically rolling off her.

That left Shirou standing alone in the hallway, feeling like the situation had just become a whole lot clearer than before.

He'd been right. Mary Lil Fargo didn't need tutoring.

She needed an excuse to skip her family meeting, and she was using Shirou as that excuse. He was her shield, the prop she used to stave off her responsibilities.

The redhead couldn't bring himself to feel angry about it though. How could he, when Mary was so clearly afraid of her father and the rest of her family? When Claire had been so ready to let lord Fargo take his anger out on her?

When Mary reminded him so much of Sakura back when Zouken had still had his hold over her?

Intimidating lord Fargo and 'persuading' him into letting Mary skip the family meeting had been a bit brash of him, but when he saw her shrink back from her own relative, scared out her mind, while someone she loved stepped forward to protect her even though she had no power of her own, he had lost control over his actions.

He didn't regret it though. All he regretted was that Fargo might feel humiliated and take that out on Mary and Claire again once Shirou left the house again come morning.

He would have to think of a more permanent solution to this problem. He couldn't kill Fargo, as that would only bring trouble, but it might not be necessary to go that far.

Shirou had a weapon in his arsenal that was perfect for dealing with cowardly Magi after all.

His plan made, Shirou then quickly followed after the others.

He found them again when he arrived at a large, incredibly opulent salon, where he also found several other people, which were probably the other members of the Fargo-family.

There was a boy of around Mary's age who looked supremely bored with everything around him, a man in his thirties who looked with concern at a visibly sweating lord Fargo, an elderly woman who peered with empty eyes at Mary, a man, whom Shirou could tell was not part of the Fargo-family, who lounged in his chair with his eyes closed, an old figure who was leering at Claire, and several other people who weren't of particular note.

Before them all stood Mary, in the middle of giving a speech, and Shirou hung back for the moment, hiding in the shadows as he waited for her to finish.

"Father and I were most delighted to hear of your successes and triumphs of the past year." She spoke, holding her arms out wide as if she wanted to embrace everyone in the salon. "You all have made the Fargo-family proud, and I hope you will continue to do so. But while everyone here has made great strides, there are some who have achieved truly amazing things, and I would like to bring attention to those who did so much for our prosperity and reputation."

The brunette then began listing a number of special achievements, gesturing at members of her public as she did so. Shirou didn't really care about that though, so he didn't listen.

"Once more my congratulations to you all, and I ask for a warm applause for our champions." Mary finished her speech, before daintily clapping her hands, swiftly copied by everyone else in the room, except for the old lecher, who just kept staring at Claire, making the maid more uncomfortable by the second.

Judging it to be a good time to make his presence known, Shirou began applauding as well. It was almost funny how quickly everyone else stopped clapping after that.

"Who are you?" The man who was not a Fargo asked angrily, making to rise from his seat. "An intruder?"

"A guest, my friend." Lord Fargo quickly corrected the man, placing a hand on his shoulder to push him back into his chair. "Everyone, I am afraid this young gentleman needs to borrow Mary and Claire from us for the evening. Please bid them a warm goodbye."

The sudden declaration drew a shocked reaction from the crowd, and a low murmuring started, every single one of them casting suspicious glances at Shirou.

Even the old lecher interrupted his staring at Claire for half a second to give Shirou a disturbed look.

"Wait, why is this necessary-?" A younger woman began, but before she could get halfway through her question, Shirou had already walked across the room, taken hold of Mary and Claire around their waists, and left just as quickly, all while giving the impression that he was just walking calmly.

It was such an awesome trick, appearing like you were moving calmly while actually going faster than the normal eye could follow. Sakura and Ayako were also fond of that trick, considering it a fun pastime to try and track him anyway, while Rin just muttered something about him being insufferable when she first saw it, before summarily ignoring it from then on.

They were out of the salon before anyone knew it, leaving lord Fargo to deal with the questions, and it was only when they were well out of hearing distance that he put the girls down again.

"Wha?"

"Huh?"

It took a few seconds for them to gain their orientation back after the sudden speedrun, but Mary rallied impressively quickly after that, looking at him with apologetic eyes.

"Mister Fujimaru." She began slowly, before she bowed deeply, having realised he knew about her deception. "I am terribly sorry for-"

"It's fine." Shirou stopped her before she gained too much momentum. He had no interest in having someone who reminded him of Sakura tearfully apologising to him merely for trying to protect herself and her… girlfriend? Lover? Mistress? Whatever.

Or rather, they didn't even need to remind him of Sakura. He wanted no one to apologise to him when they hadn't done anything wrong.

"Mister Fujimaru?"

"You did what you had to do. I understand that." Shirou elaborated. "It's no problem, really."

"But I am wasting your time." She protested, gently taking Claire by the arm as the poor maid still hadn't oriented herself. "You told father you were very busy."

"I lied." Shirou had no problem admitting that, and he felt a smile tugging at the edge of his lips at the almost exaggerated gasp from Mary. "I just said that to make sure he couldn't send me away to come back another time."

"Oh, I see… Still, I lied to you." Mary insisted, apparently not willing to let it go so easily.

"For a good reason." Shirou countered. "Sometimes, you have to bend laws and moral conventions to do the right thing, miss Mary, and I am the last person who can reproach you for that."

One would only have to look at his entire stint as Rakurai to agree with him on that.

"But-"

"Also, Lord El-Melloi is repaying me for this with a considerable favour, something I've been wanting for quite some time now, so it's not as if this is wasted time." Shirou added another argument to his list.

"It was wrong to lie to you." Mary nevertheless repeated stubbornly.

"For the love of… Well, if you're really feeling so terrible about what you did, you can repay me with a crash course in Astromancy." Shirou threw his arms wide in desperation, before immediately regretting it when both Mary and Claire flinched at the aggressive gesture.

He drew his arms back in, relaxing his upper body as he finished his offer. "It might be useful to me one day, and then you can see your debt as repaid."

"O-Oh, that's a good idea." Mary clasped her hands together, giving him a blinding smile, and Claire visibly relaxed, the tight lines in her face easing slightly. "Please follow me, I'll take you to the observatory."

"Gladly." Shirou nodded, happy they had been able to move past the matter of guilt and debt.

As they walked towards the observatory, Mary in the lead, Claire behind her, and Shirou making the rear guard, the redhead went over the checklist in his head, ticking off the boxes one by one.

Found the origin of Mary's fears? Check.

Found the cause of Claire's injuries? Definite check.

Found the real reason Mary wanted him at her house? Check.

Discovered what the strange mark on Mary's right hand was? Not check, and something he should take a closer look at.

That mark was pretty interesting, as far as any obviously dark and foul Magecraft could be at all interesting.

It had already smelled foul in the Clocktower, like rusty chains, stale bread, and rotting water, but here, inside the Fargo-estate, the stench was eye-watering, and seemed to only get worse over time.

Of course, if one stood still for a moment and thought about it, it was pretty obvious what the function of the mark was. It smelled like a medieval dungeon after all, and dungeons generally had only one purpose.

Imprisoning people.

Well, that, or, as Ayako had once said, doing some really kinky stuff, but that was obviously not what was happening here, or the mark would have smelled completely differently. Like leather, candle wax, and oil perhaps.

No, that mark's only purpose was to keep Mary imprisoned against her will at the Fargo-estate.

There were probably some caveats to the curse, since Mary couldn't have been at the Clocktower otherwise, but that was the gist of it.

Shirou would have to remove that mark as soon as possible.

He would have to pick the correct moment though. He had to make sure that lord Fargo wouldn't just reapply the mark, and he also needed to ensure that he didn't draw the attention of the entire family.

He would make a move as soon as the meeting was over, Shirou decided. He would break the curse when the other Fargo-family members had gone home. Yes, he would break the curse, search out Lord Fargo, and deal with him.

Permanently.

"Welcome to our observatory." Mary beamed once they had finished climbing six sets of stairs and had stepped through an ornate and decorated door into a large room. "The pride of the Fargo-family."

"A well-deserved title." Shirou nodded, looking around in wonder.

The room was large and circle-shaped, with a dome-shaped roof. It had incredibly detailed star maps painted all over the wall, the floor was inlaid with mosaics depicting the zodiac signs, and there were several stunning glass-in-lead windows displaying the faces of people Shirou didn't know.

The room was stuffed to the brim with fancy equipment, most of which Shirou didn't know the name or function of. Most of the equipment was mundane, but there were several pieces lying around that had the scent of Magecraft on them.

Paper was strewn around everywhere, much like in his own Workshop, with most of it being concentrated in the back of the room.

The centrepiece however, the most impressive and attention-grabbing object of them all, was the immense telescope standing in the middle of the room.

It was huge, sleek, black in colour, and had been built with a mix of old-school technology and Magecraft. It was an imposing object, and Shirou could only guess at how much time and money had been spent to create it.

"You can ignore most of the objects here." Mary told him after he finished marvelling at the scenery, the twinkle in her eye telling him his reaction wasn't unusual. "We are going to focus on the telescope. Please come this way."

Almost nothing was left of the shy, timid girl from before as the brunette practically dragged him along to the telescope, her face shining with enthusiasm as she did so.

Claire followed along at a more sedate pace, and Shirou noticed she was smiling softly as she looked at Mary, her eyes so full of love and tenderness that he felt like an intruder yet again.

"The telescope is currently in its resting position." Mary explained once they reached it, pointing out how the tube was aimed upwards, covers had been placed on all its lenses, and several towels had been hung on strategic places to absorb any water that might land on it. "We'll have to prepare it if we want to use it, but to do so, the roof must first be opened up."

"Opened up?" Shirou blinked in surprise, before looking at the ceiling and noticing that, indeed, there was a part that looked as if it could be opened up to look through with the telescope. "I see."

Even more amazingly, the roof itself, the dome, could be spun around on top of the room, allowing for the telescope-users to position the hole in any direction they wanted.

"To open the roof, you'll have to spin this wheel." Mary explained, pointing at a wheel that was connected to an elaborate construction of cables and pulleys. "Be careful though, it's very heavy. Usually, two people will have to pull on it to get it to move. Claire, could you-?"

"There's no need." Shirou declined the offer of assistance, grabbing the wheel at its handle and turning it several times, each spin opening up the hole in the roof a little more. Eventually, after a minute or so of turning, the hole had been fully opened and he stopped again.

"Thank you, mister Fujimaru." Mary beamed, looking impressed by his feat of strength. "You must be very strong."

"I suppose." Shirou shrugged his shoulders, unable to brag about his strength since it had all come from Mjolnir anyway.

…Was that a glint of jealousy he saw in Claire's eyes?

Before Shirou could confirm it, Mary spoke up again, pulling his attention back to her.

"I think tonight is a good time to look at Venus." She mused, indicating a second wheel a few metres to the right of the first one. "With this wheel, you can spin the dome around to relocate the opening in the roof. If you could spin it, I'll tell you when to stop."

"No offer of assistance this time?" Shirou gave a slight grin at the brunette as he went to turn the second wheel.

"You clearly don't need it." Mary grinned back.

Yeah, no, that was definitely jealousy he was seeing in Claire's expression.

Was she jealous that Mary was impressed by him?

…That was new. People had been jealous of Shirou's success with women before –he hadn't noticed at the time, but looking back on things, there had been a lot of boys around his age that saw green with jealousy whenever Sakura and Ayako expressed their affection in some way—but never in a case where someone was jealous about their partner showing some kind of positive emotion towards Shirou.

Shirou let out a slow breath. He would have to make it clear to Claire he wasn't interested in Mary at all, preferably before he made an enemy for life.

It took about forty seconds of turning the second wheel and thus the dome before Mary told him to stop, and after locking the wheel in place, he joined the two girls at the telescope again.

Mary then swiftly removed the covers from the lenses, adjusted the eye piece, set the telescope at an angle and then peered through.

…Only to take a step back with a frustrated expression.

"It's cloudy." She complained, frowning in annoyance. "Oh, come on! It was clear all day, why are you here now, clouds?!"

Shirou considered consoling her, but was headed off immediately by Claire, who was quick to place a gentle hand on the small of Mary's back, sending him a very short look of smug satisfaction as she did so.

Shirou had no trouble stepping back of course. He didn't want to 'steal anyone's girl', as Shinji had once eloquently put it.

"I'm sorry." Mary apologised to him after a moment, subtly holding on to Claire's hand behind her back. "W-We can still continue with a theoretical lesson if you want."

"Or we can just get rid of the clouds." Shirou suggested, applying a bit of power to do exactly that. "Now we can look at the stars."

"Huh?" Mary blinked owlishly at him, before turning around and gasping when she saw the clouds dissipating. "Huh!?"

"Such good fortune." Shirou smiled, before he pointed at the telescope. "Shall we continue?"

Mary gaped at him, then at the rapidly disappearing clouds, then back at him, and so on, before gulping loudly.

"Y-Yes, of course." She nodded, giving Claire's hand a last squeeze to gain courage before she returned to the telescope. "N-Now, l-let me try to find Venus again."

The brunette peered through the eyepiece at the now completely cloudless sky, muttering inaudibly as she adjusted the lenses and the coordination of the telescope, before smiling in victory.

"Found her!" She exclaimed happily, taking her eye off the eyepiece. "Please take a look, mister Fujimaru. It's the red, flickering dot, right next to the moon."

His curiosity piqued, Shirou did as she suggested and placed his eye to the eyepiece, peering up at the heavens.

The moon was easy enough to find. Seen through a telescope, it was huge and almost blinding in its intensity. It nearly drowned out the light of all the stars around it. The red dot right next to the moon was so obvious however that even a half-blind man would have spotted it.

"That red dot is Venus?"

"It is indeed." Mary confirmed, trotting over to the telescope to make some adjustments to several levers and buttons. "Let me just calibrate and enhance the image… There! You should be able to see it much clearer now."

Shirou looked through the telescope again, and saw to his astonishment that he could now see a red planet. It remained small, but now he could see the immense clouds surrounding the planet, red clouds, apparently responsible for giving the planet its colour.

When he mentioned the clouds, Mary had plenty to say about them.

"Those clouds are not made of water, mister Fujimaru. They consist mainly of sulphur and other acids that have evaporated because of the immense temperature on Venus' surface. She can easily reach four hundred degrees Celsius or more, you know?"

"Acid clouds? That does not sound good." Shirou mused, wondering if he would be able to control them if he ever went to Venus.

"It isn't." Mary shook her head, also looking up at the sky, as if she could see Venus even without the telescope. "I heard NASA, the mundane space researchers, lost many of their machines to those clouds before they realised what was responsible for the destruction. They were quite surprised too to learn that Venus is red because of her clouds."

"They didn't know those clouds were red?" Shirou raised an eyebrow in surprise. From where he was standing, those ominous-looking clouds seemed perfectly visible through the telescope.

"This is a telescope created with ancient Magecraft, mister Fujimaru." Mary told him with a shake of her head, holding up a finger in a lecturing pose. "It is vastly better than anything the mundane researchers have. It can see further, it shows more detail, it gives a clearer image, and much more. I do not know how it functions though, only that it does, and that it is of incredible quality."

"I see. A pity that your family did not keep records of its construction. I would have thought they would write something like that down for future generations."

"My family did not make that telescope." Mary seemed almost embarrassed to admit it, looking away shyly and hiding her face with a hand. "It was already there when we obtained the estate. We merely decorated the outside."

"Oh? A lucky find then." Shirou mumbled, before doing a discrete Structural Analysis on the telescope, which taught him that it was well over four hundred years old.

It was strange that the family who had lived in the building before the Fargo had left such an incredible device behind when they left, but then again, their fate was a mystery in itself. It might just be that they had been killed or had left involuntarily and hadn't been able to take much with them.

"A lucky find indeed. We are very grateful for it." Mary nodded, before making several adjustments to the telescope again. "Observing the heavens is only a small part of Astromancy however. I suggest you take a last look at the Moon, just for fun, and then we'll leave the practical part behind and continue to the theoretical part."

"The theoretical part?" Shirou asked, wondering what that meant.

"You can't make any spells or rituals just by looking at the sky, mister Fujimaru." Mary explained, brushing her hair out of her face. "You need to do a lot of complex calculations too. Now, please look at the moon."

Following Mary's instruction, Shirou shifted the telescope towards the moon. The image was still enlarged in comparison with before, so he could now see the moon's surface with enough detail to make out the individual craters and other marks.

"You really can see a lot through this thing." Shirou pulled his eye away from the eyepiece to make the statement, looking Mary in the eyes. "Do other families have equipment like this as well?"

"Uhm, well, maybe?" Mary replied, rubbing her upper arm and biting her lip in uncertainty. "I assume they do, though I do not know for certain."

"Of course." Shirou inclined his head in acknowledgement, before turning back to the telescope for one last look.

He put his eye to the eyepiece, focused on the moon again and-

"…Ghk?!"

Looked straight into the eyes of Nasu the Watcher, who was standing on the moon's surface and was peering right back at Shirou with his large, silver-coloured eyes.

For a few moments, Shirou almost believed it was just a coincidence. That Nasu was just hanging out on that specific part of the moon and chose that exact moment to randomly look at the Earth, without any further motive.

That belief was destroyed however when Nasu smiled and lifted a hand to wave at Shirou.

"…!"

The redhead tore his face away from the telescope as if it had burned him, stumbling backwards as he pressed a hand to his eye.

"Mister Fujimaru?" His sudden movement elicited a concerned cry from Mary, who was now looking at him in worry, while Claire flinched away from the sudden movement. "Are you alright?"

"Ah, y-yes, I am." Shirou lied. "There was a sudden bright flash, that's all."

"A bright flash?" Mary turned to the telescope in confusion, bringing a hand to her chin. "There weren't supposed to be any solar flares today."

Bright flashes weren't uncommon then? Shirou had just said the first thing that came to mind, but if bright flashes were something that actually happened now and then, all the better.

"Well, it doesn't matter." Shirou said, taking his hand off his eye. "I'm fine again."

"…If you say so." Mary still looked vaguely concerned, but she didn't press the issue, instead choosing to put the telescope back in its resting position, putting all the covers back on the lenses and wiping the eyepiece with a disinfecting cloth.

She then had Shirou close the hole in the roof again and return the dome to its normal position, before taking him to the back of the room, Claire following behind like a shadow.

"We didn't do it today, but normally, I make notes when I look through the telescope." Mary explained once they arrived at a table that was stacked full of paper. "I write down the speed of the heavenly objects, their orbits, their estimated size and direction, and much more. That information needs to be turned into something useful, and for that, we use formulas."

The brunette took a piece of the paper from the nearest pile and handed it to him, and on it, Shirou saw the bane of countless high school students all around the world; Mathematics.

The paper was covered in numbers and other symbols, regularly interspersed with formulas and equations, all of them melting together into something that looked like an utterly inhuman language.

Any classmate of Shirou would have thrown it away in disgust at first sight. That, or stared at it helplessly before crying loudly in despair.

"This is the part that is the most difficult about Astromancy." Mary explained, her voice wry, as she tapped a finger on a pile of paper. "To calculate orbits, distances, speeds, and their effects on Magecraft, you need to use a lot of numbers."

"But you like doing that?"

"Oh, absolutely. I love puzzling with equations and discovering new things." Mary's eyes began shining once she realised Shirou was actually taking an interest, and Shirou took a pre-emptive step back from her in case Claire would get jealous again. "There are so many ways you can calculate these things. I mean, you can use…"

And as Mary went off on a tangent about mathematics and their uses, Shirou skimmed through the papers on top of the piles. Everything he saw there had clearly been written by hand, and probably calculated by hand as well.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with calculating by hand, but it was a very limited way of doing things. That was probably why the mundane researchers had so much more information and knowledge than Astromancers these days, despite having inferior telescopes.

Now, would the Fargo-family appreciate an introduction to computers that could do the calculations for them? That would allow them to look up scientific papers that could provide them with a wealth of knowledge to use?

Mary would probably be open to it, but the others…

Shirou had only seen them once, but that was enough for him to know they probably wouldn't be interested in anything modern whatsoever.

Which was a shame, because he'd been listening to Mary's explanations, and nothing she did was something that couldn't be made a lot easier with a computer.

"But mathematics alone is not enough to work the knowledge into spells." Mary held up a finger in warning, giving him an imploring look. "You also have to use some other knowledge…"

They seemed to have arrived at the second half of the lecture, the one focused on spells and rituals, and Shirou had to admit a computer wouldn't be of any help here.

As Mary continued talking about Astromancy, Shirou had to conclude that, regrettably, he didn't understand much of it. That was not to say he couldn't do it if he tried –it wasn't Gemcraft—but it sounded a lot harder than elemental spells or Runes.

Almost two hours passed like that, with Mary speaking and him listening, and it was only when Claire outright took her by the hand that Mary snapped out of her trance.

"Huh, Claire?"

"You have been talking for a long time, Lady Mary." Claire said in a tone that was a mix of neutral and affectionate. "I fear mister Fujimaru might be a bit overwhelmed."

"It was very interesting." Shirou assured the girls, pretending to put the notes he'd made during Mary's lecture into his pocket while actually transferring them to his Vault. "I can hear you are very passionate about your research."

"I have been talking for two hours?" Mary, who had apparently not kept an eye on the time, gaped at the clock in absolute shock, before turning towards him again. "Mister Fujimaru, why didn't you say anything?"

"I already told you, it was interesting." Shirou shook his head with some exasperation. "I learned a lot, miss Mary."

"O-Oh, w-well, as long as you weren't bored." The brunette mumbled, before looking at the clock again, still not able to believe how much time had passed in what had felt to her as the blink of an eye. "Ah, it's really late. The meeting is probably already over."

It was?

"The meetings normally only take an hour or so before everyone leaves again." Mary explained when she saw his raised eyebrow. "I think only father, cousin Alec, and mister Li are still present. They live here after all."

Only the three of them?

"And it's not like anyone else ever visits." Mary lamented, appearing genuinely distressed by the distance that existed between her and her family-members. "I really hope the meeting went well, or father will be mad."

"I'm sure it went well, Lady Mary." Claire assured her, but though her voice was strong, her eyes showed her own fear.

Okay, that was it. It was time for Shirou to deal with some loose ends.

"I-I will show you a room for tonight, mister Fujimaru." Mary said, once more wringing her hands in nervousness, her mind elsewhere. "U-Unless you have something you want to ask of course. Y-You probably have a lot of questions for me after I kept talking for hours-"

"I have two questions." Shirou interrupted the nervous rambling, straightening his shoulders as he fell into a combat mindset. "One, is the meeting truly finished?"

"Huh? I-It should be." Mary nodded, looking at Claire for confirmation, receiving a nod in return. "It is. The meetings usually never last long. No one in my family likes each other, which is why only my father and cousin live here. We can never stand to be in each other's presence for long."

Mary's tone wavered between sad and neutral, showing how downhearted she was about her family's lack of care towards each other, but when Claire gently touched her shoulder, she seemed to gain strength again.

"You said you have two questions, mister Fujimaru?"

"Yes." Shirou nodded, before asking the second. "What is that mark about?"

"Huh-?"

Before Mary or Claire could react in any way other than widening their eyes in surprise, Shirou moved.

He crossed the distance between him and Mary faster than her eyes could follow, and grabbed her right hand so quickly she didn't even have time to contemplate struggling against his hold. He was still gentle however, ensuring no injury befell her.

He brought the hand up to eye-height and took off the glove, revealing the foul mark that had been bothering his nose ever since he'd stepped foot inside the estate.

"What is this mark about?" He repeated his question once the girls had collected themselves again, and Mary went white in shock and fear.

But while Mary froze up, Claire did not.

"Let go of her!" The maid bristled, reaching out to grab Shirou's shoulder, only for him to smoothly dodge her hand, before hooking a finger into the sleeve of her maid uniform and pulling it up to her upper arm, revealing the injuries beneath.

"That too has been bothering me for a while now." He added, as Claire paled in shock as well.

"T-T-This… This is none of your business." Mary protested, trying to pull her arm back but failing to even budge him. "This is a matter of the Fargo-family-"

"Miss Fargo, that mark and these injuries are a large part in why you wanted me here for the night." Shirou stated, having absolutely no doubt about that. "You asked for my help, and I do not intend to leave without indeed helping you."

"W-What?" Mary stuttered, having stopped struggling when he called her out on her motives for inviting him to her house. "What do you mean?"

Rather than answering, Shirou quickly applied a bit of the Mysterious Power to Claire's body, fixing her up and healing her injuries. Just like the rest of his powers, his healing power had gotten a significant boost after the battle with Yomaura, and it was clearly visible from the golden light that rushed over the maid's body with incredible speed and erased bruises and lacerations wherever it went.

Once she was hale and healthy again, Shirou let go of her and focused on Mary instead. The mark, which turned out to be an unfamiliar symbol branded into her skin, wasn't something that could be removed through healing alone, so Shirou extended his Magic Resistance to reach slightly beyond his own body and placed a finger on the mark, dispelling the Curse within it.

Once the Curse was gone, healing the brand was a small matter.

Only then did Shirou step away from the girls again, and promptly bowed in apology.

"I am terribly sorry for my conduct." He said, his gaze firmly fixed on the ground. "I crossed your boundaries and assaulted you. I truly regret that I had to do that, but I couldn't afford you refusing my help."

And that was the crux of the matter. Shirou knew very well he had been extremely rude, even abrasive and aggressive, but it was his best, and indeed only option.

People generally didn't accept help from strangers on sensitive and private matters. This was visible in nearly all who suffered from abuse. They pretended to the outside world that everything was fine, while refusing all offers of help, right up until they were broken completely.

Just like Sakura had refused his help for years, and would have been broken by Zouken if Shinji hadn't made the decision to come clean to Shirou.

If he had asked Mary and Claire whether they would have wanted his help, they might very well have refused. Helping them after that would have been significantly more difficult, in moral terms if nothing else.

In such cases, asking for forgiveness was better than asking for permission.

Even if that made him a tyrannical demigod who imposed his will on people weaker than himself.

That too was part of being a Hero of Justice.

"You removed it." Mary did not seem to have listened to his apology, too preoccupied with staring at her clear skin in gobsmacked surprise. "You removed it! And you healed Claire?!"

Mary grabbed Claire's arm, studying it meticulously for any injuries, before also checking the other arm, and even going as far as to try and pull the maid's clothes aside for inspection.

"Mistress, I am fine!" Claire protested in a shrill voice, trying to prevent Mary from stripping her naked right then and there. "Mistress, don't do this now, there is someone else in the room!"

That got Mary to back off again, and Shirou ignored the implication that Claire wouldn't have minded Mary removing her clothes if they had been alone.

"How did you do that?" Mary breathed in wonder, looking at the skin on the back of her hand again. "N-Not the healing, I know people can do that, b-but the mark. Father said it couldn't be taken away, that it was perfect."

'Father' was too full of himself. That mark hadn't been all that powerful or well-made, let alone 'perfect'.

"It was shoddy work." Shirou thus replied, huffing when the brunette stared at him with huge eyes. "It served its purpose while it was there, yes, but removing it was easy."

Though perhaps that was just because Shirou was practically cheating.

"Anyway, I should probably make sure Lord Fargo won't reapply that mark, and that he'll keep his hands off Claire in future." Shirou added, turning around and making for the stairs, knowing he'd better get that over with quickly. "Best that you two stay here."

"W-Wait!"

The urgency in Mary's voice made Shirou pause, and he looked back, hoping the girl wouldn't try to defend her father or stop the redhead from doing what was necessary.

"M-My cousin, Alec, a-and father's friend, Fernando Li. They hit Clair as well." Mary told him, taking the maid into a hug. "I-If you wouldn't mind, could you…?"

"Of course."

They would be dealt with as well then.

Stepping outside of the observatory, Shirou took a breath through his nose to detect and pinpoint all Magical phenomena in the estate. He counted five people left in the building. Two of them behind him, those were Mary and Claire, and the other three elsewhere in the estate.

One of them was alone, while the other two were together. Shirou decided to deal with the lone one first.

A quick Structural Analysis on the nearest wall got him the blueprint of the estate, and Shirou quickly made his way over to his target.

It turned out to be Ernest Fargo, who was standing in his bedroom, in the midst of changing his clothes. As such, he was completely unprepared for Shirou's charge at him, not even noticing the teen until it was far too late.

With one quick movement, Shirou seized him by the throat and slammed him against the wall, holding him there and almost cutting off his breath. Then, he focused, and channelled the Mysterious Power into his eyes.

"W-What do you th-?"

"Ernest Fargo." Shirou cut him off, his voice echoing with power. "You will cease abusing your daughter and your maid."

"Wha-What a-are-?"

"You will apply no more Curses to their body, mind, or soul. You will not lay a hand on them without their explicit permission. You will give them all the freedom they desire, and you will take care of them to the best of your ability. They are now your greatest priority in life."

He was using the Mysterious Power to Hypnotise Ernest Fargo.

Hypnotising Magi through Magical Energy was impossible. The Magus' own innate energy would inevitably cancel it out. The Mysterious Power on the other hand could in fact be used for the Hypnosis of Magical beings.

However, its rate of success depended entirely on the willpower of the one being Hypnotised. Shirou's own willpower played no role whatsoever, success was based purely on how strong the mind of the target was.

If they were too strong mentally, like Balefor had been, it wouldn't work.

Ernest Fargo however, as Shirou had already noticed, was a coward. An utter coward and an odious little toad. He wallowed in his own misery and regularly took out his anger on his defenceless daughter and her maid.

He had no protection against Shirou's power entering his mind.

"I-I… I will do as you say." Fargo wheezed out, and Shirou let go of him again, watching as the man fell to his knees before him. "I will do everything Mary says. Everything. I will make her the head of the family. I will make sure everyone obeys her. I swear it. I will serve her for the rest of my life. I'll spend my life atoning for what I did."

…Okaaay?

…Maybe he'd gone a little overboard with the Hypnosis if that was Fargo's takeaway of it.

Whether it was a result of Shirou overdoing the Hypnosis or Fargo having some kind of fear of Mary usurping him that had now come to the forefront, the man had been reduced to some kind of lickspittle.

Well, perhaps that was just his true nature. Shirou couldn't bring himself to feel bad about it. Fargo was clearly in good health and he wasn't insane either, which meant Shirou had been rather merciful.

Kiritsugu would have just killed him after all.

"Go to sleep. Tomorrow, you'll tell Mary that you'll make her the head of the family, and that you'll do everything she says from now on." Shirou ordered Fargo, before leaving the room to pursue his other targets, leaving the coward behind.

He found Fernando Li and Alec Fargo standing together in the salon where the meeting had taken place, and, unable to suppress his curiosity, Shirou remained in the shadows for a moment to listen to their conversation.

Alec Fargo was a lot older than Mary, with blonde hair styled into some kind of mohawk, a small beard, reasonably good-looking features, and a face that betrayed his greedy personality no matter what expression he had.

He was currently shouting at the other man present, Fernando Li, an elderly man with black hair, a high forehead, beady eyes, and glasses. Most notably, he lacked his right arm from the elbow down.

"-Am telling you, Fernando, you won't get what you want from my uncle. You know that." Alec Fargo bit out, glaring at the older man, who looked back with a disdainful gaze. "He is a bad research partner, and he'll never allow you to take Mary as your wife."

"Nor will he marry her to you." Fernando Li shot back, attempting to keep his gaze neutral yet unable to hide the burning rage in his eyes. "Enough of this, Alec. Neither of us are served by this argument. I care not about Mary herself, she is far too young for me anyway. I only asked for her hand because that would have given me an in with the Fargo-family. Just guarantee that I'll get Ernest's research and I will abandon all attempts at pursuing her. I will even support your bid for her."

"And I keep telling you, uncle Ernest has no research! The old man is hopeless, does nothing of worth. He just creeps around the house all day, terrorising us all while he mutters about lifespans and shit."

"You only say that because you are blind, boy. He works on something huge. Something that could make me the head of the Li-family if I manage to get it. Help me with this, and I will use my newfound power to make you head of the Fargo-family."

The promise of such a reward seemed to deescalate the situation quickly.

"…You're sure the old man actually has research?" Alec Fargo asked in a far calmer voice, looking tentatively interested in Li's offer.

"I am completely certain of it." Li nodded, smiling when his conversation partner took the bait. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, we have a deal. I'll get uncle's research for you, and you'll help me become family-head, as long as you help me to get Mary too." Alec Fargo nodded, taking a step back and brushing a hand through his gelled hair. "I'll search harder. There aren't that many places my uncle can hide his secrets."

"That is all I ask." Li inclined his head, a triumphant smile on his lips. "My own research is going nowhere, but Ernest really is on to something with his. I can feel it. I need to have it. The Meluastea are eager to accept any talented recruits, even those without any research of their own yet, but I do not just want to join, I want to impress them. I was welcomed into their ranks by Rudolph Meluastea himself, you know. He actually came to greet me, to tell me he had high expectations of me."

"Yeah yeah, he received you with open arms in their hiding place in the Department of Botany, I know. You have told me a thousand times already." Alec Fargo let out a long-suffering sigh. "Are you sure you should even be telling others about it? What if Barthomeloi or any of her dogs find out?"

"There is no harm in telling you. You are dependent on me for your dreams. You have nothing to gain from speaking to that cunt of a woman, if it even is a woman and not some sort of monster." Li then cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. "Also, please indulge my curiosity for a moment. You are aware Mary is already engaged in a carnal relationship with her maid? How do you expect to win her fancy when you are not… her 'type'?"

"I know she is with that maid of hers, Claire, but that doesn't matter." Alec Fargo's grin turned cocksure as he spoke. "They just need a taste of me, and they'll learn to love men as well."

"You seem rather sure of this." Li raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing a word of it.

"Heh, you might not know it, but Mary is a total pushover. She just needs some training and she'll be a good enough wife that I might just keep my side chicks out of sight so I don't hurt her, too much that is. That maid is submissive as a dog too. She's had plenty of training, so it shouldn't be too difficult to make a proper mistress out of her. I bet she even likes it when someone hits her-"

Shirou had heard enough.

The talk about their intentions to take advantage of Ernest Fargo was of no consequence to him. This was a powerplay among Magi who had all willingly chosen to join in, so Shirou couldn't care less.

Fernando Li suddenly talking about the Meluastea and how they had a secret base in the Department of Botany was slightly more interesting, if only because the Meluastea were the family who had taken the most advantage of the Archibald's fall, making the information potentially interesting to Lord El-Melloi and Reines.

But when Alec Fargo started talking about women as if they were objects, just slaves to be disciplined and trained as he saw fit, even his own cousin, that was where Shirou drew the line.

He stormed into the salon, and without a word or a wasted movement, gave Alec Fargo a backhand to the face, slamming his knuckles into the man's temple. It wasn't enough to knock the man out –he didn't deserve the blissful unconsciousness— but it was sufficient to send him to the ground, dazed and with a splitting headache, unable to even crawl away as the world spun before his eyes.

With that taken care of, Shirou turned towards the less important person present; Fernando Li, who only now seemed to catch up with what had just happened.

"Wha-?" He spluttered, before looking at Shirou for a good few seconds. The redhead could spot the exact moment the light turned on inside that oddly long head. "Y-You!"

"Me." Shirou nodded, before advancing on the man, who began stumbling backwards in fear.

"W-W-Wait!" He cried out, holding out his only hand. "W-We can t-talk about t-this! Y-You are f-friends with Mary and Claire, yes? T-Then you should know that I have never harmed them! I was always against it! I told Ernest and Alec that it was wrong! That they should stop! B-But they never listened to me, never! I-I see now that I should have tried harder, but I never once touched either of them, I swear- UGH!"

Shirou seized him by the throat, lifting him up until his feet dangled helplessly above the ground. He showed the man no mercy, for even if Mary hadn't already told him that Li participated in the beatings as well, he would still have seen that the man was lying through his teeth.

"You will cease hurting Mary and Claire." He ordered the man, his eyes shining with power. "You will protect them and obey them, at any cost. You will never turn against them and never betray them. Their happiness is your sole concern from now on."

The Hypnosis took hold easily enough. The man was just as big a coward as Ernest had been and Alec Fargo would no doubt prove to be. A family of cowards. It was a miracle someone like Mary could have been born from it.

Unlike with Ernest Fargo however, merely making sure Li wouldn't hurt Mary and Clair anymore wasn't enough. The man had also said something about the Meluastea, and how Lady Barthomeloi should never find out what they were up to. Shirou should probably get to the bottom of that.

But that would have to be another time. Right now, he had other priorities. As such, he would give Fernando Li one last order.

"Gather all information you have on the Meluastea and everything involved with them. Keep this information safe until I contact you again."

That would have to do for now, so Shirou released him, letting him fall to the ground, where he lay still, having fainted from the shock and the stress.

He'd also peed his pants, though perhaps that was expectable.

"Ugh, eck, ah."

The pathetic sounds drew Shirou's attention back to Alec Fargo, who was moaning and groaning as he writhed on the floor. Whether he was just a wimp or was somehow trying to gain Shirou's sympathy wasn't clear, though it was likely a mix of both.

The whining stopped immediately however when Shirou lifted the poor excuse for a man up at his throat.

"You will no longer hurt Mary and Claire. You will obey them and protect them. You will not lay a finger on them without their explicit permission. You will never turn against them and never betray them. From now on, your sole concern is their happiness."

The Hypnosis had taken hold easily with Ernest Fargo and Fernando Li, but the speed at which Alec Fargo folded had to be some kind of record. This guy really had no spine whatsoever.

Shirou threw the man on the ground again and turned around resolutely, walking out of the salon. His job here was over, and he could go and bring Mary and Claire the good news.

And also impress upon them the need to keep everything that had transpired here a secret. Though they probably understood that perfectly well already.

Better to be completely certain though.

---

Darkness was gathering quickly. The night was falling, and the Moon shone brightly in the endless sky.

As the wolves howled and the bats swarmed, one thing became clear.

The awakening was near.

For eons, the creature had slept in the crevices of the Earth, hidden away from friend and foe. It had secluded itself out of its own free will long ago, trying to escape from its hunters, but now it was unable to free itself again.

It was trapped and helpless, and had to depend on others to get out of its prison.

Fortunately, its allies, though few in number, were most impressive.

Trhvmn Ortenrosse, the seventeenth.

Altrouge Brunestud, the ninth.

Van-Fem, the fourteenth.

Merem Solomon, the twentieth.

Gransurg Blackmore, the sixteenth.

Marol'Droth, the twenty-second.

Tsula'Yurha, the twenty-fifth.

Names that could make any member of the Burial Agency go pale in horror, that wielded power beyond imagination. They were monsters that should never have been created and should have been ended long ago by Alaya.

But Alaya had been fooled into overlooking them, and none knew how to convince her to take action again.

And while Alaya remained useless and humanity too weak, the Ancestors moved to realise their goal. Some had joined out of conviction, others out of curiosity, again others had been coerced, but all were working as hard as they could.

All so they could awaken 'It'.

The Six Royalties of the Dark. The Oldest and Highest System. The Oldest Dead Apostle and First Among the Ancestors.

The Dark Six. The one destined to be awoken through the Aylesbury Ritual, and the one who would unite all Dead Apostles in an unstoppable army.

The one who would reincarnate the Crimson Moon.

And bring Doom upon humanity

---

And that's a wrap. I know, not a lot happens that is important to the plot, but Shirou is gathering allies here for the future (which might come in handy during a certain war for a certain cup). Mary Lil Fargo, Claire, and Fernando Li are extremely important characters in Case-Files, and also for a few of my future plans.

Perhaps this is wise for me to say, Mary and Claire are indeed characters from Case-Files, you can look them up on the Type Moon Wiki for more information.

Di Stanza will come back next chapter as well. Then you'll see why he is important to the story.

Also, Waver is making a useful alliance with his father figure and is in a great mood, only for everything to be flipped right upside down by Grey acting a bit too much like the person she doesn't want to become.

What I wanted to show here is that Waver really hasn't gotten over his trauma yet. He acts all cool and stuff, but the War still haunts his nightmares, as can be seen during the Case-Files as well, when he dreams of Iskandar turning away from him in disappointment, which is only fixed when he learns to let go and live his own life.

He is not yet at that point.

Moving on. Waver and Lorelei have a talk and Lorelei is advised to take an Asian student as apprentice to show she is indeed interested in getting Asian students to attend the Clocktower. It's little late, but at least she's trying.

Now, which Asian girl do we know who is looking for a sponsor, is a certified genius, is a close friend to someone Lorelei has already had dealings with and is on (relatively) good terms with, and would definitely make for an excellent apprentice?

I don't know who you just thought of, but if the name isn't Rin, you're dead wrong, pal.

Anyway, two tutoring sessions. One goes rather well, while the other goes a little strangely but still okay. Shirou is forced to dish out some pain, but it's for a good cause.

I hate child abusers. Making them suffer is always fun.

On the matter of Illya, I don't know if you all remember, but in chapter 10, she got a visit from her parents. Maybe you can look at that again if you've forgotten about it.

Next chapter is another conversation between Lorelei and Shirou, in which Shirou is drafted for the mission of taking down the Meluastea. Should be another fun arc. And of course, the first battle of this new arc will take place in Germany, barely a few miles from where the Einzbern are located.

Isn't Shirou's luck amazing?

Also, the last POV is that of Dark Six, which is the First Dead Apostle ever created by the Crimson Moon. Save for total freaks like Ultimate Ones (ORT, Arcueid), True Magicians (Zelretch) and Beasts of Gaia (Primate Murder), it is the most powerful among the twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.

It is currently dormant, but desperately trying to wake up. Naturally, this would be extremely bad news for humanity, so someone had better put a stop to it.

I should clarify that it has nothing to do with the mundane Dead Apostles. The Dark Six has been trying to awake since far before they were even conceived as an idea, and he will continue long after they and their creators have been destroyed.

This is a plotpoint for later.

Ted: "Beam me up, my good friend Scotty."