This was a life-support device Atrum had funded himself, originally intended to keep sacrificial offerings alive for better mana extraction. Unexpectedly, it had become the key to sustaining his own life.
"You should be grateful you're still useful to her. Otherwise, death would be your only fate," said a samurai dressed in the style of Japan's Sengoku period, his lean figure addressing Atrum.
Atrum took a deep breath, looking at the figure... or rather, the spirit... speaking to him.
"She should've hypnotized me and left me unaware. That way, I wouldn't have to endure this suffering…" Atrum muttered, his body pierced with IV tubes continuously injecting fluids akin to glucose.
These were the only things keeping him alive. Without them, he would have long since starved from lack of food.
"I'll pass your words to her, but I doubt she'll care," The samurai replied, walking out. His final words echoed from the doorway. "After all, she hasn't bothered to check on you lately."
Watching the samurai leave, Atrum slumped against the glass, drained.
That samurai was a Servant. Atrum realized that ever since summoning that treacherous witch, his worldview had been shattered.
A Servant resisting a Command Spell!
That alone was terrifying, but it didn't end there. After severing his arm with the Command Spells and preserving it with special magecraft, the madwoman had set up a summoning circle, becoming a Master herself and summoning a new Servant!
"That crazy woman… She's a Servant herself, and now she's summoned another Servant. Ha, haha, hahaha! She might actually win this Holy Grail War on her own…"
Laughing bitterly, filled with self-mockery, Atrum felt increasingly powerless.
Even if this Holy Grail War was won, it would have nothing to do with him.
The unnamed Servant was right... if he weren't still useful, that woman would kill him without hesitation, disposing of him like garbage!
…
The samurai arrived at the building's most comfortable lounge, where the witch who summoned him sat. Before her was a city map marked with various notations.
At that moment, she resembled not a magus but a general... or rather, a scheming strategist.
"Kojiro, you're here," Medea said, glancing at the samurai as her delicate hand placed a chess piece on a specific spot on the map.
The samurai, Sasaki Kojiro, noticed the piece was placed at the location of the Holy Church in the new city district.
Addressing his Master, Sasaki Kojiro said, "He's completely demoralized and hopes you'll knock him out. Since your goal is just to drain his mana, he'd be fine unconscious."
"Death ends everything, but living is suffering. There's a difference, and for him, unconsciousness would be a mercy I don't intend to grant," Medea replied, her gaze never leaving the map.
"Are you punishing him?"
"Punishment? No, I simply find him repulsive," Medea said, lightly tapping a spot on the map. "These are the residences of Fuyuki's magus families. There are bound to be Holy Grail War participants among them."
Seeing Medea's response, Kojiro didn't press further. Though she spoke this way, he knew her actions always had precise reasons beyond mere personal dislike.
From what he'd gathered while chatting with the workers here, Medea's rebellion against her original Master seemed tied to him killing innocent children.
As Kojiro pondered this, he looked at the map and asked, "Aren't you going to scout?"
"This is the Holy Grail War. They'll eventually lose patience and start fighting among themselves. That's when we make our move. For now, your range of activity is limited to this building. I need to find a way to expand it to the entire city."
Kojiro knew his unique summoning conditions restricted his movement to this building alone. If it were destroyed, he'd vanish instantly.
The witch had been researching something lately, seemingly constructing a magical formula. If successful, his range would expand from this building to all of Fuyuki City.
"It's just a simple earthbound spirit concept. I'll shift the anchor from this building to the concept of Fuyuki City itself, allowing you to move freely throughout the city."
Kojiro didn't understand much about magecraft or magic, so he left it to the witch. His current role was patrolling the building and eliminating anyone who came to investigate.
"Isn't that just being a security guard?" he thought to himself, then asked, "Is there an issue with the Holy Church?"
"From Atrum's intel, the Holy Church acts as the overseer, monitoring the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki. They might have spare Command Spells."
"You want to steal them?"
"No, it's to prevent them from using extra Command Spells to interfere in this war and cause trouble… Besides, who's to say the referees won't enter the game themselves?"
Medea smiled faintly.
"After all, for the magus in the Holy Grail War, the last thing they'd expect is the Holy Church, the supposed overseer, making a move. The Grail, capable of granting nearly any wish, holds immense power. Few can resist its temptation."
Kojiro nodded at her musings. "Humans, after all, are driven by their desires."
…
"What's going on here?!" Fujimura Taiga, Shirou's teacher and a friend of Emiya Kiritsugu, roared like a tiger as she saw the sudden crowd in Shirou's home.
"Tell me, did you do something bad to bring all these people to your door?!" Taiga grabbed Shirou, whispering, "Like owing a debt and getting chased down?"
Shirou sighed helplessly. "No, Fuji-nee, a debt wouldn't bring foreigners here, would it?"
Having Saber around was already hard to explain, but with so many people now, Shirou found it oddly easier to justify.
"For example, Saber, Illya, and Morpheus are here from Britain for a visit, and Rin is their friend, so she came to help out."
Rin quickly chimed in with a smile. "Exactly, Fujimura-sensei. We're friends, and since they came to visit, I'm helping out. My house is too far, but Shirou's is spacious and central, so we asked for his hospitality."
Taiga eyed Rin, then Morpheus and Saber, weighing the credibility of their story.
"Oh, this trip to Japan was so sudden… uh, what's the word? Right, sudden!" Morpheus interjected, his Japanese sounding like someone who'd crammed for three days before traveling, complete with a distinct British accent.
"It's really thanks to Mr. Emiya. Without him, I wouldn't even know how to get a meal... my wallet got lost on the way!"
Saber, hearing Morpheus' words, stared at him in shock, stunned by his act.
Servants were granted local knowledge, including language, by the Grail, making them sound like natives. But Morpheus was convincingly playing the role of a clumsy foreigner with terrible Japanese.
Couldn't he have warned me if he was going to act? Saber thought. How am I supposed to pretend I don't speak Japanese well? I haven't rehearsed this!
As Saber fretted, Taiga burst out laughing. "Your Japanese is pretty good! Haha, losing your wallet, huh? That's rough. Well, if that's the case, staying here is fine!"
Morpheus, praised for his Japanese, laughed heartily. "Really? I've been studying for a while. It's great to communicate smoothly!"
Watching their exchange, Saber was speechless, while Rin looked away, too embarrassed to face her Servant. Shirou, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief.
Passed perfectly! he thought.
Now, he just needed to figure out how to explain this to Matou Sakura, and there'd be no issues!
Thinking this, Shirou glanced at the yard outside.
Last night, a mysterious magic circle had appeared there, sealing the black giant.
Now, the circle was gone, and the giant was freed, but Berserker was too conspicuous to explain if he materialized. So, he remained in spirit form, hidden.
As for Illya, she was over there watching TV, completely ignoring the conversation as if it had nothing to do with her.
At that moment, a knock came at the door. Shirou hurried to open it, revealing Matou Sakura, his underclassman who often helped at his house and the sister of his friend, Matou Shinji.
Thinking of Shinji, Shirou felt a twinge of envy. The guy had gone traveling elsewhere, conveniently avoiding Fuyuki's Holy Grail War. Talk about luck.
"Good morning, Emiya-senpai," Sakura greeted, following him inside. She was about to greet Taiga but froze upon seeing the people in the room.
Her gaze passed over Taiga, her sister Rin, and the blonde woman who was clearly a Servant.
Her attention locked onto the man in a trench coat, dressed in a distinctly British style.
That figure was so familiar, unchanged, just as she remembered!
"Sakura, the blonde woman and the man in the trench coat are both Servants," came the voice of her hidden Servant, Medusa, in her ear. But those words couldn't distract her... her mind was too overwhelmed to think of anything else.
"It's him! He's back! After all these years, he's here again!"
Sakura's heart leapt with joy. She wanted nothing more than to rush over and greet him, but she stopped herself. When he looked at her, he only smiled and nodded politely, a gesture meant for a stranger.
In that moment, she recalled what her Servant had said.
Onii-san is a Servant? How is that possible?! That was her first thought, but relying on her unique senses, Sakura detected something special about him... indeed, the aura of a Servant!
How could this be? Why is Morpheus-nii a Servant? Or is this some experiment from his pursuit of the magic path?
Sakura pondered, holding back her urge to confront him. Instead, she masked her excitement with surprise, asking Shirou, "Emiya-senpai, why are there so many people here all of a sudden?"
Since Morpheus was pretending not to know her, she wouldn't reveal their connection either. Though she was desperate to talk to him, Sakura knew she had to wait for a moment when they could be alone.
After hearing Shirou's obviously fabricated explanation, Sakura nodded. "I see. Looks like I'll need to make extra for breakfast today!"
There was no need to question it... these excuses were surely approved by Morpheus. If he was fine with them, she didn't need to overthink it. She just had to play along!
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL