My Fates Codex in Type-Moon

"Isn't it only natural for a Servant to obey their Master's orders?" Webber said helplessly. Yet as he looked out the window, he still found himself anticipating the magical clash about to unfold.

"How will it all end, Professor... and Sakutsuki?"

Amid the undercurrents, the Hyatt Hotel's guests had finally all been evacuated.

Sakutsuki tossed his empty cup into Imaginary Space, then stood and stretched.

"All right. Time for me to get going."

"Good luck, big brother."

"May fortune favor you in battle."

With the blessings of the two Servants, the white-haired, golden-eyed young man smiled faintly and set off toward the Magic Workshop.

"Sakutsuki, merely an ordinary, unremarkable magus—has come to challenge the Magic Workshop of the Lord of the Mineralogy Department. Please enlighten me!"

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Twenty-four layers of barriers, three mana furnaces, evil spirits serving in place of hounds, dozens of spirits and goblins, countless traps, with not even the underground sewers left untouched. Part of the corridors had even been transformed into another world. In other words, they could freely contend with secret arts without worrying about affecting the outside world.

—That was how Kayneth had described the remodeled Hyatt Hotel in the original story.

Unfortunately, while Director Kayneth was still confidently raising his stakes, a certain Magus Killer with no appreciation for subtlety simply flipped the table.

Controlled demolition—a sophisticated demolition technique mainly used to destroy large high-rise buildings. By damaging load-bearing walls and key supports, the building was made to collapse inward under its own weight. The goal was total destruction with the smallest possible amount of explosives.

The art of the scientific side bypassed the building's interior entirely. Through the formulas born of human wisdom and the power of dinitrodiazophenol, it directly destroyed the building itself. Under the combined effects of compression energy, phase-change energy, kinetic energy, fluid energy, thermal energy, and electrical energy, all the hidden mysteries and magecraft lost their meaning.

Sakutsuki tactically approved of Kiritsugu Papa's ruthless destruction of something beautiful, but from a personal perspective...

What a terrible waste.

Like a newly acquired treasure, how could one bear to discard it like worn-out shoes without properly admiring it first?

The moment he stepped onto the thirty-second floor, an enthusiastic reception came to greet Sakutsuki.

Black-and-red cursed bullets flew straight at him.

They were Gandr, a Norse magecraft. Though curses by nature, as their power increased, they could also inflict formidable physical damage directly—like a certain Gatling Rin.

Rather than using projected weapons to hack them apart, Sakutsuki raised his left hand. The diamond-shaped space in his palm expanded, swallowing the cursed bullets and instantly reversing them through a conversion circuit, sending them toward the next volley behind them.

The black-and-red bullets collided with one another and all vanished in midair.

The white-haired, golden-eyed young man did not slow his pace, as if he had not noticed the dangerous currents ahead.

"What's wrong? If the Mineralogy Department that inherited the name Kishua Zelretch Schweinsteiger is only capable of this much, I'll be very disappointed."

Kishua Zelretch Schweinsteiger.

In the mundane world, his name was obscure. But in the world of mystery, everyone knew it.

One of Magic King Solomon's disciples, the oldest magus still active since before the Common Era.

That name itself represented a legend. Whether from admiration, fear, or all manner of ulterior motives, people had granted him countless titles: "Second Magician," "Highest-Ranked Magus," "Marshal of Magic," "Jewel Old Man," "Fourth Seat of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors"...

He was a man who truly stood at the pinnacle of the mysterious side, as well as the apex of jewel magecraft. The Clock Tower Mineralogy Department, Kishua, had been named after him. Anyone who insulted that name would suffer the relentless pursuit of the department's members unto death.

Provoked by Sakutsuki like that, someone as proud as Kayneth would surely retort, wouldn't he?

And yet...

There was no response.

As the creator of this Magic Workshop, Kayneth's eyes and ears surely covered the entire floor. Yet he chose silence, like a hunter on the prowl—calm, indifferent, waiting for the chance to kill with a single blow.

So this was Kayneth when he got serious? I'm starting to feel a little nervous...

As Sakutsuki thought that, his foot suddenly stepped on something hard.

The instant he touched it, the camouflage magecraft vanished. What appeared before the young man was a beautiful azure-gold gemstone.

But in a magus's eyes, beneath that beauty lay another kind of offering.

"Wind attribute, attached to an earth spirit, with a provisional effect of binding or suppression... Either way, first, create some distance!"

The Einsworth Family's thousand-year accumulation allowed Sakutsuki to roughly analyze the gem's effects in an instant. He immediately pushed off with his left foot, preparing to retreat.

But as the camouflage magecraft disappeared, the other gems revealed themselves as well. To Sakutsuki's surprise, his retreat sent him directly into the center of the magic circle!

"Anfang, Zeichen."

The cold male voice spoke two short lines of incantation. The magical formula immediately took effect. Six gemstones arranged around Sakutsuki lit up, turning into ceaselessly swirling wind bindings that wrapped around his limbs. Then invisible gravity descended, towering and heavy as a mountain, leaving Sakutsuki unable to move.

His ability to act had been stripped away in an instant. Sakutsuki smiled bitterly and slowly spoke the name of the jewel magecraft.

"Beast Binding Shackles... Was it strengthened and modified according to your own magical attributes?"

Even Heracles, Berserker, had been briefly restrained by this powerful magecraft. For Sakutsuki, whose Strength was only E under the Counter Force's punishment, it was a seal he could never break through brute force.

And once the opponent had been restrained, what came next was obvious, wasn't it?

Of course, focus fire!

"Scalp!" The cold voice rang out again. Once he realized what that incantation meant, even Sakutsuki's expression changed slightly.

"Shadow Border!"

Mercury reflecting an eerie gleam transformed into blades only a few micrometers thick and slashed at high speed under tremendous pressure. Their sharpness surpassed even laser beams, capable of cutting through titanium alloy and diamonds.

Yet this carefully planned killing blow struck nothing. The young man, his body covered in static-like noise, seemed to have been stripped from the world itself. He easily broke free of the Beast Binding Shackles, and even the attack unleashed by Volumen Hydrargyrum merely passed through his body without causing the slightest harm.

It looked as though Sakutsuki had evaded the crisis, but inside the quiet room, Kayneth stood with his arms folded and narrowed his eyes, his lips curling into a cold sneer.

Having seen that move long ago, how could he possibly have failed to prepare for it?

"Freigabe!"

With a crisp snap of his fingers, a silver gemstone embedded in the cavity of a room shattered. The spatial anchor was disturbed, releasing chaotic signals that pulled Sakutsuki, who was in Shadow Border, toward it.

"Using the attraction between imaginary number factors to interfere with my ability? Clever." Sakutsuki praised him softly. Rather than resisting, he allowed himself to be teleported into the room.

The aura of another world rushed toward him.

"This is..." After dispelling the Imaginary Numbers Magic, the young magus surveyed the vast wilderness that could no longer be called a room, his eyes filled with astonishment.

And Sakutsuki was not the only one on this land. As if sensing the approach of a living being, rows upon rows of skeletons raised their heads in unison.

They were Dragon Tooth Warriors.

If dragon teeth were seeds scattered into the soil, then these creatures were the green shoots that sprouted from them.

These seeds, containing magical power and Mother Earth Gaia, gave birth to such monsters.

They would fight without end, until death. Calling them terrifying was far from sufficient. Dragon Tooth Warriors possessed only the simplest thoughts and emotions—kill the enemy. Even if one of their arms was cut off, they would not pause for a moment, killing like machines. As long as their enemy still drew a final breath, they would fight endlessly, even if they were ultimately buried in dust.

If an ordinary magus had entered this place, they would surely have been drowned beneath the tide of Dragon Tooth Warriors.

...Unfortunately, for a player of a certain gacha game, seeing them would bring only excitement, never fear.

For example, Sakutsuki.

A so-called other world was like opening up a small world within reality. Unless one used attacks on an exceptional level, disturbances within it would not affect the outside.

In other words—he could turn this place upside down if he wanted!

An excited smile spread across the young man's face. He crossed his hands as if about to tear something apart, and the vast magical power around him surged ever higher.

Magecraft: Projection!

The sky darkened as two enormous swords blocked out all light and hope.

This was the end of sky and sea, the ultimate "melting and mingling domain," a divine construct armament that burned away even the Sea of All Things.

This was the principle that absolutely separated heaven and earth, a divine construct armament that did not merely cut with its blade, nor merely carve a path through mass.

Incinerate all seas, cleave apart the thousand mountains.

The myths of Mesopotamia revealed themselves in full within this tiny other world.

His white hair whipped wildly in the wind. Amid the thunderous explosion of the giant swords striking the ground, Sakutsuki covered his face and laughed without restraint.

"Destroy everything! Hell Scythe, Dust Saw!"

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Hell Scythe, Dust Saw.

Their true names were Dawn Horizon that Incinerates All Seas and Verdant Horizon that Cleaves the Thousand Mountains, following the principles of "purification" and "severance."

Though Sakutsuki had only projected a fraction of the essence of these armaments, they had once severed the Ley Line of Einzbern Castle, preventing Jubstacheit von Einzbern from controlling the core of the Magic Workshop.

Whether for a Magic Workshop or a magus, losing their connection to one another was fatal. It meant the workshop could only perform simple autonomous counterattacks, while the magus lost the workshop's advantages and every enhancement it offered, forced to face the enemy using only personal strength.

If Sakutsuki had projected these two giant swords from the start, the three mana furnaces supporting the thirty-two-story Magic Workshop would certainly have been suppressed and crushed by their greater mystery. The entire workshop would then lose its energy source and cease to exist.

But just as Kiritsugu had blown up the building, that would have been a shortcut that bypassed everything within and directly destroyed the workshop itself. It had not been Sakutsuki's intention, so he had not planned to project those two divine swords.

Well, originally.

But in this other world, looking at the vast horde of Dragon Tooth Warriors, could anyone resist the urge to sweep them away with a massive AOE attack?

Besides, this was another world. No matter how wildly he cut loose, it would not affect reality. Sakutsuki felt no psychological burden at all!

The flaming greatsword and the agate-like giant sword swept across the battlefield, effortlessly shattering the weak, pitiful, helpless Dragon Tooth Warriors. The sensation transmitted through his hands made Sakutsuki feel utterly satisfied.

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What had originally been a zombie siege was forcibly turned into a mowing-the-lawn massacre by Sakutsuki. As the last Dragon Tooth Warrior was destroyed, this other world painstakingly constructed by the Spirit Evocation Department collapsed on its own, dissolving into magical power.

He withdrew the twin swords before the other world vanished. When Sakutsuki returned to observation, Kayneth discovered in astonishment that the white-haired young man was completely spotless. Only his golden eyes shone brighter, more... filled with anticipation.

It was as if a king looking down from on high were asking: What other interesting tricks do you have to offer me?

That innocent gaze, transmitted through the familiar's surveillance, brought Kayneth immense pressure. The blond man clenched his trembling hand, and a rare unwillingness to lose rose within him.

"Then as you wish..."

Behind him, invisible and intangible spirits and goblins, seemingly wrapped in endless malice, shrieked. The instant Kayneth released their restraints, they vanished and surged toward the other living being on this floor.

Hyatt Hotel, downstairs.

The guests had been awakened from their sleep by the fire alarm and guided to the outdoor parking lot. They clustered together, their faces showing a mixture of fear of the fire, drowsiness, and displeasure at the cold. Hotel employees hurried back and forth through the crowd.

"...Mr. Archibald! Is Mr. Archibald here?" The night clerk raised his voice, searching everywhere for the last group of guests on the accommodation list who had not yet been accounted for. Everyone at the hotel had been deeply concerned about this super VIP who had booked out the entire top-floor suite. In a sense, he was the important guest the hotel least wanted anything to happen to.

"Mr. Archibald! Are you here?"

"—Yes, I'm here. Please don't worry." A calm, composed voice answered from behind him. The clerk turned around, only to be utterly baffled. The one speaking to him was an inconspicuous Japanese man wearing an old coat.

This joke was far from funny. Just as the clerk grew irritated and was about to rebuke him—the man's eyes rendered him unable to move. A mysterious attraction made it impossible for him to look away, and he could not even open his mouth to speak.

"I am Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. My wife and I have already evacuated." The unfamiliar Easterner's voice was calm and clear. Under the effects of suggestion magecraft, the clerk's thoughts turned hazy, and he believed the man's words without question.

"...Is that so? Ah, yes, that's right. So you've already evacuated."

The clerk checked off "Evacuated" in the register in his hands and let out a relieved breath. He no longer felt that anything about his conversation with that gentleman had been suspicious or strange.

After watching the clerk hurry away to deal with the other evacuees, Kiritsugu Emiya moved away from the crowd. Once he confirmed no one was paying attention to him, he took a phone from his pocket.

"I'm ready. How about your side?"

"Nothing unusual. You can make your move at any time."

The person on the other end was his partner, Maiya Hisau. She was positioned on an upper floor of an unfinished high-rise building diagonally across from the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel. It was the closest location from which to monitor Kayneth's room.

Kiritsugu exhaled softly. One hand pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket while the other entered a string of numbers into the phone. Yet he paused over the final button and could not help looking toward the brightly lit tower.

After the plan had been changed, the bombs had been set far sooner than anticipated—in fact, by the time Sakutsuki arrived at the Hyatt building, Kiritsugu had already completed every preparation to demolish it.

If he had detonated them then, not only would Kayneth, Lancer's Master, have fallen freely from a height of 150 meters, with no Magic Boundary Field capable of keeping him alive, but Caster's Master...