The crisis had temporarily been resolved, and Shiki finally had a chance to catch his breath, calm down, sort through his thoughts, and examine himself.
Countless memories surged through his mind like a tide.
There was the surprise and emotion of first meeting Panda in Tokyo; the time in middle school when his hot blood got the better of him and he couldn't stand seeing students from the girls' school next door bullied by street punks, so he stepped in and got beaten black and blue; and the scenes of him fooling around with his classmates in elementary school, showing off and trying to look cool. The memories continued to trace backward, returning to his childhood, when he was three or four and got scolded by his mother for being naughty, until finally reaching those vague fragments from infancy.
These were all memories belonging to his counterpart in this world.
Ever since Shiki's consciousness had merged with his, this seventeen-year-old boy, who was also named Shiki, had completely become him.
It felt like waking from a long dream. The seventeen-year-old's memories seemed like yesterday's self, while today, he was still himself.
He recalled why he had come from Mount Fuji City in Chiba Prefecture to Fuyuki City in Hyogo Prefecture: he had been searching for a way to cure the strange illness that had plagued him since childhood.
Doctors had declared that the illness would prevent him from living past twenty, and it had troubled the boy's family for years. His parents had taken him everywhere in search of treatment, visiting countless renowned doctors, yet they had found nothing. Later, he heard at his school back home that Fuyuki City might have a famous doctor, so he took leave and came alone.
But instead of finding a doctor, he had run into a group of con artists. They knocked him unconscious, robbed him of everything valuable, and finally dumped him in this abandoned bar to fend for himself.
"Is this fate playing tricks on me, or something else..." Shiki muttered.
At that moment, he saw the police of this era arrive and take away the children the yellow-haired man had abducted, which finally put him somewhat at ease. Even with Magic Dress Gear, that yellow-haired man would never dare attack again in broad daylight. After all, the police's modern weapons were no joke.
"Now you can rest easy too, can't you, sir?"
Standing at the edge of the rooftop, Shiki spoke without looking back to the hooded man who had suddenly appeared behind him. He turned around and raised an eyebrow. Even in the dim light, his awakened vision allowed him to see the man's face clearly.
This guy is really ugly. That was Shiki's first reaction. The man had short, pale hair, while the left side of his face was covered in wrinkles. His skin sagged, utterly lifeless, and that milky-white eye clearly no longer functioned normally.
His second reaction came from the scattered memories in his mind. Shiki recognized him—Matou Kariya, the man known as "the last decent man of the Matou Family."
Matou Kariya stared at the boy before him with an unfriendly gaze, looking him over from head to toe.
The boy was about the same height as him, perhaps even slightly taller. He wore an ordinary tracksuit, and his thin frame gave no hint of the agility and flexibility he had displayed in battle earlier.
His appearance was ordinary, but pleasant enough to look at. His pitch-black eyes in particular seemed to conceal endless magic, making people unable to help but sink into them.
The boy wore a smile that seemed to carry a strange charm. Even someone on guard would unconsciously relax somewhat upon seeing it.
Kariya could sense that the person before him bore no hostility. Besides, Shiki had saved Rin earlier, so Kariya should have felt grateful.
Yet for some reason, he instinctively resisted this mysterious person who had suddenly barged into the Holy Grail War. In his eyes, all Magi were damned scum, beasts who did not deserve to live in this world.
"Who are you? Why did you come to this city at such a time?" Kariya asked coldly.
Shiki secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the other man was willing to speak, there was room for communication. He hated people who kept silent; when they wanted to talk, they never knew where to begin.
Shiki composed himself, sat down at the edge of the rooftop, and said with a smile, "Who am I? Hmm... it's a long story."
Kariya frowned deeply and said impatiently, "Then keep it short."
"Sure. Simply put, I'm just a passerby who accidentally got caught up in a mysterious incident."
"...That certainly was short. Since the incident is over, boy, you should leave this city as soon as possible. If you stay here, you may die." With that, Kariya turned to leave. He had said what needed to be said and had no interest in continuing this idle chat. But the moment he turned around, Shiki called out to him.
"Wait!"
Kariya stopped, turned around, and silently watched Shiki, waiting for him to speak.
"I'm saying, the person you care about down there is already safe. There's no need to be in such a rush to leave."
Shiki had not expected the man to leave after only a few words. That would ruin his plan, and he couldn't allow that.
He stood up, took two steps forward, keeping a safe distance from Kariya before continuing, "I have quite a few good qualities. I'm honest and trustworthy, upright and kind, optimistic and driven, and highly self-disciplined. But I do have one small flaw: I always repay my grudges. Some killer had it out for me for no reason and even attacked me. If I don't get revenge, I really won't feel at ease."
Kariya found the boy a little strange. Who praised himself like that? Besides, how could repaying grudges be considered a flaw? That was clearly just part of his personality.
"So, boy, you want to fight that killer?" As he spoke, a trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Kariya's lips. "Give it up, boy. Maybe you have some special ability, but don't overestimate yourself if you want to contend with a Servant. It will cost you your life. I advise you to leave this city quickly. This place is not suitable for a young man like you."
He felt he had already done all he could. Advising the boy to leave was only because Shiki's earlier kindness had stirred that last sliver of conscience within him. He had more important things to do and no time to waste here.
"Yes, I really don't have much power right now."
Seeing that the other man was about to leave again, Shiki did not stop him. He simply continued, "But sir, with my abilities, perhaps I can help you hold on longer. You should know that your physical condition is terrible and your life force is rapidly draining away. That feeling can't be pleasant. You probably won't live past half a month. No matter what dreams you have, once you die, everything will disappear."
Kariya suddenly turned around, his right eye shooting out an icy gaze as though he were looking at a dead man.
"Boy, do you know what you're saying?"
Shiki did not care about that cold stare in the slightest. He smiled faintly. "Of course I do, sir. I'm dealing with a Master in the Holy Grail War."
Kariya gave the boy a long look. "It seems you know quite a lot."
Although the Holy Grail War was a secret ritual, it was not completely airtight. Since the other party was part of the mysterious world, it was not strange for him to know this information.
"But why should I help you? I don't trust you."
"Heh, sir, trust is something that has to be built slowly. How about we find somewhere to have dinner, talk properly, and try to get to know each other?" Shiki was not anxious at all. If it were him, he would not easily believe the words of a strange boy either. Much less Kariya, who was caught up in the urgent Holy Grail War and would be even less willing to hand his trust to someone else.
Shiki glanced around and said meaningfully, "Sir, you don't want to discuss such secret matters while being watched by others, do you?"
"Hmph. A bunch of rats who only know how to hide in the shadows." Kariya naturally knew that people were watching him nearby. There were not only spies from his household, but outsiders as well, perhaps even Servants.
He had not originally possessed that level of awareness. Only after forming a connection with his Servant, and borrowing some of the Servant's beast-like instincts in certain respects, had he noticed that a Servant was watching from afar. It was most likely Assassin monitoring him.
However, this was not his primary objective. So long as they did not interfere, he would not waste his precious life on such people.
As for the boy's proposal, Kariya was somewhat tempted.
His physical condition was truly terrible. Large amounts of his life force were being devoured by the Crest Worms, hollowing out his body and severely limiting his ability to act.
If his condition could truly be alleviated, perhaps his Servant could become stronger and his chances of obtaining the Holy Grail would increase. Then he could truly allow the child he cared about to gain freedom.
At that thought, Kariya turned and headed downstairs, his voice carrying back to Shiki. "Follow me."
Hearing those words, Shiki smiled happily.
The crucial first step toward achieving his goal had finally succeeded. As long as they gradually deepened their understanding of one another and built trust afterward, what he wanted would eventually fall into his hands.
He wanted to see the Holy Grail too, to find out whether it could truly grant his wish.
Even though Shiki knew perfectly well that the Holy Grail's interior had long been corrupted, and that any wish would be fulfilled in the most evil manner possible.
Still, he wanted to try.
But for now, his most pressing matter was to fill his stomach. He had no idea how many days this counterpart from another world had gone without food. Even if the con artists had robbed him clean, he should not have been starving this badly.
Before you continue