In a world without sun or sky, upon a battlefield where conflict never ceased.
Death and slaughter had long since become the main melody of this land of shadows.
Slaughter, slaughter, slaughter, slaughter...
Death, death, death, death...
The years slipped through my fingers without my noticing, and lives continued to perish by my hand.
Even the two Crimson Magic Spears in my hands seemed to have deepened in color after drinking their fill of blood.
Looking back, I realized in a daze that I had truly taken many lives.
Whether my opponents had been humans, magical beasts, undead, or even... gods.
Through those eternal, unchanging years, what had I done?
Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight... an endless battle. Kill every enemy, drench this body that had long become eternal in their blood.
I would not grow old.
I would not die.
By now, I was no longer human, but something that existed somewhere between a god and a human.
How should such a complicated term be described?
A monster?
Heh, what a fitting adjective. I truly was a monster, a monster wandering amid slaughter.
How long had it been since I was born?
How many years had passed since I first took up a weapon and began to fight?
Why had I fought in the beginning?
I could not remember. I could not remember at all.
Only when I looked back did I realize that the road behind me had long become pitch-black, while an endless abyss still awaited ahead.
Did I regret it?
I did not know.
Did I have regrets?
Perhaps a few.
Amid endless erosion, I seemed to have long lost the meaning of my existence.
Now, all I desired was death—to die as a human, to meet my end in battle.
That would be enough.
It did not matter who it was. So long as they could kill me.
But where was the one who could kill me honorably?
I no longer knew how many years I had wandered through the Land of Shadows, nor how many times I had sought death and failed. Even the disciples I had carefully chosen, the warriors in whom I had placed such high hopes, brought nothing but disappointment time and again.
Loneliness, confusion...
God, I would ask nothing of you. I would not pray for your mercy.
Because I knew that gods would not help those who prayed, would not forgive them, much less extend a helping hand to them.
Because that was not prayer. It was merely a petition made to the gods.
In that case, die!
Then fight! Keep fighting!!
Battle itself was prayer. Only by fighting without cease until the very last moment.
At the end, my wish could finally be fulfilled.
During those long years, an abominable Nightmare had once come to my land by a special means and conveyed something that caught my attention.
"Someone can put an end to your suffering."
To end this long life and suffering—yes, that was what I sought.
Following that fellow's guidance, I looked toward a more distant place.
At the end of solitude, I saw a certain ending... and a figure at its center.
Was he the so-called opportunity? Could he truly bring me the death I desired? Could he be the one to end my life...
For that chance, I waited quietly with anticipation in my heart.
As the years passed, one day, by a chance opportunity, a call appeared in my mind.
It was—
The Holy Grail War?
Such an interesting and intense event actually existed, and that special soul contained a power I could not comprehend.
Interesting. Truly interesting...
With a measure of anticipation and excitement, I answered his call through my connection with Cú Chulainn.
'Your fate is bound to my spear. In this war, I will do everything in my power to help you obtain all that you desire.'
'In return, once everything is ready, I hope you will engage me in a true battle and bring this long life of mine to a perfect end.'
—That was my final wish. I was Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows.
Looking at the beautiful and bewitching figure before him as she stepped out of the summoning circle.
"You..."
Rovey froze. He did not understand why he had summoned her.
"The Queen of the Haunted Wasteland in the Land of Shadows... Scathach..."
By all rights, she should not have died yet. Like Merlin, imprisoned in Vivian's tower, she should merely have existed somewhere beyond this world.
The Holy Grail War could not summon someone still alive, so what exactly was she...?
"I can tell from your expression that you are very surprised by my appearance. And you clearly know of me."
"Then, Servant, Caster, Scáthach. Warrior and Queen of the Land of Shadows. I have answered this summons in place of my worthless disciple. It is a pleasure to meet you, my... Master."
The queen named Scáthach looked at him and smiled.
"Hey, Junior Crowley, is... is that the Servant you summoned?"
Compared to Rovey, who wore a complicated expression as he stood to one side and pondered the reason, Aozaki Touko, who had witnessed everything that had just happened, could barely conceal the excitement in her heart.
She silently stubbed out the cigarette that had burned down in her hand, then gently shook Rovey's shoulder beside her and said in disbelief.
"Heroic Spirit Summoning... the Holy Grail War. I expected something remarkable, but it can actually reach this level? It can even summon her..."
Facing Scáthach, who had answered the call and appeared before them, Aozaki Touko rubbed her hands excitedly.
Before they began, Rovey had explained to her the wonders of this Holy Grail War. It could truly summon Heroic Spirits from the past into the modern age to fight at one's side. But hearing about it was one thing; some things could only be understood after witnessing their impact firsthand.
It would have been one thing if Rovey had summoned an ordinary Heroic Spirit, but the one who answered his call was the Queen of the Land of Shadows, the warrior who had slain gods, the teacher of the Hound of Ulster—the renowned Scáthach.
And beyond that, she held a different significance for Aozaki Touko.
After all, among Aozaki Touko's two greatest achievements to date, aside from perfecting and improving Puppet Magecraft and making breakthroughs in it, the other was reviving part of Northern Europe's Rune Foundation in the modern age through several Northern European Talisman Stones. Such achievements were already comparable to miracles by modern Magecraft standards, yet the person standing before her was the Queen of the Land of Shadows.
Aside from being a warrior, Scáthach was also said in the Magecraft World to possess the Wisdom of the Haunted Wasteland, and she had mastered all Primordial Runes.
That level was nothing compared to the incomplete versions in Aozaki Touko's hands. Thus, when facing Scáthach, the master of Primordial Runes, Aozaki Touko was like a junior meeting her idol, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes.
She had even begun imagining the scene of learning every Rune from this queen, then finding an opportunity to strike back and teach someone a lesson.
"We won! Junior Rovey, we've definitely won this time! The Holy Grail War is ours!"
Aozaki Touko clenched her fists and cheered excitedly.
Though she had no idea what Servants the other Magi had summoned, she firmly believed that with the Queen of the Land of Shadows's help, Rovey had already secured victory in this Holy Grail War.
"..."
Watching Aozaki Touko beside him with an expression straight out of Tokiomi Tohsaka, Rovey covered his forehead and could not help sighing helplessly.
Us?
Who said anything about us...
This was clearly my Holy Grail War, okay?
But Rovey had no time to dwell on the fact that Aozaki Touko was preparing to involve herself. He turned his gaze back to the smiling queen before him and spoke solemnly.
"Although I still have not figured out what is going on or why you are here, from now on, I entrust my fate to you, Queen Scáthach."
"Of course, my Master."
"From now until your true goal is achieved, entrust your fate to my spear."
She answered with the same smile.
Invitation and Encounter
—I wished to go to that world of dreams. To me, dreams were reality.
One day.
Inside a recently established Magic Workshop, a young Magus leaning back in a chair gently closed his eyes.
Flowers...
This was a paradise on earth that existed only in fairy tales.
The air was sweet, the sunlight warm, and pink petals drifted through the sky, surrounding the lost intruder.
The dream he had reached was intricate, false and true, true and false.
It was as hazy as flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water, yet the sensation it gave was incomparably real, causing his thoughts to nearly stagnate.
Within that haziness of mirrored flowers and moonlit water, Rovey's mind grew slightly muddled. Then he took a step forward and began climbing the smooth marble stairs toward the enormous tower before him.
"Come over quickly, come... come..."
A faint voice echoed through the dream. Passing through layer upon layer of petals, Rovey only felt himself drawing closer and closer to the source of that voice.
He continued forward, moving onward...
At last, only one step remained.
"Brave young man, you will soon touch the miracle of legend."
"I, the great sage blessed with both beauty and wisdom, am waiting for your arrival at the end."
Who?
Who was speaking to me?
This voice, these petals... they felt strangely familiar, yet he could not remember. He could not recall.
Within the deep dream, his head felt heavy and muddled. He could not focus enough to think, and could only continue onward by instinct and guidance.
As the voice drew closer and closer, so too did he draw ever nearer to the top of the tower.
Finally, at the instant he was about to touch the curtain and pass through the illusion, what he saw was a blurry white figure—
Crack—!!
At that moment, in reality, the two gems on his body shattered in response.
In a daze, Rovey, still within the dream, opened his eyes. Relying on the adjustments and precautions he had prepared for himself beforehand, he awakened his mind once more, and his thoughts immediately became clear.
"Get lost."
Before you continue