Chapter 8

Even Kara no Kyoukai is an important part of the Type-Moon world, but unfortunately, compared to the widely known Holy Grail War, Kara no Kyoukai is significantly less popular. Even many veteran Masters who have played FGO aren't very familiar with the story it tells.

Although Kara no Kyoukai isn't widely known, its protagonist, Shiki Ryougi, has become wildly famous beyond the fandom. With the most supreme Mystic Eyes of Death Perception in the Type-Moon world, her dashing figure, and that iconic line—"Even if it's a god, if it's alive, I'll kill it"—she has won over countless fans. Even Rovey back in the day was drawn to her image.

Based on the timeline, Shiki Ryougi should only be a middle schooler right now, and since the Root Shiki's attitude toward him is unknown, Rovey doesn't plan to actively approach her. Instead, he turns his attention elsewhere.

"I'd better go find the Mother of Kanbako City first..."

Compared to the uncertain situation with Shiki Ryougi, the legendary Absolute Future Vision would be far more helpful to him right now. Rovey has a vague premonition that he might gain some unexpected rewards from her.

"The Mother of Kanbako City—her true identity is an old woman who calls herself a fortune-teller. In essence, she's a hidden Absolute Future Vision lurking in the alleys, asking for nothing in return, telling fortunes for passersby about fate, career, love, and helping people avert tragedy. She's like an urban legend."

Every fortune-teller boasts about their skill and accuracy, but compared to those charlatans or half-baked fortune-telling Magi who haven't mastered their craft, the Mother of Kanbako City's fortune-telling is on a completely different level. Her eyes are undoubtedly a genuine Future Vision of this era.

Though it's unclear how her Absolute Future Vision compares to Merlin, Solomon, or Gilgamesh—those Grand Casters with Clairvoyance EX—there's no doubt that its performance far surpasses ordinary prediction or the cheating power of Clairvoyance. Absolute Future Vision... Even in the Age of Gods, such an ability would have been chosen by the gods for oracles or earned someone the title of Prophet. For it to appear in the modern age is nothing short of a miracle.

Knowing something this intriguing exists, Rovey naturally has to meet her in person.

Walking alone through a narrow alley littered with snow, collapsed air-conditioning units, and debris, Rovey sidesteps the murky puddles formed by melting snow and continues forward. When he reaches a fork in the road, he casually knocks out two thugs who had been tailing him and lying in ambush, then walks on without even lifting his head.

Even during the New Year, they don't take a break, and the alleys keep spawning delinquents. Does this place think it's an RPG game? Fixed spawn points for thugs in the alleys, then they drop wallets or something. Though, this cliché does fit pretty well.

"Tch, we've been found?!"

"Hey! You're an outsider, aren't you? If you don't want to lose a few body parts, hand over your money quietly!"

Seeing their two ambush buddies get caught, the remaining thugs realize their plan has failed and drop all pretense. The rest of them jump out at the same time. Four of them, holding knives, flank Rovey from front and back, trapping him in the middle of the alley while shouting for him to hand over his money.

"..."

Rovey sizes up the thugs surrounding him. This is actually a novel experience for him—it's his first time being mugged, and by clueless Muggles at that. Still, he has no intention of playing along with these guys, so he ignores their meaningless threats and turns to leave.

"Hey hey! What's your deal? Didn't you hear what I said? Hurry up and—"

"Aaah!!"

Seeing Rovey dismiss him, the lead thug starts cursing and swings his dagger at him, intending to teach him a lesson.

Vwoom—!!

The next moment, a sharp, piercing sound rings out, and a massive impact slams into the thug, sending him flying into a pile of trash behind him.

"Shh. Didn't anyone ever tell you that keeping quiet while someone is thinking is basic manners?"

Rovey slowly raises a finger, his eyes cold as he looks at the thugs closing in from behind. "It's a bit wasteful, but I don't have time to play with you right now. Let's finish this quickly."

Without bothering to consider what the thugs are thinking, Rovey unzips a pocket on his coat and, under their bewildered gazes, pulls out a special test tube containing a liquid resembling mercury. He crushes it in his hand.

—Boom!!

"Fervor, mel sanguis."

With a sharp cracking sound, the silver, mercury-like liquid spills from the test tube and drips onto the ground. As he softly chants the incantation, the pool of Volumen Hydrargyrum on the ground begins to expand slowly in front of him, eventually floating into his palm and transforming according to his will.

Volumen Hydrargyrum—a Mystic Code completed by Kayneth El-Mello Archibald, the Lord of the Mineralogy Department at the Clock Tower, when he was in his twenties. It is hailed as the Supreme Mystic Code of the El-Melloi Faction, one of the twelve families. It boasts automatic attack, automatic target acquisition, and automatic defense functions, making it exceptionally well-rounded. Beyond being an outstanding combat Mystic Code, Volumen Hydrargyrum also serves as a top-tier computational device for the El-Melloi Faction, capable of assisting in spellcasting.

Even across the entire Clock Tower, few Mystic Codes are as versatile as this one, and its value is staggering precisely because of its exceptional functionality. Only the top talents of the El-Melloi Faction can obtain it. The Volumen Hydrargyrum in Rovey's hands was personally gifted by his cheap teacher when he was promoted to Festival Rank.

Since he specializes in Alchemy, and mercury—often called the blood of Alchemy—is a key component of the craft, this Mystic Code fits him perfectly. That's why he carries it with him often.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Monster! It's a monster!! This guy's a monster!!"

As the mercury liquid swirls through the air under Rovey's control, the remaining thugs—having seen their comrade sent flying by magical force and knocked unconscious against a wall, and now witnessing such an unnatural sight—lose all their bravado. They don't even have the courage to drag their unconscious friends away, scattering in panic toward the alley's exit.

"Hmph, trying to run?"

Rovey watched them coldly, slowly raising a hand and pointing. A faint ripple of magical energy spread through the Volumen Hydrargyrum suspended in midair.

Under his command, the swollen silver liquid burst apart like a bomb in the sky, each fragment of mercury transforming into sharp spikes that shot straight ahead.

"Boom—!!"

Several piercing shatters mixed with sharp explosions.

"Ah!!"

Soon, accompanied by wretched screams and a sound like something cracking, those thugs were pierced by the mercury and slammed into the wall in a close embrace. From the look of it, they'd even broken a few ribs, passing out from the pain and losing all will to fight.

Though they were nothing but scum who bullied the weak, Rovey wasn't a bloodthirsty killer. As long as they hadn't committed heinous crimes, he wouldn't easily take their lives, so he didn't kill them outright.

Still, that didn't mean he would tolerate these villains or hold any hope for their nature.

—Even if you showed kindness to the wicked, their evil nature wouldn't change. The only real way to stop them was to strip them of their ability to keep doing harm.

This time, he'd take one arm or leg from each, leaving them utterly incapable of further evil. For the rest of their lives, they'd drag their crippled bodies around and personally experience the suffering of the weak they'd once hurt.

No sooner said than done. Having made up his mind, Rovey's fingers shifted slightly, and the Volumen Hydrargyrum in the air trembled again. A blinding silver arc howled through the alley, followed by a few hysterical screams. In an instant, several patches of blood stained the white snow underfoot, granting these thugs their deserved punishment.

"Now that feels a lot better..."

...And his thoughts were much clearer, too.

"As for you lot, try being human for the rest of your lives."

Ignoring the dying thugs and the scattered limbs around him, Rovey stepped over the blood-soaked snow and walked deeper into the alley.

"Since I'm already here, I can't let this trip go to waste, can I? I've been looking for so long—you might as well come out and meet me, old-timer."

He muttered to the empty sky, as if addressing someone not present.

"...Sigh."

After a long moment, a drawn-out sigh slowly emerged from the darkness not far away.

Chapter 10: The Flower Magus's Warning (5K, begging for favorites!)

Caw—caw—

—Caw!!

A black crow flew across the gray sky, finally landing on a treetop.

Black and white, stillness and motion, death and life—they converged in that instant. The crow's eyes were deep and cold, as if scrutinizing the world or waiting for something. The snow-covered earth lay in utter silence, only the crow's screech echoing through the air.

When the wind rose, snowflakes drifted down gently, settling on the crow's body, but it paid no mind, standing there quietly.

Due to its location, the sea breeze near Tokyo Bay was stronger than in other areas, and the winter climate made the temperature here even more bitingly cold.

After dealing with a bunch of reckless thugs and leaving them with a lifelong lesson in his own way, Rovey finally found his true target deep in a more secluded alley—

As he stepped into that long, narrow alley, a strong sense of dissonance suddenly washed over him. In a remote corner, the dead end had vanished. Through the shadows, a table had somehow appeared, and a slightly plump figure seated behind it was smiling and waving at him.

"Young man, care to try a fortune? It's very accurate~"

At the sound of a gentle voice, Rovey turned his head to look.

A light black English long hat was adorned with a blue flower. A veil as dark as night covered her aged face and graying hair. She wore a well-tailored black coat, with ornate accessories on her arms, her hands clasped together resting on her fortune-telling table. Her appearance didn't evoke the image of a mysterious fortune-teller but rather a middle-aged noblewoman dressed in finery.

Noticing the woman hidden in the shadows of the corner, Rovey's lips curled into a faint smile as he walked toward her.

"I thought you wouldn't see me, old-timer. I was already prepared to leave."

"Really? But in my vision, I don't see a future where you obediently leave..."

The Mother of Kanbako City smiled calmly, refuting Rovey's words.

"But the future isn't set in stone, is it?" Rovey returned the smile.

"Still, I never expected that without even meeting someone in person, you could predict their future just by not seeing them. That's a downright cheating ability, old lady."

"Don't say that, young man. This power isn't mine—I'm merely a temporary vessel for it. Perhaps one day it will abandon me."

Without a doubt, before the Mother of Kanbako City answered Rovey, the two had never met. Yet she seemed to have foreseen something in advance, allowing her to speak to him like this.

For Rovey, the correct answer was already clear: what she had seen was the future she had just predicted, and in that outcome, Rovey hadn't left obediently but had continued searching for her here.

However, even with the label of Absolute Future Vision, nothing was truly absolute. As he said, the future was never fixed—it was ever-changing, with countless possibilities.

To give a simple example: if the Mother of Kanbako City predicted what she would eat for dinner tonight and bet on it, Rovey could simply skip dinner or deliberately avoid it to change the predicted future.

If one had to analyze it, the future was an unknown event determined not to change, with the final say belonging to the Root. Predicting the future only meant seeing one of many possibilities.

The Absolute Future Vision possessed by the Mother of Kanbako City allowed her to see all possible futures of a person, then choose the most likely one to tell them, using verbal guidance to steer them onto that predicted path.

Rovey pondered seriously, analyzing the nature of the Mother of Kanbako City's Absolute Future Vision.

As if sensing his thoughts, the Mother of Kanbako City sitting at the stall suddenly laughed.

"Haha, what an interesting young man. You're right—the future is ever-changing, not something that can be fully grasped through prediction."

"Though I'd like to answer the questions in your heart, the complex reasons behind it are beyond me. I'm just an ordinary fortune-teller, not a hundred-percent-accurate prophet. The rumors you've heard are probably just urban legends."

"Urban legends, huh..."

'Urban legends can't read minds so easily. But since you say so, I'll go along with it.'

Rovey thought to himself, not bothering to argue the point.

"Well then, a pleasure to meet you, Mother of Kanbako City." He nodded again, then turned to the elderly figure before him, speaking quite amiably. After all, she was not only a prophet but also an old woman, and he might need her help this time, so he kept his tone humble and showed her ample respect.

"My name is Rovey. I'm a Magus passing through. I've got a tight lip—I haven't gone around blabbing about your existence."

"Mm, thank you for understanding, young man."

The old woman nodded lightly, a smile on her face, apparently fairly satisfied with Rovey's attitude.

"I don't want your world to know I exist, nor do I want to get tangled up in too much trouble. I'm just an ordinary fortune-teller. If word gets out that I'm some hundred-percent-accurate prophet, I might as well never do another reading."

"Rest assured, I wouldn't stoop to something so boring."

"I believe you, young man."

"Then let's get straight to the point, ma'am. I'm sure with your insight, you can clearly see why I've come."

After the brief introductions, Rovey sat down on the stool in front of Mother of Kanbako City's stall like any ordinary customer, then spoke to her directly. His gaze pierced through the hazy black veil, fixed on her water-blue eyes.

"I'd like you to help me predict what's coming next in the future."

Predict the future, huh...

"Alright, then I'll begin."

Mother of Kanbako City nodded. She lifted her head, her blue eyes fixing on the young man before her. After a short observation, she seemed to find something amusing, nodded lightly, and then spoke slowly to Rovey again.

"How interesting, young man. The secrets hidden within you are far more mysterious than I imagined."

Rovey: "..."

"Your situation is very peculiar, and your origins are quite extraordinary—almost as if you don't belong to this world. There's no trace of you in the path of the future."

"...So?"

"So, I'm sorry, but when it comes to your future, even these eyes of mine can't see it clearly."