Impermanence

This morning, Fuyuki City welcomed a guest from afar.

A gray-haired girl dragged a small suitcase out of the airport.

"Hey, Gray! Over here!"

Luvia had been waiting there for quite some time. The moment she saw her good friend Gray, she immediately waved in greeting.

"Miss Luvia~"

Gray's voice was soft and gentle, giving her a shy impression. Coupled with the gray robe wrapped around her entire body, revealing only part of her face, she seemed especially mysterious.

"Long time no see, Gray~"

"Long time no see, Miss Luvia. May I ask what you need my help with?"

Gray got straight to the point, but Luvia interrupted her.

"I told you not to be so reserved. You've finally had a chance to come out, so there's no rush. Take it easy. Oh, where's Add?"

Luvia pulled Gray into the car and casually asked about Add.

"Here."

Gray reached into her robe and took out a small birdcage. Inside it was a metal cube.

Once it was taken out, the face on one side of the metal cube actually spoke.

"Yo~ Miss Crane, long time no see."

"Add! That's so rude!"

Hearing Add directly call Luvia by one of her nicknames, Gray looked a little flustered.

But Luvia did not mind at all.

"Ha~ It's nothing serious. For a professional lady, receiving a title like that is an excellent thing. Freestyle wrestling is a required course for ladies, after all. I'm very satisfied with that title."

Luvia knew she had the nickname Lady Crane, and she liked it very much.

"Uh... Hahaha."

Add felt a little awkward. Faced with someone so blindly confident and lacking in self-awareness, even he became unsure how to continue the conversation. What did that mean? It meant Luvia could kill any conversation stone dead.

Meanwhile, Gray looked at Luvia with a face full of admiration, longing for this "art" known as a required course for ladies.

The two chatted and laughed along the way, soon arriving at Luvia's estate.

To make it easier to keep in touch with Illya—or rather, to get closer to Emiya Shirou—Luvia had bought the land in front of Illya's house. Then, with just a tiny bit of magecraft, a magnificent castle now stood across from Illya's home.

The two got out of the car at the entrance, where Tohsaka Rin, dressed in a maid uniform, came out to greet them.

"Gray! Long time no see!"

Gray was stunned by Tohsaka Rin's outfit and covered her mouth as she asked, "Miss Tohsaka, why are you...?"

"Ohohohoho~"

Luvia covered her mouth and let out her unmistakable laugh. Looking smugly at the teeth-gritting Tohsaka Rin, she said, "I offered this girl a wage five thousand yen higher per hour than an ordinary maid's, and she agreed to become my servant. Go on, prepare accommodations for our honored guest, then make dinner. Aren't you good at cooking? Keep at it until the guest is satisfied!"

Luvia stood there like a proud demon, baring terrifying fangs at Tohsaka Rin.

"You...!"

Tohsaka Rin was on the verge of exploding, but in the end, she steadied herself. She picked up Gray's small suitcase and headed toward the room that had long been prepared.

"Get some good rest, Gray. We'll act tonight. When the time comes, I'll introduce you to a little girl."

Luvia gestured for Gray to follow Tohsaka Rin. Gray nodded, then followed after her.

That night, inside the alternate space.

Mo Shuying looked confused at the open passage before him, until Caster Mom Medea poked her head out from within.

"Hmm, not a bad place. There's plenty of magical energy, though this environment... Has this place been bombed?"

Medea glanced at the other world, which was riddled with craters, and spoke with a smile in her eyes.

"Yeah, more or less. What is it? Why did you suddenly come here?"

Mo Shuying secretly grew wary. Caster Mom was highly intelligent and had schemed against quite a few people before. He was worried she had come to trick him. Still, now that she had left Ryuudou Temple, without the boost from Territory Creation, her strength had been greatly diminished.

If they really fought, Mo Shuying did not think he would lose.

"Don't be nervous. I... came to ask whether you still have any of the thing you gave me yesterday?"

The face beneath Caster Mom's hood flushed slightly. She recalled Kuzuki's madness last night. It really was—

Too incredible!

Though she and her husband had a very good relationship, the kind that would never waver, life still needed a little spice now and then, didn't it? Otherwise, it would be far too boring.

"Huh? Oh! The Charming Demon Crystals? I do have a few left. You want some?"

Watching Medea cover her face and sway about, Mo Shuying suddenly became a little worried about Kuzuki. He wondered whether Kuzuki's body could really hold up.

"How many are left? Give them all to me. I'll owe you one."

Medea spoke somewhat excitedly.

Mo Shuying nodded, then took out three crystals and tossed them to Medea. He kept two for himself; it never hurt to hold something back.

Medea was delighted to receive them. After putting the crystals away, she turned to leave, but stopped just as she was about to exit the passage and turned back to speak.

"Oh, right. There's something I can warn you about. My familiars discovered several little girls searching for Singularities. Their goal is to eliminate Heroic Spirits like you and collect Class Cards. Several spaces have already vanished before this. They set out just now, apparently having found a new space. Watch yourself, and don't die too early. Oh, and consider this warning a little bonus—you don't need to repay me."

After saying that, Medea walked out of the passage. Mo Shuying frowned, understanding as he looked at the passageway that had not vanished. Medea had left him a door; if he wished, he could leave through it.

"The last Heroic Spirit should be a Berserker. I don't know which one, but few Berserkers are normal. I don't want to take that kind of risk. Forget it, forget it. I'd better just honestly grind monsters and level up."

Having made up his mind, Mo Shuying did not leave the passage.

In the front courtyard of Ryuudou Temple, Medea waited for Mo Shuying.

"That man is really overly cautious."

Medea spoke indifferently. A few minutes later, she tapped the ground with the tip of her foot, and the spatial passage vanished, along with the magic circle drawn on the ground.

"What a pity. If I could have captured him and developed him a little with my Noble Phantasm, I might have gained a powerful subordinate."

Medea reached beneath her cloak and revealed a strange purple blade, speaking with some regret.

Mo Shuying, within the space, suddenly shuddered for no reason. A trace of doubt rose in his heart. What was going on?

At the same time, atop a high-rise building dozens of stories tall, Miyu transformed into a Magical Girl and released her mana, constructing a mana passage on the rooftop. Once the passage had stabilized, she dragged the other three into this alternate space. It was worth mentioning that Illya was absent, but Gray had joined them instead.

The four appeared on the rooftop within the alternate space. Gale-force winds howled around them; ordinary people could not even stand steadily, but none of them were ordinary.

Just as the four were preparing to split up and search—

"ROAR!!"

A thunderous roar rang out beside them.