Shirou's Return From the Fae Kingdom

The records of the far-sight magic end here.

It's impossible to confirm without actually seeing it with my own eyes, Shirou thought, returning to his room to sleep.

That night, he had a dream for the first time in a while.

It felt like I had a dream last night.

I can't remember what specifically happened in the dream or who I saw.

I only remember it was a very warm dream.

In the dream, I was enjoying a holiday to my heart's content by the sea with a certain young girl.

Shirou couldn't help but frown: Who exactly was that cute and lovely girl…

Today is a day off.

After Shirou made breakfast for Taiga Fujimura, he left the house, leaving Lady Avalon to her self-imposed isolation.

Once he had completely calmed down, he felt that his actions last night were too reckless.

To think I'd rush towards Saber… what was I thinking at the time?

Shirou decided to wander around outside during the day to clear his head and adjust his emotions.

...I feel something.

When Lady Avalon carried him across Shinto last night, Shirou had sensed an incredibly familiar aura emanating from the Twilight Isle.

He initially thought it was his imagination, but now Shirou detected that nostalgic scent again.

"That's…"

Shirou sniffed the air.

It was incredibly familiar, yet he couldn't recall what it was.

He followed his senses, passing through street after street, until he arrived in front of a building.

This was the tallest building in Shinto currently—the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel.

Although this prime spot for height would soon be surpassed by the soon-to-be-completed Shinto Central Tower, it didn't detract from the building's majestic height.

Standing beneath the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, Shirou craned his neck back, gazing up at the hotel's topmost floor.

Confirmed—

The incredibly familiar and nostalgic aura was coming from there.

The penthouse suite on the top floor of the Hyatt Hotel was booked by a man named Kaineth El-Melloi Archbold.

He was the head of the Archibolt Family, a lineage of Magus that had continued for nine generations.

He had displayed talent worthy of a child prodigy since his student days, becoming the youngest lecturer in the history of the Spirit Evocation Department.

At a young age, he was already one of the twelve most powerful Lords in the Clock Tower, Lord El-Melloi.

Kaineth's talent wasn't limited to Magic research; he was also adept at political maneuvering. Thanks to his superior family background, he had many connections, and some even believed he could grow into a force capable of challenging the Three Great Noble Families in the future.

This man, who had everything from birth, had also entered the Holy Grail War.

He hadn't come to this Far East land to achieve a grand wish, but to add another medal to his resume.

However, just last night, Kaineth, the absolute winner, had tasted his first taste of defeat and humiliation.

...Unforgivable.

Especially Waver Velvet and Rider, he would make them pay with their blood.

Lord El-Melloi, who had originally intended to take his fiancée on a honeymoon trip, casually obtain the Holy Grail, and return to the Clock Tower to receive accolades, now had a drastically changed mindset.

The man tossed and turned, arriving at the suite next door to his own.

This suite was neither occupied nor used for any other purpose.

In the vast room, there were merely three "stones" quietly displayed—

"Stones" representing the body, heart, and wings, respectively.

These were the greatest spoils of war obtained by Kaineth's ancestors in protracted and brutal conflicts.

They could be said to be the supreme Magic Crests that laid the foundation for the prestigious El-Melloi family and all its future glory.

They were the planet's oldest Phantasmal Beasts, innocently caught in the death journey of the "Dragon of the Crown," and ultimately left behind on the dragon's skeletal remains.

"……"

Sensing the aura emanating from the top floor of the Hyatt Hotel, Shirou finally recalled last night's dream.

It was a dream of him and a young girl frolicking by the sea.

Then, Shirou remembered the name of the cute girl in his dream—

"…Are you here, Melusine?"

Volume 1, Chapter 050: Mana Core

The top floor of the Hyatt Hotel. Among the Magus Workshops Shirou Amamiya had conquered, this ranked second.

Kaineth had not only spent a fortune to book the entire floor but had also thoroughly modified it with Magic.

On the thirty-second floor, he had set up a staggering twenty-four layers of Barriers, their security so rigorous it could be described as a Magic Fortress, far surpassing the Matou Family's insect nests.

Not only that, but Kaineth had also summoned dozens of magical beasts as guard dogs. He had been quite meticulous with the magic traps, even transforming the entire top floor into an otherworldly space.

As Shirou cautiously infiltrated the top floor, he re-examined the man he had never met, only seen a photo of from Tsuruno Matou.

This was the pinnacle of modern Magus—the strength of a Clock Tower Lord was indeed extraordinary.

Of course, no matter how impregnable a Magus Workshop was, it only had one fate before Shirou: to be conquered.

Compared to the city walls in the Fae Kingdom, which were crafted from the bark of the "World Tree," the temporary otherworld constructed by a Magus was nothing.

Although it took considerable effort, and he nearly exposed himself several times, Shirou managed to infiltrate the room without incident.

He followed the familiar scent to the room at the end of the corridor.

This was it.

He could feel the aura unique to that child—Melusine.

Shirou removed the Hassan Mask covering his face and quietly pushed open the door.

"...What is this?"

Shirou frowned.

The scene that greeted him was incomprehensible.

The spacious presidential suite had all its furniture removed, used only to store three items.

They were three "stones."

It was clear they were originally a single, complete entity.

Because the shapes of these three "stones" represented a heart, a torso, and wings, respectively.

A complete head and torso, with hands and feet, the details were not entirely human, incorporating some phantasmal elements.

Phantasmal Beast—

Perhaps, even this current division into heart, torso, and wings was the result of later conjecture pieced together.

But this was not its original, true form.

Having been divided and combined, divided and combined, countless times over the long years, it had long lost its initial form.

Shirou couldn't help but step forward and reach out to touch the "stone" shaped like a heart.

A pulse of Magic emanated from its hard surface.

Having existed for billions of years since its birth, it still continuously generated immense amounts of Magic.

"It's not Melusine..."

Shirou confirmed after touching it.

Although this was not the girl he knew, it exuded the same aura as her.

While it wasn't a dragon's heart, nor could it be compared to the strongest heart of the planet (Albion), it possessed properties remarkably similar to the Mana Core of a Dragon Kind.

Shirou narrowed his eyes: Fae?

And not just any Fae, but the highest-ranking Fae, the "Great Mother," born from the Inner Sea of the Planet, the "Primordial Blood," "Aria"...

No, he couldn't definitively conclude it was Fae just yet.

But even if it wasn't Fae, it was a Phantasmal Beast of a similar kind—

Shirou couldn't help but frown: Why would something like this be in the hands of a human Magus?

Did the Magus of Pan-Human History truly understand its value?

Wait, perhaps human Magus had already thought of it.

If it were reassembled into a single whole, it would exhibit functions far exceeding its current power.

However, that was not a tool (Magic Crest) that could be wielded by human hands.

Countless historical events proved: attempting to grasp power beyond one's control would ultimately only bring destruction.

Therefore, Lord El-Melloi's ancestors wisely divided it into three parts, passing it down through generations in the form of three Mana Core Magic Crests.

Then... should he destroy it?

Even though it was still alive.

Within this heart, this body, these wings, there was also a soul that possessed self-awareness.

Shirou fell into thought. Although it was necessary to destroy it for strategic reasons, the dragon's aura remaining on the "stone" made him hesitate.

Why would these stones carry Melusine's aura?

He really wanted to capture Lancer's Master and interrogate them to get to the bottom of it.

"..."

Just then, Shirou sensed footsteps and voices approaching in the corridor.

The young man quickly put on his bone mask and hid behind the only available curtain in the room.

"My Lord, is this truly alright?"

Lancer asked uneasily, following Kaineth.

This man had endured a point-blank direct hit from the strongest holy sword last night, and yet... at least outwardly, he had almost completely recovered--

This was inseparable from Kaineth's top-tier magic skills. Under the healing magic of a Clock Tower Lord, Lancer had recovered two-tenths of his original strength in just one night.

However, in this state, it was impossible to win the Holy Grail War, and Kaineth himself knew this well.

"What do you mean?"

"You just ordered me to lock Miss Sola in an empty room. Isn't that a bit problematic? Miss Sola has been clamoring that as soon as we return to the country, she will immediately go to the Archibolt family to break off the engagement."