Chapter Summaries

Aoko overcame her red shadow and unleashed the Fifth Magic, opening the way to the Sea of Stars. There, Michael completed his Star Core awakening and received Imperial authority, beginning a transformation into a Star Spirit.

• Aoko rejected the red shadow and walked into the unknown, causing the shadow to collapse as she opened her eyes in the outside world.
• Aoko released her memories and unleashed the Fifth Magic, overwriting the snowy landscape with a sea of white flowers.
• Michael and Merlin appeared above the flowers in the Sea of Stars, where Michael's awakening progress reached one hundred percent.
• The Star Core diagnostics revealed severe damage and failed repairs, then transferred its highest authority to Michael Stefan Animusphere.
• Michael's soul stabilized under the Star Core's limited output, and his life ladder began a slow adjustment toward becoming a Star Spirit.
• Michael's understanding of magecraft and Celestial Magic surged as he declared that fate had been decreed.

Merlin survived Michael’s Starfall Annihilation after choosing to live, while Michael spared him. Aoko defeated Touko, but Michael intervened before she could deliver the final blow and proposed sparing Touko at a price.

• Michael’s Starfall Annihilation destroyed Merlin’s Four Great Beasts and left him helpless, prompting him to remember how Lord Crimson Moon had once saved him.
• Michael spared Merlin after Merlin said he still wanted to live, then went to Aoko’s battlefield.
• Aoko defeated Touko with the Fifth Magic, leaving Touko gravely wounded and her Mystic Eyes destroyed.
• Touko asked Aoko what it felt like to touch the Root, and Aoko said it was white before Michael stopped her from delivering the final blow.
• Aoko punched Michael for interfering, and he suggested sparing Touko’s life in exchange for something, leaving Touko wary.

Aozaki Aoko defeated Tōko Aozaki and cursed her to turn into a Madagascar Frog if she returned to the city, then fell asleep from exhaustion. Michael and Alice Kuonji carried Aoko back toward the mansion, reflecting on the battle and teasing each other along the way.

• Aozaki Aoko cursed Tōko Aozaki to turn into a Madagascar Frog whenever she returned to the land, and Tōko left the amusement park after lighting a cigarette.
• Aozaki Aoko lost consciousness, and Michael caught her before she fell while Alice Kuonji checked that they were safe.
• Michael told Alice Kuonji that Tōko had been let go and explained that both sisters had achieved their aims in the battle.
• Alice Kuonji asked Michael about Aoko’s curse, and he said Aoko had not yet learned the advanced spell she had used.
• Michael carried Aoko toward the mansion as Alice Kuonji teased him about Aoko’s weight and hurried ahead of him.

On Christmas Day, Michael, Aoko, and Alice celebrated at Kuonji Mansion with a meal Michael grilled. While they ate, Michael asked Aoko and Alice whether they wanted to study magecraft at the Clock Tower or travel, leaving Alice uncertain because she hoped her mother might return to the mansion.

• Alice waited anxiously for Michael and Aoko to return from shopping, then served Michael tea when they came back.
• Aoko set up a grill and urged Michael to cook, and he used a Mage's Garment to prepare fresh wagyu beef.
• Michael grilled the meat and shared it with Aoko and Alice as they enjoyed the Christmas meal.
• Michael asked Aoko whether she had considered studying magecraft at the Clock Tower, and she said traveling the world sounded tempting.
• Michael asked Alice whether she wanted to see the world, and she hesitated because she did not want to leave the mansion in case her mother returned.

Aoko took Michael to her family home in the mountains at her grandfather’s request, and they discussed the Root and the fading of mystery along the way. The chapter left them nearing the home after Aoko outsmarted Michael in a bet about whether Touko could break her curse.

• Aoko invited Michael to her family home because her grandfather wanted to meet him, while Alice reacted with displeasure.
• Aoko and Michael traveled late at night to Akikojyo Station and began the long walk toward the mountain home.
• Aoko explained that her grandfather had found a passage to the Root beneath Misaki and used it to create the Fifth Magic before the passage closed.
• Michael told Aoko that mystery had only vanished from the world’s surface, and Aoko said she had little interest in the Root.
• Michael proposed a bet about whether Touko would break Aoko’s frog curse within ten years, and Aoko guessed his trap and bet that Touko would succeed.

Michael met Aoko's grandfather in a cave and discussed the Root, the Aozaki sisters, and the Fifth Magic. After demonstrating his own grasp of the Fifth Magic, Michael saw the cost the Root had exacted from the old man and ended their meeting.

• Michael left Aoko and entered the cave, sensing the powerful presence of Aoko's grandfather.
• Michael questioned Aoko's grandfather about the conflict between Aoko and Touko and the inheritance of the Fifth Magic.
• Michael conjured a chair from nothing, revealing his ability to use the Star Core and his knowledge of Moon Oil.
• Michael transformed the cave into the Sea of Stars and admitted he had only partly mastered the Fifth Magic.
• Aoko's grandfather wondered how two people could wield the Fifth Magic, and Michael recognized that the old man had nearly lost himself to the Root.
• Michael thanked Aoko's grandfather for showing him the cost of reaching the Root and ended their meeting.

Michael and Aozaki Aoko left the mountain after meeting with Aoko’s grandfather, and Michael gave her a golden figurine as a Christmas present. At the station, he told Aoko he would leave after New Year’s, and they boarded the train home to Alice.

• Michael and Aozaki Aoko descended the mountain, joking about Aoko’s grandfather and their lack of romantic experience.
• Michael wished Aoko a Merry Christmas and gave her a golden figurine with an activation chant written on its box.
• Michael urged Aoko to return home, where Alice was waiting and another Christmas present was prepared for her.
• At the station, Michael told Aoko he would leave after New Year’s and said he had not told Alice yet.
• Michael and Aoko boarded the arriving train and headed home.

Aika Sajo and Jin'ga Seiji each completed a Heroic Spirit summoning in Tokyo, but the results were unexpected. Michael answered Jin'ga Seiji’s call as Saber and, finding himself paired with a shabby middle-aged Master, wondered whether to kill him.

• Aika Sajo performed a summoning ritual with her father and a powerful Sword Sheath as the catalyst, but the summoned Servant appeared as Assassin.
• Jin'ga Seiji summoned Michael as Saber and celebrated what he believed was the triumph of his family's centuries of effort.
• Michael explained that he had crossed into this parallel world by replacing the Heroic Spirit that answered Jin'ga Seiji’s summons.
• Michael noted that he lacked basic modern knowledge and questioned why his Master was a down-and-out middle-aged man rather than a beautiful girl.
• Michael considered killing Jin'ga Seiji rather than taking part in what he imagined would be an unpleasant heroic adventure.

Jin'ga Seiji celebrated being the first mage to summon a Servant and declared his intention to win the Holy Grail War, but Michael exposed his lack of preparation and forced him into submission. Michael spared him after branding his soul with domination and resolved to reshape him into a more useful Master.

• Jin'ga Seiji boasted that he would defeat the other Masters and Servants and find the Greater Grail in Tokyo.
• Michael asked Jin'ga Seiji for intelligence about rival mages, Magecraft Families, and Tokyo's Ley Lines, but Jin'ga Seiji had none.
• Michael criticized Jin'ga Seiji's solitary approach and drained most of his magical energy, leaving him close to death.
• Jin'ga Seiji begged Michael for forgiveness, and Michael branded domination into his soul before stopping the drain.
• Michael recognized that he needed Jin'ga Seiji as his Master for the war and decided to remodel him into a more capable ally.

Tatsumiaino and Berserker killed a serial killer wanted by the Holy Church and recovered a golden membership card linking him to Takama-ga-hara. They entered the Shinjuku entertainment complex, where Tatsumiaino vowed to wipe out the serial killers gathered there.

• Berserker transformed into Hyde and brutally killed the Holy Church's target while Tatsumiaino watched from hiding.
• Tatsumiaino searched the corpse and found an elaborate golden membership card hidden in the man's wallet.
• Berserker burned the corpse with azure flames, and Tatsumiaino resolved to eliminate the serial killers in Tokyo.
• Tatsumiaino presented the card at Takama-ga-hara, and the attendants admitted him as an esteemed member despite his age.

Tatsumiaino visited a hidden members' bar, where a strange drink left him in pain and a white-haired young man warned that the place would become a battlefield. The young man then attacked Tatsumiaino, but a newcomer with a crimson greatbow intervened and restrained him with arrows.

• Tatsumiaino entered the members' floor and ordered a drink called Winter's Warm Sun, which caused intense burning pain.
• A white-haired young man told Tatsumiaino to leave because the bar would soon become a battlefield.
• The young man shot at Tatsumiaino, and Berserker materialized to shield him.
• Tatsumiaino used his Mystic Eyes while Berserker transformed and fought back against the gunman.
• A young man with a crimson greatbow burst through the wall and pinned the attacker with six arrows.

Michael, Archer, and Berserker fought the Dead Apostles at a Tokyo base while Lancer cleared another part of the building. Lancer sensed a huge concentration of magical energy above her before she could break through to the upper floors.

• Michael and Archer agreed to work together and identified themselves as Saber and Archer, while Berserker guarded Tatsumiaino.
• Michael shot the bartender, revealing the guests and attendants as Dead Apostles, and Archer killed the shamisen player with an arrow.
• The chapter explained that the Holy Church and Mage's Association had suspended the Holy Grail War and offered a Command Spell to the Master and Servant pair who contributed most to exterminating the Dead Apostles.
• Lancer killed the Dead Apostles on the first floor and prepared to smash through to the second level.
• Lancer sensed an immense concentration of magical energy above her and stopped before she could break through.

Rider descended in the Dark Night Sun Ship and blasted the battlefield, while Michael’s Master, Jin'ga Seiji, was killed by a mysterious woman at a hotel. Michael returned to the harbor base and found the Jin'ga Family dead, with an unknown presence waiting inside.

• Rider attacked the battlefield from the Dark Night Sun Ship, forcing the four Servants to evade his Torrent of Light.
• Michael left the battlefield after gathering intelligence, then discovered his connection to Jin'ga Seiji had been severed.
• Michael returned to the harbor base and found Jin'ga Seiji and the Jin'ga Family dead without visible wounds.
• At a hotel, Jin'ga Seiji dismissed Jin'ga Sōsuke and drank champagne while boasting about his ambitions.
• A light-brown-skinned girl kissed Jin'ga Seiji, killing him as she vanished from the hotel.
• Jin'ga Sōsuke looked at his uncle’s corpse and Command Spell with delight and desire.

Michael met Sajo Aika, agreed to become her Servant, and gained an immense supply of mana from their contract. The chapter left Assassin beginning another assassination before Elsa and her Archer confronted her.

• Michael met Sajo Aika and agreed to become her Servant after divining his fortune with Astrology.
• Michael and Sajo Aika formed a contract, which linked them and sent boundless mana into Michael.
• Sajo Aika used Clairvoyance and discovered that Michael had made the future hazy and departed from the path predetermined by the Root.
• Assassin left Sajo Aika and pursued a red-haired woman named Elsa, intending to assassinate her.
• Archer appeared before Assassin, and the two began fighting after Elsa stepped back.

Michael woke from a dream about Sajo Aika, whose long-awaited love came when she met him during the Holy Grail War. He watched Sajo Ayaka practicing Black Magecraft in the garden before her father appeared.

• Sajo Aika had limited her omniscience because she anticipated falling in love during the Holy Grail War.
• In February 1991, Sajo Aika met Michael and fell in love with him, though he was neither a Servant nor a Heroic Spirit.
• Michael woke from the dream and saw Sajo Ayaka practicing magecraft in the greenhouse.
• Sajo Ayaka greeted her absent father and stroked the pigeon meant to be sacrificed.
• Sajo Ayaka turned at a familiar voice and saw a tall middle-aged man standing at the garden entrance.

Sajo Ayaka helped her sister, Sajo Aika, prepare breakfast after their father asked her to keep Aika company. Aika revealed she had used Love Magic to make the food delicious, and she watched the approaching visitor with growing excitement.

• Sajo Hiroki warned Sajo Ayaka not to empathize with the pigeons used as sacrifices for Black Magecraft.
• Sajo Hiroki asked Ayaka to keep Aika company while Aika made breakfast.
• Sajo Ayaka helped Sajo Aika bring plates and jam, then tasted a slice of steak.
• Sajo Aika said she had used Love Magic to make the food taste delicious.
• Sajo Aika looked toward footsteps approaching in the corridor and called Love Magic more powerful than any mystery.

At breakfast, Michael discussed the Holy Grail War with Sajo Hiroki and Sajo Aika, then told Aika he would secure the Grail for her. The chapter ended with Aika reaffirming that she would do anything for Michael and did not want him to be hurt.

• Michael ate the lavish breakfast Sajo Aika had prepared and praised her cooking.
• Sajo Hiroki asked Michael how he planned to win the Holy Grail War, and Michael proposed targeting the Masters rather than confronting their Servants directly.
• Sajo Aika suggested kidnapping or killing Masters' families, but Michael said they should watch the conflict unfold and take advantage of its consequences.
• Michael told Aika he would offer her the Holy Grail and grant her wish, while Aika said she would do anything for him and did not want him to get hurt.

After taking the Jin'ga Family’s Command Spells and Mage Crest, Jin'ga Sōsuke searched Jin'ga Seiji’s workshop and tried to claim Saber as his Servant. Michael refused to contract with him, instead leaving him a test of his worth alongside information on other Masters, including Reienkan.

• Jin'ga Sōsuke returned to the workshop, where the Jin'ga Family members lay dead, and reflected on how the Command Spells had cleared his Mage Circuits and let him preserve Jin'ga Seiji’s Mage Crest.
• Jin'ga Sōsuke forced open Jin'ga Seiji’s inner-room door and found manuscripts about the Holy Grail War’s Heroic Spirit summoning formula.
• Michael transformed from a crow and told Jin'ga Sōsuke that he was not his Master because Jin'ga Seiji’s death had dissolved their contract.
• Michael refused Jin'ga Sōsuke’s offer to contract with him and told him to prove his worth by drawing a Tarot Card and using information in the bookshelf’s third drawer.
• Jin'ga Sōsuke opened the drawer and found files on the Masters, including Reienkan, alongside a dark-gold card and a test tube of dark-red liquid.

After helping defeat the Dead Apostles, Tatsumiaino resolved to end the Holy Grail War by confronting its organizers, the Linglongguan Family. While scouting Reienkan Mansion with Berserker, he saw another boy trigger the estate’s defenses and come under attack.

• Tatsumiaino and Berserker left JR Shinjuku Station after the Dead Apostles’ defeat, and Tatsumiaino reaffirmed his determination to stop the Holy Grail War.
• Tatsumiaino identified the Linglongguan Family as the organizers and planned to confront them despite his limited abilities and Berserker’s poor compatibility with him.
• That night, Tatsumiaino and Berserker surveyed Reienkan Mansion and its heavily guarded forest from a rooftop in Suginami Ward.
• Berserker spotted a boy attempting to sneak into the Linglongguan grounds, where two white-haired women attacked him after he triggered an alarm.

Jin'ga Sōsuke ambushed and killed two homunculus guards, then gave in to his bloodlust and murdered a witness. In Caster’s workshop, Paracelsus created a powerful homunculus implanted with artificial memories, while Michael kept the purpose of the plan secret.

• Jin'ga Sōsuke lured two homunculus guards away from the Linglongguan Family estate and destroyed them with his claws.
• Jin'ga Sōsuke killed a drunken witness after smelling the blood from the man’s injured forehead.
• Paracelsus revived a custom-made homunculus and implanted an artificial soul before sending her out on her mission.
• Michael appeared in Paracelsus’s Magecraft Workshop and praised his work.
• Paracelsus questioned the homunculus’s ability to contend with a Heroic Spirit and asked about her artificial memories, but Michael said time would provide the answers.