Chapter 31

That was Yog-Sothoth's mark, the authority over time and space. Nearly everyone had been suppressed by it. Mephistopheles had no idea why Echidna bore Yog-Sothoth's mark within her, but one thing was certain: if it was not dealt with, all of Greece might be dragged into it.

And now, there was only one viable solution.

Mephistopheles glanced at the gemstone in his hand, sighed, and released it.

The gemstone flew forward, and the instant it neared the entrance, an incomparably powerful force erupted from within it!

The power of the archangel Gabriel—or rather, the sum total of every power Mephistopheles could wield—erupted all at once.

Under the impact of that force, the door was destroyed, throwing the time and space inside into even greater chaos.

Mephistopheles was swept up by the disorderly currents of time and space, once again sent flying in a direction unknown.

Artemis watched the terrifying force in the sky, which had distorted everything, suddenly disappear. She knew it was Mephistopheles's doing. The surroundings had returned to normal as well. Seeing Medea approach her with an expression that shifted from confusion to terror, Artemis hesitated. She did not know how to begin explaining it to her.

2004, Fuyuki City, Japan.

A twin-tailed girl had inscribed a Servant-summoning ritual circle inside her home. Then, standing at the center of the circle with a magic tome in hand, she began chanting.

"I announce. Your body shall be under me, and my fate shall be entrusted to your sword. Answer the Holy Grail's call. If you submit to this will and reason, answer me! I swear here that I shall be all the good in the world, and cast out all the evil in the world. Entwined in your three great command spells, from the Wheel of Restraint!"

Blood dripped onto the ritual circle, and the mysterious formation fully activated at that moment!

The transparent gemstone pendant hanging from the girl's hand emitted a faint glow, swaying gently with the surge of magical energy.

"O guardian of the scales!"

With that final cry, magical energy amplified, the connection formed, and the one who had been called answered the summoner's call, descending at that very moment!

"It can't be wrong. I drew the strongest trump card!" The twin-tailed girl wore a proud smile. Such a powerful surge of magical energy clearly proved how formidable the arrival was!

Then, a figure emerged from the ritual circle. A rather young blond boy looked at the girl, blinked, and walked toward her. Under the girl's puzzled gaze, an amused expression appeared on his face.

Then he said something that left her utterly stunned.

"Beautiful lady, did you summon me to fight in the Holy Grail War?"

A trench coat, inner vest, top hat—a Victorian outfit fit for a celebrity, though with some modern alterations mixed in. The girl could not understand such attire. Was this a Servant?

And his words left her even more confused. "Didn't you answer my summons because of the Holy Grail?"

The blond man rubbed his chin and nodded. "Oh, so I came here for the Holy Grail. Thank you for telling me, beautiful lady."

The girl frowned deeply. She suddenly began to wonder whether she had really summoned the strongest one. Why did this guy look like something was wrong with his brain?

Then the man gave her a slight bow. "I am Mephistopheles, merely an ordinary magician. And how should I address you, miss?"

A magician? Not a mage, but a magician?! Though Rin Tohsaka was puzzled, she did not refute him. She simply said, "Rin Tohsaka. I am your Master."

At the sound of that name, the corners of Mephistopheles's lips lifted faintly before he suppressed the smile.

"Alright, Rin. Is it fine if I call you that? Or should I call you Miss Tohsaka?"

Seeing how familiar he acted, Rin Tohsaka was somewhat displeased, but she still replied, "Whatever."

"Fine, then. But can I get something to eat now? It has been too long since I ate anything, and I'm rather hungry." Mephistopheles smiled at Rin Tohsaka and rubbed his stomach. "Please excuse me. I don't know the exact amount of time, but I estimate it has been several months since I last had a decent meal."

"This is the first time I've heard that Heroic Spirits need to eat. Don't you replenish your stamina with magical energy?" Rin Tohsaka spoke in a tone of mild surprise that was actually laced with obvious mockery, though she still pointed in a direction. "The refrigerator is over there. There's only cold food right now."

But Mephistopheles asked, "Where's the kitchen? Or give me some money, and I can go eat outside."

Rin Tohsaka raised an eyebrow. She felt that the Servant she had summoned this time was truly impressive—especially at treating himself like he belonged there.

The moment she heard the word money, Rin Tohsaka felt anger rise within her.

So the girl immediately shouted, "No money!"

Yet the man merely muttered to himself as he headed toward the refrigerator. His muttering was quiet, but she still heard it perfectly clearly.

"No money, then no money. Why are you shouting?"

Rin Tohsaka took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the anger that had nearly burst out.

Then she fell into deep self-doubt.

"I prepared for so many years. I trained tirelessly for this Holy Grail War. I thought I had everything ready, that this summoning would definitely bring forth the strongest Saber, so why did I summon a guy like this?!

"And I still don't even know what class he is. Does he not intend to tell me? Oh, right, he said he was a magician, so did I summon a Caster?

"Saber! I wanted Saber! Casters are completely hopeless in the Holy Grail War! Even if not Saber, a Lancer or Archer would have been fine!!

"And judging by this guy's outfit, he's obviously from the modern era, maybe even contemporary times. What powerful mage could possibly come from such an era? He even called himself a magician. There haven't been any magicians in the era his clothes come from! Magicians belong to the distant past, to the Age of Gods!

"So was it really because my training was still insufficient that this summoning failed?!"

Rin Tohsaka's High Blood Pressure Moment

Rin Tohsaka watched the Servant calling himself Mephistopheles casually open the refrigerator, take out all kinds of ingredients, and then head into the kitchen.

"Unexpected. Your kitchen is a blend of Chinese and Japanese styles," Mephistopheles remarked, placing the ingredients aside and skillfully beginning to prepare them.

"You know how to cook?" Rin Tohsaka looked at him in surprise. She knew the Holy Grail bestowed Servants with certain common knowledge from the current era, but she had not expected him to know even this.

"I know a little. Well, actually, I personally specialize in Chinese and Western cuisine. As for Western food, I'm particularly good at the British and French styles. Italian is not bad either, but I haven't visited often enough to learn it."

As he spoke, Mephistopheles made himself a simple tomato-and-egg scramble, then put some noodles into the pot.

While cooking the noodles, he asked, "By the way, do you want some, Rin?"

"What time do you think it is? It's two in the morning!" Rin Tohsaka said. Her expression changed, and then she suddenly grabbed her hair, completely losing any semblance of a refined young lady.

"Ahhh, I forgot! That clock was exactly one hour slow, so it isn't two in the morning—it's one in the morning! That's why my summoning went wrong!!

"I calculated everything perfectly! Dad, just how much trouble did you leave behind for me?!"

Apparently believing she had discovered the cause of her summoning error, Rin Tohsaka vented her dissatisfaction nonstop.

Mephistopheles chose to ignore her. He cooked enough noodles for three servings, then put the rest away.

"I'll take that as you not wanting any!"

The sweet, fragrant scent filling the air made Rin Tohsaka swallow involuntarily. She tried hard to suppress the appetite that had begun stirring within her and asked, "Are you a Caster?"

"Canter?" Mephistopheles turned around and blinked. "Do you want me to be a Caster?"

"Does what I want even matter? You've already been summoned, so the Holy Grail must have assigned you a class. I want you to be Saber—can you turn yourself into a Caster just because I want it?!"

Rin Tohsaka's voice was filled with helplessness. Talking to the man before her was exhausting. He was clearly a Servant, yet he kept saying things that made him sound like some clueless novice!

"Has my luck become so terrible that I summoned a Servant who knows absolutely nothing about the Holy Grail War? No way. Doesn't the Holy Grail give Servants that sort of basic knowledge? Or is the knowledge I learned wrong?"

Just as Rin Tohsaka was about to fall into self-doubt, Mephistopheles divided the sauce into two portions, one large and one small. He then took out the noodles, divided those into two portions as well, and handed the smaller bowl to Rin Tohsaka.

Rin Tohsaka froze for a moment, then put a hand on her hip. "I said I wasn't eating!"

"Did you?" Mephistopheles blinked. "Wasn't that what I said? You never confirmed it." As he spoke, the corners of his lips curled up. "Your throat moved. Hmm, your body is honest after all."

Rin Tohsaka's cheeks flushed at those words. She reached out and snatched the bowl from Mephistopheles's hand, then lightly sniffed it. It did smell wonderful.

"There's not much. Just enough for you to try it. You won't gain weight or ruin your figure, so don't worry." Mephistopheles continued saying things that made Rin Tohsaka roll her eyes as he sat down and began eating happily.

Watching Mephistopheles behave with such protagonist energy, Rin Tohsaka sighed. She casually found a place to sit as well and said while eating her noodles, "So, you still haven't answered me. What class are you?"

"I already answered. I can be whatever class you want me to be. Actually, if you want me to be a combination of Saber, Lancer, and Archer, I think that would work too."

Rin Tohsaka felt that her hopes of fulfilling her family's wish or obtaining the Holy Grail had become even more remote. It seemed she had drawn an idiot.

In the end, she could only sigh. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. No magician would be foolish enough to think that being a magician only required learning how to bombard enemies from afar. A magician should be proficient with blades, spears, swords, and halberds—the more they know, the better. That gives them more ways to handle complicated situations.

"For example, suppose I were a Caster. I should specialize in territory creation and item crafting, with relatively low combat ability. Well, that's the common impression. But I possess the highest level of magical ability..."

Mephistopheles looked at Rin Tohsaka's expression and changed his wording.

"Well, the highest rank of magecraft. I can use my own special magecraft to strengthen my body, improving all my parameters. That lets me wield weapons and engage in close-quarters combat against warrior classes skilled in fighting, even crushing them with strength beyond their own.

"And at that point, the spear techniques, swordsmanship, blade techniques, and so on that I excel in can all serve their purpose."

"I understand what you're saying," Rin Tohsaka said. "I can also use magecraft to strengthen my body and fight at close range. In terms of combat ability, I can even surpass an ordinary boxer. But reinforcement has limits. No matter how much you strengthen yourself, you can't surpass true Saber-class Servants!"

In response, she saw Mephistopheles reveal a strange smile.

"Who said there were limits? If you mean temporary restrictions, then yes, there are. But in truth, there is no limit."

His words were so full of confidence that Rin Tohsaka almost felt as if he was invincible. But she knew that was impossible. She could only bite down harder on her noodles, venting all her frustration over the failed summoning on them.

"Why? Why did I have to summon him?!"

She muttered softly, feeling utterly wronged.

Mephistopheles glanced at the girl, then at the transparent gemstone pendant hanging from her left wrist, and smiled.

"Perhaps the reason you summoned me was destiny's choice."

That was a mystic code he had created, transparent gypsum containing the power known as the Moon and the power of Gabriel.

Back when he had blown apart the gate through time and space, Mephistopheles had used it as a one-time item. It had not been destroyed, but it had been dragged into the chaotic currents of time and space and vanished without a trace. He had never expected to see it here.

He had drifted through the currents of time and space without end. Subjectively, he estimated it had been a month, but in that region where time had become completely chaotic, no one knew how long he had truly traveled.

Thanks to the clay jar Hestia had given him, with its inexhaustible supply of milk, Mephistopheles had not starved to death. Yet the long passage of time had made him deeply uncomfortable—not only because of food, but because of the strain on his mind.

If he had not been able to study the nature of time and space itself and deepen his understanding of their authority, Mephistopheles felt that he would have gone mad.

Then, he heard a call. Like a force that had crossed through time and space, it brought that call before him and guided him drifting in a certain direction!

That call confirmed the coordinates of time and space for him, pulling him out of the endless chaotic currents and into normal space.

For an instant, he felt a connection with the Root, then it was severed, as if the Root were rejecting him. But it was useless. Like a foreign object, he occupied that passage and emerged through it inside the girl's home.

The Fifth Holy Grail War, inside Rin Tohsaka's house!

Through the Command Spells on the girl's hand, he could establish a connection with her through the power bestowed by the Holy Grail. Unfortunately, the Holy Grail did not impose any restraint on him—or perhaps it simply could not control him—so those things could only create a connection and could not command him.

As for the identity the Holy Grail gave him, it was Archer. He had taken the place of the red Archer who should have arrived here, the future protagonist, becoming his replacement.

And as for why the girl could summon him, Mephistopheles understood the moment he saw the gemstone pendant on her left hand.

That thing could be considered his Holy Relic, after all...

And because it contained both the power of this world's Greek moon goddess and the power of an archangel from another world, it seemed perfectly reasonable that it possessed the ability to transcend time and space and connect with him.

Seeing Rin Tohsaka sulking, Mephistopheles stopped teasing her. "According to the Holy Grail's classification, the class it assigned me is Archer. Looks like your luck isn't bad after all, Master."

"You're actually an Archer?!" Rin Tohsaka widened her eyes and looked Mephistopheles up and down. "How do you look anything like an Archer?!"

"Look!" Mephistopheles immediately produced a bow. It shone with a dazzling radiance, but the brilliance soon faded into a soft white glow.

Rin Tohsaka opened her mouth as she stared at the bow, which carried an ancient aura.

This guy actually carried a bow with him!

And judging from that light, this was his Noble Phantasm!

That finally made Rin Tohsaka somewhat accept the possibility that he really was an Archer, but his next words made her want to roll her eyes again.

"Apollo gave it to me. What do you think? Pretty, isn't it?"

"Apollo?!"

"That's right, Apollo gave it to me. Apollo, the god of light. Hmm, you probably remember him more for being the sun god."

"Listen, when you claim Apollo gave it to you, couldn't you at least show some sign of being from Ancient Greece? Whether it's your appearance or clothes, I can't see anything Greek about you at all...

"And your name has nothing to do with Ancient Greece either. I don't know much, but I can still tell you're British. It has a very obvious British feel.

"I know you want to elevate your status, but I hope you can honestly tell me about yourself. If we're going to obtain the Holy Grail, I think we need to be honest with each other."

Rin Tohsaka felt that she had spoken very sincerely, but he merely pondered for a moment. Just as Rin Tohsaka wondered whether he was considering whether to be honest with her, he said, "Let me think about what I need the Holy Grail for."

Rin Tohsaka felt her breathing stop. She desperately wanted to shout at him, "If you don't want the Holy Grail, why did you answer the summoning?!"

The Betrayer Witch

A greasy blond man sat comfortably in his seat, looking at the beautiful woman standing some distance away.

Atrum Galliasta came from a rising mage family in the Middle East. To secure sufficient standing for his family within the Clock Tower, he, as the new heir, had spent an enormous sum of money to purchase the right to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

As long as he took part in this Holy Grail War and won, he could gild his family's history and secure enough status within the Clock Tower!