Starting in Type-Moon, but as an A Certain Magical Index Magician

Enhancement, complete!

After finishing all that, Shirou Emiya picked up the metal rod and lightly swung it a few times, revealing a satisfied expression.

His enhancement had succeeded once again!

It had not restored the object to its original state, but made it surpass its original form!

Even though this kind of enhancement could only last for a short time before reverting to normal, the young man was still incredibly happy.

However, while the boy was celebrating, he failed to notice the strange phenomenon occurring inside the warehouse where he stood.

A red magic circle appeared on the ground. It gradually emerged, as though it had sensed some kind of call, becoming clearer and clearer.

By the time Shirou Emiya noticed the circle, it had already fully taken shape, appearing utterly out of place within the warehouse.

It was like an evil ritual circle suddenly appearing inside a very modern building, enough to make anyone wonder whether some deranged cultist had been here.

Fortunately, Shirou Emiya was the adopted son of a magus. Although he had never received formal training, his knowledge of magecraft kept him from being frightened by the circle. Instead, he became somewhat excited.

"This circle... could Father have left it behind? I'm the only one who usually comes into this warehouse. If anyone else has been here, then it could only have been Father...

"But Father has been gone for so long. If he left this circle here, it must have been years ago. And he never told me about it. Did he think I would never need to use it?"

Thinking this, Shirou Emiya immediately walked toward the magic circle. Having never received any formal training, he did not even possess much caution. He reached out and directly touched the circle.

But the instant his hand touched it, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his finger!

He quickly pulled his hand back. There was not a single wound on it, and just as he wondered where the pain had come from, a faint glow began to radiate from the circle.

Before Shirou Emiya's stunned eyes, a girl slowly rose from within the magic circle—a girl clad in armor!

Staring at the clearly foreign girl before him, Shirou Emiya froze. He had never imagined he would witness such a beautiful sight. Under the moonlight, she was as sacred as a goddess, and she questioned him.

"Servant Saber, responding to the summons. Are you my Master?"

Shirou Emiya stared blankly at her for a long, long time, so entranced that he forgot to answer.

When he finally remembered to respond, the mysterious girl calling herself Saber suddenly raised her head. Her entire body became a gust of wind as she charged straight out!

"Boom!"

Nothing could stop the armored girl at that moment. Both her hands stretched behind her, as if gripping something, yet there was clearly nothing visible in them.

She rushed into the air, violently swinging the invisible thing in her hand as though striking something suspended in the sky.

With a sharp burst of sound, Saber fell toward the ground from the recoil of her own power. At the same time, the figure in the air descended as well, landing outside the Emiya Residence.

"Saber!"

Shirou Emiya shouted as he rushed outside, only to see three people confronting one another at the entrance.

Saber, her hands raised as though holding something transparent, and a British man standing there with a short sword in hand. But when Shirou Emiya saw the girl behind the man, he froze for a moment.

"Rin Tohsaka?!"

The moment Mephistopheles saw that flash of cold light, he knew who had launched the attack. He could recognize that figure even without looking closely—the strong contender for the title of King of the Twintails, the great Queen Artoria of Britain!

However, Mephistopheles had no interest in her whatsoever. If possible, he was more interested in men.

Not because he was gay, but simply because men were more handsome.

Casually drawing his short sword to block the attack, Artoria, who had leapt high into the air to strike, immediately fell back down.

Mephistopheles also dispelled his flight spell and descended. At the same time, he placed Rin Tohsaka to one side and stood in front of her, lest Artoria, whose mind was full of battle right now, accidentally hurt Rin.

At the same time, Mephistopheles looked at the invisible object in Artoria's hand. Knowing that it was Excalibur, a thought could not help but arise in his mind.

"If I had Katina, the British royal family's Sword of Mercy, in my hand right now, wouldn't that be fun?"

Then Mephistopheles suppressed the thought.

"No, no. Leaving aside the fact that this thing can only be used on British soil, even if I could use it, Michael's power of all-dimensional severance... would be a little too unfair."

Of course, that was not the main reason.

"And I can't make Katina III anyway. I have absolutely no idea about its specific structure. Apparently, even the British royal family no longer has any blueprints for it!"

That was the real reason.

The Saber of the Fifth War was someone who would use any means necessary, or rather, Saber as a character was deeply inconsistent. Artoria as written by Gen Urobuchi and Artoria as written by Kinoko Nasu were practically two entirely different people.

One was a timid existence unqualified to be king, while the other was a dictator who would stop at nothing for victory, even sacrificing the people without hesitation.

Of course, even as a dictator, Saber in Mushroom's writing had set out on the path of kingship for the sake of her original dream.

So, this being the Fifth War, she was most likely Artoria as written by Mushroom. Mephistopheles did not believe she would abide by any knightly code. If necessary, this Saber would absolutely choose to kill the Master directly to end the battle.

However, just as Mephistopheles prepared himself for battle, the boy who had suddenly run out called out to his Servant.

Mephistopheles had been to Shirou Emiya's house before, so he naturally recognized who the boy was.

He was the famous Shirou Emiya. For now, Mephistopheles would call him Young Master Emiya, since this version of him could not become the great hero.

Seeing Shirou Emiya stop Artoria, then reveal surprise and confusion toward Rin Tohsaka, Mephistopheles knew this battle would not happen.

"Master, please step back. I will eliminate these two enemies at once!" Artoria said as she prepared to attack again, only for Shirou Emiya to stop her. "Wait!"

The situation had not yet progressed to the point where Artoria would charge in directly, and Shirou Emiya had not used his Command Spell.

"This is war. Do you have something to say?" Artoria asked. By then, Mephistopheles had already put away his weapon.

"Put away your weapon, Saber. I have no intention of fighting you for now, and your Master is obviously completely confused. Don't you think you should first explain what is going on to him?"

Artoria did not put away her weapon. She continued watching Mephistopheles and revealed a faint smile. "Putting away one's weapon directly is foolish, Archer. Besides, once I have dealt with all of you, I can naturally explain the situation to my Master."

"As a warrior, I can understand dealing with danger first. But if your mind can only think of solving problems through battle, even ignoring the hidden dangers that may exist, then I have to say that your fate was inevitable."

Artoria's expression changed slightly. In that instant, she had the feeling that the other party had seen through her identity!

But after carefully recalling her actions just now, there should not have been anything that would expose who she was.

"Do not think hiding your weapon with wind will conceal your true identity. I am showing goodwill. If I wanted to fight, I could kill you instantly because I know your secret. That is not a lie, so put away your weapon. You do not have any subordinates left to use as a price."

Artoria did not put away her weapon. At that moment, Shirou Emiya spoke from behind her. "Put your weapon away first. Let me figure out what is going on, Saber."

With those words, Artoria finally put away her weapon, while Rin Tohsaka glanced at Mephistopheles.

"As expected, he saw through this Servant's identity again, and he clearly hit the mark. Otherwise, this Servant would not have reacted so strongly... But this is Saber? An amateur actually summoned Saber!"

The girl thought this, but outwardly, she worked hard to maintain the composure of a noble lady and smiled as she greeted Shirou Emiya. "Good evening, Emiya. So you really are an amateur, aren't you?"

Holy Church

Inside the Emiya Residence, Rin Tohsaka was explaining to Shirou Emiya what Servants were, what Command Spells were, and what the Holy Grail War was. Meanwhile, Mephistopheles was blocked by Artoria.

"You're not planning to fight me here, are you?" Mephistopheles said with a smile, pointing inside at Shirou Emiya. "If this place gets destroyed in a fight, I think he'll have a hard time dealing with it."

Artoria ignored his words and asked directly, "What exactly do you know?"

"What do you think I know?" Mephistopheles asked with a smile.

Artoria's expression shifted slightly at that. Then she said, "If you cannot say anything specific, then I can only treat it as one of your tricks. Those things you said are merely words that could apply to most Servants.

"And such tricks cannot stop me from attacking you. This is the Holy Grail War. We are bound to fight eventually, and once Shirou understands what the Holy Grail War is, I believe he will choose to defeat you as well!"

"Is that so? If that's what you think, then so be it." Mephistopheles walked into the house, casually sat down to one side, picked up a teacup, and took a satisfied sip. "This tea is quite good, Shirou Emiya. Would you be interested in discussing tea-making with me?"

"Um... if you'd like..." Shirou Emiya replied somewhat awkwardly.

Rin Tohsaka immediately glared at Mephistopheles in dissatisfaction. "I'm explaining what the Holy Grail War is! Don't suddenly interrupt me!"

"Yes, yes, yes, my lady." Mephistopheles said, then casually looked around the house again. Soon, he spotted something beside Shirou Emiya's television and immediately walked over.

He skillfully turned on the television, activated the black machine, and as the game company's logo appeared, Mephistopheles excitedly began searching through it.

"A Servant is an existence summoned into the real world and controlled from heroes and the like who existed in human history. For example, your Servant Saber was clearly some knight from Europe."

As Rin Tohsaka spoke, she glanced again at Mephistopheles, who was now happily playing games and did not look ancient in the slightest, then sighed. "Of course, there are exceptions. As far as I know, it is not limited to those from the past. Beings from other timelines may even appear."

"Other timelines? You mean people from the future could appear too?" Shirou Emiya asked in surprise.

"I'm not sure," Rin Tohsaka answered honestly.

"They can. Individuals from the future can indeed appear. In fact, since Heroic Spirits have already escaped the flow of time and become independent beings existing outside the timeline, it is possible for someone from the past to summon their future self after that future self has become a Heroic Spirit."

Mephistopheles had already started a game and was manipulating it with great skill, yet he still had the attention to answer the questions of the two magi present.

Shirou Emiya shouted in astonishment, "You can really summon Servants from the future!"

"Of course you can. They've already escaped the flow of time, after all."

As Mephistopheles spoke, he controlled the character on-screen. Beside him, Artoria watched his skilled movements. He did not look unfamiliar with the game at all, like a shut-in young man who had been addicted to gaming for years.

"But wait, didn't you just say Heroic Spirits were elevated because of their achievements and such? If someone from the future returns to the past and kills their past self, then the basis for that person becoming a Heroic Spirit would be gone. Could they still exist?"

"They could."

Mephistopheles' answer remained simple. "But it would probably create a bug. After escaping the flow of time, they exist independently, but returning to the past and killing themselves would cause their legendary story to be cut off before it was even born. Without that legend, the Heroic Spirit's power would greatly diminish."

Using 0.2 seconds of invincibility to perfectly evade the Boss's attack, Mephistopheles controlled the character's katana and viciously slashed at the Boss's weak point.

With that precise strike, the Boss staggered back several steps and became rigid.

As he continued his pursuit, Mephistopheles said, "In other words, they would go from a capable Heroic Spirit to a useless Heroic Spirit who could only lie around. That would be about the extent of the change."

As Mephistopheles said this, he suddenly thought of something else.

"What I said just now is fine, but if Heroic Spirits exist independently outside the timeline, then what about the worlds that have been pruned... Do the Heroic Spirits of those worlds still exist now?

"Normally, time and space, including the Throne of Heroes outside the timeline, even the Counter Force and so on, are all contained within a single world. If the world is pruned, those things should disappear along with it. But perhaps not. Maybe we would have to delve into the Root in the future to find out what is really going on..."

While Mephistopheles was lost in thought, Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya gained an understanding of things they had not known before through his explanation.

At that moment, Rin Tohsaka looked at Artoria and asked, "Saber, is there something wrong with your current condition?"

"Yes. Because Shirou is inexperienced, I am currently in an incomplete state."

Shirou Emiya froze at those words, then shouted, "What does that mean?!"

"It means that because you are inexperienced in magecraft, your Servant is in an incomplete state. You must understand that a Servant's actions depend on magical energy supplied by their Master."

Rin Tohsaka explained, then looked at Artoria again. "When they cannot ensure that all their magical energy is replenished by their Master, Servants need other methods to replenish it."

At that moment, Mephistopheles, who was playing games over there, interrupted.

"For example, directly killing people and refining magical energy from their corpses is one method. After all, magical energy equals life force. Just steal someone else's life force."

"I would never do such a thing! And besides, what exactly is this Holy Grail War? People slaughtering each other merely to fulfill their dreams, even dragging countless innocent people into it!"

Shirou Emiya suddenly shouted, as though Mephistopheles' words had provoked an intense reaction from him.

Even Rin Tohsaka was stunned by that reaction, and Artoria could not help looking at Shirou Emiya. Seemingly realizing his loss of composure, Shirou Emiya calmed down and quietly said, "Sorry."

Then he emphasized once more, "I will never do such a thing!"

"It's fine. If you don't want to do that, there are other ways." Mephistopheles defeated the game Boss and entered the reward screen. "For instance, you can provide food for a Servant. That can replenish magical energy too. Or, the living sacrifice does not have to be human. Ordinary birds and beasts will do."

After offering several suggestions, Mephistopheles continued.

"If you truly dislike this kind of conflict, I recommend finding someone from the Church and persuading the overseer to remove your Command Spells, giving up your qualification to participate. That way, you would cease to be the Master of a Servant and could remain under the Church's protection until this war ends."

Rin Tohsaka glanced at Mephistopheles, surprised that he knew so much about the Holy Grail War. But recalling that this guy had nearly become a student of the Clock Tower, she immediately understood why.

Still, why did Mephistopheles sound as though he was deliberately trying to get Shirou Emiya to withdraw from the war at the Church?

Looking at Saber, whose expression had visibly darkened, was he trying to make Saber withdraw directly?

If Saber, the strongest Servant, withdrew directly, it would indeed have a major impact on the direction of the Holy Grail War to come.

Rin Tohsaka silently considered this. At that moment, Shirou Emiya stood up as well. "I want to go take a look and ask the people at the Church."

Though she did not know Mephistopheles' true purpose, Rin Tohsaka stood up too and said, "I'll take you there."

After speaking, she added, "And I'm your enemy right now. It wouldn't be good to listen only to me and no one else. The Church happens to be a neutral third party that knows about this, so you can hear what the Church personnel have to say."

Mephistopheles secretly laughed to himself.

"If I didn't know Kirei Kotomine was your senior brother, I might have actually believed that."

Under the night sky, the three walked along the street while Mephistopheles concealed his form. The group soon arrived outside the church, but Artoria refused to go any farther and chose to remain at the entrance.

Although Shirou Emiya was curious, he still allowed her to stay there as she wished. Mephistopheles paused at the entrance for a moment and smiled. "Are you afraid the priest will see what you look like?"