TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki City.
"Alright, let's get started." Tatsuo said as he stood before the opening leading to the Greater Grail, and all of its taint.
In response, Elicia nodded her head. Then, she held up her left arm, where a seemingly leather wristband with a number of golden, dragon motif, needles was wrapped around it.
"[Mend the Seams of Reality, Scylla.]." Elicia chanted.
Immediately, Elicia's magic power spiked to a little more than five times its normal amount. At the same time, her wristband, her [Soul Armament], began to glow in gold. Then, that glow extended to cover her left hand before spreading to cover her right hand, as well.
Finally, when the glow faded, Elicia's hands were no longer the soft, delicate hands of a young woman. Instead, they were covered in golden dragon scales with long, needle like claws at the tip of each finger.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo, who was waiting for this moment, began weaving hand signs as soon as he felt the spike n Elicia's magic power. And with each hand sign he struck, a symbol appeared in the air around him, filling the area where he and Elicia stood quickly.
Luckily, even if these symbols were to overlap, it would do nothing to hinder the ritual. Though, it would be hard to see what Tatsuo was doing after a certain amount of time.
Elicia, after finishing her [Soul Armament's] release, noticed that Tatsuo had begun his ritual. So, she started sending her magic power through the bond they shared for this mission, making sure to only send enough to keep Tatsuo's reserves topped off and not push beyond that point.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, no one noticed that there was a large spike in magic power at Mount Enzou. However, Caster was naturally the exception. The fact that she was sitting right outside the cave where the Greater Grail was hidden made it easier for her, as well. However, had she not been on Mount Enzou, she would not have noticed, either.
"So, that's why they used that [Bounded Field] to obscure what was going on in the cave." Caster said to herself in an intrigued tone. "It makes me want to tear through it and take a look for myself."
As soon as those words left Caster's mouth, she winced in pain while raising her hand to cover her heart.
"Caster, are you okay?" Souichirou asked, his tone as flat as ever. Though, the concern in his eyes could not be hidden.
"There's no need to worry, Souichirou." Caster said, removing her hand from her chest and placing it on Souichirou's cheek. "It's just the contract warning me. I'll be fine as long as I drop that train of thought."
Staring into Caster's eyes for a moment, Souichirou eventually nodded his head in understanding. Then, he turned back to the meditation that was interrupted when Caster seemed to be in pain. Meanwhile, Caster scooted a bit closer to Souichirou and laid her head on his shoulder while he meditated.
Like that, things remained peaceful on Mount Enzou for the next four hours. However, with the sun beginning to set, something finally changed. On top of that, the disturbance that came with this change could not be kept contained to just Mount Enzou, as every person with any magical awareness in Fuyuki could feel the activation of the leylines, even if it was only for a second or two.
"So, they're finally starting to purify it, huh?" Illyasviel asked from her bedroom in Einzbern Castle. "Hmm… Then, perhaps it's time to make a trip to Mount Enzou. What do you think, Berserker?"
As she asked her question, Illyasviel turned to look to the side of her room, where Berserker appeared from his astral form.
"Grr~~~~~!" Berserker's response was a growl of acknowledgement.
"Good, it looks like you agree with me." Illyasviel said with a wide smile as she swung her legs off the side of her bed. "Leysritt! Sella! Me and Berserker are gonna go out.! Help me pick out some cute clothes!"
Meanwhile, Sakura, Rider, Rin, Archer, and Shirou, who were just leaving Homurahara Academy, also felt the magical disruption coming from the activation of the leylines.
"Did they say they were doing it today?" Rin asked as she turned her head to look at her sister.
"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you." Sakura said in her gentle tone.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Shirou asked in a concerned tone.
"And what could you do to help?" Rin asked while shooting Shirou a side eye. "I know you're probably getting tired of hearing this, but you're not a strong enough Magus for something like this."
Hearing that, Shirou looked downcast. Like Rin said, he was tired of hearing that. But at the same time, he knew it was true. So, he never retorted.
"Hell, I'm not strong enough for this, either." Rin said, trying to give Shirou some consolation after seeing his downcast expression. "The only one of us who is strong enough to do anything is probably Sakura."
Hearing that, Shirou's head snapped up and turned to look at Sakura in surprise. Especially since she was the youngest of the three of them.
"But not even she could help." Rin continued. "Because she has no way of supplying Assassin with mana during this ritual. So, basically, it means that the only ones who could do anything are just those two."
As she finished speaking, Rin turned to look in the direction of Mount Enzou.
"I see." Shirou, also turning to look in the direction of Mount Enzou, said quietly.
"By the way, Senpai." Sakura said softly, drawing both Rin's and Shirou's attention. "Have you decided what you're going to do about the Holy Grail War and Saber?"
Once again, Shirou fell silent. At the moment, he did not have an answer to Sakura's question. But the fact that he has almost died twice in less than a week was making him lean towards a certain decision.
At the same time, back at the Emiya Residence, Saber, who was sitting quietly and eating some of the food Shirou left for her before he went to school, raised her head sharply when she felt the leylines' activation.
"So, it's started." Saber said as she carefully put down her abnormally large rice bowl. "And I wouldn't be surprised if someone decided to ambush them once they were finished, whether it be Lancer and his Master, Berserker and his Master, or even Caster and her Master."
With that said, Saber stood up. She then switched from her casual clothing, which consisted of a long sleeved white blouse, a blue ribbon tied around the collar, a knee-length blue skirt, black leggings, and brown loafers, to her armored battle dress. Then, she rushed out of the house to meet up with Shirou.
Finally, back in the Grand Hyatt Hotel, in a suite on the third highest floor, Bazett, who was preparing to leave the suite to find an opponent, stopped in her tracks to look in the direction of Mount Enzou.
"It looks like something is going on over there." Lancer said as he shifted into his material form and walked towards the window facing Mount Enzou's direction.
"Yes, it seems someone is tampering with the Greater Grail." Bazett replied as her eyes narrowed.
"Aren't you kinda duty bound to stop that?" lancer asked as he looked back over his shoulder at his Master.
"*Sigh* So it would seem." Bazett said, sounding a bit tired. "But we've already confirmed that Caster has set up her workshop on Mount Enzou. So, going to investigate would mean stepping into a death trap."
"That's true." Lancer said with a smile and a nod. "But isn't that what makes it fun?"
Bazett could only shake her head at that. But at the same time, since she was going out to find an opponent to defeat, this would kill two birds with one stone, at the very least. So, she quickly finished her preparations. Then, with Lancer, who had returned to his astral form, made her way out of the hotel to investigate the strange phenomenon at Mount Enzou.
Meanwhile, as the rest of the participants in the Holy Grail War were noticing the activation of the leylines at Mount Enzou, the culprits behind the phenomenon, Tatsuo, who was just making his final hand sign in the cave, and Elicia, who quickly activated the magic circle Tatsuo created to refill her dwindling Magic Power reserves, were both sweating profusely.
Yet, the job was only about halfway over. Because Tatsuo, though he had prepared the spell to [Purify] the taint infesting the Greater Grail, still had to finish casting it, which would be a much more daunting task.
"Are you okay, Lici?" Tatsuo asked, sweat pouring down his face while he held his last hand sign.
"Never better." Elicia replied as she wiped her face with a towel she had in her purse. "I can do this all day."
Despite the fatigue that could be heard in Elicia's tone, Tatsuo had no doubt that she could, in fact, keep going for as long as she needed to. As for him, thanks to being a Heroic Spirit, he could keep going as long as Elicia could continue to supply him with magic power. So, he was fine, as well.
"Well then, let's get this over with." Tatsuo said as he separated his hands.
With Tatsuo's movement, all the floating magical symbols began to move to the space between his palms. One by one, they combined together, fitting into one more intricate symbol as time passed.
Eventually, after a little more than half an hour, all the symbols had combined into one.
*Clap!*
Then, Tatsuo sharply clapped his hands together, fusing the symbol to his right palm until the spell was cast.
"Um... Hey, just how long do you think this is gonna take?" Elicia asked curiously.
"About half an hour, or so... Why? No, let me guess, we've got some uninvited guests." Tatsuo replied.
"Bingo!" Elicia said with an emphatic nod. "I can sense Bazett and Illya both coming this way."
Unlike Tatsuo, who had to concentrate on performing the [Purification Magic], Elicia, only having to make sure her magic power output was steady, was able to continuously monitor Fuyuki City with her [Magic Power Detection]. So, she had no issue feeling what was going on in the entire city. And it was especially easy now that she had released Scylla.
"It doesn't matter." Tatsuo replied nonchalantly. "I doubt they'll be fast enough to interrupt us. And even if they get here right after we're done, you can recharge yourself one more time before destroying the magic circle connecting you to the leylines. Then, we can go out and take care of those two."
"I guess that's true." Elicia said with a nod after a moment of consideration.
"Well then, like I said before." Tatsuo said as he stretched his right hand towards the pool of tainted sludge just past the [Bounded Field] protecting the Greater Grail.
*Hum~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
As Tatsuo's hand came in contact with the sludge, the familiar hum of the [Purification Magic's] activation sounded throughout the cavern. And with it, the density of the sludge around his hand began to thin slowly, yet still visible to the naked eye.
About ten minutes later, while Tatsuo was making good progress in [Purifying] the Grail's taint, Bazett reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to Ryuudou Temple.
"This is where that disturbance came from." Bazett muttered quietly. "In fact, I've felt it once more since the first time. The question is, what exactly are the people up there doing with the leylines."
{"For one, they must be using it to fortify this location."} Lancer surmised through his telepathic link with Bazett. {"I mean, seriously? Look at all the [Bounded Fields] on this mountain. You'd think whoever is up there was preparing for a war, or something."}
Despite herself, Bazett found herself rolling er eyes at her Servant's joke. Even so, as a member of the Sealing Designation Enforcement Unit, she had to investigate. So, she took a deep, steadying, breath before raising her right foot to start heading up the stairs.
"Aww… I was hoping I'd find Big Brother here."
However, before she could start climbing the stairs, Bazett stopped when she heard the voice of a girl from her right.
Putting her foot back down, Bazett turned to see who was speaking. However, thanks to the night that had fallen over the city, she was not able to make out the speaker's features immediately. Luckily, that would not be a problem for long, as she could also hear the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Too bad, I guess I'll have to play with Big Brother next time."
As the girl's voice sounded for a second time, Bazett was finally able to make out the owner's features, long white hair, shorter than average height, red eyes. All features she recognized from the report she had received about the other Masters in this year's Holy Grail War.
"Illyasviel von Einzbern." Bazett said while narrowing her eyes at the new arrival. "Why have you come here? Are you intending to investigate the activation of the leylines, as well?"
"Hmm? You know who I am?" Illyasviel asked with a smile spread across her face. "Well, I guess that makes sense. You're a member of the Clock Tower's Sealing Designation Enforcement Unit, after all. But to answer your question… No. I was only here to see if I might meet someone."
"I see." Bazett replied, narrowing her eyes further as she did so. "Well then, I must ask you to leave. I need to investigate exactly what is going on up there."
"Hmm…" Illyasviel hummed in response, raising her eyes to look up at the night sky while placing her right index finger on her chin in a gesture of contemplation. A moment later, however, she lowered her hand and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I'd rather you did not interrupt what is happening up there."
Narrowing her eyes even further, to the point she was now squinting, Bazett stared at Illyasviel with intensity. Yet, despite the intensity of her stare, Illyasviel never lost her smile. In fact, she looked like she was really enjoying the moment.
"And what exactly is going on up there?" Bazett asked, her tone stern and demanding an answer.
"Oh, it looks like that lady didn't tell you." Illyasviel replied, her eyes open wide in excitement. "Then, I guess that means it's a secret. And you're not supposed to know. So, I'm not gonna tell you."
"It would seem you're under a misconception." Bazett said as [Runes] began lighting up all over her arms and legs. "That was not a request."
"No, I understood perfectly." Illyasviel replied, her smile widening. "But that doesn't change my answer. So, if you want to find out, you'll have to make me."
With that, Illyasviel took a step back, did a little twirl that made her skirt flare, and smiled at Bazett once again.
At the same time, the tall, muscular, grey-skinned Berserker materialized in front of Illyasviel with his axe-sword gripped tightly in his right hand.
"You'll have to get past Berserker first, though." Illyasviel said energetically.
"Rahh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" And Berserker roared in response to Illyasviel's words.
"*Whistle* You're a big one, aren't you?" Lancer, materializing in front of Bazett, asked while looking up at Berserker. "But you know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
With that, Lancer, who had his spear resting against his right shoulder, flourished it in an masterful display of skill before taking a fighting stance with the tip of his spear, Gáe Bolg aimed directly at Berserker's heart.
*Crack!*
However, instead of replying to Lancer's taunt in any way, Berserker vanished from where he stood in a burst of speed, the force of his first step cracking the sidewalk where he once stood and approached Lancer at a speed that Bazett could barely track with her eyes.