Sona Shitori, real name Sitri, read through the reports with a frown before handing them over to her friend.
"Tell me what you see."
"Hm. Another dip in the Stray Devils population? This month, it seems far more sparse compared to last month."
Sona nodded at Rias Gremory's words.
"That is because there are fewer Stray Devils left in the town."
"I see. But, isn't that a good thing? Since there are fewer Stray Devils, we don't have too much workload anymore, so we can concentrate on other things, right?"
Sona could not help but give her lazy friend an annoyed look.
"The problem, as you put it, is that something, or someone, is out there, on our land, killing stray devils. This means that there is someone who is at least in the upper Low-Class range operating without our permission in our territory."
Rias simply leaned back in her chair.
"Again. I don't see the problem here, Sona. Someone that low on the totem pole is hardly a threat to us, and given that whoever it is, they are concentrating on eliminating Stray Devils, which is a good thing for our record. Now, while it is indeed a problem that we are ignorant of who it is and that they are breaking the status quo with their actions, these are problems that can be easily solved if we put our minds to it."
"....Rias. Can you take this seriously already?"
Rias grinned at her friend and finally dropped the act.
"Fine, fine. I've had my fun ribbing you. But I meant what I said. We really don't need to think too much about someone that low on the powerscale. Besides, you and I both know that you are not the kind of person to leave such a mystery be, so I am sure that you've already sent out your familiars to scout the city for any unfamiliar magical signatures, yes?"
Sona sighed and nodded her head.
As her best friend, Rias knew Sona's way of doing things quite well, so much so that she could predict what kind of actions Sona would take in most situations, just like Sona could predict Rias's thought process most of the time.
It was also because of how well they knew each other that they knew each other's flaws as well.
Sona knew that Rias was someone who did not believe in future planning, 'letting chips fall where they may' as she says. She is someone who believed in fate and someone who acted spontaneously rather than with a proper plan. A fatal flaw that was only mitigated somewhat by Rias's ability to think on her feet during danger and her ability to pull through most situations thanks to her ridiculous luck.
Rias also knows that Sona was someone who often overthinks most of the time, overanalyzing things and building patterns when there are none, feeding her paranoia even more. She also knew that Sona did not like anything that fell outside her plans. That she prides herself on her ability to look at the 'big picture' as she calls it and make strategies for long-term goals, often times forgetting that random variables are a thing and can throw off her predictions.
It is why Rias loves messing with Sona by acting even more carefree than she usually is, just to annoy her friend.
Sona took out a rather large file from her desk and placed it in front of Rias, prompting the Gremory heiress to read through it.
Intrigued with what new stuff her friend found, Rias flipped through the pages while Sona explained her side of things.
"This file contains everything that we know about the supernatural side of this town. From the Leylines under the abandoned Ryuudou Temple that the Shinto refuse to sell, all the way to the former owners of this town, the Tohsaka and the Matou family. We have everything here."
Rias hummed as she went through the details and stopped on one particular page.
"...Is that..?"
"Emiya? Yes. While he and his sister don't show any indication of their awareness of the supernatural, their parents are rather infamous in certain circles."
Rias's eyes glinted at that information as she read through the file.
"Oh~ how interesting. So the Einzbern incident actually left behind survivors? And three at that? Why didn't your sister snatch them up back then? I remember she was quite interested in acquiring one of them as part of her peerage, right?"
Sona's expression twisted when Rias mentioned her sister before she regained her calm.
"You are still asking that question after seeing the name of the man the heiress of the Einzberns married?"
"Emiya Kiritsugu? What of it? I don't recognize the name."
".....You are hopeless. Did you spend all the time during our lessons back home dozing off or something?"
"Hey! That's uncalled for!!"
Sona massaged her temples in annoyance as Rias pouted at her friend's words.
"Do you at least remember the name, Supernatural Killer?"
Rias gave her friend a confused look.
"Of course, I remember that name. But wasn't that just a tale that our siblings told us back when we were kids? There is no way a human like that exists, right?"
Sona simply pointed at Emiya Kiritsugu's photo with a flat look.
It only took a second for Rias to realize what Sona was saying.
The Gremory heiress's eyes widened with shock as she leaped to her feet.
"Wait! That story is real!?"
".....Again, Devil Education has failed you, Rias-"
"Enough with the education stuff already! Just answer me!!"
"Yes, it is real, and yes, Emiya Kiritsugu is the boogeyman of the Supernatural World, the only human aside from Vasco Strada that most people genuinely fear."
Rias felt a chill go down her spine at those words.
There was a good reason why she was reacting like this. Most people of the supernatural world would react in the same way if they heard this information.
In the supernatural world, power is everything.
Whether it be unique spells, bloodline abilities, sacred gears, or raw magical or touki power, it did not matter. All that mattered was that one was strong. If one was strong enough, they were respected. That was how things worked in the supernatural world.
It is the reason why Vasco Strada, despite being a mere human, is so respected and feared across the pantheons of the world.
But Emiya Kiritsugu, or as he is better known, The Supernatural Killer, earned his infamy in a completely different way.
He earned his place and legend through sheer ruthlessness.
No method was too beneath him. If a method allowed him to reach his goal, he would take it in a heartbeat, regardless of the price.
Worse yet, this ruthlessness extends even to himself.
The legend where he willingly tore out one of his own ribs mid-battle after running out of ammunition, imbued it with his self-created magic spell, and then used those pieces of his ribs as pseudo-magical bullets to kill a renowned High-Class devil of the Amon family was what cemented his legend among the devil race in the first place.
Such a person who treats himself so ruthlessly, imagine what he will do to his enemies?
Worse yet, this was not even the beginning of the many scary tales told about him across the supernatural world, not to mention his body count and the power of his victims, which went to show how dangerous he was. This was the reason why the legends about him came to be considered just that, mere legends.
It was simply unthinkable for most supernatural races to imagine that such a monstrous human existed in this world.
Remembering the various tales she heard about him sends shivers down Rias's spine.
She stared at the warmly smiling man with black hair and eyes in the picture, trying to reconcile that image with the monster that she remembered from the stories of her childhood.
Then she stared at the two children in the photo that was taken long ago, recognizing them without any effort since one of them was her classmate and the other was the child that her beloved peerage member, Koneko, had taken under her wing in the Junior High division.
"...Do you think Shirou-kun knows about this?"
"...Highly unlikely. In fact, I don't think he has any potential for the supernatural world, given how low his magical energy capacity is. If anything, I think Illya-san would be the one between the two siblings to know more about the supernatural world, given her absurd magical potential. And given that she has no knowledge based on my investigations, I don't think the siblings knew about us."
Rias sighed, partly in relief and partly in worry.
"That's good. I don't want Koneko to be heartbroken should her precious kohai distance herself from her because of her nature."
"Hm. Let's get back to the topic. As you saw, I have already gone through all the data in that file, but I still came up empty-handed on who could be the mysterious person dealing with the Stray Devils, which means we have an outsider in this town."
Rias continued staring at the page with the Emiya-Einzbern family data.
"....Do you think Emiya Kiritsugu took care of them?"
"No. Based on the information I got from our contacts in the Underworld, Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel von Einzbern are halfway around the Earth right now. As for the other two Homonculous in their household, they do not have much combat potential, with the only advantage being their deep magical energy reserves. And even if they had combat potential, my familiars would have spotted them thanks to their unique energy signatures, should they ever make a move."
"I see. Then, what is your plan?"
Sona leaned back into her seat and held a lost look, a rare expression that Rias hardly ever saw on her best friend.
"I don't know. I have no leads for now, so all we can do is to be on the defensive and keep an eye on the situation."
"...Alright. I'll send my familiars out as well, and ask Koneko to keep an eye on anything suspicious."
Sona nodded her head at those words, still looking lost.
Watching her friend's mood, Rias took out a chessboard and placed it on the table.
"How about a round to get rid of your emo phase?"
"...I am not emo."
Despite her words, Sona still smiled at her friend's actions.
The two Devil heiresses played late into the night, unaware that the target of their conversation was struggling with a similar information crisis as they.
And that something otherworldly was stirring in the heart of Mount Enzou, right below the ruins of Ryuudou Temple.
Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1 Like ReplyReport Reactions:DannyPhantom619, SufficientGravitas, LOWER_CASE_DUDE and 198 othersRuijardDec 11, 2025NewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 5 New View contentRuijardKnow what you're doing yet?Dec 11, 2025NewAdd bookmark#62Kuoh Airport.
Within the modest yet prestigious town's airport terminals, the passengers from nearby and far-off destinations moved to and fro.
It was in one such terminal that passengers from Tokyo got off their flight, and two certain people got off their flight and headed out.
The teenager with black hair tied up in twin tails sighed as she stood on the belt, moving across the airport.
"I knew Kuoh airport didn't have that much movement, but who knew I'd have to take a connecting flight immediately after arriving here from the west? Not to mention how I've been forced to come back in just three years, no less."
From within her luggage, a certain object of power spoke up mischievously within its wielder's mind.
"You haven't been home for a while, right? How do you feel about it? Master~"
The girl picked up on the sarcasm when the object said 'Master', but let it go, knowing that it was the peculiar nature of the artifact given to her by her teacher.
"I don't particularly feel any way. This place hasn't been my home for a while now. Especially after a certain group bought out the rights to the town from my family."
"Although I am surprised you made it through customs without any issues."
Before the artifact could respond, however, a haughty voice rang out from behind the teenager, causing her eyes to narrow in annoyance while her expression darkened considerably.
"Ah~ what a humid, mismatched country. It lacks any shred of elegance."
"Just like a certain someone...Oh ho ho ho~"
The strange way of laughing made many of the passengers nearby very uncomfortable, but the girl with blond hair and an elegant blue dress ignored it, focusing completely on annoying her 'rival' and fellow student.
The Japanese teenager sighed and spoke out to her artifact, intending for her words to be heard by the blond girl.
"Ruby. I am amending my previous statement. I'm in a really rotten mood."
Turning around and glaring at her rival, the teenager practically spat out her words.
"Having come home with this idiot makes me want to vomit!!"
Instantly, the blond woman's expressions darkened as well.
"Pardon me, but I'm the one who wants to vomit. Besides, it's all your fault we were forced into this. Tohsaka."
Tohsaka Rin, student of the enigmatic magic organization called the Clock Tower, turned away from her rival.
"You are in no place to talk. Tube-curls."
"What did you say!?"
"What? You went deaf as well? Edelfelt?"
"Please stop fighting in public. Master."
The twin artifact of Tohsaka's, stored within Luvia Edelfelt's bag, spoke with an exasperated tone within her own master's mind and was promptly ignored.
The artifact called Ruby spoke up to its 'sister' while the two teenagers glared daggers at each other.
"These two really are an embarrassment, huh?"
"Have you two forgotten why you were sent to Kuoh in the first place?"
"Hmph! Really, he certainly forced a troublesome condition on us."
Luvia's muttering only annoyed Rin further as she spoke out while heading for the exit.
"Let's finish this quickly and go home, Ruby."
"Let's go, Sapphire."
The two women left the airport and headed straight for their accommodations, arranged by the Clock Tower.
'Breath in'
I concentrated on the target. Memories of both this life and countless others flowing at once.
Right now, nothing else matters in the world.
'Breath out'
Right now, there is only me, the bow in my arms, the arrow notched and ready, and the target.
'Release'
The moment I let go, the arrow flew true and struck dead center. Its noise ringing out in the silent clearing.
Then, the usual applause poured in.
"Emiya-senpai! So cool!"
"That's that third bullseye in a row."
"It's a pity. If hehad participated in serious competitions, we might have been in the nationals by now."
The various members of the Archery club either whispered with awe or surrounded me with shining eyes. A spectacle I have gotten used to in the past few years.
After all, in my life, there are very few things that I take pride in, and Archery happens to be one of the things that I take pride in the most, alongside my cooking skills.
Another difference from many of my counterparts.
After the daily club activities were done, I changed out of the training clothes and headed out, only for a tiny missile to slam into me.
Of course, thanks to my magecraft training, which has been advancing steadily, leading to my inner reality manifesting within my body slowly but surely, it was the missile that was hurt, not me.
"Ow!"
Illya fell to the ground while holding her head in pain, making me sigh and pat her head gently.
"What have I told you about running into me like that?"
She pouted and looked down at the ground.
"You said not to. But I was just excited and couldn't help myself!"
Honestly, what am I going to do with this klutz?
....Then again, it is better for her to be a lively girl like this than the murderous homunculus from my memories.
This commotion did not go unnoticed, of course, as my fellow club members peeked out curiously, only to spot Illya and instantly surround my little sister, much to the girl's discomfort.
"Oh~ Illya-chan! Are you here for your precious Onii-chan?"
"Hehe~ so cute!"
"You sure are lucky~ Emiya-senpai to have such a loving little sister."
"I'm jealous!"
As the girls continued coddling and praising Illya, I spotted the way her flustered expressions slowly started to shift, becoming genuinely distressed.
Taking that as the cue, I stepped in and picked her up easily, making her latch onto me as a toddler latches onto a father.
.....That sounded really strange. Good thing I didn't say that out loud.
"Alright, enough of that. You girls should get to cleaning up and heading home after that."
"""Yes, President~"""
I sighed with exasperation at those teasing words before turning towards the woman with long black hair and black eyes.
".....I am not the president, Amano. You are."
Amano Yae, the president of the Archery club, gave me a teasing look.
"Eh~ but you are so assertive and stern~, shouldn't you be the president instead of me and boss us around? Just think about it! A whole club full of girls and you are the sole boss~"
".....You are beyond help, you know that, right?"
"Guilty as charged~"
I just shook my head at the girl's teasing and headed out while waving goodbye to the girls. Illya mimicked me and waved timidly from the crook of my neck, which only made the girls coo even more, frightening Illya even more.
Honestly, if it were not for my high-strung instincts that are always on edge when it comes to her, thanks to the many ways I saw her die in my dreams, I would have been teasing Illya for still being carried around by me like a child, despite being 13 years old this year.
It was only when we were out of the school building, and she saw the teasing looks from other students, that she finally let go and started walking on her own feet while I retrieved my bike and walked by her side, heading home.
"So, what were you doing at my club anyway? Don't you have your own club activity?"
"Oh! Fujimura-sensei said she was too busy to supervise, so club activities were suspended for the day. Since I had the free time, I thought I'd go home with you!"
I felt a frown form on my face.
"Fuji-nee is slacking off again?"
Illya shook her head.
"No. She really was busy. Nanaki, Tatsuko, and I secretly followed her to the staff room and saw the pile of paperwork she was working on."
...That's impossible. That tiger will never do work voluntarily-
"She was crying rivers while working through the pile while cursing someone."
.....That makes more sense.
"I see. In that case, want to ride the bike again?"
The dubious look she gave me showed how much she had been traumatized by my teasing.
"...Onii-chan. Are you planning something?"
I gave her a mock hurt look.
"Really? Why would I be planning something? It's just faster, you know?"
"....Fine. But if you deceive me again, I will hit you!"
'As if I am afraid of those tiny fists that barely register to my senses.'
Outwardly, I maintained a casual look and nodded, making her brighten up and promptly plop down on the carrier seat of the bike.
"Then let's go!!"
It was a good thing that I was facing forward, where Illya could not see my expressions.
Because I'm sure my grin would have traumatized her further.
I cranked open the valve within my mind, applying Reinforcement to my legs, and started peddling, hard.
Needless to say, by the time we got home five minutes later, I was once again subjected to tiny fists of doom to my back, which worked really well as a massage service.
Although it was a different matter entirely with Sella, who glared at me and started ranting about how irresponsible I was being as a sibling.
All in all, it wasa beautiful and fulfilling day.
Unfortunately, either Alaya heard my happy thoughts, or something else did.
Because my peace was shattered and my sleep forgotten, when I felt two powerful magical signatures clashing in the skies of Kuoh.
Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1 Like ReplyReport Reactions:DannyPhantom619, LOWER_CASE_DUDE, PlainSoul and 214 othersRuijardDec 11, 2025NewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 6 New View contentRuijardKnow what you're doing yet?Dec 12, 2025NewAdd bookmark#79Flaming orange energy collided with shining blue as two women wearing strange clothes clashed in the air.
Their every clash reverberated across the air, producing shockwaves and waves of mana that would have alerted half the nation if it were not for the barriers set up beforehand.
Rin Tohsaka, the heiress of the Tohsaka clan of magicians, wore a red dress with white frills and flares along with a long pink cape. Cat ears sat atop her head as a cat tail swayed behind her. Her gloved hands holding the artifact given to her by her potential teacher, the enigmatic and powerful magician called Zelretch.
An artifact shaped like a wand from a magical girl anime.
This is Ruby. The magical artifact that draws power from the Dimensional Gap to power spells and abilities of its wielder, and in some cases, even allows them to create whole new forms of spells altogether.
Opposite to Rin, Luvia Edelfelt, the heiress of the Edelfelt family, wore a similar outfit to her rival except that hers was blue, and she wielded the twin artifact of Ruby called Sapphire. Unlike Rin, however, she did not have cat features. Instead, she had dog ears and a tail.
The two rivals glared at each other, their magical energy surging to the limit.
Rin waved her wand, creating colossal fireballs. With another swing, they fell like meteors upon Luvia, intending to end her life.
However, Luvia was just as much of an accomplished mage as Rin, so it was easy for her to protect herself.
Pointing her own artifact, known as the Kaleidostick, at the incoming fireballs, Luvia channeled her defensive spells.
Magic circles sprang forth into existence, forming a barrier that completely blocked the fireballs by absorbing them.
Yet, the Edelfelt heir was not done.
With another wave of her Kaleidostick, the absorbed fireballs were shot back towards Rin with double the speed and triple the firepower, which forced Rin to dodge the incoming blows.
Seeing that ranged attacks would not help her gain an advantage, Rin flew forward, aiming to close the distance with her rival, a thought that Luvia shared as she too accelerated towards Rin.
Once again, they clashed physically as they crossed wands as if they were wielding swords, producing another explosive shockwave which forced them apart.
Their staring contest came to an end when Ruby the Kaleidostick finally got tired of their childish fight.
"Would you two cut it out already?"
Rin instantly exploded with rage at those words.
"Shut up, Ruby! She picked this fight, so it's her fault!!"
"...If children who dream of being magical girls saw this, they'd cry, you know."
Seeing that Rin was far too distracted bickering with her artifact, Luvia took the opertunity and charged up her magic, taking the stance of a lance thrust, as dozens of magic circles manifested around her.
Sapphire drew energy from the Dimensional Gap, turning it into mana, and then used the magical circles created by Luvia as the guide to condense said mana into a single point, producing a powerful beam of energy that could kill even a High-Class level being.
Unfortunatley for Rin, she was far too late in noticing the attack.
Hastily, she pointed Ruby at the incoming beam, her voice cracking with panic.
"Ruby! Put up the barrier! The barrier!!"
What followed was an explosion so epic that if it were an anime, people would be staring with awe at the visual effects.
Unfortunately for the Tohsaka, this was real life. Worse yet, this time, she was the butt of the joke.
As the smoke cleared, what was revealed was her tattered form with Ruby sporting a comical patch on her central star.
"The barrier is always up, but it can't fully negate such a powerful mana blast, ya know~"
Luvia finally relaxed, having landed a solid hit on her rival. Her need to gloat coming forth with how sorry a figure Rin cuts right now.
"Jeez. You are such a stubborn pest. Tohsaka. Won't you just disappear already?"
Silence reigned in the area before an eerie chuckle cut through it.
"I see....I see how you feel now."
Rin Tohsaka's grin became twisted as she brought out an artifact that does not belong in this world.
A Class Card.
"If that's how it is, I'll end it right here and now!"
Seeing the Class Card in her rival's hand, Luvia tensed before she smirked and brought out her own Class Card.
"Very well. Let's settle this, once and for all."
Without hesitation, both girls placed their Class Cards on their Kaleidosticks, calling out the invocation taught to them by Zelretch.
"Archer: Include!"
"Lancer: Include!"
However, instead of the flashy light that would shape their Kaleidosticks into weapons of myths and legends, nothing happened.
The two teenagers could do nothing but float there, dumbfounded, before their minds caught up with reality.
"Huh!? Ruby!? Include! Didn't you hear me!?"
Rin tried to force the Class Card into the Kaleidostick somehow by slamming it repeatedly into Ruby's star while Luvia stared at her own stick with confusion.
"What's wrong? Sapphire?"
"Good grief.....I can't put up with you two anymore."
"The Grandmaster lent us to you two to track down the extradimensional objects that we call Class Cards. To that end, he wanted you two to cooperate and complete this mission quickly and get back to the Clock Tower before the other magical organizations learned of their existence and sought them out as well."
Luvia could not help but laugh out in her strange, rich lady way when she heard Ruby's words.
"Do you hear that? Rin? Your own stick is chiding you. My qualifications as a wielder must really be-"
"No. You too. Luvia-sama."
Once again, silence reigned as Luvia gathered her thoughts after that devastating betrayal.
"What?"
"Luvia-sama. Due to your arrogance and disregard for the mission, resulting in this clash that could have easily exposed us to the current owners of Kuoh, which would bring all kinds of troubles to the organization, I'm afraid I must conclude that you are unfit to be my master."
This time, Rin smirked.
"What was that about qualifications?"
"B-Be quiet!"
"Well~ there you have it. So..."
Ruby forcefully freed herself from Rin's hand, just like her 'sister.'
Sapphire somehow bent her stick body and bowed to Luvia.
"Though it's truly selfish of us-"
""We shall take our leave and search for a proper master for the mission.""
Finally, Rin Tohsaka snapped.
"WAIT RIGHT THERE!! YOU WOULD DEFY YOUR MASTER WHEN YOU ARE ONLY MAGICAL STICKS?!"
"Heh. Rin-san. You are no longer my Master, so there is nothing to defy here."
Similar to her rival, Luvia exploded as well at this sudden twist.
"Why you...I'll never forgive you for this! Sapphire!"
"Apologies, my former master. But like Nee-sama said, you are not my Master anymore, so there is nothing to seek forgiveness about."
"Oh, that's right! You two...We cancelled the transformation, so you ought to do something before the residual magic fades and you fall."
As if gravity was waiting for Ruby's words, the two girls instantly fell from the sky, tumbling towards the river below before they managed to catch themselves with their magic.
Unfortunately, they caught themselves too late as they only managed to slow down their descent instead of flying, causing them to slam into the river like rocks, all the while loudly cursing the Kaleidosticks that were busy undoing the privacy barrier around the area and shooting off into the distance, searching for 'proper' masters for themselves.
Yet, none of these participants were aware that somewhere nearby, the shadows on the rooftop of a nearby building stretched, revealing a hidden figure wearing a red cloak over black body armor, who was staring speechlessly after witnessing the whole debacle.
The ornamental dagger in his hand, the lesser-known artifact of a certain King of Knights, which had allowed him to conceal his presence and hide himself in the shadows, faded into motes of light as he dismissed the projection.
'What the hell was all that? Is magecraft this versatile in this world? And why were Rin and Luvia wielding such powerful mystic codes? More importantly, why did they have Class Cards with them? And an Archer class card at that!'
'Did the worst-case scenario I imagined come true? Are there other Class Cards aside from mine and the two they had spread across this town? Or even across the world? Multiple decks even?'
'No. This can't stand. I need more information. But how?'
'I can't approach Rin and Luvia directly regarding this. Putting aside the fact that it's been three years since I last saw those two, I know them far too well. There is no way they will willingly tell me the truth, no matter the circumstance.'
'Then, who else can I approach for information?'
'Shit. This is really bad. If an Ainsworth-style Holy Grail War is really a thing in this world, or something similar to it is about to happen, I will have to keep an eye on my family and make sure they don't get caught up in this mess.'
'But, again, how do I do it without coming off as suspicious!?'
'Such a troublesome situation!!'
Frustrated beyond words, the figure ran across the rooftops, chasing the trail of the two magical afterfacts after confirming from a distance that Rin and Luvia were fine.
Unfortunately for the young man, the sticks were far too fast and left him in the dust.
Worse yet, during the chase, he ended up stumbling across another Stray Devil, forcing him to take care of it as well before heading back home empty-handed.
By the time I got back, it was already well past the time when anyone would be awake at home. The perfect time to sneak in without anyone seeing me.
Something I need desperately, given the multiple bloodstains on my uniform that I'll have to clean out silently tonight before Sella or Liz finds out.
That damned Phantasmal really made a mess of things with its acid blood attacks.
I could not help but sigh as I remembered the disaster of a night that I've just experienced.
First, it was that damned honest-to-god magical girl fight I saw above Kuoh, which was orchestrated by none other than my two old friends who have not been seen in the city for nearly three years now.
Then, there was the shock of seeing Class Cards other than mine in their hands.
While I had prepared myself for the worst-case scenario of all the Class Cards finding their way into this world, it was still too much for me to see that even my worst calculations had been thrown out the window with the existence of another Archer Class Card in Rin's hand during the fight.
That alone opens the door to all sorts of disastrous scenarios that I am not in the mood to think about right now.
Then those damned Mystic Codes took off to who knows where after dropping the girls in the river below.
Then I ran into one of those Phantasmal creatures that have been haunting this town, which distracted me long enough for the sticks to escape my pursuit completely.
So, in the end, I accomplished none of the goals I set out with this night.
I did not have answers to any of my existing questions. I found out that my childhood friends have turned into fucking magical girls somehow. I found out that there are other Class Cards aside from my own out there, with the potential for an entirely separate deck from my own existing out there. And I learned that my luck is still the same terrible one as my Servant counterpart.
All in all, a disaster of a night.
With a sigh, I changed out of my clothes and snuck into the bathroom, cleaning up my uniform and hanging it up to dry. Then, I grabbed some food and headed back to my room.
However, instead of going to sleep, I snuck out again and installed the Archer card, heading straight for the ruins of Ryuudou temple.
Issei Ryuudou left Kuoh with his family when we were children after some kind of disaster struck the Ryuudou temple and caused a lot of property damage and loss of life. I heard that the Church on the other side of the town was also abandoned during that time.
It was also during this time that the Matou family left this town as well. Since I was not aware of Sakura's existence back then, I did not know about this. It was only after the memories of my alternate selves started flowing into my mind that I investigated the Matou family and found out about this.
Based on what I managed to find, after breaking into some old records and other stuff, it would seem that Kariya Matou left Kuoh with his niece, Sakura Matou, after whatever happened back then.
The official records show that he left for London. As for Matou Zouken, he is officially declared deceased. A fact that I confirmed for myself after visiting the former home of the Matou family and infiltrating the place, finding that there were no bounded fields or any defences of any kind.
Not only that, but the house was completely empty. No books, no magus workshop, no mystic codes, nothing. Not even the damned pit full of worms that I remember from my alternate self's memories.
Later on, when I went to check out Matou Zouken's grave, I found that there was an actual body down there, and it was not some decoy either. Matou Zouken was actually dead.
The only silver lining in this whole mysterious event that has been bugging for so many years is that Sakura seems to have found some kind of a happy ending in this world with her uncle.
Anyways, back when Issei left after the so-called disaster, I was not yet aware of the supernatural and had not stumbled upon the Archer card just yet, so I took that news at face value and gave my goodbye to my best friend at the airport.
But now, I cannot help but think that there might have been something more to that incident back then. Something so major that one of the two main magical families of this town left, along with the ancient Buddhist family being forced to abandon their ancestral land, and the Church being shut down all at once.
Whatever the case might have been, ever since I got the Archer card, I have been using this place to practice in secret and continue my training using the memories of my alternate selves.
Walking into the ruins of Ryuudou temple, I went into the deeper parts of the crumbling building and removed the cloth covering the Formalcraft circle that I carved here long ago in accordance with my memories of the circle within my counterparts' home in Fuyuki, slightly modified to meet my needs here and to match the strange rules of magecraft in my world.
The moment I channeled my Od through the circle, I felt the isolation field activate, clearing the ambient mana and creating a space for me to use my abilities without interference from the world, even if that did not seem to exist in this world.
Sitting down, I took out a few rubies and started channeling my Od into the jewels like I remembered Rin's counterparts teaching me.
When it comes to Magecraft beyond those that I know and fall out of my Element and Origin, I am completely shit at them, which also includes Jewelcraft. Thankfully, I found out that at least I can create my own Od batteries from jewels like Rin to power my spells should the need ever arise.
Not to mention that I would probably need them when I finally activate my Reality Marble and manifest it into reality, given that my Od reserves are not yet at the level where I can manifest it for extended periods of time.
It is a shame that I can't use the Formalcraft needed to convert the mana from the Leylines into Od directly, which would make my life much easier since I could use the Leyline below my feet to charge the rubies with Od instead of using my own Od to charge them.
With the daily ritual done, I put away the rubies and took out a red jacket, a black leather underarmor, black pants, and boots that I either bought or created some time ago, and a few regants, beginning work on my other project.
Seiðr Wool, spun ritualistically over the course of a few months, which took a whole lot of effort on my end, acted as the base, helping me weave the Runic symbols onto the inner layer of the Jacket.
Wolf Fur, another regent that took me a lot of effort to acquire, acted as the base for many of the Runes I wanted to inscribe, thanks to its symbolic connection to Odin.
Silver and Iron threads that I created through Alteration and weaving them on sacred days, such as winter nights, according to Scandinavian traditions, worked as the Od channels.
I used Snake skin to make the shoes for their symbolic connection to dragons, which allowed me to channel that Mystery through runes.
I also used Bear hide for the underarmor and Linen that was also woven in winter nights for the pants.
With a few other regands in the same league, I managed to weave a handful of the runes I remember my counterparts using into the Jacket, underarmor, pants, and shoes.
Ehwaz for hardening and complementing my Reinforcement. Kenaz to enhance my sight. Sovilo for borrowing the concept of the 'Sun' to protect myself from the darkness attribute of the primary Phantasmal species that I regularly run into in this town. And a few other runes for presence concealment, and a few other things here and there.
This combat uniform is my very first attempt at making my own Mystic Code, and truthfully, I could not be happier with how it is progressing.
At best, I give it another week before the whole ritual is complete and it is ready for use.
With this mystic code, I would no longer have to keep using Install on my Class Card to gain armor and obscure my identity. This mystic code could do just that and would allow me to hide much better with its built-in presence concealment rune.
This would allow me to save the Install option as a trump card for the direst of situations.
It was only when I saw that it was well past midnight that I finally stopped and put away my projects in a hidden compartment underneath the floorboards, concealed by a few concealment runes, and headed back home.
I need to get up early in the morning and start preparing for the day ahead.
Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1Last edited: Dec 15, 2025 Like ReplyReport Reactions:DannyPhantom619, The Ship of Theseus, LOWER_CASE_DUDE and 193 othersRuijardDec 13, 2025NewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 8 New View contentRuijardKnow what you're doing yet?Dec 15, 2025NewAdd bookmark#104Kuoh Junior High.
Within the first grade of the Junior High's A class, Illyasviel von Einzbern dreamed of magic girls, magic, scary twin-tailed girls, perverted magical sticks, and apocalyptic tarot cards.
However, her dreams were rudely interrupted when a rolled-up book smashed into her small head, shocking her awake with the sheer impact.
"OW!"
Flinching with pain, Illya blearily looked up to find the source of the impact, where a certain Tiger glared down at her.
"Don't sleep so brazenly in class."
Illya pitifully looked at her homeroom teacher, who also worked in the High School division as the English teacher for her brother.
"I'm sorry...."
Her fellow students and friends laughed at her, not out of a mean spirit but simply because they found it funny.
It was only when class was over and lunch break arrived that her friends finally showed her their concern.
"It's unusual for you to sleep in class, Illya-chan. Did you not get enough sleep?"
The girl with brown hair and eyes, Mimi Katsura, asked worriedly. Her soft personality makes her feel worried for her friend.
Illya leaned back into her chair with a heavy sigh.
"Last night, I was up thinking about things..."
What was left unsaid was that her entire world had undergone an upheaval after the Kaleidostick called Ruby literally barged into her life, which was followed shortly by a scary twin-tailed girl called Tohsaka Rin.
What followed that was revelations that sent her mind spiraling in excitement and dread.
Granted, she could tell somehow that Rin had not told her everything and only told her about the Class Cards being dangerous and needing her to use Ruby to retrieve them unless she wanted Kuoh to be destroyed, but still, the very thought of becoming a real magical girl was so exciting for the 13 year old girl that she spent the entire night fantasizing about it, which led to the situation in class where she dozed off, earning the wrath of Taiga.
The pink-haired girl with narrow eyes and a laid-back personality, Nanaki Moriyama, tilted her head at Illya's answer.
"Thinking? About what?"
Mimi held a worried look as well.
"Is something troubling you? Do you need help? Should we tell the teachers?"
Before Illya could answer the questions, however, the childish girl with blond hair and brown eyes, Tatsuko Gakumazawa, leaned forward with a grin.
"Forget about that! More importantly, let's play dodgeball!!"
The girl was so engrossed in hyping up her friends that she did not notice how crumbs from her mouth flew across the table and landed on her friend, the girl with black hair, black eyes, and wearing glasses, Suzuka Kurihara, whose temper flared at the act.
She gave a glat look to Tatsuko as she gritted out her words.
"I doubt you, of all people, would have any worries, unlike Illya. Must be really nice, eh?"
Tatsuko realized the danger she was in, but it was too late to avoid as Suzuka closed the distance instantly and forcefully stuffed a full loaf of bread into Tatsuko's mouth as the smaller girl struggled under the punishment while flailing her arms helplessly.
Illya smiled wryly as cold sweat poured down her back at the blatant display of violence in front of her.
Turning to Mimi, she finally answered the earlier questions.
"It's not that I am worried about anything. It's just, my mind can't keep up with reality, or rather, truth is stranger than anime right now."
The girls gave their friend a confused look as their young minds tried to comprehend the suddenly deep words packed with meaning beyond their comprehension.
".....I don't get it, but it sounds rough."
"I guess so."
Soon, classes began again, and the day went by. As the day came to a close, Illya packed up and headed straight out the door, catching the attention of her friends who were fooling around with brooms, pretending that they were swords.
"Eh? Illya-chan? Heading home already?"
Illya flinched at those words before smiling awkwardly.
"Yeah. I have something to do, so...."
Nanaki's narrow eyes lit up at those words.
"Heading towards your brother? Why not wait for a bit, and I'll come with you to get my sister as well?"
"H-Haha! No need. I'll see you all tomorrow!"
The white-haired girl did not give her friends the time to respond before dashing out, once again catching the attention of Taiga, who roared at her to not run in the corridor, only to scare the other little girls and boys in the area thanks to her tiger-like roar.
As she headed out and down the stairs, the Kaleidostick within her bag finally revealed itself and spoke to her through their telepathic link.
"Finally! School's over? It was really boring staying inside your bag and listening to knowledge that means nothing to beings like me."
"Beings like you? There are other magical girls out there?"
"Well, there is one...."
If Ruby could sweatdrop, it would have done so right now, as she remembered a certain childish but ridiculously powerful Devil woman who loves to pretend to be a magical girl.
"...But it's better if you don't know anything about her, if only to preserve your innocence."
Illy only had a confused look at those words.
As Illya jumped down the stairs recklessly in a manner that would no doubt give her brother a heart attack or make Sella give her a stern talking to, Illya grinned and spoke to her magic stick.
"Hey, Ruby! Can you teach me how to use magic?"
"Sure thing! But we will have to wait until you get into some advanced mathematical stuff in school and see how you fare in those before that."
Illya nearly fell on her face at that answer as her face went pale.
"A-Are you saying magic is related to my grades?! Will I have tests? Will it be like school all over again?!"
"AHAHAHA! Y-You really are funny! But no. To answer your question, let's just say, your ability to calculate and remember formulae plays a huge role in how you use magic and how far you can go as a human mage."
Illya picked up on the words' meaning.
"There are non-human mages?"
"Well, yes. Or rather, I think it is better to say that magic is generally used by non-humans and was derived for human use by a certain flowery bastard. But that is some advanced knowledge that you don't have the context to understand just yet. So wait until Rin-san gives you the proper knowledge on that."
Illya's shoulders drooped at those words as she sulked and walked slowly towards her shoebox.
"Will Rin-san even teach me? She seems very cranky all the time and prone to violence rather quickly."
The little girl shuddered as she remembered the murderous look on the teenager's face when she first ran into her.
"Don't worry, she will teach you. If she won't-"
Somehow, the stick managed to make an evil face despite not having a face to begin with.
"Let's just say, I have some leverage against her, so she won't dare go against my words unless she wants her social life to be destroyed, especially in front of the boy she has a crush on."
Once again, Illya paled.
"Who is the unfortunate guy that she is crushing on!? It can't be good to have such a dangerous lady after them, right?"
"...You poor, sweet, dense child. I guess you will have your answers when the time comes."
"Hey, what do you mean by that? Ruby? Ruby-san? Don't leave me hanging!"
Ruby just giggled mischievously, sending shudders down Illya's spine continuously until she opened her shoebox, and a beautifully crafted letter fell to the floor.
"Oh! It's one of those! Right?!"
"'Those'? W-Wait! You don't mean....?"
"Yes! That's exactly what I mean! A letter found in your locker after school, it has to be a love letter!!"
Instantly, blood rushed to Illya's face as she turned as red as a tomato, while Ruby giddily floated around the girl, ready for some drama.
Although a part of the stick did pity whichever boy wrote this letter, knowing that he would have a steep hill to climb in the form of Illya's overprotective older brother, based on Illya's, Rin's, and Luvia's words, as well as the famed Supernatural Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya, as the girl's father.
"Now, Illya, hurry up and read it already!! I am dying of excitement here!!"
With shaky hands and a thumping heart, Illya slowly took out the letter from the beautifully crafted envelope.
Only for her to feel like someone poured cold water on her head, while Ruby nearly fell to the floor in shock and disappointment.
[Come to the High School Courtyard at midnight tonight. I have made a few arrangements with the owners for our first task. If you don't come, I'll kill come get you.]
Tohsaka Rin.
Illya could not help but feel dead inside as her budding youth was curtailed by the extremely cold and utilitarian message wrapped in a beautiful exterior, just like the person who wrote the letter.
Her dead gaze held on the letter for a few minutes before she calmly tore up the thing and threw it into the nearby trash can.
"....Let's go home, Illya."
"....Yeah."
Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1 Like ReplyReport Reactions:DannyPhantom619, The Ship of Theseus, Kaine941 and 181 othersRuijardDec 15, 2025NewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 9 New View contentRuijardKnow what you're doing yet?Dec 15, 2025NewAdd bookmark#105Self-Hypnosis.
It is a concept that every Magus is intimately familiar with.
It is a process in which the Magus uses their convictions and internal image to suggest their own soul, allowing for the activation of their magic circuits.
More often than not, it takes the form of a combination of a mental image and a personal aria, just like how my counterparts use the image of a gun being loaded and the Trace aria to activate their circuits, or how I use the image of a pipe system and a control valve as the image and a similar aria to my other versions.
However, thanks to my memories, I have found that aside from simply activating my magic circuits, Self-Hypnosis can also function for a different task.
Meditation.
I do not mean the kind used in yoga or other such stuff where they tell you to empty your mind or other such unreasonable stuff.
I mean true meditation. The process in which your consciousness becomes aware of your body's every intricacy, including your very soul, allowing a magus to control the metaphysical nervous system that exists within their very soul.
And this is exactly the effect I am concentrating on right now.
"Trace. On."
My Self Hypnosis took root, and suddenly, I am completely aware of my body's every aspect and my soul's every pulse.
The way my Reality Marble was lurking right beneath my skin, ready to intervene at a moment's notice, responding to my brain's need to preserve my body. The way my soul pulsed every second with each of my breaths, drawing in the mana in the world and turning it into magical energy for me to use.
The way my flesh and bones turned to steel at my command and turned back to their original form with another command.
The way my body temperature rose to abnormal levels with each second of my magic circuit's activation, triggering a gradual and permanent change to my physical body by tanning my skin and bleaching my hair strands white.
However, my concentration was not on all these aspects of my body. No. It was on something else. Something that I noticed very recently, which prompted this whole experiment in the first place.
Deep within my self, beyond the physical body, beyond my Reality Marble, even beyond the surface of my soul, in the farthest depths of my very self, I felt it.
A small pulse. Unfamiliar, yet potent.
I still remember the magecraft lessons that various versions of Rin taught me. She described the origin of magecraft and Mystery as a whole to be from two different sources.
Mana, the Greater source. The breath of the planet. A power produced by the very planet and the source of power for nearly all types of Phantasmal species, especially creatures like Dragons and other such things.
Then, there is the second source, one that is used by nearly all Magi. Od. The Lesser Source. The life force of a living organism. One that every living creature in existence has.
Both of these sources are raw energy that is converted into magical energy by the magic circuits of a Magus, with the quality and quantity of the magic circuits determining the quantity and quality of the magical energy a magus can use.
This is the reason why Magi value magic circuits to such an extent and, once the theory of inheritance was proven, valued bloodlines over most things so much in all the worlds of my counterparts.
The reason why I am even thinking about all these lessons from Rin is quite simple.
There is something within my soul that should not exist based on these lessons I remember.
It is a source of power. One that I recently stumbled upon when I was charging up my rubies, but accidentally used up all of my magical energy, only for something else to fill in the gap briefly before fading.
This source is not Od, because I did not feel any dip in my life force, and neither is it Mana, since I was within my isolation Formalcraft circle, which shut out all mana from the world.
This is the reason why I decided to try this experiment and try to understand what this power was, and now, I have found the source.
Deep within my soul, I feel a source of power that feels similar to the mana in the air, yet it is as malleable as my magical energy produced by my magic circuits.
Cautiously, I tried to consciously move the power around, trying to see how it would react to intent, and surprisingly, it obeyed immediately.
It felt far easier to use compared to my magical energy, but somehow, it felt a bit 'lighter' than my magical energy conceptually and felt a bit less dense. The difference was not much, only by a fraction or so, but I could feel the difference as clear as day.
'What fresh hell is this? How did I miss something like this existing within my soul for so long when my magecraft and reality marble involve the literal manifestation of my soul?'
'...Granted, I haven't gotten around to manifesting my Reality Marble yet since there was no opportunity, but still, the point stands.'
Slowly, for what felt like hours, I cautiously moved the energy around, pulling and pushing it with my mind, before finally deciding to move on to the next stage of my experiment.
'Nothing too dangerous. A simple pack of razors should do.'
"Trace. On."
I decided to take things slow and activate the seven steps of my tracing slowly since I was using an unfamiliar source of energy for this experiment. This will allow me to stop at any moment should I feel like things are going wrong.
Judging the concept of creation.
A pack of blades used in various ways for personal hygiene and in many other ways.
Hypothesizing the basic structure.
Metal processed into sheets, which are then passed through stamping machines that cut them into shapes. Heating, quenching, and tempering sets it into the desired ratio of hardness and flexibility.
Grinding is used to sharpen them, and polishing is used to clean them up. Then, Chromium-based coatings are used to enhance their longevity and rust resistance.
Duplicating the composition material.
The strange source of energy was molded according to the blueprint in my Reality Marble, far easier than my magical energy.
Imitating the skill of its making.
Machine-like precision born from the very nature of my Reality Marble allowed for the object to be manifested as a near-perfect replica of the original, with the difference being so minor that it would be nearly impossible to notice it.
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.
Since it was just a pack of razors with nothing special to write home about, there was nothing much to gain from this step, yet I went through it anyway.
Reproducing the accumulated years.
Again, there was nothing much to say about this pack of razors that was barely a few months old.
Excelling every manufacturing process.
With the final step complete, a pack of razors manifested in my hand with the new energy I discovered, exactly as I envisioned it.
However, somehow, I could tell that this was different from my usual projections.
Somehow, it felt 'lighter'. It felt like it was missing the conceptual weight behind every other pack of razors I traced with my magical energy in the past.
Again, the difference is fractional, yet I could still feel it.
Looking back at the source within my soul, I nearly fell to the floor in shock as I saw the source already regenerating its energy.
It was fast. Not so fast that I would quickly regain it all within minutes, but fast enough to be noticeable.
Based on the regenerative rate and calculating based on the full capacity I could sense within my soul, I would say it would take, at most, a couple of hours or so before this new source of power regenerates back to full after completely draining it.
A ridiculous regenerative rate compared to how long it takes for my magic circuits to generate magical energy to their full capacity.
'Just what is going on here? Is this another chance unique to my world? But if so, what does the existence of this new source of energy mean for humanity? Is it the same situation as the magic circuits, where only a select few have it, or is this universal?'
'Now that I am aware of this energy, maybe my sixth sense will help me identify others who hold this energy within them? Maybe this will help me find a few answers to the many questions I have?'
With a sigh, I stopped using my self-hypnosis and got up from the ground, exiting my Formalcraft circle, and started cleaning up again.
Another new mystery to investigate. As if I did not have enough on my plate already.
As many of my servant counterparts would say, looks like my E-Rank luck has struck again.
Installing my Archer card, I headed back home.
One mystery at a time. First things first, I need to find out what the hell the deal is with Rin, Luvia, and those two sticks.
And why are there traces of unnatural mana density within the caverns of Mount Enzou recently? The very same location where the Holy Grail exists in many other realities out there.
Within Illya's room, the girl sat on her bed as Ruby, the talking, flying, and trolling Kaleidostick, floated about with wild gestures.
"Now! Let's start this magical Ruby's class of Magic for beginner magical girls!!"
"Ooh!~"
Illya clapped happily as Ruby exaggeratedly moved about.
"So, what will you teach me first? The power of friendship? How to beat villains and save the day? How to become the best magical girl?"
Ruby sweat-dropped at the enthusiasm from the little girl.
"We will start with History and basic knowledge that you need before you start doing anything."
Illya's face went pale as a sheet.
"H-History?! You mean I have to do homework to become a magical girl?!"
Ruby somehow managed to roll on the ground with laughter despite its strange body structure.
"BWAHAHAHA!! No, no. Illya-Chan. By history, I mean the supernatural history. The proper context is needed to understand what kind of job you will be undertaking."
Illya tilted her head in confusion.
"Supernatural....History? Is it like regular history that is written in a supernatural book?"
Once again, the Kaleidostick could not help but roll on the ground, dying of laughter at the girl's innocent question and confusion.
'I really made the right choice choosing this one. She is so much more fun compared to that hag Tohsaka!!'
"No. Illya. I mean the history of the supernatural world. The world of magic hidden from regular humans."
The stick floated near Illya as the girl sat down on the bed while the artifact's tone took on a serious edge.
"While I won't be able to teach you everything since we are short on time and because I am not that good at explaining things due to my nature, I will give you enough knowledge to do your first job tonight. After that, you can pester Rin to teach you more. I suggest stoking her ego by praising her."
Ruby giggled menacingly.
"She is really prone to losing herself when someone praises her, so take advantage of that and get her to teach you properly."
"Somehow, your idea feels kind of evil. But alright."
"Good. Now, let's begin with the basics. What do you know about myths and legends?"
Illya closed her eyes and tried to remember everything she ever knew in her young life with a finger on her chin and head tilted back with deep concentration.
"Not much. I know about the local religions. Mama, Papa, and the others are not religious people, so I don't know much."
"Hmm. As expected of that man. Anyways, do you know what the Devils and Angels are?"
Illya nodded enthusiastically.
"I do! I read a lot about them in the manga and saw many anime with them."
"Good. To put it bluntly, they are real."
"....huh?"
Illya.exe has crashed. Send help.
Watching the dumbfounded look on Illya's face, Ruby started speaking again.
"Angels, Devils, God, they are all real. And so are the various other myths and legends to a certain extent-"
"Stop! Stop!! Too much information and too little context!!"
Illya's brain started smoking as her young mind tried to comprehend the size of the nuke dropped on her with the blunt reveal.
Realizing her mistake, Ruby spoke apologetically.
"Sorry, Illya. As I said, I am not that good at teaching and tend to speak about everything bluntly. Anyways, all you need to know is that the supernatural world consists of various myths and legends, and you need to be careful when doing your job in this town since it is owned by one such faction."
"...Who?"
"The Devils. Particularly, the Gremory and the Sitri."
Illya nearly fainted on the spot at the knowledge that her hometown is owned by literal devils.
"Oh no! Oh no! What do I do? What do I do? I need to tell Onii-chan, Sella, and Liz! I need to tell Mama and Papa-"
"Illya! ILLYA! CALM DOWN!!"
"How can I calm down-"
"Ruby Kick!!"
Ruby flew forward at maximum speed and smashed into Illya's head, making the girl see stars and fall onto the bed.
"Sorry. But you need to calm down. Man, I wish Sapphire were here. She is a much better teacher than I."
Taking a deep breath, Ruby spoke again as Illya still struggled with the pain.
"Look. You don't need to worry too much about all of this. All you need to know is that if you do your job right, you can continue your ordinary life without any kind of problem for the foreseeable future. Our Grandmaster has an understanding with the Devils that forbids them from meddling in our business, and, from what that letter from that hag Tohsaka said, she also came to an understanding with them, so neither you nor your family will be harmed in any way."
"....Fine. Let's continue."
"Hm. Given your response, I don't think I am cut out to teach you what I wanted to teach. So let's go back to the bare essentials of what you need to know."
Illya nodded absentmindedly, as she still tried to come to terms with what was said.
"Let's see, how about we start with teaching you how to use your weapons?"
Once again, confusion reigned within the young girl's mind.
"My weapons? I have weapons?"
Ruby giggled mischievously, and maybe even lecherously.
"Illya. Do a twirl, put your finger against your cheek, and smile!"
"Huh? Why?"
"Just do as I say!"
Still confused, Illya did as she was told.
Twirling around, the girl came to a stop and pressed her pointer fingers against her cheeks with a smile.
Instantly, the kaleidoscope reeled back dramatically and started to swoon.
"Nice! Nice! Perfect!"
Illya stopped holding the pose and looked around with confusion.
"I still don't see any weapon, though?"
"But you already used the weapon!"
"...Huh?"
"Your cuteness! It is a weapon all on its own!! Just imagine! Scores of enemies falling for you at your cute actions-"
"You are making fun of me, aren't you?! You are making me do all these embarrassing poses for your amusement, right!?"
Illya nearly died of embarrassment as she heard Ruby's description of her so-called weapon and grabbed the stick, shaking it back and forth.
"What are you saying? A magical girl's first and foremost weapon is her cuteness!"
"Because cute is justice!!"
Illya nearly fell to the ground in shock at those words before her pitch rose even further.
"I've n-never heard of such a thing!!!"
After nearly an hour of fighting, the two finally called a truce and stopped, coincidentally nearing the time when Tohsaka Rin asked them to meet her.
Silently sneaking out from her room, Illya put on her shoes and headed out, making sure that none of her family would spot her exit.
Unfortunately for the girl, fate played a cruel trick, as a certain someone spotted her exit as he returned from his own escapade and tailed her silently by moving across rooftops.
Rin Tohsaka stood at the edges of the large track that the students of Kuoh High use for their club activities and practice, waiting for her young 'helper' and the 'traitorous' artifact.
Thankfully for the Tohsaka girl, she did not have to wait long before Illya jogged towards her after sneaking past the gates with the help of Ruby.
"Oh, you actually came."
Illya could not help but smile wryly at those words while scratching her cheeks awkwardly, a habit she picked up from her brother.
'Well, after you sent that threatening letter, who in their right mind would decline you and risk getting shanked like in those western movies in some dark alley out there?'
Rin gave the girl a confused look.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Oh. Um. It's nothing. So, are we going to retrieve those card thingies right now?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Oh. Ok. But, I have several questions."
Rin raised an eyebrow at those nervous, borderline panic-stricken words.
"Sure. But later. First, we need to get this task done since the deal I negotiated with certain parties only allowed us time for the next hour or so before we will be forced to leave this place."
"I see. Got it."
"Good. Then, to start, could you activate the transformation?"
Illya's shoulders drooped.
"Fine~"
She turned around and headed towards the nearby entrance to the changing room, causing the Tohsaka heir to stare at the younger girl with confusion.
"Hmm? Where are you going?"
"...To transform. I am not going through that elaborate ruse of embarrassment out in the open ever again."
"Come on! Illya-Chan. That was one time-"
"One time too many!"
Rin could only watch with a flat stare as the girl disappeared into the changing room with the stick before a flash of light and a burst of mana flooded the room. Then, just as quickly, Illya walked out, still with drooped shoulders and in her magical girl form.
"Sorry for the wait."
Rin took a deep breath to calm her fraying temper, which was already short to begin with, before speaking again.
"Well, are you ready? Here we go."
Illya stiffened up at the seriousness of her tone and nodded hesitantly.
"Y-Yes."
Rin turned around and pointed to the center of the track.
"The Card is approximately at the center of this track, right there. That's where our spell detected the dimensional disturbance."
Illya stared hard, trying to see if there was any card nearby, but she could not see anything, even with her enhanced vision as a magical girl.
"But I don't see anything there?"
"Correct. Because it is not in this dimension. The Cards are magical artifacts that do not belong in our world and come from somewhere else. As such, they create dimensional distortions which allow them to hide within a pocket dimension of their own, separate, yet still anchored to our reality in specific places."
Once again, Illya's brain smoked as it tried to comprehend what exactly the older girl was trying to say.
Noticing her expression, Rin sighed internally before speaking to the Kaleidostick.
"Ruby, do your thing."
"Sure thing!"
Suddenly, kaleidoscopic energies manifested underneath their feet, startling Illya, who nearly jumped in fear, as Ruby started to speak out loud about what she was doing, purely to mess with Illya and have some fun.
"Adding imaginary axis to the Dimensional Gap access matrix. Beginning Inversion preparations. Confirming the existence of complex space."
"Confirmed. Locating Dimensional anchor. Anchor located. Generating coordinates. Coordinates confirmed."
"Establishing transfer road. Road diameter set to two meters."
"Beginning transfer."
In a single instant, Illya, Rin, and Ruby disappeared in a burst of light, leaving behind faint traces of magical and dimensional energies.
And one confused pseudo-servant who could not make sense of what he just witnessed.
Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1
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Ruijard
Dec 16, 2025
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Ruijard
Ruijard
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Dec 17, 2025
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#167
Shirou Emiya felt confused and frustrated.
While he was coming back from his training grounds in the ruins of Ryuudou Temple, he saw a scene that felt highly suspicious.
It was Illya running out of their home.
Curious to see what she was up to, as well as to make sure nothing bad would happen to his sister this late at night, he followed her, only to see that she infiltrated his school.
Realizing that something shady was going on, he projected Carnwennan, the dagger of Artoria Pendragon, and hid in the shadows of the school, observing his sister from a distance.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
Illya was dressed in a strange pink attire that looked similar to her magical girl anime and manga. However, Shirou could tell that this was no cosplay.
The sheer breath of mana rolling off of her was enough to rank her as at least a Phantasmal Beast in the same range as a Dragon, or maybe even beyond that, well into the Divine Beast rank.
His little sister was cloaked in mana on the same range as a Dragon.
That thought alone was enough to nearly send Shirou running and grab her then and there. However, when he spotted her companions, he was forced to stop and analyze the situation.
Tohsaka Rin. The daughter of the Tohsaka family.
While there were no signs that she was a Magus in this world back when he knew her nearly three years ago, a time when he was barely starting to understand the significance of the dreams that he was experiencing thanks to the Class Card, there was no telling if she was merely acting like a normal person back then, just like many of her counterparts, or if there were other circumstances involved.
And, sadly, he is not even sure if this Rin would be like her counterparts, cranky on the outside and soft on the inside, or if she would even recognize him as her childhood friend instead of an enemy should he reveal himself, which would put his sister in danger and turn her into a potential hostage.
And then, there was that mystic code that she was using the other night, the same one that he had chased after but lost the trail of thanks to a Phantasmal creature's attack.
All in all, the situation looked too dangerous for his sister, and he could not risk her safety by recklessly rushing in. So, he chose to wait and see what they were up to.
Which proved to be a terrible mistake.
Suddenly, he felt a sudden shift in the flow of mana in the air, followed by a burst of strange energies, before the group at the center of the track suddenly disappeared into thin air, followed by a burst of light.
For a single second, his heart stopped dead as his mind raced to comprehend what he just saw.
Then, frustration and confusion flooded in, leading to his current situation.
Still in his Archer form, Shirou circled the area where he saw his sister and his childhood friend disappear into thin air, trying to use structural analysis to see if he could find something while also scouring through his Noble Phantasms to try and find anything that might help him in this situation.
'A Reality Marble? No. I do not feel the sense of wrongness that comes with a Reality Marble. Maybe a Marble Phantasm? No. That can't be it either. I don't feel the oppressive mana levels. The only burst of mana that I felt was when whatever magecraft they used was activated.'
'Maybe a translocation spell like with the Ainsworth? Possible. But why use this place to teleport out? Why not some other secluded place? Rin is not the kind of person to do things like this out in public like this, a theory further supported by the strange Bounded Field I can sense across the school.'
'No. Knowing Rin, if she is anything like her counterparts, this place must hold some kind of importance for her translocation spell. Maybe an anchor point? But that would mean she is trying to track someone who can teleport around based on anchor points. This means that she will have to eventually return back to the source of the trail, which would mean she will come back here once she is done.'
'The problem is that she has Illya with her, and I have no idea where they went.'
It was a testament to Tohsaka Rin's ability as a teacher across the multiverse that Shirou was able to deduce that much of the situation based on circumstantial and visual evidence alone. After all, it is not easy to turn a third-rate spell caster like Shirou Emiya into someone whose theoretical knowledge can match even a high-ranked magus of the Clock Tower in the other timelines, even if his practical skills will always remain firmly in the Third-rate Magus range.
It was during his contemplation of this situation that his senses picked up three approaching presences, making him disappear again using Carnwennan and concealing his presence completely, and disappearing into the shadows.
Then, he observed as, once again, two familiar figures ran to the center of the track.
"Dammit! Looks like that gorilla beat us to the punch! Miyu!"
Luvia Edelfelt's frustrated words made the girl beside her with short black hair and golden eyes nod before holding up Sapphire.
Shirou's heart nearly stopped once again when he spotted the familiar girl from his memories. A singular existence with no other counterparts across his multiple versions.
Miyu Emiya. The little sister of Shirou Emiya from the very timeline from which the Class Cards originate. The girl that his counterpart sent to another world after fighting an entire Ainsworth-style Holy Grail War and winning in the end with his own Archer Class Card.
For the first time in his life, Shirou Emiya could not help but curse internally.
'Fuck! What the hell is going on here!?'
Then, he caught sight of the other mystic code, one that felt like the counterpart to the one Illya was using earlier, do the same trick as the other one from before.
'Ok. It's now or never.'
Making up his mind, Shirou watched for the right moment, waiting and reinforcing his body to the absolute limit while still keeping Carnwennan active.
The moment he felt like whatever translocation spell they were using was active, he sprinted to the limit of his ability.
For someone who was using the full abilities of a servant whose Agility stat was C, it was child's play to close that distance in an instance.
Yet, he still failed.
It felt like running through a mirage. The moment he set foot into that Formalcraft circle, he felt some kind of restriction hold his body for just a split second, long enough for the girls and the mystic code to disappear just like Illya and Rin, before releasing him, by which point it was all over.
Then and there, Shirou felt so mad that he wanted to lash out at something. But the cold logic inherited from his servant counterparts allowed his logic to prevail as he went back to observe the area, his theory of this place being an anchor point all but confirmed with Luvia's actions.
"I was wondering who would be foolish enough to mess with the Kaleidostick's spells like that, to think I would run into an anomaly like you when I just wanted to see how my potential students were doing in their first task. Shirou Emiya."
Shirou stiffened up as the familiar, amused tone sent chills down his spine while his mind ran a hundred miles a second.
Knowing that there was nothing he could do against the man who was probably standing behind him if his counterparts' experiences were anything to go by, Shirou took a deep breath and dismissed Carnwennan, turning to face the white-haired older gentleman wearing a clean suit and holding a decorative cane.
"Zelretch. Given how you spoke my name directly, can I assume....?"
"That I know exactly who and what you are? Across all timelines? Yes, Shirou. You can."
The Old Man of the Jewels chuckled warmly as his crimson eyes stared at Shirou with amusement and intrigue.
The old man suddenly snapped his fingers, making Shirou tense, but he did not even have the time to think.
One moment, they were at the track behind Kuoh Academy, then, the next second, they were in an exact replica of the room that the Old Man always used in the Clock Tower across the timelines.
A sight that all but confirmed all of Shirou's assumptions, making him slump and unceremoniously drop down on the seat opposite the old man, knowing the man's personality better than anyone, thanks to Rin's status as his disciple in nearly all the timelines he knew of.
Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. The Old Man of the Jewels. The Father of Jewel Magecraft.
The Kaleidoscope.
The man leaned happily into his fist with a grin as he stared at Shirou.
"Looks like you've found yourself in quite the intriguing situation, eh? Shirou Emiya? As expected of you."
Shirou could not help but slump further, knowing that it was going to be a really long and mentally draining night.
For such is the price that needs to be paid when dealing with the madness that is the Kaleidoscope.