Mordred and Kairi Shishigami, this pair of partners, gripped their weapons and slowly walked forward. Hades knew their movements without even turning around. He gently placed Sieg aside and said, "In the current Red Faction, only you two and a certain Caster who is busily writing in this garden remain. Does this unnecessary Holy Grail War still need to continue?"
"Sorry about that, Hades, but we also have wishes we want to fulfill." Mordred spoke to Hades with a remorseless grin on her face, both hands gripping the hilt of her sword.
Meanwhile, Kairi Shishigami brought out the Mystic Code he had crafted from the corpse of a Hydra hatchling—the Twin-Fanged Poison Dagger. With a serious expression and no hint of negligence, he prepared to pour everything into his final strike.
When the Twin Gods, as well as the Black Faction's remaining Servants Astolfo and Frankenstein, and Jeanne, tried to step forward, Hades waved them back, signaling with his eyes: I can handle these two.
Hades looked at Mordred and said, "Mordred, is your wish to try and pull out that Sword of Selection, Caliburn, and gain King Arthur's recognition?"
"That's right! Why won't Father acknowledge me as his child?! Does he hate me that much?! Does he hate me for being a clone of that witch, Morgan?!" Upon hearing Hades state her wish, Mordred's tone and expression became visibly agitated.
Ultimately, she was just a brat who longed for parental love and the recognition of King Arthur.
Hades shook his head, sighed inwardly, then turned to look at the blade-wielding Kairi Shishigami and asked, "Then what is your wish, Necromancer?"
Hearing Hades's words, Kairi Shishigami relaxed his muscles slightly and said, "To restore my family."
"You're lying."
After hearing Kairi Shishigami's wish, a glint flashed in Hades's deep, emerald eyes, which were like the bottom of a lake. It was as if he had seen right through Kairi's heart, causing the man to shudder involuntarily. Hades reached out his hand, and with a thought, an old photograph flew out from Kairi Shishigami's breast and straight into his hand.
"Your wish is likely for this child, to change her death." Hades showed the person in the old photo to Kairi Shishigami, speaking with an expressionless face.
Mordred was instantly drawn to the two people in the photo. The person on the left was clearly her Master, Kairi Shishigami, but with short hair and no scars on his face—a serious scholar who looked nothing like his current gangster-like appearance. It was hard to believe they were the same person. Standing next to him was a quiet-looking girl; the two looked like father and daughter. If Mordred saw that photo, she would likely laugh for a while before understanding the tragedies that followed and falling silent. For she understood the helpless despair of this man who, until he became what he was now, had chosen a life full of scars.
Upon seeing the photo, Kairi Shishigami lowered his head, his muscles relaxing. The desire for battle vanished from his eyes behind the sunglasses. The Twin-Fanged Poison Dagger fell to the ground, and with a self-deprecating smile, he said, "As expected of a god, you already knew about this."
"Indeed. She seems like a good child with a pure soul, not cut out to be a Magus at all." Hades looked at the girl in the photo, who radiated a pure aura, and spoke with a look of pity.
"Yeah... She was indeed a good child... She couldn't become a Magus at all... and yet I..." Kairi Shishigami thought of his life with his foster daughter, then remembered how she had passed away when his Magic Crest turned toxic during the transplant. At the thought, tears welled up in the eyes of the usually stoic Kairi Shishigami, and a single tear escaped.
"Master..." Seeing Kairi Shishigami like this, Mordred didn't know what to say.
The Shishigami family, to which Kairi belonged, was a family of Magi that had drifted from Europe to Japan several generations ago. The name Shishigami was taken after they reached Japan. They had already been in decline before going to Japan, with their Magic Crest nearly disappearing. After moving to Japan, things only got worse. In less than a generation, their decline reached a point where they could barely call themselves Magi.
The head of the Shishigami family at the time made a contract with something, allowing the family to make a miraculous recovery and even exert power greater than in its prime. Thus, the Shishigami family was restored as a prominent Magus family in the Far East. Although they forgot almost all the Magecraft they had studied in the past, they mastered Necromancy instead. Such a sacrifice was deemed inevitable for the sake of the big picture.
Miracles naturally come at a price. After several generations, the one who ultimately became the sacrifice was Kairi Shishigami. Kairi's children would die at birth, and his wife left him because of it. Thus, despite possessing a precious Magic Crest, the Shishigami family was destined to end with this generation.
Initially, the Shishigami family remained optimistic. Touki Shishigami used his connections to find a young girl from a distant relative's family who had slightly inherited the Shishigami bloodline to be Kairi's foster daughter. However, the foster daughter died during the formal Magic Crest transplant. An autopsy revealed that Kairi's Magic Crest had become toxic; as soon as it was transplanted into another's body, it would immediately form a lethal toxin. Knowing the truth, Kairi Shishigami immediately dissuaded his father from continuing the transplant experiments and decided to give up on continuing the family line.
Kairi Shishigami left his home and fell into the life of a Bounty Hunter who used Magecraft. Of course, in his own view, this was likely a liberation from the responsibilities that had bound him since birth. But he could never forget his deceased foster daughter and lived a drifting life, half-dead and half-alive.
A white orb of light appeared in Hades's hand and floated in front of Mordred as he said to her, "Mordred, you have already gained your father's recognition."
The white orb of light flew into Mordred's mind. Images and memories continuously surfaced: being summoned at a white observatory, embarking on a journey to save the Human Order with a Master named Fujimaru Ritsuka and many Heroic Spirits, among whom her father, Artoria Pendragon, was also summoned. In their time together, although she still had some bad habits, she had already gained King Arthur's recognition.
"Well done, Mordred." Artoria's voice rang in Mordred's mind, her tone filled with relief and pride.
Coming back to her senses, Mordred clutched her head and looked at Hades in disbelief, saying, "Is this true... Hades..."
"It is true. You could say it's the future, or you could say it's a parallel world. You have already gained King Arthur's recognition."
"Father..." The bratty Mordred's mouth quivered as tears streamed down uncontrollably. She was moved to tears, overcome with joy.
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