Holy Grail War.
It is a foreign term that would sound completely confusing in the ears of others. Nobody would've expected the words "Holy Grail" and "War" in the same sentence.
However, it is something that exists within this world.
The holy grail war is an event where there are two "grails" that exist, the Greater and Lesser Grail. These are machinations that could complete a "miracle", or in other words, a "wish".
It is potent enough to be able to pierce through the so-called "Swirl of the Root", the equivalent of "Akashic Records" in my world.
Although, an equivalent amount of "energy" is needed to accomplish such a feat. This was where the two "grails" came in. The Greater Grail summons seven heroic spirits from the Throne of Heroes. Meanwhile, the Lesser Grail took up the deceased heroic spirit's magical energy and stored them.
By the time the war ends, only a single master-servant duo will remain, thus fulfilling their wish.
The thing is…
The current one is not a normal holy grail war. Due to a group monopolizing the Greater Grail for themselves, they were able to summon ALL seven heroic spirits on their side, making the holy grail war pointless. Instead of fulfilling one's wish, these heroic spirits—servants—became monopolized as an armed force.
It is fortunate that the back-up system of the greater grail was activated, prompting it to summon seven other servants.
In the end, it turned into a Great Holy Grail War, with fourteen servants representing two sides and fighting against each other.
'There's quite a lot of variables…'
Aside from the fourteen heroic spirits, a "Ruler-class Heroic Spirit" is also summoned. She would serve as the "referee" in order to ensure that the grail war is happening correctly. Though, she might react accordingly after realizing my presence… as another "Ruler-class Heroic Spirit", that is.
'I'll form a concrete contingency later. For now…'
"I will be bringing you over to a safer place."
"What—?"
"There are some prying eyes out here."
Reika-san, the normal human-turned master, nodded at my words.
In an instant, a transparent white light enveloped our radius. The deployment of space magicka was easily done inside my dreamworld.
Now that the master-servant duo was sent into a safer place, I cleaned up the aftermath of our fight.
Chantlessly, I cast [Restore]. It was something that I used back when my clothes got destroyed on my arrival to Gekai. I could easily restore an entire street in no time—chantlessly at that. It reminded me of how far I had gone from my former self.
The boulders were lifted up by an invisible force. The same went for the small debris on the streets. Shards of glass, metal fragments, concrete… All of them returned back to their previous places.
In the end, the traces of my arrival were easily removed.
"Magi from two groups… There really aren't any traces of Atlas…" I mused.
Without wasting any time, I left this place.
*****
Clock Tower.
As one of the three 'factions' of the Mage's Association, it held immense power. It is the most visible organization of the Mage's Association. As such, it is also the center of modern magi families.
Its inner workings are extremely complicated due to the entangled relationships between each prominent magi family. These families often seek the power to reach the root. That, and to maintain the prominence of their family as a magi.
Unlike the magicians of Nobu's world, most magi see mundane humans as people "below them". They wouldn't care if some of them got killed, much like stepping into an ant. Their ego, pride, and arrogance as magi filled their minds. They are the complete opposite of magicians who maintained a clear goal in their mind while maintaining their bottom line as a human.
"No traces at all…"
A man with long black hair stared at a certain house in the distance. He used everything in his arsenal, yet only one result came up.
There are no traces of magecraft or magical power.
If there aren't many trustworthy eyewitnesses who saw the "white light" yesterday night, he would've thought of it as a collective hallucination.
The man had run across many enigmatic events due to his experience as one of the twelve Lords of the Clock Tower.
Even so, this is his first time encountering something like this.
'No traces whatsoever… The perpetrator has both the brains and skills to pull this off.'
Lord El-Melloi II immediately had an image of the "perpetrator". Coupled with the current event, he already had a preliminary conjecture on who caused it.
'A strong prana fluctuation… A common occurrence during the summoning of a heroic spirit.'
Everytime a heroic spirit is summoned, a connection to the Throne of Heroes is made. This process leaks out such high levels of magical energy, to the point the summoner would begin hallucinating due to their body and magic circuits not being able to handle the load.
That energy dubbed as "Ether" is potent enough to cause such an occurrence.
One has to know that the level of magical energy as well as the mysteries fell to the lowest level during this period. The glory of the Age of Gods could no longer be seen. All that was left are the 'final struggle' of magi to preserve the last bits of mysteries. Once it disappears, magic would also cease to exist.
Lord El-Melloi II frowned at the thought of a huge trouble that came just now.
'Just when the Holy Grail War is in full swing…'
Little did he know that the repercussions of this event is far beyond what he expected.
*****
"This is cursed energy."
My eyes could see as far as hundreds of kilometers. A single glance under my [Infinite Conversion] state allowed me to scan the entirety of this world's Shinjuku at a glance. I was surprised to find out its similarity to the Shinjuku I was familiar with.
Thus, it became easy to find lodging for the duo.
Bzzt-!
My dreamland coated my entire body, allowing me to 'emulate' the Sorcerers that I am familiar with.
Black-blue aura surrounded my fingertips. It emitted an ominous feeling to the ones who saw it.
"Unlike mana… the energy you need to exist, it is another kind of energy that belongs to dark emotions like resentment… or anger."
"We have that..?"
The white-haire girl looked at me innocently.
"Indeed. You can use this to… say, protect Reika-san."
"Protecting mother…" She muttered. "Could we learn that?"
"Of course."
My new attempt at teaching had begun. This time, I was able to explain things in a more simple manner. Moreover, Jack is just as special as my other students.
After all, she is the manifestation of the resentment of tens of thousands of unborn babies resulting from the cruel act of abortion of her time. She could be classified as a special-grade curse in my world.
Fortunately, she didn't have any malice towards the world… or perhaps she had already vented out everything before she died and was recorded into the throne.
Assured that she doesn't inherently seek out that kind of life, it is my turn to ensure they would live out a much better one.
Despite my drastic changes since when I started out, this aspect of interfering into others' lives didn't go away.
It's not like I hate it to be this way, though.
By the time I finished teaching the fundamentals, Jack could already manifest it on her fingertips.
"Sirius-san."
"Good morning, Reika-san."
Reika-san came out to this courtyard along with the scent of a familiar breakfast.
"I have prepared breakfast. It'd be best if you…"
"I appreciate this gesture, but I may have to leave now."
She seemed quite surprised at my words.
"In fact, the reason why I came here is related to the Holy Grail War." I explained. "It is my responsibility to oversee the war. There might be troubles waiting to be resolved…"
I took a second glance at her and Jack before I realized something.
'I am in too much of a rush…'
It was the same as last night. I didn't think much of the settlement until I noticed the relationship between Jack and Reika-san. In short, I am not acting like my usual self.
"...but there should still be time for breakfast."
"It is already prepared." She swiftly replied. "Let's go, Jack."
"Mother's breakfast..!"
This world… it might not be different from the two worlds I have already visited.
*****
Out of every world exploration I have gone into, the first thing I did is to gather information. I know best the insane advantage it gives from my surveillance satellites on Earth's orbit.
Even in the fifteenth iteration, we were able to react swiftly and reduce the losses to the minimum thanks to it.
Simply put, I wouldn't head straight into the main battlefield immediately.
'Let's see… There are several magi in the vicinity.'
Fortunately, things went as I expected. The Clock Tower magi visited this place. However, it is strange to see these magi being far weaker than the ones I saw back in the Singularity. The amount of mana stored in their "magic circuits" are one thing, but even their capability to distort mystery is also limited.
It is strange to see their strength fall abysmally low. As for my magicka, they are working completely fine.
'Magecraft and magicka… These are their main differences, huh.'
I took action. Utilizing my extreme speed, I was able to arrive beside them in a blink of an eye. Before they could even take a surprised look, I already enveloped them both inside my dreamland. Their eyes turned dull as their receptors were affected by it. This effect reached even the depths of their soul.
Using my control over them, I made them perform Sympathetic Magic. Their memories are slowly given shape in the form of a book.
A while later, two such books floated on top of my hand.
"This went well…"
If it were any Heroic Spirits, it might've not been this smooth. Their willpower is on another level—be it due to abnormal causes or their experiences as a full-blown hero.
All I have to say is with the decline of their magecraft, so is their pure attitude toward the truth. Mayhaps, what they sought isn't the truth anymore, but the power that came alongside it.
Truly, a pity.
The two magi became unconscious as I canceled my dreamland. I was about to leave when a new arrival halted my steps.
"...Finally." I muttered. "I was wondering when I would see someone like you."
"I take it that you are the cause of everything?"
"...Here in Shinjuku? Yes."
For the first time, I saw someone with a clear pursuit of the truth. He sported the same look as the dedicated magicians of my world.
"It seems like you want to ask something. Go ahead."
The man didn't waste any time as he went straight to the main point.
"Who are you?"
"You… could consider me as an overseer of this war. A special time calls for special measures, no?"
Evident from his expressions, he caught up from what I said.
"Ruler-class…"
"That's right. I am a Ruler of this war. As for who I am… feel free to make a guess."
I merely smiled at him. I gave some compromise but kept some of the more crucial things to myself. Giving out half-truths is the best way to cover up many problems regarding my identity in this world.
Even if there are many holes, it wouldn't matter. This is meant to buy me more time. By the time the grail war ends, it doesn't matter whether my identity as an otherworlder gets revealed or not.
"Why are you in Japan? Shouldn't you be in Romania?"
"Circumstances forced me. You don't have to worry, however. I am about to head over that battlefield."
I decided to shift the topic away from it.
"Aside from that… It is my first time seeing someone being severely limited by your circuits. Even the worst one back then isn't as bad now. For someone talented to be like this…"
The Tower Lord's looks changed into that of melancholy. From there, I could see how many times he lamented his "limits".
He…
He looks just like me from the past.
"After this grail war ends… Before I leave, I shall give you the one opportunity you require."
"..!"
I didn't explain any further. I turned my back on him and locked into my next destination.
In a blink of an eye, I was transported into another continent.