Chapter 56 - Chapter 56: Increase the Frequency?

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Roy remained silent, staring up at the sky.

There were no stars, no moon—just a murky, dark night blocking any dreams or ambitions humanity might have.

Despite the disorientation of time and place, this night sky looked exactly the same as it had three years ago.

Three years ago.

He had been wandering aimlessly through a snowstorm, unsure of where he was going, when he accidentally crossed paths with a magical beast.

A certain red-haired woman had saved him, bringing him to Fuyuki City, where he had eventually settled.

This mansion also belonged to her—though, of course, she had no money. It was a gift from the Mage's Association, sent to curry favor with her.

Roy met Aozaki Touko because she had heard that her younger sister was keeping a boy toy in Fuyuki City and decided to check things out.

She never believed her sister would actually be wooed by any man, let alone some random boy.

What Touko didn't expect was that she would end up being the one intrigued by him.

Slowly, she started teaching him magic. She showed him how to use his Mystic Eyes, how to split aspects of his personality.

And so, Roy began interacting with the Greater Grail.

The Grail wasn't something one could easily touch.

Its perimeter was saturated with an enormous, oppressive curse. Anyone foolish enough to approach it in the past ten years had paid dearly for it. Even the Mage's Association had no way of purging the curse and had chosen instead to leave it in the massive underground chasm, shamelessly declaring that the Grail was now under their control.

In truth, no one could touch the Greater Grail.

Anyone who tried—regardless of their power, even the highest-ranked magicians—would be tainted by its curse before they could wield its power.

At best, they would be driven insane.

But Roy was different.

Roy possessed the Mystic Eyes of Inversion, which allowed him to control any spell he laid eyes on.

Not negate. Not disrupt. Control.

In other words, he could forcibly take control of a spell, deciding whether it should dissipate, go haywire, or turn against its caster. If the spell was designed to drain a mage's mana, it would do so under Roy's command.

Negation could only make an enemy's ability ineffective, putting both parties on even footing. Disruption was even weaker. But control? Control meant turning an enemy's power against them.

With these Mystic Eyes, Roy could seize control of spells, cause them to backfire on their casters, destroy enchanted grimoires, nullify enchanted artifacts... he could even take another magician's crest if they exposed it.

Even the Greater Grail, a construct of true magic, could not escape his Mystic Eyes.

The Grail, in essence, was just a colossal spell.

As long as he could see it, Roy could manipulate the Greater Grail by opening his Mystic Eyes. He could modify its parameters, redirect its flow of magical energy—he could do it all.

That is, as long as the Grail didn't fight back.

Or rather, as long as what was inside the Grail didn't fight back.

But that was impossible.

In his multiple interactions with the Grail, Roy had managed to tweak parts of its design.

However, the Grail had begun to pollute him in turn, subtly infecting him through his Mystic Eyes.

Over time, the curses from the Grail had accumulated within his Mystic Eyes.

This was the source of the curse now plaguing him.

These curses, like seeds, had taken root in his eyes. Every so often, they would erupt, scorching his body and clouding his mind with madness.

Had he chosen to remove his Mystic Eyes right when the curse began, there might have been hope. Perhaps replacing them with ordinary eyes could have saved him.

But Roy had refused.

Now, three years later, the curse had spread throughout his entire body, intertwining with him to the point that even replacing his eyes wouldn't be enough to purge it.

His Mystic Eyes were steeped in the curse, and anyone else daring enough to use them would be instantly tainted.

Even in death, his body would likely turn into some cursed, zombie-like monster.

And it would probably be quite powerful too.

"Three years ago, you refused my offer to replace your eyes. It's too late now to change anything," Aozaki Touko said, her tone somber as she looked at Roy seriously. "Back then, the curse on you only erupted every ten days or so. But now, it's been less than three days since the last outburst. The increased frequency is partly due to mental strain... but the real reason is that you've been using your Mystic Eyes too much these past few days."

Commanding two Servants had indeed increased his mental burden.

On top of that, he had repeatedly used his cursed Mystic Eyes, pushing the curse to erupt more often.

And the Holy Grail War had only just begun.

In the battles to come, Roy would undoubtedly rely on his Mystic Eyes more frequently.

Which meant the curse would erupt more frequently as well.

"There's only one solution left—up the frequency of your 'relief' sessions," Touko said bluntly. "Instead of bottling everything up like before, release it all. You know the saying: better to channel than to block. Now, you even have someone to help."

Three years ago, Roy had mostly endured the curse on his own.

Touko often traveled, exploring new phenomena and investigating the truth behind the events of ten years ago. She only returned to Fuyuki City occasionally, helping Roy vent the curse when she did.

But now, Kasumigaoka Utaha could take on that role.

"She won't refuse you. And if she does... well, you know what to do. Use some sweet talk. Girls her age love that sort of thing."

Touko shrugged with a teasing smile.

In the courtyard, Nakano Ichika had been quietly listening to their conversation.

Most of what they said went completely over her head.

But when Touko mentioned increasing the frequency of 'relief,' Ichika intuitively grasped the meaning.

That 'relief' was referring to what had happened earlier with Kasumigaoka Utaha, wasn't it?

Mages truly were something else, able to discuss such things so openly without a hint of shame.

But if doing that could leave something inside her and allow her to adapt to this world, gaining its power…

Ichika cast a worried glance at her sister Miku, who remained silent as usual.

In this world, they had no one to rely on.

Depending on a powerful protector wasn't a long-term solution. They needed to find a way to stand on their own.

"By the way, Kasumigaoka has gained magic circuits," Touko casually mentioned.

"What?!" Roy jumped in surprise.

"Yep. I hadn't told you this before, but you have a special trait—an extraordinary ability to adapt. You can even help others adapt to this world. That's how Kasumigaoka gained her power. And... well..."

Touko paused, her expression deepening with a hint of complexity.

"Your Mystic Eyes... might've adapted the same way."

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