CLUNK!
The loud sound of the dharma wheel spinning apparently succeeded in waking Rikka up. The girl almost fell out of her bed from the shock.
"Woaaah! Brother, what's wrong?!" Rikka shouted in panic.
She sat up with her orange hair sticking out messily like a bird's nest.
Her vision was still blurry from just waking up, but faintly she saw the silhouette of a shirtless man standing with his back to her. The man seemed to be feeling and examining the entire surface of his own body tensely. However, before Rikka could focus her gaze to see more clearly, the man's body glowed brightly, and his mystic code was instantly equipped, covering his body once again.
"I'm fine," Ritsuka answered quickly while adjusting the collar of his clothes. He didn't turn around. "Rikka, get ready. Today we are going to move our base."
"O-ooh... okay," Rikka muttered in a daze.
The girl stared intently at her older brother's back. For some reason, Ritsuka felt... different. Being near him suddenly gave off an incredibly peaceful, captivating, and comforting aura. Ritsuka turned to leave, but Rikka's gaze accidentally caught something strange among her brother's black hair strands.
"Eh? Brother... did your hair just turn gray?"
Hearing that innocent question, Ritsuka's steps immediately stopped stiffly. "A-ah... it's already showing, huh? Well, it's only natural for your brother to get gray hair, I'm already old and have a lot on my mind!" he made a hasty excuse. He immediately covered the silvery-white strands of hair on his head with his palm and hurriedly ran out of the room like someone caught stealing.
Upon arriving in the quiet warehouse hallway, Ritsuka leaned against the wall while ruffling his hair in frustration.
'Arthur! Why didn't you show up and help me earlier?!' Ritsuka scolded internally.
'Forgive me, Master. That woman apparently detected my presence immediately. As soon as she realized I was inside you, she instantly sealed me,' Arthur replied. The Holy Knight's tone sounded very apologetic as well as amazed at the power of his Lostbelt version's older sister.
'She could even seal you inside me unilaterally?! Ugh... this is really a headache,' Ritsuka groaned while massaging his temples. 'Then... tell me the truth, Arthur. How bad is the condition of my body right now?'
'I don't know the exact details, Master. But from what I can feel... about 40 percent of your internal organ tissues have mutated into a Dragon's. And...' Arthur's words suddenly trailed off.
'And what? Just say it, don't hesitate,' Ritsuka pressed. Cold sweat began to drip down his temples.
'And... Fae.'
Ritsuka froze. An extremely stiff, awkward smile was slowly painted on his face. 'Y-you must be joking, right, Arthur...?'
'I am serious, Master. Slowly but surely, you are mutating into a Fae. And this is not just an ordinary Fae, but a True Fae... a Paradise Fairy! That woman apparently truly succeeded in transplanting the essence of her Lostbelt form into your body!' Arthur explained, revealing the crazy reality.
Ritsuka's eyes widened perfectly in horror. 'B-but... for now... I am still fine, right?!'
'Yes. As long as you do not overexert the work of your Magic Circuits, your body will not experience any drastic physical transformations on the outside,' Arthur answered, trying to calm him down a little.
'However... there is one thing I am very afraid of, Master. If you were to be hit by a fatal attack that completely destroyed your entire body without a trace, and then the Dharma Wheel inside you spun to regenerate and revive you... I have absolutely no idea what kind of mutation would take over your body afterward.'
Ritsuka stood stunned, his hands clenched in confusion about what to do, but suddenly voices called out to him. "Ritsuka," "Senpai," "Brother." Hearing that, Ritsuka turned his head to see Rikka, Mash, Aoi, and her daughters had finished getting ready, each holding their own belongings.
'What about it, Master, what will you do?' Arthur said.
Ritsuka stayed silent, looking at all of them. His slightly hesitant eyes changed into full conviction. 'I will accept it, Arthur. I will accept all this power to protect them and the future of humanity.'
. . .
At the Tohsaka residence.
In a place that was usually calm, the atmosphere now felt incredibly heavy and tense.
Tokiomi sat stiffly behind his desk. Both of his hands tightly gripped two objects: a letter and a stack of photos.
The high-class magus's hands trembled so much that the veins bulged clearly on the back of his hands. His eyebrows furrowed sharply, holding back an anger that was about to explode. Across from him, Kirei stood frozen in silence, while Gilgamesh sat leaning back casually on a luxurious sofa, laughing freely without a care in the world.
The contents of the letter that Tokiomi crumpled were written in an extremely insolent tone:
[To Tokiomi,
Your beloved wife is now with me. Oh, and both your daughters are with me too. Hehehe. If you want to see them, try and find me.
By the way, your wife's body is really something. I've already 'tried' it. It's such a shame that a woman like her is your wife. If only she had been mine sooner, I definitely would have pampered her much more.
From the Apprentice Magus, Ritsuka Fujimaru]
As if the letter wasn't enough to shatter his sanity, the attached photos were much worse. In the photos, Ritsuka appeared shirtless, showing off his muscles while holding Aoi tightly. Aoi's face in the photo looked flushed red, with her hand touching Ritsuka's chest. In the corner of the photo, there was a red lipstick smudge intentionally added:
"Say, Magus-kun, do you like this? Your wife really enjoyed our night together. She screamed in pleasure," read the provocative writing.
"Hahahaha! Interesting! This one subject of mine truly dares to do what this King has done in the past! Hahahaha! You are truly great, I am proud of you!" Gilgamesh's arrogant laughter echoed throughout the room, extremely entertained to see his own Master's mental breakdown.
Kirei only stared coldly at his master.
"Tokiomi-sama, what should we do?" he asked flatly. "Are we going to just let this go? Regardless, this is definitely a trap."
BANG!!
Tokiomi slammed his desk very hard, crumpling the damned letter and photos to pieces in his hand. The Tohsaka family motto to "always appear graceful and elegant" was completely shattered, consumed by the flames of jealousy and trampled pride.
"Let it go?! Don't joke around, Kirei!" Tokiomi roared with bloodshot eyes.
"This guy... how dare he humiliate the honor of the Tohsaka family! He must die! Deploy all your Assassins! Find him! Comb every corner of this city if you have to! Find that bastard!"
In the midst of Tokiomi's rampage, Gilgamesh suddenly stopped his laughter. The King of Heroes stood up, his form instantly clad in his majestic golden armor that shone brightly.
His previously relaxed face now turned full of seriousness.
"I will also intervene,"
Tokiomi gasped in shock, staring at his Servant in disbelief. "You too, King of Heroes? But... why?"
A ferocious smirk was carved on Gilgamesh's lips. "This is a test for my subject. As a King, I myself must witness it directly."
Gilgamesh's red eyes shifted to look at the priest. "And Kirei, have you distributed all the treasures I gave you to the Assassins?"
"Yes," Kirei nodded obediently. "I have entrusted everything to Assassin. Each one of them is now holding one weapon."
"Good," Gilgamesh grunted in satisfaction. "With nearly a hundred assassins each armed with a Noble Phantasm from my treasury, Assassin is currently the strongest Servant in this war—below me, of course. Now, let the hunt begin."
After saying that, Gilgamesh's body instantly vanished into his spiritual form, leaving Tokiomi still panting and holding back his anger in his study.
---
"Here is the key to the Family Room you booked, Mrs. Fujimaru. We have confirmed the payment. Thank you very much," a hotel receptionist said while handing an access card to the adult woman in front of her.
The woman, Aoi Tohsaka, who was now forced to use the alias 'Aoi Fujimaru', accepted it very awkwardly. Her face blushed slightly upon hearing the young man's last name pinned on her. She then turned around and walked over to Ritsuka and his group. From a distance, Rikka continued to glare at Aoi with a very sharp, murderous gaze.
"H-here is the key, Ritsuka-san," Aoi reported, hurriedly handing over the card because she couldn't stand it.
"Ah, thank you, Aoi-san. Sorry to trouble you to do this," Ritsuka said as he took the card.
"Now let's go up. You guys must be eager to see the room, right, Rin? Sakura?"
"Yes, Brother! I want to see!" Rin exclaimed enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Sakura only nodded slowly in silence while continuing to grip the hem of Ritsuka's shirt tightly. They then stepped into the elevator.
Inside the upward-moving metal box, Aoi felt increasingly uncomfortable because Rikka wouldn't stop glaring into her eyes.
"U-um... Rikka-san... why do you keep staring at me like that?" she asked hesitantly.
"Listen here, Old Woman! Just because you're using our family name to rent a hotel now, don't think you can steal my Brother!" Rikka hissed fiercely. She immediately wrapped both her arms around Ritsuka's arm, hugging him very possessively. "You are only acting as a temporary guardian here! Not my Brother's wife! I will never hand Brother Ritsuka over to you!"
"W-w-wife?!" Aoi's face exploded beet red.
Hearing her mother called an 'old woman', little Rin's fighter spirit was immediately ignited. "What did you say?! My mother is not an old woman, she's just more mature than you!" Rin retorted, unwilling to lose. The little girl with twintails then put her hands on her hips, facing Rikka.
"Besides, Brother Ritsuka isn't going to marry my mother! He's going to marry me later!"
"Hah?! You cheeky brat! Just because Brother pampers you, it doesn't mean he will choose you! Of course Brother will choose me who has grown up together with him—"
Smack!
A light flick landed smoothly on top of Rikka's head.
"Stop fighting, Rikka. Aoi-san has to act as a guardian so we don't look suspicious. Our legal status is still underage, so it wouldn't be safe to rent a hotel without adult supervision," Ritsuka broke them up patiently. "Besides, we already made a deal, didn't we? As long as this war is going on, I'll let you sleep beside me. In exchange, you can't be hostile towards Aoi-san anymore. Understand?"
Rikka pouted while rubbing her head. "Ughh... yeah, I remember. But I think just sleeping together isn't enough! Later you have to comb my hair too, Brother! I want you to comb my hair like you used to!" Rikka demanded spoiledly.
Ritsuka sighed in resignation, knowing his sister's behavior very well. "Alright, I'll do it. But the requests stop there, okay."
"Yayyy!" Rikka cheered in delight, feeling victorious.
Seeing the behavior of the two siblings, Mash smiled awkwardly. "Senpai... it seems you pamper Rikka-senpai too much, huh? Did you guys also act like this often in the past?"
"Yeah, something like that. In the past, I did often comb her hair after she woke up or finished taking a bath. Her parents were always busy working, so I was the one who took care of her more often," Ritsuka explained with a faint, nostalgic smile.
While reminiscing about the past, Ritsuka accidentally looked down. He found Rin and Sakura looking up at him. The two little girls' eyes were sparkling with hope.
Ritsuka fell silent for a moment, then chuckled softly. His heart warmed seeing their cuteness. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do you two want me to comb your hair later too?" he asked softly.
Hearing that offer, Rin and Sakura immediately smiled brightly.
"Yes! I want to!" Rin exclaimed enthusiastically, followed by Sakura who also nodded shyly.
Ritsuka returned their smiles while gently patting the top of both little girls' heads. Right at that moment, the elevator doors opened with a 'ding'.
"Now, let's head to the room first. You guys go take a bath so your bodies feel fresher. After that we'll have breakfast, and then... do you want to start learning about magecraft with me?" Ritsuka offered while leading the way down the thick-carpeted hotel hallway.
Rin stared at Ritsuka's back with sparkling eyes. "Ah! You're a Magus too, Brother?! Just like Father?"
"Yes, pretty much. So, do you two want to learn?"
"Yes! I want to learn magecraft!"
"I-me too... I'll join, Brother," Sakura squeaked.
Ritsuka nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to his sister who was clinging to him. "Rikka, you're going to study with them later too, okay."
"Okay, Brother! I'm in!" Rikka replied with fiery enthusiasm.
Not long after, they arrived in front of their intended room. As soon as Ritsuka opened the door, the sight of a spacious and luxurious Family Room immediately greeted them. The room was perfectly sized for their group, equipped with two king-size beds that were each large enough to sleep three people.
Without any cue, Rin immediately ran inside while pulling Sakura's hand.
Although Sakura initially looked awkward, she eventually gave a small smile and followed her older sister's steps. The two of them then hurried to the bathroom, accompanied by Aoi.
Meanwhile, Rikka and Mash were busy looking around checking the room's facilities, and Ritsuka began unpacking and organizing their belongings. Outside, in his spiritual form, Assassin Emiya moved invisibly to comb every corner of the hotel hallway, scanning the floors above and below, as well as making sure there were no threats in the adjacent rooms. He ensured their perimeter was one hundred percent safe.
Sometime later, after they had all finished bathing and eating the food they ordered, the atmosphere of the room transformed into a makeshift classroom.
They were now gathered in the living room. Rin and Sakura sat nicely on the sofa, each already holding a notebook and a pen with serious and enthusiastic expressions. Rikka and Mash sat in separate chairs, while Ritsuka stood straight in front of a portable whiteboard that he had just created using magecraft.
"Alright, let's start today's lesson," Ritsuka said while uncapping his marker with the style of a professional teacher.
However, before Ritsuka could even write a single letter on the whiteboard, Rikka suddenly raised her hand high.
"Um... Brother, what exactly are we doing right now?" Rikka protested with a bored frown.
Ritsuka turned his head in confusion. "What else? Studying, of course."
"Eh?! Weren't you going to teach me that magic?! That deadly punch magic! I want to learn that because it looks so cool! If learning means I have to use books and stare at a whiteboard like this, then this is just as boring as the study sessions in Chaldea! I want something different!" Rikka complained, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks.
Ritsuka blinked a few times, then let out a long sigh looking at his sister's behavior. "Punch magic...? Do you mean... the Bajiquan martial arts?"
"Yes, that's it! I want to be able to go bam, bam, bam like you in every attack! That's so cool!" Rikka exclaimed while excitedly demonstrating a series of punches into the air.
Ritsuka could only sigh seeing his sister's antics.
On the other side, Rin looked at Rikka with a condescending gaze. "Is your brain filled with nothing but gorilla muscles?" Rin sneered harshly.
"What did you say, Brat?!" Rikka immediately jumped from her chair with exploding emotions. However, Mash quickly held her senior's waist to prevent her from lunging at Rin.
"Who is the real brat here?" Rin retorted, unwilling to lose, folding her arms across her chest in an arrogant manner. "Don't you know? Bajiquan is not magic at all! It is categorized as Bujutsu, or pure Physical Martial Arts! Magecraft involves a supernatural process to manipulate life energy like Mana and Od, activating Magic Circuits, or manipulating natural elements and modifying the body sourced from a 'Mystery'. Those are two very different things!" Rin lectured at length.
Rikka groaned in frustration while holding her head. "Arggghhh! The way you just spoke sounds exactly like that nagging gray-haired woman! It's so confusing!"
Tap! Tap!
Ritsuka tapped the whiteboard with the back end of his marker, breaking up the commotion while drawing their attention back. "Rikka, sit back down. I promise to teach you Bajiquan, but later, after you master the basics of magecraft. Understand?" he coaxed.
"Ugh... fine, Brother. Even though this is definitely going to be a very boring lesson," Rikka mumbled while sitting back down with a pouting lip.
Ritsuka then looked at the twintailed girl in front of him, smiling in admiration.
"Rin, it seems you've learned a lot about the basics of the magus world from your father, haven't you?"
Rin immediately puffed out her chest proudly. "Of course! Hehehe."
"I-I learned a lot too, Brother," Sakura suddenly chimed in. "I read about it from books... and was also taught by Big Sister BB."
"BB? Who is that?" Rin asked in confusion.
Before Sakura could open her mouth to answer Rin, Ritsuka hurriedly interrupted with a slightly raised voice.
"AHEM! Now, for today's first material, we will discuss the most fundamental thing!" Ritsuka immediately turned around and wrote a large word on the whiteboard, then circled it. "REINFORCEMENT. You all must have heard of it, right?"
Rikka tilted her head, trying to remember. "Hmm... I think I've heard that term from Director Olga..."
Sakura raised her hand hesitantly, then answered fluently. "Reinforcement is a basic magecraft used to push the capabilities or maximum limits of an object or body part. This magic works by flowing magical energy into the target to drastically increase its durability, strength, or function."
Ritsuka stared at Sakura scrutinizingly, trying to figure out if that answer was purely from a book or another whisper. "'They' didn't whisper that answer to you just now, did they?"
Sakura shook her head innocently. "No, 'they' aren't saying anything right now," she whispered honestly.
"Huh? Who are 'they' that you are talking about?" Rin asked, getting increasingly confused seeing the secret interaction between her little sister and Ritsuka.
"Nobody!" Ritsuka cut in quickly, covering up his anxiety. "Alright, Sakura's answer is one hundred percent correct. Reinforcement is essentially strengthening magic."
Ritsuka then wrote another word on the opposite side of the whiteboard, leaving an empty space in the middle. "Then next... PROJECTION. Does anyone know?"
Rin immediately raised her hand happily, unwilling to lose to Sakura. "That is the magecraft to materialize or replicate physical objects from the user's imagination using magical energy! But, that magic has a fatal flaw and is considered a useless, low-level magic. The objects created are usually fragile, hollow inside, and will fade then disappear in a few minutes. Usually, magi only use it to make temporary replicas during training or basic rituals," Rin explained confidently, repeating her father's teachings.
Ritsuka nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly right."
He then wrote a new word right in the empty space, right in the middle between Reinforcement and Projection. The writing read "ALTERATION".
Rin and Sakura stared at the writing with confused frowns.
"You guys might have never heard of this one," Ritsuka explained in a serious tone. "This is an advanced stage of magic that sits right between Reinforcement and Projection. You could say that these three spells are closely related to each other, and all three fall under one umbrella of a major branch of magecraft called: Material Transmutation."