When he stepped out of the apartment, it was 5:50 p.m., just before nightfall.
"Big Sister, you're there, right?"
Shirou murmured to the empty space beside him.
A reply came almost immediately.
[Mm.]
Lady Avalon's voice echoed in his mind.
This was a Magecraft known as "Telepathy," used for communication between Master and Servant.
Although the seven Magi and their Servants had yet to fully assemble, the Holy Grail War had already begun to stir beneath the surface.
Crows, rats, sparrows… even stray cats and dogs. Any small animal on the street could be an enemy familiar, acting as their eyes and ears.
When speaking with Lady Avalon outside, Shirou had to remain cautious.
"It's so quiet. I thought you'd have some kind of reaction… when I was doing 'that.'"
After a brief silence…
[Well, I did promise Master I wouldn't interrupt carelessly.
Honestly, I was a little surprised too…
Master looks so cute, but to do something like that without even changing her expression.]
Lady Avalon spoke in an easygoing tone.
[That… was a Dead, right?]
What exactly happened after Shirou was led into the apartment by the serial killer?
Simple.
He stabbed Ryuunosuke Uryuu to death.
But that wasn't the end of it.
In the modern era of Proper Human History, there are three major divisions collectively known as the Mage's Association.
The Clock Tower, the core of modern Magecraft, effectively synonymous with the Association itself.
Atlas Institute, the sanctuary of alchemists and cradle of pessimists.
And the Wandering Sea, the most mysterious organization, one that reveres Magecraft from the Age of Gods and specializes in the study and modification of the human body.
Among the many fields of research within the Wandering Sea, one stands above the rest as the ultimate miracle: resurrection after death.
That was precisely what Shirou had done.
After killing Ryuunosuke Uryuu, Shirou searched the apartment and discovered that this serial killer had come to Fuyuki for the Holy Grail War as well.
It gave Shirou a newfound appreciation for the sheer diversity among Magi.
Though, strictly speaking, this man wasn't even a Magus.
Letting someone like him die outright would have been perfectly fine.
But on a whim, Shirou decided otherwise.
He performed a Magecraft-based modification on Ryuunosuke Uryuu's corpse, turning him into a living dead, a Dead.
Under normal circumstances, creating a Dead required extensive procedures and time, including the use of a spiritual brain.
However, during his long years in Britannia, Shirou had learned a wide range of related techniques from a witch in order to push the limits of his own body's longevity.
If described in terms of a Servant skill, it would be "Body Modification," akin to "Self-Modification."
A revival after death. A false resurrection.
Through his exceptional skill in Body Modification, Shirou managed to hold death at bay for Ryuunosuke Uryuu, even preserving a fragment of his final memories from before death.
Since this was not true resurrection, it was unrealistic to expect him to retain proper logical thinking. That part was a bit of a pity.
But it was enough.
Enough for Ryuunosuke Uryuu… no, for the thing that used to be Ryuunosuke Uryuu… to summon a Servant and take part in the Holy Grail War.
As for when he would realize the truth of his own death, Shirou didn't know.
And he was rather curious to find out.
Hey, big brother… you pride yourself on being an artist obsessed with death, convinced you have an extraordinary ability to discern its true nature…
You're not seriously going to stay unaware of your own death until the very end, are you?
That would be downright ridiculous.
After a long silence, Lady Avalon finally asked:
[Why would you do something like that?
Even if you left him alone, the Holy Grail would choose a new Master. Why go out of your way to…?]
Shirou replied calmly:
"Are you blaming me, Avalon-nee-san? Are you criticizing me for desecrating a corpse?"
[No, that's not what I meant at all…]
Shirou continued:
"If Ryuunosuke Uryuu really can summon a Servant, then we've essentially secured a win in advance.
On top of that, he's a rare experimental subject. I want to use him to gather data."
In the Fairy Kingdom, human lifespan capped at thirty years, while in Proper Human History, people could easily live past eighty.
Shirou had already experimented on himself extensively in his previous life, but he no longer considered himself an ordinary human.
Now that he had a serial killer on hand, he felt no guilt whatsoever using a piece of human trash like this as research material.
"As a precaution, in case he continues committing random acts of violence, I removed the part of his brain responsible for emotional behavior. The prefrontal cortex, I think…
But if he still ends up doing bad things, there's nothing I can do. Scientific progress always comes with sacrifices.
Ryuunosuke Uryuu, sorry about this, but you'll serve as my test subject. Make yourself useful in the Holy Grail War."
Shirou spoke as if it were only natural. Beside him, Lady Avalon pressed her lips together.
[I… see… Honestly, how could I possibly blame Master?]
She quickly put on her usual radiant smile.
"If anything, next time something this interesting happens, let me join in too~
I'm Merlin's little sister, the Magus of Flowers from Paradise. Giving you a bit of guidance in this area is no problem at all."
"Sure."
Shirou agreed without hesitation.
"It's a promise, Master!"
Lady Avalon said brightly, though for some reason, there was a trace of loneliness in her eyes.
She had always known her Master wasn't "ordinary"…
But still.
Seeing him smile so happily while handling a corpse made her feel an unexpected weight in her chest.
...
...
"Master! Master! A Magus has finally made a move!"
Two nights later, Lady Avalon burst into the tatami room.
"Hey! Knock first!"
Shirou snapped, hurriedly turning off the TV.
"I already know exactly what Master likes."
Lady Avalon covered her mouth with a laugh. When she barged in, the TV had been showing a rather revealing magical girl anime.
Keeping a straight face, Shirou said, "I'm only watching it so I have something to talk about with friends. I'm not actually interested."
"Sure, sure."
Lady Avalon sat down in front of him, her long legs wrapped in footed tights stretched out across the tatami, impossible to ignore.
Shirou looked away.
"So, what do you want?"
"To report on my reconnaissance work, of course."
After manifesting, Lady Avalon had confidently taken over all scouting and surveillance duties, claiming it was her specialty.
Shirou had been a little curious. A beauty as delicate and radiant as a flower like her… did she really use creatures like bats, rats, or crows as familiars?
But no matter how he asked, Lady Avalon refused to say, only smiling as she insisted, "That's a girl's secret♡."
Well, as long as she did her job properly, that was enough.
Lady Avalon spread her fingers, and a crystal ball appeared in her palm.
A dazzling white light filled it.
Then, an image formed inside.
A grand Western-style mansion stood silently under the night sky.
"The Tohsaka Family's mansion?"