"Ah…!?"
Lancer cried out, arching his body as disbelief spread across his face.
Under the absolute compulsion of the Command Spell, long-buried memories came flooding into his mind.
They were the dark memories he least wanted to touch.
In life, he had once gone hunting with his Master, but because of a poor choice of weapon, he suffered grievous wounds in a battle against a demonic boar.
Though the injury was fatal and beyond saving, he had not despaired.
Fionn mac Cumhaill, the lord to whom Diarmuid had sworn his pride and loyalty.
A great hero who had accomplished countless feats and miracles since his youth.
Renowned for his spearsmanship and healing abilities, Fionn should have been able to easily heal Diarmuid's wounds.
And yet…
He was betrayed.
Betrayed.
Betrayed betrayed betrayed betrayed betrayed betrayed betrayed!!
As the loyal knight lay on the brink of death, the aged hero's mind was filled not with compassion, but with jealousy and anger born from their past rivalry over the same woman.
In the end, Diarmuid died because he was never treated in time.
It was not the many malicious Geis, such as "never refuse a friend's invitation," "never hunt a demonic boar," or "to be fated to die by a demonic boar," that killed him.
Nor was it his younger brother, reborn as a demonic boar to claim his life.
It was the very lord to whom he had sworn absolute loyalty.
From the very beginning, it had been a carefully orchestrated murder.
"Ah… ah…"
Lancer collapsed to his knees, tears of blood dripping continuously onto the deep crimson carpet.
The chivalry he had held as more precious than his own life had been nothing in their eyes, trampled without the slightest regard.
"Unforgivable… absolutely unforgivable…"
The knight no longer screamed or wailed. He only repeated his curse under his breath, his wide eyes shedding two streams of crimson tears.
At this point, only a single stroke remained on the Command Spell in Kayneth's hand.
Considering he would need to reserve at least one Command Spell for future battles to prevent his Servant from rebelling, he effectively had no Command Spells left to use.
And yet, the cold-faced Magus raised his arm for the third time, as though determined to exhaust his final privilege as a Master.
[Lancer, cast aside your hypocritical mask and show me your ugly true form!!]
Kayneth gave the order.
But this time, no crimson light burst forth from the back of his hand.
Instead, the three Magical Energy Reactor cores in the room released a blinding white glow.
A torrent of surging Mana poured out from the cores, all of it rushing into Lancer's body.
What happened next was shocking.
The moment the torrent touched Lancer, it underwent a horrifying transformation.
Pure white turned into chaotic black.
Rather than Lancer being engulfed by tainted Mana, it was Lancer himself who corrupted the pure Mana of the "stone."
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne's Spirit Origin began to warp in a grotesque and terrifying way.
Although the output had been greatly reduced by being split into three parts, the Magical Energy Reactors were still functioning exactly as intended.
As a mass of magical power from the Age of Gods, a pseudo wish-granting device, it responded to the deepest darkness within Lancer's heart.
When it was over, the proudest knight of the Knights of Fianna, the radiant and beautiful warrior, was nowhere to be seen.
What stood there instead—was a pitch-black demonic figure, clad in cursed beast hide, wielding a crimson magic sword and a crimson magic spear.
...
...
Shirou had remained perfectly still in the room for over an hour.
Only after confirming that Kayneth and Lancer had completely left did he step out from behind the curtains.
The three cores, once filled with immense Mana, had fallen dormant and now looked like nothing more than ordinary carved stones.
As the mechanism that activated the wish-granting function, they likely would not operate again until the Holy Grail War ended.
In that case, there was no point in destroying them.
And in that case, Shirou had a new idea.
Alright, pack them up and take them.
Kayneth-san, I'll kindly take these creations off your hands, the ones full of Mana but lacking any sense of beauty.
"…Hup."
Shirou hugged the torso-shaped stone and braced himself, but after lifting it for barely half a second, he set it back down onto the carpet.
So… so heavy.
For an eight-year-old, this was still too much.
Carrying them away might be manageable, but sneaking out of this hotel, already transformed into a separate realm, without making a sound was another matter entirely.
Shirou took out a small communicator and contacted Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
Although the area was covered by tightly layered detection barriers, there was no defense against radio waves. Such was the limitation of Magus.
An hour and a half later, Assassin big sis appeared on the top floor of the Hyatt Hotel, with Little Hassan beside her.
When Little Hassan saw Shirou wearing a bone mask, she imitated him and pulled the mask from her hair to cover her face as well.
Shirou pulled Hassan of the Hundred Faces aside and whispered, "Why did you bring a tagalong on a job?"
"You think I wanted to?"
Assassin replied irritably, saying the kid had insisted on coming to see Shirou.
"No, but aren't you spoiling her a bit too much?"
As soon as Shirou muttered that, Hassan of the Hundred Faces shot him a sharp glare.
In the end, Hassan of the Hundred Faces carried the "torso," Shirou carried the "wings," and Little Hassan carried the "heart."
The three of them successfully transported the stones out of Lord El-Melloi's Magical Workshop.
...
...
With three people and three large stones, they were far too conspicuous. To avoid attention, Shirou did not head straight home and instead stayed hidden nearby.
Lately, someone had been complaining that Shirou stayed out late every day and was rarely around, but there was no helping it.
The Holy Grail War would last at most two weeks. Just bear with it for these two weeks, Fuji-nee.
At seven in the evening, when the Servants might already be gearing up for battle, the three of them finally slipped back into the Amamiya residence.
The stolen Magical Energy Reactor cores were temporarily stored in a separate building.
"I'll head out now. It would be bad if my Master notices anything suspicious."
As Hassan of the Hundred Faces prepared to leave while holding Little Hassan's hand, Shirou suggested she stay for some tea and exchange information before going.
After a brief moment of consideration, she agreed.
"Tokiomi Tohsaka is clearly getting anxious because he cannot determine the Class of the seventh Servant. He is currently searching all of Fuyuki like a madman… Shirou, are you even listening?"
"I am, I am."
Shirou and Little Hassan left Hassan of the Hundred Faces behind and sat in front of the television, watching a late-night magical girl anime.
Seeing the red-haired boy so completely absorbed, Hassan of the Hundred Faces let out a helpless sigh.
"Kirei Kotomine ordered me to conduct a more thorough search of the residential areas around Miyama Town.
When passing along the orders, I deliberately avoided the area near your house.
Even so, you should still be careful. If anything is discovered, I will be dragged down with you."
"Yeah, thanks, Assassin-nee-san," Shirou said cheerfully.
At that moment, the television suddenly interrupted with a news report about large-scale gas leaks occurring across multiple locations in Fuyuki.
"That figures."
Hassan of the Hundred Faces thought for a moment, then continued,
"Also, something unexpected happened last night.
Kirei Kotomine ordered 'us' to track the Einzbern who left the warehouse district… huh, what is it?"
Hassan of the Hundred Faces was startled.
For some reason, Shirou had suddenly appeared right in front of her, sitting upright so quickly that even an Assassin could not react in time.
The boy placed his hands neatly on his knees, his expression unusually serious.
"What happened to the Einzbern? Please, go on."