On the eve of the Holy Grail War, within the Yggdmillennia Clan's castle—
The shattered outer walls had already been repaired through the combined labor of Homunculi and Golems. Yet the magical wards built up over centuries had been completely destroyed and could not be reconstructed in the short term.
Inside the great hall at the castle's heart, the atmosphere was heavy.
This was the closest chamber to the leyline, the very air thick with active mana—beneficial to magi, but harmful to ordinary humans.
Gathered within were the Yggdmillennia Masters, alongside Vlad III and Avicebron. Beyond the hall, rare Golems stood sentinel.
But inside, aside from Masters and Heroic Spirits, only one outsider remained: Rhodes, with his beloved fox-wife Tamamo-no-Mae nestled in his arms.
"Tch. To think you'd let a crude Automaton participate in a Heroic Spirit summoning ritual." Disgust dripped from the words of Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia, the fat man sneering down at Tamamo cradled in Rhodes's arms.
But unlike the cunning, malicious overlords of fiction, this fat man was clearly of the stupid variety—dragging down the average IQ of his kind.
Rhodes, holding that soft and supple body close, couldn't help mocking the idiocy before him.
"What's wrong? Is your petty sense of honor only good for sneering at others?"
"Yes, Master, that man is truly ugly—not just his appearance, but his very soul reeks of filth." Tamamo-no-Mae wriggled against Rhodes as she spoke, her soft curves pressing into him, the sensation enough to leave him momentarily intoxicated.
"You…" Gordes's face twisted, and he bellowed like a fat tiger. "A mere lowly Automaton! How dare you mock me!"
"A lowly Automaton, huh?" Rhodes loosened his arms, and in that instant Tamamo's figure vanished, reappearing behind Gordes.
In her hands were two talismans, runes inscribed with delicate, intricate calligraphy—so elegant the very strokes radiated beauty.
"You dared to mock me—no, worse, to insult my Master's work!" Tamamo's voice dripped with venom, like a yandere snapping into full bloom.
The talismans flared blue, foxfire igniting. Jutsu of Flame Heaven wove itself in an instant, a spell powerful enough to kill any magus outright.
Even Avicebron and Vlad III stiffened at the sight, sensing in her technique the aura of a fellow practitioner.
"Don't kill him, Tamamo. Even a pig dripping with fat still has some use when fried or roasted." Rhodes's clear voice rang across the hall, and the foxfire—hot enough to incinerate all into nothing—froze just before Gordes's face.
"W-Wait, no, please don't!" Gordes shrieked, stumbling backward until he fell onto his ass, scrambling desperately away.
But then he froze. Because pressing into the back of his skull was a thick, cold barrel, the chill of death seeping into his bones.
A Barrett XM109 anti-materiel rifle floated behind him, its massive black frame etched with glowing runes to maximize the bullet's force—enough to punch through nearly any magus's defense.
"S-S-Spare me…"
With death before and behind him—Tamamo's yandere smile in front, and a rail-sized rifle at his back—even Gordes, so obsessed with pride, broke down and begged for mercy.
"What's that? I didn't quite hear you?" Rhodes teased, his white tailored suit making him look all the younger and more out of place in the dim hall.
But fear is fear. Gordes quivered, no fight left in him. Who could muster courage with a 25mm sniper cannon aimed at their head? Even a magus of the highest rank would be vaporized on the spot. At this distance, Gordes wouldn't even leave a corpse.
"Please, calm yourself, Lord Rhodes." From the throne at the front, Vlad III spoke to break the tension. "I have a question, if you would indulge me."
"'No comment'—of course I wouldn't say that." Rhodes chuckled, his words oozing mischief.
"Phew…" Vlad exhaled softly, hiding his irritation. His voice was kindly as he continued. "Then may I ask—Lady Tamamo, is she truly an Automaton? I sense the aura of a fellow Heroic Spirit upon her."
"Of course I'm my Master's creation!" Tamamo cut in instantly, smiling with bliss that was just a little too blackened at the edges. "I'm merely my Lord's humble concubine—his most perfect work. Does that satisfy you, Your Highness?"
"I see… I was overthinking it." Vlad blinked, then chuckled wryly, shaking his head as if dismissing some thought. "Let us begin the summoning. I imagine Lord Avicebron is eager to proceed."
"Indeed. Such a farce is beneath us." Avicebron spoke coldly, eager to move past Gordes's humiliation.
Tamamo's smile only deepened.
By calling herself a "concubine," she'd successfully thrown the Heroic Spirits off the scent. After all, in their eyes, no proud nine-tailed fox would demean herself so shamelessly. They underestimated her mischief completely.
With that, Gordes tuned his Magic Circuits, while Fiore in her wheelchair, Caules the weakling, and the loli-obsessed Celenike all took their places, chanting the words of summoning.
"Thou art wrapped in the Three Words of Heaven, born of the Wheel of Restraint!"
"O Guardian of the Scales—"
Brilliant white light flared, and the figures of Heroic Spirits emerged.
"We are the Servants of the Black Faction. Our honor shall be shared with the crest of Yggdmillennia…" Their voices resonated in solemn chant.
And then Gordes, hysteria cracking his voice, screamed out:
"Kill those two bastards! Cut them down! Crush that filthy Automaton! Saber, slaughter them both!"
The next instant, his Servant shot forward like an arrow, lunging straight at the unguarded Rhodes.