On the snowfield, where fierce winds howled, the Dead Apostles were discussing who would ultimately claim the prize from this "Mystic Eye Hunting Festival."
Shirou Amamiya's consciousness had already plunged into the depths of the Rose Dream. He stood there with vacant eyes, no longer capable of fighting.
"I will recover the Mystic Eyes. You may do whatever you please with the rest of his body. You have no objections, do you?"
"Shirou-sama is a guest aboard the Rail Zeppelin, you know."
Hearing Nrvnqsr Chaos's words, Rita Rozay-en crossed her arms and sighed.
"You intend to steal away what I desire in my territory, right before my eyes, at my own banquet... You are being far too presumptuous. Have you forgotten the ancient pact?"
Nrvnqsr Chaos replied, "If you object, then we can settle this according to the oldest law governing ownership of prey. Rita Rozay-en, would you care to fight me?"
"I refuse. Who would willingly fight six hundred and sixty-six Beasts? Spare me."
Even among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, there were vast differences in strength from one Ancestor to another.
Vlov Arkhangel, who stood nearby and was only five hundred years old, was no different from a toddler fresh out of diapers in the eyes of Rozay-en and Nrvnqsr.
"Hmph. I do not believe there is any difference in strength between us."
"It isn't a question of strength. It's about how I feel, Nrvnqsr."
The "Rose Princess," who prided herself on being an artist, rolled her eyes. "Whether I won or lost, fighting you would leave me covered from head to toe in the stench of animals... It would be revolting. Absolutely not."
Nrvnqsr Chaos raised an eyebrow without changing his expression.
Clearly, his sense of beauty differed greatly from Rozay-en's.
Just as the Ancestors' "Idea Blood" was incompatible with human history, Dead Apostles were, in most cases, incompatible with one another.
The highest ranking Dead Apostles among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors often possessed powerful egos. They might not flaunt their identities as artists as ostentatiously as Rita Rozay-en did, but every Ancestor was firmly convinced that they alone had grasped the real truth.
Nrvnqsr Chaos ignored Rita Rozay-en's provocation and walked toward Shirou Amamiya, who had remained motionless all this time.
"Tell me, Nrvnqsr. What does White Wing want with Crimson Moon's eyes...?"
At Rita Rozay-en's question, the Dead Apostle in the black coat stopped and turned toward her.
"Rita Rozay-en, are you trying to buy time?"
"My, as expected of Nrvnqsr... You noticed."
The "Rose Princess" covered the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, revealing a sly grin.
Nrvnqsr Chaos understood her intentions.
This woman had been on Shirou's side from the very beginning and intended to oppose him until the end.
He snorted in contempt. "What are you still hoping for at this point? Even if Shirou Amamiya awakens, his current body cannot withstand the 'Mystic Eyes of the Crimson Moon.' The moment he attempts to connect those Mystic Eyes to his circuits, his body will fall apart. Those eyes are not something a human body can possess."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Hehe."
Rita Rozay-en's laughter irritated Nrvnqsr Chaos, but he had no time to deal with her.
The black clad Dead Apostle strode up to Shirou Amamiya, extended a deathly pale hand, and gripped the boy's head.
"The 'Mystic Eyes of the Crimson Moon' are mine..."
"It looks like he made it in time." Rita Rozay-en smiled faintly.
"What!?"
Nrvnqsr Chaos was stunned.
He looked down and saw the red haired boy slowly opening his eyes.
A faint iridescent glow shimmered across his twilight colored pupils.
"!!"
Nrvnqsr Chaos immediately abandoned the idea of removing the Mystic Eyes while Shirou was still alive.
Even if doing so risked damaging the Mystic Eyes, he first needed to make certain that Shirou Amamiya's head was destroyed.
Nrvnqsr Chaos tightened his fingers.
As one of the highest ranking Dead Apostles, he possessed enough grip strength to crush a city wall with ease. He had long since lost count of how many human skulls he had shattered.
And yet...
To his astonishment, Nrvnqsr Chaos found himself unable to exert any strength.
His arm had stiffened, his fingertips were numb, and sweat gathered on his forehead.
The Dead Apostle in black could not move his body. Only his internal organs continued to function normally.
Could this be...
It was the exact effect of the "Enchanting Mystic Eyes," a power Nrvnqsr Chaos himself possessed.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Nrvnqsr Chaos roared.
His black coat billowed with the force of his cry. His already broad shoulders and back swelled further, transforming him into an enormous werewolf from a horror film.
With his supreme Monstrous Strength, Nrvnqsr Chaos forcibly broke free from the "Enchanting Mystic Eyes."
However, rather than attacking again, he instinctively leaped backward and put distance between himself and the newly awakened Shirou.
"...What in the world is happening?"
The Dead Apostle wiped the sweat from his forehead with one hand as he spoke.
As he stared at the red haired boy standing in the snow, a chill crept up Nrvnqsr Chaos's spine.
He managed to suppress his body's trembling, but he could not stop the terror within his heart.
It was an emotion called fear, something he had not experienced in a thousand years.
Had Shirou Amamiya awakened the true power of the "Mystic Eyes of the Crimson Moon"?
No... If those truly were the eyes of Crimson Moon Brunestud, there should be more...
Besides, there was no possible way his mere human body could endure them!
But if that was not the case, then what had just suppressed me...?
"Tsk. What exactly happened?"
Nrvnqsr Chaos frowned and looked toward Rita Rozay-en.
To his surprise, the "Rose Princess" appeared equally astonished.
She cupped her flushed cheeks, her eyes overflowing with excitement. "So they can be used that way? Shirou-sama... Are you a genius? How wonderful~♡"
"You lunatic...!"
Nrvnqsr Chaos struggled to contain his anger.
What exactly had happened?
Shirou Amamiya had been sent deep into the "Mystic Eyes of Roses," yet he had managed to awaken from within them.
Not only that, but the atmosphere surrounding Shirou had completely changed when he awoke.
The red haired boy stood with his head lowered, radiating an indescribable presence that seemed to distort the very space around him.
A dark premonition arose in Nrvnqsr Chaos's heart.
What had Shirou done just now?
What had those eyes become?
...
On the opposite side of the white snowfield, a black figure and a white figure were locked in battle.
One was Louvre, an Eighth Tier Dead Apostle who resided in Norway's Castle of Mist and had nearly reached the level of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors.
The other was Rufleus, one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower and the Lord of the Department of Spiritual Evocation.
Surrounding Louvre's coven was a horde of skeletons that outnumbered the Dead Apostles more than ten to one.
Known among Magi as Skeletons, they were familiars under the command of Lord Eulyphis.
In terms of individual combat ability, the Dead Apostles were far superior to the Skeletons.
Even when strengthened by a Magus's Mana, the Skeletons could not contend with the Dead Apostles. This was especially true when Louvre's coven even included a high ranking Seventh Tier Dead Apostle.
A single swipe of a Dead Apostle's claws was enough to reduce a Skeleton to scattered dust.
The Skeletons were barely holding on through sheer numbers, but the balance could not last. The Magus's skeletal familiars were disappearing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Lord Eulyphis! We'll help too!"
During this brief interval, Olga Marie and Reines had already administered basic treatment to the injured Rin Tohsaka and her two companions.
Although they could no longer leap into close combat as energetically as before, Rin Tohsaka and the others were still capable of fighting with Magecraft.
The old man's deeply impatient voice reached them.
"Do not make me repeat myself... Return to the train car... You will only get in the way if you remain here... Leave..."
"But at this rate!"
Even as she spoke, the battle had already become completely one sided.
Fragments of bone lay scattered everywhere across the snow, making the field resemble an ancient graveyard.
Three quarters of the skeletal soldiers had already been destroyed, yet Louvre's coven had not lost a single member.
Olga Marie drew a sharp breath.
She had heard rumors about the power of high ranking Dead Apostles, but she had never imagined it would be anything like this. Even a Lord of the Clock Tower was unable to fight back...!
Rin Tohsaka and Luvia stepped forward together, Mana gathering at the tips of their raised fingers.
"Stop... Who gave you permission to interfere in this battle...?"
The old man's slow voice sounded once more.
"The task that brat entrusted to me... was to return you safely to the train car... Do you intend to remain here... and bring shame upon me...?"
Did Shirou really say that?
Rin Tohsaka and Luvia exchanged glances.
Running away under these circumstances went against their nature, but if this was Shirou's decision...
After a brief moment of thought, the girls lowered their arms, dispelling the magical bullets they had been preparing to fire.
"Understood. Please be careful, Lord Rufleus."
Rin Tohsaka and Luvia had only just stepped back when Olga Marie walked to the very front line and faced the Dead Apostles directly.
"Listen well, Dead Apostles! My name is Olga Marie! Olga Marie Animusphere!"
The girl placed a hand against her chest without the slightest hint of fear, her small body producing an impressively loud voice.
Olga Marie declared her name to the enemy with fierce confidence, activated her Magic Circuits, and prepared to enter the battle.
"..."
At the sight, the old man sighed as though he had been caught completely off guard.
Marisbury's daughter was quite the problem child as well...
With her blood boiling like that, an old man like him would never be able to stop her...
If that brat, Shirou Amamiya, were here... what would he do...?
Just then...
"Crackle!"
Static suddenly snapped through the air, and Olga Marie toppled forward.
Before she could plunge face first into the snow, Reines reached out and caught her.
Everyone stared in disbelief. Reines had just used some form of Magecraft to knock Olga Marie unconscious from behind.
"W-Wait! What are you doing?" Yvette, the girl wearing an eye patch, covered her mouth.
Reines held Olga Marie in her arms and smiled. "This is a formula Shirou-sama taught me before he left. If Olga Marie-sama ever loses control, I'm supposed to use it to let her sleep peacefully for a while."
Yvette said, "...You attacked a Lord's daughter. Whatever happens afterward has nothing to do with me, all right?"
Reines, Yvette, Rin Tohsaka, Luvia, and the unconscious Olga Marie began to retreat.
Reines said, "If we can no longer remain at the Clock Tower after this, we can all go to Japan and seek refuge with Shirou-sama."
Rin Tohsaka replied, "You can't be serious. How many more people are going to crowd into that living room...?"
Luvia exclaimed, "Wait a moment, Miss Tohsaka! What do you mean by that? Are you constantly coming and going from Shirou's house?"
Their noisy voices faded into the distance, and silence returned to the snowfield.
The battle on this side had also ended.
The Lord of the Department of Spiritual Evocation's army of Skeletons had been completely destroyed, while the Dead Apostle of the Lake and his coven had suffered almost no losses.
"Father, is it all right not to pursue them?" one of the vampires asked.
Louvre looked in the direction the girls had fled and scoffed.
"It's fine. We can round them all up later. That train already belongs to us. More importantly... weren't you supposed to avenge your master, Barthomeloi?"
Louvre turned his gaze toward Lord Eulyphis.
His attention, however, was not focused on the old man himself, but on the more than twenty gems adorning Rufleus's body.
There was a rumor famous even within vampire society, one concerning the King of the Dead at the Clock Tower, Lord Eulyphis.
Each of the twenty gem rings worn across his ten fingers contained a powerful spirit.
The spirits sealed within the rings on his right hand were byproducts created during the Eulyphis family's pursuit of its Grand Designate, Alphamega Nogeuse.
They were human spirits sealed away by successive generations of Eulyphis, whose human nature made them suitable standards for measuring humanity.
For Lord Eulyphis, it was the equivalent of having a group of advisors with expertise in every conceivable field constantly at his side.
The spirits sealed within the rings on his left hand, however, were the ones that truly deserved to be feared.
Those were artificial spirits created by the Department of Spiritual Evocation.
Although they had no direct connection to the Eulyphis family's Grand Designate, they were malevolent spirits specialized for combat.
By releasing them, and sometimes even merging with them, Lord Eulyphis became the commander of an entire legion of malevolent spirits.
Yet none of this was what truly concerned Louvre.
It was said that an even greater number of malevolent spirits lurked within the gem pendant on the old man's chest.
"Now that the nuisances are gone, isn't it about time you showed us what you're really capable of, Magus?"
Louvre stroked his goatee, smiling broadly.
Leaning on his cane, Rufleus spoke as though he were completely unconcerned by the danger surrounding him.
"Vampire... how did you escape from Barthomeloi?"
"Hm?"
The Dead Apostle Louvre had not expected his opponent to ask such a question now.
So that was it. The girls had been present earlier, preventing him from asking about such a sensitive matter.
The Queen of the Clock Tower and second generation Wizard Marshal, Barthomeloi Lorelei, was still young, yet she had already hunted down two members of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors.
To Rufleus, the idea that someone like her could fail was incomprehensible.
Louvre was in a good mood, so he answered with a proud expression.
"The young Barthomeloi broke through my Barrier with a force of fifty. I expected her to surround the city, but instead, she arrogantly entered it alone. That pride was precisely why she failed."
"I see..."
The old man bared his crooked, uneven teeth and muttered softly.
"This generation of Barthomeloi was born complete as a Magus... Even so... there was clearly no need to surrender the Lordship before she came of age... yet that man relinquished it far too soon... Perhaps this happened because of her immaturity... or was there some other reason...?"
Louvre smiled. "My castle housed treasures that even the Twenty-Seven Ancestors had never seen. I thought that weapon would kill her without fail, but she destroyed it instead... She truly is a dangerous woman."
"Hmph... Just as I thought..."
Rufleus sneered.
"Otherwise... how could a weak Dead Apostle like you possibly have escaped from her...?"
"...Weak? Are you referring to me?"
Louvre frowned, then looked toward his coven.
The Dead Apostles were equally stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.
Compared to the true Twenty-Seven Ancestors, Louvre was indeed still weak.
But against humans, the comparison was entirely different.
"That's enough empty bravado, Magus."
Louvre's expression darkened as he snarled, "I am a Dead Apostle who has lived for a thousand years. A human who has not even reached a hundred has no right to speak to me like..."
"You have lived for a thousand years... So what?"
"Wh..."
The Dead Apostle of the Lake stared at him in disbelief.
The moment he sensed danger, he rapidly retreated.
As one of the high ranking Dead Apostles closest to the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, he possessed talent worthy of his title as a Grand Noble.
Yet when he tried to create some distance, his legs began dissolving like jelly.
It was not only Louvre. The members of his coven also began to melt, screaming in agony.
"What is this...?!"
Louvre finally understood the source of the strange sensation.
While the Skeleton Soldiers had been fighting his coven, Rufleus had transformed the entire surrounding area into his own domain.
It was a vast Barrier designed specifically to absorb a certain form of invisible energy.
The magical power of the dead.
The Barrier erected by the Lord of the Department of Spiritual Evocation was a vampire's natural enemy.
If Dead Apostles were beings that fed upon humans, then Rufleus was a Magus who fed upon the "dead," including Dead Apostles themselves.
"You have lived for a thousand years... So what?"
To the vampire, the old man standing amid the snow looked like death itself.
"Since the beginning of the Christian era... Eulyphis has pursued Mystery for nearly two thousand years... and inherited Magecraft passed down for over fifteen hundred... Yet when I look back now... I still feel like nothing more than an ignorant child... You have lived for a mere thousand years... yet you boast of being a transcendent species of the planet... How arrogant... and how foolish..."
To a Magus, Mystery was something to be inherited.
Throughout their brief lives, they devoted themselves to its study before entrusting their accomplishments to the next generation, all so that one day, their descendants might reach that unattainable destination.
Dead Apostles could never comprehend such principles or obsessions.
That was why they lost.
Rufleus slowly released all of his spirits.
In the blink of an eye, Louvre and every Dead Apostle of his bloodline were devoured without a trace.
...
"...Tsk!"
Although he was beginning to consider retreat, Nrvnqsr Chaos could no longer turn back.
He had to recover the "Mystic Eyes of the Crimson Moon" as quickly as possible, before Shirou became even more troublesome.
Dozens of enormous black monsters appeared across the snowfield.
Their forms did not correspond perfectly to any creature found in nature. Each possessed a mixture of traits from several different beasts.
They were Chimeras.
These were Nrvnqsr Chaos's most elite warriors.
The Dead Apostle in black swept out his arm, sending the hybrid monsters lunging toward Shirou.
However...
"Trace On."
Shirou murmured softly.
Strangely, the Magic Circuits within his body did not activate.
No weapons were projected as they normally would have been.
Instead, the boy's amber eyes transformed into a brilliant kaleidoscope of iridescent colors.
Shirou slowly raised one arm. A beautiful spiral of red and green followed his gaze and was projected directly onto the world itself.
"Distort!!"
Beasts leaping through the air, beasts charging wildly across the ground, beasts beating their wings...
Nrvnqsr Chaos's legion of beasts, together with the earth, sky, and forest, was rolled into a twisted mass as effortlessly as a sheet of A4 paper.
The laws of the world collapsed.
...
Two women dressed in church vestments appeared amid the blizzard.
One was a girl with short blue hair who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old.
The other was a mature woman in her twenties, with chestnut colored hair tied into a ponytail that fell over her shoulder.
The older woman spoke first.
"W-Wait a minute, Ciel. Haven't we gone far enough? We've already confirmed what happened, so we can go back and make our report... Don't go any farther!"
The girl called Ciel continued walking through the snow without the slightest hesitation.
"What are you talking about, Noel? This is where things become important. There are at least three Ancestor level Dead Apostles here... We can't simply ignore them, can we? We need to deal with them as quickly as possible, before the Mage's Association arrives."
Noel's face went pale when she heard that.
"Deal with them as quickly as possible...? Are you joking?! We're talking about the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, and there are at least three of them! We're definitely going to die this time! We're going to die! We're absolutely going to die! Ahh, why did things turn out like this...? I thought this was just an ordinary investigation where I could earn some extra pay. On the way here, I even thought I'd gotten lucky... But now we have to fight the Twenty-Seven Ancestors?! I'm not mentally prepared to die, so no, no, no, no, no, no, nooooo!"
Noel threw herself onto the ground and began rolling through the snow in protest.
The blue haired girl grabbed her by the back of the collar and dragged her along.
"Noel, I was only joking. Even I wouldn't want to fight three members of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors at the same time. Though I would like to meet anyone foolish enough to try. For now, we'll get closer and observe the situation."
"Get closer?! Aren't the Twenty-Seven Ancestors monsters whose stray attacks could blow us away along with the entire street the moment we approached them...? Hm? What's wrong?"
Noel noticed that her companion had suddenly fallen silent.
She looked up and saw an impossible sight.
The sky, the earth, the forest, and the snowfield were all rolling inward like a warped canvas.
"I knew this would happen! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Noel let out a piercing scream as the "Mystic Eyes of Distortion" sent her flying into the sky.
***
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