Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

[After Trisha's body was collected, Olga Marie finally woke up. El-Melloi II visited her room to see if she could provide any useful information.]

[Unfortunately, Olga Marie was unable to recall anything substantial about the attack.]

[Because the incident had taken place in the young director's room, El-Melloi II insisted that she move to his cabin for safety. He left Gray to watch over her while he stepped away to call Reines and inform her about the events aboard the train.]

["A Rainbow-level Mystic Eye, huh?" Reines sounded amused over the phone. "If you really want it, dear brother, don't worry about the price. You'll just owe me a little more debt."]

[El-Melloi II rolled his eyes and hung up the call before she could say anything else.]

[Meanwhile, in the storage room, Luvia and Sisigou had been investigating. Despite combining gem magic and necromancy, they found no trace of the thief.]

[Sisigou frowned. "The culprit's methods are incredibly refined. There's no trace of intrusion at all."]

[Luvia smirked and offered a bold theory. "What if… the thief didn't bypass the barriers? What if they used a key to get in?"]

[Sisigou raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying it was someone close to El-Melloi II?"]

[Her theory, however, couldn't be dismissed. If the culprit had used a key, then the list of suspects narrowed significantly.]

Kayneth: "Interesting. Things are taking quite the turn."

Tohsaka Rin: "So the thief isn't one of Waver's students after all."

Iskandar: "Hahaha! This is turning into a real spectacle—just like a reenactment of history!"

Waver : "Stop talking like that!"

Tōsaka Tokiomi: "But why would someone steal a relic and then board the Mystic Eye Collection Train? What's their endgame?"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "We'll need to see how things develop further. The motive is still unclear."

[As dusk fell, El-Melloi II prepared to visit the cargo room as requested by the mysterious letter. He thoroughly inspected the train beforehand and confirmed that no one could have infiltrated from outside.]

[The train itself had become something otherworldly, a mystic construct tied to Leylines. Entering or exiting mid-journey was near impossible.]

[Concerned for his safety, Gray insisted on accompanying El-Melloi II to the meeting.]

[While waiting in the cargo room, El-Melloi II absentmindedly muttered about using the invitation letter to open a spatial door via a forbidden spell called." Gray immediately interrupted him.]

["Master, that magic is forbidden!" Gray's voice was firm, her expression troubled. "The Clock Tower has declared its creator a target for Sealing Designation."]

Kayneth: "… So you've been associating with that woman?"

Waver: "Who are you talking about?"

Kayneth: "You don't need to know. Just stay away from her. She's dangerous."

Iskandar: "Ah, a woman who even the Clock Tower fears? This is getting interesting."

Artoria:. "@Chihiro, Do you know who he means?"

Chihiro: "I do. She's someone the Clock Tower can't control—an outcast who shattered their conventions."

[Suddenly, the calm was shattered. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, red lightning crackled, and a figure appeared atop the train car.]

["So you came. Walking willingly into a trap, how brave or how foolish, I can't decide."]

[Gray stepped forward defensively. "Are you the thief?"]

[The woman smirked. "No. I'm merely working under orders now."]

[The group chat exploded with recognition. The woman was Hephaestion, a Heroic Spirit known as the Shadow of Iskandar.]

Iskandar: "Hephaestion! Hahaha, so you've been summoned as well. How delightful!"

Waver: "Is this really the time to be happy about it?!"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Hephaestion… her class is Faker, isn't it? That makes this an illegal summoning."

Darnic: A class called 'Faker'? Does it mean fake?"

Jeanne: "I'm unfamiliar with this class. It doesn't exist among the standard seven Servant classes."

Jeanne certainly didn't know, because Faker is a unique class created by the mastermind behind the scenes.

In the original storyline, there is no other Faker Class besides Hephaestion.

By the way, Pretender Hephaestion and Faker Hephaestion in the FGO world are two distinct individuals, so don't confuse them.

Kayneth: "It's a special class that even the ruler doesn't know. Whoever summoned her must be highly skilled and dangerous."

Tohsaka Rin: "Shouldn't you be worried about El-Melloi II's situation? It's obvious the enemy is up to no good."

Darnic: "Even if that little girl named Gray holds the Holy Lance, I'm afraid she's no match for him."

Mordred: "Don't underestimate the power of the Holy Lance."

Darnic: "I wasn't referring to the Holy Lance."

[El-Melloi II's voice was steady but firm. "Who are you?"]

[Hephaestion tilted her head, her lips curling into a mocking grin. "Your face is irritating, you know that? Miserly, narrow-minded, gloomy, and perpetually tired. Always pretending to be weighed down by life when you're the one who causes the most trouble."]

[Her gaze sharpened. "I heard Iskandar once submitted to you. I expected you to be a formidable magus, but all I see is a pathetic failure."]

[El-Melloi II's eyes flashed with anger. "He did not submit to me. I was his subject, his follower."]

["Follower? Call it what you like." Hephaestion's smirk didn't falter. "You're still a disappointment."]

[Her tone turned colder as she drew her dagger. "This little game is over. You walked into my trap willingly, unfortunately, it's time to die."]

[Hephaestion lunged forward with lightning speed, her dagger gleaming. Gray quickly transformed Add into its scythe form and met the attack head-on.]

[However, it became clear almost immediately that Gray was at a disadvantage. Hephaestion's strength and speed far surpassed hers.]

Waver: "Why am I so useless here?!"

Kayneth: "Is this the follower you speak so highly of, King of Conquerors? She seems awfully critical of him."

Iskandar: "Hahaha, she's strict, isn't she? I didn't know Hephaestion was so unforgiving!"

Tohsaka Rin: "Waver really does have a lot of flaws, doesn't he?"

Chihiro: "Doesn't it feel like El-Melloi II is just a typical overworked salaryman?"

Tohsaka Rin: "Pfft, you're right. He's practically the embodiment of a modern-day office worker."

El-Melloi II: "...."

["Let me show you something more interesting," Hephaestion sneered.]

[Her eyes suddenly flared a bright orange, radiating an unnatural light.]

[Gray's body stiffened, and to El-Melloi II's horror, she turned her weapon against him. "Gray…?"]

[Hephaestion's voice echoed smugly. "A little demonstration of my Mystic Eye. I'll let your little apprentice finish you off herself."]

[As for El-Melloi II, he was unaffected by Hephaestion's Mystic Eye due to the Magic Eye Killer Glasses he was wearing.]

Iskandar: "Mystic Eyes? I don't recall her having those."

Waver: "Then it must be the mastermind behind this who provided them."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "As expected of the Mystic Eye Collection Train. This is already the third type of Mystic Eye that's been revealed."

Mordred: "What's with this pathetic performance? Being so easily controlled… she's tarnishing my father's reputation."

Artoria: "Mordred, she is herself, and I am me. Don't conflate us."

Her tone was calm yet firm. Artoria's words were not meant to belittle Gray but to affirm that the girl was not merely a substitute for her. Artoria would not stand by and watch a child suffer on her behalf.

[Just as Gray's attack was about to land on El-Melloi II, the Holy Lance in her hands emitted a brilliant light. The power of the spear purified her magic circuits, breaking the control of Hephaestion's Mystic Eye.]

[Seeing this, Hephaestion frowned slightly and immediately summoned a chariot pulled by skeletal dragons.]

[El-Melloi II's eyes widened in shock. The appearance of that chariot was unmistakable—it was the Gordius Wheel, the very Noble Phantasm of the Conqueror King, Iskandar.]

Artoria: "Iskandar … She has your Noble Phantasm?"

Iskandar: "Hahaha! Well, I often let her care for my chariot when I was alive. I suppose it's no surprise she's wielding it now."

["I am Hephaestion, the most trusted confidant of the great Conqueror King Iskandar!"]

[With those words, Hephaestion climbed aboard the chariot, lightning crackling in the air as she surged toward El-Melloi II.]

[Gray instinctively prepared to unleash the Holy Lance to counter, but El-Melloi II immediately stopped her.]

["No! The power of the Holy Lance is far too destructive, it's not safe to use it here!"]

[Determined to confront the situation himself, El-Melloi II pulled out a knife and stepped forward alone to face Hephaestion's attack.]

[The moment was blinding, a flash of white light illuminated the scene, and when it faded, Hephaestion's chariot was already disappearing into the distance, her figure shrinking on the horizon.]

[El-Melloi II and Gray, however, were thrown from the carriage due to the force of the attack. They desperately clung to the train's railing to keep from falling off entirely.]

[At that moment, Caules appeared and reached out to pull the two back onto the train.]

["Are you both all right?" Caules asked, his face pale from concern.]

[Gray exhaled deeply, steadying herself. "Master, she's not chasing us."]

[El-Melloi II nodded grimly. "Of course not. If she used the chariot to ram into this train, it would be seen as a direct provocation to the operators of the Mystic Eye Collection Train."]

[Caules wiped the sweat from his brow. "I was worried, so I came to check on you. Good thing I did, I saw that fight just now."]

[El-Melloi II glanced at him and offered a faint smile. "You arrived just in time, Caules."]

[Caules tilted his head, suddenly noticing something unusual. "Wait… Teacher, did you cut your hair?"]

["Huh?" Gray blinked, looking at El-Melloi II in confusion.]

[El-Melloi II ran a hand through his now slightly shorter hair and explained calmly. "When I blocked her attack, I used the magical energy stored in my hair as a medium. Hair symbolizes serpents, and serpents are also seen as an embodiment of lightning."]

Tohsaka Rin: "That was a close call."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Using his hair as a magical conduit… It's impressive that he came up with such a strategy on the spot."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "It seems the immediate danger has been avoided."

Kayneth: "Hmph. Waver, at least you've managed to salvage some of your dignity.

***

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