Fate/Magus Path

Night had fallen.

The shadows grew deeper, extending their reach like an ominous curtain that shrouded the entire city. It transformed the quiet streets into a vast, eerie stage, lit only by the cool, bright glow of moonlight, like the spotlight of an unending play.

The performance continued.

...

Roughly thirty minutes had passed since Roy left with Shiki Tohno.

With Shiki taken away by Roy and the looming threat of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, the Tohno family, renowned as a demon hunter lineage, could not afford to remain idle.

Thanks to Kohaku's intervention, Akiha Tohno managed to suppress the reverse impulses stirred by her bloodline. She wasted no time rallying the best among the Tohno family to conduct a citywide search for the Dead Apostles.

As a result, the Tohno residence was left vulnerable, with only a handful of defenders staying behind.

After Roy delivered Shiki Tohno to the safehouse, someone took advantage of the opportunity.

In the expansive courtyard of the Tohno estate, faint blue butterflies emerged from the windows and chimneys, flitting through the pale moonlight before disappearing into the shadows.

Under the cover of darkness, the butterflies gathered into a human figure. A familiar silhouette stepped out from the obscurity.

"I understand the situation now."

Roy, formed from the amalgamation of butterflies, emerged from the shadows. With a flick of his finger, he processed the information gathered by his familiars, forming a mental map of the Tohno residence.

Earlier, he had observed Akiha's outburst of reverse impulse and her interaction with the girl from the Fujou Family through the eyes of the butterflies.

The Fujou Family... demonic blood...

Piecing together the fragments of the Tohno family's hidden truths, Roy could now follow the clues further.

The Tohno family, an inhuman clan that had prospered for centuries, wielded considerable influence in Misaki Town. If one were to exclude the Aozaki family, the Kuonji family, and Alice Kuonji the Witch, they could practically rule the town unchallenged.

For an inhuman lineage to remain hidden while expanding to such an extent was no small feat.

Of the many rooms in the mansion, Roy focused his suspicions on the study and the adjacent hidden chamber. While the Aozaki family's records provided broad insights into inhuman clans, the specifics could only be uncovered here, including potential leads on Roa.

During his previous visit, Roy had discreetly released familiars while following Hisui, ensuring he could return later when the defenses were sparse to investigate the Tohno family's secrets.

His movements were swift and deliberate. With a single leap, he landed on a second-floor balcony, gently pushing open a window to enter.

Guided by the intelligence gathered by his familiars, Roy began searching suspicious rooms while avoiding traps. Some areas were protected by bounded fields that would alert the mansion's residents if triggered.

But these bounded fields posed little challenge. Activating his azure Mystic Eyes, he saw through the mansion's enchantments with ease, identifying which to bypass and which to disable.

As he navigated the halls, he encountered a few patrolling servants. To Roy, they were of no threat. Instead of harming them, he used a blend of suggestion and illusion magecraft to obscure their perception, ensuring they wouldn't interfere.

In this manner, he moved freely through the Tohno residence, eventually arriving at the room of the twin maids.

Kohaku and Hisui.

Though his memories of Tsukihime were incomplete, Roy recalled that the twin maids played pivotal roles. He suspected they might hold connections to Roa.

Having identified Kohaku as a member of the Fujou Family, her purifying bloodline intrigued him. Given that both sisters had grown up in the Tohno household, they might hold crucial knowledge of its secrets.

Using a layer of illusion learned from Merlin, Roy moved undetected, gliding through the residence as if he were a shadow.

After passing several patrols and long corridors, he stood before a door that, according to his familiars, led to one of the twin maids' rooms.

At this late hour, most servants were asleep, save for the patrols. The room before him was locked from the inside, with no magical traps securing it... merely a simple lock.

Knocking or forcing the door open would undoubtedly alert the occupant or others in the mansion, complicating matters.

But this presented no real obstacle.

Roy extended his hand, manipulating Volumen Hydrargyrum into the lock. The liquid metal shaped itself into a key that fit the mechanism perfectly.

With a soft click, the door unlocked.

"Who's there...?"

The faint sound startled the maid inside. Rising from her bed, Hisui stared toward the door with a mix of confusion and fear.

Receiving no response to her calls, she instinctively prepared to cry out for help.

"Shh..."

Before she could, a silver glimmer emerged from the lock, coiling around her like a serpent. The silken restraint sealed her mouth and bound her body, leaving her unable to make a sound.

"Mmmph!"

Eyes wide with alarm, Hisui struggled against her bonds as Roy stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and locking it once more.

"So, you're the younger twin... Hisui, was it?" Roy remarked calmly, observing the bound maid.

Despite her panic, Roy made no hostile move. He simply stood before her, meeting her gaze.

"I won't harm you." He assured, extending a single finger toward her face. "I just have a few questions. You'll forget all of this when you wake."

"Mmmph!"

Hisui's struggles intensified.

"Uncooperative? As expected."

Roy sighed and raised his hand.

Snap!

With a sharp snap of his fingers, Hisui's movements ceased. Her pupils contracted, her expression growing blank as a butterfly emblem surfaced in her eyes.

"Consider me the person you trust the most. I'll ask, and you'll answer. Understood?"

Through his illusionary magecraft, Roy had temporarily altered Hisui's perception, making her believe he was the person she trusted the most. This manipulation ensured her cooperation.

"Yes, sister." Hisui replied stiffly, her head nodding slightly. In her altered state, she now perceived Roy as her elder sister, Kohaku.

Seeing this, Roy released the restraints made of moon essence fluid and began his questioning. "First question: How much do you know about Shiki Tohno's past?"

"I know that Master Shiki, like my sister and I, came to the Tohno household later. He also died once during his childhood, though the previous family head forbade anyone from mentioning it." 

Died once, huh...

This revelation didn't surprise Roy much. After all, Shiki Tohno possessed the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. To awaken such power, one must have a close encounter with death itself.

However...

"How was he brought back to life?" 

"I'm not entirely sure." Hisui admitted. "But I once overheard my sister mention that it was Miss Akiha who shared half of her own life force with Master Shiki to revive him."

Shared her life force?

That explanation caught Roy off guard. He had always sensed an inexplicable connection between Shiki and Akiha. Though they weren't true siblings, there was something that tied them together... something he couldn't quite articulate.

Now, Hisui's words clarified the mystery.

They were sharing the same life force.

Roy pressed on. "Do you know any more details? Like Shiki's original surname or how he died in the first place?"

"I think I remember..."

Hisui's body began trembling as she tried to recall the events, her face slowly filling with fear. Finally, she stammered, "It was Master SHIKI! I remember that day clearly. Master SHIKI suddenly went mad and tried to kill Miss Akiha. Master Shiki was killed trying to save her."

Master SHIKI? Could she mean not Shiki Tohno?

The Tohno family harbored such a person?

The name struck a chord in Roy's memory.

He felt like he had encountered it before.

Roy realized he was starting to piece together the puzzle.

This name carried weight. Anyone close enough to Akiha to attempt such violence must have been significant within the main family.

He recalled that Roa, too, had a connection to the Tohno family. Eliminating Akiha and Shiki as suspects, and considering Roa's disdain for ordinary individuals without talent, Roy deduced...

Roa might very well be this Master SHIKI.

Roy decided to probe further. "Who is this Master SHIKI?"

"He is Lady Akiha's biological older brother, the eldest son of the Tohno family." 

The eldest son of the Tohno family, huh? That explained a lot about the dynamics at play back then.

So, he had gone mad and tried to kill Akiha. That likely stemmed from a reversal impulse caused by the demon blood within him, turning him into a rampaging beast.

Yet, a few details still didn't add up. Roy continued his questioning. "Do you know his current whereabouts?"

"He's dead. Master SHIKI was executed by the previous family head a long time ago." 

Dead?

That took Roy by surprise.

"You saw it happen with your own eyes?"

"Yes, I personally witnessed the family head arrive and kill the rampaging Master SHIKI." 

Her response left Roy skeptical. Though he felt something was off, he refrained from delving further into that matter for now.

Instead, he redirected his focus to more relevant secrets.

"What do you know about the Tohno family's secrets?"

"Secrets... I don't know much." Hisui admitted. "I've always been an ordinary maid here, unqualified to approach the family head or the young masters. My sister is the one who tends to them directly."

Kohaku, huh? The other maid with red hair?

It seemed she knew far more than her younger sister.

Roy realized he'd need to interrogate Kohaku next.

Raising his hand, he issued his second command to Hisui.

"Take me to your sister's room, or summon her here." 

"Yes..."

...

Five minutes later.

In another room of the Tohno estate, an interrogation was unfolding once again.

Kohaku, who answered the door after Hisui knocked, immediately noticed her younger sister's unusual condition. Concerned, she quickly opened the door, helped Hisui inside, and began questioning her about what had happened.

Before she could piece together what was wrong, Roy entered behind them. Using the butterfly he had discreetly placed on Hisui as a magical medium, he extended his illusionary magecraft to subdue Kohaku as well.

Now, standing before him, Kohaku was fully under his illusionary control, just like her sister had been earlier.

Roy proceeded to repeat the same set of questions he had asked Hisui. His goal was to cross-reference their answers and confirm the consistency of the information he gathered from the two sisters.

As expected, the responses were not entirely identical.

First, Kohaku revealed that after the previous head of the Tohno family had executed SHIKI, the supposedly dead SHIKI managed to exploit the moment Akiha shared half her life force with Shiki. Using an ability called Fusion, the deceased SHIKI stole half of Shiki's newly obtained life force and used it to resurrect himself.

However, the previous head of the family, Makihisa Tohno... SHIKI's father... was unable to bring himself to kill the resurrected SHIKI again. Instead, he secretly imprisoned SHIKI in the estate's dungeon for safekeeping.

Not long after, to placate the family and maintain appearances, Makihisa publicly announced SHIKI's death. He then adopted Shiki Tohno as his son, presenting him as a scapegoat for SHIKI's actions. To complete the ruse, he erased Shiki Tohno's memories, made him assume SHIKI's identity, and sent him to live with the Arima family.

SHIKI and Shiki.

Their names, even in Romanized form, sounded almost identical. Makihisa Tohno had truly orchestrated a masterstroke of deception.

By this point, Roy had also confirmed Shiki Tohno's original surname: Nanaya. The small dagger he carried and the unique traits within his bloodline were undeniable evidence.

The ability to awaken the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and his instinctive drive to pursue and kill Arcueid stemmed from the demon-hunting impulses ingrained in the Nanaya Family's bloodline.

The head of the Ryougi family had once told Roy that the Nanaya Family had vanished years ago, wiped out by an enemy attack. Now, it was clear that the Tohno family had played a significant role in their downfall.

As for why Makihisa had spared Shiki Tohno, Roy surmised it was due to the value of the Nanaya bloodline. Makihisa likely intended to merge the demon-hunting blood of the Nanaya Family with the Tohno family's demonic blood, hoping to create stable and powerful descendants.

It was a bold plan. Perhaps the fusion of the two bloodlines truly could neutralize the instability caused by the Tohno family's demonic heritage.

Adopting the Fujou sisters, with their bloodline's purifying properties, was another part of Makihisa's grand strategy. Their purification abilities would help mitigate the reversal impulse caused by the demonic blood, while adopting a Nanaya child was meant to secure a future of balanced offspring.

The previous head of the Tohno family had been meticulous, laying out a well-calculated path for the family's future.

Roy pressed Kohaku further, demanding she disclose every secret the previous family head had hidden.

With each answer the red-haired maid gave, Roy's expression darkened further.

___

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