He Tore Through The Holy Grail War, And You Still Call Him A Dragon?

Just as Shirou seized the chance to treat Amaterasu's bounded field like a secluded training chamber for Unlimited Blade Works, Melusine carried Nono all the way to Tokyo.

When they arrived, the scene was utterly different.

The black domain had spread monstrously, drowning sky and land alike, as though a suffocating shroud of death had been overturned by some god and poured upon the world.

Slicing the air, Melusine cast a beam of light. The sword-flash cut through the gloom, scattering flocks of Kamaitachi that skittered in the shadows. Darkness could not hinder a dragon's senses, only their sight.

"Where's Shirou?"

They landed on a rooftop. Nono asked anxiously, but even she didn't know. How could Melusine?

"Did he say where he was going?" Melusine frowned.

"Oh—before he vanished, he mentioned visiting Genji Heavy Industries, didn't he?"

The memory clicked. Shirou had said he would deliver Odin's arm there for experiments.

So they flew to the Genji building. But Shirou, and everyone else familiar, were gone.

Instead, they ran into the weary, blood-stained Yashiro.

"…Ryōma's air division has been sent to Shinjuku sector 3-386. Authorized to drop bombs—the area's overrun, no civilians left. If the Ministry of Defense calls again, direct them to Ryōma Gen'ichirō. Tell them not to waste munitions on giant monsters. Trust the strike teams."

He set his old sword aside, still smelling of blood, and began conferring with Miyamoto Shio, who oversaw Kaguya-hime's central system. Together they planned a joint response with the Secret Party.

"Head, Ange has agreed to cooperate," Shio reported. "Cassell's equipment division will supply firepower to suppress Tokyo's monster tide."

But Yashiro frowned.

"Firepower alone won't suffice. These creatures carry 'mystery.' Modern weapons barely scratch them. At most we can clear the swarms. The real threats—the great youkai—must be taken down one by one by fighters like Watanabe Tsuna or my brother."

Church forces under Uesugi were also en route.

"No," Shio corrected, "Cassell's guns aren't for Tokyo—they're for the second front in the bay."

He projected images: grainy infrared shots from buoys. Rising from the depths—tens of thousands of serpentine corpses. Shikigami husks, corpses of ancient citizens, awakened.

Damn it. They had forgotten. The god's awakening stirred them, and they would swim ashore to worship.

Why now, not before? Was some critical ritual underway?

Yashiro clenched his temples. At least now he understood Cassell's purpose: fire against the corpse tide.

"Then coordinate with them."

At that moment, the door banged open.

"Do you know where Shirou is?" Nono burst in.

"You… Nono?" Yashiro blinked. He vaguely recalled her resemblance to Eri. "He can't be reached?"

He tried his phone. Out of range. Strange. But surely Shirou wouldn't just fall. He'd sooner believe the air force would vanish than Shirou would.

"Tell me where he went last!"

"Southward. He said home. But you came from there. If you didn't see him, then something diverted him. Try Charlotte. He spoke with her before leaving—about plans. She's with our geologists surveying the leyline."

"Charlotte…?" The name was new to Nono. Another woman? Yashiro added helpfully:

"They're close—she aided him with experiments. She's trustworthy, talented… though very young."

"…Another woman close to Shirou?"

Nono's face darkened. Yashiro blinked. What did he say wrong?

But she left in haste.

He returned to his burdens—organizing his brother's alter persona, Ryūri, to command the Mōkigun in the guise of Kaze no Ryūri. The clan decided: better to unite against the god than fight old feuds.

"Any word on the god's location?" he asked.

"Bunkyō district. The 'black moon' appears there. Ange says their Servant is best suited for god-slaying, equipped with advanced gear."

Shio sneered. Cassell's nerds, saving the world? Absurd.

Yashiro, though, grew curious. "New gear? I'd like to see it."

——

Meanwhile, Nono refused to give up. With Melusine she retraced Shirou's supposed path home—nothing.

"Then we find this Charlotte," she decided.

They flew to the Red Well, where the Tama and Akaoni rivers met. Here the land was crimson, said to be stained by Yamata no Orochi's blood.

From afar they saw a golden-haired girl bossing men twice her size.

"You! Is this your well design? Speak up, Sakurai engineer!"

"Yes!" the young man stammered, then barked louder.

"Years ago Tokyo built new underground drainage—the G-Cans project. It extends here, with Reservoir 13, the 'Red Well.'"

"Good. Fetch all blueprints. And stop the drills. From here on, I take over."

Confused, Sakurai obeyed reluctantly. Charlotte seized his files and skipped off to the well with her satchel.

Nono and Melusine landed.

"You're Charlotte?" Nono eyed the petite blonde, lips tight. Could Shirou really prefer such a childlike girl? Her gaze slid to Melusine's form—her heart skipped. Maybe.

"And you are?" Charlotte eyed Melusine warily. A Servant.

"Call me Nono. Do you know where Shirou is?"

"He said he was going home. Wait—he's missing?"

Nono's face gave the answer. Charlotte frowned. Impossible. That guy, captured? Maybe by a beauty trap?

"Well, if you can't reach him, we'll just search."

She opened her case. Mercury streamed out, flowing into the Red Well.

"You know about the Grail War? This well isn't the leyline—it's below, 300 meters deep. Once I link, I'll scan Tokyo itself."

Her mercury wasn't just for probing. She had Territory Creation. If she seized this leyline, it would become her workshop.

"With it, I can locate Shirou."

She grinned. Already her AI had modeled him from data. Enough to challenge him one day.

"…New Shinjuku… but now… a woman?"

Her vision cut off. Someone severed it.

"Who?" Nono demanded.

Charlotte touched the mercury, which shaped itself into a fox-eared woman's likeness.

Amaterasu.

Nono froze. Breath caught, fists clenched. Another woman. Always another. Did Shirou have some curse, attracting them endlessly?

——

Meanwhile, within the bounded field—

Amaterasu was exhausted.

This fight had gone on and on. She'd thought to play along briefly, but Shirou's mana kept flowing, his chanting repeating endlessly.

The rhythm was always the same: minor spell exchanges, then big techniques, then—

"I am the bone of my sword. Body is made of blades—"

On and on. Over and over.

Her fox ears rang with his mantra. She clutched her head. She could recite it herself by now!

Each time his Unlimited Blade Works grew sharper, clearer.

At last, the goddess sighed aloud:

"Fighting you feels like serving time."

(End of Chapter)

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