A Dimensional Journey Begins with the Dragon Clan

"It wasn't even a fight. I was just getting beaten unilaterally..."

"Hmph~ You're not trying to save face... I see, it's really obvious what kind of person Emiya-san is."

Not sure what she was happy about, but Tousaka walked over to the broken glass.

"?"

  Toosaka picked up the broken glass and examined it carefully.

"Zi-"

With a "plop" sound, his finger was cut and blood dripped onto the window glass.

"!?"

What kind of magic was that? Emiya Shirou was a little surprised.

The shattered pieces of window glass began to piece themselves together.

It took less than a few seconds to return to its original state.

"Tousaka, what happened just now is..."

"It's just a little show. Although I can't take it as a thank you for saving me, it would be a shame not to help... Although you will fix it yourself if I don't help, it's a waste to use your magic power on this, isn't it? It's really difficult to talk in this cold wind."

Toosaka said it as a matter of course.

Needless to say, her magecraft abilities were beyond Emiya Shirou's comprehension.

"No, this is amazing, Toosaka. I can't do this. Thank you so much for helping me fix it!"

"? Can't do it? That's impossible, right? The method of dealing with glass is just the most basic of the basics. Repairing the glass that was broken just a few minutes ago, this is like an entry test for any martial arts school, right?"

"Is that so? Because I only taught it to my dad. I don't even know the basics or elementary stuff like this."

"What?"

Toosaka stopped moving.

Oops. Emiya Shirou once again realized that he seemed to have said something he shouldn't have said.

"…Wait a minute. So, Emiya-san, you're a half-witted person who can't even manage your own studio?"

"...? No, I don't have such a thing as a studio."

Ah~, there is a Dokura that is considered a training place, but if I call it a studio, Toosaka will definitely get really mad, Emiya Shirou complained in his mind.

"...I don't think that's possible. Let me confirm. Don't you even know how to use the five elements and how to channel them?"

That’s right, Emiya Shirou nodded honestly.

"..."

Wow, that's scary.

She is indeed a beauty, and she is very powerful when she is silent.

"I didn't expect that you are a complete layman!?"

"That's not true. At least I can still use enhanced magic."

"You said strengthening... but you're still using this half-baked stuff. And then, is this the only thing you can do?"

"…Well, to be honest, probably?"

Emiya Shirou felt really embarrassed by Toosaka Rin's gaze, and had no choice but to give an ambiguous answer.

"...Alas. How could I let such a person call out Saber? I can't stand it!" Toosaka Rin complained speechlessly.

"Ok?"

Shirou Emiya didn't know why, but he felt inexplicably angry when he heard such words.

He's not playing around.

  Although he is indeed not yet a big deal, this and that are two different things, right?

I was totally underestimated!

"Forget it. It's already been decided and there's no point complaining now. Let's not talk about this for now. We have to pay off our debt first."

Toosaka sighed.

"Then I will explain now. Emiya-san, you still don't understand where you stand, right?"

"Ah."

Emiya Shirou nodded.

"As expected. I know it after seeing it, but I still need to confirm it first. It's really a piece of fat in my heart to explain it to people I know."

"?"

Shirou Emiya felt as if he had just heard some strange words. These were not the vulgar words that would come out of the mouth of an elegant lady like Rin Toosaka.

But if he interrupted, he would probably get beaten up, so he chose to keep quiet.

"In conclusion, Emiya-san has been chosen as the Master. There is a stigma on one of your hands, right? It seems to be on the back of the hand or the wrist. Although it varies from person to person, there should be three Command Seals. That is the proof that you are the Master."

“The back of my hand… ah, this!”

Shirou Emiya raised his hand and looked at the tattoo-like mark on it.

"Yes. That is also a spell that restrains the Servant, so you must cherish it. That spell is called a Command Seal, and as long as it is there, the Servant will obey."

"?As long as it's there?What does that mean?"

"The Command Seals represent absolute authority. They are incantations that can change the will of a Servant, making it obey orders absolutely. No spell is needed to activate them. As long as you have the intention to use the Command Seals, they will be activated. Also, if you run out of Command Seals, Emiya-san will probably be killed, so you must be careful."

“Eh? I’ll be killed──────?”

"That's right. The basis of the Holy Grail War is for the Master to defeat the other Masters. And the Master who defeats the other six will be given the Holy Grail that can grant wishes."

"What?"

Emiya Shirou felt that the more he listened, the more confused he became.

Wait, wait a minute.

He could understand every word that Toosaka said, but when they were put together he couldn't understand anything at all.

For example, the Master wants to defeat the Master.

And then in the end you can get the Holy Grail or something... Wait, the Holy Grail?

  What is that?

"Don't you understand? To put it simply, you have been drawn into a game. The so-called Holy Grail War is a competition for survival among seven masters. It will not end until the other masters are defeated. In other words, magicians will kill each other."

As if she was stating something that was not a big deal, Toosaka Rin asserted.

"!!"

The words he just heard kept circling in Emiya Shirou's head.

He was chosen as the Master.

It's the Master's Toosaka.

A familiar called a Servant.

……besides.

  A war called the Holy Grail War, a war of attrition between other magicians! ?

"Wait a minute. That's nothing. Why are you suddenly talking nonsense like this?" "I understand how you feel, but I'm just stating the facts. Besides, you know it in your heart, right? You've been chased by Servants twice in a row, and you're already at a dead end."

"..."

Emiya Shirou fell silent upon hearing this.

This is indeed the case.

It's true that he was being hunted by a guy named Lancer.

"Ah, I was wrong. It's not that he was being hunted, but that he was killed. It's amazing that you were able to come back to life, Emiya-san."

"!!"

Not being hunted, but being killed.

That's right.

As if he suddenly remembered something, Emiya Shirou covered his heart.

He was indeed killed by the man with the spear.

Before he was surprised by his current situation, he should have been even more amazed that he was still alive.

A wound through the chest.

Blood flowing out.

Gradually decreasing body temperature.

as well as.

  In that abyss, I heard someone’s clear voice─────

"You understand, don't you? You've already been in this position. You can't run away just because you don't know anything. Since you're also a magus, you should have realized it a long time ago, right? Kill or be killed, isn't that what we magi are like?"

Maybe it was because she saw Emiya Shirou looking distressed, but Toosaka was in a great mood.

"..."

Emiya Shirou remained silent.

Yes, he does have enlightenment.

However, before that...

"Tousaka, how do you know I was killed by Lancer?"

He was curious as to why she knew that.

"────Tsk. I got a little too carried away." Toosaka Rin blamed herself helplessly.

Shirou Emiya always felt that there was something strange about this girl's behavior.

"That was just pure speculation. If it's not important, just forget it."

"…It doesn't matter. At that time, I was... "

As if he finally figured it out, Emiya Shirou stared at Toosaka Rin with wide eyes and didn't say anything else.

Toosaka Rin blushed proudly: "Alright! Rather than that, you should first understand your own position. You are also one of the seven masters, and the protagonist of the Holy Grail War!"

Toosaka turned away as if to avoid his sight, and strode across the living room like a teacher standing at a podium.

"Listen carefully. Every few decades in this city, seven Masters will be chosen and given various Servants. The Masters command the Servants on their left and right hands to defeat the other Masters. This is the ritual rule of the Holy Grail War!"

"I was also one of the people chosen to be the Master. So I made a contract with the Servant. Didn't you also make a contract with Saber? Although it doesn't look like you called out Saber yourself, since the Servants are familiars who are given the Holy Grail, it is possible that someone like Emiya-san became a Master without knowing it!"

"..."

Because Tousaka's explanation was too concise, Emiya Shirou still had no sense of reality.

Even so, he still had a question in his mind from a while ago.

"...Wait a minute. Toosaka, you just said that Saber is a familiar, but I don't think so. Because a familiar is a cat or a bird. It is true that someone uses a human ghost to command. But Saber has a physical body. Besides, that... no matter how I look at her, she doesn't look like a familiar!"

Emiya Shirou glanced furtively at Saber.

Saber just listened to his conversation with Toosaka in silence.

It really looks like a human being.

Although he didn't know her background, he thought she should be a girl around his age.

"A familiar. Yes, servants are in that category, but their status is very different. After all, she is considered the strongest Ghost Liner among familiars!"

"Ghost Liner? Does that mean it is really a ghost?"

“Ghosts… well, they are similar, but if you confuse Saber with that kind of thing, she will kill you. Because Servants are heroes from the past who have been given flesh, beings close to spirits and beyond humans!”

"…What? A hero from the past given a body?"

"That's right. Whether it's the past or the present, we can pull the long-dead legendary heroes here and materialize them."

"However, the magician's job is to call it out, and the rest will be done by the materialized Holy Grail. It is impossible for a mere magician to transform the soul into a physical form. So here we have to borrow the power of the instrument."

"Wait a minute. You said heroes from the past, what...!?"

Emiya Shirou seemed to be several beats slow before he finally realized what was going on and looked at Saber in surprise.

So was she a hero?

  Well, that's true. You can't find people who dress like that in modern times. But even so────

"That's impossible. I've never heard of magic like that."

"Of course, because this isn't magic. Just think of it as a phenomenon caused by the Holy Grail. If you don't think of it that way, it's impossible to fix the reappearance of souls."

"The reappearance of the soul... So you mean that Servants are different from ghosts?"

"No. Whether it's a human, an animal, or a machine, as long as they have made great achievements, they will be freed from the cycle of reincarnation and sublime to the next level. Haven't you heard of this? That's what the so-called Heroic Spirits are like. To put it simply, they are pseudo-gods that people worship and offer sacrifices to."

"General 'spirit magic', such as necromancy or summoning, uses part of their power to cause miracles. However, the Servants mentioned here are familiars that are directly connected to the Heroic Spirits. So basically they stay by your side as spirits, and when necessary, they materialize to fight."

"...Hmm. So, the spirit and the body can be used according to the situation. So the guy who followed you just now suddenly disappeared because he turned into a spirit?"

"Yes. He is guarding on the roof of this house. I think you can understand from the battle just now that the only ones who can defeat a Servant are those who are also spirits."

"Indeed, if the opponent materializes, our attacks will be able to hit him, and if things go well, we may be able to defeat him. However, all Servants are the same as monsters, right? So it is wise to leave the monsters to the monsters and the Master to support them from behind."

"..."

Emiya Shirou was not very comfortable listening to Toosaka's explanation.

Monster, monster, he didn't know what the other servants were like, but he didn't want to use that word to describe Saber.

"Anyway, whoever becomes a Master must use the Servants he summons to defeat other Masters. Do you understand this?"

"…I can understand what you said. However, I have no intention of accepting it. Besides, who is the person who started such a strange thing as the Holy Grail War, and why did he start it?"

"This is not something I should know, nor is it something I can answer. You should find time to ask the person who is supervising the Holy Grail War about this matter. All I can tell you is that you only have one way to go, fighting, and that Servants are powerful familiars that you must make good use of, that's all."

That was all Toosaka said, and then turned her attention to Saber.

"Okay. From what Emiya-san said, you seem to be in an incomplete state, right, Saber? After all, you were called out by a trainee magician who has no knowledge of a Master." (End of this chapter)