Fate/Magus Path

Time moved swiftly... or perhaps, it was more accurate to say that Roy's actions were swift.

By the next day, after Shiki Tohno briefly informed his family of his safety, Akiha finally exhaled a sigh of relief. But her concern for her brother's safety spurred her into immediate action.

That very evening, she mobilized the vast network of the Tohno family to conduct a thorough investigation throughout the entirety of Misaki Town.

Coupled with the intelligence provided by Alice Kuonji, Roy now had a comprehensive understanding of the Dead Apostles' hiding places.

Having left Shiki and Aoko Aozaki to handle matters for so long, it felt inappropriate for him to continue shirking his duties.

"Well then." Roy muttered to himself, "It's about time I made a move."

High atop a twenty-story building, Roy stood with arms outstretched, laughing freely into the fierce wind. His eyes, now a piercing azure, signaled his readiness for battle.

While he seemed brimming with enthusiasm, the others who had accompanied him displayed mixed reactions.

Arcueid eagerly raised her hands in support, exclaiming, "So cool! It's like the Roy who took down Nrvnqsr is back!"

Shiki Ryougi, on the other hand, looked at him with mild exasperation. "What is this? Are you having another middle-school syndrome episode?"

Aoko chuckled softly, her confidence in Roy unwavering. "Hah, isn't this entertaining? I'm actually looking forward to what Roy will do."

Meanwhile, Touko remained expressionless, her thoughts far from the spectacle.

"Honestly, I don't care what happens, as long as I don't have to work overtime again. This week's workload has been killing me."

"Lord Roy." Akiha's voice came through over the phone. "I've already sent you the list and locations of suspected Dead Apostles. Did you receive it?"

"Got it." 

He glanced at the map Akiha had sent. The red circles marked potential hiding spots for the Dead Apostles, and they overlapped by roughly 80% with the key areas identified by Kuonji's intelligence.

Impressive. Achieving this level of precision in just one day?

Roy couldn't help but feel a newfound respect for the Tohno family's efficiency.

"Do you need any assistance from us? While we obviously can't handle the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, we're more than capable of dealing with the Dead Apostles-"

"No need. Just keep tracking their locations and handle the aftermath. I'll take care of everything else." Roy interrupted.

"Understood. That makes things easier for us."

The call ended with a soft beep. Roy lowered his phone, announcing the end of the conversation and the beginning of his "performance."

Before taking action, he glanced back at the group waiting for him. With a sly smile, he slid a finger across his temple, activating his circuits.

Then, with a sharp whoosh, the rooftop was left with only the faint trace of his silhouette and the shattered remnants of the cement beneath his feet.

Enveloped in a radiant aura of magical energy, Roy shot into the sky like a comet, moving at superhuman speed across the cityscape.

That day, every Dead Apostle lurking in Misaki Town experienced a profound sense of terror.

As his figure disappeared into the horizon, Shiki Ryougi massaged her temples with two fingers, her tone tinged with disbelief as she asked Touko, "Did he just… take off? And break the sound barrier in the process?"

"…Probably." Touko replied after a brief pause. Though her heart wasn't exactly calm, she had seen enough to maintain her composure better than Shiki.

She glanced in the direction Roy had gone, then at Aoko, shaking her head in mild irritation. "Seriously, these magicians are all freaks."

While the others were still marveling at Roy's sudden ascent, Arcueid had already decided to join the chase in her own way.

Using the power of her Reality Marble, she manifested wings like those of a bird, taking to the sky as she called out, "Wait for me, Roy! You're not doing something this fun without me!"

Aoko and Shiki exchanged glances as Arcueid flew off. Aoko shrugged lightly. "Don't look at me; there's no way I can keep up with them."

Though she could enhance her speed with magical energy, achieving vertical takeoff like that was entirely out of her league.

...

In a corner of Misaki Town.

High above the city, a blinding streak of white light flashed across the sky. The pressure from its passage caused flags to ripple violently and signboards to sway precariously.

In the distance, something... or someone... was rapidly approaching.

With a thunderous bang, Roy executed a forceful landing, using gravity to amplify his momentum as he kicked open the door of a single apartment.

"FBI Open up! We gonna checking the water meters!"

Sensing the presence of a Dead Apostle below, Roy wasted no time. He was here to purge these creatures, and hesitation wasn't on the agenda.

The door splintered open, revealing the scene within.

In the spacious entryway, a man who had transformed into a Dead Apostle knelt over a woman, his fangs buried in her neck.

Roy's gaze swept over them with cold detachment. The woman's pallor was ghastly, her limbs stiff and lifeless... a single glance was enough to confirm that she was already dead.

The Dead Apostle, startled by Roy's sudden intrusion, recoiled in terror. But Roy was unmoved. He strode into the entryway with steady steps, his demeanor calm, though a flicker of pity glimmered in his eyes.

Looking at the wretched man before him... once human, now reduced to a bloodthirsty monster... Roy felt a twinge of sorrow.

When this man regained his humanity, if only briefly, and saw his wife's lifeless body at his feet, the despair would surely be unbearable. Roy mourned the cruel fate that awaited him.

The man bore no fault; his slain family was equally innocent. The true villain was the one who had turned him into this abomination.

Roa… Your sins are unforgivable.

Roy's resentment for the elusive mastermind grew deeper.

However, the man's fear quickly gave way to primal instincts. The presence of such a potent source of magic awakened a ravenous hunger within him.

His twisted form licked the blood from his lips with an unnaturally long tongue, and his hollow eyes burned with animalistic desire.

Then he lunged, moving at an inhuman speed toward Roy, intent on sinking his fangs into fresh prey.

But all he met was Roy's impassive gaze.

"Rest in peace."

With a flick of his sleeve, several enchanted Black Keys shot forth, piercing the Dead Apostle's skull and limbs. The man's body convulsed violently as flames engulfed him, his very soul sizzling away in white smoke.

Before he could comprehend what had happened, his body was pinned to the wall, purified by the holy properties of the blades.

This was the first one.

Roy cast a dispassionate glance at the pile of ashes that had once been the man's body. Without joy or sorrow, he turned and headed for his next target.

As he left, he didn't neglect to conjure flames, setting the lifeless woman's body alight to prevent her from being reanimated as a Dead Apostle.

There was no time to mourn the dead.

The priority was to eliminate every last one of these Dead Apostles, halting their unchecked infection. Only then could he confront the true perpetrator and bring this nightmare to an end.

After a brief moment of reflection, a burst of white flame erupted from the apartment balcony. Roy ascended into the sky, racing toward the next marked location.

Shortly after his departure, reinforcements from the Tohno family and the Church arrived at the scene, thoroughly disposing of any remaining traces of the Dead Apostle and his victim.

...

"The ninth one."

With practiced efficiency, Roy pinned the approaching Dead Apostle to the ground and obliterated it with a blast of magical energy. Glancing at his phone, he read the message from Akiha.

"This is the last location."

He had scoured all the spots provided by Akiha and Alice.

Of the twelve locations listed, two were decoys, and by the time he reached another, it was deserted, leaving no trace of the target.

The remaining nine Dead Apostles had been vanquished within two hours.

This gave him a moment of respite. In that short span of time, Roy had traversed the entirety of Misaki Town, eliminating most of the rogue Dead Apostles. He didn't even count the newly turned low-level vampires and ghouls.

His efficiency was so staggering it would put seasoned Executors of the Church to shame.

Thousands of magical circuits coursed through his body, generating an aura of devastating magical flames. Enhanced to an almost supernatural degree, his body became a force of nature, allowing him to streak across the skies of Misaki Town like a comet, hunting his prey with relentless precision.

For any Dead Apostle he located, death was inevitable.

Now seated on the sofa of a small Western-style mansion... whose former owner he had just purified... Roy used his phone to report his progress and share the peculiar pattern he had uncovered.

After two hours of relentless pursuit, he noticed that the Dead Apostles he had eliminated were not chosen at random.

Each one had held a notable position in society, spanning various key sectors of Misaki Town's infrastructure.

Economy. Judiciary. Transportation. Healthcare.

For instance: the manager of a transportation company, a prominent bank director, even members of the police force... a full-spectrum service of societal roles.

The mastermind's intentions were becoming clear.

By turning influential figures in the city into his thralls and controlling them, he sought to dominate Misaki Town more effectively. Such a calculated plan aligned perfectly with what Arcueid had described as Roa's modus operandi.

Roa favored selecting hosts with exceptional capabilities from powerful local families, leveraging their influence to expand his control and establish dominion over key regions.

The emergence of these Dead Apostles strongly indicated that Roa had already begun manipulating Misaki Town from the shadows.

Still, his audacity was astonishing. To make his move in a city governed by the Tohno Family, the Magician of the Fifth Magic, and the Pure Witch?

If Aoko were to learn of Roa's true intentions, she would undoubtedly be furious. This wasn't mere provocation... it was a blatant slap to the face of the Aozaki family.

Knowing this, Roy had thoughtfully shared his findings with everyone involved.

Sure enough, on the other side of the city, Aoko's fury erupted when she read Roy's message, while Touko laughed uncontrollably, clearly amused.

Touko almost seemed to relish the idea of someone wresting control of Misaki Town from her "foolish" sister.

However, Roy also sensed something unusual during this mission.

Roa was a cunning elder vampire who had survived countless ages... his intellect was not to be underestimated. Why, then, was he recklessly expanding his network of thralls so openly?

Had he not realized that the city's leyline administrator, the Magician of the Fifth Magic, Aoko Aozaki, had returned? Or was he unafraid of attracting Arcueid's wrath?

Even as one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, Roa could not dismiss the threat posed by a Magician of Aoko's caliber. The title of Magician of the Fifth Magic carried immense weight across the magical community worldwide.

If it were just Arcueid, Roa's actions might have been explained as taking advantage of her weakened state.

But that wasn't the case. The death of Nrvnqsr Chaos should have served as a stark warning to Roa, proving that even a gravely injured Arcueid, alongside her allies, still possessed the strength to annihilate one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.

And yet, Roa persisted.

Roy considered two possibilities.

First, Roa might have developed a means of countering Arcueid, emboldening him to act so brazenly.

Second, he might have allied with someone new and was setting a trap to lure his enemies into a decisive ambush.

Roy deemed the latter more likely. From Arcueid's descriptions, he had gained a deep understanding of Roa's insidious nature.

If the first scenario were true, it would be manageable. But if the second were correct, things could become far more complicated. Unfortunately, despite his deductions, Roy still couldn't pinpoint Roa's whereabouts, even knowing he was currently using SHIKI Tohno as his host.

Neither Song of Sixpence nor the detection magecraft Roy crafted from SHIKI's residual traces had yielded any results.

"If only Merlin were here…" Roy mused, feeling a pang of frustration toward his old friend and occasional "tool."

Of all the times to disappear, why now?

But self-pity would get him nowhere. He had another visitor to attend to... and it seemed this one wouldn't be easy to deal with.

"You've hidden for so long, and yet you still refuse to show yourself?"

Whoosh!

Roy's sharp gaze flicked toward a shadowy corner. With a sudden flick of his wrist, several enchanted Black Keys sliced through the air, hurtling toward their target with unerring precision.

The sound of blades cutting through the darkness startled the hidden figure, who barely managed to deflect the attack with a sweeping motion of their long sleeve.

Clang!

To Roy's surprise, the Black Keys failed to pierce the fabric, rebounding instead.

"So, you can block them?" Roy muttered, his expression unchanging. "It seems I've caught a big fish."

Was it one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors?

No, not yet certain. But now that they had shown themselves, there would be no escape.

In an instant, Roy vanished, the initial Black Key attack revealed to be a feint. His true strike came in the form of a devastating punch, obliterating both the shadowy figure and half the wall behind them.

Amid the debris and pressure of the blast, the figure that emerged was... Merem Solomon.

You've got to be kidding me! How did he find me?!

Caught off guard by Roy's precise attack, Merem was momentarily stunned.

He had prepared thoroughly, using mystic codes to suppress his presence, yet Roy had still uncovered him.

How absurd is this guy's perception?!

But there was no time for Merem to process his shock. The next wave of attacks was already underway.

Crack!

Roy's hand ignited with black flames, their ominous glow flashing through the air.

In a heartbeat, he harnessed the near-limitless magical energy within his body, channeling it into a roaring inferno that burned deep within his soul.

Raising a finger, he condensed the magic into a dark crimson sphere, its energy surging with terrifying intensity as it grew larger.

With a simple flick, Roy unleashed the massive blast.

"Mana Discharge - Half Power."

The crimson torrent engulfed Merem Solomon, consuming him in a devastating maelstrom of magical destruction.

___

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