As a so-called genius student and a privileged individual at school, it wasn't surprising that he didn't attend classes. It was expected of a genius.
After spending so ti in the principal's office and chatting casually with the principal, Shinji left the school and headed to the altar located on Mount Enzou. Spending the first day at ho with his family was acceptable, but not visiting his girlfriend on the second day was simply inexcusable.
Shinji was already very familiar with the road to the altar. He casually hailed a taxi to the foot of the mountain. Walking along the path, about a third of the way up, he veered off the trail and entered the forest on the hillside. After passing through two bounded fields, he ca to a naturally ford cave. This was the altar where the Greater Grail had been slumbering for over two hundred years, and where Justeaze and Touko were.
As soon as he entered the cave, Katou, cloaked in the Hades Cloak, appeared and bowed to Shinji.
Shinji smiled and waved, signaling her to continue her vigilance. With her around, there was no need to worry about the safety of Touko and Justeaze.
Katou did not imdiately return to her stealth state but instead hesitated and called out, "Master Shinji."
Shinji stopped in his tracks.
"Um, Miss Justeaze and Master..."
"What about them?"
"You'll understand when you go inside."
Hearing this, Shinji quickened his pace and entered the cave.
The entrance to the cave was extrely narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through. A slight misstep would cause one to brush against the rocky walls. However, after walking a short distance along the dark and narrow passage, the scenery suddenly changed.
The narrow, cramped path opened up into a wide, spacious passage. The darkness that had swallowed up vision gradually receded in the eerie green glow.
The light ca from so kind of glowing moss, dotting the ground and walls, emitting an abnormal vitality.
Yes, abnormal.
The vitality was so intense that it overflowed, as if the air was celebrating the birth of life.
This overwhelming vitality, transforming into visible streams of magical energy, was almost nauseating.
Sensing this surge of life energy, Shinji knew that the Greater Grail had indeed been activated. The last ti he was here, while the life energy was dense, it didn't have this near-divine level of fullness.
Following the flow of magical energy upstream, Shinji walked along the path of green life. As his field of vision broadened, he saw it.
This was no longer a cavern, but a desolate land—an underground space with a diater exceeding two kiloters. This was the Otherworld constructed by Nagato Tohsaka, Zouken Matou, and the previous head of the Einzbern family.
At the far end, there was a rock resembling a wall. This was both the beginning and the end of this war—a system that had been operating for two hundred years.
The light illuminating the wasteland was the magical energy leaking from there, from the massive rock housing the Greater Grail, nurturing the Third Magic.
At its center, sothing was stirring. Despite the overwhelming life force it emitted, it gave off an ominous feeling. Though still dormant beneath the altar, it wouldn't be long before it materialized and appeared in the real world.
"Angra Mainyu..."
Sensing this rare stir, Shinji let out a cold snort. Without hesitation, he absorbed the dense magical energy in the air, using it to increase his speed. In less than a minute, he crossed the vast underground space and ascended the altar.
At the heart of the altar, where the stirrings were strongest, orange and white figures stood facing each other.
Aozaki Touko spread her arms, blocking Justeaze, "No, you can't go. This thing is too dangerous."
"It's okay. I ca from here. This was once my body."
Justeaze gently shook her head, grasping Touko's arm.
"Huh?"
Touko, a typical mystic, rarely shared her secrets and seldom probed into others'. Despite knowing Justeaze for so long, this was the first ti she heard about Justeaze's origins.
But after all, Touko was Grand Magus, standing at the pinnacle of magus, well-inford and resilient. Her surprise lasted only a brief mont before she regained her determination.
"It's still a no. The force within that is filled with death and hatred... Maybe it was your body once, but it no longer belongs to you. If you go in now, you'll be polluted, maybe even consud."
"But—"
"No 'buts.'"
Shinji appeared beside the two.
"Did you forget how close you ca to having your spirit origin collapse ten years ago?"
"Shinji..."
Justeaze trembled.
"You're just in ti," Touko said with a smile.
"What happened? What made you think of doing sothing like this?" Shinji asked.
Touko replied, "This morning, the Greater Grail exhibited another abnormal fluctuation. We spent half the day analyzing it but couldn't figure out what was wrong. Justeaze got a little anxious and wanted to check it out herself."
"Justeaze," Shinji's expression darkened, "Did you forget what you told before? You told not to worry, that it was okay if we failed this ti, there would be a next ti, and the ti after that. But what about you?"
"I... I was afraid sothing irreversible might happen to the Greater Grail, so... Also, I didn't want to fail."
The more she spoke, the weaker Justeaze's voice beca. Eventually, she released Touko's arm and lowered her head.
Seeing her like this, Shinji softened his tone, "I don't want to fail either, but I don't want to lose you even more. You're far more important to than the Greater Grail. If the Greater Grail poses a threat to you, I'd rather destroy it, even if it ans facing down the Old Man of Jewels!"
"Shinji..."
Justeaze murmured.
"Ara~," Touko chuckled, "Why go to such lengths?"
"I never want to feel the pain of losing soone I love again. That feeling is unbearable—Ah."
Shinji spoke without thinking, only realizing his slip after the words were out.
"Hmph, you've said it now. I've suspected sothing was going on between you two for a while," Touko teased.
"Touko, please stop," Justeaze pleaded softly.
But Touko ignored her, continuing her mischievous grin, "Lovers, huh? Lovers."
"So what if we're lovers? Can't I have soone I love? Is it wrong to want to protect the one I love?"
Since Touko had exposed them, Shinji decided to throw caution to the wind and pulled Justeaze into his arms. Having grown up, the action no longer felt out of place.
"If I can't even protect the one I love, what kind of man am I?"
"You can, of course you can," Touko said, crossing her arms and pushing up her glasses with one hand.
"I just think you should share this sentint with the girls around you. I wonder how they would feel?"
Shinji fell silent.
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