Fate: How About a New Savior?

"Stars, Cosmos, Gods, Animus, Hollow, Void, Anima, Animusphere..."

On the rooftop of Homurahara Academy, Olga Marie knelt within a circular magic circle, softly chanting as she inscribed Runes onto pebbles she'd picked up.

Shiomi's voice came from behind her.

"So this is the spell passed down through generations of the Animusphere line?"

Olga Marie flinched, then gave a small nod. "That's right. It combines modern Rune magecraft with Animusphere's celestial magecraft. It works as a basic, expendable Mystic Code."

"You came up with this yourself?" Shiomi crouched beside her, picking up a pebble etched with Runes for a closer look.

"More or less. My father had no interest in any magical theory outside of the Animusphere tradition, and Rune magecraft is really just a revival of the magecraft foundation," Olga Marie said, pausing her work. "It was my tutor who encouraged me to broaden my horizons, so I picked up a little of it."

Shiomi recalled, "It was back on the Mystic Eyes Collection Train—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

Though he hadn't been there himself, he had read the report.

Olga Marie's tutor, Trisha Fellows, had died aboard the Mystic Eyes Collection Train. She was one of the rare Imaginary Numbers Magi—strict in her lessons, but caring toward Olga outside them. Her death had left Olga Marie depressed for a long time.

After Sakura joined Chaldea, she quickly gained Olga Marie's trust. No doubt the fact that Sakura was also an Imaginary Numbers Magus played a part.

"Yeah."

It had been ten years, and though Olga Marie still felt a pang of sadness when she remembered it, she no longer avoided the topic—at least not with people like Shiomi-sensei.

"Aren't you going to rest? You were complaining about your feet hurting the whole way here, but you barely rested before running up to the roof to start all this," Shiomi asked.

"This kind of thing isn't that tiring," Olga Marie muttered, blushing as she explained, awkwardly avoiding his gaze.

"But the rooftop's really exposed. What if Archer, the one watching over Fuyuki, spots you and starts sniping from above?" Shiomi pressed.

Olga Marie's expression changed immediately. She jumped to her feet, clearly ready to find a more hidden spot.

"Relax, I was just giving an example," Shiomi said, realizing he'd taken the teasing a bit too far. "I already set up a barrier when we got to the school. Archer's attacks won't break through that easily. Even if an arrow had come just now, you'd have had time to dodge."

Realizing he'd just been messing with her, Olga Marie huffed and returned to the circle, crouching back down. "You're meaner than I thought, Shiomi-sensei... I thought you were completely different from Romani."

"What about Romani?" Shiomi asked, curious.

"Nothing really. That guy just makes the atmosphere too relaxed, even when things are tense. That's why I didn't let him be around for the Spiritron Transfer," Olga Marie explained.

"And that's how he avoided getting caught in the blast," Shiomi chuckled, then spoke more seriously. "Honestly, you're just too wound up. Sure, the work at Chaldea is important, but if you keep pushing yourself like this, you'll burn out."

Olga Marie's gaze fell to the Rune stone at her feet, her expression softening.

"But I'm not like my father. I'm still young. If I don't give it everything I've got—twice as much as anyone else—I'll never earn anyone's respect…"

And the first Spiritron Transfer had already ended in disaster. Aside from Ritsuka, who she'd kicked out of the meeting, all forty-seven Masters had been caught in the explosion inside the coffins. Their fate was still unknown.

Including Shiomi in front of her...

"You've already done more than enough." Shiomi sighed, reaching out to gently ruffle her hair. "Whether it's as the new head of Animusphere or the new director of Chaldea, you're doing great. In my eyes, you're no less capable than your father, Marisbury."

"Really?" Olga Marie looked at him in surprise.

"Of course it's true—unless you think I'm as unreliable as Romani," Shiomi said with a faint smile.

A shimmer welled up at the corners of Olga Marie's eyes.

She looked like someone lost at sea who had finally found a piece of driftwood to cling to. This girl, still a few years younger than Caren, bowed her head slightly and wiped her eyes.

"Thank you, Mr. Shiomi..."

She truly meant it.

Because he was the first person to ever praise her.

Everyone around her—whether her father, Trisha, or the Magi of the Clock Tower—had expectations of her at the level of a Lord. None of them ever judged her by the standards of an ordinary Magus, let alone praised her.

"But seriously though, while the idea of combining celestial magecraft with Rune magecraft is solid, these Rune stones... the craftsmanship's a little rough." Shiomi pinched one between his fingers, making a face.

Realizing he was just teasing to lighten the mood, Olga Marie crossed her arms and looked away.

"Can't be helped. I don't specialize in Rune magecraft. I'm not like you—you trained under Touko Aozaki and even came into contact with the Primordial Runes."

"Still, it's way better than having nothing. Originally, this Singularity was supposed to be handled by a group of Masters. Now that things have turned out like this, and with Chaldea's condition still unknown, thinking up this plan on short notice was a smart move." He looked into her eyes. "Can you use Animusphere's celestial magecraft?"

"If you give me a few days to prepare, I can manage," Olga Marie said. "Or if someone here could help adjust my magic circuits like Mr. Melvin Weins, that'd speed things up."

Shiomi raised his eyebrows. "Then we're out of luck. I'm more of a hands-on type. My grasp of magecraft theory is limited to refining my own experience. As for tuning magic circuits, that's completely out of my league."

More importantly, Saber was guarding the Great Cave of Mount Enzou, where the Greater Grail was located. Even if celestial magecraft could be deployed, there wouldn't be enough room to use it effectively—and it might even risk collapsing the entire cave.

"But you're not just skilled in magecraft—you're also a Carrier. Your combat ability's on par with a Servant. You even took down Lancer in one strike." Olga Marie looked at him with hopeful eyes. "So we don't have to worry about Saber and Archer, right?"

"That's how it is... but hearing it said out loud even makes me feel a bit of pressure," he replied, flicking her forehead. "Finish your prep, then get some rest. We head for Mount Enzou in one hour."

"Understood."

Olga Marie covered her forehead, grumbling—but there was a smile on her face.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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