Act 3: A Killing Spree in the Waxing Moon's Cycle

You're right. This does look like the magecraft workshop.

But that doesn't explain why the wall to the house next door has been torn down...

What's the problem? It's not as though anyone was living there.

(I wonder... Should I fix it?)

(No... What would be the point? This isn't the Edo I know.)

I knew it. This Singularity is recreating the Edo from back then...

The last time the Waxing Moon Ritual was held.

Singularity...

Think of it as another, separate Edo that's been warped by an anomaly.

I see. That would explain why I haven't seen any other people here.

That's right. I didn't see Kayayour sister anywhere, either.

...Surely you haven't forgotten her too, have you?

Of course not. She's my sister. I'd never forget her.

But I'm glad she's not here. I wouldn't want her in an Edo crawling with monsters and demons.

On that, I fully agree.

But I can't say the same for Gramps. We're definitely going to need him here.

Hey! Gramps Red! Are you here!?

It is getting to be late in the morning! If you're still sleeping, it is past time to wake up!

...Ugh, keep it down, will you?

You don't have to shout. I can hear you just fine.

Good grief. You haven't changed a bit, Saber.

Haha! So you still remember me, Gramps!

...Unlike a certain insensitive clod.

...

？！

Hmm... And who might this youngster be?

Gramps, this is Fujimaru. We've decided to work together.

Fujimaru, this is the Crimson Codex.

My adoptive father, Miyamoto Musashi, left him to me. He's the one who taught me magecraft.

Whoa, a talking grimoire! You don't see that every day!

Maybe it's a Mystic Code that's been given a pseudo-personality, like Gray's Add.

Oh? ...I see. You're using magecraft to communicate over a great distance.

It's a lot like the Mystic Code Zheng Chenggong used.

Zheng Chenggong? As in, Koxinga? You mean he was involved with this Waxing Moon Ritual, too?

Given the time frame, he couldn't have been summoned as a Heroic Spirit...

So does that mean he was one of the Masters?

Hm? Yes, that's right. He was a very talented man, in many ways.

...Sounds like you remember this Ritual stuff then, Gramps.

Hmm... And you sound as though you're mixed up in some kind of trouble yet again, Iori.

Very well then. Tell me what's going on here.

...I see. A Singularity that's distorting the world...and another Waxing Moon Ritual.

All I know for sure is that there's something strange about this Edo. In fact, everything seems strange here.

You said you had trouble sensing the other Servants' unique auras, yes?

Correct. Their...scent, seems to be everywhere.

That was never the case during the last Ritual.

So that's what's been bothering you, huh? Servants can often vaguely sense one another's presence, even if not precise location.

If that's proving difficult for you, it may be a sign there's something else unique about this Singularity.

Hmm. I see.

Dammit... What is happening to Edo?

There's nobody else here. This whole Edo is fake.

But if we don't do something about this Singularity thing, it'll lead to disaster for the real Edo.

Do I have that all right?

Yeah, that's what it boils down to. Even minute Singularities will affect humanity itself if left alone.

And the Edo you know is surely no exception.

I see.

That's terrible. I have to stop Shousetsu before that happens.

...

How much do you remember about the Ritual, Gramps?

Everything, of course.

Including how valiantly you and Iori fought to win it, Saber.

However, in your case, Iori, when it comes to knowing all the Ritual's intricacies...

...I'm unsure as to whether you should or not.

Come on, give it to me straight.

And why do you think that, anyway? Just tell us what you know already, Gramps.

Not so fast. You may not be the same Miyamoto Iori I know.

Uh, what? You think I'm an imposter or something?

That's certainly possible...but no, that isn't what I meant.

You remember Lady Musashi, don't you, Saber?

Hm? What about her?

My master? A lady?

？！

I'm talking about Takao Dayu's Servant, Berserker.

She was the real Miyamoto Musashi, but from a world where she was born a woman.

？！

Musashi was here!?

Yikes! Don't scare me like that!

What!? What is it!? Do you people know her, too!?

Lady Musashi...

...I see. So a female version of my master really does exist.

I can hardly believe it, either.

Sure, it's hardly surprising that she of all people would end up in all kinds of worlds, but even so.

？！

Well...that complicates things.

All right! Let's start over from the beginning!

The Waxing Moon Ritual was run by the Tsuchimikado clan, a family of onmyouji.

It is a battle to the death between seven Masters and seven Heroic Spirits for control of a wish granter called the Waxing Moon.

Yeah, we've heard all that. It's basically a Holy Grail War in everything but name.

(Although...there are no records of a Holy Grail War ever taking place in Japan in the Keian period.)

(Maybe it took place as part of the Pruning Theoretical Phenomenon.)

(...Which makes me wonder if it has anything to do with Miyamoto Musashi, and Shimousa...)

The Waxing Moon itself chose the seven Masters and Servants who fought in its Ritual.

Needless to say, the Master of Saber was Miyamoto Iori there.

And I was that Saber. Good thing for Iori too, weak as he is.

...You don't hold anything back, huh.

Yui Shousetsu was the Master of Rider. She is both a military scholar and a talented mage.

There's no one better than her at taking control of Spirit Fonts. I don't relish the prospect of facing her again.

The Master of Lancer was a man named Chiemon. I don't know much about him except that he's dangerous and vindictive.

And for whatever reason, Iori, he considers you his archrival.

Be careful, Iori. Don't listen to his lies.

The Master of Caster was Tsuchimikado, the same man overseeing the Ritual.

He should have been content in his overseer role, but instead, he secretly plotted to use the Ritual to his own advantage.

I see. Sounds like a bookie betting on the house.

I can't believe Tsuchimikado is still so fixated on the Waxing Moon, even in death.

At least I've put an end to his delusions. He won't lose his way again.

The Master of Archer was Zheng Chenggong, a great warrior from a far-off kingdom.

The Master of Assassin was a European mage named Dorothea Coyett.

(Coyett? First Zheng Chenggong, now her...)

(Could she be descended from Fredrik Coyett? If so, it's amazing they both had such a strong aptitude for magecraft.)

(Talk about ironic... Or maybe it just goes to show that fate works in mysterious ways.)

And finally, there was Takao Dayu, one of the three great courtesans of Edo. She was the Master of Lady Miyamoto Musashi, who was summoned as a Berserker.

My master as a woman, huh? It's hard to imagine, but I guess I could see it.

Exactly, Iori. Exactly.

Hm? What are you talking about, Gramps?

This Miyamoto Musashi came here from another world we know nothing about.

And so it is possible that you yourself are a Miyamoto Iori from a world other than the one we know.

Huh!? Gramps, are you saying

Why have you lost your memories? And your Command Spells?

In fact, I can think of another possibility.

Maybe you're a Miyamoto Iori from a time before the Waxing Moon Ritual took place.

...I see. That would explain it.

...

But of course, these are all just possibilities.

Still, they do say that events in a Singularity have at least some effect on the original world.

Perhaps if I told you the details of this Ritual, we might inadvertently invite misfortune.

I guess that's why they say ignorance is bliss! Ho, ho, ho!

...Didn't you just finish giving me all the details?

I had to.

After all, even learning all this, you're still going to try and stop the Ritual, right?

...Yeah. You're right about that.

？！

Don't worry. I promised I'd help you, and I will.

Besides, it's just plain wrong to see a disaster happening right in front of you and do nothing.

Yes, well, as I said earlier, these are strictly possibilities. I wouldn't worry about them too much.

Still, it's better that you don't know how the last Ritual ended...especially as regards your own fate.

...My own fate.

That includes details like whether you survived or lost... Who you let live or killed...

Who the Waxing Moon eventually ended up with... Things of that sort.

So don't you let anything slip either, Saber.

...Understood.

Still, let me just say this, Iori.

What? Just say it, Gramps.

You and Saber fought well. For that...I commend you.

...

Not really sure how to react to getting praised for something I don't remember doing, but...

...thanks, Gramps.

Ho, ho, ho.

Now, that just leaves the question of what to do next...

Oh, that's easy!

Oh?

We have breakfast! Right, Iori!?

...Huh?

We need piping hot bowls of rice! And some miso soup too, of course!

You can't fight on an empty stomach, now, can you? So go on! Get cooking!

(Munch, munch)

Ahh, there really is nothing like rice.

It's so good! So good!

(Munch, munch) (Munch, munch)

And of course, you can't forget the miso soup. It goes perfectly with rice!

It's so good! So, so good!

Ho, ho! I see you still enjoy eating as much as ever!

It's fine. There was enough to go around.

...

I wonder... Do the things in this house still count as my property, even in a Singularity...?

Yeah? I'm glad you like it.

Feels weird to be eating food from another world, though. Even if it is from my own pantry.

？！

...This isn't like one of those things where you can never return after eating the food of the dead, is it?

...Right. Good point. Don't mind me. I just feel weird about this.

(Munch, munch) (...Gulp)

This is still your house, right, Iori?

Then there's nothing to worry about. Just try to relax for once.

Hm?

Demonic Beasts? As in, those unearthly creatures?

I remember Gramps once told me they're a kind of monster.

...I guess you're a lot more daring than you look.

？！

(...It's nice seeing Saber eating so happily.)

Mmm, delicious!

Uh... Excuse me? May we say something now?

I think we need to discuss our next course of action.

Our top priority is stopping Yui Shousetsu. However

Rider must have stored up a vast amount of telluric energy to be that strong.

That's just the name we came up with for magical energy drawn from Spirit Fonts.

By now, Shousetsu has probably seized Spirit Fonts all across Edo and collected an enormous amount of telluric energy.

We can't win in a direct confrontation. At least, not now.

Spirit Fonts... Those must be places where it is easy to acquire magical energy.

Exactly! Or at least, that's what we call it.

Hmm, I see.

So if Yui Shousetsu has seized Spirit Fonts, and therefore leylines, all around Edo, that's going to be a problem.

It would definitely explain why Minamoto-no-Raikou was so strong. Definitely not someone I want to face in a straight fight.

？！

So what do we do, Gramps?

We track down our own Spirit Fonts and gather telluric energy for ourselves, of course. Take a look at this.

It looks like a map of Edo.

Now we just do this, and... Ta-da!

？！

We're over here, near Asakusa, one of this area's larger Spirit Fonts.

We'll use Asakusa as our base to connect other nearby Spirit Fonts and leylines. This will give us plenty of telluric energy.

It looks like the Spirit Fonts closest to Asakusa are Okachimachi, Ueno, Kanda...

And here.

Yoshiwara.

That's Takao Dayu's home base. She's the Master of Berserker...Lady Musashi.

...My master's Master, huh.

Just because we saw Yui and Chiemon doesn't mean Takao will be here, too.

That being said...

We can't ignore the possibility that a Master could have set up camp nearby.

Exactly.

...Then it's settled.

Now, we may run into more interference like we did last night, so we should try to keep any outside comms to a minimum.

Fujimaru, you're in charge. Can you handle it?

？！

Of course, Senpai! I'll do my best to keep supporting you!

Looks like we're all on the same page. Let's get to work then.

Remember, this Edo is crawling with monsters, and there's no telling when Shousetsu or Chiemon might attack, either.

So be careful and watch your step out there. Got that, Iori!?