Fate: Hero Simulator

[3rd POV]

Touko Aozaki was once a highly admired genius.

Of course, this doesn't mean she isn't one now—she is still a genius and has even earned the title of a Grand.

However, for someone who used to be called a "Witch of Destruction", the title of Grand seems quite ironic.

"Aoko, we used to have a good relationship, do you remember?"

As Touko fiddled with the box beside her, she asked without even turning her head.

After encountering Shinji, she began setting up the underground cavern in Mount Enzou.

This was her world, and she knew every inch of it, every intruder—no one could surprise her here.

Even if that intruder was a Magus.

"I remember. Back then, I was just an ordinary person who often came up the mountain to visit you. I would talk about things happening at school while you talk about your training in the mountains. Then I also saw how your vision began to deteriorate as you tried to inherit the magic, all of that. I saw it all with my own eyes."

Aoko didn't hide or hold back.

In this small world where only the two of them existed, the words that once felt too difficult to say could now be spoken without hesitation.

She could clearly see how much effort her older sister had put into inheriting the position of a magus, every sacrifice, every struggle, laid bare before her eyes.

If that incident had never happened, the two sisters probably could have remained on good terms forever.

"As expected, it would be best for Aoko to inherit the Aozaki family after all."

An old voice came from Touko's mouth.

It was the voice that changed both of their lives, the voice neither of them would ever forget in their lives.

It was a voice Touko had perfectly imitated.

It was their grandfather's voice.

"Aoko, my feelings toward you were never born from jealousy. You should understand that."

Jealousy?

If Aoko had been the choice for "successor" at the very beginning, then Touko would have simply offered her blessings, and there would never have been any jealousy.

"I understand."

Aoko understood all too well.

She knew how many expectations Touka had for her to inherit the magical legacy.

As the so-called Fifth-Magic successor, Touko had been introduced to countless people, with everyone knowing that the eldest daughter of the Aozaki family was destined to inherit the "Blue".

And in the end?

The magic was passed down to the younger sister while the elder sister was branded a murderer and forced to flee to the Clock Tower.

She was burdened with debt for survival and looked down upon by others for lacking a Magic Crest.

What kind of torment must that have been for the proud Touko Aozaki?

"But now, it's all over. Everything will end today. After today, everything between us will be settled. All of it... will be erased."

The boxes beside Touko began to shake.

A surge of immense magical energy erupted from the ley lines beneath them, and even though she had modified and reinforced the underground, it still trembled and shook under the force of this magic.

Kirei had miscalculated something.

He had correctly deduced that this wasn't a duel meant to end in death, but that didn't mean they wouldn't go all out.

Aoko, the current user of the Fifth Magic—someone who possessed the "Blue" Magic—was not someone who could die easily.

Touko, a Grand Puppeteer, had mastered the art of crafting bodies identical to her own and could even copy her memories.

If she were to die, a "backup" hidden somewhere in the world would awaken and live on as the new Touko Aozaki.

In short, both of them had achieved immortality in a sense.

This meant that their duel had no real limits from the very start aside from the restriction of not using magic.

"So this is what you've prepared? As expected, the whole thing about the stone tablet was just a rumor."

Aoko couldn't understand why her sister had spread such an unreliable rumor.

She couldn't possibly have done it just to annoy someone out of spite, right?

Still, she couldn't afford to let her guard down. The last time they met, Touko had summoned a two-thousand-year-old phantasmal species.

Who knew what she might bring out this time?

"Aoko, answer me one question. Are you an opponent of a Servants?"

A Servant is a lower version of a Heroic Spirit, a familiar that can be specially controlled by a magus.

"If you use magecraft, you should be able to defeat them."

Aoko pondered the question carefully before providing her answer.

"Then, if you don't use magecraft, the outcome would be uncertain, right?"

"That's true but can you summon one?"

Aoko was no longer the apprentice magus she used to be.

Even for the Holy Grail War, summoning a Servant required sixty years of preparation, not to mention the challenge of controlling them afterwards.

Touko had no way of completing a summoning in such a short period of time.

"I can't do that, but a lower version is still possible."

A mercury poured out from the box, and a clear holy sword slowly rose from inside.

These items looked strangely familiar to Aoko.

"That from the El-Melloi family?"

"This is Volumen Hydrargyrum. It's an interesting little toy. I didn't fully replicate the El-Melloi family's techniques, but the properties of mercury are still enough for me to make good use of it."

The mercury in front of Touko formed the shape of a tall knight. It held the holy sword in its hand as if a knight from ancient times had stepped into the world once more.

This holy sword had once been wielded by "Vortigern's Blade."

After the final rainy night—a battle where power, technique, and will transcended their peak, the "trace" of Lloyd inevitably remained on the blade.

"A thousand years have passed, yet the will on the blade has not fully dissipated. I really don't know who managed to preserve this sword with such methods. However, I've extracted it carefully and created an imitation personality, a lower version of a Heroic Spirit's weakened form."

There's no self-awareness, unable to release Noble Phantasms, and influenced by the environment.

These factors all add up to something that couldn't even be considered a Servant, but for Touko right now, it was more than enough.

This meant easier control, unable to unleash the Noble Phantasm, which means its destructive power is within a controllable range, as for not being able to leave this large cave...?

If she wanted to escape, Touko would absolutely not stop her and would instead mock her little sister.

"So, Aoko, are you ready?"

A set of magical garments was absorbed into the "knight's" body, and its aura rose once again.

For this battle, Touko had put everything she had on the line.

As for Aoko?

She didn't say a word.

The powerful and restless magecraft around her was the best answer.

They had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

To be continued...

...

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