"Taiga-sensei! What about our club activities?"
"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Fujimura-sensei. And as for club activities, there's nothing we can do; they'll just have to be scaled back for now."
***
Lunch break.
Wayland returned to the rooftop once more.
"Eresh-chan, any luck finding the Servant?"
["No. This bounded field is acting as a shroud, completely masking her presence."]
"Shinji Matou... the moment he gets his hands on the Book of the False Attendant, he lets it go straight to his head."
The Book of the False Attendant was a Mystic Code created by Sakura Matou using her Command Spells. It allowed her to transfer control of Rider,Medusa,to Shinji.
In reality, the prana supply still came from Sakura. The Book of the False Attendant functioned more as a specialized Mystic Code that allowed Shinji, who possessed no magical circuits of his own, to exert a limited degree of control over a Servant.
Wayland's eyes glowed with a faint light. Under his mana-enhanced vision, the entire school appeared to be drenched in a deep, bloody red.
It looked like a pulsing, organic heart.
A massive, malevolent concentration of elemental energy was converging in the air above the campus.
This was the effect of Blood Fort Andromeda,one of Medusa's Noble Phantasms, or rather, a specialized bounded field associated with it.
Its function was simple: to harvest the lifeblood of any humans caught within its boundaries.
For Medusa, who possessed traits of a blood-drinking species, harvesting lifeforce was the most efficient,and sweetest,method of replenishing her prana.
However, this particular bounded field was less effective against magi. It wasn't designed for combat; its sole purpose was the efficient collection of blood.
"It seems to have only just been deployed. For now, it's only siphoning off a small amount of stamina; it hasn't reached the point where it's life-threatening. But the elemental density is too high... I can't pinpoint Medusa's exact location."
Wayland thought about Shinji Matou's absence from school today and narrowed his eyes. 'Should I just go straight to his house? No, he almost certainly won't be there. As a Master with zero magical talent who finally got what he's always dreamed of, he's definitely out there showing off.'
In the original timeline, his target had been Ayako Mitsuzuri. By joining the Archery club, Wayland had managed to kill two birds with one stone, though his initial plan had been to keep an eye on Sakura.
But waiting for events to unfold as they 'should' was risky. Now that Wayland had essentially replaced Cu Chulainn, there was no guarantee the story would follow the original script. He certainly wasn't about to play the villain himself.
He tilted his head slightly, dismissing his mana-vision, and settled into deep thought.
If he needed a villain, who was better suited for the role than Shinji Matou?
But to achieve his goal, he would need to find a way to manipulate the situation.
Wayland spent the rest of the day considering his options.
Because of the school's new regulations, very few people remained on campus after classes ended.
Wayland didn't walk home with Shirou, who had mentioned he needed to head to a part-time job in the neighboring district.
["Master, it's Archer."]
Ereshkigal's warning made Wayland glance back.
Standing on the same rooftop where he had spent his lunch break were two figures. They didn't seem to notice him.
Ereshkigal had masked Wayland's presence along with her own.
Unless someone was looking for them specifically, they were virtually invisible.
'They must be checking the bounded field.'
Wayland shook his head. 'For a magus of Rin Tohsaka's caliber, a bounded field like this is practically screaming its existence. To say nothing of Archer from the future.'
He had no intention of provoking them. He turned and began walking toward the residential district.
As the skyscraper from the previous night came into view, a thick column of smoke billowed into the sky, accompanied by the thunderous roar of an explosion.
'You guys again?'
'A gas explosion?'
'No.'
Wayland took a deep breath, quickly ducking into a deserted alleyway and sprinting toward the skyscraper.
His senses told him that the surrounding area was already saturated with a massive amount of prana.
The people involved in this were being so blatant that they could have been thrown into the Department of Policies' dungeons a thousand times over.
They were completely ignoring the First Principle of magi.
If this continued, it would only be a matter of time before Asuka was caught in the crossfire.
***
The Silence
The skyscraper's electrical systems were still miraculously functional.
As Wayland entered through the automatic revolving doors, he was immediately hit by a faint, cloying scent.
A magical potion.
It wouldn't have much of an effect on a magus, but it was more than enough to render an ordinary human unconscious.
The higher he climbed, the denser the pale purple mist became. The scent grew overpowering, reminiscent of gardenias in full bloom.
It felt like a sensory overload.
Wayland casually cast a shielding spell, filtering the air around him.
["Everyone here has lost consciousness. Their lives aren't in danger yet, but their lifeblood is being drained,most of it is being converted directly into prana."]
Ereshkigal appeared by Wayland's side, having already finished a quick sweep of the floors.
"A common tactic for Servants."
Wayland wasn't surprised. Maintaining a Servant's manifestation and combat capabilities required an immense amount of prana. If they were paired with a Master who wasn't a magus,or at least a competent one,they would often resort to these methods.
"This technique is far more sophisticated than anything Medusa is capable of. It's likely Caster... Medea. An Age of Gods magus."
Wayland flicked his wrist, the crimson thorn-spear appearing in his hand. He gave it a sharp whirl, dispersing the mist in front of him.
["The highest concentration of prana is on the fifteenth floor,"] Ereshkigal reported, her senses reaching further than his. ["But there's no sign of Medea. She may have already left, or she could be hiding her presence. With her mastery of Age of Gods magecraft, it wouldn't be difficult for her."]
"Her Noble Phantasm is dangerous. If you find her, don't hold back."
Wayland sprinted up the stairwell, the combined enhancements of his Dragon Armor and the Blessing of the Underworld making him even faster than the elevators.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]