Chapter 198 - 199: The Mirror World

When it came to the greatest obstacle—traversing parallel worlds—it ceased to be a problem in an instant, thanks to the help of the Magical Ruby, which was itself a creation of the Second Magic.

Even though Ruby's original function wasn't to carry others across parallel worlds—or even to traverse into the Mirror World, a special space that was neither a parallel world nor not one—it no longer mattered.

This was a task that should have required vast amounts of data calculation, along with constant updates based on the Second Magic, just to enable the Kaleidoscope staff (which was originally only set to locate parallel worlds) to define and traverse the multi-dimensional space located right here on the playground of Homurahara Academy. With the assistance of Ruby, that artificial spirit, it was no longer a problem.

"Adding an imaginary axis to the fifth measurement variable.

Reversal preparation, begin.

Existence of multi-dimensional space, confirmed.

Center coordinate fixed, complete."

It sounded like German, yet Emiya Shirou, who didn't understand the language well, could clearly grasp the meaning of these words. Like the machine-like self-check sounds of a mecha starting up in an anime, these transmissions came from within the Kaleidoscope staff under the brainwashing and commands Shirou had instilled.

What followed was a magical circle—yes, a magical circle, not a magecraft array—that began to draw and spread from the center point beneath the feet of Miyu Edelfelt, who was transformed while holding the staff.

As the original parameters within the Kaleidoscope staff were constantly modified by Ruby, and as it continuously locked onto the multi-dimensional space scanned before them, even Bazett and Saber, who were on alert nearby, could feel the vibration of the surrounding air. Or rather, the entire space covered by this magical circle began to distort and tremble!

"Are you kidding me? This is actually real...!"

Tohsaka Rin looked at everything around her in disbelief, including the magical circle beneath her feet. The Second Magic, which the Tohsaka family had never achieved before, now appeared before her in an unexpected way—it had come from her own hands, from her own possession; it was, in a sense, something of her own Tohsaka family line being recreated right before her eyes.

Because as the magnitude of this distortion and vibration grew greater, the surrounding buildings began to appear as clusters of double images. At that instant—

"Reflection path within a six-meter radius, formed." "Mirror World corridor within range... Inversion!"

With this voice from Ruby, the world was reversed!

"Coordinate, stable." "Space transfer, complete!"

They had crossed over. There was no doubt about it. It wasn't just the magical circle extending from the Kaleidoscope staff; it was the scenery around them. Although they were still at Homurahara Academy, and the school building and playground were familiar, that was where the familiarity ended.

The sky above their heads was divided into a grid of squares by colorful rays of light, emitting a chilling aura. Even the perimeter of the playground was different; where one would normally see the buildings outside the school, now only walls composed of that same grid pattern stood erect, surrounding them and locking them inside.

"The infinitely extending relative mirror, the world that is like the mirror itself—the Mirror World."

Ever since returning to the Type-Moon world, the [Pseudo-Atum]—which Shirou had never deactivated—and its right arm, which was currently grasping the magical energy of the Great Grail, kept sending a sensation to him: it was getting closer.

After Miyu traveled to his world and swapped places with the Great Grail in the Great Hollow of Mount Enzou, causing the Great Grail to travel from this world to another parallel world, this sense of perception regarding the Great Grail had become blurred. Now, it had returned to Shirou—to him, the victor of the Holy Grail War, who had already gained a total victory in the forced gamble between himself and [All the World's Evil].

"Since the Mirror World can indeed connect to another parallel world, allowing us to continue locating and heading toward the parallel world where Miyu originally resided, this is very pleasing. However..."

Trace on!

Shirou said, "...Could you please not get in our way right now?"

——[Pseudo-The World]!!

Like a beast without consciousness, a Servant who had materialized from a Class Card—having detected intruders in its territory by utilizing the Holy Grail War magic circuits rooted in Fuyuki City—was preparing to follow its battle instinct. It began to manifest, moving to attack in the direction of Shirou and his group.

But faster than her speed, a muscular golden figure suddenly appeared before her under the perspective of the Stand user—followed by a series of heavy punches so fast that time itself seemed to have stopped!

"Muda, muda, muda, muda, muda, muda! Muda!!"

Amidst this battle cry, the Servant, who had been sprinting toward them, was now being beaten back, sent flying away in the opposite direction at a speed even greater than when she had arrived.

Tch...

"Regeneration?" Shirou asked, surprised.

"...No, it's because the Spirit Core hasn't been destroyed. Since you guys have distorted the ley lines, you are all equivalent to having signed a contract with the ground, allowing you to recover by drawing energy from the ley lines."

"Not only has the mode of existence changed from a Class Card to a Servant, but even the operational mode has become that of a Servant who has signed a contract with the ley lines as the 'Master'?"

Through the precision vision of [Pseudo-The World], Shirou saw the injuries on the Servant, which had been inflicted by the Stand, slowly recovering. No longer the naive amateur he once was, he immediately understood what was happening to the Servant once he sensed the source.

Although using the ley lines as a "Master" meant this Servant could release Noble Phantasms continuously without worrying about energy consumption—much like the Corrupted Saber in the Heaven's Feel route—overall, it was just closer to their state while they were alive.

Thinking of this, Shirou turned to Miyu and asked, "Miyu, has the new location fix been completed?"

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