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[DHEEGH] Chapter 277: Tohsaka Rin vs Luvia, The World of Emiya Miyu

Oct 3

Above the skies of Fuyuki City, two brilliant figures clashed fiercely on a stage woven from starlight and mana.

One of them wore a red magical-girl dress: the upper part was a form-fitting corset-like design with gold fastenings and lines, the white collar extending into flowing ribbons that swung with her movements, adding a lively, girlish touch.

The short skirt's hem was trimmed with delicate white lace, giving a hint of playful cuteness. Her legs were sheathed in thigh-high red boots, the openings wide, handsome and stylish.

The other girl wore a magica­l-girl outfit in blue-purple tones, designed with a nobler, more elegant style. Her dress used layered skirts, the main hues deep blue and pale purple, paired with white ruffled underskirts, projecting an aristocratic elegance.

A pale blue ribbon was tied at her chest, matching a gold belt cinched at her waist, outlining a slender figure. Her long hair was golden, with neat ribbons on both sides.

Additionally, both of them wore cat-ear hair accessories — one red, one blue. Such clothes and ornaments on young women of their age carried a subtle sense of embarrassment.

Tohsaka Rin, a magus of the London Clock Tower, and at the same time the ruler of Fuyuki City and the sixth head of the prestigious Tohsaka family.

Luviagelita Edelfelt, like Rin, a magus of the London Clock Tower and the heir of the Edelfelt magical house. She was Rin's archrival; every time they met, it basically ended in battle.

They also shared another thing in common: the same master, one of the world's only five "magicians," Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

The five phenomena that neither magic nor science could ordinarily accomplish are called "magic," and humans capable of provoking them are "magicians." Zelretch practices the "Second Magic," by which he can stroll freely across multiple parallel worlds.

Zelretch was an ancient magus active even before the Common Era, praised as the progenitor of gem magic, the pinnacle of ore-related magecraft.

"Archmage," "Gem Old Man," "Kaleidoscope," "Old Man of Time," and so on, he was an old man with many nicknames.

["Go to Fuyuki City and recover the 'Class Cards' scattered there,"] The Archmage entrusted this task to his two disciples, Tohsaka Rin and Luvia.

However, both Rin and Luvia were capricious and troublesome. They were two of a kind, each with a strong personality and stubbornness, but they disliked each other.

As a result, not long after the mission began, the two operatives started infighting.

In the sky above Fuyuki, dazzling light kept flashing; one gemstone after another exploded in midair, turning into grand fireworks.

These gems were not mere ornaments but vessels containing powerful mana. Each gem's shattering released tremendous magical energy, painting a brilliant tableau across the night sky.

Ore that had slept underground for ages often nurtured natural spirits. These spirits endowed gems with unique properties, so each type of gem contained a particular kind of magic.

Rin and Luvia poured their mana into those gems, using them as simple magical seals and employing them in combat.

Zelretch was the "Gem Old Man," the pinnacle of ore-based magecraft; Rin and Luvia, as his inheritors, were also experts in gem magic.

"Quadruple Gale Orbs!"

Tohsaka Rin pinched several emerald-green gems between her fingers as mana rushed into them.

In an instant, five spinning, ferocious wind orbs shrieked out; the air was torn with high-pitched howls.

Luvia let out a light laugh and gracefully lifted a hand, golden curls streaming in the wind, "Explosive Flame Orbs, seven-shot!"

Her fingertips glittered with ruby radiance as seven gems, filled with scorching flame, were activated; mana poured like a flood. The flames swelled and became seven blazing fireballs, dragging crimson tails, their heat and impact barreling straight at Rin's wind orbs.

Both Rin and Luvia inherited the magical trait "Transposition" from their common ancestor. An ability granting precise control over the accumulation, flow, and conversion of mana.

They could use magics with that trait to store their mana in gems and withdraw it later. By preloading large amounts of mana into gems, they could perform large-scale magics without consuming their own immediate reserves.

Fire and wind collided violently midair, erupting in blinding light and deafening thunder. The raging wind and searing flames tangled, forming a huge shockwave that spread outward.

BOOM!

A vast blaze blossomed in the sky, illuminating the heavens; sparks scattered in the wind like falling stars.

Because of the interference magic applied, the ordinary person's perception of these mana phenomena was twisted. As long as Rin and Luvia didn't hurl magic directly at the ground to cause substantive damage, no matter how fierce the fight or how violent the explosions, ordinary people would only think it was a fireworks display.

Amid the flashing brilliance, Rin's pupils shrank as she sensed something amiss. She hurriedly drew out a crimson gem, mana coalescing at her fingertips, and shouted in panic, "Damn, Ruby Gem, set up a magic shield—"

"I already set it, but…", the pink wand in the girl's hand said in a voice.

The next moment, a huge explosion thundered; the blazing orb detonated in the air, and a scorching shockwave surged like a raging sea. Rin couldn't complete her defense in time. The magic shield was torn to pieces.

When the dust settled, Rin was a sorry sight: hair in disarray, a few wisps smoking even.

Gem magic treats precious gems like disposable bullets, so it's expensive. As Luvia put it, "The depth of one's wallet decisively separates combat power."

Rin and Luvia's magical skills were evenly matched and hard to distinguish. But in the decisive factor of finances, there was a glaring gap between Rin, the inheritor of a remote Japanese magus family, and Luvia, the daughter of a European magical house.

By now, Rin had long since used up all her "bullets", the gems she'd painstakingly prepared. Luvia's reserves, however, remained ample; even the gems she carried casually were far from depleted.

"If the bombardment's power is this strong, it's hard to counter, but don't worry, I've also set up a regeneration spell. After a while, your wounds will recover," The wand "Ruby" continued speaking.

"O-ho-ho-ho-ho, as long as you're not around, everything's solved. This mission's credit will be mine alone~", Luvia said with an arrogant laugh.

"Master, I'll give you the appraisal 'cold-blooded animal,'" Luvia's wand chimed in a clear feminine voice.

"Shut up, Sapphire!"

The Kaleidoscope Wands, the Magic Ruby and Magic Sapphire, were magecraft treasures forged by the Gem Old Man. They were potent mana vessels housing artificial spirits with independent consciousness and personalities.

The core ability of these treasures was to transform their users into "magical girls," granting them extraordinary mana and combat power.

The potency of Rin and Luvia's gem magics was also due to these two Second-Magic artifacts.

'It hurts so much, my whole body hurts,' Tohsaka Rin gritted her teeth; a clear cross-shaped vein stood out on her brow, shadowed eyes burning with suppressed fury, "Fine, since you don't want to live…"

"Then I'll grant your wish!"

She snatched a card from her bosom; the card's surface glowed faintly, catching the dim light, and at its center was depicted a warrior drawing a bow.

Seeing this, Luvia also drew out a Class Card; her card bore the image of a "Lancer." Her expression remained haughty, but a sliver of battle intent appeared in her eyes, "You drew a Class Card?! In that case, I won't hold back either!"

Their gazes met in the air and invisible sparks flew.

"Class Card · Archer—"

"Class Card · Lancer—"

They raised their Class Cards and pressed them against their wands simultaneously; their voices overlapped in the night sky:

"Limited Deployment!"

"Ladies—", Magic Ruby spoke, "Master gave you the Kaleidoscope Wands and Class Cards not so you'd stage an all-out duel. You were supposed to cooperate and complete his task quickly. Yet you're using precious mana on nonsense like this."

Magic Sapphire added, its tone calm and stern, "We will not indulge your antics any longer. As punishment—"

Before Rin and Luvia could react, Magic Ruby and Magic Sapphire suddenly wrenched themselves free from their hands and hovered in the air. Then the tips of both wands flickered with dazzling electricity.

"Wait, Ruby, what are you doing?"

"Sapphire, stay calm!"

Crackle! Crackle!

Two powerful electric currents instantly discharged from the wands, striking Rin and Luvia directly. Their bodies stiffened, hair standing on end, faces contorted with incredulity.

"AHHHHH!", Rin and Luvia screamed in unison, then, like kites with cut strings, plunged straight down from the high sky.

With dull thuds, Rin and Luvia crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up dust. They lay there, limbs twitching slightly, hair standing like hedgehogs, faces dazed from the shock.

Magic Ruby and Magic Sapphire drifted slowly to the unconscious Rin and Luvia; the two wands hovered, inspecting the two magi sprawled and electrocuted.

Sapphire's voice was as cold as ever, "That should keep them quiet for a while, sis."

Ruby's tone held a trace of disdain, "Probably. I even thought of abandoning them a moment ago. Rin's too dull, not my type."

"I thought about that too, but rationally, finding magi stronger than Rin and Luvia here is almost impossible," Sapphire replied.

Despite their flawed personalities, those two girls were top-tier magi.

Rin was a rare "Five-Element Practitioner (Average One)," possessing earth, water, fire, wind, and void attributes simultaneously. Luvia, though only aligned with earth, had a terrifying three-digit number of magical circuits; her mana capacity was over ten times that of an ordinary "first-rate" magus.

"Although I'd love to ditch those two unreliable troublemakers, on second thought, without them the task of reclaiming the Class Cards can't proceed," Ruby sighed helplessly.

It's not like the two wands could just float around Fuyuki and find two girls with greater talent and cuter qualities than Rin and Luvia.

Ruby fell into thought and said with puzzlement, "Odd. Why did we have the sudden notion to abandon Rin and find others? And why did we immediately realize that idea was unreliable?"

Sapphire pondered for a moment, then replied calmly, "Perhaps we've been influenced by their personalities. But this isn't the time to think about that."

Ruby bobbed slightly, as if nodding, "You're right. Wake them up. From now on, we'll correct them."

———

"Nii-chan…" Emiya Miyu murmured softly in her sleep. Her voice was faint and tender, as if calling a distant memory.

In the dream, her elder brother, Emiya Shirou, had fought through the Holy Grail War, obtained all seven Class Cards, and made a wish.

That wish should have been—

Miyu slowly opened her eyes. After a dazed moment, she walked to the window; before her lay a world nearing its end. The sky was gray, the land desolate, and the air saturated with a suffocating silence.

"Another magus has come to die. I'm too lazy to move. Big guy, you go handle it," A languid, capricious voice whispered in her ear.

Miyu turned and her gaze fixed involuntarily on a nearby figure. A silver-white-haired woman stood there, hair like moonlight falling to her waist, strands glinting with a cold silver under the dim light.

This beauty wore a gorgeous gown, her posture elegant, radiating an unapproachable arrogance.

Commanding her was a hulking man over two meters tall, clad in dark-blue armor and a black cloak.

He gripped a greatsword; a bone-white skull mask covered his face, and eerie blue flames burned in the eye sockets, giving him a chilling presence.

The man said nothing; he rose silently and left the dwelling.

Before long, a deep, distant bell tolled outside.

Miyu looked bewildered, "What is… happening here?"

'Nii-chan, where have you brought me to?'