"Yeah… this is definitely weird."
In Fuyuki's library, Lord El-Melloi II frowned as he leafed through a thick biography.
"Find anything, Lord El-Melloi II?"
"There are far too many inconsistencies. Forget people who study Mystery—even an ordinary historian would notice how much doesn't add up."
He closed the book and explained.
"In this world, the King of Heroes really is named Ophis, and it clearly states she's female. You can chalk that up to parallel-world variation, but… for someone from nearly three thousand years before the Common Era, the amount of material and lineage recorded for her is absurdly detailed. And nearly every era and civilization we can trace has works that mention her… it feels like…"
"Like someone's been deliberately spreading stories about her all along," Ritsuka finished.
Lord El-Melloi II rubbed his brow, then let out a sigh.
"Forget it. Whatever the reason, it likely won't affect this Holy Grail War. If the records are more detailed, that just makes it easier for us to find her weaknesses… though who knows how much of it is even true."
Judging by her accomplishments alone, this Ophis sounded far stronger than the King of Heroes he knew.
According to legend, Ophis's end came when she consumed an elixir of immortality, became a snake, shed her skin, and departed—becoming the first serpent in the world to molt, a symbol of eternity and an undying legacy… What was that supposed to be? It was the complete opposite of the original.
And then there were claims like "driving back the Mother Goddess of Creation"… which was obviously nonsense.
Myths were full of that kind of deifying exaggeration; Lord El-Melloi II wasn't surprised.
The real problem was—
Within the system of Heroic Spirits, those exaggerations could become power.
No matter what, they needed a weakness.
"Her life after becoming king is described in surprising detail, but everything before that is basically blank," Ritsuka said, lips pursed as she checked her own sources.
In the myths, Ophis was appointed Sumer's king by the gods—but under Enkidu's influence, she took a path that ran against them.
The gods, enraged, executed Enkidu. From that moment on, Ophis severed her ties to the gods entirely and, as a wise ruler, governed Uruk in perfect order.
But peace didn't last. The gods' counterattack soon came. An alliance of goddesses invaded Uruk; the Mother Goddess of Creation returned to the earth to wipe out humankind.
In the end, Ophis repelled the goddesses and protected Uruk, then—like something out of a tale—shed her skin and vanished from mortal sight… Legends always beautify and inflate the story. From that, one could guess that in reality, Ophis and her enemy perished together in a catastrophe worthy of the name.
Afterward, Sumerian civilization declined with astonishing speed. Other civilizations seized the opening, and Sumer faded into the river of history.
All in all…
"This is basically useless."
Ritsuka tossed the book aside with a long sigh.
"So all we've got is 'effective against Divinity' and 'she's female'? If we really force it, there's also that bit about being betrayed by a subordinate and badly wounded… but that doesn't sound like a weakness so much as a footnote…"
Lord El-Melloi II stroked his chin.
"No… a snake that sheds its skin… if that's the case…"
"Lord El-Melloi II—did you see something?"
Ritsuka's eyes brightened at his expression.
"Mmm. At least our odds should go up a bit."
Lord El-Melloi II nodded, inwardly resigned.
If it were the original King of Heroes, he could have crafted a guaranteed-winning plan from what he knew. But this new King of Heroes was almost entirely an enigma. Without actually clashing once, it was hard to say they could win with certainty.
"Romani—how much support can Chaldea provide on your end?"
After a moment, Lord El-Melloi II asked.
"That's… the strange part. Judging from the fact that we can detect the light of civilization even during the Incineration of Humanity, it's definitely a Singularity. But up to now, Chaldea hasn't been able to observe any of the other traits we normally see in Singularities. The overall structure is extremely stable, and because of that, the support Chaldea can provide is actually quite high."
Lord El-Melloi II's eyes sharpened.
There were still things that didn't make sense—but this was an unexpected windfall.
"Then what's the plan for today, Lord El-Melloi?"
Hearing the doctor's question, Lord El-Melloi II thought for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"Our next steps go without saying: first, fully solidify our connection with Chaldea. Cracking the leylines risks putting us at odds with the Tohsaka family and the King of Heroes, but if we're going to deal with the King of Heroes, we need Chaldea's support. There's no helping it.
As for tonight…
Based on how events unfolded when I experienced this, Lancer's faction and Saber's faction should clash tonight. But now Lancer has only just recovered from a severe injury and hasn't returned to peak condition, and Lancer's Master has no reason to pick a fight with Saber's side. That battle likely won't happen.
Saber's Master is difficult to deal with. Originally, I intended to ally with Lancer's side first and remove Caster from the board, but Lancer can't fight right now—and Caster's crooked sorcery needs to be uprooted as soon as possible. So we'll see if we can form a temporary alliance with Saber's faction."
They could handle Caster themselves if they had to, but if they could also win another faction's trust at the same time, it would be killing two birds with one stone. And if that failed, they could always fall back on Chaldea's power and deal with Caster on their own.
"Also, since we can receive support, let's send a few Servants to probe that King of Heroes. Before the final battle, the more information we have, the better."
No one objected to Lord El-Melloi II's plan. With that, Chaldea's next steps were set.
...
"The leylines are being damaged?"
At the first thing Tokiomi said after summoning him, Kirei's brow lifted slightly.
Across from him, Tokiomi Tohsaka's brows were tightly knit.
"Yes. Or rather than 'damaged'… someone is seizing control of them."
"Then we can't allow them to succeed."
Kirei picked up the thread, his voice as expressionless as ever.
Control of the leylines was a symbol of a region's administrator, and it also brought considerable convenience and benefit. Naturally, it wasn't something you let be taken lightly.
"So, Kirei—send your Assassin. If we mobilize Archer for something this small, that King of Heroes likely won't even acknowledge me."
"Understood. Leave it to me, my teacher."
---
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