Chapter 4 – Eternal Soul

Chapter 4 – Eternal Soul

A week just passed by. Honestly, it's a bit disappointing. There's nothing truly awesome in this residence. The Homonculus sometimes wander around, but nothing special.

Illya remains alone. Initially, I thought she had two allies among the Homunculi, but it seems not. I mean, in Fate/Kaleid, there are two Homunculi who act as her guardians, right? Leysritt and Sella.

Perhaps they also only act based on orders. This time, they are not allies, so I can ignore the others and just take Illya with me, right?

And also, it seems like all the Homunculi here are very similar to each other. It's hard even to tell them apart. I always thought I met the same Homunculi every time. It's quite troublesome.

But still, not everything is in vain. I found interesting notes stored in the library. It's about the connection between the soul and Magic Circuits. The Magic Circuit is a representation inherent in the human body.

This topic is actually more detailed about the Third Magic, but for me, it's useful enough and answers some questions. If the Magic Circuit is formed based on the soul, then what happens in my case? I don't know.

Kiritsugu's soul has been replaced by me, so theoretically, Kiritsugu's original Magic Circuit should have disappeared as well. Then, I shouldn't have a Magic Circuit in this body right now.

I don't know how the Skill system works, but I guess it would be different from a regular Magic Circuit. Or maybe it just activates the Magic Circuit automatically even without my input.

Now, another interesting thing I found here is about the fate of the soul after death. The soul will go to the Root after death, but what about me? I don't know. I'm not a native inhabitant of this world, so will I also go to the Root? Who knows.

But one thing is for sure, this proves that I won't be able to use Kiritsugu's Magecraft even in the future. Or maybe I can? I still don't understand how the Magic Crest works.

There are many basic-level books here, unlike the Matou residence. But I've given up trying to learn Magecraft. I don't know why, but it seems like I've lost interest in learning it. Maybe because my life only has two years left? Or maybe because I realize my life is not entirely mine.

But just because I don't want to learn it doesn't mean it's not useful. Sakura and Illya will need it in the future.

Back to the escape plan. This week, I also observe the movements and surveillance routes of the Homunculi. The nights are the most tightly guarded. While the evenings are the most vulnerable. Illya is not completely confined. Sometimes, she's allowed to roam in the nearby forest.

But there will always be someone watching her.

So, here's my plan: first, I'll meet Illya, leaving a message around her, ensuring that if she's being watched in some way, we won't be found out. What I wrote there is a brief explanation of what I plan to do. I explained that I'm her father and asked her to come out.

Then, I'll eliminate her guards when they're outside; usually, there will only be two guards accompanying her. After that, take her out and explode this place. A simple plan. But it's effective considering Matou was defeated using this method.

Two days later, as planned, Illya comes out with only one guard. I don't know why there's only one, but it's advantageous for me. I've prepared an escape route outside the Bounded Field, so we can escape immediately after leaving this place.

I follow them with Presence Concealment still active. This skill will be canceled if I attack, but I can still use it until I approach the Homunculus.

She's just watching Illya from a distance as Illya stands alone on a hill. Activating Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, I see red lines spreading. The clearest line is on her head; I don't know why other parts don't have thick lines, but I don't want to take any risks, so I follow the instructions of Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

* Slash~ *

She turns around before I strike, but it's too late. Half of her head falls down. I stole this dagger during my journey at a random police station; it's actually quite useful. It's also very sharp.

At that moment, Illya turns towards me. She widens her eyes before running towards me.

"Papa!" she jumps and rushes towards me. There's no reason to refuse, so I accept her hug.

"They said you left me!" tears start flowing from her eyes. I'm glad to see her safe.

"I'm here now, everything's fine," I hug her and pat her head.

"I was lonely… No one wanted to play with me…" her tears continue to flow, and I feel bad if this continues.

"Papa will always be with you," I'm not good at comforting children. I think I said this before.

The scene continues for a few more minutes before I feel it's not good if this continues. So…

"Let's go back, it's getting late," I carry her and start running out of this place.

I don't know if there's some kind of detection device left on Illya, but I also don't have a solution if there is. So, I ignore such problems and continue running.

One thing I know, when I leave the Bounded Field, I'll be found out immediately. So I have to escape quickly.

The Bounded Field is passed without any problems. I take the motorcycle I've prepared, riding as fast as I can.

Upon reaching the nearest town, I send Illya at a random house I entered before using Memory Manipulation on the owner.

"I'll go back to the Einzbern Castle and end this all, it won't take long, so wait for me here, okay," I speak seriously to Illya.

In response, she nods vigorously.

During the journey back, I encounter Homunculi wandering around the forest. Since I'm moving using a motorcycle, I'm quickly found. But I don't care; I'll use Presence Concealment later to disappear from their sight once I reach the Castle.

No change of plan. I've prepared the Universal Card, so all that's needed is to place it in the right place.

I take all the books I planned to take, so its not takes a lot of time because I already know where everything I want is located.

With all the preparations done, I watch the magnificent Castle from a distance.

This will be the downfall of Einzbern. Or not. Many Homunculi come out of the castle to chase us, so I'm not sure if Einzbern can rise again.

* * *

"Illya, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is my daughter, Illya," I introduce them.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura. Since we're going to live together, you can call me big sister," Illya says proudly. The grin on her face seems a bit excessive.

Illya is basically a cheerful and kind girl. Even in Fate/Stay, despite saying she hates Shirou, in the end, she still helps him. She's a good girl.

When I return from the Einzbern Castle, Illya and I spend a few more days together. Honestly, she cries a lot. And it exploded even more after finding out that her mother passed away.

I dare not say that Kiritsugu killed her. At the moment, I'm her only emotional support, and if even this support turns out to be a source of anger, then everything will be messed up.

Maybe this will be a problem in the future, and I hope she only finds out the truth when she's grown up. She'll accept it easier then.

After that, we just spend time together, or more precisely, I try to comfort Illya.

Only after that do we set off to meet Sakura.

I've explained why I'm with Sakura. Illya accepts it happily without making a fuss. At least after she knows she'll meet a new friend.

"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you … Illya," although Sakura is no longer as quiet as before when I first saw her, she's still somewhat hesitant to communicate with others.

I can tell that the reason why she's trying to talk friendly to Illya is because Illya is my daughter. She might be afraid of being abandoned if she can't make friends with Illya.

Well, let them handle their own problems.

For now, I need to think about what to do next. My main mission is complete, and I don't plan to carry out any side missions.

[Side Missions.]

[Save Matou Sakura.]

[Kill Matou Zouken.]

[Kill Gilgamesh.]

[Kill Kotomine Kirei.]

[Remove Angra Mainyu from the Holy Grail.]

The remaining side missions are impractical to do. So, I won't do them.

Should I live like a regular family? Well, that's not a bad choice. Considering that's what Kiritsugu did.

There's nothing wrong with doing that.

But there's one obstacle here. My age. Yes, I'll die in two years if I don't do anything right now.

And the more problematic thing is the fact that I don't know what to do.

As far as I know, Magecraft won't help in this case. Maybe I'm wrong.

The most likely solution I can do is to become a Homunculus. I'm not even sure if that's possible.

But it's worth a try. That's also why I took all the materials related to making Homunculi from the Einzbern Castle.

Keeping my thoughts, I look towards the two girls who are running around together. More precisely, Illya dragging Sakura here and there.

We're currently at the playground. I'm just sitting watching them. Let them play.

Since I'm not doing anything, I open the gift I received from the Illya rescue mission.

[Eternal Soul.]

Just based on its name, it feels incredibly fantastic.

[Your soul will never die, never be destroyed, and never disappear. There's only one soul like yours, unique among all souls in the universe and in any timeline.]

Eh… I kind of don't understand.

My soul won't die, that's what it says. But it means my body will still be destroyed, so what's the point? Maybe it means I can switch bodies? I don't know.

Or maybe I'll become like a ghost? I don't know.

Something related to the soul is the Third Magic. Is it similar to that? Maybe not. Based on my understanding, then it shouldn't work like this with the Third Magic.

But since this is what the system gives, then this might be what I need right now. Considering that's the pattern of gifts I've received so far.

But regardless of whether this is what I need or not, it'll be futile if I don't understand how it works and its usage.

There are no instructions or explanations on how it works.

It means I have to research and try everything necessary. It might take quite a lot of time.

Well, since I don't have a specific goal right now, why not.

Looking at the red sky, I stand up and head towards the two girls.

"Let's go back, it's getting night soon."

"Ehhhh… But we still want to play," Illya replies, saying it with exaggerated disappointment.

And also, you shouldn't say that. Look at Sakura's tired face next to you. Yes, Sakura is really exhausted from following Illya's enthusiasm.

"We'll come back another time," this is how you handle a child. That's what I read on the internet. Make a promise. Whether you keep it or not is a matter for later. It's not that important.

"How about coming back here later, I heard there's a night market here." Illya continues. Hearing that, I fall silent. Beside her, Sakura's face turns pale.

Such a pitiful girl.

"No, we'll come back another time," I insist.

"Well… but you promised?" Illya says before extending her pinky finger.

"Yes, I promise," I reach out and hook her pinky finger.

Beside us, Sakura also breathes a sigh of relief.

You've tried your best, Sakura.

With that, we leave the playground. We've been staying at the hotel all this time. But maybe I should look for a house in the countryside.

Maybe around Australia. In the anime or games, there isn't much interaction with this country. So maybe it's a place rarely visited by Magus. At least as far as I know.

If I don't get a better idea during the journey there, I'll do that.

With that, little by little, we're getting closer to Australia.

No need to hurry, so we visit every place we can.

By doing this, we might only arrive after a year.

Precisely eight months. After eight months, we arrive.

I borrowed a private jet from a random rich person. Spending two weeks to learn how to operate it.

But it's all worth it when we set foot in our new home.

Standing on a hill, the house is honestly quite small. But it's decently large for only three people to live in. The nearest neighbor to our house is about 200 meters away. In this place, I plan to start gardening. There's not much that can be done.

But maybe, we can live peacefully here.

Away from the troubles of Magus and other problems.

I'd be happy if that happens.