Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The werewolf boy began to tell Shirou about the situation inside the fairy realm.

Since last night, a cycle of time and space has been constantly repeating itself within the thick fog.

Beowulf has tried countless times to kill the Witch of the Mist, but he still cannot break through this thick fog.

Just as described in the nursery rhyme sung by Mainst—this is a forest that, once entered, can never be left.

"There must be some kind of 'rules' governing the Fairy Realm... Beo, do you know what the starting point of a time-space reset is?"

Shirou asked, "Even if it's an infinite loop, there should be one or more switches—something that, when touched, sets time back to the beginning. Beo, do you know what that is?"

"Reset? Start? Switch? Shirou, what are you talking about? I don't understand at all."

Beowulf said innocently, "I've never touched any switch!"

I accidentally triggered the fire alarm in a hotel once because I was fiddling with the switches. After being scolded by Orange, I never touched those things again!

"No, this guy is hopeless..." Shirou sighed helplessly.

Seeing the red-haired boy's dejected look, Beowulf quickly said, "I think I remember now!"

"What?" Shirou asked without much hope.

The werewolf boy said, "Every time something strange happens, it seems to start after I kill the girl in the thick fog."

Shirou frowned.

So, as expected, the spacetime within the "Fairy Realm" was only reset after the realm's master was killed?

The special rule for time-space reset is "death" —

It's simple and easy to understand, but very difficult to crack.

If the domain's master is not eliminated, she will summon monsters without limit.

However, if the master of the domain is killed, the spacetime within the domain will return to its original state.

How exactly can we break free from the fairy realm?

The red-haired boy fell into deep thought.

"How was it, Shirou? Did it help?"

"Yes, you've been a great help."

Shirou said "Well done" in a coaxing tone, and the werewolf boy smiled happily.

"Hey hey hey~"

Shirou and Beowulf continued deeper into the forest.

Incidentally, during their exploration of the fairy realm, white monsters kept leaping out of the mist to launch attacks.

No matter how bizarre or strange the monsters' appearances were, they were all easily killed by Beowulf with a single slap.

If we were to assign Gold Beast's stats to a Servant-like rating, it would probably be "Durability B", "Strength C", "Agility A", and "Magic EX", which would be quite good even among the three Knights, plus a very high level of "Magic Resistance"...

"The panel monster is so convenient," Shirou remarked.

If it were him, he would have to ignite his magic circuits every time he engaged in combat, and he would probably be exhausted by the end of the day.

If Shirou were to grow another 5 or 6 years, he would probably be able to face his enemies more easily.

The prerequisite is that he can leave Yushu's "Fairy Realm" safely.

"How far is it?"

"Almost there, we should see him soon if we walk a little further."

"Okay, Beo, you stay here. I'll go ahead by myself."

Shirou instructed the werewolf boy to stay put and fight the fog monster, while he himself ventured deeper into the fog.

After walking for a while through the thick fog, Shirou finally met the master of the "Fairy Realm"—

"I was wondering why it was so quiet this time... turns out they changed people. Where did the restless little dog go?"

That was a slightly different atmosphere from usual; she was dressed in a very gorgeous Western-style dress and exuded a dangerous aura.

No... is she really Kuonji Arisa?

A beautiful smile graced the girl's face, while behind her, a thick white fog stirred restlessly, as if concealing an unspeakable monster.

"Good evening, Shirou-kun... I didn't expect you to come to my door in person. If that child knew, he'd probably be rolling around in bed with joy."

Hmm, it really isn't a pearl.

At first glance, it does seem to be a bead, but the dark and evil aura has completely overflowed.

Shirou begins to activate the magic circuits within his body.

Perhaps sensing this, the witch curled the corners of her lips into a smile.

"Although I, as a counterfeit, may not be qualified to comment... you really do have memories that are completely identical to mine."

Once she realized I wasn't the real her, her ruthless side was revealed—

That was the look in their eyes—the look that seemed to intend to torture me to the point of leaving not even ashes behind, was it?

Shirou remained noncommittal, but the "Blade of Chaos" projected in his hand provided the answer.

"Before we begin, let me introduce myself."

The girl said with a faint smile, "I am the deeper consciousness of Kuonji Aratsumi..."

It emerged to the surface and gained physical form due to the out-of-control nature of the fairy realm "Wandersnatch"—

The alternate personality (Alterego) of Kuonji Aratsumi.

"what is your purpose?"

Shirou frowned and asked, "Are you trying to say that the real culprit behind all this is Kuronji Aratsumi's subconscious?"

The girl who resembled Kuonji Aratsu said, "How could that be? That child is very kind... Yes, she is a witch but she is very kind."

Because she was too kind, she kept suppressing her true feelings, which resulted in the situation spiraling out of control.

"Does the 'outburst' refer to your resurrection?"

"Yes, to put it simply... I can understand it as the evil personality of Kuonji Aratsumi—"

We are the same being, yet we are also different being.

Normally, Yuzhu and I should coexist harmoniously, but Yuzhu has always tried to suppress my existence.

Saying things like "This is no longer the Middle Ages, witches should abide by the doctrines of modern society"... don't you think that's stupid?

No matter how hard a witch tries, she can never truly integrate into the human world; their fundamental ways of existing are different… Shirou-kun, you should understand that too, right?”

Shirou: "..."

"So my relationship with that child wasn't friendly, but rather one of long-standing hostility."

For the past ten years or so, I've been suppressed by her... but last night, she lost control of her emotions, which gave me the opportunity.

Having finally obtained a physical form, I certainly have no intention of relinquishing control to the original entity... What do you think I should do now?

Shirou said in a deep voice, "To be an enemy of the world, of humanity... to make Kuonji Aratsu feel guilty, and to make her unable to maintain her own identity..."

"As expected of Shirou-kun! This is exactly the strategy I came up with!"

The girl said with an evil smile, "Yuzhu is both shy and proper... As long as I take advantage of her while she's asleep, and commit an unforgivable sin in her name and with her power..."

For example, making the town where she lives disappear from the earth—

"Wouldn't that make her so guilty that she'd never be able to maintain a normal state of mind again?"

“You really are utterly evil,” Shirou said.

The girl smiled and nodded: "Really? I think it's quite ordinary."

From a human perspective, it's evil, but from the moral standpoint of witches and magicians—this level is nothing at all, right?

Don't worry, I'm not a demon... I don't have any thoughts about destroying the world.

It just means the disappearance of a small town with a population of a few hundred thousand—

Unable to bear it any longer, Shirou launched an attack.

He closed the distance to the girl with astonishing speed and swung down the "Blade of Chaos" in his hand.

But just as the blow was about to strike, the girl's figure vanished and then reappeared ten meters away out of thin air.

Before Shirou could launch another attack, the white monster leaped out of the thick fog, surrounded him, tackled him to the ground, and buried him.

The white monsters piled up like a small hill in a zombie movie, and at the bottom of the hill was Shirou, who was buried.

The monsters opened their scarlet mouths and brandished their bright red claws, frantically devouring the boy who was pinned to the bottom.

But the next instant, the small mountain piled up by the monsters exploded like a volcanic eruption.

Amidst towering flames, white flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Shirou appeared unharmed in the center of the wreckage, holding a futuristic crimson greatsword in his hand.

Upon seeing this, the witch in the thick fog gasped, "How is this possible..."

Shirou scoffed, "...If it were Arisu eight years from now, I would have been dead by now."

However, with your current abilities, you are simply unable to unleash the true power of the "Rosehound".

Even I can't beat you, so it's impossible for you to do anything evil...

"Make Misaki Town disappear? You'll be killed by passing church personnel before that happens, won't you?"

"Ugh... It's so noisy!"

The girl bit her red lips in resentment.

More alien monsters emerged from the thick fog.

Shirou wielded the "Holy Grail of Heaven," and the flames he unleashed swept away the monsters.

The unwilling witch summoned more and more fog monsters.

But no matter how hard she tried, the monsters couldn't harm Shirou in the slightest.

The Holy Grail is not just about burning monsters.

The flames flowing from the giant sword blade gradually destroyed the "Fairy Domain" itself.

If the battle continues like this, the witch will be defeated.

But as soon as the witch commits suicide, time and space will immediately reset to the beginning... All of Shirou's efforts so far have been in vain.

After a while of this stalemate, the number of monsters stopped increasing.

The witch glared at Shirou with eyes full of resentment, while he calmly replied.

"Now you should understand, right? Your power is only this much... If I can't even kill you, then there's no way you can devour a town."

After saying that, he took a step forward.

"Stop joking... Why are you getting in my way! Why you of all people?!"

Enraged, the witch launched another attack.

Knowing it was pointless, she still sent fog monsters to attack Shirou.

"Who do you think it is? Who gave me a physical form? It's you...it's you, Shirou Amamiya!"

"Without you, I would never have surfaced!"

The girl screamed hysterically, "If it weren't for you, Kuonji Aratsumi could have been a good girl forever!"

We could have lived carefree lives forever! But your arrival ruined everything!

"........."

Shirou didn't even glance at her, cutting down the attacking monsters as he approached the girl.

One step, two steps, three steps.

As the distance continued to shrink, the girl staggered backward as if she had seen something terrifying.

Even if you kill me, time and space will reset! You can't change anything!

"Ah, so no matter how many times, I will kill you."