Chapter 16: Chapter 14 : Battle Plan
"…What am I even thinking about? Focus. Training… training… Hah… back to practicing magecraft. I should still be able to perform Projection nearly twenty times…"
As Shirou recalled the golden-haired girl whose face he could not remember, a complex surge of emotions welled up within him—joy, sorrow, and a strange mix of searing magma and glacial coldness. It was impossible to describe. But what Shirou did know was that he shouldn't be distracted during training.
Besides, Sakura was there at the time too—so what exactly had happened? She had been quietly watching. Surely she must remember something, right?
He had forgotten the girl's face. But Sakura, a genius Magus, would never forget such a presence.
And if even Sakura didn't know, then maybe he could ask Shinji. Shirou recalled Shinji watching him from near the school building while he was doing those high jumps.
If Shinji didn't know either, then… he'd just ask someone else.
It was already dusk that day, but the campus wasn't entirely empty. If he tried hard enough, someone must still remember.
For now, Shirou buried his curiosity about that mysterious golden-haired girl and refocused all his attention on continuing his Projections.
"——Trace, On."
He chanted the incantation to activate his magecraft.
Though it was just a simple phrase in English, its meaning was altered entirely depending on its usage—acting now as a command to unleash power.
Mana surged through him. His thoughts sharpened. With all his will, he tried to replicate it—that golden sword.
Yes. Emiya Shirou should be able to reproduce it, completely and faithfully.
His right arm lit up once more, becoming a burning crimson forge—his own body the tool for reforging an imagined ideal into tangible existence.
"Ugh… rrrgh…!"
A groan slipped out.
The flame died out. The illusion shattered once more. Cold sweat slid down his face.
Another failure.
He could no longer continue like this. Something was wrong—at a critical juncture.
"…I've memorized the blueprint of the sword—the exterior, the materials, the internal theory. The basic structure is sound. The mana supplied by my nine active Magic Circuits should be sufficient. There's no way this is a power issue… Then is there still something flawed in my imagination?"
Shirou reflected hard on what could be going wrong. But without a teacher to guide him, he was left to stumble forward alone, unable to reach the correct conclusion.
——Projection magecraft is something many magus have studied. But the Projection Shirou was using now had long since surpassed the boundaries of that system—without him even realizing it.
——Projection normally follows the principle of equivalent exchange. Under typical conditions, anything created through Projection would only last a few minutes. But Shirou's constructs endured far longer. This wasn't limited to the mundane tools he used to project in the past—this now included the Holy Lance in his possession.
——Morgan must have noticed the anomaly long ago. Yet she had chosen not to say anything.
Because to Morgan, Shirou's Projection magecraft might be approaching the domain of… Magic.
"Whew… Trying to perfectly replicate someone else's weapon comes with way too many limitations. If only I could project an entirely original weapon of my own…"
Shirou muttered to himself with a wry smile, fully aware of just how absurd that idea was.
He couldn't even manage a perfect replica. To think he could forge an original weapon equal in power to a Noble Phantasm—it was pure fantasy.
…Ultimately, it all came down to the lack of models stored in his mind. If only he had seen thousands—tens of thousands—of divine weapons, then maybe… just maybe, things would be different.
"—Haaah…"
Meanwhile, Morgan exhaled deeply. The mana swirling around her returned quietly to her body.
Her training was complete as well, though unlike Shirou's string of failures, she now radiated visible excitement.
"You succeeded?"
"I did! I've created it—a brand-new spell in Morgan-style magecraft! As long as I use the water mirror, I can remotely launch Holy Lances over vast distances!"
Her eyes sparkled, lit up with pure exhilaration. Her brilliance was no bluff—this was the genius witch Morgan, who had just invented a spell tailored specifically to counter the corpse of Albion.
"Shirou, with your Projection and my water mirror magecraft, we can fire off round after round of Holy Lance bombardment from miles away! Hmph, not even Albion could withstand that many spears! This time, we'll solve this disaster perfectly! Let Ainsel see for herself—the flawless teamwork between a fairy of paradise and an outsider Magus!"
Morgan brimmed with confidence.
Her plan was exactly as she described: have Shirou mass-project Holy Lances, then use a spatial magecraft via her water mirror to launch them high into the sky and rain them down upon the enemy.
There was no need to release the spear's full Noble Phantasm. All she had to do was imbue the projections with auto-detonation spells—turning each one into a magical bomb to obliterate Albion's corpse.
If one blast wasn't enough, then fire ten. Or a hundred. Just keep going until the bombardment is over.
This wasn't the honorable path of direct combat. It was, in every sense, a cheat tactic.
But Morgan believed that even Albion in its prime couldn't endure such repeated holy detonations.
It sounded like a flawless strategy—but Shirou had previously raised his concerns.
"Projecting a Holy Lance consumes far more mana than an ordinary projection. We can't just do it indefinitely. And besides… didn't you say the spear is a divine construct? Can your magecraft really force it to explode?"
"Mhm. As for the mana issue, don't worry—I'll resolve that soon. But your second question—Shirou, if your Projection truly produced a perfect replica of the original Holy Lance, then no, I wouldn't be able to detonate it with my magecraft."
"A perfect replica, huh? I get it—you mean my Projection quality still doesn't reach the original's standard. So what's your point?"
"Precisely because your projections are imperfect, I can use magecraft from the Rain Clan to alter them—convert them into ceremonial-grade constructs with lower integrity. Weakened versions, basically. Would you like me to explain the magecraft theory behind it in detail?"
Morgan gave a sly wink and smiled sweetly.
Shirou could tell immediately: whatever theory she had in mind was way beyond his current comprehension. But that was fine.
What mattered was that he trusted her.
That was enough.
"Mmm… I'm so tired~ Shirou, would you mind just sitting still for a bit?"
Now that their training was over, Morgan's tone shifted—acting more like a demanding girl than a strategist.
"…I mean, sure, but why?" Shirou asked, puzzled.
"No questions. Just stay still."
Urged by Morgan's persistence, Shirou did as she asked. A moment later, she tossed her staff aside and flopped onto his lap, curling up lightly.
"I've never tried a lap pillow before… Sorry, Shirou, but I'm going to nap here~ Mmm… If I sleep beside you, I'm sure… I won't see that storm again…"
That last line was whispered so softly, Shirou couldn't hear it.
In truth, Morgan feared sleep.
Because in her dreams, the storm that suffocated her soul always returned.