It was only when the incessantly swaying red ponytail disappeared from his view that Lord El-Melloi II let out a long sigh of relief.
"Teacher... Do you know that girl?"
Gray curiously looked at her teacher, as Lord El-Melloi II’s reaction was quite rare for her. To Gray, the girl with the red twin ponytails appeared to be pretty and lively, giving off a very kind impression. But for her teacher, it seemed as if he was facing some terrifying demon.
"Well... Since you’ve seen it, there’s nothing for me to hide anymore."
Lord El-Melloi II nodded.
"She calls herself Red Ponytail, it’s obviously a nickname, her true name is unknown. I encountered her several times during the Holy Grail War ten years ago."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Gray was taken aback.
"Ten years ago? But that girl looks to be only thirteen or fourteen years old..."
"She looked the same back then, identical to now, no changes whatsoever, as if time means nothing to her... I never thought she’d be part of the World Tree of a Thousand Realms, this is trouble..."
"What kind of place is this World Tree of a Thousand Realms?"
"To the Mage’s Association, it’s heresy."
"Heresy?"
"That’s right."
Lord El-Melloi II reached out and took a cigar from his pocket.
"You might not know, but the World Tree of a Thousand Realms used to be a place that housed various magical families. Over the long years, many mage lineages declined for various reasons, and the World Tree of a Thousand Realms took them in, integrated them; it could be said that the World Tree of a Thousand Realms back then was an alliance of weak magician families. Of course, the Mage’s Association didn’t pay much attention to the World Tree of a Thousand Realms at that time, but then..."
"But?"
"After that, the World Tree of a Thousand Realms suddenly announced they would start the Holy Grail War and killed the members sent by the Mage’s Association, effectively declaring war directly against the Mage’s Association. Enraged, the Mage’s Association also dispatched their chosen... "
At this point, Lord El-Melloi II seemed a bit despondent. At the time, he was bogged down with other affairs and could do nothing about it. By the time he learned of the incident, the Mage’s Association’s chosen had already reached Romania, leaving him no choice but to helplessly abandon the matter.
Looking back now, perhaps giving up was the right choice.
"And the result?"
Hearing this, Gray was a bit alarmed; she might not fully understand the Mage’s Association’s circumstances, but she knew it was definitely not an easy affair.
"Well... Let’s say the result was a draw. Problems arose within the Holy Grail War; while the Mage’s Association’s side had issues, it seemed the World Tree of a Thousand Realms also didn’t gain much. After, maybe the World Tree of a Thousand Realms reached an agreement with the Mage’s Association, migrating to East Asia. I’ve heard they’re researching new Magecraft there..."
"But what’s the relation between that and Miss Red Ponytail?"
"That person is a creature."
"A... A creature?"
Gray was dumbfounded hearing this, as Lord El-Melloi II nodded.
"Yes, during the Holy Grail War, she single-handedly suppressed us all and our Servants... She was the Master of Caster, but even without using Caster’s power, she could still fight against all the Heroic Spirits. If I were to evaluate her, then her ability might at least be at Grand Rank..."
Speaking up to this point, Lord El-Melloi II paused and did not continue further.
"Alright, let’s go."
"Ah, yes."
Although she didn’t understand why her teacher stopped talking, Gray sensibly didn’t ask further and continued beside Lord El-Melloi II, advancing up the mountain path.
Things are not that simple.
Looking at his disciple beside him, Lord El-Melloi II sighed inwardly. Just as he previously mentioned, the lineage of the World Tree of a Thousand Realms had retreated from Europe, settling in East Asia. Many magicians believed they had compromised with the Mage’s Association, going into hiding in East Asia. After all, it’s a Magecraft desert, and cutting off all ties with the modern Magecraft circle, the lineage of the World Tree of a Thousand Realms wouldn’t receive support from other families. Essentially, within the Clock Tower, many families viewed it as a self-imposed exile.
But now, the World Tree of a Thousand Realms has appeared here,
United Kingdom.
The main base of the Clock Tower.
More importantly, it’s Red Ponytail who came.
This is akin to transporting a nuclear warhead to the border of an enemy nation.
Almost comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In fact, after that Holy Grail War ended and he returned to the Clock Tower, inheriting the name of El-Melloi, he investigated the matter of Red Ponytail multiple times. But he found no information; the self-proclaimed just magical girl, Red Ponytail, seemed as if she had popped out of nowhere.
Only recently did he get some news from Japan, hearing that Red Ponytail was very close and intimately acquainted with the Witch of the Kuonji Family and the Fifth Magician. But that’s as far as it went; after all, whether it’s the Witch of the Kuonji Family or the Fifth Magician, they were not individuals that a small and declining Lord like himself could casually visit.
But now thinking back...
This is quite troublesome...
Rumor has it that the World Tree of a Thousand Realms obtained the Third Magic. Many people scoff at the accuracy of this rumor, their reasoning simple: if the World Tree of a Thousand Realms really acquired the Third Magic, then they wouldn’t have needed to hide in East Asia (or call it exile), just releasing the fact of having the Third Magic would immediately elevate them to the top of the Mage’s Association.
But now, things seem not so simple. If the World Tree of a Thousand Realms indeed obtained the Third Magic, then Red Ponytail’s close relationship with the Fifth Magician might be understandable.
Then another question arises.
Why did the World Tree of a Thousand Realms, after acquiring the Third Magic, leave the center of Magecraft? Moving to remote East Asia? And they even deliberately severed all ties with the Magecraft circle... What exactly are they planning?
Lord El-Melloi II had a premonition; he might soon get this answer.
And the answer seemed like one he might not wish to see.
Severance City.
From its original sense, it’s merely a castle, or rather, the type of ancient castle that could appear in various Western fantasy movies. With a drawbridge, moat, alongside lakes and forests in a desolate area. Here, whether used for vampire legends or murder mysteries, it certainly fits the place.
However, in Fang Zheng and Hana’s eyes, the castle before them had even more disconcerting aspects.
"Uh..."
Just one glance at the castle, Kurotou Hana rapidly covered her mouth, as if she had seen something disgusting.
"You saw it, right."
Looking at Hana beside him, Fang Zheng reached out and patted her shoulder, a Radiance of Magic flashed by quietly.
"This is the essence of such a thing as magician, even building a castle is so nauseating..."
Indeed, if others were to see it, they’d only think this an old, rundown ancient city, but in Fang Zheng and Hana’s eyes, they saw the things inside its ’appearance’.
It seemed like a huge person, entirely turned inside out like a ball, with their skin stuck inside, and flesh and bones exposed to the air.
"Hu... Hu..."
"You must be careful, although your Origin is very suited to studying and learning magic, the disadvantage is your sensitivity is too high, and the more you interact with these perverts, the easier it is to warp... I’ll teach you some Protection Class spells next time."
"Hu... Thank you, Little Hong."
Taking a breath, Hana finally came back to her senses. It wasn’t that she was oversensitive earlier; in fact, the moment she saw the castle, Hana felt as if she stood before a giant mutilated corpse, even clearly seeing the gradually rotting organs, the stench overwhelming, as if wanting to drag her entire self into that corpse-filled world.
"This is..."
"That’s right, this is the magician’s workshop. Of course, depending on personal preference, the workshop’s appearance can vary. But this one here, it definitely belongs to the overwhelmingly disgusting type."
Fang Zheng gave his evaluation without hesitation, and Hana silently nodded. She had attended classes in Fiore’s magical workshop, which gave her a calm and reassuring feeling. But as for the current workshop, she simply couldn’t adjust to it no matter what.
"Alright, let’s go in."
Fang Zheng didn’t say much more and led Hana inside directly. An elderly man standing at the entrance looking like a butler received their invitation and carefully checked it before respectfully making way, sending a servant to lead them into the castle.
"Thud...thud...thud..."
The sound of footsteps occasionally echoed in the vast castle, making people feel agitated.
"Besides us, who else is here?"
Bored walking down the corridor, Fang Zheng asked, and upon hearing her inquiry, the servant leading them respectfully replied.
"You two are the first to arrive here."
"Huh? So the spectators arrived even before the actors did, do these people have any sense of professionalism at all?"
"Ahahaha..."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s complaint, Hana couldn’t help but show a wry smile. Though they indeed came to watch the show, there was no need to say it outright. Hana also noticed that this red ponytail girl seemed to dislike those magicians quite a bit, but her attitude of treating others as jokers was...rather amusing.
The servant said nothing, simply leading them to the parlor before taking his leave. Fang Zheng casually found a sofa to sit on, then took out a PSP from his pocket, beginning to play it joyfully.
"It’s unimaginable..."
Hana sat dumbfounded beside him, taking in the surroundings—since they entered the castle, she discovered that its owner had a deep-seated love for angels.
Everywhere you looked, there were angels on stained glass, angels carved on pillars, angels painted on walls, angels on hanging paintings, angelic decorations on cabinet patterns, angel carved armrests on sofas, and angel designs on coffee table surfaces.
"Little Hong..."
"Hmm?"
"Why do magicians pursue the Origin?"
Hana mumbled her question. She certainly knew of a magician’s goal, but as a magical girl, she couldn’t comprehend it.
"Who knows, but...I have a few small guesses."
Saying this, Fang Zheng chuckled.
"When you think it over, you’ll find the whole thing was absurd from the start."
"Absurd?"
"Yes, you must have heard from Fiore that modern magecraft has declined."
"Well...I have heard that."
"Indeed, considering modern magicians pitifulness, ancient ones were extremely strong, achieving mythical, legendary feats like Cinderella’s crystal shoe effortlessly. But have you wondered why those ancient magicians didn’t pursue the Vortex of Origin? They were several thousand times stronger than modern magicians, with potent magecraft and spell abilities, far surpassing those today. Many had divine blood or were demigods, so it’d be less difficult for them to chase the Origin Vortex than for modern magicians."
"Now that you mention it...it does seem logical, but maybe magicians reached it back then?"
"Hehehe, if anyone like that existed today, they’d be idolized by magicians, but sadly, none exist."
"Then why is it?"
Curiosity piqued, Hana asked further, and Fang Zheng paused his PSP, pondering a moment before smiling maliciously.
"I don’t know, but here’s an amusing guess...Hana, you know the game of telephone?"
"Of course, I know that."
"You must also know how amusing it becomes when passed along by many people; the meaning drastically changes from the first to the last person."
"Yes...It is amusing...Wait, so you’re implying...?"
"Exactly."
By now, Fang Zheng was swaying on the sofa like a cunning little fox.
"My personal guess? A great magician might’ve said something to his descendants along the lines of finding his treasure at the Vortex of Origin for everything they wanted. Maybe it was to inspire or offer another path, since everything’s in the Origin, once reached, all they wanted could be found. But over time, the message got twisted...hehehe, like a pirate before execution saying to find my treasure at the Great Waterway—and off they went for decades, initially for treasure but the tale twisted into claiming the title Pirate King!"
"Very amusing indeed."
Suddenly, an elderly voice emerged.
"So are magicians pursuing the Origin just jokers?"
"Seems so to me."
Hana, surprised by the unexpected voice behind her, stood up, while Fang Zheng kept fiddling with his PSP.
"The current magicians are like finding an alien spaceship fragment on the beach and hoping to reconstruct alien civilization—nothing more ridiculous!"
At this point, Fang Zheng paused his game and looked toward the door. With faint metallic scraping sounds, a wheelchair-bound elderly man appeared before them. He looked over eighty and resembled a mummy, while behind him was a boy, or rather, a doll-like servant; seemingly robotic, his eyes stared vacantly while he pushed the wheelchair.
"Hehehe, young people these days have sharp tongues; are you the emissaries from the heretic?"
"I’d rather not be labeled heretic."
Fang Zheng dismissed the notion with a smirk.
"The World Tree of a Thousand Realms exists for the world, far more valuable...than your Mage’s Association."
"Can a young girl like you comprehend a magician’s ideal?"
With this, the elderly man’s brow furrowed seriously, whereas Fang Zheng glanced once before resuming focus downward.
"Your ideals mean nothing to the World Tree of a Thousand Realms nor the world itself. Closing doors for self amusement is one thing, but disrupting others is another...I imagine governments dislike inexplicable disasters and murder cases in their countries."
"Hmph!"
Faced with this, the elder’s face fell; Fang Zheng touched on their weakest point. Hundreds of years ago, they could leverage mysterious forces for a ruler’s collaboration, but now, with progress and development, magicians become marginalized, clinging to wealth and power for support—yet no longer as before.
"I shall see what the World Tree of a Thousand Realms is capable of!"
As he spoke, he gently tapped his cane, unleashing hundreds of golden butterflies surrounding Fang Zheng and Hana.
Facing this attack, Fang Zheng didn’t even look up; instead, Hana reacted first.
With a quick gesture, her fingers traced mysterious symbols in the air, and suddenly a wall of flame rose, dividing them from the elder. The golden butterflies vanished instantly in the fire without any trace.
Then Hana swung her hand, retracting the flames, leaving only a pitch-black scorched mark on the ground without altering the surroundings.
"So..."
Finally, Fang Zheng put away the PSP, fixing his gaze on the elder.
"Times have changed, old man."

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