Shinji Matou at Your Service

Realizing Arcueid's weakness, Shinji lost the mood to tease her.

"She is the ruler of the Land of Shadows, someone who placed herself in a magical realm to transcend human wisdom, possessing terrifying skills that touch the divine. She is an eternal queen, ageless and immortal."

"Sounds pretty impressive," Arcueid tilted her head slightly.

"Ah, very impressive. I haven't seen anyone more formidable than her... well, among humans."

Hesitating for a moment, he chose humans because he wasn't sure if the current real Scáthach was stronger than The Wizard Marshall Zerlretch. Judging purely by the destructive power of Gáe Bolg Alternative and Second Magic, the Wizard Marshall might be stronger, but no one could guarantee that Scáthach didn't have even more powerful techniques—after all, she was always growing stronger.

Thinking about this, he suddenly felt a lack of confidence. Even if he stepped into the realm of magic and awakened his Origin, could he surpass her?

"Hey, who do you think is stronger, me or her?"

Seeing Shinji's changing expression, Arcueid for some reason developed a competitive spirit.

"You and her... that's a tough question to answer."

Shinji stroked his chin and thought carefully. Although the Type-Moon fans loved comparing power levels, these two women had extremely high potential and fluctuating abilities, making it hard to compare.

"The current you would lose to her true form. In Mooncell, where you have the Ultimate One, you would win."

"I see... And if I reclaim the power Roa stole from me?"

"Well... it depends on the environment. In the Land of Shadows, she has a higher chance of winning. On the moon, you have a higher chance. In the present world, you win at night, and she wins during the day. Of course, the more likely outcome is a prolonged battle, since both of you have nearly immortal bodies. This is just my personal opinion, though—not necessarily accurate."

"Is she really that formidable?"

Arcueid was skeptical.

"Yes."

Shinji nodded.

"She is a god-slayer, having killed gods. Do you think that's impressive?"

"You seem to... know her well?"

Arcueid's lips pouted more and more.

"No one in the present world knows her better than I do. She is my... Hmmm? Come out!"

Halfway through his sentence, Shinji suddenly turned to look at the nearby staircase, gripping the Divine Gunblade and Silver Rune Bullet in both hands.

In the next second, the just-restored iron door opened slightly, and a familiar voice called out from inside.

"Shinji?"

"Shiki?"

The gap between the door and frame quickly widened, and the owner of the voice pushed the door open. It was indeed Tohno Shiki.

"It is you."

"Of course it's me. Teacher Touko's 'eyes have been watching here all along."

"And we saw through the crystal ball. But until we see for ourselves, we can't be completely at ease."

"Now that you've seen, put on your glasses. Being stared at like that gives me the creeps."

Shiki wasn't wearing his glasses and was holding the Nanaya knife. Although Shinji knew he was being cautious and wanted to confirm his identity with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, being stared at by those eyes made Shinji feel incredibly fragile, as if he could be cut open at any moment.

More importantly, Shinji was worried that Shiki might lose control of his impulses under the stimulus of death. Although Shiki had been training with Ryougi Shiki and Touko for several years and could control himself better now, in extreme situations, the Inversion Impulse could still erupt, such as prolonged exposure to death or an overly strong presence of non-humans—both conditions were currently met.

"Sorry, sorry."

Shiki quickly averted his gaze but didn't put on his glasses.

"What about that vampire called Night of Wallachia?"

"Dead. And you guys over there, stop hiding and come out."

"Is it dead?"

Akiha peeked out from the staircase.

"Didn't you see through the crystal ball? Ah, the Tohno residence isn't close to here. You probably rushed over before seeing the end."

"That's correct. When Night of Wallachia turned into a human, we hurried over as quickly as possible to provide support."

"That was me driving, speeding, and running red lights the whole way, and it only took less than ten minutes," Kohaku's head also popped out.

"You're amazing. Aren't you afraid of having your license revoked?"

Shinji joked half-seriously.

"For the sake of the young mistress, I would charge forward even if it means being smashed to pieces! That is the duty of a maid!"

Kohaku struck a dramatic pose, though her exaggerated act implied that she had truly let go of her past hatred.

Well done, Shiki—Shinji secretly gave Shiki a thumbs-up.

Shiki, completely clueless about the situation, could only scratch his head awkwardly.

"Is that Night of Wallachia dead?"

"Dead, not even dust left. If you don't believe me, ask Touko—hmm?"

At this point, Shinji frowned and activated his mental scan.

"No, it's not Touko. This feeling is—Etherlite? Sion Eltnam Atlasia?"

A third head—no, at this point, there was no need to hide. Everyone lurking in the shadows stepped out. Besides the resources he had reviewed beforehand, there was another familiar face, Riesbyfe, whom he had fought three years ago.

Wow, almost all the relevant characters from Melty Blood showed up, especially Sion and Riesbyfe, those close friends. They missed each other for some reason in 1998, and three years later, they met again. Judging by their positions, they indeed had great chemistry—no doubt about their close friendship. If Satsuki Yumizuka were added, the Back Alley Alliance would be complete.

Sion had no idea what Shinji was thinking. She first glanced at Arcueid, who was annoyed at being interrupted, then addressed Shinji, "You... know me?"

"I've seen your profile and received a request to find you. Truly, it was effortless."

"Wait, Miss Sion is under the protection of our Holy Church. I, Riesbyfe Stridberg, will not allow any unidentified individuals to approach her. Magus, state your affiliation and purpose."

Riesbyfe stepped in front of Sion, making Shinji want to retort—alright, I get it, you two are close friends, do you have to show off so much?

"Shinji Matou, affiliated with the Clock Tower. Our headquarters received a request from the Atlas Institute to help find Miss Sion."

"The Holy Church also accepted the same request, and Miss Sion is a crucial witness for us. No matter what, I must take her back to headquarters."

Riesbyfe's stance was firm and unyielding.

PS: Shinji was in disguise wearing Hade's cloak when he first met Riesbyfe.