—My idea is the following—. He took some time to set the solid idea in his head.
—Since we already have some places of reference, I should try going with Ghostfreak or Upgrade to those part-time shops; with some luck, there will be a name that repeats several times.—
Then he looked at Gwen and Toshinori.
—Meanwhile, Gwen, Grandpa, you could look for the origin of the ritual; if someone unfamiliar with the existence of magic was able to find it, it shouldn't be that difficult.—
There was a moment of hesitation, but it was understandable; they had never acted separately for so long, and even less had they faced someone unknown with such a level of malice.
—Izuku, I'm not sure…—
—I-I'll be fine, I promise, in and out, it's going to be quick!—. He looked at Gwen, seeking support.
She hesitated; she wasn't sure about this either.
«But there's no other way, I can't think of any other solution.»
With a resigned sigh, she agreed to the child's silent request and, with the sharpest precision of a child who convinces an adult not to buy a toy, she spoke softly to the adult at her side.
—Come on, Grandpa. Izuku can handle this; he's already faced bigger threats. I mean, Vilgax and Kevin were colossi of a different magnitude—
The old man had to silently agree with that; he still remembered that battle in which, whether by fate or pure luck, Master Control allowed the boy to face those creatures.
At the same time, he mentally recalled how Gwen jumped into the portal to follow him; if he didn't believe that Izuku could escape without problems, he would have been just as reluctant as that man who refuses to change political parties.
—Anyway, he already promised that if there's danger, he'll escape without thinking. Isn't that right, Izuku?—
—O-of course I will!—. The boy nodded, accompanied by a stiff jolt in a military salute.
With a sigh, Toshinori swallowed his words.
«When did they become so cool?!»
Perhaps between facing a giant robot, defeating a troublesome mage, or saving the universe from an explosion.
«Still, I think Nana once mentioned something about an invocation ritual, but I never paid too much attention.» He mentally scolded himself; they were sad memories, memories of a world that had never welcomed him kindly, with open arms.
—Alright, Izuku—. He agreed. —Remember to be careful. Gwen and I will start at the public library, but if we don't find anything, we'll move on to the church.—
—Why the Church?— Gwen asked.
—One of the few things I managed to learn about magic is that the church, the families, and the clock tower go hand in hand—
«Ah, now I remember—the Holy Grail, a treasure with the ability to grant any wish, with no limits to its power, capable of doing both good and evil.»
—…Alright, change of plans. Gwen, we'll go to the library first; we'll look for something related to the Holy Grail and, if possible, some information on the oldest families of Fuyuki. Then we'll go to the church, but I don't think they'll tell us much.—
—So, the Holy Grail…—
With the plan laid out, breakfast passed in the blink of an eye; soon, the camper was leaving the dense forest where it had been, following the road toward the seemingly calm city that awaited them eagerly.
«Holy Grail, Holy Grail… Here it is!» In a library, Gwen read each word carefully, mentally reviewing the composition of every sentence several times to make sure nothing slipped away.
The library wasn't huge; it was of average size. There were only two large tables in the middle, enough to seat ten adult lovers of reading.
Two green lamps stood out against the dull brown color that made up almost 90% of the library. On the sides, as if they were a maze extending from the tables, several bookshelves stretched along, storing thousands of books of all kinds.
—Uncle… I found information about the Holy Grail— she whispered, because even while facing an impending confrontation, they were in a library; silence was the rule.
—Very well done, Gwen!—
—Shhh—. The kind old woman reminded him; apparently she had already grown accustomed to her nephew's noisy personality.
—I-I'm sorry.—
—The Holy Grail, or the Holy Chalice, is the cup used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. Since time immemorial, it has been the subject of legends and tales. Various legends refer to it, and sometimes they attribute healing properties to it, and at other times the power to resurrect the dead or feed thousands of soldiers.—
—In other words, it's a cup capable of granting a miracle…—
Gwen concluded.
—Yes, but I doubt it's that simple. A tool created and used by God shouldn't be summoned by a ritual, much less by such a bloody one—
—Do you have any idea?—
—Yes… It's something that someone very close to me once mentioned—regretful of some decisions in her life, for just a few moments, she considered the idea of participating in what could easily be called a War— «Even after so much time, it's painful to talk about her…» —It was madness, I know; who in their right mind would go to war of their own free will? Of course, not without the intention of saving someone— «She was a strong woman, of course, stronger than anyone I've ever known, but even so she wasn't free of regrets, and leaving her child behind to keep him safe was probably what affected her the most.» —I like to think that it was for me and for her own strength that she managed to understand and accept her mistakes; she never used them as an excuse or hid them away in the basement. Whenever she could, she reminded me of her mistakes so I wouldn't repeat them… Sorry, I'm rambling. Where were we? Right, the Holy Grail. In short, the prize for the victor of that war was an artifact with the ability to grant any wish.—
—Uncle, I'm sure she would have been proud of what you became. I think that if she could see how her teachings reflected in your actions, she would be at peace.—
—Thank you, Gwen. I would have loved for you to meet her; she was so much like you— He placed his hand on her head and gave her a warm pat. —Both you and Izuku are wonderful children; I can't explain how proud I am of what you've done this summer.—
—Your old uncle, on the other hand, didn't lag behind— he added jovially. —The kind old woman who's been watching us closely shared with me the names of the three most relevant families of Fuyuki.
Matou, Einzbern, and the Tohsaka…—
—Do you recognize any of them from your teacher's stories?— Gwen asked, intrigued.
—By name, yes—at least one. The Tohsaka, a family of mages…—
—Uh, this is getting way too complicated. I wonder how Izuku is doing…—
Several blocks away, a green-haired boy walked through the city in a single direction. He carried a map and was heading toward the last two shops left to cross off on his crumpled map, which was now rolled up in his right hand.
He wore a short white T-shirt with a black line running from the collar down to the bottom; the edges of his sleeves were the same color.
His pants were wide, light green, and he finished the look with shoes that shared the same color pattern as his shirt.
However, what stood out most about the boy—besides his age and, of course, the clear exhaustion from so much walking—was the bulky watch on his left hand. With a rough, thick appearance, it rested on his wrist, making his arm look thinner than it really was.
White, gray, black, with green details.
The most striking feature was the dial, now red, which, when activated, allowed him to transform into different aliens.
«Just one more block, I turn right at the corner and I'll reach the second-to-last shop of the day.»
When he arrived, he saw it; it was similar to the others—a shop that sold candy, soft drinks, food, and other beverages not suitable for children his age.
He slipped into the alley and waited a few seconds, awaiting the moment with unprecedented impatience.
The watch turned green, and that was when the action began.
He pressed the button on the right side of the watch and the dial extended upward; the patterns on the cylinder that kept it attached to the watch glowed with green energy patterns.
The hourglass-shaped figure extended; where there had once been only a strong green color, there was now the figure of a ghost. He thought for a few moments and decided to use the same strategy as in the previous shops.
The dial was slammed downward by the weight of his right palm, and a green glow spread throughout the entire alley.
His DNA changed in a matter of instants; his body thinned drastically, becoming skeletal. His eyes disappeared, leaving dark, empty sockets. His skin turned gray, then translucent, giving him an ectoplasmic appearance.
His feet vanished, his arms elongated, and his head became stretched,
Now gray, his body was adorned with fine lines that connected across him, positioning the watch where his chest would have been.
The symbol was green.
A single violet-colored eye was located in the middle.
—Ghostfreak!—
The boy's voice had vanished, replaced by a sinister, lifeless voice with a subtle tone of ghostly menace.
—Alright, let's finish this once and for all.—
He floated toward the nearest wall and passed straight through it; his translucent body met no resistance from the thick brick wall.
He carefully observed the people who were shopping, the clerk attending to customers, and the one who was stubbornly trying to remove the soda stain caused by a child just three minutes earlier—all of them unaware of the intrusion of an alien.
He looked at the cameras and decided to wait a few minutes until the computer beside the cash register was free.