"Those eyes of yours..."
Rin unconsciously gulped, her voice trembling with shock.
"I had no idea you possessed such—such absurdly powerful Mystic Eyes?"
A single glance destroyed the corrupted Caster's Noble Phantasm!
What kind of joke was this?!
Mystic Eyes were indeed formidable. Most magecraft required complex preparations and rituals, whereas Mystic Eyes could execute a complete spell in an instant with nothing more than a glance.
Add to that the fact that Mystic Eyes couldn't be directly observed, nor could their nature be discerned from appearance alone, making them exceptionally difficult to defend against.
However, the vast majority of Mystic Eyes in the world were utterly mediocre.
The lowest-grade artificial Mystic Eyes only possessed abilities like charm or suggestion—basic hypnotic techniques that were foundational among magi.
Only natural-born Mystic Eyes, like the petrifying gaze of the mythical Medusa, could be considered exceptions. Abilities such as binding, compulsion, contracts, flame ignition, illusions, and curses—those that couldn't be replicated through artificial means—were the truly powerful ones.
Classified by colour, basic Mystic Eyes emitted green or red light, while higher-tier ones shone gold, earning them the classification of "Gold Rank."
Mystic Eyes that reached the realm of the divine radiated with gem-like brilliance or prismatic hues.
Given the performance of Roy's Mystic Eyes, they undoubtedly belonged to the divine tier.
Though not rainbow-grade, they were still the exceedingly rare "Jewel Rank"—practically extinct in this era, the kind a magus might spend a lifetime searching for without ever encountering!
But—
How could Roy possibly possess such high-grade Mystic Eyes?
Mystic Eyes of this caliber were always innate, natural-born supernatural abilities!
Yet Roy wasn't even a normal human to begin with!
His eyes had to be artificially created!
Did that mean his Mystic Eyes were also man-made?
Just who could manufacture Jewel-rank Mystic Eyes?!
"These are called Spiral Eyes."
Roy nodded, the light in his eyes fading.
"Just one look is enough to finish off the target. Pretty impressive, right?"
"Eh? Ah, yeah..."
Rin seemed distracted, her head lowered, her face filled with unease.
She was trapped in a spiral of dread—Could someone really mass-produce Jewel-rank Mystic Eyes?!
Unable to break free.
"Stop lying!"
Archer's brow furrowed, unable to hold back any longer.
"If those were Spiral Eyes, the corrupted Caster should've been twisted apart in an instant! There wouldn't have been any need for Saber to finish him off! And I didn't see the slightest distortion in that grimoire—it looked more like a spell backlash or loss of control...!"
"Heh!"
Roy chuckled, offering no further explanation.
"Master!"
At that moment, Okita, who had gone to deliver the final blow, swiftly descended the hill.
"I found a group of ordinary people on the mountain—about a dozen. Could they be refugees?"
"Refugees?"
Rin finally snapped out of her daze.
"Take us to see them!"
Okita glanced at Roy.
After receiving his nod, she led the group up the hill.
The hillside was now completely devoid of sea demons—not a single tentacle remained—leaving behind only slimy secretions as proof of their existence.
These demons had been summoned through magecraft, much like Servants were summoned by the Greater Grail. Just as Servants would vanish if the Greater Grail were destroyed, the sea demons could no longer sustain their forms once the Prelati's Spellbook was obliterated.
As they ascended, a splash of crimson suddenly caught their attention.
Rin's expression changed, and she hurried forward.
After a brief inspection, her face twisted in disgust.
Roy approached and saw tattered fabric—
And a scattering of severed limbs.
Kneeling down, Roy examined the wounds closely. The torn flesh was ragged—not clean cuts from a blade, but the marks of savage beastly bites.
Given the sea demons that had covered the hillside, the cause wasn't hard to guess.
"There are still survivors inside."
Archer returned from further ahead.
Rin took a deep breath, steeling herself.
Together, they entered a cave.
Inside, a handful of people still clung to life.
A quick count put their numbers at just over ten, men and women alike, all huddled together in terror as they stared at the newcomers.
"You're safe now. The monsters outside have been dealt with—well, more accurately, he was the one who took care of them..."
Rin forced a gentle smile, doing her best to reassure the refugees.
"R-Really... it's over?"
"Those things are gone?"
"Thank god! Waaah—!"
Their trembling questions were met with Rin's firm confirmation. Some burst into laughter, others into tears, and a few hurled curses at the sea demons and the corrupted Caster.
They had likely witnessed the horrors of the demons feasting on human flesh firsthand, their fear pushed to the breaking point.
"It's okay... we're safe now..."
Among the survivors, two young women clung tightly to each other.
The one shielding the other had short pink hair, her ample figure—surpassing even Utaha's—accentuated by a white blouse and a school-style pleated skirt.
Her light attire was no match for the February chill, leaving her skin flushed with cold, yet she stubbornly held the other girl close, as if her own warmth could ward off the terror.
The second girl appeared to be the same age, around sixteen or seventeen, with long chestnut hair that partially obscured her eyes. A pair of headphones hung around her neck, and she wore a green knit sweater with glossy black pantyhose.
Far meeker than her protector, she buried herself in the other's embrace, tears streaming down her face as the pink-haired girl—equally frightened but forcing herself to be brave—whispered reassurances.
Their faces were identical.
Twins.
Like two rabbits huddling together in a snowstorm, sharing what little warmth they had.
The moment Roy saw them, an image from an anime flashed through his mind.
"These two... could they be—?"
Rin busied herself for a while longer.
Her familiars had been scouting the skies for some time, and it wasn't until deep into the night that a squad of guards finally arrived at the hillside—some of them yawning loudly.
"Take care of them. Make sure they get back to the city safely. They've been through a lot, so be patient with them."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The soldiers snapped to attention, their faces alight with admiration.
Rin seemed to have quite the fanbase among the guards.
Accompanying the squad were three magi.
One of them—a golden-haired, dark-skinned man with distinctly Middle Eastern features—yawned repeatedly, his face a mask of irritation.
A wealthy oil tycoon from the Middle East, forced to work a night shift.
Atram Galiasta was in a foul mood.
That is, until his eyes landed on the strikingly beautiful, identical twin sisters among the refugees.
His spirits lifted instantly.
***
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