Chapter 2 Part 1: Power Struggle

The young magus had returned to the university town of his own faculty. Instead of going to his dormitory, he went to the main building of the Faculty of Creation. After entering and talking to the secretary, he informed her that he had an appointment with Lord Valualeta. However, he was forced to wait several minutes until she attended to him. After the secretary gestured to him that he would be attended to, he proceeded to enter the dean's office.

A peculiar room, within what it fits; however, it remained within the normal for a magus. In the deepest part of the room was Inorai Valualeta Atroholm, head of the Department of Creation and a member of the Democratic Faction.

She was an old lady, and both her hair and her eyes were grey. Also, she wore a long green dress with purple details.

With a simple gesture, she invited him in. "Come in, Emiya Shirou, or would you prefer to be called Muramasa Shirou?"

He was in front of one of the people who occupied the position of Lord within the Association, and despite her appearance, her presence was overwhelming, so much so that Shirou believed that he would be crushed at any moment.

"As you wish, my lady, both are my surnames, and I do not consider either one inferior to the other, and until I achieve my goal, I will not feel comfortable with either one."

"That's good." The woman smiled. "One of our principles is that all magi should be able to take pride, not in their last names or their history, but their own achievements."

The woman narrowed her eyes and, with a smile, answered, "But you plan to achieve something, that's why you came here, isn't it?"

Shirou nodded.

"What do you pursue, Muramasa Shirou? What do you aspire to create? And, more importantly, will you be able to achieve it?"

At that moment, a fire was lit inside the blacksmith's heart. He was in front of a Lord, a magus capable of killing him with extreme ease, and any raising of his voice could be considered an insult. However, if she wanted to test her determination, then he would walk straight to the same death if necessary.

Shirou nodded. "I will create that blade! The ultimate sword, one that surpasses all others."

She put her hands in front of her person and asked him, "You know where we are, don't you? You know what sword is revered in this country, don't you?"

He nodded. "Excalibur."

She nodded. "Still being in the country that saw birth to Excalibur; The Sword of Promised Victory, and Caliburn; The Golden Sword of the Victorious. Two of the greatest swords that ever existed, one of them is a Divine Construction guarded by the fairies, even so, can you keep your words?"

Shirou nodded without hesitation as he advanced. "Even to that sword, I will overcome. Because my goal goes far beyond; to create the ultimate sword, I must not only surpassExcalibur, but I must also go beyond..."

"Go beyond...? Excalibur is a Divine Construct and the pinnacle of sacred swords. Being the strongest sacred sword, its only equal is the strongest demonic sword, Gram. It is the greatest heroic treasure tempered by the planet, the crystallization of desires of all humanity, stored within the world, guarded by its extensions, the fairies. And you will go beyond!?" Valualeta asked strongly. "Do you know what you are saying?"

Without backing down, Shirou nodded. "Yes, I know. I don't want to reach the pinnacle of sacred swords or create a sword that promises victory. And, as beautiful as they are, I'm not interested in the crystallized desires of humanity. What I must reach, no, what I will create must be able to cut it off...!"

"Cut it?" Valualeta was confused. "Cut what?"

And, in the face of that question, the fire went out of control. "Everything. What I seek to create is a sword that cuts through more than just steel, flesh, bone, and life itself. I will create it. A sword that will end any entity, with the bonds, one that will cut off certainty, the causality, and karma itself!" Shirou reflected for a moment. "In short, a sword that cuts and frees from fate. And I will continue with my objective as long as my body resists and I have the strength to forge it. I will create it."

The blacksmith's apprentice was expecting him, at best, to be expelled. Although all he did was answer the question he was asked, the way he answered was his mistake. Lost control of himself and, not being able to stay calm, he raised his voice against a Lord, indirectly challenging her. Unconsciously, he closed his eyes, waiting for the harsh words of the dean.

"Ha...!"

"Huh?"

"Ha, ha, ha…"

Is she laughing? But it doesn't seem like she's putting me down...

Shirou opened his eyes and saw how the head of the Creation Department was laughing willingly.

"That's a great goal and a greater achievement if you can reach it." Valualeta stopped laughing. "And what is the guarantee that you will achieve it?"

"That would be me, Lady Valualeta," for the first time since he had entered the office, Muramasa spoke.

Shirou held his katana and drew it so that the dean could see it.

"So, you are the spirit that possesses the sword, one of the three great blacksmiths of the Muramasa School of Forging, Muramasa Senji. Is it not so?"

"That's right. I am the guarantor that this boy can create the ultimate sword."

"Oh? And how are you supposed to be the guarantor?"

"This sword is for us what for you is a Magic Crest. Perhaps I cannot enhance the magecraft of my holder, as I do not have Magic Circuits, but that was never necessary for us. Weare not magi in the full sense of the word. It is more correct to say that we are blacksmiths related to Magecraft."

"And…?"

"I keep the knowledge and techniques that our family has inherited since the school was founded, as well as my own experience as a blacksmith. I can assure you that the more than five hundred years that we have been perfecting our techniques have not been in vain, he will be able to achieve it; he will be able to create swords that surpass even mine. I am sure."

"About that, since I researched your family, I always had a doubt," said the dean curiously, "why haven't we heard about new creations from the Muramasa School during the last almost five hundred years?"

"Many amazing swords, and other weapons, were forged by different generations during all these years, but..."

"What happened to these?" asked the Lord.

"We destroyed most of these," commented Muramasa without any interest.

"What?" asked Valualeta, stunned.

"What our family seeks to create is solely the ultimate sword. Anything less than that for us is nothing more than a failure. It would be like for you magi a failed investigation. Even so, at first, we gave them away, but as swords gained fame as weapons against the Tokugawa dynasty, we decided to stop for our own safety."

"So, they just destroyed them? Every single one of those great weapons was just destroyed?"

"A failure is a failure, no matter how good it is. And, if we couldn't even use them, then, what was the point of keeping them?"

Overcoming her stupefaction, she continued. "Even so, in these five hundred years, you have not been able to create such a weapon. What makes you think you will be able to create it now?"

"Who says we haven't created it...?" Senji replied mockingly.

Grandpa...!

Shirou thought worried. The taunting was something only a fool would do when facing a Lord. Although, on the other hand, he raised his voice and challenged her indirectly, so he had no right to reply to his ancestor.

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you claiming that you have already created such a sword?"

"Something like that... Although I reached a create sword with those characteristics, we could say that it was incomplete."

"Incomplete? I can assume that you have already found what is missing?"

Muramasa would have nodded if he could. "Indeed, although I had to wait for five hundred long years..."

"For five hundred years?" Valualeta watched Shirou before stretching out her hand. "Boy, your hand."

Shirou did as she was asked and showed her his hand.

She read the lines on the blacksmith's apprentice's palm and her eyes opened for a moment, "This is... the same origin and element: sword. You are a specialist, this is something with such low probabilities that it is almost impossible. For a normal magus, if this happens, it can ruin their careers, but, for you, who seek to create the ultimate sword..."

"It is as if some blacksmith god has smiled at us," his ancestor completed the phrase.

"This gives some credibility to your words... But just by chance, if you were to fail, how would you contribute to our faction?"

"I would offer my services," replied the boy.

"Explain yourself."

"Even if I don't succeed in creating that sword, I will be able to forge weapons with a quality not seen in the last five hundred years. And Such weapons could be sold for a great deal of money. But, if they are weapons for the faction that sponsored me, I am sure the price would drop greatly.

"Hmm... That's more than an interesting offer, young. How much would we be talking about?"

"Hmm, how about a 40% discount?"

"60%," said the old woman.

"50%," contest Shirou.

"65%," said the dean.

"55%, and you won't find Mystical Codes that have the same quality and at that price," the blacksmith concluded.

"Well, that seems like a reasonable deal to me. Tell me, what will you need to create that weapon?"

"I would only need the materials to forge. It would also help to have access to any sword that is significant. I don't need the swords themselves, it is enough that I can see something directly related to them," after thinking about it for a bit, he completed, "that would be all. The rest will be done by my skills and my Projection Magecraft."

This surprised the dean. "Do you plan to create that weapon using only Gradation Air?"

Shirou nodded.

Valualeta smiled. "So, it's done..."

"Wait! That means..."

The dean nodded. "You have presented us with a situation where, if we sponsor you, we will have a win-win deal. In light of this, I have decided to help you, which will reduce his tuition fees. We will provide the necessary elements to continue his research, and also, you will have our protection, including the concealment of his other lineage, of course."

Shirou bowed and answered, "Thank you very much. The only thing I can do to show my gratitude is to get the results to expect."

"And that's what I hope. You may withdraw, young Muramasa."

He gave a slight nod and left the office, not without first saying, "By the way, Lady Valuleta, perhaps you should check the formulas in the magic circles engraved on your office."

"Hmm? Why?"

Shirou pointed to a spot behind Valualeta, just to her right. "There is a great concentration of mana accumulated in that place. Maybe you should check it out."

She smiled. "I'll keep it in mind."

That said, Shirou left the office.