C294

There are so many people in this world, whether they're magi or Dead Apostles, who just want to cause trouble. Though they didn't pose much of a threat to him, it was still important to keep a close eye on things to prevent any major incidents or harm to those around him.

In reality, his true form didn't have Mystic Eyes that could see things that are normally invisible. However, by using the Noble Phantasm of the Eternal King, he could see through anything and everything.

But the Eternal King couldn't manifest in the real world. So, if he returned to reality, Shirou wouldn't be able to activate the Noble Phantasm of the Eternal King and wouldn't be able to see what Scathach was referring to as the anomaly.

But in the realm of dreams, Shirou had the ability to tap into the persona of the Eternal King and combine it with Merlin's Clairvoyance EX, enabling him to directly observe the anomalies occurring in Fuyuki City.

By using the Noble Phantasm and activating Clairvoyance EX, his perspective expanded in an instant. It felt as if he had sprouted countless pairs of eyes, granting him the ability to see every inch of land and every person in the world.

The sheer volume of information would have overwhelmed his mind if he hadn't been using the Eternal King's persona.

Despite that, the massive influx of information still proved to be too much for him to handle, causing him to instinctively tap his head with his palm.

"What's wrong, Shirou?"

"Ah, not much. I may have gone a bit overboard with the Clairvoyance. I'll try to narrow it down."

To be honest, he wasn't particularly fond of relying on Merlin's Clairvoyance for this very reason. It was a tricky ability to control and often resulted in seeing a worldwide overload of information. Handling such an immense amount of data without caution could easily overwhelm his mind.

Fortunately, the EX-level Clairvoyance was only accessible when he occupied the body of the Eternal King.

Shrinking the perspective's range to his own room, Shirou, as if viewing from the eyes of a god, observed himself sound asleep on the bed. To his surprise, he also noticed Risuka stealthily slipping under the covers, burying her head in his nightshirt, peacefully dozing off.

What caught his attention was the appearance of a text line floating above their heads, visible only to him:

First, it appeared above himself - [The Eternal King]

Then, it materialized above Ritsuka - [This King's foolish, embarrassing excuse for a little sister, who can only obediently exist under this King's protection, Fujimaru Ritsuka...]

Shirou could feel a headache creeping in. This Noble Phantasm was a lost cause; it spared no one, not even his own little sister.

Expanding the perspective to encompass the entirety of Fuyuki City, Shirou's expression grew solemn as his eyes were bombarded with a multitude of text descriptions.

Those were textual descriptions, like the dialogue boxes of NPCs in RPG games. In truth, it was simply the ability of the second Noble Phantasm to see through everything, presented to Shirou in a way he could understand.

Overlooking the entire Fuyuki City, Shirou's expression became focused.

While joking around and relaxing were enjoyable, when it came to serious matters, he was always on top of his game.

Observing from the god's perspective, he meticulously surveyed Fuyuki City, detecting six significant anomalies.

First and foremost, his own residence. In his Eternal King state, he could witness countless "Evil" forces converging towards his house, only to be absorbed by his sleeping self. Additionally, there was an immense and indescribable distortion hovering around Sakura's room.

There was no doubt that this distorted space was a result of Sakura harnessing the power of Tiamat.

Having spent more than a year in this era, he had become aware of Sakura's connection to the imaginary space and her possession of a fraction of Tiamat's power. However, he strictly prohibited Sakura from using Tiamat's power to protect her from being consumed by it. Furthermore, Tiamat was aware of Shirou's existence, yet there had been no direct contact between them.

Sakura mentioned that Tiamat harbored an intense hatred for humans, but curiously, she also had a strange affection for them, almost like a "mother."

Apart from his house, there were some really weird things happening in Fuyuki City. The biggest anomaly was going down at Ryuudou Temple where the Enlightened One resided. Then there was this small black room where Arcueid stayed, and the Emiya household where Illya, who got a fresh start thanks to the Holy Grail, was staying.

He knew all about these anomalies.

But there were two anomalies that he had never even heard of.

One was going down at Homurahara Academy, and the other was just roaming around the streets nearby.

Shirou frowned.

He didn't think there was anything strange happening at Homurahara Academy, but the fact that the nearby street was flagged as abnormal caught his attention. After all, that was a route he took regularly on his way back home, and he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

He tried using his Clairvoyance EX to get a better look at these two abnormal fluctuations, but there was nothing to see. The school grounds were empty, especially at night.

However, his Noble Phantasm, which had the ability to see through things, marked these two locations as "embarrassing scraps," which struck him as strange.

He turned off Clairvoyance EX and deactivated his Noble Phantasm, withdrawing from the god-like perspective that had allowed him to see the world from a different lens.

Scathach looked at him and asked, "What did you find, Shirou?"

"I'll have to go investigate these places in person to get a better understanding."

"Did your Noble Phantasm fail to reveal the truth behind those abnormal fluctuations?" she asked with curiosity.

He shook his head and replied, "No, it did see through them, but that Noble Phantasm... it's difficult to put into words."

"Anyway, let's wrap it up for today. Thanks, Scathach." he waved his hand and left the dream.

Observing his departure, she let out a sigh and then gazed up at the gray sky of the Shadowland. "Why did you want me to inform the King about what you saw?"

There was no response.

That white-haired waste only reached out to her when necessary, acting as a gateway to enter Shirou's dreams.

...

Shirou woke up from his dream, feeling a warm and moist sensation in his chest. He lifted the sheets and saw his sister Ritsuka snuggled against him, peacefully asleep. Gently, he lifted her and arranged the bedding, preparing to get out of bed.

"Big brother... Where are you going?" Ritsuka mumbled, rubbing her eyes and still half-asleep.

"I'm just going to the bathroom. Go back to sleep. Unless you want me to give your butt a little spank."

"Oh... I'll go back to sleep... Don't spank my butt... Hnn..." she murmured, drifting back to sleep.

Shirou stepped out of the house and made his way towards the nearby street.

Glancing at his phone, he noticed that it was already 1:23 am.

The sky was engulfed in darkness, and most of the shops had already closed their doors. Only sporadic echoes of laughter and chatter from intoxicated partygoers at distant nightclubs disrupted the otherwise serene atmosphere.

Instead of breaking the silence, those rowdy voices seemed to amplify the desolation of the night.

As he reached the location that had been marked, he spotted another person already investigating there.

It was a man wearing a black overcoat, squatting in a corner, observing his surrounding.