Shinji Matou at Your Service

What is the Counter Force? Different people would give different answers, but to Shinji, it was two bombs.

Two trigger bombs: as long as the fuse is touched, regardless of your intentions—whether deliberate or inadvertent—they will explode.

When Shinji first crossed over to this world, he worried about whether the Counter Force would erase him. After all, his soul was a foreign entity, an unstable factor, and he couldn't be sure where the Counter Force drew the line.

But after a while, when he found that he was living quite well, even wiping out the old worm in his family, his worries eased a bit.

Note: only eased, not completely gone. Over the years, Shinji had been very cautious in everything he did, making sure not to cause any negative impact on the planet or humanity. He wanted to avoid waking up one day to find a bunch of monsters or some brown-skinned, white-haired people saying they were going to kill him.

After Gaia's true daughter, Arcueid, came to his side, Shinji became even more mindful. He was well aware that his power couldn't contend with the vast Counter Force. Fully controlling Mooncell? That was more like it.

Even this time, when he was involuntarily drawn to the outer world by the allure of the Swirl of the Root, he had exerted every bit of his strength to stop and return without hesitation.

Shinji could guarantee that he had done nothing that would affect the real world, let alone endanger the survival of humanity itself.

So he didn't understand—why was Alaya trying to kill him?

To this question, Guardian Shirou Emiya responded:

"Alright, I'll say a bit more for the sake of our past karma. It's not just Alaya who wants to kill you; Gaia does too. However, Gaia's monsters seem to have been blocked by someone, which is why you only saw us. As for why we want to kill you, sorry, I can't disclose that. If I do, we won't be able to kill you."

"Huh?"

What was this nonsense?

Knowing the reason means they can't kill me? Does that mean if I know the answer, I'll instantly unlock some super invincible mode and one-shot the entire world?

"I don't want to kill you, especially since you're a different Shinji now. But work is work, so sorry, please go die!"

After saying this, Guardian Shirou Emiya picked up his black and white dual blades and slashed toward Shinji.

"Boom!"

Regrettably, before he could finish swinging his sword, Shirou Emiya was sent flying.

Blown up. The explosion beneath his feet was as if he had stepped on a landmine.

Shinji could swear to any entity that it wasn't his doing. He hadn't even figured out how to make a move.

Shirou had used the strongest form of Kanshou and Bakuya's, a move extremely difficult to dodge. With Okita Souji and Kiritsugu Emiya waiting for an opportunity, one wrong judgment could have meant the end for Shinji.

However, the explosion technique was indeed very similar to Shinji's usual style. If his eyes didn't deceive him, then—

At some point, a fifth person had joined the battlefield. Her fiery long hair blazed like flames, her deep, jeweled eyes were as profound as an abyss, and countless wailing souls surrounded the two red demonic spears in her hands. Yet, the wielder of these spears seemed unaffected. Though she was the shortest among them all, she possessed the strongest aura.

She was—

"The Queen of the Land Of Shadow!"

"Scathach!"

"Shishou!"

Unlike the tense expressions of Okita Souji and Kiritsugu Emiya, Shinji was both shocked and overjoyed.

"Why are you here? Can you leave the Land of Shadows?"

Scathach casually deflected the attacks of Okita Souji and Kiritsugu Emiya and strolled over to Shinji's side as if it were a leisurely walk.

"Of course not. But this is the outer world, and the restrictions on me here aren't as strict as in the real world. I can still send some of my magical energy out like this. I should thank you for summoning me twice before; otherwise, I might not have thought of this method of manifestation. And you, my foolish disciple, might have died here foolishly."

"Uh, Shishou, I admit I'm not that smart, but I'm not that foolish, right?" Shinji scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"You weren't foolish before, but now it's hard to say. At the very least, a person with enough intelligence would know they've already become a Magician."

"..."

Blank stare.

"...!"

Stunned.

"!!!"

Shocked.

"A Magician... me?"

"Who else? Do you think it's me?"

As she replied, the three Guardians simultaneously unleashed their most powerful attacks, trying to kill both master and disciple together.

"Broken Phantasm!"

"Chronos Rose!"

"Absolute Sword: Threefold No-Sky Strike!"

"Ultimate Extinction Thrust!"

Faced with these terrifying attacks, Saáthach extended her spear calmly, shattering space itself, causing the void to spread, and swallowing both the attacks and the three Guardians along with them.

"What? You don't understand?"

Shinji shook his head.

"Such a simple concept, yet you don't get it. You still won't admit you're foolish."

Scathach inserted her spear into the ground and reached out to tap Shinji on the head.

"Two hints: First, Mysteries attract each other. The greater the Mystery, the stronger the attraction. Second, incomplete things yearn to be completed."

Shinji immediately understood: "So, just by looking at it, I was pulled in. And so, my Magic was completed."

And another thing—though Araya entered first, he didn't escape as quickly as Shinji.

"Exactly. That's how it is. However, if you hadn't awakened in time, the result would have been different. The Swirl of the Root is like the sun. On the ground, you can enjoy the warmth, but if you get too close, you'll end up like Icarus."

Icarus, the man who flew toward the sun with wings made of wax, only to have them melt and fall to his death.

Even sadder was that people still remembered Icarus, but those swallowed by the Swirl of the Root would have their very existence erased. No one would remember Shinji—his lover Justeaze, sister Sakura, or even Scathach standing before him.

At most, the only record left would say, "In the winter of 2004, a Magus traveled to Japan in search of the Swirl of the Root and was never seen again."

The mere thought of this filled Shinji with dread. That warning to "never forget your original intention" was indeed crucial.

"Thank you, Shishou."

"Why thank me? You're my disciple. I'm still waiting for you to end my eternity. Now I finally see a glimmer of hope."

Scathach showed a relieved smile, a lightness that Shinji had never seen before.

"I have one more question."

"Go ahead."

"Why don't I feel any different after becoming a Magician?"

He had fought the Guardians just as he always had.

"That's because you haven't truly used Magic yet. Try it on your way back, and you'll understand. Zelretch has already prepared a passage for you. Hurry up—things in the real world are spiraling out of control. If you don't return soon, there might be big trouble."

"Huh?"

Without giving Shinji time to ask more questions, Scathach kicked him into the space portal.

And this is what's called—The First Driving Force of the Universe: Leg Power!