The cooldown ended, so Hinako brought the newbies back to Chaldea, leaving the connection point behind.
They didn't make a contract with Salter, and she didn't let any of them do so either.
Rather than being contracted by Chaldea's Masters, she was more concerned with dealing with Eternal King.
If King Arthur is a concept, Eternal King undoubtedly stands at the pinnacle of all King Arthurs, the only one to have achieved the end of their aspirations.
Salter would never allow such a king to be controlled by the Council or anyone.
She had to think of ways to free Eternal King.
Turning, Salter left the place.
"Arthur..."
Ayaka murmured as she watched Salter's back.
"Ayaka, did you say something?" Kiara turned to her mumbling friend.
"It's nothing." Ayaka shook her head, hand clenching tightly within her sleeve.
Kiara was confused.
Passing through the connection tunnel, Kiara returned to Chaldea.
Stepping out of the coffin in her physical body, she breathed a sigh of relief.
The method for traversing connection points relied on the Second Magic, provided by the Magician of the Second Magic. It was impossible for a normal Master to accomplish the Second Magic on their own. The only way was to enter a spiritual state within a coffin, harnessing the power of the Second Magic to traverse countless worlds.
The coffin allowed one's physical body and will to transform into spiritrons, traversing through them. It combined physics with the mysteries of magecraft.
Stepping out, they discovered a masked man emanating an indescribable loneliness and decadence, like an abandoned pet.
As Hinako stepped out of the Coffin, she glanced at him, "Changgong!"
This voice...!
Seeing her, his gaze lit up with pleasant surprise. He hurriedly stood, the decadent aura vanishing, replaced by vigor and nobility.
He stood tall and imposing. "Congratulations on your victorious return, Milady!"
They froze.
"Shut up, Changgong!" Hinako glared at him.
Gao Changgong, the famed Prince of Lanling from the Northern Qi era, had known Hinako since he was alive. So after becoming a Heroic Spirit and being summoned by Hinako to follow her was nothing out of the ordinary for him.
However, Hinako's attitude left him feeling perplexed.
Why was Milady so upset? Had he said something wrong?
Of course, Changgong had wrongly assumed that Hinako and the others had returned triumphantly from their mission. In reality, they had fled back in a panic instead.
Hinako turned to Kiara and the others, "You can all return to your quarters now."
Ayaka hesitated a moment before asking, "Um, Hinako senpai, is our internship over just like that?"
Hinako turned to her, the iciness in her eyes making Ayaka shudder.
"Your supervisor will organize a new team leader for you all," Hinako finally said.
"Oh, I see..." Ayaka nodded.
Kiara asked, "What about that connection point then?"
She was worried since the guardian there was the Assassin who had saved her from Kotomine's malicious plans.
"You don't need to worry about that anymore. Go on now," Hinako dismissed.
Kiara and the others slowly left the room.
After they had gone, Prince of Lanling Gao Changgong looked to Hinako and asked, "Milady, is there an issue with that connection point?"
He knew Hinako's true identity and her terrifying power. Yet her sudden retreat meant either an issue with the connection point or she didn't want to reveal her might to others.
"The Heroic Spirit guarding that place is tricky," Hinako said.
Tricky? Since when did a Depth E connection make Lady Hinako say "tricky"? Prince of Lanling glanced at the Sheba System's display: Fuyuki City, Winter 2012, Depth E.
Hinako looked his way. "Changgong, get Morgan. I'll need her help to conquer that world."
"Is that guardian so difficult?" He shook his head. "Unfortunately, Lady Morgan isn't in Chaldea. But if you need assistance, Milady, perhaps the others could help you."
"She's already left?" Hinako frowned, then turned away and said, "Never mind then. I'll do it myself. Without human interference, I don't need to hold back."
Gao watched Hinako's back as she walked away and sighed.
Indeed, his master still disliked and refused contact with humans.
Although many said his master was a quiet person, she actually just didn't want to interact with others.
After all, his master and humans were two different species.
"Hurry up, Changgong!" Hinako yelled at him.
"Yes, Milady!"
Hinako spiritron transferred again.
She returned to Fuyuki City.
Standing again on this familiar land, Hinako turned her head slightly, gazing towards the Ryuudou Temple.
Recalling Shirou's contempt, she gritted her teeth, emanating an icy aura that made Prince of Lanling shiver.
Perhaps others didn't know, but as someone who knew Hinako since she was alive, he knew his master held grudges over the smallest things!
"It seems the guardian of this anomaly has truly angered Lady Hinako. He's in for it now. This will be a massacre!"
He sighed, seemingly grieving over the fate that awaited the hapless guardian.
...
After leaving the Spiritron Chamber, Kiara bid farewell to Ayaka and the others, running down the hallway towards the dormitories.
"Caw caw caw!"
The cry of a crow came from outside the hallway window.
Ayaka glanced at the crow out the window, a helpless, disgusted expression on her face. Meanwhile, Kiara's thoughts were filled with Shirou and what to say to her teacher Mordred and her senpai Mash.
Chaldea was built on an island located about 500 km southwest of Costa Rica in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The total area was approximately 23.85 square kilometers (9.2 square miles).
It's said that Chaldea was originally a small astronomical observatory belonging to the Animusphere family, nestled deep in the mountains and forests.
But after 2004, the United Nations invested in it, designating the island for Chaldea's activities.
Chaldea could best be described as an all-in-one facility for living, dining, lodging transportation and recreation. Of course, those amenities were intended for the Masters and staff actively working within.
Chaldea's true purpose was, naturally, to resolve anomalies. After all, the outside world...
Kiara turned her head, gazing out the hallway window towards the horizon. The exterior was shrouded in black fog, within which terrifying lightning flickered, like the wrath of an angry god. And within that dark mist, one could see those all too familiar rings of darkness.
She clenched her fist, banishing all other negative thoughts from her mind, then hurried towards the dormitory wing.
Along the way, she greeted several passing acquaintances before arriving at the familiar dorm room door.
Kiara placed her palm on the handle and was about to turn it, when Mordred's voice suddenly rang out from inside, "Awoo~!"
Kiara froze.
Then, a clearer female voice purred, "Meow~!"
Kiara was puzzled again. What...what was happening in there?
And that voice meowing like a cat... was it Lady Mo?
Could it be...was Teacher Mordred bullying Lady Mo again?
Thinking this, Kiara hurriedly pushed the door open. She felt that even if her own strength was lacking, even if Mordred was her mentor, she should intervene if her teacher was bullying Lady Mo.
With a creak, Kiara entered the room, imagining she might find Mordred stepping on Lady Mo and arrogantly declaring victory.
But the actual scene left her stunned.
Huh?
She saw Teacher Mordred wearing white, down on all fours on the floor, making "Awoo, Awoo" sounds like a tiger. Meanwhile Lady Mo wore red, also on hands and knees, meowing "Meow, Meow" as though she were a cat.
The scene was so surreal.
This was nothing like the drawn-out "Mordred Wars" of the past three months!
By all logic, Teacher Mordred should be standing triumphantly over Lady Mo, letting out arrogant "Hahaha" laughs like a demon king, as she had done for the past three months.
Yet the reality before her now...
"Awoo~!"
"Meow~!"
Kiara's entire worldview shattered as she stared, dumbfounded. She gave up trying to make sense of it.
Mordred and Lady Mo looked identical, except Lady Mo appeared older at 16 years old compared to the 12-year old Teacher Mordred. Their eyebrows were also different - Mordred's were lightning bolt-shaped while Lady Mo's were not.
But their uncanny resemblance wasn't surprising. Lady Mo was known as Mordred too - she was Teacher Mordred's parallel world counterpart.
When they first met, it was love at first sight. And to uphold the heroic tradition of "no fight no friendship", the two had fiercely battled.
As for the outcome... there's no need to elaborate. If Lady Mo had won, the one now called Mo-chan would likely be teacher Mordred instead.