Fate/Magus Path

70 Shiki

It was a rainy day.

The sky was overcast and gray, with lightning flashing amid dark clouds as bean-sized raindrops poured down from the heavens.

In a certain suburban city area, there was a densely planted bamboo forest, which appeared serene and elegant from afar.

If you walked through this tranquil bamboo grove and followed the smooth stone path beneath your feet, you would arrive at a large mansion, filled with ancient architectural style.

This was the estate of the Ryougi family, the wealthiest and most powerful family in the city.

However, today, the mansion seemed unusually empty. Something out of the ordinary had quietly occurred.

A pool of blood mixed with rainwater was flowing down, seeping into the muddy earth.

In the rain stood a figure, and at her feet lay a headless corpse, still gushing blood. The severed head nearby seemed to tell the story of the victim's final moments of terror and pain.

The cruelty of the murderer was fully revealed in this moment.

If you looked closely, the figure in the rain gradually became clearer. It was a young girl in a kimono, staring down coldly at the corpse before her, motionless and indifferent.

The girl's name was Shiki Ryougi, the eldest daughter of the Ryougi family, the most prominent family in the city, and also the next head of the family. This land belonged to her.

Due to her upbringing and nature, she usually maintained a cold demeanor.

But this coldness was not the reason she could remain so composed in the face of the headless body before her.

Seeing the decapitated corpse, she did not scream or run away like a normal person, nor did she call the police. She simply stood there silently, allowing the mixture of blood and rain to fall on her body.

The entire world was eerily silent. She looked up at the sky, as if lost in thought, or perhaps responding to something.

"Was it you, SHIKI?"

She softly inquired, hoping to receive the answer she sought from the other personality in her mind.

But for a long time, SHIKI remained silent.

This silence only deepened Shiki Ryougi's unease.

This wasn't the first time a body had suddenly appeared before her, but for some reason, every time she saw one, she didn't feel fear... instead, she felt a strange enjoyment, even pleasure.

Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Although Shiki Ryougi admitted that she was not naturally kind-hearted, that she harbored a desire to kill, to experience the sensation of plunging a knife into a human body, to witness life slipping away before her.

This feeling had existed for a long time and had recently grown stronger.

But the difference between humans and animals is the ability to restrain desires, and Shiki Ryougi had been suppressing her nature all along.

She did not want to take life for such absurd reasons, and she had always adhered to her grandfather's teachings.

"One can only kill one person in a lifetime."

"Yes. Because in the end, it will kill you, so we are granted the right to kill only once."

Looking at the body on the ground and then at her own hands, Shiki Ryougi was certain she hadn't killed anyone. But why had this person died in front of her during her moment of distraction? The strong scent of blood mixed with lingering warmth, coupled with the stirring in her heart, forced her to wonder if her other personality, SHIKI was responsible.