Fate: A Dragon's Journey

Haruki slipped out of Medea's robe and ascended the long stairs leading into the temple. He arrived at the open area of the temple.

"It should be in the cavern underneath the temple," Haruki said.

"Let's go there."

Haruki could sense faint traces of mana in the air. The flowing mana was different from his, yet it gave a similar impression.

He trailed the mana traces into the shrine.

"Master is sensitive to mana," Medea muttered.

Semiramis nodded before following Haruki with Medea.

The mana became more abundant as he wandered deep into the shrine. A door stopped him in his tracks. He kicked it open, revealing stairs descending into a dark cave. He created a fireball to lead the way down.

"Master, I'll be at the front."

Medea stepped past him and descended the stairs.

"Fine by me."

The stairs softened into normal terrain. Haruki once again felt the strange feeling he felt when he entered his home with Medea.

"Master, we entered a bounded field. An advanced one at that," Medea said.

"It was stopping the priests from entering this area," Semiramis added. "You know that much, right?"

"I do," he shrugged. "My home also has a bounded field?"

Medea nodded. "Your mother must have set it up to protect you."

"Makes sense."

Haruki continued into the cavern. The putrid smell made him scrunch his nose. After walking for fifteen or so minutes, he arrived at the depths of the caves. The heart of the Ley Line. The mana in the air was ample to the point Haruki felt mana entering his lungs with each breath.

In the center, Haruki saw a giant magic circle made of a dizzying number of intricate symbols.

"That's it!" Medea muttered. "This is the magic circle to summon the wish-granting device."

"Crack it open if you can. I don't want to recreate Mom's body with that thing inside."

Who knew what kind of twisted amalgamation Angra Mainyu would create for his wish. They had to find a way to purify the corruption. In other words, kill the Avenger Servant's soul clinging to the Grail.

'Sakura's Hollow element could be useful.'

But she was too weak.

He turned to Medea and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm counting on you."

Medea gave a determined nod. "I'll not disappoint."

Haruki sighed. He was relying on Medea for the Mystic Code and the Grail. She could handle both just fine as long as she had time.

"Semiramis," he said with a faint smile. "You can go to collect the materials."

Semiramis narrowed her eyes. "My master, I can't carry tons of materials by myself."

"...Don't you have a space spell or something like that to store things?"

"My master, I never had the time to dabble in the highest level of sorcery."

She was too busy learning to rule over the Assyrian Empire.

"Master," Medea said. "My robe only has a few meters of space… Creating imaginary number spaces used to be an achievement even in the Age of Gods. It's impossible in the current era without a specific Noble Phantasm."

'Can I gain authority over space?'

"Not so easy, boy," Arch said. "Messing with space is only second to messing with time. A small mistake will lead you to a different dimension or timeline. Also, your magical energy is too weak to grant authority over space. The only path for you is to evolve. Evolve. Evolve."

"I see. We're fucked then."

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon would immensely help him.

How was he supposed to bring a giant fortress worth of materials without an inventory?

"Wait. Medea, Semiramis, how much can you lift?" he asked, lips curling into a grin. "Probably a ton?"

The servants shivered, a bad premonition tugging at their consciousness.

"Y-Yeah," Medea answered as she snuck over to the magic circle and started analyzing it.

"My Master, lifting dirt is below this Semiramis."

"Do you want to win or not?" he asked, looking at with slight disgust in his eyes. "I don't care if you were an empress or a goddess. I want results, not complaints."

He unknowingly slipped into the 'leader' mode from his past life. He hated unruly subordinates, who kept whining without giving any results. With Rin as an ally and Artoria about to be summoned, he had nothing to fear. He could show his 'true' face since Semiramis agreed to lend her power.

Semiramis couldn't believe she was being forced to do such a task. Controlling the monks and sending them on a journey was a fun errand. Carrying dirt from a different country was not!

Just as she was about to reject, Haruki's eyes became cold. His piercing gaze chilled her spine, giving her shivers.

"I will not do it," she rejected, her voice brimming with authority. She felt she would lose her 'place' in the hierarchy if she submitted now.

"Did you not promise to lend your strength?" his voice became emotionless. "Was it just a false promise from the oh-so-great Empress of Assyria."

Semiramis fought her 'instincts' telling her to submit to Haruki. "Ordering a beautiful woman to do labour, my master is a very naughty person."

"Like I said, I don't care if you're beautiful or the ugliest woman in the world. If you want to win, follow my orders, or I'd be forced to use this." He flashed his command spells. "Got that?"

He wasn't going to build her fortress while she lazed around. Of course, the Command Spells was just a bluff.

Semiramis gritted her teeth. Every Command Spell was precious. For him to waste one on a trivial order could lead to their demise later.

[Charisma Skill evolved to C rank]

The boon of ordering a former empress around.

'Might come in handy sometime.'

He observed Semiramis. Her face was calm, but the glint in her eyes was terrifying. He revealed a faint smile. Having faced numerous mafia and yakuza leaders, he could keep a calm face.

"Very well, my master. You shall have my cooperation in this task." She turned around with a huff. "Don't be naive to believe you can threaten me again with the Command Spells."

"It's your goddamn fortress, Miss Empress. You don't want to help with that?"

Semiramis didn't reply and bit her lips. 'I accepted orders from a young man. Unacceptable.'

She clenched her fists for a few moments before she released all the tensions with a deep sigh.

'He isn't normal to give me compulsions.'

She prided herself over her willpower. Any weak woman would have long fallen and danced on top of his palms. She glanced at Medea, who was busy analyzing the Grail's magic while grinning like a fool.

'Like that obedient slave.'