"So this is Time Alter… A Reality Marble that isolates the body from the world—it's quite similar to a Domain."
While everyone else was busy with their own tasks, Daniel Davis was studying the Magic Crest he had acquired from Kiritsugu Emiya—Time Alter. After personally experiencing its effects, he now had a much clearer understanding of how it functioned.
He had to admit, Kiritsugu's father was an extraordinary magus. Unfortunately, among the so-called heroes of the Emiya line, only he had been excluded from that legacy. Even Taiga Fujimura had ended up as a pseudo-Servant, but not him.
Time Alter hadn't been particularly impressive in Kiritsugu's hands. That was because Kiritsugu himself was too weak. In terms of physical combat, he couldn't even match Kirei Kotomine. Any success he had in fighting was solely due to Time Alter. Had someone like Kirei used the same Magic Crest, the outcome would've been very different.
In Daniel's hands, however, Time Alter became far more potent. His body was leagues ahead of Kiritsugu's—especially since he housed Avalon, several Herrscher Cores, and other mystical relics.
Ordinarily, Kiritsugu could only reach 2x speed. With Avalon, he could push it to 3x or 4x.
"Time Alter—Double Accel."
"Quadruple Accel."
"Hexa Accel."
Daniel finally understood why Kiritsugu hadn't passed this Magic Crest down to Shirou. He'd always wondered about that—and now he had the answer: compatibility.
Magic Crests are typically passed down through bloodlines. Kiritsugu and Shirou weren't related by blood. Transplanting a Crest into Shirou would have required preparation for extreme backlash.
Even Daniel wasn't completely exempt from that risk. But his strength was enough to simply ignore the consequences.
"Sure, higher acceleration increases mana consumption exponentially and can only be maintained for a few seconds—but that's more than enough for me."
Ordinarily, Time Alter could only be maintained for about three to five seconds before the world's counterforce corrected the interference, putting extreme strain on the body.
But that was for Kiritsugu. Daniel could maintain it for up to ten seconds without any issue. And in ten seconds, he could kill an enemy multiple times over.
And this wasn't even his greatest gain. The real prize was the foundational understanding he could now build upon. With this Crest, Daniel could learn to fully master time acceleration himself—that's why he had only borrowed it.
Daniel had never stopped studying temporal manipulation, but it was far more difficult than any other field of magecraft. His progress had been slow. Even with the Time Stone, his grasp was limited. His goal was to reach the level of the Ancient One, who had been able to freeze time in soul form without the Time Stone.
He wasn't sure if the Ancient One ever used temporal acceleration to enhance physical speed—but now, he could.
"Too bad Kiritsugu only inherited about 20% of the original Magic Crest. The rest was seized by the Mage's Association. I wonder if I'll ever get a chance to retrieve it…"
Daniel had originally believed he'd obtained the full Time Alter Crest. But after speaking with Kiritsugu, he realized it was only a portion—one deemed less important. The Mage's Association had taken the rest.
If they hadn't feared breaking their own rules and appearing greedy for Magic Crests, they likely wouldn't have let Kiritsugu keep even that much.
Time Alter was born from the Emiya family's pursuit of the Root. They were an ancient mage lineage—rivaling even the Three Founding Families.
Kiritsugu's father, Norikata Emiya, had pushed the theory to its limit. His method of reaching the Root involved creating a micro-Reality Marble that would infinitely accelerate time until the end of the universe—believing that at the moment of universal death, the Root would inevitably manifest.
Theoretically, it was sound. But achieving it would require hundreds of years of sustained acceleration.
And even magi find it difficult to live for centuries—unless they pay a heavy price. Zōken Matō extended his life by devouring his descendants.
Norikata chose a different path: turning himself into a Dead Apostle. That attracted the attention of both the Church and the Association—leading to the massacre of a small island's population and prompting Kiritsugu to kill his own father.
The Association may have preached righteousness, but their actions revealed their true motives—they simply coveted Norikata's research for their own pursuit of the Root.
"Who would've thought a modern magus could be this incredible?" Da Vinci said, marveling at the Time Alter Crest.
"Every era has its geniuses. You were one in your time too, weren't you?"
The phrase "modern inferior to ancient" in the Moon World didn't mean modern people were worse—it was that the mystic environment itself had decayed. With the loss of mystery in the current era, naturally, things didn't compare to the Age of Gods.
"That's true." Da Vinci never feigned humility. She was a true universal genius. Because of that, Daniel didn't hide anything from her. Having her help would accelerate his research tremendously.
He also brought out Lainis's Magic Crest. Between his surgical precision via the Ope Ope no Mi and Da Vinci's magecraft expertise, the repair process was swift. Even though Daniel had learned a lot of magic, he still couldn't compare to Da Vinci.
"What?! They already retrieved the Holy Grail?! This singularity's resolved that fast?"
While Daniel and Da Vinci were busy in Chaldea's workshop, they received an urgent communication from Romani. Apparently, Ritsuka and Mash had already obtained the Grail. The speed left Romani and Olga Marie stunned—Mash hadn't even been transferred into the Singularity for a full day yet.
This particular Singularity took place during the Age of Exploration—a pirate-filled era in human history. Since both Rin and Luvia had other matters to attend to, only Ritsuka and Mash were dispatched.
Luvia's family had summoned her back to handle a personal affair. Rin, meanwhile, was helping settle Sakura. Originally, Daniel had intended to send Sakura to the Magical Girl Illya world—the safest place possible.
But Sakura refused, and Rin didn't want her going so far away. So, she stayed in the Fifth War's world.
Not that Rin would be her main caretaker—she could barely take care of herself. Thankfully, Irisviel was around, and Sakura and Illya were close in age. They could go to school together.
"So that's it?"
When Daniel and Da Vinci arrived at the control room, Romani was cheerfully eating strawberry cake. Finding the Grail on day one of a Singularity definitely called for celebration.
Granted, when the transfer first began and Ritsuka and Mash appeared in the middle of the ocean, Romani had nearly panicked. Luckily, a pirate ship rescued them. After commandeering it, they reached a nearby island—and ran into the person who had the Grail.
"Mash, has Ritsuka secured the Holy Grail?" Romani asked through the comms after licking his fingers clean.
"Doctor Romani, Captain Drake gave me the Grail. I've sealed it inside my shield."
"That can't be right. Something must've gone wrong…"
Startled, Romani immediately ordered a diagnostic on the Rayshift system.
"Mash, let me speak with Captain Drake," Da Vinci interjected.
"You're the so-called magi from Chaldea?"
A striking woman appeared on the screen, beautiful and unforgettable. Had they not already known her identity, few would believe this was Francis Drake—the world-famous pirate dubbed Star Pioneer, the woman who shot down the sun.
"Yes, Captain Drake. Can you tell us how you obtained the Holy Grail?"
"Sure. One day out at sea, we got lost—and a city rose up from the ocean. Some giant there started shouting about cleansing humanity. We fought them, stole the cup, and escaped. Thought it was just a fancy trinket, until it started producing endless rum and food. The place was called… Atlantis, I think."
Drake described the event casually.
"A Grail that can grant wishes… Seems this one's a naturally occurring Grail from this world—not the kind we're looking for."
The Grails planted by Lev and his backers couldn't grant wishes. That made this one the real deal.
"This isn't what we're after," Da Vinci said. "Captain Drake, one more thing—has your world experienced anything unusual lately?"
"Unusual, huh? Well, that city and the giant were new. Never seen stuff like that before."
"Anything else?"
"The seas are suddenly swarming with pirates. But when you kill them, they vanish—no bodies left behind."
"That's definitely unnatural. Lev's handiwork, for sure."
In a normal world, dead pirates wouldn't disappear like video game enemies. Romani quickly concluded the anomaly was manmade.
"Captain Drake, Ritsuka and Mash probably explained who we are. We're Chaldea, humanity's defenders. Someone's tampering with your world. Would you help us investigate the area where you found the city and the giant?"
"Sure. I promised them one favor when I lost, and this world-saving gig sounds like a hell of an adventure."
When Ritsuka and Mash realized the Grail Drake had wasn't the one they needed, Mash returned it. Drake didn't hesitate—she simply stuffed it back between her ample chest, sealing it within herself.
"Alright, mates! We're off to save the world. Who's with me?!"
"If the captain says it, I'm in!"
"Me too!"
Not a single crew member doubted her. They shouted with excitement.
"We'll rest up tonight. Depart at dawn!"
With a hearty laugh, Drake pulled out another feast of rum and food. Her pirates roared with cheer.
"A real treasure is something you earn yourself. Wishing for it? That's not the pirate way."
While the pirates celebrated, Ritsuka and Mash sat nearby, talking with Drake about the Grail and treasure. Despite possessing the real Grail, Drake had never thought of using it to summon riches. Her first wish was food and rum—for her crew.
"She's kinda like Luffy. If this were the One Piece world, her crew would be the government's worst nightmare."
Drake clearly valued the journey over the destination.
The next day, Drake summoned her crew and prepared to set sail. A slightly hungover Ritsuka was looked after by Mash.
Thanks to Drake's persuasion, Ritsuka had been unable to avoid drinking. So had Mash. But Mash, being in a Servant's body, was mostly unaffected.
"Captain, unidentified pirate ship spotted ahead!"
"Sink it."
As they sailed, the crew quickly encountered enemies. Drake was excited at first, but as the waves of foes never ceased, she started to lose patience.
"This must be the Grail's doing. These pirates are constructs—endless. Best to avoid unnecessary fights."
Romani had already deduced the nature of the enemies via Chaldea's sensors.
"Infinite enemies? Like ghosts?" Drake shuddered. Ironically, the legendary pirate was terrified of ghosts.
"They're like ghosts, but bullets still work. Also—this might be good news for you."
"Oh? What news?"
"These pirate apparitions? They'll include famous names—even ones from eras other than yours."
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