Time Skip

Two years had passed since the successful rescue operation of the orphans of the Fuyuki Disaster and the day when Shinji Matou was said to have betrayed his family to take them under his wing.

The Clock Tower, which was the centre of Magus culture in the modern era, found themselves cut off from the three main founding families who normally resided over the Holy Grail War they created.

What dumbfounded the Magus of the association was the founding of an organisation that had sought partnership with the Holy Church known as the 'Spirit Agency'. This seemed to be founded on a new and secretive Magecraft passed along to members of its agency by a special method unknown to those who haven't joined its circle.

The only thing they knew, which had been handed to them on a silver platter, was that the Matou Family's current head, Kariya Matou, focused on the study of the 'Hollow' element. It seemed like he used it as a basis for exorcising Demons and Daemons from humans without killing their hosts.

The Matou Family having the inherent Elemental Affinity to Water made more believable that a type of Magecraft focused on flows, forms, cycles, combinations and manipulations, would eventually lead them to understanding how to use the Hollow element, which had the greatest affect against those spiritual entities yet to take corporeal form.

There were rumours of Shinji Matou having been accepted into the 'Burial Agency' thanks to his talents and intelligence allowing for him to find a way to 'absorb' demonic influences from others before purifying them using a 'tooth for a tooth' method of fighting fire with fire. This was just a rumour though as no one knew his condition.

It was understood that the Matou Family has changed somehow after the previous family head had vanished somewhere. Zouken Matou seemed to vanish off the face of the Earth and brought unease to those who despised his vampiric ways.

One thing that made the Clock Tower certain that the Three Families had united under the banner of the Spirit Agency was thanks to Kariya stopping his own organisation from participating in the next Grail War, only acting as watchman who oversaw the battles as no one wanted a repeat of the events that lead to the Fuyuki Disaster happening again...

The only thing he asked for in return was official independence from the Clock Tower AND the Holy Church, as it was reasonable that a private agency wouldn't want have responsibilities towards them.

While the world of Magecraft was busy thinking about what the Spirit Agency will grow into, Kariya himself day in chair while waiting for someone as he contemplated about that very same future himself. This was especially true in the recent year.

With his research progressing smoothly, he was finally able to sort out the 'factions' within his organisation using a type of Magic Crests personally created by him. As rather than acting as a way to store knowledge and Magic Circuits, he used what he had found out about his Pseudo-Servant physiology and created 'Noble Crests'.

These different Crests were able to record Noble Phantasms and allow a usage of one every day before it needed a recharging period to rest. He split them among the young members of those who were representing different branches of study.

For himself, the 'Guardian Branch' was one that encapsulated all of the other branches, so it was fine that the other 'Heads' were currently still in their juvenile years, as it didn't matter anyway.

Instead of continuing to live in the Matou Mansion where he had a lot of bad memories in, he decided to live with the Tohsaka and with the advice of the younger generation, decided that the best place to locate his Workshop as a Magus to be Ryuudou Temple, a place rich with magical energy to the point he had to do a lot to obtain the fallen 'Leyline'.

Making a deal with the Ryuudou family and introducing Issei Ryoudou into the nature of the secret world of magic had to be the best decision he'd made over the years. Not only did he gain a base of operations for the Spirit Agency, but he also gained free 'employees' who helped exorcise Daemons out of faith rather than because of cash.

It was a lot purer than the Holy Church in essence as the ignorant followers who were only mildly introduced to spiritual practices he created by himself thought that this was Buddhist teachings...

With the successor of the Ryuudou Temple working for him and potential Exorcists training their Od (Life Force) with the 'Spirit Magic Martial Arts' he passed to the those who followed the Inner Circle of the temple's faith, he had less things to worry about. Though that didn't mean he could be completely cut off from the world at large.

This was especially true after that incident two years ago, where both Gilgamesh and Kirei Kotomine seemed to vanish from Fuyuki City in a single night. He remembered having fought the King of Kings and only survived thanks to taking the corrupting influence of the Grail affecting the man's tastes in what 'entertainment' he liked.

Only Gilgamesh's mercy itself was the reason he was able to succeed in that operation and survive the night. Kirei also disappeared after he confronted the priest as it seemed like the Spiritual Doctor wouldn't interfere with him anymore...

Besides Shinji leaving for the Burial Agency by himself and only coming over a few times in a year to report any changes in circumstances, Kariya felt his organisation was coming along quite well.

After gaining the trust of Kiritsugu Emiya and taking that man's adopted son as sort of 'disciple' of his own, he went to the Einzburn Mansion to reunite Illyasviel von Einzburn with her father.

Negotiations went better than he hoped thanks to all the things Spiritual Magecraft could offer and his own actions displaying no malice. The Einzburn, Matou, and Tohsaka were finally on the same side for once since the founding of the Holy Grail War.

Jubstacheit von Einzbern, AKA Old Man Acht, was sceptical at first as Kiritsugu had been branded a traitor after what he'd done in the last Holy Grail War, but Kariya was able to persuade him thanks to knowing what exactly the old family head desired.

As his end was near and he had already failed to reclaim the lost 'Third Magic' that those who created him as a golem ordered twice. That gave him no choice but to put faith in the 'alliance head' who claimed he would help complete Heaven's Feel. Although he himself couldn't participate in the war, he had made preparations to allow the younger generation to participate in his place.

The Clock Tower had taken significant portions of his research into Od for them to allow such an exception only once before they would be completely banned from participating again. That's why this next Grail War counted more than others.

He had to admit that it was a close call as Old Man Acht seemed like he was about to take his own life with how hopeless achieving the Third Magic the bloodline of the Einzburn who once lived at the mansion desired. It made convincing him difficult...

In the exchange of promises, Kariya offered the old golem the position as the 'Head of the Holy Branch' of the Spirit Agency, which would specialise in healing and the creation of life. He gave the golem a Magic Circuit and eventually even a Noble Crest.

Old Man Acht's lifespan extended and he pursued perfection even more now with renewed vigour.

The Emiya Family on the other hand had both its only two members become Heads of the Daemon Branch and Reaper Branch respectively, with Shirou Emiya showing extreme talents in Projection Magic and Reinforcement after getting his power.

It was to the point that he even learnt a lot from the young boy and managed to create two Skills that were later copied by Shirou as Spells. The first was the 'Magic Resistant Reverse Flow Reinforcement' Skill and the other being 'Unbeknownst Glory of Illusion Projection', which was based off Berserker Lancelot's black armour that disguised his identity.

Although only Kariya could utilise the Skills to their fullest potential, they seemed to become even better in young Mage's hand as he was sure the child could even copy Noble Phantasms if he wanted to. The only thing Kariya had over the youth was the 'gift' he got from taking in the pollution that had affected Gilgamesh's vessel.

He called the Skill his 'Divinely Constructed Imaginary Space' and stored his weapons along with the Crest Gu he raised inside of it. There were other Skills and even Noble Phantasms he created in the two years after the rescue, but these ones was the most significant as it made Shirou as a sort of 'disciple' of sorts to him, who had no students.

Kiritsugu gained his own Manifest Phantasm after having the 'Curse' put on him amplified and altered with the purple-haired Mage's efforts. He became a sort of Demon of Justice that still believed that there are times people must be killed to attain it.

He hasn't spread this ideology to his children as he knew how flawed and dark this path really was...

Other than these three, Sakura and Rin became the Heads of the Demon and Shadow Branches respectively. His adoptive niece's 'Love' Origin allowed her to put a more gentle nature into the research she was doing while Rin continued the Tohsaka Family's legacy using what he gave her.

Shinji also became a Branch Head, but the specifics of it will be left for later. The most important thing was that every preparation was going along swimmingly thanks to their help.

As Kariya was contemplating on how he could woo Aoi Tohsaka, the guest he invited finally visited him.

A scarred man with sunglasses who looked like a shady gangster walked while grinding his teeth.

"I'm not going to let you off if this 'Spirit Agency' of yours is taking advantage of me." The man loaded a sawed-off shotgun and pointed it straight at the purple-haired Magus with an infuriated expression.

This was natural since Kariya had baited the gangster-like Spellcaster using his only weakness.

"I've been dying to meet you, Kairi Sisigou. I like how you're a Necromancer who doesn't try to reanimate the dead. That's why I gave you an offer you can't refuse... So what do you want to know?"

"Can I really revive my daughter...?" His body shook but his eyes were still sharp like a sword.

This Spellcaster had more experience in battlefields than even Kiritsugu Emiya and was someone who could kill even a Servant if given the right conditions. He was probably stronger than Zouken Makiri with his version of Necromancy.

"I've developed the 'Spirit Call' Spell that will bring her soul into where my workshop is located, and I can have Acht give her a body to give her new life in this world. She will have all her memories intact while having an artificial created Homunculi body."

"...That sounds too good to be true."

"I assure you it's real."

"And what do you want from me? My loyalty?"

"Can it be bought?"

"Of course it can! You're just the only one who gave the right price for it." He lowered his shotgun before putting it away. Kairi wanted to see his stepdaughter first before he did anything though.

If the organisation he joined felt fishy, then he'd run away with his stepdaughter regardless of anything.

"I'm just going to need your assistance in creating Mystic Codes and can supply you with corpses of even Mages, though most of the ones I can give will be of magical insects of the highest tier."

"That's fine."

"You sure?"

"But you have to tell me something first."

"Ask away."

"What is your goal?" He asked quite seriously after seeing how the man was amassing power.

"...I just want to protect my family."

"That's it?"

"That's everything that drives me."

"I won't belittle your 'ambition', but it doesn't seem like something a Magus would want to do."

"My Origin is 'Guardian'." These words instantly made the Necromancer shut up as he knew the compulsion an Origin had on people. It was now easier to believe if what he said was actually true.

Kairi became the advisor Kariya needed in terms of creating Mystic Codes he wanted to fill his Divinely Constructed Imaginary Space with. A few more years passed as the family head finally won over Aoi after many years of trying to win her heart.

The time for the Holy War was approaching and many factions were stirring in the shadows.

All the seeds planted were beginning to sprout...