"Don't worry. After the Holy Grail War is over, I'll let Sakura reunite with her mother and daughter. But now isn't the time."
As Morgan spoke, her gaze drifted to Matou Kariya, and she said, "You came to see me. It wasn't just to ask about Sakura, was it?"
Matou Kariya froze for a moment, then quickly showed a helpless smile.
"You really do understand people well…"
"It's not just about Sakura. To be honest, when I went to see Rin today, she was secretly practicing magecraft by herself. She said she wants to help Tokiomi in the future."
"But lately she seems to have run into a bottleneck…"
Morgan le Fay raised her brows slightly, "You want me to teach her magecraft?"
Tohsaka Rin. She was Tohsaka Tokiomi's daughter, but at the same time, there was something about her that caught Morgan's interest. Jewel magecraft.
Before, Matou Kariya had mentioned Tohsaka Rin by accident, and what caught Morgan's attention was "jewel magecraft."
Because back in Britain, Morgan had once seen a goddess who also used jewel magecraft.
To be honest, she was indeed a little interested in Tohsaka Rin. And if she remembered correctly, Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura seemed to be sisters.
And the latter now seemed to be with Alvin.
Maybe she could make use of Tohsaka Rin for something?
For a moment, Morgan's thoughts began to stir.
———
At the same time, inside a mage workshop in the snowy fields—
A quiet atmosphere filled the small space. The silver-haired beauty tightly bound by silver threads slowly opened her eyes.
Her temperament was gentle and fragile, yet the white dress on her body was tightly wrapped by the silver threads, outlining her graceful figure, forming a sharp contrast with that delicate aura.
Sajyou Manaka quietly felt the "clone" returning to her body and slowly opened her eyes.
As if thinking of something interesting, the corners of her lips soon lifted into a charming curve.
"It's about time to begin the transfer of the Holy Grail, Miss Iris."
Irisviel stared at Sajyou Manaka, biting her lip as she asked in a low voice, "What exactly are you planning to do?"
"I already told you. I just want to stay forever with the one I love."
Sajyou Manaka reached out and gently touched Irisviel's cheek. Her sapphire-blue eyes looked bright and lively under the light, her voice full of a young girl's innocence and cheerfulness, yet there was not a trace of warmth in it.
"For that wish… I just need to slightly modify the rules of the Holy Grail War. That's all."
"I hope you'll cooperate with me, Miss Iris."
As she spoke, a special magecraft formation appeared beneath her feet.
In an instant, Irisviel's bodily structure, even the magical energy flowing within her, was quietly drawn into her perception.
But just as she was about to begin transferring the "Holy Grail" to her side, she suddenly sensed another strange magical power surging from within Irisviel's body.
It was like a bright red mandala, quietly blooming.
The next moment, the silver-haired beauty who had seemed weak and helpless slowly lifted her eyelids.
A trace of enchanting crimson appeared in her beautiful eyes, extremely seductive.
Sajyou Manaka paused for a moment, blinked, and stared at Irisviel in disbelief, subconsciously saying, "Another personality?"
Soon, Sajyou Manaka came back to her senses, and a look of surprise appeared on her delicate face.
"No, not another personality."
"Are you the true Holy Grail?"
———
Irisviel von Einzbern. As a homunculus created by the Einzbern family, she also had another identity. The Lesser Grail.
In this Fourth Holy Grail War, Irisviel's duty was not only to act as Berserker's Master, but she also carried another important role.
To retrieve the souls of defeated Servants, and when the war ended, allow the Greater Grail to complete the final special ritual.
At this moment, what Sajyou Manaka was doing was transferring the Lesser Grail into her clone.
During this process, Sajyou Manaka came into contact with the special entity known as the Greater Grail, and thus awakened a trace of consciousness hidden deep within it.
Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern.
Her other identity was one of the creators of the Fuyuki Holy Grail system, the head of the Einzbern family known as the "Holy Maiden of Winter."
Sajyou Manaka's eyes were full of surprise and curiosity as she looked at the woman before her, whose temperament was completely different from Irisviel's.
Even Sajyou Manaka had not expected that while transferring the Lesser Grail, she would awaken the consciousness of Irisviel's ancestor, the "Holy Maiden of Winter."
And at this moment, the Holy Maiden of Winter was even attached to Irisviel's body.
Compared to Irisviel's usual gentleness, she now carried a bit more coldness and holiness.
"This Holy Grail War is much more interesting than I imagined."
Sajyou Manaka's eyes sparkled with delight, and she could not help but reach out and gently touch Irisviel, or rather, the Holy Maiden of Winter's cheek.
At the same time, the Holy Maiden of Winter also looked up at the girl before her. In her cool crimson eyes was a trace of confusion as she softly said, "Princess of the Root?"
Though her movements were restricted, with her unique perception, the Holy Maiden of Winter could still sense the special magical power within Sajyou Manaka.
Magic circuits were the foundation of a magus. Yet Sajyou Manaka's body was almost no different from having none at all.
Because her magical power came from what magi pursued their entire lives. The Root.
"I didn't expect this Holy Grail War to have a 'monster' like you."
The Holy Maiden of Winter's voice was crisp and pleasant. Even though her body was tightly bound by the silver threads, her tone and expression remained gentle and calm, carrying a strange power that could soothe even the most restless heart.
"Although you look very much like Miss Irisviel, upon closer inspection, you are indeed different from her."
Sajyou Manaka looked at the silver-haired woman with admiration, "Your magical power is exactly the same as the Greater Grail in this city. No, I should say completely identical."
"You must be the great magus who sleeps within the Greater Grail, the former head of the Einzbern family?", Sajyou Manaka asked.
The Holy Maiden of Winter's gaze was filled with compassion, gentle as if pitying all beings. Even while bound, she still carried an otherworldly aura.
Yet those crimson eyes held a hint of enchanting charm. Beautiful women were not rare in this world, but it was hard to find someone so detached from worldly dust, as if she stood beyond mortal life.
She silently watched Sajyou Manaka and softly said, "You are transferring the 'Lesser Grail' to ensure that in the future the 'all-purpose wish-granting machine' falls into your hands?"
Sajyou Manaka said calmly, "Don't misunderstand. I have no interest in you or in the Holy Grail. I only hope that the Holy Grail War can continue forever. That's all."
"As for awakening you, that was purely an accident."
"You hope the Holy Grail War will continue forever?"
The Holy Maiden of Winter was slightly stunned. Even she could not understand what Sajyou Manaka truly wanted.
Logically speaking, every Master participated in the Holy Grail War to obtain the all-purpose wish-granting machine.
But this girl had gone through so much trouble just to let the Holy Grail War exist eternally?
"Although I do not know what you intend to do, give up, Princess of the Root," The Holy Maiden of Winter spoke.
Her voice was light and gentle, almost unreal, as if it did not belong to this world, carrying a hazy beauty.
"The Greater Grail was not created to satisfy one person's selfish desire. If you do this, you will only suffer backlash in the end."
"That's not something you need to worry about," Sajyou Manaka replied calmly.
As they spoke, the transfer ritual of the Lesser Grail was nearly complete.
Sajyou Manaka closed her eyes as if intoxicated, as though immersed in the fresh sensation of holding the "rules" in her hands.
"The Greater Grail. It is a special construct built upon the 'Third Magic,' isn't it? No wonder I couldn't directly modify the rules of the Holy Grail at first."
Her tone was filled with delight.
In the Type-Moon world, anything called "Magic" carried an extremely high status, and the Third Magic was no exception.
To dismantle the Holy Maiden of Winter's magic circuits and create a human universe. Such was the concept behind the Greater Grail.
Even Sajyou Manaka could not alter its rules from the surface.
But now, after transferring the Lesser Grail, she could appropriately modify the "rules of the Holy Grail."
"Come to think of it, the Holy Grail War is a ritual where Servants fight, and the defeated ones fill it with magical energy to trigger the Grail's miracle, right?"
Sajyou Manaka suddenly looked at the silver-haired beauty before her with curiosity, "If one or more Servants survive until the end, and the magical energy is insufficient, will the Greater Grail still descend?"
The Holy Maiden of Winter did not answer, but from her expression, Sajyou Manaka understood and smiled.
"So it won't, then?"
"In that case, let's rewrite one rule of the Holy Grail first."
"What exactly are you planning to do?", the Holy Maiden of Winter asked instinctively.
"Since enough Servants must be eliminated for the Greater Grail to descend, then let's add a new class to this Holy Grail War."
Sajyou Manaka lightly touched her small lips with her fingertip, tilting her head, her smile bright and charming.
"As long as we fill it with more magical energy, the Greater Grail can appear, right?"
"Because your power is too great, you act without restraint," The Holy Maiden of Winter slowly closed her eyes and softly said, "Your arrogance will be the reason for your defeat, Princess of the Root."
"If I can truly taste defeat, that would be quite a nice experience. I'm rather looking forward to it," Sajyou Manaka said with a faint smile.
She was not boasting. From the bottom of her heart, she truly believed that if she could experience the taste of "failure," it might not be a bad thing at all.
The girl said nothing more. She quietly closed her eyes and began to analyze the structure of the Lesser Grail and modify its rules.
At the same time, the Holy Maiden of Winter's fingertips moved slightly without drawing attention.
———
In the mage workshop next door, the silver-haired little girl who had been in a "coma" slowly opened her eyes.
Those crimson eyes were clear and transparent, as if innocent of the world. Illya.
When Sajyou Manaka had gone to the Einzbern Castle, she had already captured Irisviel and her daughter together.
But because Illya was too weak, Sajyou Manaka had not paid much attention to her and had simply locked her in another mage workshop.
"Illya…"
At that moment, Illya suddenly heard a woman's voice in her mind.
At first, she was confused, but after realizing who the voice belonged to, she widened her eyes and said, "Mama?"
"Where are you? Why can't I find you?"
Her clear, pleasant voice carried a hint of panic.
"Don't ask so much for now. Listen carefully, Illya. What I'm about to say is very important."
The woman's voice continued, "I've used the 'silver threads' to open the door for you. Now follow the direction they guide you, leave this place, and go find someone."
———
[Holy Church]
In the main hall, a well-dressed man sat on a wooden chair, looking at the priest praying to "God" in front of him.
Neither of them had spoken for quite some time.
After who knew how long, Kotomine Kirei finally said, "Things seem to be far worse than we imagined."
"Berserker… I didn't expect him to be the first to be eliminated."
Among all the Servants, Berserker's combat strength was definitely among the top tier. And according to Assassin's intelligence tonight, that Berserker's identity was suspected to be Britain's "Old King," the White Dragon Vortigern.
"Archer is already getting restless. If Caster's side hadn't stepped in to stop him tonight, he might have already made his move," Tohsaka Tokiomi said gravely.
Although he had confidence in the King of Heroes, the combat power Alvin displayed tonight still filled Tohsaka Tokiomi with deep awe.
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