In "Akame ga Kill" and "Bleach," Iori has quite a few followers, and a good number of them have formed deep bonds with him.
Because of the effect of the talent "Single-Hearted Longing: Reverse," the feelings they place on Iori will push his own growth forward, and sometimes even contribute a bit of art style value.
The amount is not much, but the advantage is that it can build up over a long time. It is similar to automatically refreshed CGs, and both are extremely important strategic resources.
Now, Sella has also become one of Iori's supports, though she herself would not notice it.
"Iori, what is your real name?"
"Aizen Iori, that is my real name. I do not want to deceive you."
"But if it is in this Holy Grail War, then my identity is that of a reckless man, driven out of his home one after another by his father and older sister, wandering alone across the land, and in the end earning the achievement of slaying a dragon and being acknowledged once more by the gods as Takehayasusa no Mikoto, Susanoo no Mikoto, the Lord Who Descends Upon the Horse's Head..."
"Susanoo!"
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[Form of Winter]
[Bond CG from Sella]
[Spirit: Slight increase]
[Agility: Minor increase]
[Evasion: Slight increase]
[Art Style Value +2]
[Special Skill: Love of the Holy Grail D]
[Favored by a Holy Grail from a certain parallel world, receiving invisible protection, Luck slightly increases.]
[The effect can increase with bond level]
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On the rural highway leading to the small Romanian town of Trifas, the peaceful night was shattered by the fierce clash of steel.
Chaotic flames and pitch-black wind pressure tore at each other, dusk-colored sword energy and emerald meteors collided again and again.
Even without deliberate destruction, just the aftermath that spilled out was enough to completely destroy this winding highway that stretched for hundreds of meters, along with the vast wilderness on both sides of the road.
Perhaps the two sides fighting had intentionally chosen this remote wilderness. Otherwise, if the battlefield had been placed inside the city, leveling a small town would have been an easy matter.
It was an extremely surreal sight, an exaggerated battle that could only be seen in myths. Human eyes could not make out what was happening inside.
They could only see wave after wave of invisible shockwaves ravaging the earth and trees, and the shattered flames turning the surroundings into a purgatory like incendiary bombs.
At the edge of the battlefield stood a Valkyrie clad in silver armor, holding a flagpole, standing firm in the fierce wind, watching the battle seriously, fortunate enough to record this great war that had returned to the age of myth.
Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc. This young girl who had enormous influence in French history not only saved her country while alive, her spirit continued to inspire the French people even hundreds of years later. Except during World War II, France had always been quite brave.
From her appearance, her facial features were delicate and upright. She somewhat resembled the Rider of the Black faction, the Knight King, but lacked that kind of ruler's majesty.
Instead, she had a sacred dignity that could not be offended, and deep in her eyes there was a trace of compassion that could not be dissolved.
This woman seemed born to save those who suffered.
The holy maiden had beautiful golden hair like a late autumn wheat field, braided and hanging behind her. The armor she wore was not bulky.
It was a close-fitting type with parts decorated with cloth, which instead highlighted her graceful figure quite well.
Her appearance was almost exactly the same as the King of Knights in her younger days. Because of that, in a certain world line's Holy Grail War, a certain goldfish-eyed magus who did not wish to reveal his name once mistook her for someone else.
That was truly a ridiculous thing. How could you judge only by the face? If you just lowered your gaze to the heart area, could you still mistake her?
BOOM!
A violent explosion shook the surroundings. Waves of intense heat surged over, forcing Jeanne to raise her arm to shield her face. Even as a transcendent Ruler, she could not help but feel alarmed by this battle.
The protagonists on stage were four Servants, two from Black and two from Red: Black's Saber and Rider, and Red's Lancer and Rider.
All four possessed strength that could be called the peak of Servants. From martial skill to Noble Phantasms and legend, they were flawless.
Even their Masters provided abundant magical energy, allowing them to fully display their strength.
It was no exaggeration to say that any one of these four, placed in an ordinary Holy Grail War, would be a powerful figure capable of taking the crown, almost impossible to find a rival.
In previous Holy Grail Wars, being able to summon one or two Servants of this level could already be considered quite high standard.
For four top-tier Servants to gather together in a chaotic battle like now, it had at least never happened in this world line.
Only in the special war format of Red versus Black could such a grand scene appear.
Of course, Jeanne was not excited by this. Although she gained her fame through war, she herself did not like fighting and sacrifice.
Moreover, the reason these four Servants were fighting here was related to her. In a certain sense she was the central figure, so her feelings were quite complicated.
The Red faction had come to kill her, and the Black faction had come to protect her.
Clearly it was the Black faction that first violated the rules and seized the Greater Grail for themselves. Logically, it should have been the Yggdmillennia family that was more wary of the Ruler.
But after Jeanne descended in the form of possession, it was actually the Red faction that launched a sneak attack on her first.
It seemed there were quite a few people in this Holy Grail War harboring ulterior motives.
In theory, since Red bore her ill will, she should have joined hands with Black to fight the enemy. But as the "arbiter," Jeanne would not join any camp.
Only when a threat that could cause the Holy Grail War to spiral out of control appeared would she cooperate with Servants.
Although she did not know why Red was hostile toward her, it was not a serious violation. Jeanne therefore refused Black's invitation and remained neutral.
The blonde girl held her battle flag, her braid swaying in the wind. She carefully observed the changes in the battle.
After a moment, feeling that the outcome would not be decided anytime soon, she thought about it and turned to pick up the luggage that had been blown away earlier by a sneak attack from a Red Servant.
After all, she was not a proper Servant, but had descended by possessing a living girl. She did not need to eat or drink, but the host had to live a normal life.
———
In the void, the grand scene of four Servants fighting was projected. The chaotic flow of magical energy caused the image to blur and shake from time to time, making it hard to see details, but it could barely be judged that the two sides were evenly matched.
"Hmm, Red's Lancer and Rider are indeed both excellent. If we had not summoned the great hero of the North, Siegfried, and the King of Knights of Britain, winning this war would have been very difficult."
Vlad III sat upon his throne, calmly evaluating the strength of the heroes.
Beside him, the wheelchair girl Fiore advised, "Your Majesty, Ruler has not participated. Should we continue to invest combat power? With Archer's mobility, he can reach the target location quickly."
"No, this is enough. Given the current situation, continuing to invest forces could easily trigger the final battle ahead of time."
Vlad III said lightly, "For us, if the final battle takes place outside our territory, that would be equivalent to voluntarily giving up our home advantage. That would be too favorable to Red."
"I understand. I did not consider it thoroughly." Fiore hesitated for a moment. "I am just curious. Why did Ruler choose to remain neutral even after being attacked by a Red Servant?"
"Perhaps that is the quality of a saint. She will not harbor resentment over such things, and can always look at matters from a fair and objective position."
A confident curve appeared at the corner of Vlad III's mouth. "Do not concern yourselves with her for now. Even if she is neutral now, she will become our support in the future."
He spoke with such certainty that Fiore could not help but glance at him strangely.
Vlad III's confidence was not without basis. In the memories he had "inherited," he could discover that the enemy Master, Amakusa Shirou, was a Servant left over from the previous Holy Grail War, and according to Darnic's memories, his class happened to be Ruler.
Compared to Yggdmillennia, Amakusa's hidden problem was even greater. Otherwise, he would not have sent people to assassinate Jeanne.
As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Although Jeanne was "neutral," she would definitely clash with Amakusa. From Vlad III's perspective, that made her half an ally.
Therefore, he had sent out precious combat power to ensure Jeanne's safety.
"By the way, have the Red Masters made any moves recently?" Vlad III asked Fiore. "The moles from the Mage's Association have all been cleared out, correct? In my territory, I will not allow thieves to exist."
"Rest assured on that point. Caster and Assassin have cooperated to eliminate the spies.
As for the Red Masters…"
Fiore hesitated for a moment before continuing, "For some reason… they seem to have become phantom thieves."
"…What? Say that again."
"To be precise, unidentified phantom thieves have appeared within Romania, and we are inclined to believe they are the Red Masters."
Fiore reported to Vlad III. "After all, there are obvious traces of magecraft at the crime scenes, and aside from the Masters sent by the Clock Tower, the magi within Romania are currently under Yggdmillennia's jurisdiction."
"Phantom thieves?"
The Prince of Wallachia felt a trace of absurdity. Although he had been instilled with modern knowledge and could understand the meaning of the term, he truly could not connect it with the Holy Grail War.
"What do you mean? Are they acting as petty thieves? What exactly have they stolen?"
"That is the intriguing part. The stolen locations are public facilities such as museums, memorial halls, libraries, banks, and so on."
"But the criminals' targets are not high-value gold and silver treasures, rather a large number of cultural relics and ancient books."
"From a magus' standpoint, collecting relics everywhere in order to study ancient magecraft and mysteries is normal, even if some outdated and shady methods are used in modern society."
"But strangely, the stolen items are not precious holy relics. The vast majority are merely antiques that are valuable to collectors, but meaningless to magi."
Fiore also looked puzzled, unable to understand the logic of the Red Masters' actions.
Magi, after all, might trample on all laws and morals of the world for the sake of their research.
Engaging in some illegal activity was not strange. But the premise was that it had to be "worth it."
In modern human society, civilization had developed greatly compared to a century ago. The style of magi had also changed.
As long as there were sufficient funds, even top-tier holy relics could be purchased. There was no need to risk drawing the Association's attention by causing trouble.
Moreover, Romania was Yggdmillennia's territory. This family had deep roots here. Their influence extended into every corner.
Precious magical resources had long been gathered into their possession. Those museums simply did not have any decent holy relics or materials.
After all, only by relying on top-tier holy relics could one summon a satisfying Servant.
Otherwise, did you really think heroes of the Age of Gods could be drawn casually? You had to pay for it.
Incidentally, the one who did best in this regard within Yggdmillennia was Fiore.
In the world line of "FA," because of the spread of Subspecies Holy Grail Wars, the prices of various holy relics had been driven very high. Yet even under such circumstances, the wheelchair girl managed to find the best one.
In theory, a holy relic capable of summoning Heracles, the poisonous arrowhead once used by the great hero.
If Heracles were summoned in Europe, it would be equivalent to having already won the Holy Grail War. This was almost the consensus of all magi.
But perhaps because Fiore's luck was not good, she did not summon Heracles. Instead, she summoned the victim of the poisoned arrowhead, the wise man Chiron.
This demigod was also unquestionably a first-rate Servant. Compared to Heracles… of course, Fiore was still very satisfied. After all, Chiron had an excellent personality and was quite compatible with her.
"Are they collecting items with 'history'? That might mean they are preparing for some kind of ritual."
Although Vlad III was not a formal magus, ancient Romania had been a land steeped in superstition. As its king, he could be said to be widely experienced.
"After all, Red's Servant… should be Caster, correct? Perhaps they are gathering materials to construct a workshop for him."
In the memories he obtained from a parallel world, there was no specific information about the enemy Assassin.
But he remembered that aerial garden clearly and guessed that the enemy's actions were likely related to that unusual Noble Phantasm.
"No matter what the enemy intends to do, we cannot allow him to proceed smoothly. To dare steal within my territory, such thieves must be judged."
"Your Majesty, leave this matter to the magi below. It is not worth your anger." Fiore quickly advised, afraid Vlad III might make an impulsive decision. Recently, Lancer's personality had clearly changed and was no longer as steady.
"Hmph. Such a trivial matter is not worth my personal intervention in the first place. It also depends on whether it is appropriate…"
After thinking briefly, Vlad III suddenly asked, "How are Caster and Assassin now?"
———
Deep beneath Yggdmillennia Castle, inside a magecraft workshop comparable to a small factory, a spherical vessel that was vast, sacred, shining with golden radiance, and containing the statue of a female upper body within, was placed under layers of protection.
There were physical railings and chains, as well as invisible magical barriers and traps.
If someone approached rashly, even an Assassin skilled in stealth would be detected, and then attract the siege of Yggdmillennia's Servants.
This workshop itself was located beneath the castle. It had solid defenses, a top-tier magical furnace core, powerful golem guards, and ferocious beasts that were raised. It could be said to be foolproof.
Of course, if a workshop lacked an excellent magus to preside over it, even the strongest hardware facilities would be empty appearances.
Yggdmillennia did not need to worry about this, because they had unquestionably summoned an authority of magecraft from the Age of Gods.
At this moment, the Caster and Assassin mentioned by Vlad III were standing before the Greater Grail, admiring the appearance of this miraculous creation.
"How ugly. For the sake of seeking their own salvation, humans have twisted themselves to such an extent."
Shuten Douji, who had once been beaten to the brink of death by Iori and whose brain had even become "not quite sufficient," could now stand upright and comment openly.
Even her missing arm and oni horn had regrown. Compared to the original version, however, the restored parts were covered in flame-like red patterns, making her look even more eerie.
"This 'cup' is magnificent, but it is filled with bitterness. I originally had some interest in it… but now it does not matter. If you drank wine from such a cup, the taste would surely be terrible."
"Is that so? I find it extremely beautiful. Although it is a creation of later humans, and many aspects are rough, the magical circuits at its core are extremely delicate."
"What a pity. They are too delicate. The energy efficiency is far too low. It is simply a shameful waste."
Caster paused and sighed. "If I were the one preparing it, the ritual certainly would not have lasted until now without being completed."
"The founders back then probably did not expect that their descendants would fail to succeed after holding the ritual three times, and even create a Red versus Black situation in the fourth…"
Modern magi all focused on the "Servants" and the "wish-granting machine," and regarded victory in the Holy Grail War as extremely important. In Caster's eyes, this was undoubtedly a sad matter.
Her magecraft skill could rank among the best in all of human history. On the first day she was summoned, she came into contact with the Greater Grail and saw through the essence of the Holy Grail War.
This was a large-scale magical ritual, not some kind of battle royale competition.
The mutual slaughter between Servants was merely a method to complete the ritual. The key was to activate the Greater Grail. Only then could the ritual truly be considered complete.
If the ritual was not completed, no matter how exciting the Servants' battles were or how satisfying the Masters' conflicts were, it was all meaningless.
And to complete the ritual, it was not necessary to kill all the Servants…