The first was the "Black" Saber.
His first opponent, the great dragon-slaying hero, Siegfried.
A Servant who made a glorious exit in the clash between the Holy Sword and the Demon Sword, leaving no regrets behind.
I'm so glad he didn't die because of the weakness on his back this time.
The second was the "Red" Berserker.
Spartacus, the gladiator who opened the Great Holy Grail War with his rampage.
A Servant who self-destructed and vanished after taking too much damage.
It really was pitiful, watching his comrades use him as a disposable pawn over and over.
The third was the "Black" Lancer.
The king of the "Black" faction, the somewhat terrifying Prince of Impalement, Vlad III.
A Servant betrayed by his own vassal and reduced to a vampire, only to be slain by him in his blind pursuit of the Holy Grail, his immortality destroyed and his soul purified.
Thanks to Mr. Lancer's efforts, I was able to find the time to finish modifying the Holy Grail.
The fourth was the "Black" Caster.
Avicebron, the golem user who always wore a mask, a strange man who wanted to turn the surface of the earth into paradise.
A Servant whose ambitions were stopped by him, who was moved, repented, and revealed the truth.
That was a huge help. I had been wondering how to tell him and Miss Jeanne what was really going on.
The fifth was the "Red" Lancer.
The strongest, greatest, and noblest Lancer, the Son of the Sun God, Karna.
A Servant who made him his target and gave up everything for the sake of fighting him again.
That was close, even I was sweating, but he still won in the end. As expected of my Saber.
The sixth was the "Black" Archer.
The seventh was the "Red" Caster.
The eighth was the "Black" Berserker.
For some reason, none of them wanted to become my "friends," so I had no choice but to use a little violence.
Fortunately, everything worked out for the best.
More than half of the souls in the Great Holy Grail War are already in my hands.
You all worked hard.
Thank you for taking the rare chance to manifest with personalities of your own, only to become my puppets in the end.
Your roles are over now.
Although all sorts of unexpected things happened along the way, thank you for your devotion.
Thank you for offering your souls to the Holy Grail.
Thank you for handing your bodies over to me.
Thanks to all your struggles, I was able to gather such a powerful army of Heroic Spirits exactly as planned.
With this many powerful "friends," conquest... no, even destroying the world should be easy, shouldn't it?
My wish is about to come true.
The one who wins and raises the Holy Grail will be him.
Everyone except him must die.
...
Embarrassing as it was to admit, Jeanne was not very good at dealing with Manaka Sajyou.
After spending time with Manaka, she had even briefly thought that all young girls in the twenty-first century were like her.
Does she hate me?
Jeanne could not sense any hostility, malice, or wariness in Manaka's gaze, yet she still could not help thinking that.
This won't do.
I have to find some way to get along with Miss Manaka.
After all, she and I are both women who quietly support Artorius from behind the scenes...
No, no, no, I'm not thinking about anything strange!
I am a fair and impartial Ruler!
This is... that's right!
This is simply moral concern from the Supervisor of the Great Holy Grail War toward a young girl participating in the ritual!
Jeanne d'Arc, caring big sister, here I go!
Jeanne told Leticia, the French girl she was possessing, about her worries.
While Ruler was active, Leticia had actually been quietly watching the outside world the entire time.
Jeanne thought that since Leticia was a girl of the same age living in the same era as Manaka, she ought to be able to help.
"You've got it wrong, Lady Holy Maiden... Miss Manaka should already be over twenty this year."
"What! Is that true!?"
Jeanne was deeply shaken. After all, Manaka's delicate features and slender figure made her look like a girl of thirteen or fourteen.
So Manaka is actually older than both Leticia and me? That's...
Jeanne had thought Manaka's intense feelings for Shirou were probably just a child's possessiveness toward a mature man she could rely on.
But if she was not actually a child...
I see. Now the reason Miss Manaka dislikes me is obvious.
She must have seen right away that I like Artorius.
"Hehe, so you've finally admitted you like Mr. Saber? That wasn't easy."
"Wh... no, that's not it! That was just an example! A figure of speech!"
"All right, all right, no need to explain. In any case, leave the rest to me, Lady Jeanne d'Arc."
Leticia offered to take control of the body herself. She wanted to have a proper talk with Manaka, and Jeanne agreed.
What did the two of them talk about?
Unfortunately, when Jeanne returned to Leticia's body, she inexplicably fell asleep, so she heard nothing.
But after taking back control of the body, she found that Manaka's expression had brightened considerably.
It seems she managed to get closer to Miss Manaka. Hmm... it really was a talk about love, wasn't it?
Sigh, I want to talk about love with someone too~~~~~
When the Great Holy Grail War is over, Leticia, Miss Manaka, and I...
It would be wonderful if the three of us could talk about love together.
Jeanne prayed for that from the bottom of her heart, a wish so small compared to "world peace."
...
"Miss Manaka, why are you there?"
Jeanne realized her voice was trembling.
Why?
Was it a woman's intuition?
Or Ruler's "Revelation"?
It was neither. It was only a fair judgment and reasonable guess based on the current situation.
Jeanne and Mordred had infiltrated from the bottom of the Hanging Garden and headed straight for the Audience Hall where Assassin and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada were.
By the time they finally reached the top level of the floating fortress, four hours had already passed.
During that time, Jeanne and Mordred had crossed countless trap rooms, defeated innumerable monsters and familiars, and even fallen into danger several times.
If even the two of them had struggled so much to reach the end, then how had Manaka, a young girl and a Master, managed to get here alone?
It was incomprehensible, so eerie that Jeanne shuddered.
And Manaka was holding something in her arms.
That golden vessel, capable of effortlessly drawing everyone's gaze, could be nothing other than the Holy Grail Saber had entrusted to her.
"I came here to complete the final step of the ritual, Miss Ruler."
Manaka Sajyou walked forward leisurely, explaining as though it were only natural.
"Assassin set up an altar in this Garden that makes it easier to open the 'Outside World,' so I need to complete the final step here."
The Holy Grail used in the Great Holy Grail War had been seized from the Three Founding Families of Fuyuki.
Although it had been modified by several Masters, its underlying logic had not changed.
The ritual's ultimate purpose was to "use the spacetime tunnel forcibly opened when the collected souls of the Heroic Spirits return to the Outside World, then draw in its byproduct, the near-infinite Mana from the Outside World."
For a Magus, nearly infinite Mana is practically the same as having any wish granted. That is why it came to be called an "omnipotent wish granter."
The size of the "hole" that can be opened depends on the number of souls offered.
That is how they arrived at the conclusion: "Kill six Servants and you obtain an omnipotent wish granter. Kill seven Servants and you can reach the Swirl of the Root."
The complete summoning of the Holy Grail, in other words, "opening the hole," requires a suitable location.
In Fuyuki, there are four such places: Mount Enzou, the Tohsaka Residence, Fuyuki Church, and the Fuyuki Civic Center in Shinto.
The Yggdmillennia clan's original plan had been to summon the Holy Grail beneath the Fortress of Millennia, on the main Leyline of Trifas, but the "Red" Assassin forcibly tore the Holy Grail away from the Leyline ahead of time.
The "Red" faction's arrangement, meanwhile, was to use this Hanging Garden as the ritual's final site.
That was why Manaka had appeared here with the Holy Grail.
Manaka Sajyou patiently explained the "why" to Jeanne, but that was not what the Holy Maiden wanted to know.
What she wanted to know was the "how." How had she passed through all those traps and monsters and reached this place?
"Well, I owe that to my 'friends.'"
Manaka Sajyou glanced back slightly, and eight black shadows appeared behind her one after another.
"..."
Seeing those Heroic Spirits dyed pitch-black, Jeanne was struck speechless.
And she was not the only one. Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was the same.
What separates humans from animals is imagination. Even when faced with a sight they cannot understand, they can still grasp the most basic truth.
The Heroic Spirits who should have returned to the Holy Grail had been turned into familiars by Manaka Sajyou.
"What are you after... collecting the souls of eight Servants like this...?"
Amakusa Shirou questioned her in a hoarse voice.
He had noticed that the number of Heroic Spirits had already exceeded the Holy Grail's capacity.
Normally, once the Holy Grail collected seven Servant souls, it would activate on its own.
But Manaka had modified the Holy Grail into a Vessel of Sin that could hold even more.
"Is eight a lot? I don't think it's nearly enough..."
Manaka Sajyou tilted her head. "If I could, I would turn every Servant except him into my 'friends.'"
Jeanne swallowed, already treating Manaka as an enemy in her heart.
She was deeply reluctant to think that way, but the bizarre situation before her forced her to accept it.
She frowned and asked, "Is your goal... to reach the Root?"
That was the shared, long-cherished wish of all Magi.
"Pfft..."
Manaka covered her mouth and laughed.
The way her eyes narrowed made her look like a fairy from a storybook, innocent, pure, and utterly captivating.
Amakusa Shirou shouted, "The Holy Grail is the key to saving the world, the wish-granting machine that will realize the 'salvation of all humanity,' and the hope of the next thousand years! I will not allow you to use it for your own selfish desires!"
"What 'salvation of all humanity'? How boring... I don't care about that at all."
Manaka Sajyou pouted her adorable lips.
She was unhappy with Amakusa Shirou acting as though the Holy Grail belonged to him.
"You've got it all wrong. I don't need a path to the Root, because..."
The Holy Maiden's gaze met the girl's.
Manaka Sajyou's beautiful eyes seemed to resemble something.
The abyss of the universe.
Brilliant stars, and infinite darkness.
"I've been connected to a place like that ever since I was born."
The girl's declaration became the signal.
In the next instant, the eight black Heroic Spirits behind Manaka Sajyou charged at Jeanne and Amakusa Shirou all at once.
The "Brahmastra" thrust toward Jeanne, only to be blocked by the Holy Banner, while Balmung sent Amakusa Shirou flying.
With no room left for suspense, the final chapter began. A finale where the difference in strength was so vast that it inspired not despair, but boredom and tedium.
...
"Clatter—"
Mordred collapsed limply onto the cold floor of the Audience Hall.
Her thoughts were growing weak, and her eyelids were becoming heavy.
That last strike... did I land it?
She had definitely felt it connect.
Clarent had cut down from the "Red" Assassin's right shoulder and sliced through the woman's Spirit Core.
But it had been too shallow.
It might have become a fatal wound, but failing to kill Assassin on the spot was not Mordred's style.
In the end, Semiramis vanished after being struck, leaving Mordred alone in the hall.
Fortunately, as the Empress's power weakened, the deadly poison she had laid down gradually dispersed as well. Otherwise, Mordred probably would have left this world before she did.
It was a little frustrating that she had not finished off that annoying woman completely, but this outcome was not bad... probably...
Mordred had suffered a fatal wound as well.
She lay face down without moving, quietly waiting for death.
Gradually, light enveloped Mordred.
Ah... am I going back now...
The blonde girl smiled and closed her eyes. In the end, I never got to open my heart to Father or have a proper talk with him...
That's probably my only regret...
If there's a next time, I'll definitely...
"?"
The girl caught a familiar scent. The smell of earth mixed with death, and the disinfectant-like odor unique to a certain kind of Magus.
Mordred opened her eyes and found herself lying in the tomb that served as their base, with a man in sunglasses beside her.
"You... used a Command Spell?"
Mordred sat up and asked in shock. He nodded.
"What the hell!"
Mordred flopped back onto the ground, speechless.
She had already decided where she was going to die... and after all that, she had not died at all.
How depressing.
The girl rolled around on the ground, sulking.
"Master!"
Mordred reached out, her gaze fixed on the bulging pocket of Kairi Sisigou's jacket.
"I'm in a really bad mood right now. Give me one."
She had been curious for a long time. What kind of magic did those foul-smelling cigarettes have that made hundreds of millions of people flock to them?
Kairi Sisigou covered his cigarettes and flatly refused the girl's outstretched hand.
"No."
"Hah? Why not!"
"That 'Black' Saber guy told me, if Mordred asks you for a cigarette, absolutely do not give her one."
"How could he do thaaaaaaat~~~~"
Mordred clutched her head and rolled back and forth on the ground.
...
The two Rulers' resistance did not last long.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had never once stopped training over the past sixty years.
Because he had touched the Holy Grail during the previous ritual and gained a physical body, he had been given the chance to grow once more.
Day after day of monotonous training had brought both his swordsmanship and Magecraft up to a second-rate level.
With the enhancement spells of the "Red" Caster Shakespeare and the "Red" Assassin Semiramis added on top of that, the current Amakusa Shirou, aside from lacking a high-firepower Noble Phantasm, should have reached a first-rate level or even higher overall.
On the other side, Jeanne d'Arc, as a Ruler, was a top-tier Servant even without using her cheat-like skill, "Divine Judgment."
There were many Heroic Spirits who could suppress her in close combat, such as Karna and Siegfried.
But there were almost no Heroic Spirits who could defeat her completely. In terms of defense alone, she could be called exceptional.
However, that was only in a one-on-one situation.
Right now, it was two against eight.
Even the Holy Maiden who had saved a nation and created miracles was easily defeated here.
"Goodbye, Miss Ruler. Living together with you was actually quite pleasant."
Manaka Sajyou reached toward Jeanne, who had been pinned to the ground by the black Heroic Spirits and could not move.
An ominous black shadow spread from beneath Manaka's feet and closed in around Jeanne.
The shadow crawled up her body.
"Ugh...!!"
Pain twisted Jeanne's face, and wherever the shadow touched her skin, it gave off a chilling sizzling sound.
And just like that...
The Ruler of this Great Holy Grail War, along with her remaining twenty-seven Command Spells, was about to become part of the Root Girl's collection.
"BOOM—!!"
The floor of the Garden suddenly exploded into scattered rubble.
"What..."
Bursting up from beneath the ground was the three-horse chariot of the "Red" Rider, along with the "Black" Saber and the "Red" Archer he had been chasing.
The sudden intrusion threw the scene into chaos for a moment.
Jeanne seized the chance to break free from the black Heroic Spirits' restraints.
She burned away the black shadows clinging to her with "Baptism Rite" while sprinting straight toward Manaka Sajyou.
I don't know what just happened, but thank you!
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as she could subdue Manaka Sajyou, there was still hope.
Jeanne could sense that although Manaka Sajyou possessed unbelievable talent in Magecraft, her body was extremely frail, no different from an ordinary human's.
She infused her finger with a powerful impact spell formed from a pseudo Holy Shroud and reached toward Manaka.
It was a strike Magecraft could not resist.
But in the instant before her fingertip touched the girl's forehead...
"Ruler, what are you trying to do to Manaka?"
Shirou stepped in front of Jeanne and caught her wrist.
"Artorius! You... let go of me! Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
"I'm protecting my Master."
"This is not the time for that!"
Jeanne clenched her teeth. Shirou's strength, which she could normally suppress with ease, was now terrifyingly great.
"S... Saber..."
Manaka Sajyou's eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the red-haired boy's back.
The girl's cheeks quickly grew hot and flushed crimson.
"Stop, Artorius! Manaka is..."
"I'll ask exactly what's going on later. For now, stop trying to hurt her."
For Shirou, no matter the circumstances, protecting his Master was a Servant's first duty.
No, perhaps it was not quite that simple.
Of course he had long since noticed that something was abnormal about Manaka, including the fact that the girl lacked ordinary human morals.
Shirou had poured a great deal of effort into her, hoping she would walk the proper path as a person.
He believed Manaka had already changed for the better under his guidance, so no matter what happened, protecting her came first.
"Artorius! Please stop covering for Miss Manaka. She's plotting something terrible!"
"Can you be sure Manaka is doing something terrible?"
"Ugh..."
She probably could not say so for certain.
All Manaka Sajyou had done so far was keep collecting Heroic Spirits, gathering more souls than the rules allowed.
As for what she intended to do with power great enough to destroy the world, Jeanne truly did not know.
But she was certain of one thing.
Jeanne felt an unprecedented "sense of crisis" from Manaka Sajyou.
It was something far beyond anything Amakusa Shirou could ever compare to, something that made Jeanne tremble from the depths of her soul.
If Manaka Sajyou were left alone...
"...'Revelation,'" Jeanne murmured.
Shirou frowned. "What?"
Jeanne bit her lip. "'Revelation' told me that Miss Manaka is doing something terrible."
Hearing that, confusion appeared on Shirou's face as well.
He knew Jeanne's "Revelation" was a skill somewhat similar to his own "Instinct."
"Instinct" was a sixth sense related to combat, while "Revelation" applied to all events concerning the completion of an objective, such as choosing the most suitable path during a journey.
Shirou turned toward his Master, who stood not far behind him. "Manaka, are you planning to do something bad?"
"...!"
Manaka's body stiffened for an instant. She looked just like a little girl caught by an adult after breaking a vase.
Then she pressed her lips together and lightly shook her head.
"No... no... I'm not planning to do anything bad..."
"Manaka says she isn't."
Shirou said it without hesitation. "Ruler, it seems your 'Divine Oracle' was wrong. She isn't doing anything bad.
Don't take it too seriously. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes... even 'God' is no exception."
"!"
Shirou's flippant, blasphemous remark made Jeanne's eyes widen.
Her heart raced, her expression turned panicked, and her mind went blank. It felt as though her entire view of the world was collapsing.
The savior I respect, revere, and love...
He would actually say something so irreverent to protect a little girl who means to do evil...
"Calm down, Ruler."
Shirou noticed Jeanne's strange state.
"I am calm! Why do you trust her so much?!"
The Holy Maiden's eyes were filled with anger.
Meanwhile, Manaka Sajyou covered her mouth as tears began to fall.
Everything she had done until now had been carried out secretly, hidden from Shirou.
Because she was afraid of being discovered, afraid of letting him know, Manaka had been exceptionally careful.
But only now did she realize that she had mistaken one fundamental premise.
Saber trusted Manaka Sajyou unconditionally.
He really is my Prince Charming, my destined person...
Manaka Sajyou began to wonder whether everything she had done until now had truly been right.
Maybe I should have told him about "that future" I saw instead of hiding it from him... Maybe that would have been the right thing to do.
Once she reached that conclusion, Manaka Sajyou took a deep breath.
"Saber, I..."
"...Shhk."
Blood sprayed out, staining her emerald-green dress red.
The girl lowered her head in confusion and saw an unfamiliar dark-green dagger piercing through her chest.
The dagger, radiating an evil aura, tore through her skin, corroded her flesh, pierced her heart, and brought out a torrent of blood.
"...Oh."
It had avoided Manaka Sajyou's perception spell and escaped the eyes of everyone present.
The highest rank of Age of Gods Magecraft, "Spatial Transfer," combined with the Assassin Class's "Presence Concealment," two completely opposite abilities.
In this "Hanging Gardens of Babylon," there was only one person capable of achieving such a thing.
"Backstabbing an ally... Just like the rumors say, you really are an untrustworthy wicked woman... I should have killed you back then... cough, cough..."
Hearing Manaka say that, the mistress of the Garden, who still carried the sword wound, gave a bewitching smile.
"Since I have manifested with an Assassin Spirit Origin, I naturally know a thing or two about assassination.
If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for deciding on your own that I was the same kind as you."
"..."
The girl collapsed to the ground, and the Holy Grail in her arms rolled away.
The snake venom, originally prepared by the Empress to torment the "Black" Archer and once used to kill many Greek heroes, flowed from her heart through her entire body, instantly burning through the Magic Circuits that connected her to the Root.
It hurts so much...
The girl, her sight stolen by the deadly poison, murmured to herself.
I'm sorry, Saber...
Even though I tried so hard, I still couldn't help you at all...
I'm sorry. I couldn't change anything...
This world you love so much is about to end...
"Manaka!!!"
***
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