Rin dug at her ear in disbelief. she truly couldn't believe that True Moon would actively request to enter her Throne of Heroes and become a Heroic Spirit there.
"You're not joking, are you?"
True Moon playfully winked at Rin, then gently pushed aside Zelretch, who was blocking Rin, and reached out a jade-like hand to touch Rin's cheek.
"You desire me, don't you? Is your Ishtar saint graph cheering? It's only natural for the daughter of the moon to long to return to her mother's embrace. Don't resist, come!"
Just then, Zelretch, who had been secretly pinned by True Moon's Mystic Eyes, suddenly broke free from the binding. He swung the jewel sword with all his might toward True Moon's hand that was touching Rin's face, while the book-like Mystic Code floated beside him, constantly reinforcing Rin and himself with various protective and status-resisting magecraft.
"Rin! Wake up!"
True Moon used a single finger to block Zelretch's strike with a sour expression, but by then, Rin, who had been buffeted by a pile of resistance magecraft, had also regained her senses.
Realizing she had been charmed, Rin instantly entered her Ishtar and dragon factor form, glaring at True Moon with divine and draconic majesty, while the ishtars bow beside her was ready to launch a storm of attacks at any moment.
The King of Conquerors didn't hesitate to deploy his Reality Marble, Army of the King, leading his army of tens of thousands of Servants to surround True Moon, Altrouge, and the others.
True Moon looked at Zelretch helplessly.
"Zelretch, why is it always you?"
Then, the charming aura on True Moon vanished completely.
"Fine, Rin Tohsaka, let's start the deal!"
"Huh? You just played me for a fool, and now you want to make a deal?"
True Moon shrugged indifferently, suddenly appeared in front of Rin, and reached out to tilt her chin up.
"Then can you really bear to part with me and Altrouge?"
Rin slapped away the hand tilting her chin and said somewhat tsundere-ly.
"Hmph, what's there to be attached to with someone like you! I'm only... agreeing to the deal for Altrouge's sake, you'd better understand that!"
"Then you agree, right? This little one Arcueid is too rowdy, always trying to take back control of the body. I don't have much time, so let's get to the point. As said before, Altrouge, her knights, and I will join your Chaldea, and I will also enter your Hall of Heroes to become a Heroic Spirit. My condition is to save the Dark Six Authorities—don't let that fool disappear!"
Rin, completely unaware of what had happened with the Six Authorities, scratched the back of her head. However, thinking that saving a single Ancestor shouldn't be too difficult, she raised a final question.
"Before the deal is finalized, I have one last question. How can I trust that you, True Moon, will keep your word?"
True Moon glanced at Rin with a half-smile and shrugged, seemingly implying that was her own problem.
Just as Rin was agonizing over this, a noisy sound suddenly burst from the communicator on her wrist. Realizing what it was, Rin's face lit up, and she had the King of Conquerors dispel the Reality Marble.
"Is it Da Vinci? Or Touko?"
Then, Touko's mature female voice came through the communicator.
"It's me."
"Touko, do you have a way?"
"Yes! I'll transmit the contract to you right away; you just need to get True Moon to sign it!"
No sooner had Touko finished speaking than a contract written in some kind of blood appeared before Rin, accompanied by the light of spirit origin transmission.
Rin took this unremarkable contract, and based on her trust in Touko, began to sign the contract with True Moon.
Having completed the contract, True Moon smiled and bowed slightly toward Rin. Then, a burst of light emitted from her body, and the short-haired Arcueid appeared before Rin, replacing True Moon's figure.
Zelretch supported the unconscious Arcueid as he came to Rin's side. Watching the contract dissolve into a ball of spirit origin in Rin's hand and be transmitted away, he asked her.
"Rin, can you really confirm that your contract will be effective against True Moon? And can that Hall of Heroes of yours really make True Moon stay obediently under your command?"
Altrouge glared at Zelretch with dissatisfaction, then pricked up her ears, intending to listen to Rin's explanation; after all, this concerned her own future choices.
At this moment, the King of Conquerors swaggered over to Zelretch's side and slapped him on the back.
"Hahaha, don't worry! I don't know if the contract will be effective, but Little Miss never does anything she isn't sure about. As for the Throne of Heroes, let alone that guy from just now, I think even if The Enlightened One returned, he wouldn't be a match for Rin, who holds the authority. Besides, after that guy became a Heroic Spirit, he would need Rin to provide the saint graph if he wanted to manifest in the world..."
Rin gave the King of Conquerors—the guy who was about to expose all her secrets—a hard kick, forcing him to swallow the rest of his words.
Then, after bidding farewell to Zelretch and Altrouge, she pulled the King of Conquerors, who was holding Fou, and walked quickly toward the interior of the Millennium Castle.
After arriving in a secluded place, Rin opened the communicator on her wrist and asked Touko.
"Touko, can that contract of yours really work on a UO like True Moon?"
"Rest assured, Rin. I wrote it using Akuta Hina's blood. Akuta Hina, as a spirit of gaia, can serve as a medium, and this contract is effectively signed under the witness of gaia. According to the terms of the contract, if True Moon violates it, True Moon will never be able to return to Earth for the rest of its life!"
"Akuta Hina's blood can communicate with gaia?"
Touko, located in the Chaldea Command Room, casually pulled a document personally signed by Rin from a stack of files nearby and displayed it on the light screen as she spoke.
"Rin, have you forgotten file number 12-09-22-512577? This is the application I submitted at the time to experiment with communicating with gaia through Akuta Hina's blood, isn't it? And Sakura should have already handed you the success report, right?"
Rin, who had been strictly demanding of others at Chaldea while actually slacking off most of the time, faced with the slip-up caught by Touko, gave a sheepish laugh and explained awkwardly.
"There are too many documents to approve; I must have forgotten this one..."
"Heh!"
Looking at Touko's face full of disdain on the communicator screen and hearing her contemptuous "Heh," Rin hung up the communication in self-abandonment, then turned her head and asked the King of Conquerors.
"Did you see anything just now?"
The King of Conquerors scratched his temple and said.
"Little Miss, you don't actually need to mind me. Have you forgotten that I rarely leave the Spiritron World to go to Chaldea?"
"Don't go blabbing about it in the Spiritron World either!"
The King of Conquerors patted his broad chest and promised Rin.
"Rest assured, Little Miss..."
Meiji Jingu Shrine, the headquarters of the Dead Apostles.
Six Authorities, standing alone in the spacious plaza of the shrine, stretched out his left hand toward the bright moon in the sky, grasping at the air as if wanting to hold the moon in his palm.
At this moment, the Black-Winged Duke stormed into the plaza from outside the shrine.
"Six Authorities! Has Altrouge really betrayed us?"
PS: Please send tips and recommendations 0,0
One Hundred Seventy-Two: Individual Actions Within the Dead Apostles and Dead Apostle Mobilization!
Six Authorities watched the Black-Winged Duke, who spread his wings and flew off into the distance, and muttered to himself.
"How can there be talk of betrayal between us!"
Then, Six Authorities turned around and asked Roa, who had emerged from the shadows.
"Why have you come?"
"My Lord, intelligence from inside the Millennium Castle reports that the Great Moon seems to have manifested in the White Princess today!"
After listening to Roa's report, Six Authorities calmly looked at this cold egoist who was not acknowledged by the other Ancestors. Suddenly, Six Authorities swiftly stretched out his left hand and pressed it gently against Roa's chest.
Then, a small Magic Circle appeared on Roa's chest, branded onto him like a hot iron.
Having been attacked by Six Authorities but daring not to resist in the slightest, Roa clutched his chest and looked at Six Authorities with a twisted expression, unable to tell if it was from hatred or pain.
"Ah! My Lord, why?"
"You have too many petty thoughts! Now that your soul has been branded by me with a Magic Circle, if you do anything you shouldn't, then your soul can just wait to be banished to the place where my Lord resides!"
As he spoke, Six Authorities pointed to the bright moon in the sky.
"Of course, as long as you perform well in the end, I will take the lead in acknowledging your status as an Ancestor. Alright, you may go!"
Roa gritted his teeth, bowed his head to hide his man-eating gaze, saluted Six Authorities, and disappeared from the plaza of Meiji Jingu Shrine.
Returning to the silent plaza, Six Authorities looked up at the bright moon in the sky and muttered.
"It's almost time!"
In the human camp under the cover of night.
Ciel looked at the bland food in front of her and sighed helplessly. To fill her stomach, Ciel had no choice but to force this unappetizing food down.
At this moment, Tohno Shiki, who was dining at the same table, raised his head. He looked at Ciel, who had an unhappy expression, glanced around, and then took a small packet of mustard from his pocket and secretly pushed it in front of Ciel.
"Ciel, I secretly saved this packet of mustard."
Ciel's face flushed as she took the mustard handed over by Tohno Shiki. Ciel also knew that in the current situation of scarce supplies, it was good enough to have food to eat, and she really couldn't ask for too much. She was just being difficult because she wasn't used to it for a moment, and she hadn't expected Tohno Shiki to take it seriously.
'Shiki, you baka!' Thinking of this, Ciel lowered her head with a slightly flushed face, tore open the mustard packet, squeezed a small amount onto her plate, and said to Tohno Shiki with her head bowed.
"Thank you!"
Ciel secretly stuffed the unused mustard packet back into Shiki's hand, then lowered her head and began to eat the food in front of her in large bites.
Tohno Shiki was stunned when he received the mustard packet from Ciel, then a gentle smile appeared on his face. He glanced at Ciel, who was eating heartily, squeezed the remaining mustard into his food, and also lowered his head to start eating.
Although the human camp had secured some supplies through Tohno Akiha's efforts and Rin's help, Chaldea's reserves were limited after all. Furthermore, it was impossible to confirm how long they would need to hold out here, so the living supplies in the human camp were currently rationed, and the amount each person could obtain was truly limited.
In fact, it was fine for high-level combat personnel like Ciel and Tohno Shiki, as they were still needed to clear out the Dead Apostles and Ghouls that threatened the human camp from time to time. Although the food quality wasn't great, they could at least eat their fill.
But the other humans couldn't do that. Most humans could now only maintain two meals a day, and could barely fill their stomachs. At the same time, they still had to do various heavy physical logistics work in the camp.
Therefore, some signs of dissatisfaction had already appeared among the humans. However, because they had just experienced an event where they were nearly wiped out, and the camp was still under the Millennium Castle, it was currently only at the level of rumors.
After finishing the inventory, Tohno Akiha walked out of the makeshift warehouse, stood at the warehouse entrance, and frowned as she looked at the supply statistics book she had written.'Supplies are incorrect again! Is the theft problem this serious?'
At this moment, Kohaku came to Tohno Akiha's side from not far away, carrying a bowl of mush made from who knows what.
"Miss, eat something! You haven't eaten anything since noon. You'll get sick if this continues."
Tohno Akiha, who used to be a young lady, smelled the strange odor wafting from the stewed mush and found her appetite whetted, her stomach growling uncooperatively.
With a slightly flushed face, Tohno Akiha took the food handed over by Kohaku and, not caring about her image, stood there at the entrance of the supply warehouse and began to eat in large bites.
Watching Tohno Akiha in front of her, Kohaku sighed inwardly, 'Has Akiha changed so much?'
For a long time, humans had felt that they could change the environment, but the environment had also been constantly changing humans. This sudden disaster had not only changed Tohno Akiha, but also changed Kohaku herself without her noticing.
Unknowingly, Kohaku seemed to have let go of the obsession to commit suicide after completing her revenge against the Tohno family. Now, the entire Tohno family, except for Tohno Akiha and Tohno Shiki, who were not on Kohaku's revenge list, had died in the battle against the Dead Apostles and Ghouls. With her enemies dead, Kohaku did not choose to commit suicide, and she also gave up the idea that she was a doll in her heart.
After all, Kohaku's younger sister, Hisui, still needed to live in this world; perhaps Kohaku could not rest easy about her younger sister.
The bright moon in the sky seemed to have grown even larger tonight without anyone noticing.
The moon, which once represented romance and reunion, had become an inescapable nightmare for humanity today. Whenever the bright moon in the sky rose, it meant that a tide of Ghouls was about to attack, representing the departure of loved ones and friends. How much further could humanity go in this nightmarish Singularity?
The Black-Winged Duke, who had hurried away from Meiji Jingu Shrine earlier, had now returned to an inconspicuous apartment in Tokyo. This was the gathering place and lair of the Black-Winged Duke and his important subordinates.
Returning to the apartment, the Black-Winged Duke gloomily summoned his subordinates and issued an order that caught them off guard.
Ignore the order set by Six Authorities to temporarily truce with the Millennium Castle side, and directly begin a full-scale attack on the Millennium Castle.
One of the Black-Winged Duke's subordinates plucked up the courage, stepped out of the queue, and said to the Black-Winged Duke.
"My Lord! Are we really going to violate the order of Lord Six Authorities?"
The Black-Winged Duke, with a gloomy face, instantly swung his arm, tore off the left hand of the Dead Apostle who had stepped out of the queue, and casually tossed it into a trash can nearby.
"Can you not understand my words? Or do you think that guy Six Authorities is already the King of Dead Apostles? Remember, our King is forever only the Great Moon!...Why aren't you going to gather those pieces of trash to launch an attack!"
"Yes!"
Watching his subordinates scatter, the Black-Winged Duke clenched his fists, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
Meanwhile, far away in Germany, Europe, the White Wing Duke, Trhvmn Ortenrosse, suddenly looked stunned and muttered to himself.
"I'm not surprised that Altrouge betrayed me, but is there also a problem with Six Authorities!"
Then, the White Wing Duke turned around and said to the Dead Apostle who was standing respectfully behind him.
"Gather the army and call Smiled; we are going to Japan!"
PS: Wishing all readers an early Happy New Year. May everyone have a happy new year, may everything go smoothly, and may you get 5-star drops.
One Hundred Seventy-Three: The greater grail and New Servants! (Happy New Year!)
A neatly dressed Dead Apostle stood on the roof of a building, watching the battlefield in the distance where a chaotic fight was taking place, and turned to say to the Dead Apostle behind him.
"Why haven't you finished off these Mutated Dead Apostles yet!"
The Dead Apostle behind him hurriedly knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and said in terror.
"My Lord, your subordinate will finish them off as soon as possible!"
"I didn't ask you to do it as soon as possible, I said immediately! My Lord is about to lead the army through here. We, the vanguard, haven't even cleared away these small pebbles on the road. What do you think our fate will be when the time comes?"
"Yes! It will be cleared immediately!"
After saying this, the Dead Apostle who was kneeling on the ground scrambled down the building, and at the same time took all his personal guards and joined the battlefield.
Under the threat of death, these Dead Apostles could no longer afford to hold back their strength and forces. Unanimously, they used secret arts to urge their Ghouls, completely disregarding their own losses, and fought desperately with the Mutated Dead Apostles created by Rin.
The large-scale mobilization of the Black-Winged Duke's Dead Apostles was, of course, also noticed by other factions in Tokyo.
Upon receiving this news, Six Authorities just gave a scornful smile and then ceased to inquire further, acquiescing to the Black-Winged Duke's unauthorized action.
But the reactions of the humans and the Millennium Castle were much more intense.
When they learned the news that a large army of Dead Apostles and Ghouls was about to attack, the humans instantly split into two factions. One faction advocated holding the camp and fighting, while the other did not trust the Dead Apostles in the Millennium Castle and believed they should retreat to cities near Tokyo.
Tohno Akiha glared at the representative of the retreat faction, slammed the table, stood up, and rebuked loudly.
"Retreat, where else can we retreat to? Where is there that doesn't have those monsters!"
"Then, Miss Tohno! If we don't retreat, are we supposed to stay here and be cannon fodder for those monsters above?"
As Tohno Akiha and the representative of the retreat faction engaged in a fierce debate on the stage, the onlookers below were also discussing it heatedly.
"Exactly, exactly, how many more people can we afford to sacrifice..."
"Exactly what? Run today, run tomorrow, where can we run to? I say we fight them to the death!"
"Right, fight them..."
"What do we have to fight with..."
After a bout of verbal sparring, both sides, with tempers flaring, saw that they couldn't convince the other. With anger reaching a boiling point, they began to point at each other's noses and curse. Perhaps it would only take one more spark for a full-blown brawl to break out in the meeting room.
Just then, Tohno Shiki, who had been outside arranging defenses, pushed open the door and walked into the chaotic conference room, pouring a bucket of cold water over everyone inside.
"Stop arguing! Don't even think about retreating! Intelligence from the reconnaissance team has returned. This time, it's not just the Dead Apostles within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area coming for us; Dead Apostles from nearby prefectures and cities are also advancing toward this location..."
In the pavilion of the Millennium Castle's garden courtyard.
Fujimaru Ritsuka watched Rin, who was calmly playing chess against the King of Conquerors, with an anxious expression, then turned to ask Gudako.
"Why is the Director still playing chess at a time like this?"
Gudako forcefully pried off BB, who was trying to pinch and pull her cheeks, and spoke calmly to Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Fujimaru, don't worry. Master has always been like this. I rarely see her look flustered. We just need to wait for her to finish the game."
At that moment, Mash and Lily, who were nearby, also tried to console Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Master, there's no need to rush. I believe Rin naturally has her own plans."
"Senpai!"
Consoled by the group, Fujimaru Ritsuka dejectedly sat down on a bench in the pavilion, lowering her head, silent, lost in thought.
Just then, a light gate opened inside the pavilion, and Zelretch walked out of it.
"Rin, you seem to have plenty of leisure time! I've already gotten the item you asked for. It's currently in the basement of Millennium Castle. I'm surprised you even thought of using that thing."
Rin glanced at her extremely disadvantageous position on the chessboard, casually flipped the board, and stood up.
"Little Miss! That's cheating!"
Rin, her face slightly flushed, muttered something to the King of Conquerors, then turned her head to Zelretch and said.
"Iskandar has more important things to do now! Master, are the Ley Lines connected?"
"Mhm! It's been connected to the Ley Lines according to the blueprints you provided."
Receiving Zelretch's confirmation, Rin immediately walked out of the pavilion to the center of the garden and began drawing a complicated magic circle on the ground.
The King of Conquerors, who was following Rin, watched the magic circle gradually take shape in Rin's hands and suddenly struck his fist, realizing what it was.
"This is the Fuyuki City Servant Summoning magic circle!"
Rin, having finished drawing the magic circle, stood up from the ground, dusted off her hands, and replied to the King of Conquerors.
"That's right!"
Rin then scanned the surroundings and focused her gaze on Lily.
"Lily! Could you come over here for a moment?"
Lily, confused, walked blankly to Rin's side after hearing her call and asked.
"Is there something you need me for, Rin?"
"Nothing much. Just stand right here and don't move!"
"Ah!"
Having said that, Rin immediately turned around, gripping a high-quality jewel in her hand, and began chanting.
As Rin chanted, the magic circle on the ground shone brightly. Simultaneously, the Ley Lines of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area began to groan, and a massive amount of magical energy was drawn from the earth veins in a fleeting moment.
The light from the magic circle faded, and a Servant wearing a bull-horned helmet and fully encased in armor appeared within the magic circle.
"Arthur!"
The Servant, recognizing the situation, did not immediately form a contract with Rin, but instead raised the sword in their hand and slashed towards Lily the moment they manifested.
Lily deftly used her sword to parry the Servant's incoming strike, then used the momentum to quickly retreat behind Rin, casting a resentful glance at her.
"Stop! Mordred!"
Mordred, whose name had been called out, immediately removed her helmet, revealing an heroic face full of spirit.
"You're my Master? What's the deal with this young Father?"
Lily, referred to as Father by Mordred, instantly flushed crimson. As a young girl, Lily was completely flustered facing her sudden 'child'.
At the same time, Rin felt a heat on the back of her hand, and three command spells appeared there. Seeing the contract completed, Rin slowly let out a breath, then stood between Mordred and Lily, explaining the situation of the Singularity to Mordred.
After listening to Rin's explanation, Mordred scratched her head, looked directly into Rin's eyes, and said.
"So, you used my young Father as a catalyst to trick me into coming here to fight Dead Apostles with you? There's no Holy Grail? And I'm not allowed to spar with my young Father? I refuse!"
Rin had originally intended to use Lily to summon a different version of King Arthur or a powerful Knight of the Round Table, but she never expected to draw the worst possible lot. Although Mordred was indeed a powerful Knight of the Round Table, the compatibility of this Rebellious Knight with her was simply too poor!
Seeing Mordred change back into casual clothes and casually lie down among the flowers, Rin's eye twitched as she glanced at the command spells on the back of her hand, seemingly intending to forcefully use the command spells to control Mordred. After all, Rin had already acquired the Command Spell Manufacturing Technique, and with her nearly infinite magical energy and Chaldea's support, she could produce as many command spells as she needed.
Just as Rin raised her arm, revealing the command spells, and Mordred gripped her sword, preparing to lash out, the King of Conquerors casually brought over a pot of wine and two cups and sat down next to Mordred.
"Care for a drink?"
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