"The Holy Grail War, in simple terms, is a battle for the Holy Grail, which can grant its holder's wishes.
"Legend has it that roughly every sixty years, Fuyuki City accumulates enough power to support the Holy Grail's descent. Then, the Holy Grail, possessing the power to immediately grant any wish, will appear here.
"Whenever this happens, seven Beyonders holding Command Seals, leading their summoned Heroic Spirit Servants, engage in a battle for ownership of the Holy Grail. The ultimate survivor will claim ownership of the Holy Grail.
"Finally, so-called Heroic Spirits are likely high-sequence Beyonders who existed in history... perhaps possessing power at the Angel level."
Ebner, combining the games and animated films he had seen in his past life with his guesses about Roselle's method of re-enacting this scene, briefly explained the meaning of the "Holy Grail War" to Edwina.
As for the specific story, he temporarily refrained from mentioning it to Edwina. After all, this was his greatest reliance; once spoken, it would leave a trace, and in the world of mysteries, it was not impossible for opponents to detect it.
—According to the "Dream Labyrinth Tower" notification, he already knew that three "tower climbers" had entered the first floor, and they were likely all Saints at the Demigod level.
"Seven teams... So, we have to defeat or kill the other six teams?" Edwina asked thoughtfully.
"For 'Masters,' killing might not be necessary... but Heroic Spirits, or rather, Servants, are the targets," Ebner replied, then pondered, "By the way, the role you've replaced is also quite special... Do you feel anything unusual about yourself?"
"Anything unusual..." Edwina checked herself, then took out a white oil lamp from her portable bag and said, "This is 'Silent Winter.' You should have seen it; it's a magical item I bought at the Pirate Council... But after entering here, it lost its original abilities and seems to have been imbued with the characteristics of a 'Gatekeeper,' undergoing a fundamental change."
"'Silent Winter'... I remember it was an item sold by 'King of the Five Seas' Nast... " Ebner took the oil lamp, muttering to himself, Could this thing be the vessel for the 'Lesser Holy Grail'?
A "Gatekeeper" can contain souls... it does seem similar...
This item flowing out of Nast's hands, could it be something Roselle designed long ago?
No, its validity period is only five years, so it shouldn't be Roselle's doing...
Hmm, given that Edwina possesses it, the biggest suspect is the God of Knowledge!
But what is the God of Knowledge's purpose? Simply pushing Edwina into this Irisviel position?
Moreover, considering that the 'Book of Astrology' was previously in Lunburg, and Mr. Surry only accidentally obtained the 'Astronomer' and 'Lawyer' Beyonder characteristics while studying abroad in Lunburg... Roselle likely had a transaction with the God of Knowledge back then... Perhaps, in Roselle's current 'resurrection' plan, He is supportive...
But under the Goddess's hidden push, I entered 'Groselle's Travels,' and She didn't interfere... Does this mean it depends on my choice?
In other words, Roselle's resurrection plan this time might actually succeed... but there are some changes the Goddess doesn't want to see?
Hmm, the specific details of Roselle's resurrection plan are not clear yet, so it's hard to judge... And the minds of deities are even more unpredictable, so it's best not to speculate for now.
However, since the role of the "Lesser Holy Grail" is still to gather souls, I can roughly guess what the so-called Heroic Spirits are... They are probably fragments of Old Huang himself, separated and sealed, temporarily reassembled by the rules of the "Holy Grail War," waiting for the victor to wish for "resurrection"...
It's probable that "Optional Task 3," "Find 'Roselle Gustav's Phantom,'" refers to these "Heroic Spirits."
Combining this with "Optional Task 1," "Use 'Holy Relics' to summon your own Heroic Spirit," if I were to make a bold guess, if the "tower climber" cannot provide the so-called "Holy Relic," what they summon will most likely be various versions of Old Huang...
It seems Old Huang himself is in a bit of a contradiction.
The part of him that yearns to be resurrected issued the clearance task, asking us to win and make a wish.
Meanwhile, optional tasks one and three are both revealing the true nature of this "Holy Grail War," serving as reminders to the "tower climbers"...
Right, if he wasn't self-contradicting, why would he even need to arrange a Holy Grail War? This war itself is actually an attempt to stop me from making a wish!
But this intent to stop isn't even firm...
As thoughts raced through his mind, Ebner returned "Silent Winter" to Edwina and told her his conjectures, leaving out the speculative parts about the God of Knowledge.
Edwina listened quietly. However, due to her limited understanding of the Holy Grail War, she couldn't offer better insights. After a brief contemplation, she changed the subject and asked, "Do you have any clues about 'Holy Relics'?"
Ebner nodded and said, "I have some ideas."
With that, he led Edwina to the magical symbols formed by the earlier bloodstains and continued, "I just studied this 'summoning ritual' and found that the spot for placing Holy Relics actually represents 'the sacrifice of a soul'...
"This means that the so-called Holy Relics are souls of high-level existences... and this ritual's essence is to transform that soul into a Heroic Spirit and then send it back to us...
"If there isn't one, then it randomly sends one... which is what I suspect to be a 'Roselle Gustav Phantom.'"
"Souls of high-level existences..." Edwina frowned. For her, even a Demigod's soul was rare to encounter, let alone an Angel's.
Seeing her frown, Ebner smiled, "Don't worry, I happen to have one here..."
With that, he pulled out a card and took out the Staff of the Sun he obtained from a "Light Apostle." It housed the evil spirit of a former Pope of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
Just as Ebner was about to attempt summoning a Heroic Spirit under Edwina's curious gaze, boundless gray fog suddenly appeared before his eyes. Then, he heard the "World's" request for a "meeting."
After a brief thought, he casually made an excuse to Edwina and headed to the washroom.
.....
Inside the ancient palace above the gray fog, as soon as Ebner's vision returned, he saw not only Klein sitting at the long table, but also Miss Temperance, wearing a Gothic court dress and a small black soft hat.
Seeing him look over in surprise, "World" explained in a hoarse voice, "Miss Temperance and I share authority in the 'Dream Labyrinth Tower,' so she was also pulled into the first floor."
"I see... So, who is your current identity?" Ebner asked, then added, "I'm replacing Kiritsugu."
"Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald... and Miss Temperance is replacing Sola..." "World" answered, staring into Ebner's eyes.
No problem... According to the original story, that Lancer was indeed shared between the two of you.