At the place where the Grail resided, the Heroic Spirits had all gathered.
They stared at the Holy Grail that was still bubbling with black mud, each of them deep in thought, each with their own concerns.
"Kid, you were right. The Grail really has been corrupted."
Iskandar spoke with rare seriousness.
From within it he felt a profound malice, so thick it was almost tangible. Truly worthy of the title "All the World's Evil."
"Actually, if a Heroic Spirit wants to obtain a physical body, they can take a soak in that black mud. There's a chance they'll incarnate," Koji said.
"And if they fail?"
Just looking at it felt dangerous. No one was bored enough to casually go in there for a dip.
"Then they either get devoured, or become a puppet. 'All the World's Evil' will corrupt a Servant's spiritual core."
Koji's gaze was meaningful as he spoke.
Gilgamesh was one of the rare successes. After incarnating, he did not return to the Worm Pit but chose to linger in the world once the Holy Grail War ended.
However, Gilgamesh was a special case. If it were any other Servant, even if they didn't melt away in the mud, they would inevitably be blackened.
"What a dull little trinket. Leaving something like this in my treasury would only taint it."
Gilgamesh folded his arms behind his head, tone light.
Because of Koji's interference, this Holy Grail War had been anything but pleasant.
Fighting Koji was no fun at all. With his blessings constantly active, nothing ever hit. It was like being toyed with. In the end the one who flew into a rage was always him.
The sooner this ended, the sooner he could get off work.
"Something like this should just be destroyed."
Artoria looked at the black Grail with open disgust.
As a knight-king, this kind of malice repulsed her from the bottom of her heart.
"By the authority of all my Command Seals, Artoria—release your Noble Phantasm—"
Irisviel clenched her fist. Three strokes of Command Seals flared and vanished.
"Destroy this corrupted Holy Grail!"
Majestic magical energy surged through Artoria's body. With the power of the Command Seals, she could unleash her full might.
This kind of Grail had to be destroyed.
Even if it could grant wishes, they would be realized in a twisted, perverse way.
"Understood."
Artoria smiled, raised the Holy Lance high, and began to chant:
"It is the storm's anchor that rends the heavens and binds the earth."
"Holy Lance—Cast Off!"
"Shining at the end of the world, spear of radiance—Rhongomyniad!"
The Holy Lance was instantly released. The sky split open; an endless torrent of energy crashed down, swallowing the Grail that was still spewing black mud.
This was the "anchor" that fixed the surface of the world itself, possessing power enough to destroy heaven and earth.
"Hoh."
Gilgamesh was slightly astonished by Artoria's Noble Phantasm. This weapon did not exist in his Gate of Babylon and could clearly rank at EX; even he could not help but spare it a few extra glances.
"The black mud, huh… Purify."
Koji could feel it: although the Holy Lance had destroyed the corrupted Grail, remnants of the mud still lingered—and this stuff was extremely dangerous.
A divine light of purification descended, and "All the World's Evil" was completely dispersed. Against this, it was like running into a natural counter.
With such a huge disparity in level, malice was effortlessly restrained and erased by the power of purification.
"Oh my, what a truly unusual timeline."
Just then, a sturdy white-haired English old man appeared, looking with great interest at the Grail that had been completely annihilated.
"Oh?"
"So you've shown up as well, Second Magician."
With his omniscient, omnipotent star opened, Gilgamesh immediately recognized the old man. The playful smile on his lips was tinged with a rare hint of seriousness.
The number of Magicians was vanishingly small—only a handful in all existence, each overwhelmingly powerful.
This old guy was not to be taken lightly.
"The Second Magician?!"
"Could it be that you are the Magus Marshal, the Old Man of the Jewels—Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, senior?"
Waver stared, dumbfounded, at the white-haired man and blurted out his name.
This was a legendary figure of the Clock Tower, a man you heard about but never saw. You could say his existence was shrouded in mystery.
Anyone in the field of magecraft who had a bit of knowledge had at least heard of the Second Magician. It was practically required study material.
"He's just a peeping old rascal who likes to spy on people, that's all."
Koji curled his lip.
This old man's personality was extremely eccentric. He enjoyed observing humans and interesting events. The Second Magic he wielded let him interfere with parallel worlds.
As a Magician, he naturally had a deep connection with the Counter Force, and stood in a basically neutral position.
"Now, now, little brother, don't say it like that. Living this long, the only thing that can relieve the boredom is observing parallel worlds. Otherwise I might as well find a place to lie down and get buried."
The Old Man of the Jewels did not get angry; he chuckled amiably instead.
Others might not know, but he was aware of some of Koji's information.
This was someone even the Counter Force wanted to cling to as a thigh. That alone said how special he was.
Moreover, his intuition told him that if they actually fought, the result would be a seventy-thirty split.
In three seconds, he'd die seven times.
Even if he ran into a parallel world, in front of Koji he wouldn't even get the chance to escape.
"Tsk tsk, this Holy Grail War really is bizarre. Even you, a singularity among singularities, showed up."
He looked over all the Servants, clucking his tongue in wonder, his gaze especially lingering on Artoria.
"You've been spying on me?"
Artoria asked calmly.
"I wouldn't call it spying—just that I've seen your figure before. If I actually tried to peep on you, you'd definitely notice."
The Old Man of the Jewels shrugged.
"Old man, you didn't come all this way just to spectate, did you?"
Koji's hand closed around the hilt of his sword. Since coming to this world, he had yet to use this particular weapon.
"To be honest, I did come just to watch the show. There are countless parallel worlds, but most of them don't differ much. Worlds where someone like you appears as a variable are extremely rare."
The Old Man of the Jewels spoke very seriously, without a hint of joking.
No matter how things changed, those parallel worlds didn't deviate too far from the main pattern.
Koji nodded. That was true enough. Without a transmigrator, the development of parallel worlds usually wouldn't stray too far from the "normal" track.
"Old man of the Jewels, would you mind taking on a disciple?"
He would be leaving this world, but he had no intention of bringing Sakura with him. Dragging three little girls around with him made no sense.
If he sent her back to the Tohsaka family, there was a good chance Tokiomi would adopt her out to another household.
As the disciple of the Magus Marshal, her status would naturally rise like the tide.
[Accept him.]
Before the Old Man of the Jewels could answer, a voice echoed in his mind—the Counter Force, sounding extremely anxious.
[Got it.]
The Old Man of the Jewels' mouth twitched. You really are in a rush. Did any of you stop to consider my opinion?
Counter Force: Of course not. This is a super-thick thigh we can rely on in the future; we'll need his help.
"It's not that I object, but I have to at least see who you're talking about first. Not just anyone can be my apprentice."
The Old Man of the Jewels lifted his chin with the pride befitting a Magician.
Koji nodded. Sakura's talent was quite good.
He had no doubt she would pass the old man's inspection.
(End of Chapter)
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