Within the belly of Mount Enzou—Ryuudou Temple.
The curtains were tightly drawn. Under the dim yellow light, the scents of blood, iodine, alcohol, and medicinal herbs filled the entire room. Sterile gauze and bandages lay piled haphazardly across the low table.
After resetting her Master's bones, casting healing magecraft, applying medicine, and carefully bandaging his wounds, Caster Medea finally dared to gently lay the man flat upon the tatami lined with bedding. With utmost care, she placed a warm towel upon his forehead.
Having done everything within her power, Caster Medea simply knelt at his side, heart aching as she gazed at Souichirou Kuzuki—almost wrapped entirely in bandages, face gaunt, lips pale and bloodless.
"Souichirou-sama... I promise, I will see you safely through the Holy Grail War."
She clasped her hands before her chest, as though praying for her Master.
Bzzzz—!
At that moment, sensing movement outside, Caster Medea let out a soft sigh. Rising to her feet, she lifted her head toward the window. The tightly shut gauze curtains could not block out the moonlight—but now, the serene silver glow of past nights had been replaced by an ominous crimson radiance.
Vast waves of deep blood-red light gradually engulfed every corner of Ryuudou Temple, reflecting across the carefully polished green brick floor like blood jade.
"Who exactly are they? Magi of that caliber cannot be nameless figures. What could their objective possibly be...?"
Suddenly—
"Caster... I see. So I am still alive."
A cold, inorganic, hoarse male voice sounded from behind her.
"Souichirou-sama!"
Medea turned in delight. "Thank goodness—you're finally awake."
"Haa..."
Souichirou Kuzuki lay exhausted upon the bedding. His entire body felt numb. He could no longer sense pain, as if he had been completely hollowed out—his vitality drained away, leaving only an empty shell.
Her gentle voice lingered in his ears.
Merely forcing his eyes open had already consumed the last of his strength. Seeing Medea's tear-streaked face, he managed a faint movement of his lips.
"They... haa... why did they spare us...?"
"Caster... what did you sacri—"
"It's fine! Souichirou-sama, as long as I can see you once more before my departure, as long as I can speak to you again, I am already content."
Her words, nearly a final confession, cut him off. Even the stone-hearted assassin felt something within him waver.
Just as sorrow and reluctance thickened in the air—
Swish!
"Relax. He's just a mortal. If we say we won't kill him, we won't kill him. What benefit would there be in deceiving you? Uh... well, fine, perhaps there would be some benefit. But, Witch, you're not yet qualified to earn this Immortal's serious attention."
The curtain was lifted aside, revealing a certain Immortal wearing a look of disdain, lips curled in contempt.
"It's time."
From outside, a violent surge of magical energy erupted at once.
Caster Medea turned her head back toward Souichirou Kuzuki's unmoving, broken form. A wave of bitterness welled up in her chest.
"...All right."
Outside the room.
"Void Realm Lockdown!"
Kiana pressed her hands slightly downward. In the darkness, her flowing white cloak billowed without wind, like a burning cloud.
Countless black suns born of spatial distortion bloomed before her like an impenetrable barrier. They linked together, forming a new magical boundary that completely sealed off Ryuudou Temple.
Witnessing this sight, a trace of satisfaction surfaced upon Lev's face.
He understood—the time had come.
Raising both hands high, he revealed the egg-sized golden fragment of the Holy Grail crafted by King Solomon, along with the "holy relic" symbolizing a foreign deity.
"That is... the Holy Grail?!"
Following behind Senti, Caster Medea stared in shock at the cup-shaped object held by the green-robed magus within the crimson ritual circle.
He already possessed a Holy Grail—then why participate in the Holy Grail War at all? His ambitions must be immense.
A faint suspicion took root in Medea's mind.
Forming a special mudra, completing the chant, Lev cried out loudly—
"The ritual begins!"
Crack!
The Grail fragment dissolved, transforming into golden light that imprinted itself directly upon the "holy relic" of the foreign deity.
Zzzzt!
The golden double-headed eagle sculpture began to tremble violently. The amethyst-like eagle eyes shone brilliantly with violet light. The gold faded away, replaced by a purple-crimson crystalline substance.
Boom!
In the next instant, the purple-crimson crystal formed from the relic shot into the earth at lightning speed.
Crack.
Crack! Crack crack!
From the center of the ritual sigils where the crystal struck, countless purple-crimson particles surged forth from a faintly glowing cavern below.
Ka-ka-ka—!
They began to condense, growing outward like a forest of crystals, radiating resplendent purple-red streams of light—beautiful beyond measure.
"Honkai Cube..."
Fu Hua uttered the term with a complicated expression.
Once, in order to protect the people and defend Shenzhou, she had adopted a stance toward all Honkai creations of "better to kill wrongly than let one escape."
Honkai Cubes—capable of triggering Honkai Eruptions, transforming humans into the undead, and giving birth to Honkai Beasts—had always been something she would destroy without hesitation.
And now...
How unpredictable the world is. To think that one day I would move through the Honkai so naturally, that Honkai Cubes would become indispensable 'comrades-in-arms'.
After that brief reflection, Fu Hua exchanged a glance with Durandal and Kiana.
It was time.
"Honkai Erosion!"
Bzzzz—!
Through the reassembly and aggregation of Honkai Cubes, a tower-like pillar of highly concentrated Honkai crystal rose from the leyline node beneath Ryuudou Temple, bursting through the ground.
At the peak of the crystal pillar, a ripple-like curtain of violet light began to form. It grew ever brighter, warping the surrounding space-time.
"Lev, it seems you have completed the first step of our transaction. Hm? She is... a Servant?"
Suddenly, within Caster Medea's perception, a vast will manifested out of thin air and instantly locked onto her.
It felt as though everything about her had been stripped bare in a single instant—inside and out, laid completely exposed.
In that moment, though she was a Servant, Caster Medea felt as though she stood within a frozen hell. The spiritrons composing her spiritual body trembled uncontrollably. A chill shot from her tailbone straight to the crown of her head, as if she had plunged into an icy abyss.
Yet that overwhelming gulf—like the difference between heaven and earth—vanished just as suddenly in the next instant.
The abrupt shift left her dizzy, as though waking from a dream.
Her legs gave way, and she collapsed softly to the ground.
A burst of violet light flared violently. Under Caster Medea's terrified gaze, countless purple-crimson motes began to gather together.
A pure white ceremonial inner robe manifested first, overlaid by an exquisitely tailored purple-and-gold outer garment that draped over the curvaceous figure. Its surface was adorned with dazzling, intricate patterns, while brilliant tassels threaded with golden filaments unfurled elegantly.
And then—those crimson diamond-shaped pupils.
"Your Majesty."
Gazing at the upper-body projection of the foreign deity slowly emerging, using high-density Honkai crystal as its vessel, Lev bowed deeply, unable to suppress the smile spreading across his face.
At that very moment, as though sensing the sovereign arrival of the Goddess of Honkai, even the wildly and irregularly growing crystal formations bent toward Selene's direction like a field of wheat pressed low by the wind.
"Lev, I am curious—what kind of Age of Gods do you truly seek? One where only King Solomon is revived and Mystery is restored through him alone? Or an era where the gods return and the supernatural reclaims the world?"
"I desire both."
"Oh? A grand ambition indeed."
Silently sensing the Honkai energy gradually eroding the planet's leyline network through the node beneath Ryuudou Temple, Selene nodded inwardly in satisfaction.
As expected, using the pretext of a Singularity or a Lostbelt made matters far more convenient. The Root would not intervene—at most, the two Counter Forces might react.
And even if they did react, they could only endure it. They could not intervene directly. At best, they would dispatch agents or Heroic Spirits to secretly assist organizations that safeguarded human order.
From the world's perspective, Lev's actions amounted merely to seeking external assistance.
After all, it was not Selene who had proactively invaded the Type-Moon world. She had long since left behind a Heroic Spirit vessel of her own here, and on multiple occasions had completed elimination tasks on behalf of the Counter Force—though her true body never logged in, allowing the Counter Force to freeload by assigning Selene's data incarnation to eliminate threats, much like a certain red Archer.
In that sense, she was half an insider already.
In other words, Selene and the actions of her armies and attendants could simply be regarded as internal conflict among native inhabitants of this world.
No matter how catastrophic Honkai erosion might be, it still fell within the scope of dangers posed by Singularities or Lostbelts.
Whether it was the Human Order Incineration Incident or the Land of Steel—these were all operational laws permitted by the world itself.
Any one of them might spell total annihilation for humanity, for magical beasts, for Phantasmal Species, for vampires and other lifeforms—but to the Type-Moon world itself, what did that amount to?
Merely another cycle.
Even if this universe were destroyed, even if this timeline were severed, it would not matter. The Type-Moon world was a composite existence formed from countless universes and innumerable timelines.
Like Earth itself—human extinction would mean absolutely nothing to it.
To speak realistically, all that talk of Earth's affection for humanity, of symbiosis and mutual prosperity, was merely human wishful thinking.
Does Earth truly need humanity? Do you need the parasites living upon your body? Who depends on whom?
A nuclear war capable of erasing humanity would be nothing more than a smudge upon Earth's face. On its timescale, a few "days" would pass, and it would recover.
Internal collapse—traitors truly were the greatest threat to any power or collective. Far more dangerous than external enemies, and far more detestable.
Had Selene not been summoned voluntarily by Lev, had there been no Singularity or Lostbelt as pretext, had she instead launched a direct assault upon the Type-Moon world, the situation would have been entirely different.
Most likely, the moment she moved, she would have invited retaliation from the Root and the Counter Force.
How could she have so calmly and quietly allowed Honkai energy to erode the planet's underground leylines like this?
Boil the frog in warm water. No need to rush. No need to panic.
Next came the most crucial step—reviving the Magus King Solomon. Or rather, the King of Demon Gods, Goetia.
"How much longer until Solomon's resurrection ritual is complete?" Selene asked.
"I still require preparation—to activate the ritual of the Fuyuki Holy Grail."
"Then I leave it to you, Lev. I, too, wish to witness the bearing of the great sage, the Magus King Solomon."
"I shall not fail Your Majesty."
With enthusiasm nearly overflowing, Lev took his leave and leapt into the passage opened by the ritual array, which connected to the leyline beneath Ryuudou Temple.
"Caster, Medea."
Watching Lev's departing figure, Selene's scrutinizing gaze fell upon the Servant who stood utterly at odds with the surrounding Honkai energy.
Recognizing Caster's true identity, Selene recalled the participants of the Romanian Holy Grail War and the Fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, unable to suppress a faint sigh.
It seems I truly have quite the affinity with Greek Heroic Spirits.
From Rider of Red—Achilles, Archer of Red—Atalanta, Archer of Black—Chiron, to this Holy Grail War's Berserker—Heracles, Rider—Medusa, and Caster—Medea...
Ahem. Two Holy Grail Wars, six Greek Heroic Spirits.
Ah—her own name, Selene, carried a Greek flavor as well. No wonder.
But...
Rider Medusa had a good relationship with her true Master, did she not?
If Rider Medusa were reversed and corrupted into the Avenger—Gorgon, she could serve as a contingency before Selene's true body descended.
Selene observed Caster with keen interest, until the poor Medea felt her skin crawl.
Just as Selene was about to withdraw the projection—
"Your Majesty, regarding Caster Medea."
Fully adopting the posture of a loyal subject, Durandal stepped forward and knelt on one knee. Casting a brief glance at the collapsed Caster, she spoke neither arrogantly nor servilely.
"According to my assessment, her magecraft—particularly the secret treasure she possesses, the Golden Fleece—would be beneficial to us.
"Although Rita remains distrustful of Caster's legendary title as the 'Witch of Betrayal' and suggests eliminating future trouble at its root.
"However, Caster Medea's Master is already under our control. As agreed, we will spare her Master's life, and in return she shall serve us. When the time comes to activate the Holy Grail, she will take her own life if necessary."
"What is Your Majesty's judgment?"
"Recommend keeping her..."
Knowing that Medea and Souichirou Kuzuki genuinely loved one another, controlling Souichirou Kuzuki meant controlling Medea as well.
In that case, why not exploit her value to its fullest before discarding her?
"Oh, and one more thing, Bianka," Selene added lightly. "A gentle reminder—pay attention to your Noble Phantasm."