The night was deep and silent, the sky overcast, with biting cold winds raging.
In such harsh conditions, not to mention on a mountain, even people in the city rarely ventured out at night.
But for Heroic Spirits, the chill of winter held no sway over them.
At this moment, a woman sat atop the snow-covered peak, overlooking the city cloaked in darkness.
The cold wind tousled her black twin-tails.
She was tall, her striking red eyes gleaming in the night like rubies submerged in a lake, both alluring and radiant.
The woman was not wearing shoes, and her pair of white and delicate feet were swinging back and forth.
And since we've focused so much on her feet, it's quite obvious who this woman was.
It was none other than Ruler, Ishtar, who had deliberately given Alvin and Manaka Sajyou space to interact earlier, leaving her somewhat idle at the moment.
Ishtar propped her snow-white chin in her hand, gazing far into the distance from the mountaintop.
Soon, she let out a heavy sigh, muttering to herself, "Why am I doing this?"
As the Ruler of the Holy Grail War, her role was to maintain balance in the conflict.
Right now, Alvin's Master was clearly taking actions that could be considered cheating, and by the rules, she should declare her disqualified.
Yet here she was, waiting outside, giving Alvin and Manaka Sajyou a chance to talk...
Wasn't this a bit like blowing the whistle in someone's favor?
Ishtar couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt.
But she quickly shook her head, dispelling these messy thoughts.
While Manaka Sajyou was indeed suspected of cheating, the Greater Grail itself was already corrupted.
If she could genuinely purify it, that would benefit future generations.
As Ruler, ensuring a certain degree of fairness and justice was enough—
Buzz!
Just as she thought this, she suddenly sensed an immense and unique magical energy emanating from the depths of Ryuudou Temple.
Ishtar instinctively turned to look behind her, her expression quickly shifting to shock.
By all rights, the number of eliminated Servants shouldn't be enough to trigger the Greater Grail's descent yet,
so why could she already feel its magical energy?
Could Manaka Sajyou have tampered with the Greater Grail?
But she herself was connected to the Greater Grail.
If someone had altered its rules, she should have sensed it immediately...
Ishtar's eyes flickered, and she immediately set off for Ryuudou Temple.
Before long, she arrived in the air above the front courtyard of Ryuudou Temple atop her 'Maanna.'
Looking down, the scene that greeted her made her eyes widen in shock.
The Greater Grail was indeed still intact... but beside Manaka Sajyou, several 'shadows' formed from black mud had appeared.
In the darkness of the night, they looked particularly eerie, exuding an intensely dangerous aura.
What shocked Ishtar even more was that within those shadows, she could distinctly sense familiar magical signatures.
Rider, Assassin, Berserker... and even Archer's magical energy!
Archer... Gilgamesh was eliminated?!
What was he doing?
Ishtar's first reaction was disbelief.
As Ruler, she could roughly gauge the strength of every Servant.
Gilgamesh was undoubtedly the pinnacle of this Holy Grail War.
No matter how you looked at it, he shouldn't have been eliminated so early.
And yet... he'd dropped the ball at such a critical moment?
This was just too careless.
Ishtar soon noticed that the only Servants left on the scene were Saber-class Alvin and Caster-class Artoria... The two Masters who had lost their Servants stood rooted in place, not daring to move recklessly.
The atmosphere at this moment was undeniably strange.
Ishtar's gaze sharpened as she observed.
Perhaps due to Manaka Sajyou's magical energy supply, Alvin's aura was far stronger than it had been initially, yet he remained completely still, as if wrestling with some internal struggle.
As for the Morgan sisters and Manaka Sajyou, all three had their eyes fixed intently on Alvin, as if awaiting something.
Soon, Ishtar descended quietly from the night sky.
"Looks like I arrived just in time."
Then, the calm and proud voice of the goddess echoed through the darkness.
All eyes turned toward her, beholding the ethereal goddess of the heavens landing gracefully on the ground.
Tokiomi Tohsaka's heart leaped with joy, and he instinctively blurted,
"Rin—"
"First, I'm not Rin. Second, I'm the arbiter of this Holy Grail War, so don't try to get chummy with me."
Ishtar gave Tokiomi Tohsaka a cold glance, responding in a detached tone.
With the arrival of this heavenly goddess, Manaka Sajyou's attention quickly shifted to her, a smile on her face. "Ruler, huh... Didn't I hear that the arbiter doesn't interfere in the Holy Grail War? What brings you here now?"
Ishtar replied coldly.
"I indeed don't actively interfere in the conflicts between parties... provided everyone follows the rules of the Holy Grail War."
"But from the looks of it, you haven't exactly been playing by the rules, have you, Saber's Master?"
She glanced at the 'shadows' beside Manaka Sajyou, speaking in a heavy voice. "These things shouldn't exist in the Holy Grail War."
The Holy Grail War was meant to be a battle between Servants, but the shadows behind Manaka Sajyou could suppress Servants summoned by the Grail...
They were indeed something that didn't belong in the war.
"I merely stripped them from the Greater Grail and made them my own while purifying it." Manaka Sajyou smiled charmingly. "I haven't tampered with the Greater Grail itself, have I?"
"You're just exploiting a loophole in the rules."
Ishtar said coldly.
Then, she turned to Alvin.
"Do you also think she's done nothing wrong, Saber?"
Why does everyone keep forcing me to choose? Can't I just stay out of it?
Alvin grumbled internally, feeling a bit strange.
The selection interface before his eyes still hadn't vanished, and based on the CG system's earlier prompt, choosing one side would affect the final CG ending of this Holy Grail War.
However, the system hadn't given any hint about which choice would lead to a Bad Ending.
In fact, Alvin felt this was an impossible situation.
No matter which side he chose, the other would inevitably be dissatisfied... He had no real choice.
"Saber..."
At that moment, Manaka Sajyou turned her gaze toward Alvin, her eyes carrying a mix of apprehension and anticipation.
The moment for the final choice was approaching, and dragging it out any longer wasn't an option.
After a long silence, Alvin opened his mouth: "Manaka—"
Whoosh!
Before the words could fully leave his lips, a cold glint flashed through the air.
At the entrance of Ryuudou Temple, a knight clad in silver-white armor charged forward with great strides!
She descended like a divine warrior, unsheathing her sword the moment she stepped through the front courtyard gate and slashing directly at the shadows.
One of the shadows couldn't dodge in time and was obliterated in a burst of red lightning from the greatsword!
All eyes turned toward her.
Even Morgan's usually impassive gaze revealed a trace of surprise as she softly murmured, "Mordred..."
"Didn't expect this place to be so lively tonight. Looks like I arrived a bit late, huh?"
Following her, a golden-haired man with a slicked-back hairstyle crossed the threshold...the Clock Tower Lord, Kayneth!
His gaze swept over the gathered crowd, soon landing on the shadows beside Manaka Sajyou with disdain.
"Something special tied to the rules of the Greater Grail, huh... With things like this in the Holy Grail War, it's already completely out of line with the Grail's rules, isn't it?"
Kayneth said slowly,
"Ruler, if I were you, I'd deal with these things first before talking about fairness."
At this moment, Tokiomi Tohsaka also stepped forward, his gaze darkly fixed on Manaka Sajyou.
"Indeed, these things have already affected the very essence of the Holy Grail War. Archer was eliminated because of them. If they aren't dealt with first, how can we speak of fairness?"
Morgan crossed her arms over her chest, accentuating her proud figure, her icy gaze locked on Manaka Sajyou as she spoke in a crisp and cold voice. "Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so."
Noticing that even his own teacher was among the Masters glaring at Manaka Sajyou with clear hostility, Alvin fell into silence.
His original intention was merely for Manaka Sajyou to purify the Greater Grail.
While the girl had indeed succeeded, why did it feel like everything she did ended up turning her into some kind of final boss...?
He had only recently managed to pull her back from the edge of "corruption," yet now it seemed her corruption was deepening even further.
"Saber..."
Artoria looked at Alvin, a faint trace of anticipation in her eyes.
But the latter still made no move.
He understood clearly that Manaka Sajyou was now the common enemy of all the Masters.
Choosing her would mean making enemies of everyone.
But if he abandoned her, once Manaka Sajyou succumbed to corruption... things would only become more troublesome.
Meeting the gazes of Artoria and the others, Alvin took a deep breath and looked at her. "Big Sister... Lily, during the Holy Grail War, I have only one Master. As long as it doesn't cross my bottom line, I am her Servant."
His words were diplomatic, but they clearly stated his stance, he was still choosing Manaka Sajyou.
Artoria lowered her eyes, silent for a long moment before suddenly looking up, her face expressionless.
"That does sound like a choice you'd make."
At the end of her words, the special weapon symbolizing the "Staff of Selection" quietly coalesced in her hand.
"If that's the case, I'll respect your decision."
"And it just so happens I'd like to see how much of your strength from the days of Britain you still possess as a Servant!"
Her words sounded righteous, but it was clear she was angry... Alvin sighed inwardly.
Why was it that his intention was just to save his teacher, yet he somehow ended up having to face off against all the other Servants...?
As Alvin was thinking this, Artoria, from a distance, swung the Staff of Selection toward him.
She wore a beautiful dress interwoven with black and white, draped with a cloak, strikingly captivating in the dark night.
Yet in Alvin's eyes, the aura of the woman before him was utterly terrifying.
Throughout the Holy Grail War, Artoria had never truly gone all out, but now, with Morgan's support, she seemed to be unleashing true Age of Gods magecraft!
Just how high was the ceiling for Artoria as a Caster-class Servant?
Alvin didn't know.
But he could at least be certain that the magical energy this woman was releasing right now was unprecedentedly immense.
An ordinary Master witnessing this scene would likely already be trembling with fear, yet there was no trace of timidity in Manaka Sajyou's eyes...only growing excitement.
Because the young man had chosen her, once again.
Even if they were facing everyone else, even if it felt like there was no chance, even if the people opposite were someone he liked..he still chose to stand by her side.
She gazed at the boy with tender affection, speaking in a soft voice. "Saber, let us fight together and claim the final victory."
In an instant, the black mud erupted violently, surging toward everyone in all directions!
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The dim yellow glow of the table lamp illuminated the room, seemingly dispelling some of the winter night's chill.
Irisviel furrowed her brow slightly, as if troubled by a nightmare.
A small, cold hand gently touched the woman's flawless face, rousing her from her slumber.
Irisviel slowly opened her eyes, and what came into view was Illya's clear, pure face, delicate and innocent.
Illya was staring intently at her mother, her voice soft. "You're awake, Mom?"
"Illya..."
Irisviel instinctively called out, then looked around with a dazed expression. "Where... is this?"
She gently rubbed her temples, and soon, a flood of memories surged into her mind.
Being kidnapped in the castle, imprisoned, and rescued by Saber, then meeting Illya.
After that, influenced by a being within the "black mud," she had tried to manipulate Saber while corrupted...
The torrent of memories crashed over her like a tidal wave, and Irisviel gradually pieced everything together.
"It was Saber who saved me. While I was unconscious, a fragment of Lady Justeaze's consciousness remained attached to my body...?"
As this thought crossed her mind, she seemed to recall certain events from not long ago, and a faint blush spread across her flawless face.
Though it was due to the black mud's influence, in her attempt to claim Saber for herself, she had done some rather... out-of-line things.
If Saber didn't know the full context, would he think she was a bit... indecent?
The moment this thought flashed through her mind, a clear, cold, and melodious voice echoed in her heart. "Rest assured, he holds no prejudice against you. After all, he knows exactly what happened to you back then."
Irisviel froze, her face showing surprise. "Lady Justeaze?!"
"Why is your consciousness still within my body...?"
By all rights, the fragment of Justeaze's consciousness residing in her should have been too faint to persist for long.
So why was it still present even after she had awakened...?
Justeaze gave a cold laugh.
"Thanks to a certain girl, the consciousness I had stored in the Greater Grail has fully awakened."
"...Manaka Sajyou?"
Irisviel instinctively asked in her mind.
Though she had been in a deep slumber for some time, she had glimpsed what had happened through the memories of this body.
Justeaze nodded.
"If things go as expected, she's likely already performing the final ritual for the Greater Grail's descent."
"Irisviel, you must go to Mount Enzou... I have a feeling she still can't perfectly control that corrupted power."
Irisviel hesitated.
"But I'm no longer the Lesser Grail..."
"You're underestimating the Third Magic far too much."
Justeaze's voice was cold.
"The Root Princess can, at best, transfer the magecraft formulas of the Lesser Grail onto herself, but she overlooked one thing... Your body itself is the Grail. No matter what she does, she can never replace you as the true Grail."
"The souls of the Servants have all been claimed by the Root Princess, but as long as the Greater Grail descends... you remain the most advantageous contender."
After a brief moment of hesitation, Irisviel nodded. "I understand. I'll set out now."
"Wait a moment. You can rest a bit before you go."
Justeaze said softly.
"There's a guest approaching this place right now."
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