Chapter 697: Holy Grail War! The Despair of Sakura Matou!
[Kiana: What just happened? The new guy and Ren didn't even say anything before they were gone! He just kidnapped a blonde knight!]
[Kushina: And Ren even traveled through worlds right in front of us. The spatial fluctuation was intense.]
[Silver Wolf: Ren? Hello? Are you still alive? Say something. Don't tell me you disconnected.]
[Ren: What? Are you trying to curse me to death? My connection is stable.]
[Silver Wolf: Tsk, what are you doing? You went offline for a second there.]
[Ren: Nothing much. I just realized there's a very fun game in Artoria's world. I'm wondering if I should participate just for the entertainment value.]
[Silver Wolf: Game! What game?! Is it an MMO? A shooter?]
When it came to games, the Stellaron Hunter was no longer sleepy. Her avatar in the chat practically vibrated with excitement.
[Artoria: ...]
Reading the messages floating in her vision, Artoria Pendragon, the King of Knights, was speechless.
She stood on the bridge overlooking the river, the wind whipping her blonde hair. These people... they actually compared the Holy Grail War—a brutal ritual for the Omnipotent Wish Granter that countless magi sacrificed their lives for—to a modern video game.
[Ren: Unlike the video games you're thinking of, Wolfie, this is a game with real participants and a risk of death. Its name is the Holy Grail War.]
[Silver Wolf: Boring. Fighting and killing isn't as fun as a real game. Where's the respawn mechanic? Where's the loot table?]
[March 7th: Eh? Holy Grail War? It sounds super ominous! What kind of game is it?]
[Ren: Simply put, it's a Battle Royale. Seven magi, chosen as 'Masters', summon seven legendary spirits known as 'Servants'. They fight in a city-wide arena until only one pair remains. The victor obtains the Holy Grail, which can grant any miracle.]
[Kiana: Question! Teacher Ren! What are Masters and Servants?]
[Exusiai: How did this turn into a Q&A session? But I'm listening.]
[Ren: A 'Master' is a magus chosen by the Grail and given Command Seals—tattoos that force obedience. Think of them as the 'Player'.]
[Ren: A 'Servant' is the soul of a hero from history or myth who has ascended to a higher plane of existence after death, known as a 'Heroic Spirit'.]
[Ren: They are summoned into a physical class container—like Saber, Archer, or Caster—to fight in the physical world. They are the 'Character' the player controls.]
[Ren: However, these Servants are usually just shadows of the main body residing in the Throne of Heroes. They don't have independent futures and will disappear back to the Throne after the war ends.]
[Silver Wolf: Oh, I get it. It's like summoning a high-tier NPC companion or a Gacha character to fight for you. That's a little interesting. Is the drop rate good?]
[Kiana: If no one dies, it should be very interesting! I remember many great historical figures from my textbooks. Imagine fighting alongside King Arthur or Siegfried!]
[Ren: Tell me some historical figures you know, Kiana.]
[Kiana: ...]
[Shinobu Kocho: Haha, Ren-kun, stop teasing Kiana-san. We all know she sleeps through history class. By the way, does the wish-granting Holy Grail mean it can grant any wish?]
[Artoria: Of course.]
Artoria answered almost immediately in the chat, her mental voice firm and unwavering.
That was her goal. That was the reason she had stained her hands with blood, why she had abandoned her humanity to become a weapon. To change the past. To save Camelot.
But Ren's answer came a split second later, cold and absolute.
[Ren: No.]
[Artoria: ???]
[Stella: What's going on? Contradictory information?]
No one answered Stella. The chat fell silent as the tension shifted to the real world.
On the steel suspension bridge of Fuyuki City, Artoria turned sharply, her emerald eyes staring intently at Ren.
"You said the Holy Grail cannot grant wishes?" Her voice was tight, suppressing a rising panic. "Explain yourself, Master."
Ren stood leaning against the railing, the city lights reflecting in the dark water below. He shrugged nonchalantly.
"It can grant wishes, strictly speaking. But it cannot grant all wishes, and certainly not in the way you hope."
He pushed off the railing and began to pace around her, lecturing as if he were a professor of magecraft.
"The Holy Grail in Fuyuki City is essentially the massive magical construct of the Einzbern family—specifically, the incarnation of the homunculus Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern. Its core function is to perform the Third Magic: Heaven's Feel."
"Heaven's Feel..." Artoria whispered the term.
"The materialization of the soul," Ren clarified. "The main purpose of the Fuyuki Holy Grail is to summon seven Servants, kill them, and use the immense magical energy of their returning souls to punch a hole through reality to the 'Root'—the Akasha."
He stopped in front of her, his eyes boring into hers.
"Granting a wish is just a side effect. It uses the leftover magical energy to alter reality. But here is the catch, King of Knights: This magical power is ultimately limited by the method. It cannot perform a miracle that you cannot visualize. If you wish for peace, but only know how to kill, it will kill everyone to create peace."
"..."
Under Ren's explanation, Artoria felt a chill run down her spine. The logic was sound. Cruelly sound.
"Then... what if I only wish for Great Britain to continue? To change the selection of the King?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Under normal circumstances, maybe. But the current Holy Grail... tsk tsk."
Ren clicked his tongue, a mocking sound that echoed in the night air. "It's polluted, Saber. It's filled with all the evils of the world. It's a monkey's paw."
Artoria was not a fool. She was a King who had led armies. She understood the weight of his words immediately.
She frowned deeply, her gloved hands clenching into fists. "Is there a problem with the Holy Grail?! You mean to say it is corrupted?"
"Even if I say it's corrupted, with your stubborn personality, you'd still go see for yourself, wouldn't you?"
Ren did not give her a direct yes or no. He knew that for Artoria, this hope was the only thing keeping her spirit from shattering.
"..."
She remained silent. She didn't understand why this person from another world understood her so well. He saw through her armor, through her title, straight to the regretful girl underneath.
Ren gazed into the distance, looking at the ley lines of Fuyuki City that pulsed with hidden mana.
"I want to participate in this Holy Grail War," he said suddenly. "As your Master."
Artoria's eyes narrowed. "But didn't you say the Holy Grail is flawed? If it is a trap, why fight?"
"Don't mention the Holy Grail. I'm not interested in that rusty cup."
Ren turned back to her. He extended his hand, palm up. A smile played on his lips—not the smile of a benevolent savior, but the confident, arrogant smile of a Demon King offering a deal.
"I just want to enjoy this game. I want to participate as your Player, and you will be my Character."
"I won't make a move directly to end the war instantly—that would be boring. You, as my Servant, will fight. You will defeat the other six Heroic Spirits. You only need to win this game for me."
He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper.
"The Holy Grail cannot grant your wish, Artoria. But I can. What do you think?"
!!!
Upon hearing his declaration, Artoria's expression shattered. Her pupils dilated.
"You... you will help me achieve my wish? You can rewrite history?"
"Hehe, haven't you felt my magical power? Haven't you seen me tear through dimensions?"
Ren's hand began to glow with a soft, gold light. The sheer density of the mana made the air around them vibrate.
"Time, space, life, death. Doing something like saving a small island nation in the past is effortless for me. I possess authority that supersedes the Grail. You just need to choose. Will you keep chasing a corrupted cup, or will you serve a true God?"
Artoria was silent.
The wind howled around the bridge, but in her mind, it was quiet.
That glimpse of his magical power earlier... it was vast. Boundless. Like an ocean compared to a puddle. What Ren said should be true. If anyone could perform a miracle, it was this Administrator.
She looked at Ren's hand. It was an invitation to a different kind of servitude. But it was also a tangible hope.
After a long while, the King of Knights closed her eyes, exhaled a long breath, and made her decision.
She reached out with her armored gauntlet and placed her hand on Ren's.
The moment their skin touched, a circuit connected. A surge of power, warm and intoxicating, rushed from him into her, filling her depleted spiritual core in an instant.
"I, Artoria Pendragon, accept your contract."
She opened her eyes, burning with renewed determination.
"I will bring you victory, my... Master."
Ren closed his fingers around hers, pulling her slightly closer. "Very good. Then, as my Servant, let's go. I want to see you try out your sword with the magical power I supplied you earlier."
"Try... sword?"
Artoria blinked, confused. "Here? Now?"
"Not here. Too many eyes."
Ren smiled. "Let's go to the Einzbern forest."
Before Artoria could voice her confusion, space twisted around them. With a blur of motion, Ren instantly teleported away with her, leaving only emptiness on the bridge.
...
Meanwhile, in the shadows of Fuyuki City.
The organizers of the Holy Grail War are the three founding families: The Tohsaka, the Matou (Makiri), and the Einzbern.
The Einzbern are a renowned magical family skilled in alchemy and homunculus creation, obsessed with the Third Magic.
The Tohsaka have managed the spiritual ley lines of Fuyuki City since ancient times. They are masters of Jewel Magecraft and conversion of power. They provided the land for the ritual.
The Matou family, originally the Makiri, are a renowned magical family skilled in binding and creating familiars. However, their lineage has rotted, their magic decaying into something vile and parasitic.
The entire Holy Grail system was created by the cooperation of these three families.
Now, centuries later, they are enemies. They are all vying for the Holy Grail, attempting to reach the Root by killing each other.
And tonight, the Matou family has received a "guest" from the Tohsaka family. Or rather, a sacrifice.
"..."
A little girl with purple hair and dead, empty eyes walked down a cold hallway. Her name was Sakura Tohsaka.
No... she should be called Sakura Matou now.
She had just been adopted by the Matou family. Her father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, a man who valued magecraft above fatherhood, had given her away. He believed that since only one child could inherit the Tohsaka crest, giving Sakura to the Matou would ensure she too could become a powerful magus.
He was a fool. Or perhaps, simply cruel.
Sakura, clutching a small doll, silently followed her new "Grandfather," Matou Zouken.
The old man walked with a cane, his back hunched. He looked like a dried corpse that refused to die. Every step he took was accompanied by a wet, squelching sound, and a faint buzzing noise—like hundreds of insects rubbing their wings together—emanated from beneath his robes.
"Heh heh heh... Sakura, my dear granddaughter."
Zouken's voice was like sandpaper on bone. He stopped in front of a heavy iron door.
"The Matou family's magecraft is different from the Tohsaka's. To inherit our power, you must... adapt. You must become one with our 'familiars'."
The air grew cold. A stench of rot, mold, and something metallic wafted from the cracks in the door.
Sakura looked up, her body trembling instinctively. "Grandfather... it smells bad..."
"It is the smell of power, child."
Zouken opened the door.
Darkness spilled out, alive and writhing.
"Go on. Go down."
Sakura looked into the abyss of the basement. From the shadows, the glistening, wet sounds of the Crest Worms could be heard. Thousands of them. Writhing, hungry, waiting for fresh meat to burrow into.
"Ah..."
Sakura took a step back, fear finally breaking through her obedience.
But Zouken's hand, surprisingly strong and skeletal, gripped her shoulder.
"Go."
He pushed her.
Sakura stumbled into the darkness, the door slamming shut behind her with the finality of a coffin lid.
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