"That's right. The Greater Holy Grail's magical energy has already been corrupted. Whether it is used as a wish-granting device or a tool for some other purpose—" Morgan calmly answered Artoria.
She had already completely analyzed the Greater Holy Grail's system. Given some time, building another one from scratch would not be difficult for her, and it would even cost less.
"They're all nothing more than broken tools," Morgan added.
"Broken?" Artoria's composure was gradually vanishing. She merely closed her eyes and forced herself to ask.
"Put simply, the means it uses to fulfill wishes would be extremely drastic and negative." Morgan turned to look at her. "Didn't you want to make a wish upon the Holy Grail and save Britain from destruction? If you made that wish upon that Grail, it would choose to overturn the facts already inscribed into human history. Only then could it erase the outcome of Britain's destruction."
Cold sweat seeped down Artoria's cheek. "If that happened..."
"If that happened, Britain would be severed from the world and become an aberration that distorted human history..."
As Morgan said this, her tone grew slightly heavier. However, apart from Shiomi, none of the others whose attention was fixed on the Holy Grail noticed.
"In other words, it would become a singularity in human history," she said. "This time, it would be eliminated by the Counter Force."
Artoria was struck speechless. For a moment, she could not process such a cruel reality.
Yet Morgan continued, as though she intended to utterly crush Artoria's heart. "Don't be so quick to fear it. Becoming a singularity is merely one possible method. Worse possibilities are not impossible."
Ultimately, even Morgan could not say exactly what the Fuyuki Holy Grail was capable of accomplishing.
Moreover, Morgan herself was actually an even more exceptional summoning case than Artoria was now.
"You've been repeating that the Holy Grail has been corrupted since earlier." Kiritsugu Emiya, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. "You are merely a Servant with some blood relation to the King of Knights over there. How am I supposed not to suspect that you are simply trying to crush the morale of the other factions this way?"
Compared with Artoria, Kiritsugu was far more doubtful of Morgan's claims.
He had entrusted his wish to the Holy Grail and spent nine years preparing and waiting. There was no way he could easily accept reality.
"All the World's Evil." Morgan spoke a name. "Or rather, Angra Mainyu."
This time, the first person whose expression changed was Rin Tohsaka.
As the overseer of the previous Holy Grail War, he naturally knew the classes and even the true names of the Servants summoned by every side back then.
"Judging by that reaction, Overseer of the Holy Church, you must already know what I am talking about." Morgan did not turn around, yet she clearly knew the old priest's reaction. "That is the reason the Greater Holy Grail was corrupted."
Tokiomi's expression changed. He had not investigated the previous Holy Grail War in much detail, instead focusing on how to win this one more reliably, preparing a Holy Relic and other necessary things.
After all, no one would deliberately choose to summon a Servant who had been summoned before. If there were anyone aware of it, their true name could be exposed at any time.
"May I ask what exactly happened, Father Rin?" Tokiomi suppressed his anxiety and asked politely.
As learned as he was, he naturally knew that Angra Mainyu was a god of Zoroastrianism.
The old priest's face was grim, his brows tightly furrowed. "That was a Servant summoned during the previous Holy Grail War, and a Servant who descended under the extra class, Avenger."
At that, he narrowed his eyes at Kiritsugu Emiya. His moral sensibilities as a clergyman compelled him to do so.
"Avenger?" Shiomi had not wanted to speak, but the word still slipped out. "That irregular class?"
"That, I do not know. After all, the participant who summoned Avenger was one of the three great families, the Einzbern." Father Rin answered truthfully.
Kiritsugu Emiya stood up, his expression dark. "It seems there is no need to keep listening."
"Don't be so quick to draw conclusions, Magus of the Einzbern." Father Rin remained unhurried. "I have no intention of using this as grounds to have the other Masters join forces to condemn you. I am merely stating the facts. In the Holy Grail War sixty years ago, although the Einzbern summoned Avenger, that Servant was defeated on the fourth day. The Lesser Holy Grail was later destroyed as well, resulting in no outcome."
Morgan, believing the old priest's explanation had already made matters sufficiently clear, continued her own explanation.
"Normally, the souls of Servants defeated in the Holy Grail War are collected into the Greater Holy Grail and converted into colorless magical energy. Angra Mainyu, however, was different. He symbolized All the World's Evil. The instant he was collected by the Greater Holy Grail after his defeat, the evil wish he bore corrupted it."
As she spoke, Morgan calmly extended a hand. A mirror made of water appeared within the chapel.
"And this is the Greater Holy Grail's current state. If this still cannot convince you, go and verify it yourselves."
Through Morgan's magecraft, everyone present could see the Greater Holy Grail's appearance. Though it was only an image, they could still glimpse the abnormality in its condition.
"Utter nonsense."
Yet Kiritsugu Emiya merely left those words behind before disappearing alone through the chapel doors. Artoria, who still had questions, could only be forced to leave with her Master first.
While the other factions no longer doubted Morgan after she freely handed over the right to verify her claims, the man named Kiritsugu Emiya still firmly believed Morgan was lying.
Or rather, something he had believed in his heart had been fundamentally shaken, so he "fled."
Reward Notice
This book officially goes premium today, and it just so happens that the Hedgehog Cat anniversary and the Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday are coming up.
So I'm opening a bonus chapter reward event here.
The rules are as follows:
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Effective from today until October 7.
If any readers are interested, please feel free to participate. Thank you.
Shiomi's Plan
Kiritsugu Emiya and Saber leaving did not bring the gathering Shiomi had proposed to an end.
Compared with the angry departure of the Magus Killer, who seemed to have strangled all his own emotions, the Holy Grail War itself was what concerned the remaining people more.
Through Morgan's magecraft, everyone had seen the Greater Holy Grail's abnormality.
If they still refused to believe it, then they could only personally verify it, as Morgan had said.
—Though everyone knew doing so would not change anything.
"...As for the fact that the Greater Holy Grail has been corrupted, I will personally go to Mount Enzou afterward and verify it once more."
Tokiomi watched Morgan dispel the image of the Greater Holy Grail displayed by her magecraft. Though his heart was tangled with countless emotions, his sense of duty as the family head prevented him from pretending not to hear and avoiding the issue. Instead, he gave a relatively reasonable answer.
Maintain elegance.
Tokiomi, who never forgot the Tohsaka Family's precepts, remained as poised as ever. Yet anyone could see how conflicted he was beneath those tightly furrowed brows.
"But Shiomi-kun, you specifically gathered everyone today to explain this matter. It should not have been merely to reveal the truth. Could you explain further?"
Tokiomi questioned Shiomi. He vaguely guessed Shiomi's purpose, but he needed to hear the other man state it before everyone before he could essentially confirm it.
Hearing that, Shiomi nodded. Morgan slowly walked over and sat on an empty pew to the side, looking as though her work was already finished.
"My purpose is simple as well. Now that we know the Greater Holy Grail has been corrupted, continuing the Holy Grail War would do more harm than good." Shiomi stood in the middle of the aisle and met Tokiomi's gaze directly. "Therefore, I propose suspending the Holy Grail War and instead gathering everyone's strength to purify the Greater Holy Grail."
And this was Shiomi's "mission," whose objective had changed.
"A very reasonable proposal." Tokiomi nodded deeply.
Reaching the Root was indeed the Tohsaka Family's wish passed down through generations, but if they relied on a corrupted Holy Grail, even Tokiomi could not accurately judge what price this land of Fuyuki would pay once the path to the Root was opened.
In that case, Shiomi's choice was correct.
"However, judging from the current situation, purifying the Greater Holy Grail would inevitably require extracting the corrupted magical energy within it." Shiomi continued. "According to our estimates, even if the purification work is ultimately successful, a considerable amount of the magical energy it has accumulated over sixty years will be lost—"
At that, he paused and shifted his gaze toward Waver.
As one of the only three Masters present, even if Waver's abilities as a Master fell short of Shiomi's and Tokiomi's, that did not mean he should be excluded.
And Waver naturally understood what that gaze meant.
If the Greater Holy Grail lost its accumulated magical energy due to purification, then even if a victor was decided in the end, the magical energy converted from Servant souls alone would not be enough to allow the Greater Holy Grail to function as a wish-granting device.
In other words, agreeing to purify the Greater Holy Grail also meant that the Holy Grail War would end here.
"I don't mind..."
Waver muttered his position. He had never possessed a clear wish to begin with. He had entered the Holy Grail War merely to show the teachers and classmates who had dismissed him what he was capable of. By comparison, Iskandar had the greater issue with it.
"Hmm... To be honest, hearing such a thing is disappointing to me as well." Iskandar scratched his beard. "But if the Holy Grail has been corrupted, there is nothing to be done."
After all, if he were to use such a Holy Grail to recreate his body, Iskandar could not help but be more cautious and question the possible hidden dangers.
Their attitudes were already clear. Both of them had expressed varying degrees of approval for Shiomi's proposal.
Under the current circumstances, it was the choice most beneficial to every side.
As for Gilgamesh, he had remained turned away from Shiomi's side the entire time, radiating an air of utter boredom, so everyone tacitly chose not to ask him.
Thus, under the witness of overseer Rin Tohsaka, the Masters of Archer, Rider, and Berserker reached a new consensus—purify the Greater Holy Grail and suspend the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Afterward, Shiomi and Waver, the two groups who had contributed the most to last night's campaign against Caster, each received one additional Command Spell from Father Rin.
Looking at their Command Spells, which had not been used in the first place and now contained an extra mark, both of them privately felt that they looked rather unbalanced.
But they were valuable magical resources, so neither said anything.
The only one left with grievances he could not voice was Tokiomi himself, who had planned the campaign yet gained nothing because the King of Heroes had refused to follow orders from beginning to end.
After the brief meeting ended, Tokiomi remained behind to discuss follow-up measures with Father Rin, while Shiomi and Waver left the Holy Church with their respective Servants.
"Cheer up, boy!" Iskandar patted Waver's shoulder. "Though the Holy Grail War can no longer continue, we gained extra Command Spells. They might still come in handy."
Waver looked helplessly at the King of Conquerors. "Are you an idiot? We won't need Command Spells to purify the Holy Grail. No matter how you look at it—"
"Not necessarily. There are still people who have not accepted this plan," Shiomi cut in.
His words made the Rider faction's expressions turn solemn, especially Iskandar's.
Not only had they learned that Saber's true Master was someone else, they could also tell that her relationship with her actual Master was terrible. There was absolutely no way they could fight together.
Combined with Kiritsugu Emiya's earlier attitude, it was difficult not to wonder whether he would ignore the consensus reached by the three groups and intend to continue the Holy Grail War.
"Looking at it this way, both Saber and her Master are the sort who stubbornly burrow into dead ends." Iskandar gave a harsh assessment. "I had wanted to give that Saber a good lecture last night, but my plans were disrupted as well."
"There is no need for that, King of Conquerors." Morgan suddenly spoke. "Since she chose to bear Britain's fate, she must naturally have already possessed sufficient resolve. If a few words from someone else could change her, then none of this would have happened from the beginning."
Iskandar fell thoughtful. "That may be true, but as Saber's sister, aren't you much the same?"
"Who knows? As a Servant, perhaps I have already reached my ending and made the choice I believe in." Morgan's attitude was exceedingly firm. "Everything that happens here is merely an extension of that choice."
"So you really are different." Iskandar threw back his head and laughed. "At least your face does not carry the same confusion as Saber's."
"I'm past that age."
Morgan merely answered faintly.
Believe
Standing on the slope outside the church gates, Shiomi watched Rider, who had walked ahead and was patting Waver's shoulder to encourage him. Only after a long while did he speak.
"Should we use magecraft to return directly, or take a walk first?"
"Let's take a walk."
Hearing his somewhat indirect invitation, Morgan gave a clear answer.
Thus, the two of them walked down the stone-paved slope.
"I thought you and King Arthur were enemies who would never rest until one of you was dead. But whether it was last night or just now, you seemed somewhat protective of Saber?" Shiomi said to Morgan. "Is it really because you are family, so only you may bully her while no one else is allowed to criticize her?"
"Is that how it appears to you?" Morgan asked with an intrigued expression.
"It is only a hypothesis," Shiomi stated honestly.
Morgan understood. "There is nothing special about it. To some extent, I simply understand that girl better than others do. Artoria Pendragon was merely the product of Merlin and Uther's scheme, a being born bearing Britain's fate from the very beginning."
"So you cannot allow people who do not know the full story to judge her casually, and only someone like you, who understands the whole course of events, has the right to comment on the King of Knights?" Shiomi laughed. "Claiming the final authority to interpret certain matters—should I say that is worthy of the Winter Queen?"
"My status as queen has nothing to do with Artoria Pendragon." Morgan knew Shiomi was joking, but she still chose to answer him directly.
Shiomi gradually put away his smile as well. "I see. I misunderstood."
"Still, the King of Conquerors was not entirely wrong." Morgan stopped walking with a faint smile. "I am a woman burdened by deep obsessions. Sometimes I obsess over Britain, and sometimes I obsess over other things."
After hearing her, Shiomi, who had already walked several steps ahead, stopped as well.
He stood at the bottom of the slope for a long time before slowly turning around and lifting his face toward Morgan, who stood behind him.
"I know."
The extremely complex emotions in those eyes left Morgan slightly startled, before she gradually understood.
Before you continue