Or, you guys find another savior

What path should I take now?

Xi Jianxi, utterly confused, closed his eyes.

"Just embark on your journey, there's no need to linger here. When the time comes for us to meet, we, master and disciple, will naturally reunite. Let's meet then."

Before leaving the Shadow Realm, these were the last words his master spoke as they parted.

At the time, immersed in the joy and sorrow of completing his training, Xi Jianxi hadn't had the chance to think deeply. Now, he found himself contemplating once more.

What if his journey truly held some special meaning…

"Xi Jianxi!"

Seeing that he was falling unprepared, Artoria, who had already landed, realized something was terribly wrong and rushed over to catch him.

Snapping back to reality, he realized he had forgotten about this, and had almost gotten himself into trouble.

"I'm sorry for the trouble."

Xi Jianxi, signaling Artoria to put him down, regained his footing.

"A truly magnificent counterattack."

Iskandar arrived beside them in his chariot, followed by the cheers of his still-standing soldiers, celebrating a victory that was beyond their usual scale.

"Not at all, it was because you two were together that it went so smoothly," Xi Jianxi said, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"The King of Heroes who stood in our way is gone, so now there's only one thing left," Artoria said, clenching her left hand.

The sword sheath she had lost long ago had returned to her hand, but she no longer needed to step onto such a battlefield a second time.

Perhaps this was the very reason the sword sheath had been lost in the first place.

Perhaps, even back then, fate had already hinted that Artoria Pendragon should give up, but she hadn't paid it any mind, instead treating it as a minor setback.

"Then, as kings, we shall witness the end of this Holy Grail War for you," Iskandar declared. "Although this expedition had some regrets, it was still thoroughly enjoyable."

He raised his hand, and amidst the salutes of his soldiers, his Reality Marble gradually faded.

What appeared before them was Ryuudou Temple, still emitting an ominous phosphorescence.

"Yes, she's still waiting for me…"

Xi Jianxi turned and took a step towards the back of Ryuudou Temple.

Chapter Eighty-Five: Manifestation

Morgan, slowly landing on the platform and reuniting with Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya, swept her gaze across the surroundings with her blue eyes.

All the Assassins had been slain and had turned into pools of black mud. Under the influence of the forcibly activated Greater Holy Grail, they converged and surrounded the platform Morgan had ascended, much like a swamp.

She glanced at the Command Spells on the back of her hand; she had used one to create five clones, compensating for the lack of mana.

With Xi Jianxi's mana supply and her own exceptional mana levels, Morgan could easily sustain her many battles and magical feats.

However, Xi Jianxi's mana supply this time was somewhat restrained. Morgan knew without a doubt that he must have gone all out to fight Gilgamesh.

That being said, Morgan watched her clones gradually disappear.

If she were to maintain these clones, she would need to expend the mana from a second Command Spell.

With the Assassins eliminated, there was no need to waste this mana any further.

The only thing that was somewhat surprising was how resilient that priest was.

Although Morgan's side, by being forced to avoid contact with the black mud and be consumed as mana by the forcibly activated Greater Holy Grail, allowed Kirei to seize the initiative, that man had only sustained gunshot wounds and had an arm disabled by Kiritsugu's bullets, not to the point of being incapacitated.

At this moment, the void that appeared in the sky suddenly erupted with an even larger torrent of black substance, pouring into the lake of Ryuudou Temple.

The once clear lake water was now murky, and the mist rising from the surface indicated that the water temperature had risen to the point of boiling.

"Oh…" Kirei turned his head to look at the void in the sky, letting out a casual exclamation. "It seems the King of Heroes has also retreated."

This man showed no sign of regret or remorse for his companion's defeat, simply accepting the fact.

"You probably don't know this, but Archer's soul quality is more than three times that of an ordinary Servant," Kirei said, laughing merrily. "With such a vast amount of soul converted into mana, the activation of the Grail can no longer be stopped."

Morgan raised an eyebrow slightly as she slowly raised her hand. "So what? It's just a rather elaborate magical ritual. Different stages naturally have different methods of dealing with them. But before that, you won't have the chance to see it."

The light of mana gathered in her hand, and Morgan intended to strike down Kirei in one blow before slowly dealing with the abnormal state of the Greater Holy Grail.

Irisviel behind her suddenly gasped.

Morgan also immediately stopped her magic activation.

Morgan saw what Irisviel saw.

A silver-haired woman, dressed in a black ceremonial gown, slowly emerged from the Greater Holy Grail. The surrounding distorted masses of flesh grew hands that danced bizarrely, as if reaching out to the woman, or perhaps worshipping her.

"Is that the foundation of the Greater Holy Grail…"

Kirei also turned around, looking at the woman.

Kiritsugu on the platform, upon seeing this, asked his wife in shock, "Iris, what is that thing—"

"…Justicia…" Irisviel stared in horror at the woman who shared her face, slowly uttering the name.

If this was the form manifested by the Greater Holy Grail, there was only one possibility.

Justicia Lis Reich von Einzbern.

The former head of the Einzbern family, she sacrificed her life to plan the Holy Grail War, but her residual consciousness remains within the Greater Holy Grail.

Irisviel is merely an artificial human created by the Einzbern family, modeled after Justicia, to replicate her functions to the greatest extent possible.

"The vast magical circuits left in the Great Hollow are the legacy of that artificial human named Justicia," Morgan said, watching the figure in the long black dress from afar.

Justicia's pitch-black figure slowly floated forward, finally landing beside Kirei.

"A mere four Servant souls, and you think you can awaken me? They're hardly enough as sacrifices." She revealed a sinister and cold smile. "As the supervisor of the Holy Church, to have such little capability."

As Kirei was about to speak, he felt his strength rapidly draining and looked down in astonishment.

Hands that had sprouted from the lake pierced through his chest from behind without him noticing. The pale, agile hands were clutching his heart.

Whoosh—

The moment the hand withdrew, Kirei's body, like a kite with a broken string, fell backward, rolling into the smoke-shrouded lake.

Watching the hand retract into the black mud with his heart, Irisviel covered her mouth, suppressing an instinctive urge to vomit.

The man they considered their greatest enemy, Kirei, was ultimately killed by the very thing she had awakened.

"The fresh heart tastes wonderful, but it's not enough, it's still not enough!"

Justicia grinned with manic energy, licking her lips as if she had just savored the most exquisite delicacy.

She gazed greedily at Morgan.

As a Servant who had come according to the Holy Grail's principle, the Holy Grail naturally craved Morgan's existence.

"Devouring Servants and Masters isn't enough to satisfy you; you want to devour me too?" Morgan had no intention of waiting to be devoured. She rose from the pedestal again, floating high in the sky.

That being said, as a Servant, her compatibility was absolutely disadvantageous. Even a mere touch would cause Morgan to be forcibly devoured and reclaimed, serving as fuel for the Holy Grail's activation.

Therefore, the first step should be to create distance and launch a destructive attack from afar using magic.

However, Morgan soon realized she had miscalculated one thing: the personality manifested by this abnormal Greater Holy Grail was not that simple of a malevolent personality.

As if transcending the boundaries of time and space, Justicia appeared before Morgan the moment she ascended.

"You look like you'll taste quite good. Just obediently become my sacrifice."

As Justicia spoke, she had already extended her hand, about to touch Morgan's heart.

It was too late. It was too late to cast magic or use Command Spells to transfer herself.

Without warning, without opening, she could reach any place as if taking a stroll.

Justicia, as an absolute predator, was shamelessly engaging in post-awakening feeding activities, filling the Holy Grail's requirement of seven Servant souls.

There was a way out. A flash of crimson electricity streaked between Morgan and Justicia, severing Justicia's arm, and black blood splattered out.

In less than a second, the witch was embraced by a familiar figure around the shoulders, and they were whisked away from Justicia's vicinity at maximum speed.

Chapter 86: The End

Morgan looked at Xi Jianxi, who was covered in wounds, in astonishment.

This man, having just finished an arduous battle, had rushed to her side without even a moment to catch his breath.

Just like any time in the 'past.'

He slid several meters on the ground while holding Morgan before slowly coming to a halt, gazing at Justicia in the sky.

The Rune script triggered a violent explosion, engulfing Justicia as well.

"It seems it had no effect."

Morgan watched Justicia slowly drift away in the flames, landing on the black mud.

The burns from the explosion were gradually disappearing from her body.

"But at least I figured one thing out." Xi Jianxi held Morgan tightly, crouching slightly, and exerted all his strength.

As hands extended from the surrounding black mud lunged at him, he leaped up, landing on the highest treetop nearby.

"It seems that instantaneous movement can't be used continuously," he narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at Justicia. "It looks like a special ability with a cooldown period..."

Morgan nodded in agreement. "Then, at least, could you put me down for now?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible for the time being," Xi Jianxi said with a wry smile. "That thing knows your value very well and will try to devour you by any means necessary... I absolutely won't allow it."

Hearing him say that, Morgan looked at the back of Xi Jianxi's neck and noticed several burnt holes in his clothes that were still smoking, with burns on the skin beneath.

It was clear that he had used his body to block whatever had splashed from Justicia's severed arm when he saved her just now.

"Then, you'll handle movement and defense, and I'll handle offense." Morgan put away her Demon Spear and opened her palm.

Fortunately, they were not the only two facing Justicia.

Artoria and the other two had followed closely behind Xi Jianxi and arrived here.

However, Irisviel reminded the two Servants not to touch the black substances by the lake, as they would be contaminated or even controlled if they did.

"No, since that thing can only contaminate Servants, I'll be the main attacker."

Xi Jianxi leaped again, dodging Justicia's crude attack, and landed beside Artoria and the others.

"Don't worry about us here, Kiritsugu and I are fine. Just focus on what you need to do!" Irisviel said, being shielded by Kiritsugu.

He likely intended to send Irisviel to safety, even if it meant risking himself by being immersed in the black mud from the altar.

"But that thing is clearly the natural enemy of us Servants." Iskandar wanted to help, but at this moment, not being consumed by the Grail was the greatest help he could offer.

Xi Jianxi gently set Morgan down on the ground. With a reach of his hand, the Red Spear that had severed Justicia's arm flew back into his palm.

"Then, as long as we don't touch that stuff on the ground, we'll be fine."

He extended his hand and drew in the air. Eighteen Rune letters flashed, and originating from beneath Xi Jianxi's feet, a thick sheet of ice rapidly covered the ground around Ryuudou Temple's lake. It even froze the lake's surface, which had already begun to show faint signs of boiling due to the magical energy.

Even the Greater Holy Grail's writhing momentarily stopped.

"Don't let that guy touch you, you're done for if you do," Xi Jianxi reminded everyone with feigned casualness, then added, "The ice is slippery, be careful!"

With that, Xi Jianxi shot forward like a cannonball.

"Tricks!"

Justicia, whose "feeding" had been interrupted by Xi Jianxi, had no intention of giving up.

"You... aren't the Justicia Lis Reich at all, are you?" Xi Jianxi's thrusting spear was blocked by familiars generated from silver hair. "Am I right, Black Grail!"

From behind, Irisviel immediately recognized it as a magecraft inherited by the Einzbern family, which granted life to one's own hair and transformed it into animals or weapons according to the battle situation.

However, the scale was completely different.

Justicia's familiars transformed into swords, and each slash was on par with a Servant's.

"Heh—"

Justicia, or rather, the personality mimicking the Black Grail, let out a cold, heartless laugh.