Chapter 445

Since Novia wasn't entirely sure either, she only considered it as a possible solution among many directions, as she still needed to think about whether there was a way to resolve the issue without resorting to supernatural means.

Then.

Novia heard the sound, even though it was a sound that was not expressed in words, he still heard it.

I hereby swear --

I am the one who brings about perfect goodness in the Tokoyo; I am the one who spreads Tokoyo.

If you are willing to follow the reliance of the Holy Grail and submit to this principle and intention—

My Fate is now in your hands.

This 'Master' from a distant world says this, but no Servant will actually appear as a result.

The reason is simple: this 'call' is death itself, a call powerful enough to tear apart and corrode the Servant's Spirit Core. In other words, it can only be manifested Servant Chief God who transcends the Fate of death, but generally speaking, this possibility is completely impossible.

Of course, for Novia, who intended to find that 'mother' on his own, he didn't take it too seriously at first. After all, it wasn't a big deal. However, he did vaguely see a round creature wriggling and circulating outside that world.

"Is the union of birth and death simply a cycle...?"

Having no particular ideas for the time being, Novia casually responded to the call, deciding to see if she could find any clues.

"Death, if that's how it is, then come and meet me."

"Huff... huff..."

It was a world that seemed no different from the Tokoyo; if one had to describe it, it was a blend of classical and surreal elements. Above numerous classical buildings, such as the Rome Colosseum and Arena, were advertisements playing on giant Holographic Display.

On the exterior walls of buildings everywhere, signs with Od reaction lights bearing various languages are prominently displayed, and large numbers of ordinary people and Servant move back and forth on the streets; in the air, flying Servant are moving about.

A seaside neighborhood in Shinjuku.

A middle-aged man wearing black sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt, and athletic sandals sat on a small boat placed upside down in the boat dock, surrounded by shimmering red and blue water.

However, not far in front of him, a young girl with black hair, wearing Black Leather Jacket, was kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. Her tender face was covered in bruises, which must have been caused by the handle of the knife the man was holding. If you looked closely, you could see that her collarbone was also broken.

"What, you can't even keep up with today's intensity?"

The man adjusted his sunglasses. "Those things inside you are probably already chanting 'Kill me' nonstop... So, can you still stand up and continue fighting me, Lucius Longinus, Utsumi Erice?"

This is the era following the massive Holy Grail War, when everyone could possess the Holy Grail and summon Servant due to the wish made by the final victor. However, the Holy Grail War, which swept the globe, also brought devastating blows to Earth and humanity. Most areas were reduced to wasteland, with only scattered cities "embedded" on the surface for humans and Heroic Spirit to live in -- Fate/Requiem.

At this very moment, it was the day that young Utsumi Erice was sent to Shinjuku to be adopted by her Grandmother after losing her parents.

Lucius's teaching of young children can be described as repeated "abuse," but all of Lucius is out of good intentions. If he didn't do this, the young Utsumi Erice would be corrupted by Evil Spirit and eventually become an empty shell. Erice doesn't hate him for this; on the contrary, she respects him quite a bit.

"Phew, I'll shut up sooner or later... It's too noisy..."

Erice felt the Evil Spirit surrounding her become excited as they sensed the slight cruelty rising within her.

I'm going to torture him to death.

I will cut off his Limbs and pierce his eyes.

I will completely erase his Spirit Core.

At this moment Utsumi Erice was completely unable to distinguish between the people living around her and the Evil Spirit, and she couldn't even differentiate between the countless voices and her own thoughts.

These Evil Spirit stayed by the girl's side day and night. To them, the girl was like a comfortable hiding place halfway down a long, dark slope, an excellent vessel.

"I see, is this how it unfolds?"

Just as Utsumi Erice was about to pick up her weapon again to suppress the Evil Spirit's murmurs urging her to kill Lucius, she heard a 'strange' voice. It was strange because Erice was certain that it wasn't Lucius's voice, but rather the voice of the Evil Spirit.

But there seems to be a sliver of reason within it?

"I see, is this how it unfolds?"

Erice shook her head, muttering the same words, "Fine, then bring it on. If you can do it..."

To a young child, this is probably a new method employed by the Evil Spirit to corrupt them, namely by lowering their guard.

These words were unbearable for the Evil Spirit that were trying to possess the girl's body; it was as if they were hearing a lover, more important than their own life, confessing his love to them. However, the girl's response was not from them, but from Novia, who had been called to this place.

"Since you invited me, then I've come."

Suddenly, Gale blew up the little girl's black hair, and her Black Leather Jacket fluttered in the wind.

"Your courage and perseverance are truly commendable, Erice Chitose always has a stern face, you'd be much better suited to Executor in the church. In a ruthless Church that exploits its non-staff members, the more you behave like that, the more likely you are to be noticed and appreciated. If it were me, I would definitely recommend you."

Lucius's tone was extremely inappropriate, giving the impression of bullying the weak.

However, this was actually something he did on purpose to ease Erice's emotions. After losing her parents, young Erice was taken to Shinjuku by her Grandmother Chitose, and their relationship was extremely tense, to the point that it was no exaggeration to say that they were familiar strangers. As Chitose's Servant, he had gone to great lengths to ease the tension between them.

However, the little girl with black hair remained motionless, unlike before when she would grit her teeth and rush over recklessly. This unusual Lucius frown slightly, and his expression became unusually serious. He was not surprised; he simply threw the wooden stick aside, picked up a battle axe with his left hand, and a small knife with his right.

Has he been possessed by Wicked Spirit again?

Because Erice's mother Servant Izanami, the God of the Underworld, she could hear the voices of countless Wicked Spirit from a young age.

Wicked Spirit, also known as Evil Spirit, are the souls of the dead filled with resentment.

They have no glory or honor, and even if they have committed all the evils of the world, their deaths are utterly meaningless.

They are incapable of entering the Throne of Heroes; they are merely a group of heretics.

Although they were once born into this world and had their own individuality, they were rejected by the world and even their names were taken away, preventing them from returning to this world. Utsumi Erice is the only Great Gate for them who yearn to obtain Flesh.

Those Wicked Spirit always told young girls:

Kill him, he torments you every day. Kill Manazuru Chitose, you're just a burden to her. Grip your Erice, and destroy everything you see.

"However, there's no need to be afraid, Erice, this pain will surely end one day."

Lucius touched the Cross scar on his face, and with a casual swing, his black battle axe whistled through the air. "After all, the little bit of radiance I've gained is enough to deal with Wicked Spirit of this level."

The wind lashes against rusty billboards, clotheslines crisscross in the darkness, abandoned container warehouses stand in the deserted Shinjuku coastline, the setting Sun shines on countless rooftops at Twilight, casting dark shadows on the ground between buildings, defining the still bustling Shinjuku.

'Utsumi Erice' tugged at her black leather jacket, standing in the gentle breeze.

"... Indeed, they're exploiting us."

When Novia first heard Lucius's frank answer, she almost thought she had misheard, but when she realized what he meant, she couldn't help but smile slightly.

The fact that the reply contained no trace of the madness or Wrath of Wicked Spirit, and that the calm yet pleasant voice made the serious Lucius very uneasy.

"It seems to be a rather powerful Wicked Spirit; it even maintained its rationality after being possessed."

"So, Lucius, how did you get exploited by the evil Church?"

Hearing the unexpected question, Lucius seemed slightly surprised, but he still observed the situation while replying seriously:

"Can you imagine the hardship of someone digging eighty kilometers in a few years? My old back is going to break from all that. And that philandering boss of mine even dumped the Druid girl I introduced him to. That's not all, he then forced me to become the commander of the Imperial Guard. Sigh, I was already retired to be a fisherman, but I was dragged up and exploited until the day I die."

At this point, Lucius couldn't help but feel a little dazed, realizing that he hadn't seen Novia for almost two thousand years. If he had become Servant, he could theoretically have seen her again, and he had only responded to the summons because of the familiar aura on Manazuru Chitose, but unfortunately, he hadn't.

What was thought to be eternal was gradually disappearing, a tragedy for Lucius all.

The older one gets, the more deeply one clings to the past. The myths and romanticizations people have about the era Lucius lived through precisely illustrate that the early days of the Holy Church have already passed. Among the early members of the Church, after the deaths of the First Pope, the Rome, and the Twelve Apostles, even Lucius, threw the Spear of Longinus into the sea at his very end.

After that day, Lucius kept thinking about it—

If Novia had lived a little longer, he would have witnessed the rapid rise of his envisioned new City, New Rome, from the former Byzantium. Decades would have passed in the blink of an eye. In the city where the two first met, the numerous Heterodox Faith, large and small, and the Imperial Magecraft who had colluded too much with the Mage's Association had vanished. In their place, there were Executor trained by the Church and disseminators of hymns dealing with the calamities of the Dead Apostle for ordinary people all over the world, and the rise of Monastery that adopted abandoned Baby in various places.

Antioch also underwent changes. The names of Novia and Paul became one with the city, which at one time became the center of Church in various places, comparable to Jerusalem. The Roman Empire even opened a special air route for this purpose, Lucius went there to visit the dying Martha and Paul.

Lucius even felt that they had lived for hundreds of years in the time it took for a generation to pass.

If Novia had lived longer, she would have witnessed all of this.

But Novia did not live any longer.

In Lucius's remaining memory, he stood on a hill in Rome, watching Novia fly off into the unknown distance.

Then.

The man who had spoken his 'sincere wishes' to her never returned.

... Strange, why am I suddenly so sentimental today? This won't do. I need to get rid of the Wicked Spirit on Erice quickly, or who knows what strange aftereffects might occur if it drags on.

Seeing the young girl in front of him looking thoughtful, as if deep in thought, Lucius, though unsure why, saw it as a good opportunity and quickly closed the distance between himself and the two.

Now, the 'Wicked Spirit- possessed child Erice' is almost within Lucius.

However, at that very moment, Lucius saw 'Erice' tilt her body to avoid his battle axe at the last second, and then, as she straightened her posture, she created the longest possible range between them that could replace the angle of the beam.

"Interesting. With such a reaction speed, it seems you, this Wicked Spirit Heroic Spirit, are only one step away from becoming a first-rate Heroic Spirit. Second-rate Heroic Spirit are no match for you."

Lucius curled his lips into a fierce smile. "Let me guess, you must have done something while you were alive, felt guilty, and that's why you willingly fell into becoming Wicked Spirit, right? Judging from your appearance, you must be related to the Church? Tell me, did you take money, abuse your power for personal gain, or repeatedly violate the doctrines?"

In fact, when Erice was accidentally possessed by Wicked Spirit, Lucius saw it as no different from usual, like weeding out weeds. In fact, it was not a strange phenomenon for Erice. But now, the Wicked Spirit possessing her seemed very rational. Moreover, compared to the mad Wicked Spirit, she had a very high degree of self-control.

Moreover, it's stronger than you can imagine... but in reality, upon closer inspection, it's only slightly stronger.

"Even so--"

Before Lucius could finish speaking, he was dumbfounded.

Besides her reaction speed, Lucius had already seen that she had picked up the stick he had just discarded at some point, and at the same time, Erice's hair was transforming at an alarming speed into the silver-white hair of her Grandmother, Chizuru Misasagi.

The setting sun adorned her silhouette, and Lucius Longinus watched as the girl's smile, which transcended age and gender, shone brightly in the backlight, yet also seemed strangely familiar.

The young girl swung her raised wrist down, the wooden stick she held pointing at Lucius like a spear.

"Utsumi Erice, she is the biological parent of the Wicked Spirit that finally erupted after transforming into Spirit Barrier."

The silent air wasn't oppressive; rather, it was comforting and peaceful. This made Novia, who was possessing Erice's body using Heroic Spirit Possession Magecraft Formula, gently close her eyes and a slight smile appear on her lips.

"Therefore, Lucius Longinus, you may call the one who descended upon her—"

"Demon King"

Chapter 466: He was Erice fainted.

"This name, are you... Franz Schubert or John Wolfgang von Goethe?"

When the 'Wicked Spirit' on Utsumi Erice uttered those words, Lucius instantly thought of these two characters.

Franz Schubert, an Austria Romanticism composer, is credited with the ballad "Demon King" (The Erlking).

The story tells of a father riding a horse through a dark Forest with his feverish child in his arms. The Demon King in the Forest keeps tempting the child, who screams in terror and finally dies in his father's arms.

However, this was created by Schubert based on Goethe's poem "The Demon King," one of Goethe's most illustrious poems from his Weimar period and a representative work of the Sturm und Drang. However, it was essentially a mistranslation by Herder, who was responsible for compiling it, as "Demon King." According to the German meaning, it should be "Elf King" or... transliterated as "Elf King."

However, regardless of Lucius's thoughts, neither of them should have fallen into the realm of Wicked Spirit, so perhaps...

Lucius stomped his foot on the ground and swung his battle axe toward the young girl's collarbone.

"Fictional Demon King?"

To this day, no one knows why Goethe wrote this poem, and there are many interpretations of it. But in any case, Demon King (Erlko Nig) does not belong to the Germany mythological system, so theoretically speaking, it is inappropriate to regard Elf King as Devil or a mythological figure.

Novia blocked the attack with a wooden stick.

Then.

He took the opportunity to step back with his right foot, assuming a fighting stance that Lucius to throw his dagger and miss. He then moved along with the movement of the battle axe, causing his small body to sway in the air. In the blink of an eye, he regained his balance and had already flashed behind Lucius.

However, just like Novia, Lucius jumped almost simultaneously.

That was probably an instinctive action.

After all, this was the combat skill and keen insight that Lucius, the 'victor' of the Holy Grail War, had honed over countless years.

Immediately afterwards, in Lucius's eyes, the silver-haired Utsumi Erice murmured a chant that sounded like Noble Phantasm.

"Gar SchoNe Spiele Spiel' Ich Mit Dir (The game is so enjoyable, I'm with you)"

Novia's words were not fabricated out of thin air, but were taken from the original text of Goethe's poem "The Demon King".

The reason it could manifest in this way was entirely due to Novia's power and Goethe's "The Demon King," in which, according to mythology, the Demon King is the embodiment of all night, storms, and fog in the world.

"Es Ist Ein Nebelstreif (This is the misty shadow entering the vast expanse)"

It's getting foggy.

Not only at this beach, but also in the dense fog where even a few meters away was barely visible, Lucius did not believe this was a natural phenomenon, considering that until just now the sky had been casting a yellow light.

So, it can only be Noble Phantasm? But how could Wicked Spirit have Noble Phantasm? But if it's Servant, Erice doesn't have Command Spell at all, so is she a wild Servant?

However, Lucius, didn't intend to think too much about it.

The fog began to slowly spread.