Hope for a Comeback / Average.jpg

Heracles roared, the Black Mud constantly affecting his consciousness, but even in his madness, he still made a judgment.

He shoved Solomon aside, then grabbed Fujimaru Kyoya and threw him out.

The intention was all too clear: to have Fujimaru Kyoya and the others retreat immediately and wait for the next opportunity.

Then countless streams of Black Mud surged forth again, enveloping Heracles. This time, he was determined not to let the creature escape his control.

"Berserker, bring Illya back right now!"

Illya summoned her Servant and used her Command Seal, but when the Command Seal were used up, they had no effect.

Command Seal are part of the Holy Grail System, and the purpose of the Black Mud is to corrupt Servant and devour them, returning them to the Holy Grail.

At this point, Heracles had already been declared "dead" by the Holy Grail, and no matter how Illya used Command Seal, she could not bring Heracles back.

Heracles was remarkably calm in the face of death; he was even more so before being dragged into the Abyss by the Black Mud.

As his head was submerged in the Black Mud, Heracles raised a hand and gave Illya a thumbs-up, hoping the fragile little girl would see it.

Don't give up on yourself, Illya.

"Brother Fujimaru, there's nothing we can do this time except run away."

Above, Gil summoned the Vimana airship to catch Fujimaru Kyoya, while simultaneously lowering his own altitude so that the Servant below could immediately board the ship with their Master.

Heracles was right; this was definitely not the time to continue fighting.

While the Black Mud is too effective against Servant, the Servant also have their own problems.

Artoria's Mana was insufficient; Noble Phantasm twice in one day had already depleted her Mana.

Cú Chulainn's Noble Phantasm had limited power, and the Black Mud rendered his once-proud speed advantage useless.

Although Fujimaru Kyoya still had one Command Seal to summon Servant, his injuries were too severe, and he needed some time to rest.

Although Gil has retrieved the Gate of Babylon, she is still not at her strongest.

As for Jason... well, let's move on to the next topic.

"Hey~ Are you looking down on me? I may be weak, but I can still be very useful in crucial moments."

Ignoring Jason's antics, everyone needed some rest after the battle.

"Are we just going to let them go like this?"

Marisbury understood that his opponent was already at his last gasp, and letting him go would be a grave mistake.

"There's no way, cough cough..."

Solomon, who had just recovered, finally couldn't hold back and coughed up blood again after watching Fujimaru Kyoya and his group walk away.

How could such a close-range explosion only cause a little damage? Solomon was injured more severely than expected, and his Spirit Core was covered with cracks. The Command Seal he had just used were barely enough to hold him together.

"If the fight had continued, it would have resulted in mutual destruction, and the Black Mud would have been completely beyond our control."

Solomon did not intend to give chase; he also needed time to recover from his injuries and summon more Demon God Pillar.

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What to do?

At this moment, everyone gathered at the Tohsaka Residence, facing an almost invincible enemy. There was no longer any room for "gambling" left.

Revealing your trump cards at this moment is the key to victory.

"They have returned to the Fuyuki Church, but they did not immediately pursue us; they are clearly seriously injured."

Tohsaka Rin Projection the scene her Familiar saw: every so often, a Demon God Pillar would emerge from the ground at the Fuyuki Church, which was clearly a very unfavorable situation for them.

"There's no Black Mud around the Demon God Pillar; Solomon himself seems to be quite wary of this stuff."

Looking at the Black Mud area surrounded by the Demon God Pillar, Fujimaru Kyoya thought that even if the Demon God Pillar were stained with the Black Mud, it would still affect Solomon.

He was in the center of the Black Mud, yet the damage he suffered was very limited, while Artoria and Cú Chulainn, who were only slightly stained with the Black Mud, reported being greatly affected.

Clearly, this Black Mud is highly targeted.

"Servant outside dealing with the Demon God Pillar, while Solomon at the heart of the Black Mud is left to be dealt with by the Master?"

Under normal circumstances, this would probably be the craziest thing to say.

It's common knowledge that Servant Magecraft, and to have to face the King of Magecraft Solomon, this is simply unbelievable.

But this is the only way to win at this point, especially with the presence of Player Fujimaru Kyoya.

It's not that there's no chance of winning.

"I possess a surviving Noble Phantasm, the Reverse Light Sword. If used at the right time, it might have unexpected effects."

Bazett revealed his true strength, and with this Noble Phantasm that came out late but arrived early, even the Servant was caught off guard and suffered a setback.

That Black Mud is far too dangerous; we must find a way to get rid of it as soon as possible.

"If we can't use Magecraft on it, how about we use modern firearms?"

"Shinji, such a dangerous thing... would you use it?"

Emiya Shirou's first reaction was to try to persuade Shinji not to use something so dangerous, but now both saving Sakura and destroying the Black Mud required power.

Hero of Justice doesn't mean you can't be flexible.

"I studied in Hawaii before."

Does Hawaii teach everything? Why don't you just say you can fly a plane?

Emiya Shirou could obviously see through his friend's evasive words; clearly, learning how to use firearms was one of the preparations Shinji Matou had made over the years for the Holy Grail War.

In contrast, Emiya Shirou appears to be...

"If Magecraft can be countered, then what about Magic?"

Young Illya possessed a maturity beyond her years, as if she were already an adult. However, what mattered now was not that, but the so-called Magic.

The only Magic they know of and is closest to them right now is the Third Magic, but what has become of the Third Magic? Doesn't this Lesser Grail have any idea what's going on?

Huh? Uncle B is gone? That's alright then.

"This is not referring to the Third Magic, but rather the Second Magic, parallel spacetime interference."

Gil's words immediately confused everyone. The holder of the Second Magic, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, was known for slacking off, and even if the world were destroyed, he might not show up.

"If I remember correctly, the Tohsaka Family has a lineage of 'Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg'."

"Yes, it does. It's the Tohsaka Family heirloom, the design blueprint for the Jeweled Sword of Zelretch."

Tohsaka Rin didn't know why Gil was bringing this up. Although the Tohsaka Family possessed the item, it was merely a blueprint; manufacturing it was virtually impossible.

If they had that kind of power, they would have simply handed Solomon over.

After all, using the Second Magic to attack Solomon in Servant form would be a complete one-hit kill.

"That's enough. After my confirmation, Emiya's origin is quite unique, and he has a natural sensitivity to the structure of swords. If he could see what the original Jewel Sword looked like, perhaps he could Projection it using the blueprints."

Gil's words silenced everyone, even Emiya Shirou looked completely bewildered. Was he really that strong?

That's the Jeweled Sword of Zelretch, a top-tier Mystic Code with certain characteristics of Second Magic. If this thing can also Projection, then how overpowered is this Projection Magecraft?

"Don't be so surprised. I already said that Emiya- nii is only sensitive to 'sword'-type weapons. It wouldn't be effective against something like a jeweled spear."

"Even if you're right, where are we going to find the Jewel Sword? It's Master Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg's personal armor; finding it is tantamount to finding Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg himself."

In Tohsaka Rin's view, Gil's suggestion was essentially meaningless. If they could find the Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, it would basically mean that the other party was willing to take action to resolve the matter, so what was the point of them Projection the Jewel Sword?

Why not just hand it over to the Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg?

"We can find the Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg in the past, within the memories of the Greater Grail."

Illya provided the answer.

The memories of the Lesser Grail can be passed on to each other, so Illya can naturally glimpse the memories of the original Winter Saintess.

The framework of the Holy Grail War was established under the witness of the Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, who once took out his personal Mystic Code Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. If this memory could be shared, Emiya Shirou could see it.

"The risk is too great. Even someone as talented as Emiya would be in danger with a weapon like Projection. We won't force you."

"I understand. If it's to save Sakura, I will do my best to do it."

When Emiya Shirou said those words, he seemed a little dazed. In his mind, he should have said, "To stop the spread of the Black Mud."

But the words that came out of his mouth were "save Sakura." Had he changed?

That was the end of it. Fujimaru Kyoya nothing else to do, or rather, the only thing he could do now was to recover as quickly as possible.

He is the sole main force in the core combat circle, and restoring his condition is more important than any other task.

"It's Prisoner's Dilemma."

Recalling his battle with Solomon, Fujimaru Kyoya could sense that although Solomon was a bit mechanical and rigid, he didn't have any bad intentions.

His words implied a desire to eliminate the Black Mud, hence the struggle for the Holy Grail.

However, this is only his side of the story. We are all Magecraft, and we all know what kind of inhuman beings Magecraft can be.

Trusting another Magecraft wouldn't be a wise move, and even though Fujimaru Kyoya didn't have the mission of "preventing the Humanity Incineration," he now has a reason to continue fighting.

"Knock knock knock~"

A knock came at the door, and then the door was opened, revealing Tohsaka Rin with a blushing face. She clenched her fists, as if she had made a great decision.

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"Cold?"

Fujimaru Kyoya a little surprised. Shouldn't Tohsaka Rin be with Illya and Emiya Shirou investigating the secrets of the Jewel Sword right now?

Time is of the essence now, and logically there shouldn't be anything coming to him.

"Fujimaru, you... are..."

Tohsaka Rin stammered, unsure of where to begin, Fujimaru Kyoya watched silently, knowing that the more he interrupted, the less the other person would be able to speak.

"Phew~"

Tohsaka Rin let out a long breath and sat down beside Fujimaru Kyoya's bed like a condemned prisoner who had just finished his last meal.

"I've considered Gil's suggestion and it does have a chance of success, but... my Mana isn't enough."

"Mana?"

If Fujimaru Kyoya remembers correctly, the characteristic of the Second Magic is to interfere with parallel universes; if one's own Mana is insufficient, one can borrow it from other universes.

If the Jewel Sword were truly created, how could Tohsaka Rin possibly lack Mana?

"Even if Emiya could Projection himself, he would only be a copy of his Master. In short, the Mana inside is all his Master's Mana, and I would need to consume Mana to take it out."

Good grief, so you're planning to steal the Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg's retirement fund, huh?

Even Fujimaru Kyoya, who was new to the Magecraft business, knew that the Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg dreamed of giving Crimson Moon another Infinite Ether Cannon, and that Mana power was undoubtedly that Old Bastard's life savings.

Now it's going to be taken away by its unworthy descendants.

"So you need Mana to break into the old man's safe?"

"Don't put it so harshly, I had enough Mana before."

Tohsaka Rin was also in a dilemma. She already had a lot of Mana, but Gil had specifically mentioned that he would be using the Gate of Babylon at full power. If Tohsaka Rin didn't prepare enough Mana, she wouldn't be able to use the Jewel Sword.

"Um... did I teach you how Magecraft replenish their Mana before?"

No, not at all.

Fujimaru Kyoya naturally has a lot of Mana, so he usually won't be in the awkward situation of "running out of magic power". Besides, his Mana recovers very quickly, so there's no need to worry about that.

"Actually, it's just..."

Tohsaka Rin whispered in Fujimaru Kyoya's ear, her voice soft and slightly trembling, making Fujimaru Kyoya if he had misheard.

After all, what Tohsaka Rin just said could be described by Liang Yusheng as "reaching the great harmony of life," by Gu Long as "snow, moon, wind, and flowers," and by Jin Yong as "recognizing acupoints."