On the Road to Becoming a Demon God: Black Mud!

"You mongrel, you deserve to die!"

Rin clutched her head, a headache pounding through it, and shouted, "Damn it, how did this happen?!"

Sakura tugged at Rin's skirt. It seemed to be the first time she had seen her sister like this, and she stared at Rin in surprise.

"Is Sister all right?"

Rin hurriedly lowered her hands from her head. Damn it, Angra Mainyu, you made me expose my true self in front of Sakura. You're dead this time. Not even Jesus can save you. Rin Tohsaka said so!

"Sakura, I'm fine. The plan just ran into a small accident."

Rin then regained her usual confident, composed demeanor and began assigning tasks to everyone.

"Caster, you're the only one here who can fly. Please go help that Gilgamesh guy first. And the rest of you, get to Fuyuki City. Set up dispersal measures, clear out the civilians, and help me cover up the commotion. Father, please take Sakura to the city as well and help conceal this. Semiramis, take me to the Garden of Avalon. We're going after them!"

Hearing Rin's orders, Caster looked at her worriedly. It was the first time in days that she had seen her confident Master lose her composure like this, but she still nodded.

"Understood, Master."

"Caster, be careful too. If you run into danger, contact me through our contract. I'll immediately use a Command Spell to transfer you back!"

"Mm."

Caster flicked her cloak and flew toward Ryuudou Temple.

The people involved with the Holy Grail War exchanged glances, nodded helplessly, and headed for Fuyuki City.

Maya Hisau supported Kiritsugu Emiya as they left Zenchou Villa, looking worriedly at his severed arm, which was still bleeding.

"Kiritsugu, are we going too?"

"Mm. Maya, I'm fine. I'll be able to use Healing Magecraft to seal the wound soon. We need to get to Fuyuki City immediately. We have to arrive before the situation gets any worse."

At the same time, Kotomine Kirei, who had just stepped out of the villa, glanced cheerfully at Sola, who was clutching his arm, before turning sternly to Waver.

"Waver, the commotion these people cause later won't be small. Stay close to me, understand?"

Waver looked up at Kotomine Kirei and nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Hey, Waver, I never acknowledged you as my student..."

Inside the villa, Tokiomi Tohsaka looked complicatedly at his eldest daughter and asked, "Rin, has the Holy Grail truly been contaminated? Then our Tohsaka family's long-cherished wish..."

"I'm sorry, Father. It's true. I'm afraid the Holy Grail can no longer fulfill our family's long-cherished wish."

Hearing his eldest daughter's certain answer, Tokiomi Tohsaka seemed to age ten years in an instant. Then he looked at Sakura beside him and the eldest daughter before him, who made him so proud, and sighed. Life truly cannot go as one wishes. But at least I still have Rin and Sakura, two daughters who make me proud. Aoi, I truly have to thank you.

Rin watched Tokiomi Tohsaka shift from dejection back into his usual elegant composure and finally relaxed.

"Then, Father, Sakura, I'll leave Fuyuki City to you. Semiramis, let's go smash Angra Mainyu's damn head..."

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I, Rin Tohsaka, on the Road to Becoming a Demon God—Black Mud!

Under Fuyuki City's clear night sky, countless stars shone over this "peaceful" little city on the edge of the Far East.

In that tranquil night sky, a blood-red streak of light flashed past, followed closely by a golden one.

That golden light was Gilgamesh, operating the Vimana.

Gilgamesh sat upon the throne of the Vimana, propping his cheek with his right hand while his left rested on the armrest, one finger lightly tapping it again and again.

As he watched the Evil Saintess draw ever closer to Ryuudou Temple, Gilgamesh grew increasingly irritated, and the frequency with which he fired Noble Phantasms increased as well.

The ordinary people on the city streets also noticed the aerial battle above them. Most stopped to watch, but as Gilgamesh projected more and more Noble Phantasms, some began striking the ground by mistake.

Gilgamesh frowned at the panicked crowd below, clicked his tongue, and curled his lip. Helplessly abandoning further Noble Phantasm bombardment, he focused on operating the Vimana and pursuing the Evil Saintess.

Suddenly, Gilgamesh stiffened. He brought the Vimana to a hover and frowned at Caster, who was staggering through the air toward him from behind.

After waiting in place for a while, Gilgamesh watched Caster land uncertainly on the Vimana. He summoned a golden ripple and drew a sack of gemstones formed entirely from pure magical energy from his treasury, casually tossing it to the flustered Caster.

"You came at the right time. Contact that girl immediately and have her use a Command Spell to transfer you back. Take these gems to the little girl."

Caster hurriedly bowed gratefully to Gilgamesh. While chasing him just now, she had discovered that Rin Tohsaka's magical energy support had suddenly vanished. With no other choice, Caster could only barely fly toward Gilgamesh, hoping the famed King of Heroes could solve Rin's magical energy problem. As expected of the legendary King of Heroes. He found a solution the moment he saw me.

Meanwhile, atop the Garden of Avalon, Rin lay awkwardly sprawled across the throne in the palace hall. Damn it, it's all Golden Flash's fault. That one Ea blast drained more than half my magical energy earlier. Now I don't even have enough to activate the Garden of Avalon. Damn it, I'm letting everyone down at the crucial moment again.

Assassin stood beside the throne, covering her mouth as she snickered at her Master and reminded her, "Master, didn't the King of Heroes give you a gemstone made of magical energy earlier? Don't you plan to use it?"

Rin froze. Oh, right, I actually forgot about it. She hurriedly pulled the gemstone from her coat pocket and activated her magecraft. As the spell operated, the gemstone dissolved into pure magical energy and flowed into Rin's body. By the time a third of it had been consumed, Rin's magical energy was full once more.

"Thank you, Semiramis. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten about this gemstone. All right, let's go now."

Though Semiramis had been called an incarnation of Ishtar, she had once witnessed the goddess Ishtar's true appearance and knew that was merely the ignorant worship of her subjects. She was nowhere near Ishtar's incarnation. Instead, when she first saw her current Master, she had become suspicious. When Ishtar once descended upon the earth by possessing a human girl, the appearance she displayed had been almost exactly what her Master would look like when grown up. Their personalities overlapped greatly as well. It was difficult not to suspect that Rin Tohsaka might be the reincarnation of the goddess Ishtar.

Hearing Rin's request, Semiramis said helplessly, "Master, once this Hanging Gardens, built with materials provided by the King of Heroes, is activated, I'm afraid it will drain your magical energy again. To operate this Garden for one hour of combat would require the magical energy of at least fifty Masters like you. I originally thought you had a solution, but it seems you made no preparations for this."

"Ah, then what do we do? Does my 'perfect plan' really have this many flaws? Everything had been going so smoothly before. If we need the Garden of Avalon for combat, then even this gemstone and the Command Spells won't be enough, will they?"

Rin clutched her head and wailed. At that moment, she suddenly received a message from Caster.

"Master, please use a Command Spell to transfer me back. The King of Heroes has provided a way to solve Master's magical energy problem."

"Really, Caster? That's wonderful! I'll transfer you back right away."

Upon hearing Caster's message, Rin immediately rose from the throne, raised her arm, and silently recited the command in her heart.

As one Command Spell turned into a cloud of red light and dispersed, Caster appeared in the palace hall carrying a sack the size of a human head.

The familiar magical energy emanating from the sack allowed Rin to sense, even without opening it, that it contained the same magical energy gemstones Gilgamesh had given her before. Rin darted to Caster's side, took the sack from her hands, and hurriedly opened it. After confirming its contents, she laughed happily.

"Haha, how could my plan possibly go wrong? With these gemstones, forget the magical energy of fifty mes—even three hundred mes would be no problem! Semiramis, hurry, hurry! Let's go smash Angra Mainyu's damn head!"

Semiramis covered her mouth and laughed softly at the excited Rin.

"Understood, Master. Then, Garden of Avalon, activate."

Above Fuyuki City.

As Rin's magical energy recovered, it was once again transmitted to Gilgamesh. With his magical energy replenished, Gilgamesh nodded in satisfaction and sent the Vimana racing toward Ryuudou Temple.

Gilgamesh soon arrived at Ryuudou Temple and frowned at its unrecognizable state. The Evil Saintess stood beside a black hole that continuously poured out Black Mud, wearing a twisted, malicious smile as she stared fixedly at Gilgamesh aboard the Vimana.

"King of Heroes, you finally caught up? Unfortunately, you are already too late. Hehehehe... Black Mud, devour him!"

With the Evil Saintess's shriek—

The Black Mud on the ground surged up and transformed into a massive wave that crashed toward Gilgamesh and the Vimana. Gilgamesh looked disgustedly at the sight, and with a thought, the Vimana rolled nimbly aside, evading the incoming Black Mud. At the same time, several Noble Phantasms shot out from beside Gilgamesh, easily piercing the Evil Saintess and pinning her to the ground.

"It's useless, King of Heroes. Today, all of you will be devoured by All the World's Evil!" The Evil Saintess pulled the Noble Phantasms from her body and casually threw them onto the ground covered in Black Mud.

The Noble Phantasms thrown onto the ground were instantly swallowed by the Black Mud.

Gilgamesh frowned and tried to sense the Noble Phantasm he had lost contact with, but he could no longer detect its existence at all. What a nuisance. That damn girl actually stirred up this much trouble!

At the now-empty Zenchou Villa, a swarm of insects emerged, and Kiritsugu Emiya's severed hand bearing the Command Spells vanished...

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I, Rin Tohsaka, on the Road to Becoming a Demon God—Ea Roars Once More!

The long-standing peace and tranquility of Fuyuki City, this little city on the edge of the Far East, was broken once again after forty years.

Rolling Black Mud poured continuously down from Ryuudou Temple and began flowing into the city!

The entire area surrounding Ryuudou Temple was burning. Fueled by the winter monsoon, the roaring flames continued to spread.

At this time, participants of the Holy Grail War also entered the city and began taking action. One civilian-clearing measure after another was set up throughout the city. Vast numbers of confused ordinary people were driven through gaps left by magecraft toward the outskirts of Fuyuki City, where Kirei and Shirou, along with many Church personnel, blocked them off and hypnotized them.

Risei Kirei looked at the surging crowds before him and shook his head with a sigh.

"Tokiomi, my friend, you've really dragged me into a mess this time."

Kirei Kotomine came to his father's side and silently looked at him.

"Kirei, do you want to go to the battlefield?"

"Yes, Father. Though I also feel Rin will help me find my goal later, I want even more to meet that man."

"Then go, Kirei. I can manage things here."

Kirei Kotomine turned without hesitation and set off toward Fuyuki City.

"Kirei, stay safe. Kallian is still waiting for you."

Kiritsugu Emiya, having entered the city, casually found a clinic and shot open its door lock. He entered, and with Maya Hisau's help, hastily bandaged the stump of his arm after it had been treated with Healing Magecraft.

He then silently lit a cigarette and turned toward Maya Hisau.

"Maya, we'll part ways here. Stay in the city and help evacuate the ordinary citizens."

"Kiritsugu!"

"Maya, I still can't accept it. So I have to go. I have to see the Holy Grail with my own eyes!"

Maya Hisau said nothing more. She merely wiped the tears from the man she loved, gave him a hug, left behind weapons and ammunition, and turned to leave the clinic.

Kiritsugu Emiya took a deep drag. A large amount of smoke entered his lungs, then was slowly exhaled. Kiritsugu then regained his usual expression, picked up the weapons Maya Hisau had left behind, and set off alone for Ryuudou Temple.

With Rin's magical energy replenished, the Garden of Avalon was advancing at full speed.

"Master, we are about to enter Fuyuki City's airspace."

"Then, Semiramis, can we bombard Ryuudou Temple from here?"

"Master, we can, but there may be some deviation in accuracy."

Rin bit her thumb, rose from her seat, and walked to a window beside the palace hall, looking out over all of Fuyuki City.

"Semiramis, fire. All the World's Evil has already been released, and the direction of Ryuudou Temple is ablaze. There shouldn't be any survivors left there."

"As you wish, Master."

Under Semiramis's control, twelve large magic circles appeared around the Garden of Avalon. Purple magical light flashed, and twelve EX-rank Mage Cannons fired. For the first time, the Garden of Avalon displayed its power to the world.

Gilgamesh, who had been continuously trying to kill the Evil Saintess, received Rin's message at the same time. He made the Vimana beneath him shoot rapidly upward and turned to look in the direction of Zenchou Villa.

The sky in the direction of Zenchou Villa was now obscured by the Garden of Avalon. At the same time, the twelve Mage Cannons struck the Ryuudou Temple area directly. Thunderous explosions rang out, and all of Ryuudou Temple, Mt. Ryudou, and the surrounding area were reduced to ruins beneath the power of those twelve blasts.

After the first round of bombardment ended, Gilgamesh descended and looked with satisfaction at the results created by his palace.

"As expected, mongrels are mongrels. Have you been blasted into dust?"

"Hehehe, King of Heroes, you were careless."

"What..."

A black tide swept in. The careless Gilgamesh was engulfed by it and dragged into the Black Mud. Then the Evil Saintess emerged from the Black Mud, staring at Gilgamesh as he disappeared within it and laughing madly.

"Hahahaha! Rin, I truly thank you. You actually handed such a useful trump card to me. Come, my servant, King of Heroes. Fight for me..."

After the first bombardment, Rin had kept her magically enhanced eyes fixed on the direction of Ryuudou Temple. The moment she saw Gilgamesh swallowed by the Black Mud, her heart clenched.

Ah, Golden Flash, you big idiot! How did this happen? It's over. If that guy gets controlled too, we're finished.

Just as Rin was in utter turmoil, the familiar voice echoing in her mind made her breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"Girl, who do you think I am? If there is a next time, I will certainly punish you."

"Ah, how can you know what I'm thinking? No, don't tell me you've always been able to peek into my thoughts? Go die, you peeping tom!"