Holy Grail

"Thank you very much!"

Li Ye had not expected Ozymandias to be so straightforward, and his heart surged with excitement. Did this mean he could play both sides... no, all three sides!

The Lion King, the Mountain Folk, and even Ozymandias, the Sun King!

"Leave the celebrations for later, Li Ye. How much do you know about this Singularity?"

Ozymandias drummed his fingers against the throne, the rhythmic tapping echoing through the temple.

He's testing me?

The ignorant aren't qualified to make comparisons?

Li Ye's expression did not change. "King Ozymandias, Singularities are distortions created when the Magus King uses Holy Grails to interfere with several crucial points in Human History, thereby destabilizing human order."

"King Ozymandias, forgive my boldness, but is the Holy Grail in your possession?"

The massive summoning formula that had nearly covered Jerusalem required an enormous amount of magical energy, while the Lion King's attack had been a completely sudden strike. There had simply been no time to meet the necessary conditions.

Moreover, even after the Lion King took up residence here, she had failed to find the Holy Grail that should have existed. Li Ye had thus realized that Ozymandias had most likely claimed the Holy Grail when he manifested.

"Ho! I am the Sun King, the King of Kings. Naturally, something like the Holy Grail is in my hands. Since you witnessed my manifestation, you naturally know where the Holy Grail came from."

Ozymandias raised a hand from atop his throne and closed it loosely around the air. Ripples spread through the void.

A golden vessel of miracles fell into Ozymandias's hand.

Its mere existence, magical energy compressed to the utmost extreme, seemed enough to warp the world.

That's the Holy Grail!

The instant he saw the Holy Grail, Li Ye was deeply drawn to it.

It was unlike the Fuyuki Greater Holy Grail he remembered.

The Holy Grail in Ozymandias's hand was essentially a highly concentrated mass of magical energy. Its so-called wish-granting function was far from omnipotent, but if Li Ye obtained it and established a supply of magical energy, he would no longer suffer from a shortage of it.

Then, he too would be able to enter the top tier of combat strength on this land!

Suppressing his desire for the Holy Grail, Li Ye tore his gaze away from it. "Honorable King Ozymandias, is this the Holy Grail you confiscated from the Crusaders?"

"That is correct. The Magus who summoned me used the Holy Grail as a foundation and employed an object of fate to bring me into the world. Naturally, I had to confiscate a Holy Grail worthy of my status."

"King Ozymandias, then the Singularity's distortion was caused by the Holy Grail?"

"Yes, and no."

Ozymandias idly toyed with the Holy Grail as he spoke. "Just as you said, before your king arrived, the Holy Grail was indeed the source of this Singularity's distortion. But with the Tower of End deployed by that Lion King, human order has already collapsed."

"The Holy Grail is nothing but a useless toy now."

Just as I thought, the Lion King has replaced the Holy Grail and taken control of this Singularity!

With Ozymandias's answer, Li Ye's suspicions were confirmed.

Perhaps he had witnessed the collapse of human order with his own eyes.

"What? You want the Holy Grail?"

Ozymandias looked at Li Ye with interest.

The moment he had brought out the Holy Grail, Li Ye's gaze had been locked firmly onto it.

"I am the Sun King. How could I, who am capable of all things, use such a poisoned cup? I am the master of the Holy Grail, its guardian. A mere Holy Grail is not enough to concern me." Ozymandias cast Li Ye a deeply disdainful glance.

As though reproaching Li Ye for being so foolish.

I want it!

Li Ye screamed inwardly, but he did not dare let even the slightest hint of desire show on his face. He was about to deny it when he suddenly recalled Ozymandias's uninhibited laughter.

After a brief hesitation, he spoke firmly. "That's right, King Ozymandias. I want the Holy Grail very much."

"Impudent! How could the Holy Grail possibly belong to you!"

Before Ozymandias could react, Nitocris could no longer sit still.

"Ha ha ha ha! Honest desire, and the arrogance to dare ask a king for the Holy Grail... You're an interesting one, boy! Ha ha ha ha..."

Once again, Li Ye's astonishing words made Ozymandias laugh. "Speak! You know that the Holy Grail was once the source of this Singularity's distortion, and that it now lies in my possession, yet you still dare ask for it?"

"King Ozymandias! I seek the Holy Grail for power! To gain strength inferior to no one!"

"The end of the age is close at hand. Before My King completes her great undertaking, I must obtain sufficient power!"

Li Ye, already resolved, declared loudly.

"Take the Holy Grail from my hand and gain the power to contend with me? Ha ha ha ha—"

"Even knowing that the Holy Grail came from the hands of that king who sought to destroy human order, and even though I call it a poisoned cup, you still want it simply to obtain power?"

"Yes!"

"Ha ha ha ha! I permit it!"

Ozymandias casually tossed the Holy Grail down from his throne.

"!"

Li Ye did not dare breathe as he watched the Holy Grail fall toward him.

Smack!

The cold sensation traveled from his palm to his mind. The obscure pulses of magical energy, like the tip of an iceberg, shook Li Ye's soul to its core.

Th-this is how I got the Holy Grail?

Such immense fortune, as though a pie had fallen from the sky, made Li Ye feel as if he were dreaming.

It was as though he had found himself in a dream without realizing it.

The Holy Grail, once regarded as the source of this Singularity's distortion—the Holy Grail called a wish-granting machine—was now cradled in his arms—

How utterly insane was that?!

"Thank you, King Ozymandias!"

Having barely recovered his senses, Li Ye could not hide his excitement.

"Li Ye, rebellious knight, how long do you think you can hold the Holy Grail?"

Ozymandias propped his face up with one hand and suddenly asked.

Those words instantly cooled Li Ye's excitement. He slowly raised his head and met Ozymandias's eyes. "One year. In half a year, travelers from another land will arrive at this Singularity. That will be the end of everything.

"The stars point to the coming outsider, the Chaldea Security Organization—Chaldea—and humanity's last Master—"

Ritsuka Fujimaru—

Li Ye did not say that name aloud, merely reciting it in his heart.

"You truly know quite a lot! Is that the source of your arrogance?"

Ozymandias's expression did not change. He paid no heed to the future Li Ye had described.

Li Ye shook his head, then looked down at the Holy Grail in his hands and slowly spoke. "King Ozymandias, I am not arrogant. This is merely my wish—a wish to save humanity, similar to but different from the Lion King's."

"Where does the reason for comparison arise? It is nothing more than a feeble desire to survive. I want to see which king can truly save humanity. Everything is only for the sake of living on."

Li Ye's sincere yet unimpassioned words quietly echoed through the temple, making Ozymandias snort with laughter. "Li Ye, that is your greatest arrogance, but I am greatly pleased!

Go. When the one-year deadline you spoke of arrives, show me your arrogance!"