An eating contest?
Were they really going to decide the winner with such an absurd game?
And besides, what was a Holy Grail Drop? Wasn't activating the Holy Grail supposed to require filling it with the souls of seven Servants?
Inside Fuyuki City's grand stadium, the Masters and Servants caught up in this sudden turn of events wore bewildered, peculiar expressions.
Yet whether it was the unmistakable resonance of their Command Spells or the Holy Grail Ritual responsible for imparting modern basic knowledge to the Heroic Spirits, everything clearly told them that this was real, not some absurd dream.
As gazes converged upon him, Kirei Kotomine held his hands out slightly. Facing the sorrowful phantom in midair cradling the Cup of Heaven, he placed a hand over his chest, bowed reverently, and nodded with pious sincerity before solemnly explaining.
"Everyone, this change came about because of the lingering compassion of Anastasia, the Winter Saint. This was originally created to save humanity, yet countless people have slaughtered one another because of it. She could no longer bear to see more lives bleed for the Holy Grail.
"Therefore, the Holy Grail would rather use a method similar to the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, holding a fair, open, and impartial competition to determine who is more qualified to claim its use!"
So that was it!
At once, everyone came to a realization. Some looked moved, some helpless, some devout, but all turned their gazes toward the pure white phantom in the air, like the Virgin Mary herself. Following Kirei Kotomine's example, they paid their respects to this noble woman who had gone willingly to her death.
For one of the three essential elements behind the Holy Grail Ritual's completion two hundred years ago—the Magic Circuits supplied by the Einzbern family—had actually required