Purifying the Greater Grail

Inside the Grail, Angra Mainyu suddenly let out a scream. As All the World's Evil was stripped away along with the mana, the Grail system's components were replaced, and his screams grew ever more shrill.

What had happened to the Grail? How could Justicia, who was the Grail itself, possibly not know?

It was naturally easy for Medea to purify All the World's Evil, but that did not mean she could purify Justicia herself after she had been corrupted—or rather, the Grail itself.

If Medea could completely purify the Third Magic Heaven's Feel itself in just a few days, she would practically be defying heaven. It would be easier to have her build another Fuyuki Greater Grail system from scratch.

Purifying the corrupted Grail itself was simply a thankless task. The only way was to follow the path Mo Li had described: use the Third Magic to purify itself and redeem Justicia.

As for Angra Mainyu, who wailed without cease as the entire Greater Grail system was dismantled, isolated, replaced, purified, and destroyed... what was that supposed to be?

Angra Mainyu had polluted the Grail yet could not replace Justicia as the Grail itself. He had merely seized part of the initiative and gained the ability to cause trouble. Naturally, he too was someone the Grail itself wished to expel.

The Grail would forever belong to Justicia. Angra Mainyu, who could not obediently remain an unknowing, unfeeling All the World's Evil, had better get the hell out!

Justicia admitted that modern games were somewhat interesting, but how could she possibly ignore something that concerned her own existence? She had noticed Medea's actions from the very beginning. Although the accumulated mana was insufficient to exert much influence on reality, and there was no one to make a wish on her behalf—

She still had some ability to protect herself.

Just like now: Angra Mainyu had taken the blow and was being purged and destroyed from the Grail by Medea, while Justicia herself remained completely unaffected, playing games with Mo Li.

Mo Li was waiting for Medea to cleanse the Grail, but wasn't Justicia likewise waiting for Angra Mainyu to perish?

Corrupted Justicia was still Justicia. By the same logic, the corrupted Greater Grail was still the Greater Grail. No matter how Medea replaced its components, even if she replaced it piece by piece, so long as Justicia, the core, remained unchanged, this Fuyuki Greater Grail would forever belong to her, Justicia.

"So noisy~" Justicia suddenly remarked. It was impossible to tell whether she meant her endlessly chattering teammates in the game or Angra Mainyu, who was constantly shrieking in another space.

"Can't be helped." Hearing Angra Mainyu's screams, Mo Li felt rather pleased.

Justicia turned to look at Mo Li. "You can hear it too?"

"Isn't that obvious? If I want to redeem you, how could I manage without some skills of my own?"

"Mhm~"

Outside.

Kiritsugu Emiya, who had never truly left, returned to where the Greater Grail was located. He first glanced at the two girls sparring in the area, then walked over to Irisviel. "Iris, we..."

Kiritsugu trailed off, his expression conflicted, as though he found it difficult to make a certain decision.

Irisviel asked in a voice as gentle as water, "What is it, Kiritsugu?"

Irisviel's voice stirred his already wavering heart. Kiritsugu gritted his teeth and said, "...We're going back to Germany, back to Winter Castle. We'll save Illya. While Saber is still here, we'll break through the Einzbern Family's barrier and bring Illya back! Mo Li can alter the Grail together with Servants, so I believe he can save our Illya!"

He had kept everything Mo Li had told him in mind, especially the matter of Illya possibly having been altered while she was still an embryo...

And the fact was that Illya now weighed less than one of his weapons. Was that the weight a girl should have? She was more like a Lesser Grail...

Kiritsugu believed that the old head of the Einzbern Family was exactly that sort of person. That man could not possibly have assumed his family would certainly win and made no contingency plans. How could a Magus family that had survived for so long fail to prepare an escape route for itself?

Illya had been invisibly influenced and altered while she was still inside Irisviel's womb. To a Magus, that was perfectly normal.

After all, the Einzbern Family had surely considered that if they lost the Fourth Holy Grail War as well, it would be only natural to prepare everything needed for the Fifth in advance.

"Kiritsugu?!" Irisviel first stared at Kiritsugu in shock, unable to believe that he would give up on the Grail, which was clearly being purified and could very well return to being the Third Magic Heaven's Feel, in order to rush back to Germany and save Illya.

But after her shock passed, Irisviel wept tears of joy. "Kiritsugu... if that is your decision, then let's go back. The round trip won't even take a day, and those Einzbern Family homunculi are still under our command. Even the old head cannot easily seize back control in such a short time. In order to show his trust by granting us full authority, he did not keep anything back. We truly have a chance to save Illya!"

That was right. To display his generosity, the head of the Einzbern Family had indeed delegated full authority. Everything was decided by Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel, at least on the surface.

Naturally, the old head still had forces working in the shadows. Illya was merely something he had created to ensure stability.

However, if they silently brought Artoria back with them, the mere Einzbern Family would never be able to withstand the King of Knights' holy sword!

Kiritsugu's gaze turned fierce. "We'll go back. We can rescue Illya in less than twenty-four hours!"

Medea, who was purifying the Greater Grail, suddenly looked at the two of them. "Kiritsugu Emiya, Mo Li told me something before entering the Grail. Now I will ask on his behalf: have you let go of the Greater Grail in your heart?"

Kiritsugu shook his head slightly. "That thing... I no longer need it. I am not qualified to embrace it. I do not have the ability to set a wish upon the right path. I do not know how to save the world perfectly, so I only need to save Illya and save Irisviel!"

Medea said, "Good. In that case, Mo Li has already made some plans for you. The plane has long been prepared, and Berserker Lancelot will travel with you. We have also worked through the night to prepare suitable doubles for you, who can create the illusion that you are still operating here. However, they cannot engage in high-intensity combat."

Kiritsugu froze. "He... had already prepared everything for us?"

Medea continued, "Mo Li said that he did not wish to see a tragedy unfold before his eyes. Since your family is a tragedy waiting to happen, he will save you if he can. If he cannot, then it can only be called fate."

Kiritsugu took a deep breath and said with a resolute gaze, "...Thank him for me. How do we cooperate now?"

"First, take out Avalon, your scabbard, and give it to Artoria to use. She will become far stronger than she is now. However, she is currently a Heroic Spirit and cannot take Avalon, which originally belongs to her, with her. Next is the deployment for the follow-up plan. Apparently, Mo Li has already infiltrated and secretly taken control of the Einzbern Family's modern electronic equipment, so you can make use of that. As for the plan itself, you can arrange it yourselves..."

After Medea finished explaining, Irisviel's eyes were filled with gratitude. "Thank you for your help!"

On the grounds of Ryudoji Temple, Artoria, Irisviel, and Kiritsugu emerged together.

Lancer Diarmuid and Berserker Lancelot were locked in a fierce battle, while three Heroic Spirits watched from the side.

However, Lancelot had not been driven mad and had not lost the last of his sanity. At the same time, thanks to the strength of Mo Li, his Master, he possessed power equal to what he had in the original story only after sacrificing his reason.

Therefore, Diarmuid had gained no advantage whatsoever. He had even narrowly escaped death several times. From the very beginning, he had chosen the wrong opponent. Whether it was Assassin Hassan of the Hundred Faces or the King of Conquerors watching from the sidelines—

In terms of pure martial skill, Diarmuid had a high chance of defeating either of them.

"You two, let your battle end here for now!" Artoria swung her holy sword as she charged into the battlefield between the two Servants, forcibly separating them.

Artoria said apologetically, "Diarmuid, I'm sorry to interrupt your battle, but there is something I need to settle with Sir Lancelot now."

"So the King of Knights and Lancelot have some matters to settle..." Diarmuid had thoroughly caught up on the relevant information these past few days. Hearing this, he agreed without taking issue with them interrupting his enjoyment of the fight.

The King of Knights wanting to cut down Lancelot or something—wasn't that perfectly normal?

Diarmuid put away his spears and retreated to Kayneth's side.

"Couldn't beat Lancelot?" Kayneth was not surprised. The Berserker class itself possessed extremely powerful base stats, and with his sanity still intact, it was only natural that Diarmuid might lose.

Diarmuid lowered his head in shame. "My deepest apologies, my lord. Lancelot is a flawless warrior. At the very least, in that battle just now, I found no opportunity to win with a single strike."

"It matters not. I know of his reputation as well. An opportunity for an unexpected victory was never going to be easy to find."

As Kayneth and Diarmuid spoke, Lancelot first looked at Artoria in confusion, feeling that the king he had once known had returned.

"Sir Lancelot, come." Artoria took out a small notebook. It was a booklet containing Mo Li's handwriting, and to some extent, it could serve in place of Mo Li himself to give Lancelot instructions.

On top of that, Artoria had originally been the king of the Knights of the Round Table. Under this double restraint, Lancelot followed the three of them out without objection.

Iskandar called out to Diarmuid, "Hey, Diarmuid! Why not let me have a try? This king has many masters of martial skill under his command. Even in one-on-one fights, you may not be able to defeat every last one of them!"

"The Conqueror King's warriors?" Diarmuid froze. "Even if I could win, you must have quite a few men, no? By the time we finish fighting, the Holy Grail War will probably be over!"