Red Branch Knights

Chapter 45 'Red Branch Knights'

"Hey, kid, do you want to form a contract with me?"

When those words came from Caster's mouth and reached Luo Zhen's ears, he almost failed to react.

"A contract?"

Mashu and Olga Marie were likewise stunned for a moment before becoming surprised.

Only Caster, the one who had brought it up, remained as composed as ever.

"This Holy Grail War is far too abnormal. Not only have all the Servants become abnormal, even the rules have become abnormal. The defeated ones have been revived, and the 'Holy Grail' even fell into Saber's hands beforehand. Logically speaking, that fellow should have no reason to keep fighting."

After all, whether one was a Master or a Servant, the reason for participating in the Holy Grail War was to obtain the wish-granting device known as the 'Holy Grail.'

Now that Saber had already obtained the 'Holy Grail,' she should have had no reason to start a Holy Grail War in the first place.

This made Luo Zhen vaguely feel that—

(Perhaps that 'Holy Grail' is the source of everything.)

The abnormalities in Fuyuki City and the appearance of the Singularity could very well have been caused by Saber obtaining it ahead of time.

Otherwise, the Holy Grail War would not have become what it was now, and Chaldea's records would certainly have contained a report about it.

Yet according to Chaldea's records, although the final victor of this Holy Grail War was indeed Saber's Servant, there was no record of her having obtained the 'Holy Grail' beforehand.

(The order of events has been reversed. That is the fundamental reason history has become disordered and the Singularity has formed.)

Then came the question.

How exactly had Saber obtained the 'Holy Grail'?

In the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki City, the 'Holy Grail' would descend as a prize only when a single Master-Servant pair remained.

Before the ritual known as the 'Holy Grail War' ended, the 'Holy Grail' would never take form, much less descend ahead of time.

In other words, the 'Holy Grail' in Saber's hands was not the one that had to be completed through the grand ritual of the Holy Grail War.

(The 'Holy Grail' that did not belong here fell into Saber's hands, and that was what caused everything.)

Since that was the case, another question arose.

Where had this 'Holy Grail' come from?

Luo Zhen felt that he had grasped a clue leading to the truth.

That meant—

"Although I don't know where you came from, Master, or why you have a Servant who wasn't summoned through the Holy Grail War, your goal should also be the 'Holy Grail,' right?"

Caster smiled as if she had seen through Luo Zhen's thoughts.

"If so, then our goals are the same."

Just as Caster had said.

If all the abnormalities had been caused by the appearance of a 'Holy Grail' that did not belong here, then Luo Zhen had to obtain that 'Holy Grail' in order to eliminate the distortion of this era, reestablish the Human Order, correct the entire Singularity, and restore human history to normal.

And the 'Holy Grail' was in Saber's hands.

To obtain the 'Holy Grail,' he would inevitably have to fight Saber.

Caster clearly knew nothing of these details, yet she had keenly sensed Luo Zhen's next objective.

"My goal is also to defeat Saber," Caster said. "So joining forces with me shouldn't be a bad idea, right?"

At this, leaving Luo Zhen aside for the moment, Olga Marie folded her arms.

"I see. You want to borrow our strength to defeat Saber?"

That was how Olga Marie saw it.

Their opponent was a Servant who had even defeated Berserker, who possessed a Noble Phantasm.

If Caster faced Saber alone with only her own strength, she had no chance of victory.

Not to mention that Saber was not alone, either.

"Those corrupted Servants are running rampant throughout this city. Archer is the only one among them who is on Saber's side."

Caster made no effort to conceal her thoughts.

"Dealing with Saber alone is already difficult enough. Having to face that sinister fellow as well is even more troublesome for me."

Under these circumstances, Luo Zhen's appearance was indeed Caster's last hope.

By forming a contract with Luo Zhen, she could not only receive the magical energy provided by a Master and strengthen herself, but also join forces with Mashu and gain enough manpower to challenge Saber and Archer together. That was why Caster had proposed the contract.

"Of course, it would only be a temporary contract."

Caster said this plainly.

As the name implied, a temporary contract was one formed for a limited period. Once its purpose was fulfilled, the contract would automatically disappear.

The contract between Luo Zhen and Mashu, on the other hand, was a formal contract. Even Mashu herself could not break it. Unless the Command Seal representing the contract was stripped from Luo Zhen, or the contract was discarded through some means capable of undoing it, it would remain valid forever, until Chaldea's Heroic Spirit Summoning System stopped operating or ran out of magical energy.

Generally speaking, the contracts formed between Masters and Servants were all formal contracts. Even those between Magi and Familiars were of this type.

As for temporary contracts, they usually appeared in situations involving transactions.

Incidentally, the Familiars summoned by Luo Zhen had been engraved into his soul because of a 'miracle,' placing them in another category.

As long as Luo Zhen's soul did not perish, they would continue to serve him, obey him absolutely, and never truly die.

That had already surpassed the scope of an ordinary contract and reached another level. It could be called an 'Absolute Contract.'

This was a contract unique to Luo Zhen, impossible to replicate or imitate.

And Luo Zhen could form this kind of Absolute Contract at will as well.

Back then, Luo Zhen had intended to use this method to form a contract with Mashu and engrave her into his soul.

That way, even if Mashu died, Luo Zhen could summon her again by expending magical energy, and could also do so through the gate to another world.

Of course, this kind of contract could not be formed whenever one wished. It had its own limitations, but those were matters for later.

In short, Caster now only wanted to form a temporary contract and fight alongside Luo Zhen until Saber was defeated.

"You don't need to worry that I'll betray you. Even with a temporary contract, you can still bind me with a Command Seal. With such absolute authority to issue compulsory orders, I'm much more trustworthy, aren't I?"

Caster extended a hand toward Luo Zhen, her eyes fixed intently on him as well.

"My goal is to end this abnormal Holy Grail War."

"Your goal, meanwhile, is to retrieve the 'Holy Grail.'"

"So why don't we achieve our 'wishes' together in this Holy Grail War?"

An expression of utter disdain appeared on Caster's face.

Anyone who saw that fearless expression would surely be drawn, almost involuntarily, to the confidence of this hero.

To that, Luo Zhen had only one question.

"What is your true name?"

This was Luo Zhen's final question.

It was also the most important secret of a Heroic Spirit.

Yet Caster revealed it.

"My name is Cú Chulainn, a member of Ireland's 'Red Branch Knights.'"

The Servant who had revealed her true name bared her teeth in a grin.

"Pleased to meet you, Master."

Hearing this, Luo Zhen smiled as well.

Then Luo Zhen extended his hand and clasped the hand of the Servant before him.