The Holy Grail, I Want to Go Home

As Dan Lei plunged the Holy Sword in his hand into the ground, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who was still retreating, felt a sense of dread.

But at this moment, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was still unable to stop Dan Lei.

A brilliant azure True Ether light instantly spread across the ground, and as cracks formed, several ancient runes appeared.

This was the Rune Array Dan Lei had painstakingly learned from Touko before participating in the Holy Grail War.

Normally, with Dan Lei's magical talent, even if he learned Rune Magic, he would be exhausted after casting one or two basic runes with his own mana.

Therefore, Touko never intended for Dan Lei to learn Rune Magic systematically.

The Rune Array Dan Lei was currently using was optimized by Touko. According to her, as long as Dan Lei could draw it and had enough mana to replenish it, he could activate it.

Its effect was singular: a powerful Binding Array.

The mystery of Rune Magic was undoubtedly high, even in its modern, repaired form.

Furthermore, Dan Lei was powering it with the True Ether from the Holy Sword Balmung, so there was no issue of the Divine Era Mage's magic being weakened in the modern era and being countered by Magic Resistance.

Thus, even Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who possessed A-rank Magic Resistance, could not break free instantly.

For this battle, this brief period of restraint was enough to decide the victor.

Dan Lei would simply draw the Holy Sword Balmung, accelerate himself with lightning, and stab the completely immobilized Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.

However, a Heroic Spirit was still a Heroic Spirit. Amakusa Shirou Tokisada realized that even if he could break free from the Rune Array's restraint with his Magic Resistance, he wouldn't be able to dodge Dan Lei's follow-up attack. He then took a desperate action.

Noble Phantasm [Twin Armament: Zero Grand Order]. This was a destructive Noble Phantasm that used excess mana to cause the magic circuits in both arms to go out of control, refining Quasi-Dark Matter and mana, and relying on their mutual collision to create a pseudo-black hole that absorbed all surrounding existence.

Due to the extremely vast amount of mana required, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's current abilities were insufficient to activate it.

However, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had plenty of Command Spells. In this seven-on-seven Holy Grail War, all the Command Spells of the Red Faction Masters he controlled were on him.

Although activating this Noble Phantasm at close range would harm himself, he couldn't afford to worry about that now.

As the Command Spells flashed, two energy spheres, black and blue, suddenly appeared on his still-movable hands, and then flew forward, intending to collide with each other.

Seeing this, Dan Lei naturally knew what Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was trying to do. He once again compressed his heart to squeeze out more mana, pouring it all into the Holy Sword Balmung, and roared, "No way!" before throwing it forward.

With the additional acceleration from the mana, the Holy Sword Balmung managed to get stuck in the middle just before the Quasi-Dark Matter Sphere and the Magic Sphere collided.

The next instant, the collision of the three different forces resulted in a massive explosion.

The explosion immediately blasted Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who was standing nearby, into the wall, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

However, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was smiling at this moment.

In his eyes, although his Noble Phantasm had not been successfully activated, it had achieved its purpose. Dan Lei's offensive had been blocked, and he would soon be able to break free from the Rune Array's restraint.

Yet, before the explosion's flames had even subsided, Dan Lei's figure burst out from the residual flames of this Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.

At this moment, Dan Lei's skin, even with Siegfried's power protecting him, was severely burned, and not a single piece of cloth remained on his body. Still, he charged towards Amakusa Shirou Tokisada through the explosion, crackling with lightning.

The next second, a sharp blade pierced through Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's body and Spirit Core.

Amakusa Shirou Tokisada looked down at the Black Keys that had pierced his body and said with resignation, "To kill me with Black Keys that you just swapped out... I suppose this is a form of self-punishment. Cough, cough, Mr. Dan Lei, you win."

Amakusa Shirou Tokisada spat blood as he uttered his final words, then his body dissolved into specks of golden light and disappeared.

After Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's body vanished, Dan Lei also spat out a large mouthful of black blood and collapsed onto the ground.

At this moment, Rochomsta, who had been observing the battle, walked up to Dan Lei and said coldly, "Master, your time is running out. And I must admit, I never thought you would actually reach this point."

Hearing Rochomsta's words, Dan Lei forced himself to stand up. He casually swapped out a tattered piece of cloth, whether it was originally a tablecloth or a curtain, and tied it around his waist to cover himself. He replied with the same cold tone, "Isn't this a good thing for you? You can go back to see your Emperor. But this time, remember to speak your true feelings. Don't be like the first time we met, insisting I drink your Poison Mushroom Soup before you'd cooperate."

Rochomsta's tone remained icy as she replied, "This is not what I would expect from a ruthless mage who deceived Atalanta with a lifelike child puppet, then guided Karna into friendly fire, causing civil war among the Red Faction Servants. Afterward, he deliberately lured them into expanding the scope of the war, leading to the destruction of a large town and the deaths of tens of thousands of ordinary people, thereby luring the Ruler into intervening, and finally ambushed the homunculus they were protecting. Besides, you didn't drink the Poison Mushroom Soup. You merely signed a Self-Imposed Contract, guaranteeing that you would drink my Poison Mushroom Soup right before obtaining the Holy Grail."

Dan Lei was speechless at Rochomsta's words. In his pursuit of victory, he had long since trampled his life, honor, and morals underfoot. The destruction of a town with tens of thousands of people was something no amount of excuses could justify.

Thus, Dan Lei simply walked towards the room where the Holy Grail was finally located. There were no more obstacles ahead, and the Hanging Gardens had already begun to disintegrate.

Opening the door to the main hall, the Holy Grail that Dan Lei had dreamed of was right before him. He said, "Rochomsta, give me the Poison Mushroom Soup you prepared. You can make your wish while I drink. If you haven't made your wish by the time I finish, I won't bother with you anymore."

Rochomsta did not hesitate at all and handed Dan Lei a bowl of deep purple soup, bubbling eerily, with visible, beautiful mushroom patterns inside.

Under the control of the Self-Imposed Contract, Dan Lei drank the entire bowl of mushroom soup in one gulp.

Rochomsta showed no regard for Dan Lei as her Master. This bowl of Poison Mushroom Soup was genuinely produced by her Noble Phantasm [Mushroom, Therefore Sacred Cuisine].

If not for Dan Lei having replaced Siegfried's power with his own, he would have died from just one sip, let alone a whole bowl.

However, even now, the poison coursing through his body was unavoidable.

At this moment, Rochomsta stood by watching Dan Lei's reaction, with no intention of making a wish herself.

Seeing this, Dan Lei completely ignored her. He activated Siegfried's A-rank skill, Rally, using lightning to numb his nerves and reduce pain, forcing himself to regain mobility. Then, dragging his tattered body, his skin already oozing black blood, he forcibly moved towards the Holy Grail.

Rochomsta did not stop Dan Lei, continuing to watch him silently.

With the power of Siegfried and his own strong willpower supporting him, Dan Lei reached out and touched the Holy Grail, being absorbed into it.

In a sea of flowers, Dan Lei saw the projection of Yustina Lizleihi von Einzbern.

Then, before she could even speak, Dan Lei made his wish:

"I want to go home, take my soul from this world and return to where I came from, directly to the Root! You know what I'm talking about!

Don't introduce yourself, don't ask if it's possible, just act. This is what I, as the victor of the Holy Grail War, demand you fulfill!"

Yustina's projection was rendered speechless by Dan Lei's interruption and finally disappeared.

Following that, a hole exuding a mysterious aura appeared before Dan Lei, instantly sucking his soul into it.