Deep within the Great Hollow, Dark Sakura and Zouken Matou stood before the Corrupted Holy Grail.
After fooling Shirou Emiya, Zouken Matou had hidden in the Great Hollow and never ventured out.
His worms had been wiped out. Afraid of being killed by that mysterious mage, he could only cling to life here.
He also wanted to seize the Greater Grail at the first opportunity.
"Sakura, my dear granddaughter," Zouken Matou said. "Our enemies are coming in force. I suggest we activate the Holy Grail ahead of schedule."
The Greater Grail now held the magical energy of five Servants.
They were Saber, Lancer, Archer, Caster, and Gilgamesh, that helpful citizen from the previous war.
There was already enough magical energy to activate it. All it needed was the Lesser Grail.
They had failed to capture Illya, but Sakura Matou herself was also a Lesser Grail. Though she was an imperfect version, she served almost the same purpose.
Zouken Matou wanted Dark Sakura to offer herself as a sacrifice and activate the Holy Grail.
To him, this was Sakura Matou's purpose. Hadn't he paid such a tremendous price to cultivate her precisely for this moment?
"Grandfather, why are you in such a hurry?" Dark Sakura asked. "The Greater Grail will be activated tonight anyway. Why rush?"
Yes, the final battle would take place tonight. Regardless of who won or lost, the Greater Grail would be activated.
The only difference was who would serve as the sacrifice. If Illya was sacrificed, Angra Mainyu might be purified, and the Greater Grail could still bring about humanity's salvation.
If Dark Sakura was sacrificed, Angra Mainyu would descend without fail, and everything would become an offering to all the world's evil.
Zouken Matou cared nothing for any of that. He had a premonition that if