Your Mom's Back

A strange sadness welled up in Mephistopheles's heart, and he felt a pang of pity for Chaos's homeland. Suppressing this sorrow, Mephistopheles said, "I will state my guess. You can deny it or admit it; after all, you said you wouldn't lie."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It's not my wish. I just hope that through our conversation, I can confirm some of my own guesses, just like in our earlier discussion." Mephistopheles shook his head, then continued, "The Soul Materialization, the foundation of the Third Magic, makes the soul eternally stable, hailed as having the Infinite magic power, a perpetual motion machine, but in reality, its output should be related to the strength of one's own soul, right?"

Angra Mainyu nodded.

Seeing Angra Mainyu's affirmation, Mephistopheles continued, "Then I will continue to speculate, at least based on the knowledge I have, that the so-called perpetual motion machine, the Infinite magic, is not actually truly the Infinite. It is finite, with its own upper limit, but this upper limit is so high that it is almost impossible to reach, so it is called the Infinite."

This time, Angra Mainyu neither nodded nor shook its head; it simply asked, "What is the basis for your guess?"

It looks very interested.

"That's natural, because a universe is inherently finite. If the Infinite were to appear within it, the universe would be destroyed. Not to mention, the Infinite itself, at the moment of its birth, unless it deliberately suppresses its own output, would not have any problem with insufficient output." Mephistopheles chuckled, "You nodded in agreement earlier."

"You're cunning. I'm starting to like you. Now, continue your speculation. This time, I'll just nod or shake my head."

"Alright, then I'll share my speculations about the Third Magic."

Mephistopheles's face was full of confidence.

"The essence of the Third Magic is actually to connect oneself with the universe in which one exists, that is, to completely connect the Lesser Source with the Great Source. This Great Source is not the Great Source of the Earth's environment, but the entire universe itself."

"Users of the Third Magic directly extract magic power from here. The fully materialized soul is the best carrier for magic power circulation, with extremely low magic power loss. If magic power is extracted from an environment like Earth, such waste will have an impact on the future, but this does not happen at the cosmic level."

"The magic power consumed by oneself, the magic power lost in casting True Magic, etc., will essentially return to the Great Source, and the magic power of the Great Source will always remain."

"Even if the universe were to run out of energy and be destroyed tomorrow, it might not have any impact on the users of the Third Magic today, because the magical power consumed by the vast universe every second is practically the Infinite for the users of the Third Magic. Well, my use of 'The Infinite' is a literary exaggeration."

"Slap... slap... slap!"

Angra Mainyu clapped his hands, as if he had seen something amusing, and looked Mephistopheles up and down carefully, appearing extremely appreciative.

"You are truly amazing. Even with the blessing of the Holy Grail, I have never seen a human like you!"

Angra Mainyu exclaimed in admiration, "Do you know? Although you haven't completed the cultivation of the Third Magic, and you could even say you've never practiced it at all, your understanding of the Third Magic is even greater than that of the first person who came close to mastering Third Magic."

"Approaching mastery of the Third Magic?"

"The person the Einzbern Family follows and wants to recreate, the Third Magician, but in reality, she only came close, not truly mastered her. If she had truly mastered her, she would definitely still be alive, not dead."

"So, are there any places where the Third Magic has truly been implemented?"

"Yes, I can sense that such a place exists, but it's not this world, not this universe, but another world, another universe, just like the aura you carry, which originates from another universe."

"You mean, I come from another set of universes? Or from another parallel universe?"

"I'm not sure. I'm only close to the Holy Grail itself, but I'm not the Holy Grail. Even the Holy Grail needs to come into contact with the Root to know everything. Not to mention, every parallel universe has its own Root. The existence of the Root is not actually as some people speculate."

"Is it really as some people have guessed?" Mephistopheles wondered for a moment, then saw Angra Mainyu smile slightly and say something that surprised Mephistopheles greatly.

"The Root has never been the core of the universe."

"What you just said..." Mephistopheles was about to ask a question when he was told to leave, "Alright, you should leave now, and I should stay here as well."

Seeing that his surroundings were beginning to resist him and try to shake him off, Mephistopheles quickly asked, "Do you know where Bazett is?"

"Bazett?" Angra Mainyu, somewhat surprised.

"She's my sister!"

"You're her sister in another world, right? She doesn't have a brother in this world." Angra Mainyu immediately understood Mephistopheles's meaning and said, "She's still alive, just in a coma. You'll be able to see her once you summon the Greater Holy Grail."

As he spoke, the resistance grew stronger and stronger. In the end, Mephistopheles was thrown out of this special space and found himself back in his bedroom.

The Black Mud on the ground quickly receded and soon disappeared.

As Mephistopheles gazed at the receding Black Mud, he fell into deep thought.

"Bazett is alright, and she is indeed protected by the Holy Grail. The fact that you can see her by summoning the Greater Holy Grail means that her physical body is also being protected by the Holy Grail. If the Holy Grail is not summoned, her physical body cannot return to the real world."

"It's good that my sister is alright, but what's bothering me most right now is what Angra Mainyu said... the Root isn't the core of the universe?"

"Although I've always speculated about the Root, it's just speculation. Generally, I've viewed the Root as the center of a world, but now that I've heard this explanation, I have to take it seriously."

The door was pushed open, Medea walked in. She looked at the silent Mephistopheles without disturbing him, and also made a shushing gesture to the people at the door.

At the entrance, Servants and Master who had already gathered were all looking at Mephistopheles inside. Although they were worried and curious, they did not disturb him.

Meanwhile, Mephistopheles was constantly sorting out his contact with the Root and the knowledge, or rather, intelligence, he had acquired during the Age of Gods.

"It is indeed reasonable that every parallel world has its own Root. If this theory holds true, then it is equivalent to the Root appearing only with the birth of a parallel world. Angra Mainyu said that the Root is not the core of the universe. Does he mean that the Root is not a unified entity that governs the entire universe?"

Thinking about this, Mephistopheles rejected himself again.

"No, if it were just that, there wouldn't be any need to bring it up specifically. There must be something more important involved..."

As Mephistopheles continued to recall his experiences in the Age of Gods, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"The Greece gods came to Earth, and after being worshipped by humankind, they connected with the Root and thus acquired their divine status."

"The Greece gods are one thing, but why did Typhon, who descended to Earth in his true form, suddenly acquire the corresponding dragon characteristics?"

"Even Sefar acquired his Earth identity after arriving on Earth, and this is recorded in the Root..."

Having considered this far, a somewhat terrifying thought appeared in Mephistopheles's mind, even filling him with dread.

"Is the so-called Root something that was born at the very beginning of the planet's existence, or did it only emerge at the moment of humankind's birth?"

"The Sword of Rupture... So, the so-called Root is something born alongside the planet? But isn't that Gaia? Or rather, the Root is a consciousness that isn't a planet, but was born alongside the planet and possesses a certain degree of independence?"

"Gaia, Alaya, Human Order... then can the expansion of the Root be understood as the expansion of Human Order?"

"If I create a completely new planet and take control of everything on it, does that mean I am also the Root? Or is it that Gaia, the Root, Alaya are one?"

Chapter 113 Your Mom's Back

After thinking this through, Mephistopheles looked towards the door. Seeing so many people staring at him, he smiled and said, "I'm fine, don't worry."

Hearing his words, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

Putting aside the concerns between friends, even in terms of combat strength, Mephistopheles is the strongest here, and Mephistopheles also knows the Holy Grail best. If Mephistopheles is suddenly attacked by this strange thing and something happens to him, then they will need to consider how to minimize the damage.

After all, if even Mephistopheles could be tricked, just how terrifying must this eerie thing be?!

"What's going on?" Rin Tohsaka walked in. She had already changed her clothes, and Sakura Matou came in with her. Looking at the two of them, Mephistopheles could sense that their relationship had become even closer.

"It seems my decision to keep these two in one room worked; I've successfully resolved the misunderstanding between them," Mephistopheles thought to himself, then smiled and said to the others, "It's nothing serious; they were just invited over by a resident of the Holy Grail for a chat."

"The inhabitants of the Holy Grail?"

Mephistopheles's words left the group looking puzzled. They couldn't understand what Mephistopheles meant, but Mephistopheles simply replied, "This requires explaining the course of the Third Holy Grail War."

Upon hearing this, Rin Tohsaka couldn't help but laugh, "Are you saying you know everything that happened in the Third Holy Grail War?"

Mephistopheles nodded in response. "I don't know much, but I do know some things, and I know the part that's relevant to the Holy Grail the most!"

Mephistopheles paused for a moment before continuing, "That old Matou family, as a participant in the war, certainly knows something about what I'm about to say, but I'm not sure how much he knows."

"He probably knows there's something wrong with the Holy Grail, and he's already realized that this problem might have started with the Third Holy Grail War, but he doesn't know the specifics yet," Sakura Matou said, sounding very curious. "So what exactly happened? What exactly happened during the Third Holy Grail War?"

"So that's what the Einzbern Family did." Mephistopheles shrugged, glancing at the only member of the Einzbern Family present, Illya.

Illya put her hands on her hips and said reluctantly, "I don't have much to do with them!"

"It really has little to do with you. Actually, I just want to say that they have harmed you so much, and you even think that Kiritsugu Emiya betrayed them. But the Root of Kiritsugu Emiya's choice lies in what the Einzbern Family did themselves."

"In a way, the whole mess was caused by the Einzbern Family themselves, so you don't need to feel sorry for them in the future. It's their own fault, and they should bear the consequences themselves."

Illya pouted. "I don't feel like I've done anything wrong to them. The fact that I didn't directly destroy the Einzbern Family's androids and factories is already an act of kindness in return for evil."

It has to be said that after staying here for a few days, this little girl has placed herself in a position of great compassion, with a feeling of "I am a saint".

Mephistopheles could also see that Illya really wanted to cause a huge scene against the Einzbern Family, but she probably also knew that her actions would be of no use to those guys in the Einzbern Family.

Those guys have already shut themselves off. After this failure, they'll automatically go into a deep sleep and stop thinking about anything.

But Mephistopheles laughed.

"If you told them that they could have succeeded in the Fourth Holy Grail War, but Kiritsugu Emiya's betrayal was essentially due to their own attempts to cheat during the Third Shinobi World War, do you think they would be even more tormented?"

Hearing Mephistopheles's words, Illya blinked and immediately nodded. "That's definitely possible!"

This kind of behavior, which is almost like jumping into the other person's face, tearing open their wounds, and directly launching a taunt, made Illya want to try it out.

Moreover, you don't even need to fight with the other party; you can just rub salt into their wounds!

"I'll take Heracles with me then, and show them that they've been the ones in the wrong all along!"

Seeing the girl so happily talking about what she was going to do next, Mephistopheles nodded slightly. It was the right choice to go alone and instead take Heracles with her. There might be something dangerous there, and the other party might shamelessly retaliate because of being humiliated.

While it's said that artificial humans have no emotions, they are actually just a group of dolls whose defenses can be broken, and whose emotions are mainly negative.

At this moment, the others became even more interested in another matter that Mephistopheles had just mentioned.

Did the Einzbern Family cheat in the Third World War?

"The Einzbern Family planned to summon a Servant capable of delivering a decisive blow, so they secretly made preparations. Leveraging their advantages as the creators of the Holy Grail, they exploited a bug in the Holy Grail System to summon an extraordinary Servant, the special class Avenger."

As Mephistopheles said this, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"The Avenger they summoned is actually named Angra Mainyu."

Mephistopheles's voice was soft, but at that moment it was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating violent ripples.

"Angra Mainyu?!" Tohsaka family exclaimed. As a legitimate Magecraft, she was quite familiar with world mythology. As if wanting to confirm something, she asked again, "The Zoroastrianism one?!"

"Yes, they want to summon Angra Mainyu of the Zoroastrianism." Mephistopheles nodded slightly.

Rin Tohsaka shook her head. "Are they crazy? Summoning something like that, didn't they even consider the possibility of losing control?!"

"Angra Mainyu? What's that?" Shirou Emiya asked, somewhat puzzled.

Mephistopheles glanced at Shirou Emiya: "Shirou, you need to keep studying hard. Such a famous myth, such a famous god, and you don't even know them? You're not qualified to be a True Magic."

Shirou Emiya immediately fell silent. He knew he was in for a rough few days and would most likely be unable to play any games.

At this moment, Sakura Matou whispered, "Angra Mainyu, the dark god in Zoroastrianism mythology, is the evil god in the dualism of good and evil. He is said to be the source of all the evil and darkness in the world, and is opposed to Ahura Mazda, the good god of Zoroastrianism."

"From the perspective of the status of gods in religion, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu are both top-level deities."

With this explanation, Shirou Emiya finally understood what the Einzbern Family had been trying to do during the Third Holy Grail War.

He exclaimed in surprise, "They actually want to summon a true god in the Holy Grail War?!"

At this point, he couldn't help but glance at Mephistopheles: "But didn't Mephistopheles also summon a god? Suddenly, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with the Einzbern Family's actions..."

This statement elicited nods of agreement from those around him.

Summoning a god is a terrifying act, but someone here has already done it several times!

Mephistopheles immediately protested. "I summoned it with my own abilities, I didn't cheat, and I can confirm that I can completely control this power. As for the Einzbern Family's attempt to summon a god, they failed. Although they did summon Angra Mainyu, he was actually just a sacrifice to what people called Angra Mainyu."

"Sacrificial offerings?"

Seeing that everyone was somewhat puzzled, Mephistopheles gave an explanation that fit their current understanding. "It's similar to the Japan custom of throwing beans to ward off evil spirits."

Shirou Emiya immediately understood. "So, you mean, find someone to impersonate Evil Gods, and then banish it?"

"That's right, but unlike the bean-throwing exorcism ritual, this ghost-playing is voluntary. It's just a very ordinary festival, and the person playing the ghost can be very happy. But the person playing Angra Mainyu is most likely not voluntary, and will have to endure the exorcism ritual before they die."

"This..."

"A person bearing the name Angra Mainyu, embodying all of humanity's evils, is incredibly weak and utterly powerless. The only special ability they possess is the Heroic Spirit of the one who caused their own death. This person's only power is the killing of humans; they are incapable of anything else."

Mephistopheles shook his head with a sigh and said, "The Einzbern Family thought they could win by summoning a god, but they ended up summoning a fake. This fake was so weak that it was eliminated instantly, but its concept of All the World's Evils was actually made real because of the ritual."

"The birth of the Holy Grail is also related to prayers and so on. In essence, it is also related to human thoughts. Thus, the two are similar to the same origin. The Holy Grail was corrupted by all the evil of Angra Mainyu at this time, causing the Holy Grail, which was originally normal, to become completely corrupted."

"If the Holy Grail that Kiritsugu Emiya obtained is the normal Holy Grail, and he wishes for 'world peace,' then the Holy Grail will be distorted if it cannot be fulfilled, and will try its best to provide a solution that is not too bad."

"But Kiritsugu Emiya obtained the Black Holy Grail, and the method offered by the Black Holy Grail is indeed the most feasible and simplest: wipe out all of humanity. Once there are no more humans, there will naturally be peace among them."

Mephistopheles scoffed at this point, "I even think that the Black Holy Grail hasn't distorted the meaning of wishes in this respect. In some ways, Kiritsugu Emiya himself has considered this idea, which is why he didn't hesitate to let Artoria destroy the Holy Grail."

At this point, the group finally understood what Mephistopheles meant by going to see the person living inside the Holy Grail.

Rin Tohsaka asked, "Did you go to see Angra Mainyu?"

"Well, I went to see it. It's not a bad person, except for its sharp tongue."

Mephistopheles shrugged. "And it doesn't lie. Both Kiritsugu Emiya and Illya have met it. It told Kiritsugu Emiya how the Holy Grail would grant his wish, and it also told Illya that Kiritsugu Emiya betrayed the Einzbern Family and caused her mother's death. Furthermore, it revealed the fact that Illya and Shirou Emiya would kill each other in the future."

Illya's expression turned somewhat grim, and she said in a low voice, "Was it the person who spoke to me in my mother's body when I was little?"

"It is it, because it has no physical form, so it uses this body to move." Mephistopheles glanced at Illya, then at Shirou Emiya, noticing that Shirou Emiya was also at a loss for words.