Just as Irisviel was about to say something in the underground cavern, the phone at her waist suddenly rang. This abrupt ring interrupted the staredown between Kotomine Kirei and the others who had arrived. The somewhat oppressive atmosphere seemed to be dispersed in an instant. Irisviel looked at the phone in her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face.
In the eyes of Kotomine Kirei, this was her thinking about whether to answer the phone at this time. And so, the young priest just nodded. "If you need to take the call, please do. After all, there is still some time before the child's birth. Answering a call is no problem at all."
You think Irisviel was pondering whether she should pick up the phone? But in fact, Irisviel was trying her best to recall, from when her husband had taught her about phones, which one was the answer key.
Ahem, after all, Irisviel was a homunculus. From the moment of her birth, she had the appearance of an adult. It was hard to imagine that this gentle and beautiful woman had not yet had her tenth birthday. Plus, as the vessel of the Lesser Grail, the person the Einzbern family was sacrificing in this Holy Grail War, Irisviel naturally had no access to any other new things besides some family secrets. Things like cell phones and cars were all bought for her by Kiritsugu. The great elder of the family didn't care at all about Irisviel's entertainment. As long as the homunculus's body could operate stably, then the homunculus who was the great elder would not interfere in any of it.
Speaking of which, the Einzbern family didn't have many magical resources left internally. If they couldn't win the 4th and 5th Holy Grail Wars, then the entire Einzbern family would only have a few homunculi left operating. The homunculus who was the great elder would shut down her own body and give up on retrieving the Holy Grail. Speaking of which, if it was just a lack of magical resources, the Einzbern family could still easily get a large amount of money, and then exchange the money for magical resources. With the Einzbern family's homunculus technology, if they just lowered the quality by several grades, then invested in an adult company, and also started a high-priced custom service, would they still be afraid of not making money?
Irisviel, based on the memory that could only be described as a public display of affection, pressed the answer key. "Hello, Kiritsugu?"
"Iris! Have you entered the location of the Greater Grail? If you have, get out of there quickly! I've found the reason for the Grail's abnormality! 60 years ago, during the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family summoned the origin of Avenger—[Angra Mainyu]! The entire Greater Grail is probably filled with All the World's Evils now! Iris! Run! Clang... zzzzt..."
Before Kiritsugu's voice on the phone could finish, a Black Key was thrown from a distance, directly piercing the phone and pinning it to the ground. This made Irisviel jump in shock. She looked up at the young priest. The young priest gently shook his head, then spread his hands and made a shushing gesture.
"Shh. Let's just pretend we heard nothing, shall we? You've come all this way. Are you planning to leave before you've even witnessed the child's birth? I cannot accept such a thing."
Upon hearing the voice on the phone, the expression on Merlin's face changed. "All the World's Evils?!"
If he had known it was this thing, he should have spared some of his attention to monitor the operation of the Holy Grail War from the very beginning. To actually allow such an existence to appear in the world in a materialized form, and now, he was being told that All the World's Evils was about to be born? This was even more absurd than being told that Tiamat was about to return from her exile! Why was it that human magi, in the process of pursuing the abyss of magecraft, could always create such world-shattering things?
To let All the World's Evils become like this, wasn't this just creating a body for that top-tier Demon God? Merlin was already a bit numb. Things had already developed to this point. Why hadn't the Counter Force stepped in to deal with this matter? Did they have to wait until this city was destroyed?
"King! We absolutely cannot let that existence be born!"
Merlin did not hesitate. A string of buffs was directly cast on Artoria. Artoria clenched the golden holy sword in her hand, and with a burst of magical energy, disappeared from her spot, rushing towards the young priest not far away.
If this were in a game, this would be the rhythm of opening with all skills, getting Merlin's buffs, and then preparing to wipe out the world with three red cards. Let's ignore the issue of critical hits for now. The key was that as she was preparing to attack Kirei, several existences suddenly rushed out from the black muddy water, directly blocking her path in front of the young priest. In a game, it would be like a few minions suddenly popping up, with a taunt buff over their heads. Because they were blocking the necessary path, it was as if it should have been a direct boss battle, but a group of minions had been added before the boss. And so, Artoria's world-destroying three red cards just directly hit the minions.
Of course, to say that these existences were minions was also a bit inappropriate. Although their entire bodies were composed of black magical energy, from their overall appearance, they were clearly the Assassins who had already made their exit. And it wasn't just one Assassin. At least a dozen Assassins were blocking Artoria's path forward. Unlike the previous Assassin clones, these Assassins who had appeared now clearly had the exact same face and figure.
Kirei looked at these Shadow Servants that had emerged from the black mud—perhaps using the word "puppets" would be more appropriate. A fatherly smile appeared on his face. He looked like an old father whose failed daughter had shown some growth.
"Look! The child has already grown to this point. It has already learned to protect itself before its advent. I want to speed up this child's birth a little more. Would you all please become nourishment for this child?"
The eyes that had been observing the surroundings directly locked onto the Heroic Spirits who had come here. Then, the black tide began to surge continuously, creating one wave after another. After this tide receded, one after another of tall shadows stood at the edge of the black tide. And in the depths of that black tide, the shadow of another Heroic Spirit was slowly appearing.
They were the King of Conquerors and the King of Heroes. Of course, the Evils of this World could not possibly release the consciousness of these two. Both of these kings were more than capable of bearing the dense malice and continuing forward. To release the consciousness of those two would only pose a threat to itself.