"No! I don't want to!" Rin screamed. Looking at her father's fanatical expression, which no longer held any of the strict yet gentle hope from the past, and smelling the thick scent of blood on the altar, she suddenly understood why her mother and Lin Jiuan had killed him. She regretted even more not listening to her mother and staying home. Father has gone mad! He's really, completely mad!
But no matter how she struggled, Rin couldn't break free from his large hand. She could only watch as she was placed on the altar, watch as her father chanted an incantation, mobilizing his mana.
Not long after, the phantom of the Holy Grail appeared in the air above the altar, directly over her abdomen. Then came the sound of churning mud. Rolling, pitch-black, mud-like substance overflowed from the Grail, which was supposed to symbolize sanctity and hope. It fell from the air onto her abdomen, then, as if alive, spread across her body.
"What is this?! Father! Please! Save me! It's me, Rin!" she cried, struggling to break free from the black mud's grasp. But the mud was even stronger than her father's hand, pinning her to the altar, unable to move.
Soon, the black mud had completely enveloped her body, surging from her neck towards her head. "No! No!" Rin shook her head frantically, hoping to stop its advance. She had a gut feeling. If she really let the mud cover her completely, she would lose herself, her body taken over by the being within this living mud.
But no matter how she struggled, she couldn't slow its spread. She could only watch as it crept over her chin and the back of her head, immobilizing her head completely. All she could do was stare at the ceiling, tears of terror streaming from her eyes.
Mother, save me. Anyone, please, save me.
Suddenly, in her tear-blurred vision, Rin noticed her father's figure seemed to have collapsed. Before she could understand what that meant, a figure she was exceptionally familiar with was standing beside the altar, wearing a smile she had once disliked.
"You're in a sorry state, Rin."
Lin Jiuan? A light of hope burst forth in Rin's eyes. She looked at him pleadingly.
"You're here." A gaping hole was in his chest. Tokiomi, whose heart had been torn out from behind by Lin Jiuan, was not dead. The wound flowed not with red blood, but with black 'mud'. He knelt on the ground, looking at Lin Jiuan's back and the black mud that had almost completely enveloped Rin on the altar. A crazed, excited smile appeared on his face.
"You're too late, Beast of Calamity! The ritual is complete! That great existence will descend tonight! You will become its nourishment. And I... will reach the Root."
"This is indeed a bit tricky." Lin Jiuan looked at the black mud that had completely enveloped Rin, leaving only her eyes exposed, and frowned. "Since the sky is falling, let the tall ones hold it up. What do you say, should I just run away and leave you?"
More tears streamed from Rin's eyes. If she weren't restrained, she would probably be shaking her head and whimpering. The black mud mass then emitted its will, transmitting it into Lin Jiuan's mind.
"Beast of Calamity. If you leave now, I can pretend this never happened. We will not interfere with each other, nor do we have a reason to. In any case, even if this world is destroyed, with your abilities, you can travel to other planes. And my existence can help divert the attention that should be focused on you."
Feeling that will, Lin Jiuan ignored it and continued to smile at the nearly-collapsed Rin. "Don't worry. Although you were rude to me yesterday, and you're a bit of a blockhead, for Aoi and Sakura's sake, I'll save you." He placed his hand on the black mud covering her. Silently, he activated his Authority. Not to devour. But to kill!
In that instant, the black mud mass let out a piercing shriek of terror and rage. "BEAST?!!!"
It, which had only been quickening its pace to devour Rin, now completely erupted. Countless streams of black mud poured from the Grail, surging towards Lin Jiuan, towards Tokiomi, towards the dead, like a tidal wave from a whale fall, rushing out in all directions.
Regaining consciousness, Rin slowly opened her eyes. "Where am I?"
Her vision was filled with a world of lightless black. The sky, the ground, the surroundings—everything was the same. Darkness, boundless. Rin panicked, calling out the names of her loved ones. "Mother?! Sakura?! Mother?!"
As she called out, her memories from before she passed out gradually returned. The name she was calling became Lin Jiuan's. "Lin Jiuan? Where are you?"
The sound of solitary footsteps came from ahead. Rin immediately stopped calling and looked forward nervously. After a short while, a tall young woman with white hair and red eyes, wearing a seven-pointed crown, walked out of the darkness. The woman's expression was holy, like an angel descended to earth as a saint, making one want to kneel in虔诚 (pious) worship.
"An Einzbern homunculus... no, who are you?" Rin asked warily.
The woman's compassionate gaze only rested on Rin for a moment before shifting behind her, her tone as cold as her merciful expression was not. "Come out, Beast of Calamity."
Rin spun around and saw Lin Jiuan standing behind her, smiling. Instantly, as if understanding something, her eyes widened. "You were behind me this whole time?!"
"Yeah. I was waiting for you to start crying so I could come out and laugh at you. But, what a shame." Lin Jiuan shrugged, a punchable smile on his face.
Rin was about to die from anger at this idiot, but she still instinctively hid behind him. Regardless of the startling title the angel-like woman had used, Rin could tell that in this situation, that 'angel' was definitely not a good thing. At best, she was a Lucifer on the verge of falling. And this bad guy was the one who would actually protect her.
"Angra Mainyu," Lin Jiuan said, his smile vanishing as Rin hid behind him. He looked at the woman opposite him and taunted, "What's wrong? Using Justica's body, are you scared before we even fight?"
"Beast." 'Justica's' gaze was cold, her tone icy. "Must you and I fight to the death?"
Four figures slowly emerged from the darkness behind her, standing at her back. Diarmuid, Hundred-Faced Hassan, Iskandar, and... Merli.
"Is your confidence just these three Servants?"
'Justica' frowned slightly. Her confidence, of course, was not limited to this, but... wait, three Servants? Aren't there four?