On a battlefield awash with blood and fire, a king clad in a blood-stained blue cloak and bright silver armor stood leaning on her sword, silently gazing at the wreckage of the battlefield.
The king looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen, with a petite frame and a single golden ahoge on her head. But the sorrow on her face was unlike that of any girl her age.
The kingdom to which she had devoted her entire life had ultimately failed to escape the cruel tricks of fate.
The once-mighty nation had fallen apart in civil war, its soldiers dead or wounded, its people unable to escape the slaughter.
It was foreseeable that this country would inevitably be invaded by foreign enemies and utterly destroyed.
Did I do something wrong? Was there another way to save it?
Just as the young girl was interrogating herself in her heart, a great will descended, telling her that if she signed a contract, she would be given a chance to set things right.
In about two thousand years from now, a Holy Grail War would be held, and the victor would be granted a wish.
"To grant the victor a single wish..."
Upon hearing these words, the holy-blue eyes of the girl who would later be renowned as King Arthur finally lit up. She did indeed have a wish she wanted to realize.
If the one who pulled the sword of selection back then hadn't been me, but someone else, perhaps Britain wouldn't have had to suffer such hardship?
Having made up her mind, the girl heard the chanting voice of a young man. And so, she answered the summons.
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"Servant Saber, I have come in response to your summons. I ask of you, are you my Master?"
A dignified tone, a proper attitude, a petite body, and a blue cloak that looked a bit like a comforter.
"Artoria Pendragon?"
To the girl's surprise, the Master before her recognized her name at a glance and showed not the slightest hint of surprise at the fact that she was a woman.
"Yes. Does Master know me?"
Her ahoge twitched as Artoria asked with confusion.
"Mm," Su Mo nodded. "I am, of course, familiar with the famous King Arthur."
Though even he was a little surprised. He hadn't expected to successfully summon the one known as the original Saber, the "Comforter King."
These days, even web novels didn't write about these old characters anymore.
But I didn't use a catalyst, so why was I able to summon her?
In terms of compatibility, Su Mo didn't feel his affinity with Artoria was that high.
After a moment's thought, an idea came to him. He immediately asked Artoria, "May I see your sword?"
"If it is Master's request, you may."
Although she was a bit puzzled, Artoria did not refuse the Master she was about to fight alongside.
An invisible greatsword appeared in her hand. Artoria dispelled the Invisible Air that concealed the blade, reversed her grip, and offered the hilt to her Master.
"So this is the Sword of Promised Victory? How magnificent!"
Seeing the beautiful blade, Rin, who was standing to the side, exclaimed in awe. Though she was also surprised that King Arthur was a woman, since Su Mo had said it, it must be true.
And if the other party was King Arthur, then her weapon, aside from the already broken sword of selection, could only be the legendary holy sword of steel-rending, Excalibur.
"No, it's not just the Sword of Promised Victory."
Hearing Rin's words, Su Mo shook his head after a detailed inspection.
"It is also the Holy Sword of the planet, capable of saving the planet."
He had probably figured out the reason why this Saber had been summoned.
Ordinary Servants were useless to him. Their proud Noble Phantasms were, at best, on the level of Conceptual Armaments.
The few stronger ones merely possessed weapons with Divinity. For him, who had mastered the Servant summoning technique, they weren't particularly valuable.
But the Holy Sword of the planet before him was different. It was a holy sword forged to defeat enemies capable of destroying the planet.
Not man-made, not god-forged, but planet-forged.
If its full power were to be unleashed, this sword might even be capable of destroying a planet.
"Master, you know about the Holy Sword?"
Hearing Su Mo reveal the greatest secret of the Holy Sword of the planet, Artoria couldn't help but be astonished.
Wasn't that a secret only the faeries of the lake would know? If it weren't to urge her to return the Holy Sword in time, those faeries probably wouldn't have even told her.
"I just happen to know."
Su Mo waved his hand and returned the Sword of Promised Victory. A holy sword capable of destroying a planet was naturally of great research value, but now was not the time to study it.
At this moment, they were standing at the entrance to the cavern beneath the mountain.
After successfully summoning Artoria, Su Mo stepped into the Great Holy Grail's interior while casually asking the bewildered Artoria, "Speaking of which, you chose to answer the summons for the wish entrusted to the Holy Grail, didn't you?"
"Yes!"
At the mention of her wish, Artoria's expression immediately turned serious. To achieve her tragic desire, she had to win the Holy Grail War.
The Master before her was so mysterious and powerful; their chances of winning were high.
Just as her heart swelled with joy, thinking that this time, she might have a chance...
Her Master threw a sentence at her.
"Then you're probably going to be disappointed. The current Great Holy Grail cannot grant your wish."
"Huh?"
Artoria was instantly dumbfounded. What?
She had only agreed to sign the contract, become a Heroic Spirit, and come to this era to fight for the chance to realize her wish. If the Great Holy Grail couldn't grant wishes, then wasn't Alaya a fraud?
"Master, why do you say that?" Artoria's expression grew slightly agitated. Before the fight had even begun, she was being told she'd been scammed. How was she supposed to play this game?
Rin also showed a look of confusion. Although she knew the wish was bait, the bait wasn't supposed to be fake, was it?
"For that, you'll understand once you look ahead."
Su Mo offered no further explanation, simply telling them to look forward.
By now, they had gone deep into the interior of the Great Holy Grail. It was pitch black inside, with only the faint glimmer of the magic circle visible.
But as Su Mo spoke, a wisp of scarlet flame ignited in the air, illuminating everything around them.
After getting a clear view of their surroundings, they finally understood what Su Mo meant.
Black mud. An endless amount of black mud had accumulated in the center of the Great Holy Grail, writhing like a living thing.
The moment the flame ignited, the black mud recoiled as if burned, immediately retreating into the shadows dozens of meters away.
"This is all... a curse?"
Artoria instinctively sensed the malice contained within the black mud. But as she looked around, a chill ran down her spine.
"What a massive curse! The so-called Holy Grail... is actually this sort of thing?"
"To be precise, it is All the World's Evils."
"If you make a wish to a Holy Grail like this, all your wishes will be twisted and ultimately realized in the way you least desire."
Su Mo corrected her, then cast his gaze into the depths of the Great Holy Grail.
"Still not coming out? Angra Mainyu, the king of evil gods... or rather, his substitute?"
Su Mo's other purpose in coming to the Great Holy Grail was this, All the World's Evils.
This existence, which to others was no different from a curse, was, to Su Mo, a crucial piece for completing his system of Zoroastrian Mythical Thaumaturgy.