Their destination: Mt. Enzō, on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.
Even though this was ten years in the past, young Tohsaka Rin still knew the area like the back of her hand.
As they walked up the mountain path, she shot Izumi a deeply unimpressed look.
"...Where exactly are we going? And what are you planning to do?"
"Is there something weird up there?"
Her tone carried that classic Rin-style suspicion.
Izumi only smiled.
"Of course there is."
He raised a finger with a playful glint in his eye.
"That mountain houses the Greater Grail."
"The ritual construct built from the Third Magic—deep underground, constantly siphoning mana from the Fuyuki leyline and storing it."
"Leaving something that valuable buried in the dirt would be a waste."
He pointed at himself proudly.
"So I've decided—I'll dig it up."
Rin stared at him, mouth half-open.
Le Fay blinked in confusion.
Sakura sighed in resignation.
Meanwhile Izumi was practically glowing with excitement.
The Holy Grail War?
Let's see how they plan to fight without the Grail.
He could already imagine the chaos among the Masters.
—And he was right.
The Masters' Confusion
Back at the Clock Tower, Lord El-Melloi (a.k.a. "the lemon-headed bastard") stared blankly at the Command Spells that had suddenly appeared on his hand.
A moment ago, a voice had announced in his mind:
"One Servant has already been eliminated."
"...Hah?"
He hadn't even summoned his Servant yet.
"How the hell is a Servant dead when the war hasn't even started?!"
"And I'm not even in Fuyuki!!"
The man's indignation radiated through his office.
Emiya Kiritsugu was no better.
Command Spells had materialized on his hand, and just as he was preparing to summon a Servant—
A Servant had already fallen.
"...Are you kidding me?"
How was he supposed to play this game?!
Waver Velvet was trembling even more severely.
"It's already lethal before it even begins...?! Are you telling me I'm supposed to participate in this?!"
Every original Fourth War Master received the same notification.
And every one of them fell silent with horror.
What kind of monster… kills a Servant the instant they're summoned?
Is this war just a mass suicide mission?!
Doubt and despair filled each of them.
Of course, Izumi never considered that killing Gilgamesh would cause the Grail War to practically collapse.
Even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
He never planned to participate anyway.
Saving Sakura, digging up the Greater Grail, then heading to the Einzbern forest to take the sheath—that was his agenda.
If the other Masters showed up, great.
If they didn't, even better.
His target had always been the Fifth Grail War ten years later, where the fully incarnated Gilgamesh would be worth far more.
Though… whether the timeline would still reach that point after he had disrupted it so heavily—
Or if the world would forcefully correct itself—
Even Izumi couldn't predict.
But he was curious.
The Path to the Greater Grail
Izumi, Sakura, Rin, and Le Fay finally arrived at Ryuudou Temple.
The moment he saw it, Izumi clicked his tongue in admiration.
The stone flooring rumored to withstand literal mana cannons—what the hell was it made of?
He briefly wondered if he should pry up a slab and feed it to the System.
But he discarded the thought almost immediately.
Because the moment he stepped onto temple grounds—
A massive surge of mana pulsed from deep underground.
Even Le Fay gasped, her eyes widening.
"Such an enormous ritual formula… And it's storing this much mana already?"
"If it were to rupture, wouldn't all of Fuyuki be… um… airborne?"
Rin's expression darkened.
"Why do you two keep imagining Fuyuki exploding?! Did the city offend you somehow?!"
Le Fay, however, had already been captivated by the allure of the Third Magic.
Izumi had explained it to her before—
True magical immortality. Infinite mana generation.
Naturally, Le Fay was fascinated.
If she could, she absolutely wanted infinite mana.
(Not that she expected it to happen.)
Following Izumi's lead, the group slipped into the hidden underground passage.
Soon they entered a massive cavern.
At its heart—
A colossal ritual array spread across the floor.
The edges were lined with countless micro-formulas, compact and densely tessellated—forming the gigantic system known as the Greater Grail.
Le Fay froze in awe.
Then she whipped out her phone and began snapping photos like a crazed tourist.
Rin, too, was shaken.
She had never seen a miracle-class magical engineering project before.
"This… this is…"
Words failed her as pure excitement filled her magician's soul.
Izumi stared at the ritual silently.
Just as Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern had done—turning her own magic circuits into a miniature universe… building a body into the Grail's core.
That was the foundation of this massive structure.
And as he looked at it—
A new idea struck him.
I possess the Third Magic.
I possess Third-Star Particles.
If Justeaze could create a universe from her circuits…
Could I not build a Greater Grail within myself?
Justeaze died because she was artificial—her body could not withstand the strain.
Her spirit was eternal, but her vessel was weak.
Izumi was not.
If he could create a Greater Grail internally, using Third-Star Particles as the core and the Third Magic as its structure—
He could reach SSS-rank.
Even fully unlock the Simulated Star Creation Map.
Potentially ascend to the Three-Digit realm.
His heart pounded.
This Grail is priceless. Absolutely not something to waste on the System.
He made up his mind.
The Grail Awakens
Just as Izumi stepped forward to excavate the Greater Grail—
The Third Magic within him stirred.
It resonated.
The Greater Grail responded.
A pulse of brilliance surged across the vast ritual circle.
The cavern trembled violently.
The light intensified—
Until a vague, translucent silhouette began forming above the array.
Rin, Sakura, and Le Fay gasped simultaneously.
"A… a person?!"
Someone else was here.
Someone called by the Grail.
And they were now manifesting before their eyes.