"Saber, you devoured Vortigern's power and even possess a weapon like the Promised Sword of Victory. Your very existence is an unbelievable miracle, so maybe it's hard for you to understand."
"But my existence is also a kind of miracle, you know?"
Irisviel tilted her head slightly as she looked at the boy. Her voice was cool, yet carried an indescribable charm.
She gently placed one hand over her full chest and said softly, "My birth surpassed the limits of what humans can create. Because they witnessed such a miracle, and even after that miracle was born they still couldn't save all of humanity, they eventually chose to abandon this experiment completely."
Alvin vaguely guessed what came afterward and said, "The disciples of the Third Magician all gave up on the grand feat of saving all humanity, but later you inherited their will?"
Irisviel slowly shook her head, "After that, someone visited Einzbern Castle and found me."
"And it was under his suggestion that we created the Greater Grail system together."
"You should have seen that person… his name was Makiri Zolgen. In the past he was the first head of the Matou family."
In a certain sense, the reason Matou Zouken later became so twisted, even willing to do anything just to keep living, was also influenced by the Holy Maiden of Winter.
Of course, exactly when Matou Zouken lost his original heart after that was something no one could know.
"Do you still want to use the Greater Grail to save all humanity and let their souls achieve eternal life?", Alvin suddenly asked.
"After all, that was the dream of the people who created me. Even though they gave up, I want to try it once… you could say it's one of the few 'desires' I have," Irisviel said.
Alvin fell silent for a moment.
A homunculus, or rather the Holy Maiden of Winter Justeaze, did not possess human emotions, nor could she truly understand what emotions were.
After the disciples of the Third Magician abandoned the vague dream of "saving humanity," the reason she continued to persist might simply be because she wanted to prove she had existed. Or perhaps… she just needed something to cling to.
But in a sense, this woman's life was extremely tragic.
From the moment she was born she could not leave the castle even half a step. In the end, the people who created her either ended their own lives or left the castle and died in sorrow.
She never left that castle for her entire life, until finally she turned her own life into the source of the Greater Grail and ended her existence like that.
And now… the Greater Grail had been corrupted.
"Are you pitying me?"
At that moment, "Irisviel's" voice sounded and pulled Alvin back to reality.
Coming back to his senses, Alvin shook his head, "Just feeling a little emotional…"
"If you really want to help me, how about using another method, Saber?"
Under Alvin's stunned gaze, "Irisviel" smiled sweetly.
She suddenly stood up and walked step by step toward Alvin. That soft and beautiful body almost completely pressed against the boy, pushing him back against the glass door behind him.
With an incomparably calm yet gentle voice, she spoke words so tempting they can made any wood hard in the forest.
"Take me, Saber."
———
Half an hour earlier—
[Fuyuki, Mount Enzo, Ryuudou Temple]
Heavy snow had been falling continuously these past few days, nearly paralyzing transportation in Fuyuki. Standing at the top of Mount Enzo and looking down, the entire seaside town blanketed in silver could be seen at a glance.
Sajyou Manaka stood at the mountain peak, facing the night wind, gazing out over the city.
Soon, she murmured to herself, "It should be almost ready by now."
Not far behind Sajyou Manaka was a pitch-black spatial hole, radiating a deep glow as ripples gently spread across its surface.
From that opening, one could vaguely sense an incredibly evil and dangerous aura spreading outward.
All the World's Evil.
The Greater Grail of this Holy Grail War was hidden inside Mount Enzo. Sajyou Manaka had found this place not long ago, and quickly analyzed the structure of the Greater Grail, filling it with magical energy.
If she slowly analyzed the structure and filled it with magic bit by bit, perhaps within half a year the Greater Grail would completely become her possession.
But she could not wait that long… so Sajyou Manaka used another method.
Summon Servants, then directly feed them into the Greater Grail.
She didn't even know who the Servants she summoned were, because the moment they arrived, Sajyou Manaka had already turned them into "fertilizer" for the summoning of the Greater Grail.
"So there's still some deficiency after all. Though that makes sense. Even if I modified the rules of the Holy Grail War, the Servants I summoned aren't considered proper Servants. It's normal that they're weaker."
"Looks like I'll still need the Servants from this Holy Grail War to fill the Greater Grail's magical energy."
Sajyou Manaka lightly tapped her lips with a fingertip and tilted her head in thought for a moment. Soon, a charming smile spread across her face.
"In that case, I'll just make a bit more noise and let them come here for the final battle themselves."
After all, every Servant had descended for the sake of the Holy Grail War. If the Greater Grail appeared at Ryuudou Temple now, no matter what, they couldn't just ignore it.
Thinking this, Sajyou Manaka raised her finger and manipulated the surface of the Greater Grail.
Buzz!
Under the night sky, within the spatial wormhole, pitch-black mud began to quietly pour out.
From afar, it looked like a waterfall cascading downward. A truly magnificent sight.
That black mud seemed to possess its own consciousness. After sensing Sajyou Manaka's presence, it surged toward her in overwhelming waves.
Sajyou Manaka raised her right hand. A massive curtain of water rose before her, blocking the mud's invasion.
"Even if I touched the 'black mud' it probably wouldn't matter, but I don't feel like taking another bath later."
Sajyou Manaka laughed softly. With a wave of her right hand, the black mud seemed to be affected by some force and dropped weakly onto the ground.
Sizzle!
Steam rose from the mud as if the ground were being scorched, burning large holes into the snow-covered floor.
"Wait for me a little longer, Saber~"
Sajyou Manaka looked at the black mud before her, her voice filled with sweetness and delight.
"Soon… very soon we'll be able to stay together forever."
What she did not notice was that the moment the Greater Grail descended, inside a certain building, a silver-haired beauty slowly raised her head. Within her enchanting crimson eyes flowed a faint, alluring glint.
———
With the appearance of the Greater Grail, starting in the latter half of the night, Servants from various factions faintly sensed something unusual.
"Something's wrong… this is really wrong."
Inside a standalone apartment, a burly man sat cross-legged on the slightly cool tatami. He had been laughing loudly while watching television, but suddenly frowned slightly.
Soon, suspicion entered his voice.
"What's wrong? Rider… what are you talking about? I don't understand a word."
Waver beside him couldn't help complaining. Ever since summoning this King of Conquerors, he had secretly begun regretting participating in this Holy Grail War.
Originally he just wanted to prove his own abilities. He never expected his teacher to also be part of this war.
"Don't you think tonight is a bit too quiet?"
The King of Conquerors held a bag of potato chips in his hand. He tossed one into his mouth and continued.
"Logically speaking, after such a huge commotion near the harbor earlier, Fuyuki should be having a fierce battle right now. But I can't hear the slightest sound."
"Isn't that a good thing? Better than everyone constantly fighting and killing people, right?"
Waver's voice was low. Ever since he saw Kayneth after joining the Holy Grail War, he had already realized how serious the situation was.
And not long ago, with the appearance of Saber, Archer, and the others, he had actually started thinking about backing out because he clearly realized how dangerous the Holy Grail War was.
Even though it was already too late to withdraw now.
The King of Conquerors slowly shook his head, "It's not that simple."
He looked out the window toward the direction of Ryuudou Temple and fell into long contemplation.
"The level of quiet tonight… is really strange."
"And… don't you feel like there's something over there?"
Waver followed his gaze. When he saw nothing but endless snow stretching into the distance, he finally couldn't help complaining.
"Huh? You can see that far away?"
But the King of Conquerors unusually said nothing. His expression had grown more serious.
"Master might not be able to sense it, but Servants manifest based on the Greater Grail… I can feel it. Perhaps that thing has appeared."
"That thing?"
Waver repeated, then his eyelids twitched as if he had suddenly realized something.
"The Greater Grail?"
"But only one Servant has been eliminated so far, right? Why would the Greater Grail appear already?"
"Maybe the rules of the Holy Grail War have changed. Or maybe… someone is cheating."
The King of Conquerors slapped Waver hard on the head and said in a deep voice, "No matter what, tonight you're coming with me to take a look… whether it's an enemy or some monster, I, Iskandar, will conquer them all!"
With loud laughter, the King of Conquerors grabbed Waver and walked out of the apartment.
———
In front of the balcony.
The gentle, pleasant voice by his ear made Alvin's body stiffen slightly.
Feeling the soft warmth of the delicate body in his arms, his palm moved faintly.
With a Servant's strength, pushing away this seemingly fragile silver-haired beauty wouldn't be difficult. But Alvin somehow couldn't bring himself to push her away.
He lowered his head slightly and happened to see the woman in his arms.
Perhaps because she was a homunculus, her facial features were so perfect they seemed almost flawless. Her silver hair fell naturally over her shoulders, and even the loose dress she wore could not hide the proud fullness of her chest.
Even a quick glance revealed stunning beauty. Compared with Irisviel's own softness, however, the Holy Maiden of Winter carried more cold elegance and an indescribable seductive charm.
"Irisviel's" eyes flowed with emotion as she gazed deeply at him. The two stared at each other for who knew how long before her red lips parted.
"Saber… do you have any worries?"
She moved a little closer and gently hugged him.
The soft warmth, the faint fragrance at the tip of his nose, the moist, tempting look in her eyes… and outside the balcony, Illya was still sleeping.
Everything seemed to be constantly tempting Alvin, and his gaze involuntarily settled on "Irisviel's" exquisitely beautiful face.
His eyes slowly moved downward.
From her snow-white slender neck to her proud chest. Her waist narrowed slightly, outlining a delicate curve. Her bare feet were pale as snow, like rare jade in the world.
The people who created "Irisviel" must have been perfectionists… there was simply not a single flaw.
Alvin sighed inwardly and soon looked back at Irisviel's cool, breathtaking face.
Perhaps because of the heat or something else, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. Her soft, elastic lips pressed together slightly, opening and closing just a little, carrying a subtle allure that made one want to bite them.
At that moment, Alvin suddenly sensed something strange.
"Why is there still magical energy inside your body?"
Alvin grabbed one of Irisviel's hands, a faint sense of unease rising in his heart.
Logically speaking, she was no longer the Lesser Grail, and previously there hadn't been any magical energy in her body.
But now… he could clearly feel magic flowing into her body.
This magic… did not belong to Irisviel herself.
But Alvin wasn't given any more time to think.
Because in the next moment, Irisviel leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Alvin's neck.
As her soft body pressed closer, her red lips gently met his.
The unfamiliar softness made his brain freeze for a moment.
Immediately after, a unique magical power quietly flowed from Irisviel into Alvin's body.
At the same time, on the balcony, at some unknown moment, black mud had begun quietly writhing.
Then it slowly crept toward Alvin from beneath his feet.
That was the "black mud" capable of altering a Servant's spiritual foundation and turning them dark.
In almost an instant, the black mud swallowed both Alvin and Irisviel together. An indescribable power quietly began changing Alvin's body.
Irritation. A desire to destroy everything in the world that offended his eyes.
This restless feeling filled his body.
At that moment, he heard "Irisviel" whisper softly, "Saber, fall with me."
"No… she's not the Holy Maiden of Winter, and she's not Irisviel…"
Alvin reached out and touched Irisviel's forehead. It was burning hot.
Her body seemed connected to something, and that thing was constantly transmitting corrupted magical energy into her, filling her entire body with power far beyond that of a normal person.
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