Although Trifas is a fictional city conjured up by the miraculous Higashide to conveniently write the Holy Grail War and pay homage to the legendary explosive city Fuyuki, its neighboring city, Sighisoara, actually exists.
Strolling through this small city that seemed to perfectly blend classical and modern elements, Souya wasn't in a hurry to go to the church and find Amakusa Shirou. Instead, he admired the scenery along the way while recalling the general plot of Fate/Apocrypha in his mind.
In the Nasuverse worldview, the concept of parallel worlds genuinely exists. Furthermore, there is the "Second Magic"—an ability capable of traversing parallel worlds, much like the Stand D4C of a certain President.
Therefore, the possibilities of destiny can be said to be showcased to the fullest in the Nasuverse.
And Fate/Apocrypha is another story born on the foundation of the Third Holy Grail War.
Unlike the circumstances of Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night, the Avenger that was supposed to be summoned by the Einzbern family in the Third Holy Grail War was, due to special reasons, changed into a contrasting class: Ruler.
The resulting consequence was that the Holy Grail was not corrupted by Angra Mainyu into a vessel for All the Evils in the World. Furthermore, because the war ended prematurely without absorbing the Spirit Origins and magical energy of seven Servants, it transformed into an even more functionally powerful Greater Grail.
And the beginning of the Apocrypha story was due to the leader of the Yggdmillennia clan, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia—the nominal victor of the Third War. Through some "somewhat interesting" methods and with their help, he extracted the Greater Grail from Fuyuki's leylines and transplanted it into the leylines of Romania.
It is worth noting that during this process, Darnic did a very humane and good deed.
That was, during the course of fighting the Holy Grail War, he conveniently burned an old, disgusting worm to death, thereby preventing the subsequent series of tragic stories involving Sakura and the Matou family.
It was precisely because of this—upon learning that this world was the Fate/Apocrypha timeline—that Souya didn't specially fly to Japan under the pretense of eliminating heretics just to clock in at the worm's nest, a holy site for Type-Moon fanfiction.
After all, that bastard Zouken Matou—although killing him is indeed cliché—if you don't kill him and let him jump around and be disgusting like in the original work, no Type-Moon fan could tolerate or accept it.
Back to the main topic. When Darnic brought the Greater Grail back to Romania and kicked away his good Nazi allies, he was bound to attract the Mage's Association, which had always been highly interested in the Grail—this wish-granting machine of the "Third Magic."
This was also why Darnic kept such a low profile after winning the Holy Grail War. It was only in recent years, when the Greater Grail had completely fused with Romania's leylines and a Holy Grail War could be initiated, that he jumped out and announced Yggdmillennia's secession from the Mage's Association.
His goal, naturally, was to bait the Mage's Association into sending people over, thereby launching this "14-Servant Super Holy Grail War" that far exceeded the original configuration.
As for Darnic's purpose in doing this...
To this, Souya could only say: Trite. Too trite.
He had to admit, even having been in the Nasuverse for so long and possessing a super-strong Magic Circuit himself, Souya still maintained considerable incomprehension and doubt as to why reaching the Root was the lifelong dream of almost every magus.
Whether it was Darnic or Kayneth, these individuals—who were either the heads of major magus families or top geniuses of the Clock Tower—all participated in the Holy Grail War for this wish, and lost their lives because of it.
Is it really worth it?
Is the Root that attractive to magi?
If you guys knew that Shiki over next door and Her Highness Manaka could directly access the Root right from birth, wouldn't you explode?
To this, Souya—who was in the Holy Church, resolved to dedicate everything to the Lord, and had set a Saintess as his life goal—could not understand at all.
Comparatively, something like the Holy Grail War is definitely more interesting when fought with selfish desires, struggling and clashing with the convictions of others, right?
On the path to Sainthood, yet lacking the resolve of a Saint, Souya thought.
Anyway, his purpose for coming to this Holy Grail War wasn't for the Grail itself, but to pad his resume. Plus, he now had the added goal of reuniting with the people he wanted to see. Therefore, even something like a wish-granting machine said to "realize any wish" held little temptation for Souya.
This was the basic premise of this Holy Grail War, and Souya's perspective on it.
At this point, having taken in all the scenery along the road that he would almost never have seen in his previous life, his footsteps finally stopped in front of an estate on the outskirts of the city.
Through the Eastern European-style fences and garden, he could see a small but exceptionally exquisite church standing in the center of the estate.
"It seems the church Brother mentioned is here."
Looking up to compare the nameplate number at the iron gate, Souya finally confirmed it.
But immediately after, he couldn't help but marvel at the immense wealth and power of the Holy Church. In a small city of a small country like Romania, they actually had a property covering such a large area with such luxurious decoration.
I have to say, no matter what anime or manga it is, religious organizations never seem to lack money.
With these random thoughts, Souya pushed open the gate and walked straight in.
After pulling open the wooden doors of the white church, what met Souya's eyes was a layout like a normal church. Standing at the very front, gazing at the crucifix on the wall with his back to Souya, was a white-haired young man.
Seemingly having anticipated Souya's arrival, upon hearing the sound of the door opening, the white-haired young man turned his gaze over. When it landed on the latter, a faint smile instantly appeared.
"Souya, you're here."
"Long time no see, Brother."
Seeing this, a smile also blossomed on Souya's lips.
These titles were something he had gotten used to over the years. Souya had long accepted the fact that a character he had once seen in anime and games had become his family member.
Moreover, he had clearly seen how much Amakusa had taken care of him over all these years.
Perhaps because they were both orphans adopted and raised, combined with the fact that both held the potential of a Saint in their destinies, their relationship was no less than that of normal biological brothers.
Souya stepped into the church and came to a stop in front of Amakusa.
And the latter's gaze had been evaluating him from beginning to end. Upon confirming that there were no obvious scars on his body, and that his physical body, spirit, and magical energy had all grown since the last time they met, a trace of relief appeared in his eyes, and he praised:
"Not bad. Compared to before, your strength has increased a lot. This puts my mind at ease."
Hearing his brother's words, Souya smiled and replied:
"Rest assured, Brother. I am now a battle-hardened Executor. If you are worried that I will get hurt in the Holy Grail War, there is absolutely no need."
This wasn't Souya being arrogant; his strength was indeed at that level.
In this Apocrypha Holy Grail Great War, unless he personally took the field against top-tier Servants like Siegfried, Karna, or Mordred, as long as he was careful of Noble Phantasms, the other Servants and Masters fundamentally couldn't truly harm Souya.
As for the reason—aside from the immense magical energy granted by the aforementioned Stigmata, a series of "Miracles," and a physical body rivaling Strength C—the most important factor was his unique magecraft.
[Spiritual Evocation: Holy Spirit Projection]
Just like the Projection magecraft Shirou excelled at, or the Jewel magecraft Rin mastered, this magecraft was a special magecraft unique to Souya, born from his Magic Circuits and attributes.
It was his capital to participate in the Holy Grail Great War, even if the trash system withheld his rewards.
Hearing this, and sensing the confidence in Souya's tone, Amakusa sighed somewhat helplessly.
"Do not be too careless, Souya."
"This war is different from the Subcategory Holy Grail Wars you presided over in the past. It is a genuine, complete, and even enhanced Holy Grail War. Even the quality of the Servants will be far higher than any Servant you have ever seen before."
At this point, Amakusa paused slightly, then spoke to Souya with profound earnestness.
"You are one of the youngest children of our Kotomine family, and the person Father worries about the most. So remember, Souya, you absolutely must not let anything happen to you. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Brother."
With words having reached this point, Souya had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"However, speaking of Servants."
Suddenly, he changed the subject. He shifted his gaze to Amakusa's side and flashed a smile in that direction.
"Brother, aren't you going to introduce me to the lady beside you?"
Hearing this, Amakusa's amber pupils instantly contracted slightly.
Right at this moment, a slightly cold voice—yet carrying an indescribable nobility, like that of a ruler—abruptly rang out in the church.
"Oh? You discovered my presence using only your naked eyes without activating Spirit Vision? Master, this younger brother of yours is truly interesting."