Located far away in London, England.
Clock Tower.
Cigar smoke swirled in the dimly lit lord's office, but it could not mask the sll of blood lingering in the air.
Of course, there were no bloodstains in the office.
The sll of blood was left behind thirty minutes earlier when a stupid beast had roared madly here, tearing its own skin with its claws in sorrow.
"Sensei! Please let go! I have to bring that bastard back!! It's impossible for Flat to die like that! He promised to bring back local specialties!!"
Svin Glascheit was the greatest genius in the study of beast magecraft.
Just recently, when Flat was ambushed by Faldeus in the snow-covered city of Snowfield, Svin in London had, with beast-like keen senses, noticed that his best friend's scent had completely disappeared.
He had been planning to head to Snowfield City, but was ultimately stopped by Lord El-lloi II.
…He couldn't go.
Sending his disciple to Snowfield City now would be equivalent to sending him to his death.
Three days ago, when Lord El-lloi II decided to go to Snowfield City himself to retrieve Flat, the upper echelons of the Clock Tower had already issued a prohibition order.
Now, upon receiving the shocking news of Flat's death, this lord of the El-lloi faction was effectively under house arrest within the Tower.
After the monster lurking inside Flat awakened, the upper echelons of the Clock Tower classified it as a world-scale disaster.
If he, as Lord El-lloi, forcibly invaded that cursed land, not only would he fail to save his foolish disciple, but he would drag the entire faction into it, making Gray, Svin, and everyone who trusted him victims of political purge.
Waver pressed his cigar into the ashtray with a sharp rebuke. His deep eyes held unconcealable fatigue and pain.
"In other words… there's nothing I can protect?"
The man couldn't help but recall that distant night beneath the night sky of Fuyuki City, when he rode alongside the King of Conquerors.
Back then, he was still a frail boy who couldn't even follow the King's back with trembling hands during the Fourth Holy Grail War.
From that mont, he had sworn to beco stronger. Even if only theoretically, he would acquire enough strength to protect those around him.
Today, he was a revered lord of the Clock Tower, ntor to countless excellent mages.
Yet even with these hands, he had been unable to protect anyone.
Upon learning of his disciple's death, he could only sit at the Clock Tower desk like a coward.
"Flat…"
Ring!
At that mont, a cold notification tone rang from the magical communicator on the desk.
This was an ergency encrypted briefing from the Clock Tower Intelligence Departnt.
Lord El-lloi II took a deep breath, cald his slightly trembling fingers, focused his magecraft, and began the briefing.
Perhaps it was related to the movents of the Snowfield City expeditionary force? Or… related to Flat's situation? Was so turning point approaching?
Just as the man secretly held his final hope, the briefing docunt jumped clearly into his eyes.
The mont he saw those words, the man's body stiffened as if all the blood in his body had frozen.
[URGENT BULLETIN: Large-scale magical disaster confird in Snowfield City, United States.] [Imaginary Sea rift has undergone a second collapse. Confird manifestation of a Beast-level spirit origin. ]
[Additional casualties confird: Mage Matou Yuu has been confird to have completely lost vital signs at the Greater Grail Control Center.]
[Declaration: DECEASED]
…
…Japan, Fuyuki.
That night, cicadas chirped at the Matou residence.
In the quiet courtyard and wooden corridor, a girl with flowing purple hair sat gracefully under the faint moonlight.
She placed both hands neatly on her knees, a gentle, soft smile on her beautiful face.
Her elegant deep-purple kimono accentuated the girl's slender, graceful figure. A lock of hair gently cascading over her shoulder added a languid charm.
A gentle night breeze swayed the girl's hair, slightly disheveled yet still beautiful.
Thud, thud, thud.
From the end of the corridor, the sound of a cane violently striking the wooden floor suddenly rang out.
From the deep, dark shadows, an elderly man hunched over with a cane appeared in the moonlight.
His face was as dry as tree bark. His cloudy eyes, like those of a dead fish, showed no human emotion as he coldly stared at the purple-haired girl.
Matou Sakura turned her face and spoke softly with her usual gentle, calm smile. "Grandfather… You're still not resting?"
About ten years ago, Tohsaka Tokiomi had believed the Tohsaka family's Magic Crest could only be inherited by one child. To avoid wasting his second daughter's talent, after careful consideration, he had adopted Matou Sakura into the Matou family.
According to the original plan by Zouken, this body with its rare characteristics was thrown into a dark, poorly lit worm warehouse on the night of adoption, where it was transford after being devoured by thousands of insects.
However, ten years ago on that night, without any warning, soone appeared at the Matou residence.
According to that person, in about five years, a child perfectly suited to the Matou family would appear, and that child and Matou Sakura would make the best combination.
At first, Matou Zouken had dismissed the old man's words with a laugh. But when the old man vanished like a ghost from the bounded-field-filled magical workshop using thods beyond common sense, Matou Zouken suddenly understood the truth and believed the old man's words without doubt.
Because that old man's na was Zelretch.
As the old man had prophesied, five years later, on a cold, snowy night in Fuyuki, a mysterious young man suddenly appeared.
Despite not being of Matou blood, he miraculously possessed abilities perfectly compatible with the Matou Magic Crest and displayed astonishing magical talent that made Matou Zouken tremble.
That was why Matou Zouken had placed such high expectations on these two children.
As for the engagent, Matou Zouken didn't even need to worry… because Matou Yuu and Sakura had built a wonderful relationship since childhood.
If Matou Zouken hadn't had such high expectations for that boy, he wouldn't have sent Matou Yuu to study abroad at the Clock Tower.
However...
As if rembering sothing he regretted, Matou Zouken's wrinkled lips twitched slightly as he slowly said, "Sakura… I was thinking about your engagent with Yuu."
"He's been in London for many years now. He was supposed to graduate by the end of this year."
The mont she heard the boy's na, rare, vivid ripples appeared in Matou Sakura's usually calm eyes.
She slightly lowered her gaze, but a soft, girlish smile appeared on her lips. The slender, white fingers obediently resting on her knees unconsciously curled slightly.
"Regarding the engagent… I leave it to you."
The girl's soft voice contained genuine warmth and anticipation for the future for the first ti.
A false family, false relatives… and the always gloomy, terrifying grandfather.
For Matou Sakura, living in the Matou household for many years was like walking on thin ice every day.
In this suffocating household, the only person she could trust was the boy who protected her.
That was why, ever since he left for the Clock Tower, she had been quietly waiting for this day.
Soon… Soon she would see him again.
At that thought, a natural, gentle smile appeared on the girl's lips.
However, at that mont, Matou Zouken's completely calm voice suddenly rang in her ears.
"There's no longer any need to finalize the marriage."
The old man looked expressionlessly at the girl, who was smiling despite her confusion. "That restless boy, Yuu, fled to Arica a little while ago and got caught up in the Holy Grail War in Snowfield City."
"Just now, reliable information ca from the Clock Tower. A large-scale explosion occurred at the Greater Grail's underground control center."
"His death has been confird."
At that mont, it felt as if the evening breeze had stopped.
The courtyard was silent, with only the sound of insects chirping.
Even after hearing these words, Matou Sakura did not imdiately show a violent reaction.
She remained obediently seated there.
She was smiling.
However...
After an extrely long few seconds, the girl finally seed to understand the true aning of the old man's words.
The gentle smile on her face slowly disappeared under the moonlight.
Matou Sakura chanically and awkwardly raised her head, staring blankly at the old man.
"…Huh?"
Moonlight poured like water, casting a cool silver glow on the wooden floor and reflecting the girl's beautiful yet bloodless face.
An instant even Matou Zouken did not notice.
The shadow quietly lying at Matou Sakura's feet suddenly twisted without warning.
…
…Snowfield City.
The night had now been completely swallowed by an apocalyptic scene of despair.
"AAAAAAAAA"
In the endless darkness enveloping the entire city, a sorrowful cry that shook the planet echoed. It was a sacred song filled with extre sorrow and boundless rage.
And between that grand, moving song, chilling high-pitched laughter could also be heard.
…It was the new humans, Laḫmu, born from the jet-black Sea of Life.
At the edge of the rooftop, the night wind violently fluttered Francesca's dress.
She stood frozen, staring at the terrifying scene spreading across the sky—more horrifying than the end of the world.
The girl's usual bright, mischievous expression had completely vanished.
"I… my other self."
After an unknown amount of ti, Francesca finally squeezed out a dry voice from her throat, breaking the eerie silence. "What the hell kind of monster is this? Wasn't the Imaginary Sea rift supposed to be closed?!"
Even though Faldeus and Francesca had known Tiamat was the Goddess of Creation, they had initially believed the plan was perfect.
Tiamat, as a Beast, certainly possessed the extraordinary power of Independent Manifestation.
However, the Imaginary Sea was located inside the planet. Logically speaking, simply manifesting a completely sealed Imaginary Sea made it absolutely impossible to teleport directly across dinsions into the current world.
But why… had this monster, who should have been eternally exiled, torn open the sky?!
At that mont, vivid yet sowhat ssy pink flower petals suddenly fluttered down from the rooftop.
Amid the falling petals, an anxious voice filled with unconcealable unease suddenly rang out from behind the two. "What the hell did you do to that Mother?!"
The two instinctively looked up and were unable to hide their surprise at seeing the famous flower mage already descending onto the rooftop.
"rlin… What are you doing here?" Francesca blurted out.
"That's what I should be asking you!" rlin had lost his usual frivolous smile, pointing at the distant sky. "What the hell did you do?! Why did Tiamat's true form appear in this world?!"
In reality, rlin was literally Francesca's grandfather.
If it were the usual twisted personality that loved chaos, she would probably have found it amusing to see her usually calm and capable master so flustered, perhaps even laughing out loud.
However, for so reason, even as rlin lost control and witnessed the sky above collapsing, Francesca could not laugh.
She forced a smile, trying to maintain her last shred of dignity. "Haha… Even the famous flower mage making a face like that is funny. But this shouldn't be possible with magecraft, right? The Imaginary passage was clearly supposed to be sealed, so how did she escape?!"
The mont he heard this, rlin's initial anxiety instantly vanished, and he was at a loss for words.
He stared fixedly at the two before him, then after a while quietly sighed.
"How dare you try to judge gods with human common sense…?"
Under normal circumstances, Tiamat could not independently manifest from the Imaginary Sea.
However, the rift had only just closed, and the spatial barrier had not yet returned to an indestructible state… In the end, if that Mother truly beca enraged… the inner barrier of this planet could not withstand the violent destruction of her true form.
But why was she so enraged…?
It was important to know that Tiamat, as the Goddess of Creation, had always deeply loved her children.
That was why, to avoid bringing calamity to this planet, she had voluntarily hidden herself in the cold, dark sea of Imaginary Numbers and chosen self-exile.
Unless...
rlin felt as if struck by lightning, suddenly realizing a terrifying possibility. "Where is Matou Yuu right now?" he asked anxiously.
"…"
A suffocating, eerie silence descended upon the rooftop.
Finally, François' voice, flat and quiet, quietly reached rlin's ears.
"He's dead."
"…"
After a very long silence, a faint sense of powerlessness appeared on rlin's face.
"I see…" he muttered blankly.
Previously, to put Tiamat to sleep, he had to devote all his strength to dealing with this… Originally it was just a phantom, so he hadn't been that tense at first.
Even he had not expected these people to cause such massive chaos.
"Isn't there any other way? Like using illusions to put her back into a deep sleep…" Francesca finally seed to grasp the seriousness of the situation and unconsciously asked.
rlin silently glanced at her. A faint sadness appeared in his eyes that seed to see through everything.
"It's already too late."
He looked up at the Sea of Life that had instantly swallowed all of Snowfield City and spoke with deep powerlessness.
"The reason I was able to hypnotize her before wasn't because my illusion magecraft was advanced, but because Tiamat voluntarily accepted the sedative effect of the illusion to avoid harming humans."
"The reason Beasts are called Humanity's Evil is because they possess a love toward humanity that surpasses understanding—extrely distorted and imnse."
"When Matou Yuu died before Tiamat, her only love was completely shattered. This extre sorrow and rage caused the Beast's spiritual origin to instantly break through its limits, reaching or even surpassing its original peak state."
"Even if I imdiately sent my real body from Avalon, it would be impossible to comfort a Mother who has lost everything."
"What can truly suppress Humanity's Evil is… the love deep within the human heart."
Francesca finally seed to awaken from a dream. "Wait a minute… You an Matou Yuu was actually…"
"That's correct."
rlin quietly closed his eyes, as if announcing the final result.
"Without the only anchor and chain nad Matou Yuu… there is no one in this world who can stop the current Tiamat."
"Then… what is she going to do next?" Francesca couldn't help but ask.
"That Mother has yearned for return since ancient tis… for everything in the world to return to its origin." rlin quietly sighed.
"Returning to the origin ans—"
Click.
Before Francesca finished speaking…
With a sharp sound as if the world's surface was being forcibly peeled away, the bottomless black sea of life instantly filled every corner of Snowfield City like an inverted abyss.
Next ca the suburbs, and beyond that the endless desert.
BOOM—!
Faced with this supre divine power, the entire crust of the North Arican continent seed to let out an unbearable scream of pain. The feet of the three people on the super high-rise building shook violently as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was splitting.
BANG!
The next mont, the reinforced concrete building collapsed with a roar.
Amid the rapidly raging strong winds and rising sand and dust, rlin stared fixedly at the massive figure in the sky that was covering the sun and unleashing divine punishnt upon the world. He took a deep breath, his voice faintly trembling.
"I have a feeling sothing big is about to happen."
…
…Simultaneously.
The highest-level underground command center reinforced by magical barriers.
Rumble, rumble!
An unprecedented violent impact surged like a tsunami. The once orderly underground fortress fell into complete despair and panic.
"Commander! Unanalyzable supernatural magical activity detected on the surface! The values are showing anomalies… The main detector has malfunctioned!"
"Sir! The outer high-level defensive barriers completely collapsed the mont they touched that 'black mud'! Moreover, it's still seeping into the ground at a terrifying speed!"
"Communications have been cut off! The encrypted hotline from Washington has been completely severed! We are completely isolated!"
Bad news echoed violently in his ears one after another. Faldeus felt as if he was being dragged into the high pressure of the deep sea, his mind in chaos.
Damn it… How did it co to this?
Just ten minutes ago, he had still been strategizing, believing he had everyone under control and had already tasted the fruits of victory in advance.
By defeating Matou Yuu, the most troubleso opponent in the Holy Grail War, and also dealing with Flat, who was skilled at faction-building, the difficulty of the subsequent Holy Grail War would naturally decrease.
Furthermore, before issuing the order to sever Matou Yuu's anchor point, he had patiently waited until the Imaginary Sea rift was completely closed.
But even after that, Tiamat herself had rcilessly descended, tearing the world apart.
He didn't know why… but now there was no ti to think about it.
Should he forcibly activate the backup channel and request support from the Pentagon?
However, if he did that, not only would he completely lose his promotion opportunities in front of the political elite, but the fruits of the Holy Grail War he had orchestrated would be snatched away by other factions…
Various calculations were still racing through the politician's mind.
At that mont, his female secretary suddenly grabbed Faldeus' arm tightly and said in a slightly frightened voice, "Lord Faldeus… Look at that!"
Faldeus desperately tried to remain calm, but the mont he followed his secretary's trembling finger to the shocking scene displayed on the screen, his face completely froze.
On the screen, the vast Sea of Life had suddenly begun to violently boil.
Gulp, gulp…
And from that boiling Sea of Life, a tall, majestic heroic figure slowly erged.
No… To be precise, it was not just one, but tens of thousands of mass-produced Heroic Spirits.
These monsters, forcibly assimilated and mass-produced by the Mother, uniformly gripped massive war bows emitting intense vengeful intent and hatred.
Beneath the cloth-covered faces, rows of distorted, rationality-lost eyes were clearly exposed.
Just recently, this Heroic Spirit had faithfully executed Faldeus' most powerful trump card—the absolute annihilation order issued through Command Spells.
He had used that bow to precisely pierce Matou Yuu's heart.
Now, the enraged Mother had completely overwritten the murderer's spiritual foundation with the power of creation, transforming it into an infinitely mass-producible weapon and unleashing divine punishnt upon the world.
He had once been Greece's greatest hero.
…Avenger, Alcides!
Inside the command center, noise continued endlessly.
Faldeus stared fixedly at the scene on the screen, his face as pale as a corpse.
Then, he continued regulating his breathing.
As if having made a decision, he opened the hidden drawer on the table.
The mont the hidden compartnt opened, a button slowly rose.
Faldeus' fingertips hovered over the button for a mont.
In the end, he pressed it firmly!
Simultaneously.
Thousands of kiloters away, deep within the Pentagon—the heart of Arican power.
A deafening alarm indicating [Holand Destruction Crisis Level has reached maximum] suddenly rang throughout the underground bunker!
…
…"Cough, cough…"
anwhile, deep underground in the Snowfield Reservation on the outskirts of the now completely ruined Snowfield City.
An orange-haired girl woke up amid suffocating dust, lying in the rubble, coughing violently.
["Ritsuka! Mash! Can you hear ? This is Chaldea! Can you receive communications?!"]
Amid intermittent electromagnetic noise, Fujimaru Ritsuka desperately struggled to regain consciousness from her unconscious state.
What entered her vision was a faint blue light from a Communication Projection.
"Thank goodness… I'm so glad you're safe…" A tearful, familiar voice ca from beside her. It was Mash, holding a massive shield, covered in dust.
"Mash…"
Fujimaru Ritsuka first scratched her head in confusion, then turned her gaze to the holographic projection before her.
"Da Vinci…?"
Imdiately after, as if suddenly rembering the earth-shaking explosion that had occurred just before she lost consciousness, Fujimaru Ritsuka fully regained her senses.
She looked around the now almost completely flattened underground space and unconsciously asked herself, "What on earth happened here… Why did it co to this?!"
"Explaining is too complicated, and now is not the ti for small talk. We must act imdiately!"
In the image, Leonardo da Vinci's voice rang in her ears with the utmost serious tone. "Just recently, Tiamat completely went berserk. Not only did she forcibly break through the Imaginary Sea and descend, but now the Sea of Life is spreading from Snowfield City across the entire North Arican continent at an indescribably terrifying speed."
"At the current rate of assimilation, it won't be long before the entire North Arican continent becos…"
Hearing Leonardo da Vinci's words, Fujimaru Ritsuka was montarily confused.
However, as humanity's savior who had survived countless battles, she did not allow despair to dominate her heart. Instead, she strongly slapped both her cheeks with her hands, forcibly roused herself, and desperately stood up from the heavy rubble.
"Understood. We'll discuss the details as we go! We have to stop her no matter what!"
"Senpai, please watch your step." Mash imdiately stepped forward to help her.
"Wait…! Don't move!"
However, at that mont, Da Vinci suddenly raised her voice on the communication screen, her tone filled with disbelief.
"Chaldea has detected an extrely unusual ultra-high-density spiritual particle reaction."
"In your era, it has been confird that seven Heroic Spirits were summoned to Snowfield City by the Counter Force to support Human Order."
"Furthermore… the strength level of these seven spiritual origins is…"
Da Vinci choked on her words for a mont. Even this omniscient and omnipotent genius unconsciously swallowed.
"…Seven Grand Servants?!"
…
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