Faced with Shirou Emiya's level of resolve, Rin Tohsaka didn't even know if she should praise him. In the end, she just sighed.
"Still, you should think about yourself more. You only have one life, you know."
"Wait a second, didn't you just say you were going to kill me?"
Shirou retorted, baffled that they had just been at each other's throats.
"There's no need to be so pessimistic."
Sakura Matou, who had been sipping tea for quite a while, finally spoke. She'd been watching this entire absurd scene unfold, and only refrained from interrupting because seeing her sister so troubled was kind of entertaining.
"Right now, aside from Gilgamesh, not a single Servant has actually been eliminated."
She explained.
"And given Caster's personality, he wouldn't allow anyone to harm his companions. Neither Illyasviel nor I have any reason to fight him. In reality, this Holy Grail War can't even gather enough Servants to bring about the Grail's descent."
"Or what, sis? Even after learning the truth about the Grail, do you still want to fight to the end, eliminate all the other Servants, and claim the title of victor?"
To begin with, there weren't many Masters who genuinely wanted to participate in this Holy Grail War. With Jiang You's interference, most of the ones truly interested had either been eliminated or were still sealed away. There really wasn't any justification left to continue fighting.
"If it's just about proving oneself, even this duel tournament works. Instead of asking me, why not ask Archer? He's the one who's always had his sights set on the Holy Grail."
Rin understood clearly that the Grail couldn't be summoned without a proper vessel, and that to become one, a person had to possess the traits of a Lesser Grail. Right now, Illyasviel was the only one who qualified.
Given Caster's relationship with Illyasviel, the Holy Grail War would definitely need to be postponed. At least until a suitable vessel was found.
"My main objective is Caster's Noble Phantasm. If he's unwilling, I obviously won't force him."
Archer's stance remained resolute. "Besides, there's always a way. Who knows? Maybe the Grail will just pop out on its own one day."
"And where's the mana supposed to come from for that to happen?"
Rin was exasperated. As expected, Shirou Emiya's knowledge of magecraft was third-rate—being a Heroic Spirit didn't change that.
"So how did a half-baked magus like you even manage to possess a Reality Marble?!"
-
"Congratulations, Shinji."
Shinji Matou lifted his shirt, revealing black markings spreading across his body. He had never felt such an overwhelming surge of magical energy. The intense pain was not just the side effect of Crest Worms, but something more—like a foreign object forcibly jammed into his magic circuits. It felt like something new had been added to his very being.
This terrified him, but also thrilled him. If it meant setting foot on the path of magecraft, Shinji believed he could endure it.
The voice continued:
"The finals are almost here. My insects have already scouted the intel for you. Your opponents are Rin Tohsaka of the Tohsaka family and Illyasviel of the Einzbern family. Hehehe… As expected, it's a final battle among the three great families. This is fate, wouldn't you say? Hehehe…"
"As for the remaining participant, it seems someone has stolen the original Servant Jason from the Tohsaka household. But there's no need to worry. With Jason's deck, he won't be able to break through the Crest Worms' defenses. His whole strategy hinges on Heracles' overwhelming power. As long as you seize control of Heracles, you can beat him easily!"
Zouken Matou's deck contained several control-seizure cards, giving him a natural edge against Jason.
"The only one to be careful of is the little girl from the Tohsaka house. Try not to use the false attendant's writings, and don't let your HP drop too low in front of her… Are you even listening? Don't tell me you've gotten so cocky from beating Cu Chulainn that you think you're invincible now?"
Zouken voiced his displeasure. He knew all too well about Shinji's arrogance and inflated ego.
"If you don't obtain the Soul Crystal, you know what awaits you. Your forcibly expanded mana circuits are constantly draining your life force."
"Sh–Shut up! I'll definitely win!"
That didn't sound like the usual Shinji. He was always a coward when faced with death. Zouken chalked it up to overconfidence from too many victories.
"Well then, I'll look forward to your performance."
-
"Not bad returns."
Jiang You was sorting through the cards he'd acquired lately. Most were worthless junk, but after filtering, he still found a few usable ones. Ever since he initiated the duel tournament, the cards of defeated magi and Servants kept refreshing in his inbox.
"This is way more efficient than just handing out Soul Crystals directly. Like a loot sweep function?"
The increased freedom definitely led to some weird and interesting gameplay options.
"You seriously gave that thing away?"
Medea, who was working on a figurine, looked at him like he'd lost his mind. She thought Jiang You's values were completely broken.
"That thing's valuable enough to buy a whole country. Even in the Age of Gods, it could be offered in worship to a deity and they'd respond directly… actually, you could probably hire a god to work for you. Though they might just rob you outright."
"Well, I can't use the damn thing anyway."
Jiang You had tried to use it with Medea's help, but it was completely useless to him. He was practically an insulator.
"Anyway, forget that. What about Jason? Don't tell me you actually turned him into a puppet?"
"Not yet. At least, not for now."
Medea continued airbrushing her figurines. She already had quite a few Servant figures, not just Jason, but also the other Argonauts and various other Holy Grail War participants. Once she had a master mold, she could use magecraft to mass-produce rougher versions.
As official merchandise for the duel tournament, these models were selling extremely well. Medea was actually enjoying the process.
"That bastard's upstairs entertaining customers right now."
She had gotten a bit of petty revenge. Jason had never served anyone in his life, and now he had to put on a pleasant face all day. Medea hadn't hired any other staff either—the entire massive model shop was run solely by Jason, rushing around constantly.
"If a customer leaves a bad review, his collar tightens. Enough bad reviews and his head might just pop off."
"Well, that's rough for him."
Jiang You looked at the shop's dashboard. Despite the high review score, actual profits were low, since Jason had to meet any and all customer demands. Refunds and exchanges were common—even door-to-door deliveries. Good thing he was a Servant, or he'd have collapsed already.
But since Medea wasn't particularly interested in money, Jiang You let her be.
"Is the venue ready for tomorrow's final match?"
Medea seemed to guess Jiang You's intentions. He usually didn't show up unless something important was happening.
"Looks like it's overtime for me again."