Medea's laugh was like purple butterflies dancing around over lilies.
Opposite her, at the end of the bed, Black sat, laughing along with her.
The woman he and Justeaze had talked about a few days ago wasn't the Caster.
It wasn't like he needed Medea to carry out the plan, either.
However, there was one thing that made him go out of his way, using the Adulterer Title and carrying out the Resonance of Appearance on Medea.
Her Noble Phantasm — Rule Breaker!
If Black had Medea by his side, then the chances of things going irreversibly wrong would diminish by a significant amount.
Also… it wouldn't be so bad to gain one more Follower… especially when that follower was an incomprehensibly powerful Mage like Medea.
"You don't believe me?" Black asked, smiling, drinking his tea.
Medea giggled even more. "Let me… Let me catch my breath…" She took a few breaths, holding her chest. "So, you are saying that you came from another world, stole this Einzbern girl and Berserker's Fates, becoming the new Master and Servant… and now you are the Lesser Grail?"
"Bingo!" Black nodded, snapping his fingers. "I have convinced the Greater Grail to let me act from the Einzbern side. That's why the white hair and red eyes, you know. After I have won the Holy Grail War, I will release Illya. Transferring her soul and consciousness to a new homunculus body should be a piece of cake for you, no?"
Medea sipped her tea, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Did you say… You convinced the Greater Grail?"
Black's brows rose, looking offended. "You don't believe me…" he said again, frowning. "I can be very persuasive, my lady."
Medea shook her head. It was one thing to replace a Master-Servant duo's fates. It was another thing entirely to strike a deal with the Greater Grail itself.
If it were that easy, wouldn't she have done so already?
Why wait for her existence to be erased by the Holy War's rules, otherwise?
"Speaking of that…" Medea said, finishing her tea, "… How are you keeping me still alive?"
With her Master dead, and no one supplying her Mana anymore, she should have already ceased to exist.
"Have you sensed anything odd about this — Room?" Black asked, taking the tray of empty cups off the bed.
If she hadn't noticed it right after waking up, then she wouldn't be Medea anymore.
"It's almost like a Bounded Field," she replied, looking at the seemingly normal walls of the enormous bedroom. "But the rules are twisted… the flow of magic is irrational, jumping from lows to highs every few seconds."
Black nodded, standing up.
"It's one of my original spells," he told her, facing away from her. "I have imposed a Rule within this space, preventing any magical form from fading away."
Medea scoffed. "If it was that simple, then I would have done it as well," she replied, narrowing her eyes at his tall back. "The rules of the Holy Grail War must be constantly trying to erase me. How are you keeping the odd rule still imposed, if you have done so, to begin with?"
Black smiled.
Even though I have Ancient Magical Script, her command over Magic is immensely stronger than mine… he realized.
"We are within the Einzbern Castle," Black told her. "It's built over a leyline. You are right. The Room is getting depleted of its Mana within seconds. However, using the leyline, I am constantly replenishing it, maintaining the status quo."
Medea's brows rose. "… Even if that's the case," she said, sensing something odd, "you would have needed an immense source of power to channel Mana from leyline to the Room."
Black turned around and smiled at her.
Slowly, he began unbuttoning his white shirt, bringing out a red blush on Medea's cheeks.
"… What… What are you doing?" The Caster asked, rubbing her toes against each other, flustered. "You…"
And, suddenly, she found herself looking at it.
How this man had kept it hidden from her senses, Medea would never know. Neither did she care anymore.
There was such a fear in her eyes that she backed up, pressing her back against the wall behind, lifting the Rule Breaker.
Her hands were shaking.
Her blushing face had lost all color.
In front of her, on the right side of the man's chest, was blackness.
The Grail Heart he had mentioned was there, just as he had claimed, but it wasn't the one that had terrified her.
From the Grail Heart, black tendrils were reaching out in all directions, crawling over his body, corrupting his entire existence.
The shocking thing was that as the Imposed Rule fluctuated, the Room using the leyline's Mana through the Grail Heart, the rate of corruption kept increasing… faster and faster.
"Angra Mainyu," Black said, closing up the buttons, smiling. "The All The World's Evil that has corrupted the Grail in the last Holy Grail War."
Medea met the smiling eyes, shocked.
"Why…" she asked in disbelief. "Why go this far…"
It didn't take a mage to be a genius to know that soon this man would end up getting eaten by the Evil Force — if he kept fueling the Room with Mana at the same pace.
"I want to win," Black said, taking a deep breath. "I didn't need you for that, my lady. But, you needed a hand, it seemed. Also, even though I don't need your help, will it be so wrong to have someone to count on?"
Medea looked at the man as if she were looking at him for the first time.
To go that far for one's ambition, and yet act so rashly… Should she respect his conviction? Or mock his madness?
"Hehehe…" Medea giggled, respecting her heart that skipped a beat as she saw his smile. "Alright. I feel like if I don't help you…
"… you will just end up doing something even more foolish… Master."
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