"That's right. Your goal must be Assassin."
After saying that, Tokiomi turned to Kirei beside him. "Kirei..."
Without a word, Kirei raised his right hand, revealing the crimson Command Seals on the back.
"By my Command Seal, Assassin, end your own life."
As Kirei's emotionless words fell, all of the manifested forms of Hassan of the Cursed Arm, who had previously been in spiritual form, appeared and, without resistance, stabbed their weapons into their own hearts.
They had all witnessed the brutal punishment dealt to Gilgamesh by Eriri's group, so none of them showed any signs of resisting the order.
In just a few seconds, all the black-robed, skull-masked Hassan avatars had vanished.
At this point, five Servant souls had been collected within the Lesser Holy Grail Eriri had created.
That alone was already enough to summon the Greater Grail. Although, truthfully, Eriri could have done that even without the Servant souls.
The only reason she created the Lesser Holy Grail in the first place was for fun—she had no actual interest in the Grail's wish-granting function.
"Not bad at all," Eriri remarked with amused interest.
She briefly considered forcibly awakening Kirei's true nature to see if something entertaining would happen.
But recalling her promise to Rin not long ago, she let the idea go.
Sooner or later, Kirei's pursuit of pleasure would come to light—and when that happened, she could just let Rin handle him.
"Well, our objective's complete. No need for us to stick around," Eriri said, then turned to Rin. "Little Rin, you coming with us to see the Grail, or staying home?"
"Is that even a question? Of course I'm coming with you. Don't even think about leaving me behind."
Their exchange piqued Tokiomi's interest.
As soon as their conversation ended, he spoke up with a respectful request. "Lady Sawamura, may I accompany you to witness the Grail as well?"
Though he'd given up on the Grail, his curiosity remained strong—he didn't want to miss the chance to see it firsthand.
"Go if you want. As long as you can keep up," Eriri replied nonchalantly.
With that, she turned and led the excited group—Artoria, Irisviel, and the others—out of the Tohsaka mansion.
Tokiomi, overjoyed to be allowed along, didn't waste a second. He quickly followed behind, terrified of losing sight of them.
In no time, they crossed the mansion's courtyard and exited the front gate.
Without hesitation, they got into the red car parked right outside.
With a roar of the engine, Irisviel took off, speeding toward Fuyuki Central Park.
As the red tail lights quickly vanished into the distance, Tokiomi froze in place—staring dumbfounded from the gate beside Kirei.
Realizing too late what had happened, he spun around and dashed toward the garage, praying he could catch up in time.
Only then did he truly understand what Eriri meant earlier.
...
Fuyuki Central Park wasn't far from the Tohsaka estate—just over ten kilometers.
With the car speeding along, Eriri and the others arrived in no time.
This was the Holy Grail's normal summoning site.
It was called the "normal" location only because Eriri could manifest the Greater Grail anywhere she wanted, even in places that lacked the proper summoning conditions.
After setting a basic barrier around the park, Eriri and the group entered the central structure located at the heart of Fuyuki Central Park.
On the way there, Artoria—barely suppressing her excitement—turned to Eriri with curiosity.
"Eriri, I thought the Holy Grail only appears when there's just one Servant left. Isn't that how it's supposed to work?"
Until now, no one had told Artoria about the Grail's corruption.
When Rin had explained it to Tokiomi, they were far enough away that Artoria couldn't have overheard.
So she still naively believed that she would be able to use the Grail to fulfill her wish.
"Normally, yes. But there are exceptions. As long as the Lesser Grail holds enough Servant souls to activate the 'wish-granting machine,' the exact number doesn't matter," Eriri explained.
Just like in the original story, only five Servants had entered the Grail, yet it was still summoned successfully.
The Lesser Grail that Eriri created was an ordinary container for storing defeated Servants' souls and maintaining the mana flow from the Greater Grail to the real world. It had no additional functions.
"I see," Artoria nodded, understanding at last.
Then she looked serious.
"Eriri, everyone... please allow me to be the one to make a wish upon the Grail. I beg of you."
Before anyone else could speak, Medusa quickly responded.
"My wish has already been granted, so I have no need for the Grail."
A grateful smile appeared on Artoria's face—until Irisviel suddenly dropped a truth bomb that froze her expression.
"Um... Artoria, there's something we haven't told you. The Holy Grail was actually corrupted a long time ago, so fulfilling your wish with it is impossible."
"The Grail... is corrupted? That's impossible..." Artoria gasped in disbelief.
"It's the truth, Artoria."
Eriri, who had stopped walking, turned to face her and gently patted her shoulder, a charming smile gracing her perfect face.
"But don't worry. Even if the Grail can't grant your wish, I will. I'll send you back to before you pulled the sword from the stone."
She paused, then added, "But I believe, even then, you'll draw the sword again. No one else in that era was more suited to be king."
Artoria fell silent.
She never saw herself as a good ruler—not one who had led Britain into ruin.
But after a moment, she composed herself.
"Even if things go as you say, I'll still try to change it. I'll give it everything I've got," she said, taking a deep breath. "Eriri, thank you—for making my wish come true."
She didn't doubt Eriri's power. After all, she had witnessed her make Medusa's wish a reality.
Reversing time might be a different category than creating a new body—but the way Eriri resurrected Gilgamesh had convinced Artoria she could do anything.
Reassured, Artoria steadied her heart.
Chatting as they walked, the group soon arrived at a vast ceremonial hall.
"This is the place. Let's see what 'All the World's Evils' really looks like."
Eriri looked toward the empty stage ahead and raised her right hand, palm open toward the sky.
In the next second, the golden Lesser Holy Grail—engraved with mystical patterns—appeared above her palm, floating in mid-air.
She then gently pushed her hand toward the stage, and the Lesser Grail slowly floated toward its center, hovering quietly above the ground.
Watching the Grail descend, Irisviel sighed emotionally.
"If Eriri weren't here, I might be the one becoming the Lesser Grail on that stage."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but step forward and hug Eriri's arm, her face filled with relief and happiness.
"Don't worry, Irisviel. That will never, ever happen," Eriri said, placing her left hand on Irisviel's and smiling warmly.
Seeing the two clinging so closely, Illyasviel pouted and stepped forward without hesitation, hugging Eriri's other arm.
But due to her height, she couldn't hold Eriri's arm like Irisviel did—so she grabbed onto Eriri's bent elbow with both hands instead.
Feeling Illya's gesture, Eriri quietly moved her left hand from Irisviel's and slid it into Illya's grasp, allowing her to hug it tightly.
At that moment, the Lesser Grail floating above the stage began to stir.
Black mud gushed from its base, quickly filling its inner chamber, then overflowing from the rim and spilling across the platform.
Within seconds, the stage was completely flooded by the malevolent ooze.
This black mud was "All the World's Evils," the collective manifestation of humanity's malice.
The Lesser Grail was essentially a "hole" in the Greater Grail, and this mud had flowed through that hole into the world.
The mud continued to spread, soon covering most of the ceremonial hall. Its sheer weight made the floor creak ominously, as if it might collapse.
Just then, with both arms still held by Irisviel and Illya, Eriri released a bit of energy.
In an instant, the black mud on the ground was lifted into the air and gathered into a massive sphere several meters wide.
Meanwhile, the Lesser Grail stopped producing more mud.
It wasn't that the Greater Grail had run out—but that Eriri had sealed the "hole."
However, before sealing it, she had pulled out Angra Mainyu, the core of corruption within the Grail, now contained within the floating mud sphere.
Technically, Angra Mainyu had no independent will. It existed only as a conceptual representation of the world's evil.
Seeing the giant orb of black sludge suspended in the air, Irisviel and the others stared in amazement. Even Artoria finally accepted that the Grail was truly unusable.
"Eriri, is this black mud what you called 'All the World's Evils' earlier?" Irisviel asked curiously.
Illya and the others also turned their curious gazes toward Eriri.
Unlike Rin and Sakura, who had seen the memories, Irisviel and Illya were seeing the mud for the first time. They knew the Grail was corrupted and couldn't grant wishes—but they didn't understand how or why it ended up that way.
Even Rin and Sakura, who had seen the memory images, only had a vague understanding of what "All the World's Evils" truly was.
"That's right. Actually, the appearance of 'All the World's Evils' is closely related to your Einzbern family," Eriri said casually as she controlled the hovering orb of black mud.
Irisviel and Illya's eyes immediately lit up. "Really? What happened? I'm so curious!"
"Well, to explain this black mud, we have to talk about the previous Holy Grail War..."
And so, surrounded by the ominous presence of the Greater Grail, Eriri began her story.
She explained how Angra Mainyu, summoned illegally by the Einzbern family as the Avenger-class Servant, was swiftly defeated and absorbed by the Holy Grail.
From there, his existence as the conceptual embodiment of 'All the World's Evils' corrupted the Holy Grail from within, tainting it permanently.
Eriri walked them through the key events—how his soul became embedded in the Grail, how the mud was created, and how the contamination spread.
Irisviel and the others quietly listened, gathering around Eriri as she recounted the tale, their faces calm, showing not even a hint of unease despite the ominous surroundings.
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