Because they wanted to kill me, I killed them first.
Shirou had no reason to refute that logic. After all, hadn't he himself taken hundreds of lives on the battlefield just to survive?
Even now, Shirou felt profound guilt about those lives he had taken.
He couldn't reasonably demand that someone else accept being attacked without fighting back.
He doubted even he could do such a thing.
Even if the fight had been a one-sided slaughter by Darnic, hadn't his own battles on the battlefield often ended the same way?
Those soldiers were no match for him, yet he had swung his blade regardless.
From Darnic's expression and tone, Shirou could tell the man was telling the truth.
Perhaps Shirou himself would have spared enemies after defeating them, but he couldn't expect others to behave exactly as he would.
He could only sigh inwardly.
"So…what exactly is the Great Holy Grail War?"
Shirou genuinely had no idea what it was.
"Do you know what a Holy Grail War is?" Darnic asked, his gaze solemn and unwavering as he began his explanation.
The Holy Grail War was a battle fought over the artifact known as the Holy Grail.
According to Christian tradition, in the year 33 AD, Jesus offered a cup filled with wine, symbolizing his blood, to his eleven disciples. That cup became known as the Holy Grail, and many believers attributed miraculous powers to it, igniting countless conflicts to find and claim it.
That was the original meaning behind the term "Holy Grail War."
However, the Grail contested in this war was not the biblical cup itself.
Rather, it was something with the ability to grant the victor's greatest wish.
This was no ordinary conflict.
Participants in this struggle were called Masters, and each Master summoned renowned heroes from history as their weapons. These summoned heroes were known as Servants.
Thus, the Holy Grail War was a conflict waged by Masters and their Servants, simultaneously the smallest yet grandest battle in history.
"In other words," Shirou concluded thoughtfully, "because you gathered all seven Masters into one faction, the Grail balanced the scales by creating another opposing faction."
Shirou understood now how this Great Holy Grail War had come about.
"Will such a battle endanger innocent people?"
He wasn't interested in the Grail's wish-granting powers or even the legendary heroes summoned from history. What concerned him most was the collateral damage.
"You don't have to worry about that. The Holy Grail War is fought in secrecy. Only Masters and Servants are involved; innocents won't be harmed."
Shirou nodded slowly, though he didn't trust that claim entirely. A battle of such magnitude was bound to have unintended consequences.
Considering the white-haired Servant who'd defeated him effortlessly, Shirou doubted any of these Servants were pushovers.
According to Darnic, he too would receive a Servant. Shirou knew he had no chance of stopping the devastating battles between these heroic spirits by himself.
But perhaps having his own Servant could change things.
At least, with a Servant at his side, he could directly intervene in the conflict.
Seeing Shirou's thoughtful nod, Darnic felt relief wash over him.
One more Servant meant greater odds of victory, and he had no intention of letting this opportunity slip through his fingers.
"Shall I prepare a catalyst for your summoning?"
Summoning Servants required extensive preparations, and Yggdmillennia had collected numerous relics, securing as many catalysts as possible to avoid complications.
Their stockpile was considerable.
"No, I'll attempt the summoning myself."
Shirou trusted his own compatibility more. From Darnic's explanation, he realized compatibility between Master and Servant often mattered more than raw strength.
He didn't want to summon a Servant whose values completely contradicted his ideal of becoming a hero of justice.
"Tonight, the mages of Yggdmillennia will perform their summoning in the great hall. Do you want to join them, or perform it alone?"
Darnic couldn't order a foreign magus around.
Moreover, Shirou had demonstrated impressive capabilities. Darnic doubted he could personally evade even a single strike from Shirou's eventual Servant.
Thus, now that Shirou had become an ally, Darnic showed appropriate respect.
"I'll join them. I'd like to see up close how a Servant is summoned."
Shirou knew neither the summoning chant nor the procedure. Observing firsthand was preferable to requesting Darnic's assistance.
He had no intention of owing Darnic anything. Even if it had been self-defense, the man was still responsible for a massacre. Shirou felt no goodwill toward him.
...
Night arrived quickly.
Standing quietly in the corner of the grand hall, Shirou watched the four figures gathered at its center.
A pompous-looking, overweight man with short orange hair.
A delicate-looking young woman with beautiful brown hair, seated in a wheelchair.
An energetic, silver-haired woman whose eyes shone with excitement.
A scholarly man with glasses, sharing the same hair color as the girl in the wheelchair.
At the hall's highest position sat the white-haired man who had effortlessly defeated Shirou earlier, with Darnic standing loyally at his side.
"Let silver and steel be the essence."
"Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation."
"Let black be the color I pay tribute to."
"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall."
"Let the four cardinal gates close."
"Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."
Together, the four mages extended their hands toward the magic circle, closing their eyes as they continued chanting.
Bzzzt——!
The circle blazed suddenly, releasing a blinding radiance.
Still chanting, their voices rose in unison:
"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword."
"Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail."
"Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."
"An oath shall be sworn here."
"I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;"
"I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell."
"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"
The luminous energy filling the room swelled to its peak.
Whoom——!
With a resonant hum vibrating through the air, a tempest of magical energy erupted from the summoning circles, enveloping the room.
And within this storm of magical power, one by one, figures slowly materialized.