"Wait a moment."
Snow Empress spoke up. "Please examine her... I think something's off."
"Hm?"
Prompted by Snow Empress, Damien immediately noticed something unusual about Irisviel.
He sensed a peculiar mana fluctuation emanating from her body.
"What's this?"
"What is it?"
Snow Empress was curious, eager to know what Damien had discovered.
"Hold on."
Damien focused on Irisviel, who lay flat on the ground. He crouched down, carefully inspecting her magic circuits.
"Violet, help me analyze her magic circuits."
It suddenly occurred to Damien that Irisviel was the Lesser Grail in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
He didn't know much about the Lesser Grail's concept.
It was essentially a component for summoning the Holy Grail.
When the war neared its end, Irisviel would die, and the Grail would manifest.
Beyond that, Damien wasn't clear on the details.
But now, he noticed something intriguing.
The massive leyline beneath Ryuudou Mountain faintly resonated with Irisviel's magic circuits in an extraordinarily profound way.
How to describe it?
Simply put, Irisviel's magic circuits were almost identical to those in the leyline.
The only difference was that the leyline's circuits were a scaled-up version of Irisviel's.
"The Saint of Winter..."
Damien thought of someone: Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, one of the three founding families who created the Holy Grail.
[Initial analysis complete.]
"Hm."
"Go ahead, what's the situation?"
[Based on the analysis, we've obtained the human microcosm that forms the Greater Grail.]
"Human microcosm?"
"What does that mean?"
"The soul of the Saint of Winter is still alive."
Violet presented a path Damien hadn't considered. "If fully analyzed, you could attain the Third Magic, Materialization of the Soul."
"The Third Magic, I know of it."
"And then?"
"What's it good for?"
Damien's main goal in the Nasuverse... acquiring a Reality Marble for interdimensional travel... was already achieved.
Anything else was a bonus.
"It's a valuable asset."
Violet's tone carried rare excitement. "It can solve your issue with insufficient soul capacity."
"Really?!"
Damien's eyes widened, stunned by the sudden windfall. "You mean the Third Magic can purify the impurities in my soul, allowing me to complete the True Demon Lord's awakening ritual?"
"Strictly speaking, the Third Magic alone can't."
"But with my power and the Voice of the World, it can be evolved."
"The evolved unique skill, per my calculations, has a 99% chance of achieving soul purification."
This wasn't Violet disparaging the Third Magic.
In essence, the Third Magic was the Cardinal World's conversion between spiritual and material forms.
Its effects included immortality, extracting mana from the void, and more.
To put it bluntly, as a Demon Lord Seed, Damien already had no lifespan limit.
An immortal soul meant eternal life.
However, the Third Magic in the Nasuverse was just a framework, and Violet was confident she could complete it.
"How do we do it?"
Damien was thrilled. He hadn't expected Snow Empress's casual act to bring such a massive surprise.
Once the soul pollution issue was resolved, the only remaining hurdle for Damien's True Demon Lord breakthrough was gathering enough souls.
As for how to obtain souls?
Simple.
By visiting a few more worlds, Damien could easily amass countless souls.
At worst, he could follow Rimuru's example and lure human nations to send armies.
Then, kill their elite soldiers and harvest their soul energy.
"It needs further study."
Violet's analysis required time to unravel the connection between Irisviel and the Saint of Winter.
She would then reverse-engineer the Third Magic's rules from the Nasuverse's Root.
"How long?"
"At most a day."
Violet needed to extract from the Root without being detected, which required some effort.
"My lord."
Shuna approached quickly. "Saber is here."
"So soon? Kiritsugu didn't stop her?"
Damien wasn't surprised by Saber's arrival.
In the original story, Irisviel was captured once, and Saber went to war with Iskandar to rescue her.
However, Kiritsugu failing to stop Artoria was unexpected.
"Did they fight?"
"No."
"Like Iskandar, she's at the mountain gate, requesting to meet you."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"Alright, bring her in."
Damien pieced together the situation and saw an opportunity.
He had some ideas about the King of Knights.
Given her qualifications and status in the Nasuverse, if she gained the Voice of the World's favor, her future potential could rival Snow Empress's.
Such top-tier talent was always welcome.
Soon, led by Shuna and several kijin, Artoria entered the hall.
"My apologies for the unannounced visit."
Upon seeing Damien, Artoria stated her purpose. "Would you return Irisviel to me? I'm willing to do anything in exchange!"
"Anything?"
Damien hadn't expected Artoria to value Irisviel so highly. "What if I asked you to give up the Holy Grail?"
"..."
Artoria paused, then said, "If that's the condition for Irisviel's return, I accept!"
With that, she summoned the scabbard from within her and cast it aside.
This stunned Damien.
Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia, was Artoria's greatest Noble Phantasm.
Without it, killing her would be effortless for Damien.
"You trust me that much?"
"Yes."
"That night, I saw your caliber."
The impression Damien left on Artoria during the banquet was profound.
It convinced her that even if she discarded her scabbard, Damien wouldn't go back on his word.
If he took the scabbard, killed her, and still didn't release Irisviel, it would only mean she'd misjudged him.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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