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[100 Power Stone Achieved]
The appearance of the black sun attracted everyone's attention.
Tokiomi ran frantically towards the mountaintop as though he had gone mad.
Scathach and Saber halted their duel and entered Ryuudou Temple.
Emiya Kiritsugu, who had just awakened, disregarded his weakened body and struggled to stand up.
Meanwhile, Shinji, no longer a mere bystander, descended from the sky.
The moment he landed, a pure radiance shot out from the cavity, condensing into an indeterminate figure.
Spirit particles continuously overflowed from the figure, gradually blurring its form, resembling a flickering candle in the wind, on the verge of dissipating at any moment.
"Lady Justeaze!"
Shinji quickly moved to the side of the contracted party, whose face was already indistinguishable, and desperately infused magical energy into the contract. However, he was startled to find that the effect was not evident.
"What's happening? How did it come to this?"
"Shinji, use a Command Spell immediately, hurry!" Scathach's voice was like a wake-up call, snapping the panicked disciple back to his senses.
"I command you by the Command Spell, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, stabilize the magical foundation."
"I command you with the second Command Spell, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, stabilize the magical foundation."
"I command you with the third Command Spell..."
Without hesitation, Shinji activated the additional Command Spells on his right arm, channeling the magical energy that contained a power close to miracles into Justeaze.
One Command Spell wasn't enough, two weren't enough, and three weren't enough. As long as he could protect Justeaze, Shinji didn't hesitate to exhaust all of his Command Spells.
With the replenishment of magical energy, Justeaze's condition gradually stabilized. Although there were still sporadic spirit particles spreading outward, her spiritual foundation had stabilized, eliminating the risk of her soul scattering.
"That's enough, don't waste any more precious Command Spells," Justeaze said, her voice artificially calm but weary, halting Shinji, who had already used five Command Spells and was about to use the sixth.
At this point, Shinji was drenched in sweat, his body exhausted. The excessive consumption of magical energy prevented the "Hades Cloak" from maintaining its physical form. This child, who had revealed his true identity, replaced the black sun as the new focal point.
For Justeaze and Scathach, he was their contracted Master, a trusted companion, and a family member.
For Emiya Kiritsugu, Irisviel, Maiya, and Saber, he was the Master of Assassin, the greatest anomaly in this Holy Grail War.
Since his appearance, a mist had surrounded him.
Summoning individuals who should not have been summonable as Servants, infiltrating every situation with his intelligence-gathering abilities, displaying utterly incomprehensible behaviors, and having numerous connections to the Einzbern family.
As time passed and interactions deepened, more was learned about him, but the more that was discovered, the more mysterious he became.
He seemed to have extensive knowledge about every participating pair of Master and Servant, orchestrating the outcome as if everyone had become his pawns.
One more intriguing point remains—the origin of the Holy Grail War and Justeaze, the "Winter Maiden." The scene just now demonstrated that their relationship is far from a simple contract.
Shinji didn't notice the gazes around him, nor did he realize his transformation. He just looked at Justeaze with concern, at the woman who had been by his side all this time.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Justeaze met Shinji's gaze and smiled softly.
With the blooming of that smile, the spreading spirit particles finally came to a halt.
Shinji wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh. He looked up at the "Black Sun," which continued to seep black mud outward.
"The purification... wasn't successful?"
"No, the contamination is much worse than I imagined," Justeaze nodded, a hint of dimness appearing on her delicate face. "Moreover, within the 'Cavity,' I couldn't receive your magical support. If I hadn't managed to escape in time, my spiritual foundation would have been contaminated by the black mud as well."
She still likened the Holy Grail system to the polluted Greater Grail. Justeaze was a purification device powered by leylines. The plan was to reverse the flow of magic, purifying the source of contamination.
However, as soon as the purification device entered the mouth of the Grail, the magic was blocked outside. The purification device, deprived of its power source, not only couldn't continue operating but also came dangerously close to being contaminated. The spirit particles Justeaze released just now had already been contaminated.
Although Shinji felt some regret for this outcome, he didn't feel overly disappointed.
When designing the Holy Grail system, no one knew that the Holy Grail would be contaminated, so naturally, they didn't prepare a purification plan in advance. Everything had to be explored and designed by Justeaze herself.
As it is well known, a set of plans needs to go through numerous experiments and demonstrations from the initial design to maturity. However, the "Cavity" that connects to the inner side of the Holy Grail only appears at the very end of the Holy Grail War, and its characteristic of immediately closing after the war ended meant that Justeaze had no opportunity for experimentation. Both she and Shinji had mentally prepared themselves that this attempt might not succeed and that they wouldn't have another chance.
"Now that the purification has failed, there is no need for this 'Cavity' or the Lesser Grail," Shinji said, shifting his gaze away from the "Black Sun" and turning to another Master within the Ryuudou Temple.
"Mr. Emiya Kiritsugu, someone who has already recognized the true nature of the Holy Grail, I assume you won't object to my opinion."
Emiya Kiritsugu, with a deathly pale complexion, mechanically nodded his head. "Saber, destroy the Holy Grail immediately."
"W-Wait, Master," Saber looked bewildered. She hadn't yet understood the situation. Weren't they supposed to obtain the Holy Grail? Why did they suddenly want to destroy it?
"Irisviel, what's going on?"
"Uh, well, you see..." Irisviel struggled to explain because the intricacies of the situation were too complex.
"In simple terms, the current Holy Grail is no longer an all-powerful wish-granting machine. It has become a collection of curses. If someone makes a wish to it, the sealed curses inside will completely overflow... Well, conservatively estimating, it could destroy the entire Fuyuki City."
Upon hearing Shinji's explanation, Saber's expression changed slightly, and the tuft of hair on top of her head trembled gently.
"Is that true, Master, Irisviel?"
"Yes," receiving confirmation from their side, Saber raised her holy sword without hesitation.
"Something like this must be destroyed—"
"Hold on!" Scathach interjected, standing in front of Saber with her dual spears.
"Assassin?"
"We haven't settled our fight yet!"
"Assassin!" This time even Shinji couldn't help but speak up. "Is now really the time to discuss this?"
"Of course, it is," Scathach's tone was resolute. "If we don't settle it now, it will truly be too late, my disciple."
"Disciple?" Shinji was slightly taken aback. Weren't they supposed to avoid using that term while in disguise?
Vaguely, Shinji felt that something was off. His gaze shifted downward—
Wait, where's my cloak?
Does that mean I'm revealing my true identity now?
Suddenly, Shinji became extremely uneasy.
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