Clang!
The back of the sword struck Miyu like a baseball bat, and the girl fell unconscious without uttering a word.
"It's over!"
Saber exclaimed, grabbing the Berserker Class Card that had popped out of Miyu. At the same time, Assassin retrieved the other Class Cards tied to her leg and handed them to Saber.
"Phew... Did we make it in time?"
Artoria let out a long sigh, her arm trembling slightly.
To end the battle as quickly as possible, she had no choice but to clash head-on with Miyu, who had transformed into Berserker. Sword against sword, even for someone as skilled as Saber, facing the enormous axe-sword was no easy feat.
"As expected of the great hero Heracles... No, now is not the time for admiration."
Saber shook her head and looked toward the direction where Sakatsuki and Nameless were locked in combat. However, the Golden Theater obstructed her view.
"We need to hurry and provide support. Assassin... Assassin?!"
Beside her, Hundred Faces suddenly crouched down in pain, her submachine gun falling to the ground. Thick black smoke began to emanate from her body.
"This is... How is this possible? Why are you being corrupted by the black mud?!"
Artoria, who had nearly undergone Alteration herself, immediately recognized the abnormality in Hundred Faces and exclaimed in shock.
At that moment, with a sound like shattering glass, the Golden Theater began to disappear, revealing four figures inside.
Nameless and Sakatsuki stood frozen in place, while All the World's Evil maintained its piercing stance. And then... there was Assassin, who had appeared in front of Sakatsuki, using her body to block the fatal blow.
Boom!
The Third Magic, fueled by rage, sent All the World's Evil flying. Sakatsuki retracted his hand and looked at the assassin who had shielded him, his expression complex.
"Hundred Faces..."
Unlike Saber, who had been drenched in the black mud, Assassin had taken the blow meant for him, allowing the mud to pierce her heart and reach her spiritual core—an erosion from within. Even if Sakatsuki could suppress it with the Third Magic, he couldn't completely eradicate it.
"There's no need to grieve, Master."
Hundred Faces said, her hood falling back to reveal her purple hair. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she looked at Sakatsuki with a gentle expression.
"Death is the fate of us assassins. We are destined to return to the embrace of the First Hassan."
As if in response, the tolling of a death bell echoed faintly. Hundred Faces knelt on one knee, just as she had when she first pledged her loyalty, bowing to the master she had truly come to respect.
"Please send me to the First Hassan, my lord... though I do not know if he will accept this unworthy descendant."
Hundred Faces, who had used her Noble Phantasm to create dozens of clones, could not be easily eradicated. If even one of her clones escaped, they would go on a rampage due to the black mud, slaughtering indiscriminately.
To prevent this, a Command Spell was necessary.
"By the power of my Command Spell."
Sakatsuki said, raising his arm slowly but resolutely.
"Farewell, Assassin."
"Thank you, my lord."
Accepting the final command with her own will, the black-cloaked assassin ended her life without hesitation, no matter where she was. The purple-haired Hundred Faces also destroyed her spiritual core, dissolving into spirit particles and disappearing before Sakatsuki's eyes.
Servant Assassin had exited the stage at Ryudou Temple.
Her soul flowed into the Holy Grail, further enhancing the magical energy contained within the golden cup. If not for the continuous suppression by Nameless and Sakatsuki, it would have already opened a path to the Root.
"Are you aiding the enemy?"
Nameless raised an eyebrow, holding the Holy Grail in his hand.
"You've lost Assassin, and now you've strengthened the Lesser Grail in my possession—are you surrendering?"
"Surrendering?"
Despite his battered body, a mocking smile appeared on Sakatsuki's face.
"To be honest, when you took Miyu away with 'Ceremonial Reformation,' I was panicked—"
With a display of Replacement Magecraft, Sakatsuki dragged everyone present into another location. Though they were in a deep cavern, the abundant magical energy illuminated the area, revealing the leylines that crisscrossed the space.
This was the interior of Mount Enzo, the location of the Greater Grail.
"My panic wasn't because Miyu was taken, but for another crucial reason."
After forcibly relocating his enemies, especially with Nameless holding the Holy Grail—an object of immense mystery—the third puppet body began to crumble, starting from the arm.
This was the last puppet body. Once it was gone, Sakatsuki would have no vessel to rely on.
Even so, Sakatsuki remained calm as he spoke.
"I am a magus who has mastered the Third Magic. I have inherited the memory fragments of the Winter Saint, Justeaze, and I have taken over the Matou family, studying all of Zouken Makiri's records to date. Now, I have fully grasped the rules and mechanisms of the entire Holy Grail system."
His white hair dissipated, and half of his body began to fade away.
"This is why I chose this place as the battlefield, Nameless. With the Third Magic—Materialization of the Soul—I am the true user of the Holy Grail!"
As his words echoed, Sakatsuki's final body completely disintegrated, and his soul was left without a vessel.
Or was it?
Suddenly, the Class Cards he had taken from Miyu floated into the air. Rider, Lancer, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker—five Class Cards in total—spun in the air, radiating a mysterious aura.
"Class Cards... What are you planning, Sakatsuki?"
Nameless looked up at the floating cards, frowning.
"Ha!"
The light of Excalibur, wrapped in starlight, came crashing down. Though caught off guard, Nameless managed to dodge the strike at the last moment, turning to face the wielder of the sword.
"Now, Saber!"
"What—?!"
Nameless was stunned, but before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his left hand. The Lesser Grail he had been holding fell and was caught by the King of Knights.
"Well done, Miyu!"
With the Holy Grail in hand, Saber quickly retreated, joining a girl who also wielded Excalibur and was dressed as a swordsman.
"So, you had another Class Card all along, Miyu Edelfelt."
Nameless said, clutching his injured left hand as he glared at the furious girl.
"I didn't expect you to regain consciousness so quickly, nor did I expect you to disguise yourself as Saber to distract me. Well played."
"I don't need your praise!"
Miyu, now freed from the effects of 'Ceremonial Reformation,' understood everything that had happened and was filled with hostility toward the man.
"Calm down, Miyu."
Saber reminded her.
"Sakatsuki is still waiting for us."
"...You're right."
MIyu took a deep breath and dispelled the Dreamlike Summoning, tossing the Saber Class Card into the air. The seven Class Cards gathered together and suddenly burst into azure flames.
"This is... the same spiritual energy as when a Servant disappears!"
Nameless immediately realized Sakatsuki's plan.
"You're trying to use them as substitutes for Servant souls, Sakatsuki!"
Up until now, Saber and Caster had not perished, but their souls had been replaced by the six Class Cards. This meant the Holy Grail had gathered the souls of seven Servants, filling the Lesser Grail and meeting the conditions to activate the Greater Grail.
"Exactly, Nameless! This is my domain!"
A white-gold light, akin to the salvation and hope people prayed for, illuminated the dark cavern.
It was a light that guided the possibilities of the future, a light that could reach the end of the soul with one's own hands.
The century-long wish and pursuit of the Einzbern family had taken form here. Though the beautiful flower had yet to bloom, the seed of life had already sprouted.
The Lesser Grail in Saber's hands floated up on its own, cradled by a figure shrouded in a faint glow. At the same time, a golden hue began to emerge from the ground.
This was the place where the Winter Saint had sacrificed herself, and the Greater Grail—a human universe created by decomposing her magical circuits and replacing them with a magical formula—had accepted the young man's existence, obeying his commands.
The golden light, fluid-like, rose from below and gathered around the figure, weaving into a pure white, gold-embroidered 'Heaven's Feel' robe that looked both luxurious and noble.
Infused with nearly limitless magical energy, the white-haired, golden-eyed young man, clad in the 'Heaven's Feel' robe and cradling the Greater Grail, appeared before everyone in a new form.
"Even without a physical body, with the Third Magic, I can still defeat you in my soul form, Nameless!"
"Brother..."
MIyu looked up at Sakatsuki, who now resembled a deity, and murmured.
"So cool..."
Beside her, Saber remained silent. Though she maintained her regal composure, she too was deeply impressed by Sakatsuki's new form.
It wasn't just a change in appearance. After merging with the Greater Grail, Sakatsuki's essence had transcended humanity, becoming something more complete, something beyond human.
Though it was only temporary, it was still awe-inspiring.
"The Third Magic—Heaven's Feel, huh?"
Nameless looked up at Sakatsuki, whose power had grown even stronger.
"I suppose it makes sense. After all, 'All the World's Evil' is gone, and the black mud within the Greater Grail can be purified. The Third Magic... Hmph."
A complex expression flashed in his eyes.
If only he had mastered this magic back then...
As Nameless lost himself in reminiscence, Sakatsuki didn't attack. Instead, he cradled the Greater Grail and cast a cold glance at 'All the World's Evil,' who was cowering to the side.
"First, I'll purify this remnant."
The grudge for the sneak attack that led to Assassin's sacrifice was still fresh in Sakatsuki's mind.
The white-gold light reappeared, and this time, 'All the World's Evil' had no chance of survival. Having only managed to steal a single kill, it was completely purified by the Third Magic, vanishing from the world entirely.
The Greater Grail, which had absorbed sixty years' worth of leyline energy, combined with a magus who had mastered the Third Magic, was a combination that would strike fear into anyone.
But Nameless was not among them.
"You think you're the only one with a powerful outfit?"
Nameless smirked, his lightning-shaped eyebrow twitching as he looked at the imposing Sakatsuki.
"By now, you should have guessed my origins, right? So, take another guess—have I experienced the battle on the far side of the moon?"
"Beast III/R, Kiara Sesshouin... So that's it!"
Sakatsuki suddenly realized something and quickly raised the Lesser Grail, creating a passage to the interior of the Greater Grail.
At the same time, the moonlit spear in Nameless's hands disintegrated, transforming into black-gold armor. The mythical attire that had once defeated a Beast of Humanity once again covered his body. But before its full power could be unleashed, Sakatsuki, clad in the Heaven's Feel robe, appeared behind Nameless and kicked him into the passage.
"If you want to fight, do it inside, Nameless!"
"Wait for me, brother!"
"Miyu! That's not a place Servants can enter!"
Saber tried to stop her, but it was too late. She could only watch as the azure-haired girl followed Sakatsuki and Nameless into the depths of the Greater Grail.
"...Please come back safely, Sakatsuki, Miyu."
Saber murmured as the passage began to close.
However, she failed to notice a wisp of black shadow emerging from where 'All the World's Evil' had disappeared. It slipped into the closing passage and vanished without a trace.
***
Heaven's Feel Robe: As a magical outfit designed to control the Greater Grail, the Holy Grail's possessor naturally manifests in this attire (and no, it's not a magical girl transformation sequence!).
***
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