Chapter 88

Watching the great king, the first to be born from the union of a god and a human, disappear before him, Xinxin's drill on his right hand shrank back to its original form.

"Xinxin, are you okay?" Chilian's worried voice came through the mental link, and in response, Xinxin sent a shockwave of magical power.

"This is!?"

"Just now, I awakened the most essential power of the Infinite Apostles, the Infinite Power, as its name suggests..." Although the effects of the nascent Infinite Power were not significant, the moment of awakening was enough to break through the barrier, allowing Xinxin to advance from nine hearts to ten hearts. This barrier had blocked countless geniuses from infinite worlds. To be blunt, in the Type Moon world, those who could reach above ten hearts were probably the users of the Five Great Magics, the first few of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, the True Ancestor Altria, the hidden group of the Holy Church, and UO. Even Gilgamesh was only rated at the peak of nine hearts (though the attack of the Enuma Elish was terrifying enough to destroy someone of the tenth heart level). What would it mean to go from nine hearts to eleven hearts? Well, it would be like the change from Goku's normal form to Super Saiyan 2.

"Hey, Xinxin, how do you feel?" The Conqueror King, who had been overseeing the battle, walked over. The long sword in his hand, which had collided with numerous Noble Phantasms, was full of cracks and gaps, looking as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

"Better than ever." The spiral drill in Xinxin's hand dissipated and returned to his soul. "According to our previous agreement, we have completed the alliance. Diarmuid has joined us under the treaty, so that's settled. Only you remain, King of Knights." Hearing Xinxin's words, Artoria, who had expended a lot of magical power during the battle, stood up with the help of the Excalibur, barely managing to raise her sword in a defensive stance.

"Then come, I won't surrender just because I'm low on magical power." In response to Artoria's actions, Xinxin shrugged and said to Yan Ye, who was almost out of energy, "Yan Ye, use the Command Spell to make Berserker regain his sanity for a while. I'm sure the former vassal and the King of Knights have a lot to talk about."

The remaining Command Spell on Yan Ye's left hand glowed red. "By the power of the Command Spell, Berserker, temporarily regain your sanity and persuade your former lord." The black mist dissipated, revealing a suit of silver-white knight armor, a masterpiece of craftsmanship. However, the owner of this armor was all too familiar to Artoria. The moment she saw the armor, the King of Knights was greatly shaken.

"How, how can it be you." The one who should have been the perfect embodiment of knighthood was now standing before her as a Berserker. The helmet fell to the ground, revealing a face full of sorrow. Although Lancelot could not speak due to the effects of the madness, there was still a bit of rationality deep in his mind. In the conversation with Xinxin and the others, Lancelot had learned of the King of Knights' wish. Now, under the effect of the Command Spell, Lancelot had much to say to his lord.

"My lord..." Lancelot knelt on one knee. After the madness was lifted, Lancelot was indeed handsome and dignified, living up to his title as the Knight of the Lake.

"Lancelot..."

Leaving the two to their conversation, Xinxin and the others immediately headed to the Fuyuki Church. Was it not too inhumane to keep Artoria occupied this way? Cough, anyway, Xinxin and the others chose to forget about it and focused on the journey. The reason was...

That damn Emiya Kiritsugu, whose heart contained the heart of Irisviel. Although Xinxin had performed magical processing on it, there was no guarantee it wouldn't be damaged in battle. If the incomplete Lesser Grail were to be destroyed before completion, this Holy Grail War would be over. Handing the incomplete Lesser Grail to Emiya Kiritsugu now seemed to be a huge mistake. With the dust and the chaotic flow of Origin Magic, Xinxin could only roughly sense the direction of Emiya Kiritsugu. To accurately locate him, Xinxin took out the jar containing the pseudo-spirit cores, removed the protective magic, and crushed it. The unbound pseudo-spirit cores quickly returned to the Lesser Grail, and with the addition of the four pseudo-spirit cores, the offerings required for the Grail's descent were complete. The heart in Emiya Kiritsugu's waist glowed with a golden light, absorbing the necessary elements for the Lesser Grail that Xinxin had placed earlier. The Lesser Grail rose into the air, floating above the severely damaged Fuyuki Church. The gate to the Root—the Root Vortex—was open, but the passage that once allowed magicians seeking the Root to pass safely was now filled with black mud filled with malice. The black mud seeping from the 'gate' gushed out of the Lesser Grail, dripping onto the unconscious Emiya Kiritsugu and Kirei Kotomine...

"It should be here." Xinxin and the others broke through the wall and entered the hall where the Grail had descended. In the center of the hall, black mud had almost filled the lower part, and Emiya Kiritsugu stood in the mud, slowly walking towards the group, with Kirei Kotomine's lifeless body lying nearby.

"Emiya Kiritsugu?"

"This thing, it's not the Holy Grail at all..." Although different from the original story, Irisviel's personality had not merged with the Grail's consciousness, but the Grail still tried to tempt Emiya Kiritsugu to make a wish. After learning the true nature of the Grail from the Grail's consciousness, Emiya Kiritsugu quickly regained his senses and shot Kirei Kotomine through the heart as he slowly woke up. Emiya Kiritsugu then turned his attention to the Grail, which was now flowing with black mud. His grenades and ammunition had been corroded by the mud, leaving only the Origin Bullet and the magic gun Contender. However, a single gun was far from enough to destroy the Grail. Trapped, Emiya Kiritsugu finally waited for his allies.

"Yes, I understand. My task is to destroy the black mud in the Grail. Don't move rashly. Now that all seven spirit cores are in place, the consciousness in the Grail should be hiding in the mud, waiting for us." Sure enough, black human-like figures rose from the mud, cursing all humans and advancing towards Xinxin and the others.

"All Servants retreat. This thing is a deadly poison to you. If you touch it, you'll lose your sanity." Xinxin took out the Infinite Heart from his storage space and handed it to himself. The sphere, glowing with a milky white holy light, flew to a position higher than the Grail—towards the gate to the Root in the sky. The black mud outside the world was sucked into the light sphere. The Grail trembled violently, and the black mud tried to escape the absorption, gushing out of the Lesser Grail. Large numbers of black mud monsters attacked Xinxin and the others. But for Xinxin, who had awakened to the eleventh heart, dealing with these monsters, whose strength was comparable to Assassin's avatars, was like child's play. With a thought, his powerful mental and spatial abilities crushed the black mud monsters and threw them into the spatial vortex to be destroyed. Then, various spells rained down on the flood of black mud, blocking its advance.

"Deploy the Magic Cannon Array, Ultimate Spark * 10, fire at will." To completely destroy the evil of this world, the attack needed to be at least as powerful as the Excalibur. A single Ultimate Spark might not match the holy sword that gathered the light of chivalry, but ten Ultimate Sparks fired simultaneously could turn the entire city into a sea of lava. The black mud dissipated in the rainbow light and was absorbed by the light sphere in the sky. Suddenly, a sharp arrow shot out from the black mud, shattering the floating Grail. Even Xinxin hadn't expected this. The evil of this world had chosen to cut off its path, abandoning the part that had entered the present world. Under the dual hindrance of the collector provided by the Infinite Heart and Xinxin's attacks, the evil of this world judged that it could not successfully enter the present world. It destroyed the Lesser Grail, which maintained the stability of the passage, and the black sun in the sky gradually shrank and finally disappeared under the influence of the Counter Force.

"Tsk, truly the evil of this world, I underestimated it..." Xinxin looked at the situation with frustration, the light sphere that had absorbed part of the black mud returning to his hand.

'Contractor, mission completed—Absorb the Evil of This World, 56% completion, 3000 Heart Coins earned, Infinite Power awakened, evaluation upgraded to eleven hearts, auxiliary system upgrade complete. Explanation will be provided upon return to the Infinite Heart. The contractor now has one month to remain in this world. Do you wish to remain?'

'Of course, I will remain.' Although the scene where Emiya Kiritsugu used the Command Spell to force Saber to destroy the Grail with Excalibur did not happen as in the original story, the destruction caused by Xinxin and the others' battle was even greater than that of the evil of this world. The spatial rift formed by magic, the terrifying suction force from the continuous spatial fragmentation, the bombardment of Noble Phantasms, and the shockwaves from the maximum power attacks colliding in mid-air caused far more damage than the mere hundreds of casualties in the original story. Thousands of buildings collapsed, and tens of thousands died in their sleep. The earth burned under the flames of Laevatein and Chilian, igniting underground gas pipelines and turning half of Fuyuki City into a sea of fire.

"This, this is hell..." Hearing the screams and cries for help, seeing the ruins and charred remains, Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to have lost his strength, leaning against the remaining wall.

"No, I must save people, even if it's just one." Emiya Kiritsugu, like a soulless man, stumbled through the ruins in search of survivors. If he couldn't save anyone, Emiya Kiritsugu would likely become a living dead due to the destruction of his ideals and regret. This time, the unfortunate Emiya Kiritsugu was finally favored by heaven. He pulled up a boy with red hair and hugged him happily.

"Thank you, thank you. It's good to find you. Even if I can only save one person, I am relieved..."

On Xinxin's side, the Conqueror King, who still had some magical power, did not need to worry about the present world with the power of the magic furnace. However, Diarmuid and Kenshin's bodies began to dissipate.

"Kenshin, you..."

"It's fine, Master. Meeting so many heroes this time has been enough for me. I don't need to stay in the present world. Besides, I have no regrets from my life. These days, I've discovered that my descendants are still around, which has moved me deeply."

"My lord, I'm sorry, I couldn't bring you the Grail." Diarmuid knelt before Kirei before disappearing.

"Don't worry, Diarmuid. You are a true knight, and you have fulfilled your duty. This is, your Master, Kirei Kirei Aimeri Archibald, speaking." Hearing Kirei's words, Diarmuid's face showed a joyful smile, and he returned to the Throne of Heroes with satisfaction.

"Then, don't slack off in your training, my disciple. Only by preserving your own life can you save others. Don't forget this."

"Understood, I will never forget my master's teachings..."

The two Servants dissipated with the wind. In the Fourth Holy Grail War,

You might encounter a pure knight, perhaps a handsome lancer, a king who wields lightning, a king of gold, or a cruel black magician. The berserker's form might give you nightmares, and the assassin hidden in the shadows might eliminate you. The wanderer in red might get along well with you. The grand Fourth Holy Grail War came to a close in flames and blood...

PS: Favorites, reviews, recommendations...

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