Book 6: Chapter 69:1: Have You Ever Heard of the Philosopher’s Stone? Part 1 |
“Goodbye, Younger Sister. I believe we will meet again.” Jeanne d’Arc waved to Jeanne d’Arc Alter before gradually transforming into her spiritual body. The Holy Grail had already been handed over to someone else, so Jeanne d’Arc’s mission was complete; it was time for her to leave.
However, the other Servants could still stay for three more days because the Holy Grail War lasted seven days, and even though it had turned into the Holy Grail Carnival, that fact remained unchanged.
After three more days, all the Servants would return to the Holy Grail. Only then, after the Holy Grail had absorbed all the mana from the Servants, could the wishing process proceed.
Originally, victory or defeat should have been determined after seven days. At that time, there would be no need to wait; Chen Heng could simply deal with the All the World’s Evils and make his wish. However, who could blame the black side—or more precisely, Root—for making things so complicated?
Chen Heng, along with the others, was teleported out of the venue, while the red side could only watch impotently, unable to launch any attacks, as they left.
At least within this venue, all Masters and Servants were protected and couldn’t harm each other.
After being teleported out of the venue:
“Servants, are any of you interested in this Holy Grail?” Although Chen Heng had no intention of giving this Holy Grail to these Servants, he had to go through the motions.
Saying this might seem a bit shameless, but Chen Heng genuinely felt he needed this Holy Grail more than anyone else.
“No, I don’t need it, either.” Medusa remained as cold as ever.
“I don’t need it, either.” Likewise, Minamoto-no-Raikou declined.
“I came because I was summoned by the world, and now, my only remaining task is to claim Hassan’s head using this opportunity.” Upon saying these words, Grand Assassin King Hassan disappeared on the spot.
Chen Heng speculated that this Assassin, who was actually a Berserker named King Hassan, had gone to borrow something from Hassan of the Hundred Faces. What he was borrowing, everyone should have a pretty good idea.
(Hassan of the Hundred Faces: I’ll leave my head here. Come retrieve it yourself.)
As for Ryougi Shiki, Jeanne d’Arc, and the Queen of Sheba, there was no need to ask. They were all on the same side, and they had already discussed the ownership of the Holy Grail in advance.
“Well, I’ll accept this Holy Grail, and since we’re currently in Mount Enzou, I’ll take care of it down there.”
The Holy Grail Carnival’s venue was a virtual location that didn’t exist in Fuyuki City. If Masters or Servants from the Holy Grail War wanted to enter the venue, they could simply think of it and be teleported inside as long as it was open. If they wanted to exit the venue, they would be sent back to their initial location.
Because all the Masters on the black side believed this Fourth Holy Grail Carnival competition—or the Fourth Holy Grail War—might be the last one, they had chosen Mount Enzou as the entry point. This was to prevent the discovery of the Holy Grail’s location due to the leakage of its mana after obtaining it, a measure taken to safeguard their hiding place.
In fact, anyone who had watched several rounds of the Holy Grail Carnival matches knew that Root had definitely set up some minor cheats, but everyone kept quiet about it.
“Elder Brother, I want to watch,” Sirin said, intent on participating in this.
“You… If you want to come, then come; it’s not dangerous anyway. If others want to come, too, they can.” Chen Heng did not object to Sirin’s curiosity.
“I want to see, too! I want to see, too!”
“Have you finished your assistance application?” Chen Heng couldn’t help having a headache when he looked at Ryougi Shiki, who seemed eager to get involved in everything. This fellow was the epitome of someone who couldn’t sit still and always had to stir things up.
“Well, you know, there’s no rush for the assistance report,” Root replied with nary a hint of embarrassment. Chen Heng understood that Root had left the game just to mess with him.
“What if I say you can’t go?” Chen Heng asked.
“In that case, I’ll just sneak over. Hehe!”
“Alright, Sirin, I’m heading out first. If anyone else wants to go, take them with you. Little Li, come with me. I have a feeling the red side’s Masters and Servants won’t give up on this Holy Grail. They’re definitely going to cause trouble.” With that, Chen Heng disappeared from the spot and reappeared inside a cavern in Mount Enzou.
Chen Heng carefully examined the Greater Holy Grail in the transparent bubble. While it had looked magnificent and beautiful floating above the venue, when he held it in his hands and saw what was inside, he found it was chilling.
Through the transparent bubble, Chen Heng could clearly see the golden cup contained a large black mass—All the World’s Evils—and it was constantly roiling.
Perhaps because of the transparent bubble’s suppression, the black mud inside the Holy Grail didn’t spill over the rim, which had allowed the Holy Grail to hang at the Holy Grail Carnival’s venue for several days without the red side’s Masters and Servants noticing anything amiss.
This Holy Grail Carnival was different from the usual, as it directly presented the Greater Holy Grail as a prize without going through Irisviel von Einzbern’s body, a Lesser Holy Grail.
[TL Note: Irisviel von Einzbern is a homunculus, an artificial human, created to be the vessel of a Holy Grail, functioning as a Lesser Holy Grail. She is also the wife of Emiya Kiritsugu. The function of a Lesser Holy Grail is just to summon a Greater Holy Grail. As each Servant died in a Holy Grail War, their energy would flow into a Lesser Holy Grail. In Irisviel von Einzbern’s case, her body would be destroyed, creating a Holy Grail in the process. Here is more information about her: https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Irisviel_von_Einzbern.]
Irisviel von Einzbern’s Lesser Holy Grail was meant for collecting mana after the Servants’ deaths, but in this Holy Grail War, where Masters and Servants were not allowed to harm each other, it had no use.
The Holy Grail in Chen Heng’s hand was a true Greater Holy Grail in every sense.
As Chen Heng continued to examine the Holy Grail in his hand, Sirin, Luo Li, and Root arrived in the cavern below. As for Jeanne d’Arc? She had already been sent home, just like the other Servants, as she had only come to play games.
Chen Heng needed to “discuss” the ownership of the Holy Grail with Tohsaka Rin. While Eresh-chan had no desire for the Holy Grail, that didn’t mean Tohsaka Rin didn’t covet it. Jeanne d’Arc’s role was to help Tohsaka Rin let go of her unwarranted dreams. The All the World’s Evils was not easy to deal with, and for Tohsaka Rin’s sake, Chen Heng was willing to bear the responsibility alone.
“Hey, Chen Heng, what method do you plan to use to deal with the All the World’s Evils?”
Root had held back earlier because other Servants were present, but now that there were no outsiders, Root’s curiosity got the better of her.
Root wasn’t worried about whether Chen Heng could solve the problem of the All the World’s Evils or not. There were plenty of amazing things in the Dimension Administrators Association’s store, and there was bound to be something suitable for Chen Heng. But precisely because there were so many things in the Dimension Administrators Association store, Root couldn’t tell how Chen Heng would choose to tackle this problem.
Purification with an item like the Archangel’s Staff was entirely possible, but it would likely consume a significant amount of points, perhaps even exceeding the value of the Holy Grail itself.