Clock Tower,
London
Lord El-Melloi II, who used to go by the name of Waver Velvet during the times of the Fourth Fuyuki Holy Grail War ten years ago, slumped into the comfort of the sofa.
The head of the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory looked utterly haggard.
It was as if, in one meeting with the Vice Director of the Clock Tower, he had aged another decade.
Gray, his apprentice, came running from the other side. "Is it… true?"
El didn't have the strength to look at Gray, despite the hood hiding her face… the face that looked incredibly similar to the Heroic Spirit who had almost killed him in the last Holy Grail War—Saber—Artoria Pendragon!
It wasn't out of fear or hate, though.
It was because of the events he had learned from the Vice Director that had happened in the last few weeks in Fuyuki City.
Last few weeks… the same time when he had been out chasing ghosts and mysteries of his own, saying goodbye to old traumas.
In a matter of weeks, the world had come infinitely close to an absolute end.
In a matter of weeks, the fools participating in the Fifth Fuyuki Holy Grail War had almost unleashed All The World's Evil.
In a matter of weeks, the Corrupt Greater Grail had almost cursed all mankind.
"… Yes," El nodded, sensing needles in his throat. "It's true. The Greater Grail was indeed corrupt… Many people died."
Gray gasped behind him. "… Then how… who… why…"
El didn't mind Gray's stuttering. Moments ago, he had been acting like this, too, standing in front of the Vice Director. Unlike Gray, though, he had cursed at her in anger.
El had warned the Clock Tower about the discrepancies in the Fifth Holy Grail War even before it had begun.
Atrum, who had gone to Fuyuki to participate in the Holy Grail War, had sent him a letter, claiming that he had successfully summoned Medea as the Caster. He had also promised to send further information on Doctor Heartless, an enemy El had been investigating at that time.
But weeks passed, and El received no such letter, despite the Holy Grail War not officially beginning in Fuyuki.
"… I should have realized," El mumbled. "This entire story is twisted now. But… someone saved us all. Someone not only ended the corruption but also won the Holy Grail War, Gray. Now, the Greater Grail is gone. There will be no more Holy Grail Wars anymore… The questions are as you asked — How, Who, and Why?"
Gray, despite the seriousness of the situation, smiled behind her hood. "When are we leaving?"
El's mouth twitched at that. "… Now is as good a time as any, I guess."
And the smile on Gray's face bloomed. "I will pack the bags!"
El looked over his shoulder as the girl stormed out of the office, and he shook his head. There was another reason for them to leave for Fuyuki City as soon as they could — the Holy Church.
If the representatives of the Mage Association reached there late, then the Holy Church's Executors might not leave any intact clues there anymore.
The Overseer of the Holy Grail War is dead, El thought, narrowing his eyes. Zouken Matou, that old, ugly thing, is dead. The entire Matou family is gone. Einzbern family's ninth head is gone. The Greater Grail is gone. Half the city is ruined. They are also speaking of Divine Magecraft…
… Just what the hell happened in Fuyuki City?!
…
Tokyo,
Japan
"This is quite interesting… So, the old fool is already looking to create a new Holy Grail War system?"
Outside a café, wearing a thick fur coat and drinking coffee, sat Touko Aozaki.
Reading the content of the document in her hand, she brought the cigarette to her mouth and drew deep, letting the smoke's warmth counter the chill in the air.
There was some relief in it, she realized.
Using magic to keep the cold away… only Puppets would do that.
"Jubstacheit von Einzbern…" Aozaki leaned back in the chair, burning the paper with a flick of her hand. "You truly are a fool…"
It was clear that if the eighth head of the Einzbern family was thinking of creating a new Holy Grail War in Germany, then he considered the ninth head dead.
That would be a mistake.
Touko had been keeping an eye on the developments of Fuyuki City's Holy Grail War ever since she had heard the news of the mass disappearance of people.
It was then that she learned the ninth head of the Einzbern family, a girl named Illyasviel von Einzbern, had disappeared, replaced by a male homunculus instead.
Finding something alarming about the Holy Grail War and its strange proceedings, Aozaki had decided to observe the events from a distance.
And when things truly took a wrong turn, it had already been too late to intervene.
In a matter of an hour, she had sensed the world ending and then surviving, the Greater Grail's signature disappearing from Fuyuki City.
It clearly meant that someone had won the Holy Grail War, purifying the corrupt Greater Grail.
Once again, Aozaki unfolded the newspaper resting on the table and read the headline.
— Meteor strikes Fuyuki, Over 500 presumed dead.
Aozaki looked at the number that could have been five or fifty thousand, or as large as five million, and… smiled.
For the coming years, at least until the Einzbern Family attempted something stupid again, Fuyuki would become the center of the Mage world.
Mage Association, Holy Church, rogue Mages, and… whatnot.
The city would attract all toward it like bugs, dangling the carrot of mysteries and answers.
So, before a mass of idiots stormed the city, why not go there and check if someone needed her services?
There would be no shortage of people looking for limbs, at least.
Meanwhile, she could also visit this… winner of the Holy Grail and find out what he gained from it, no?
Touko Aozaki let out a puff of smoke, looking at the snow on the road, thinking…
— A new era was dawning upon the world, and the Mages of Fuyuki would be the first to see its light.
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