Night once again enveloped the Imperial Capital.
One hour after Naoki and the others stole the Holy Grail bomb.
Inside the inn they were using as their base.
Looking at the culture tube containing the indescribable object placed on the tatami, Naoki placed his hands around it as if embracing it. Chains continuously extended from his palms, wrapping around the tube dozens of times from inside to out before stopping.
"Hmm, this should do. Store it, Angelica. Now, unless I release these chains, this thing will never explode."
"I understand, Natsukawa-sama."
Angelica, still using her Class Card, opened the gate to her Treasure Vault and stored the Holy Grail bomb.
With that, one of the conditions causing this Singularity to form had been resolved.
Though Naoki wanted to immediately dispose of this dangerous object, unfortunately, he couldn't think of a way to destroy it without causing significant consequences.
After all, this was a Holy Grail bomb powerful enough to annihilate the entire Imperial Capital. If it accidentally detonated during the destruction process…
"For now, we'll keep it and bring it back, then hand it over to Da Vinci and Touko for analysis."
After all, they were all-purpose geniuses and top-tier Magi. Solving this difficult problem should be manageable with a bit of time. If it truly couldn't be resolved, there were still Rei and Manaka. Though neither could return to their former omniscient and omnipotent states, their knowledge had gradually recovered over these ten years.
Fundamentally, the Holy Grail was just a Mana crystal. Analyzing and neutralizing it wasn't a difficult task.
"Alright, let's review the current situation."
"There are two conditions causing this Singularity to form. One is the Holy Grail, and the other is the vaguely conducted Holy Grail War. Now that the Holy Grail is in our hands, we just need to end this Holy Grail War."
Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker.
As long as the six other Servants besides Okita were eliminated, this Holy Grail War would end.
"There should be five Servants left now, right?" Okita said. "Me, Archer, Lancer, and Rider who haven't appeared, and the Caster you said can't die right now."
"Maybe four. Perhaps Assassin has already killed Caster's Master?"
Assassin—Izou Okada—was severely injured by Okita's enhanced sword, then turned into an evil spirit by Naoki and sent back to the German base to wreak havoc.
Berserker—Mori Nagayoshi—had previously been given a Mystic Code restraint by Mawatsun, obtained from the German Army, to ensure control. That equipment was stored underground at the Ministry of the Army. But now that Mawatsun had completely vanished from the world, Nagayoshi, having lost his Master, would naturally return to the Throne of Heroes.
Caster—Maxwell's Demon—though indestructible, its Master was likely killed by the rampaging Izou Okada, so it had probably returned to the Throne of Heroes as well. Even if it was still alive, it posed little threat.
By this calculation, only three Servants remained to deal with.
Archer—Oda Nobunaga, the yet-to-appear Lancer—Li Shuwen, and the yet-to-appear Rider—Sakamoto Ryoma.
"Should we strike first, Master?"
"No need. Regardless of the other two, I think Sakamoto Ryoma will come to us himself. In fact… once he learns the threat has been neutralized, he might voluntarily return to the Throne of Heroes."
"After all, he was summoned by the Counter Force to ensure this Singularity doesn't cause problems."
Ryoma had no Master in this Holy Grail War. He was summoned by the Counter Force to deal with the Holy Grail bomb. Simply put, he was in a position similar to a Guardian. Now that the bomb was in Naoki's hands, his purpose could be considered fulfilled.
He likely wouldn't take further action.
Li Shuwen was also easy to handle. The spear master's only goal was to challenge strong opponents. When the time came, Naoki would fight him with all his strength, and once Li was satisfied, the matter would be resolved.
The only problem was Nobunaga.
That Demon King was probably furious right now, wasn't she? She had only gone to the battlefield to deal with foreign enemies. But when she returned, she found the Ministry of the Army massacred, the Azuchi bomber she had prepared for so long destroyed, and the Holy Grail bomb gone without a trace.
If Naoki were in her position, he'd probably have a spike in blood pressure and go looking for the culprit behind it all.
*BOOM!*
Accompanied by the sound of gunfire from downstairs, a "just as I expected" expression appeared on Naoki's face. Following that, amidst the sound of rapid footsteps, the sliding door was suddenly kicked open from the outside!
*CRACK!*
A matchlock rifle was aimed at Naoki's head.
*CLANG!*
A sword blade, swiftly drawn from its sheath, sliced through the barrel of the matchlock rifle.
Okita stared coldly at the uninvited guest before her. "Archer… Oda Nobunaga."
"Saber… step aside, I didn't come for you." Nobunaga said with great dissatisfaction. Then she glared at Naoki with eyes full of rage. "You really surprised me, Saint-Sword-Man. You destroyed my base and my weapons without saying a word… You've got some guts."
The only emotion filling Nobunaga's heart right now.
Anger.
Extreme anger.
Originally, after defeating all the enemies on the battlefield today, she had planned to return to the Ministry of the Army for a brief rest. But she never expected that upon her return, she'd see a scene where blood flowed like a river, and her Master lying unconscious in her chair.
After waking Kaname and asking what happened, Nobunaga immediately thought of her research at the Fourth Magecraft Laboratory. Rushing there in a hurry, she found the place had been ruthlessly plundered!
"I really underestimated you, Saint-Sword-Man. In just one day, you managed to do this much, destroying all my preparations—you're exactly as that Magus described."
"Thank you."
Naoki laughed shamelessly.
"By the way, you didn't come here with bad intentions just to complain to me, right? If that were the case, you would've fired that shot already."
"There's something else you want to say, isn't there?"
Pushing aside Okita's sword and Nobunaga's matchlock rifle, Naoki patted the table. "Sit down first. And have your little Master come in too. I think there are a lot of things we need to talk about."
"Right?"