Chapter 357: The Yggdmillennia's Probe (Bonus) (Patreon)

After spending the entire night, Sisigoui and Red Saber arrived in Trifas.

Convincing the eager-to-fight Saber, Sisigou drank a concoction of herbs to dispel his drowsiness and began setting up his workshop.

Although he had considered renting a room at an inn, that would be the most likely place to be targeted. No matter how much he converted an inn room into a workshop, it would still be vulnerable. In this world, if someone wanted to use an inn room as a workshop, there would also be someone considering blowing up the entire inn. (Kiritsugu, did you do something similar in this world as well?)

"No matter what, this isn't right," Saber complained with a tired face.

Following her request, Sisigou had bought her some modern clothing from a women's store in Sighișoara. Even though it was autumn, the outfit left her midriff exposed. However, temperature extremes didn't bother her as a Servant.

What disheartened Saber was the location Sisigou chose as the workshop. During her lifetime, Saber had interacted with Magus, as her mother was one herself. She was well aware of how bizarrely self-centered they could be.

But even so—

"Are you out of your mind, setting up your base in a catacomb?"

No wonder Saber sighed. The place was filled with candles and illuminated piles of bones. There were two sleeping bags placed in an area resembling a slightly open altar. In other words, it seemed they would be sleeping here.

"Stop being so picky. High-quality spiritual ley lines like these are rare. Your mana recovery should be quite rapid here."

"This isn't about ley lines or anything, damn it!"

"Oh, are you scared?" Sisigou clapped his hands, feigning understanding. Saber, with an expression like a snapping turtle, shouted at him:

"Of course not! I simply can't tolerate being treated like this in such a place! After all, I'm a knight! Even if I weren't, anyone would protest against this!"

"Alright, I get it. Then use that sleeping bag over there. It cost 5,000 yen, so it should be quite comfortable." (A 5,000 yen sleeping bag isn't that expensive, right?)

"..."

Saber drooped her shoulders helplessly. Through her interactions with Magus, she had come to understand them: "Knowing when to give up is important."

That said, even Sisigou wouldn't use such a place as a workshop out of vanity or curiosity—Saber knew this well—which made it all the more frustrating. He practiced necromancy. Naturally, the most compatible places were those stained with human death, like cemeteries and morgues.

There were several exits. As long as multiple exits weren't simultaneously blocked, escaping would be easy. In an emergency, they could just dig a hole in the ground. This underground chamber wouldn't easily collapse from an explosion. The basement was much larger than it seemed, and destroying it would require a considerable amount of explosives or advanced rituals. As long as they remained vigilant, there wouldn't be any problems.

This was an underground cemetery. If they could endure this fact, it would be an unexpectedly sturdy fortress.

Sisigou temporarily set up bouned fields around the exits of the underground cemetery. Though it was called a workshop, it was merely a temporary hideout. Sisigou decided to set traps once he had established a long-term strategy and freed up some time.

Then, he took out a glass bottle from his backpack. Saber, who had nothing to do, seemed interested in the bottle and peeked over Sisigou's shoulder.

"A snake?"

"Yes. This is a preserved specimen of a young Hydra in formalin, a rare and valuable treasure in this world."

"Humph, so what?"

"Did you forget? I'm a necromancer. Of course, I’ll process it."

"Process it?"

Sisigou carefully pulled the Hydra from the glass bottle and laid it on the ground horizontally.

Just as Saber nonchalantly reached out to touch it, Sisigou sternly scolded her.

"Stop! Don't touch it!"

"What? It's just a touch, what’s the big deal?"

Saber puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

Sisigou sighed and said to her:

"Listen, Saber, you should be knowledgeable about the legend of Heracles, right? So, what comes to mind when you hear 'Hydra'?"

"It has nine heads."

"And?"

"It also spews poison gas. Ah, I see what you mean."

"Exactly. The Hydra's body contains toxins. Just being near an adult Hydra and breathing would cause your lungs to rot. However, this one is just a juvenile and it's dead, so as long as you don't touch it, it’s fine."

Of course, Saber was different from ordinary people and wouldn't die from this. However, the Hydra was still a magical beast. The saying "A wise man keeps away from danger" proved to be correct.

Sisigou put on thick leather gloves and cautiously used a small knife to cut off the Hydra’s heads one by one. Then, he soaked the heads in a red-black liquid.

"What are you doing?"

"If they were a bit longer, I could use them to make arrows. As it is, they can only be used for short swords."

"How long will it take?"

"At least three hours. If you’ve got nothing to do, you might as well sleep."

Instead of sleeping, Saber squatted down next to Sisigou.

"Is this interesting to you?"

"Not at all. Disassembling and processing, what's interesting about that?"

Saber propped her cheek up with a bored expression.

Sisigou wanted to tell her to save her mana and go to sleep if she was bored, but he was sure she wouldn't listen even if he said it.

Using tweezers, he picked up a snake head that had been soaked in the liquid and slowly roasted it over a candle flame. This was a very simplistic yet dangerous task.

"Hey, Master. What wish do you want to make to the Holy Grail?"

Sisigou was engaged in a task that required intense concentration; even a small mistake could result in death from the Hydra's poison. Despite this, he answered Saber's casual question.

"The wish I want to make to the Greater Grail is for the prosperity of my family, because I am a magus, after all."

This somewhat ordinary answer left Saber feeling a bit disappointed. A magus wishing for the prosperity of his family was, of course, quite natural.

"That's so boring."

"Are you an idiot? Prosperity is very important, you know? Once you have children, they will carry on your dreams. After all, life is short, and we barely live past two hundred years."

"Children won't necessarily inherit your dreams, you know?"

"Is that your personal experience talking?"

Saber's expression immediately darkened.

"Sorry," Sisigou said, seeing this, and apologized with a wry smile. But she didn't listen and silently crawled into her sleeping bag.

Servants didn't need sleep, but considering the need to conserve mana, it wasn’t entirely unnecessary. Specifically, Red Saber Mordred possessed unparalleled strength, and as a cost, required an astonishing amount of mana. It was best to conserve it whenever possible. However, now she was purely acting out of stubbornness.

Sisigou continued his processing work, chewing on jerky and fruit as his dinner. He silently kept working, occasionally glancing at Saber.

What lay before him was the innocent and pure face of a sleeping girl—this fact brought a hint of melancholy to Sisigou.

Mordred, the rebellious knight. She was the rare villain who tarnished the legendary tale of King Arthur in its final moments.

Taking advantage of King Arthur's expedition, she, left in charge, incited the soldiers and seized the long-coveted throne. Upon returning, King Arthur engaged Mordred's forces in battle. It was the great battle at Camlann.

Most of the renowned knights had already perished on the battlefield. Amid the blazing battleground, Arthur and Mordred fought one-on-one. Arthur pierced Mordred with the Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad, and she, in turn, dealt a fatal blow to the King with her last ounce of strength.

Arthur ordered his loyal knight, Bedivere, to return Excalibur to the lake. After that, some say his soul ascended to Heaven, while others claim he went to Avalon and healed his body.

However, what remained of Mordred was merely the rather bleak account of her death in the duel. It’s no wonder. She was the villain who deceived the great British hero, Arthur Pendragon, whose name is still famous today.

"Alright, with this, the nine arrows are complete. Next is the body, huh?"

Sisigou muttered to himself, lost in thought. Perhaps summoning Saber had made him biased. If he had to choose between leading Arthur or Mordred, he would undoubtedly choose Mordred.

One was a king embodying the knightly code with a shining holy sword, while the other was a twisted knight who incited soldiers to betray during the former's expedition. Between the two, the latter was undoubtedly more interesting.

Whether Mordred loved or hated her father, Sisigou didn't know. Love and hate are emotions separated by a thin line. However, the fact that she was strongly influenced by her father was undeniable.

It was precisely because of this influence that she betrayed him. Was it to become a figure like her father? Or to deny her father? That remains unknown—but setting aside good and evil, it was undoubtedly a courageous act.

"I think I understand a bit why I summoned her."

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Sisigou's face. A magus like him could never summon a proper Knight of the Round Table; being able to summon a rebellious knight was truly something to celebrate.

In the dead of night, Trifas was utterly silent. Every household had extinguished its lights. There wasn't a single 24-hour store.

Only the street lamps by the roadside illuminated the night. However, the light was so dim that it barely resisted the darkness.

Mordred and Sisigou had been searching for a place to use as a base for their assault on the Millennia Fortress. In a typical Holy Grail War, they would theoretically just need to find the master's workshop. But this time, that wasn't necessary.

The reason was that it was already established that their base was the fortress. There was no need to search anymore. Neither the Servants nor the Masters would leave that extremely fortified castle. In other words, nothing could be done without taking down that fortress. Therefore, Sisigou wanted to find a place to observe the fortress from a distance.

The Millennia Fortress was located northeast of Trifas, surrounded by a three-hectare forest. Trifas was generally a plateau that sloped upward from west to east. So, the fortress, situated at the highest point, could overlook the entire city.

Therefore, Sisigou and Saber decided to start their search from the south of the fortress. They were looking for the tallest building possible that wasn't too close to the fortress but also not so far that they couldn't see it.

"How about over there?"

Sisigou looked in the direction Saber was pointing. There stood Trifas City Hall, built over a century ago. It was a standalone building composed entirely of straight lines and flat surfaces. The roof, overrun with weeds, was covered in brightly colored geometric tiles, leaving a strong impression.

It was both a valuable piece of art and a historic building. However, to the two of them, it was nothing more than an excellent observation point.

"Alright, let's go up and check it out."

Just as Sisigou whispered this, Saber, for some reason, grabbed him by the collar.

"Hey!"

"We're going up, right?"

Sensing an ominous feeling, Sisigou twisted his body to escape, but it was futile. Saber let out a shout, used "Mana Burst," and leaped to the roof in one go. The moment they landed, a huge pressure hit Sisigou's neck, leaving him momentarily dazed.

After a brief silence, Sisigou hesitated, unsure how to reprimand the smug Saber, and finally—

"Don't do that again."

He uttered this halfhearted complaint.

Saber nodded, showing no signs of remorse.

"By the way, Master, where are we?"

"Right."

This spot wasn't too far to observe the fortress, nor was it close enough to be easily detected by the enemy. It was indeed an excellent vantage point. However—

"This won't do."

Saber nodded regretfully at Sisigou's sigh.

As soon as they stood on the roof, a flock of bird-like creatures flew over from the fortress. Sisigou carefully observed the tiles on the roof and discovered a disguised detection bounded field.

"Saber!"

Before Sisigou could issue any orders, she had already donned her full armor and prepared for battle.

"Are those... eagles?"

It was the dead of night. Even as a magus, Kairi could only make out faint movements. However, Saber, with her extraordinary vision, correctly identified the attackers.

"No, those are... golems!"

Stone golems resembling dragonflies swooped down to attack.

Enemies approached from all directions.

Saber leaped up and quickly dealt with one of them. Using the nearest stone golem as a stepping stone, she also cut down the remaining two.

"Damn, they're not stopping!"

Upon hearing Sisigou's words, Saber immediately assumed a combat stance as soon as she landed. Just as he had said, golems of both humanoid and non-humanoid shapes appeared from all directions. It seemed they had been camouflaged on the rooftops of nearby buildings. Not only that—at some point, people wielding halberds had also gathered, surrounding the two along with the golems.

No, calling them humans would be an overstatement; their emotions were far too thin. The most striking reason was that their faces were not just similar, but identical, as if they were stamped from the same mold.

"Humans... no, they're homunculi?"

"..."

Hearing Sisigou's grumble, Saber loosened up a bit.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Master. Give me your orders."

"My magecraft is somewhat lacking in power against golems. I'll handle the homunculi; you take care of the golems."

"Understood!"

Saber charged at the golems with the speed of a bullet, the force of her assault shattering the rooftop tiles. The sturdy golems, made of stone or bronze, were smashed to pieces as if they were mere paper or wood.

One of the golems attempted to crush Saber with its enormous body. Saber let out a roar, lowered her stance, and then leaped, sending the stone figure flying.

Her movements were far from the graceful and elegant swordsmanship of a knight; they were more akin to those of a berserker or a wild beast. She wielded the sword, meant to be used with both hands, with one hand, while her free hand clenched into a fist. She then threw the sword, a weapon that could be considered a swordsman's lifeline, piercing a golem attacking from mid-air.

Saber took a heavy punch from a golem and, with a roar, threw it far away. It collided with the golem pierced by the sword in mid-air, both shattering into pieces. The sword fell along with the debris, and Saber caught it before resuming her charge.

Meanwhile, Sisigou, facing the homunculi, took out a large shotgun from his coat. Despite their thin emotions, the homunculi instinctively halted at the sight of the weapon.

It was a side-by-side double-barreled sawed-off shotgun with no manufacturer’s mark. The butt and barrel were shortened for ease of carrying and indoor use, but its effective range was very short.

However, for the necromancer Sisigou, the relationship between a gun's original performance and using it as a weapon was irrelevant.

"Come, devour."

Sisigou casually pulled the trigger on the homunculi. He had no intention of aiming. The crucial part was simply holding the gun. The shotgun had magical enhancements on parts like the firing pin. But more important than the gun itself were the bullets.

Anyone would shudder upon seeing the ammunition he loaded. Bullets made from human fingers were beyond mere bad taste.

In Norse rune magic, there is a spell called Gandr (translated as "malefic bullet"). It is said that this magic allows a curse to be cast just by pointing a finger. If woven with strong magical power, it can have the physical impact of a bullet. This finger bullet, a fusion of Gandr and necromancy, travels at most at the speed of sound, but it senses body heat and adjusts its trajectory like a snake.

Once the bullet enters the body and reaches the heart, the curse breaks, making it a nearly fatal magic bullet.

The bullets flew in soft arcs, instantly killing several homunculi. After firing two shots, Sisigou began to reload. Sensing an opportunity, the homunculi charged en masse. Sisigou paused his reloading and took out a strange object from his coat: a withered, red-black necromancer’s heart.

Sisigou threw the object into the midst of the homunculi. With a splat, the heart landed among them. In the next moment, it quickly expanded and burst. The necromancer’s teeth and nails embedded within it lodged deeply into the homunculi's bodies. They writhed in agony as if poisoned and soon met their deaths.

The necromancers are numerous, but a battle-specialized type who can dangerously process both magus and beasts—such as this—is the only Kairi Sisigou in this era.

Although the homunculi maintain a certain level of combat power, in the eyes of Sisigou, they are merely small fry.

For Saber, the golems were the same.

"All done, Master."

"Oh, good job."

After defeating the last golem, Saber returned triumphantly. She looked around at the corpses of the homunculi and let out a breath of admiration.

"Didn't expect the necromancer to be quite capable."

"Well, I barely made it through this battlefield myself," said Sisigou, tearing a piece of parchment from the shattered golem fragments. The parchment was densely covered with commands.

"So ancient, over eight hundred years old, perhaps."

In the realm of magic, time has exceedingly important value. The older it is, the more the mystery can enhance its strength. If magical inscriptions accumulate results with each inheritance, they become increasingly powerful. With this parchment over eight hundred years old, even one or two magus could easily create invincible golems.

However—

"Saber, what do you think of the golems?"

"This is my first time-fighting stone dolls, and they were surprisingly good. The last one even lasted three rounds."

"Yeah. Nowadays, even if a magus spends their whole life creating a golem, it probably wouldn't last two rounds against you."

Of course, there are exceptions to everything. The world is vast, and if one searches diligently, there might indeed be a magus capable of creating a golem that could rival a Servant.

However, Sisigou didn't believe that anyone in the Yggdmillennia family had the talent to create such golems. At best, someone like Roche Frain Yggdmillennia was their limit. His golems were quite outstanding, but Saber could smash them with a single blow. Moreover, gathering such a quantity was simply a fantasy.

Thus, this golem maker couldn't be a contemporary magus.

As Sisigou leaned in closer to investigate the parchment, a wave of heat suddenly rushed toward his face.

"Hot!?"

He hastily leaned back, throwing the burning parchment away. Not only the parchment he had just held but all the parchments present were suddenly engulfed in flames. The golems rapidly weathered and turned to dust, disappearing without a trace.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Ah, it hurts a bit. Damn, they were thorough. The clues are gone. Since they're already on high alert, we can't use this place as a base."

The Yggdmillennia seemed to have anticipated that someone might use this place as a base. This was just a small city. It's not unreasonable to think that critical locations in the city would have some level of personnel allocation. And it wasn't just a few; they had deployed a large number of highly technical golems and homunculi. If they delayed further, even Servants might come to intercept them next time.

Sending familiars to observe from a distance seemed to be the only option at the moment. This was Sisigou's judgment.

"Well, we have no choice but to hurry back."

"Sigh, at least we learned something."

"What's the matter?"

"Although I don't know if it's a Caster or some other class, one of the seven Servants specializes in golems."

Just having this piece of information significantly narrows down the search. Golems themselves are not rare, but individuals who are both significant enough to become a Heroic Spirit and have a close connection with golems are few and far between.

"By the way, have you noticed someone seems to be watching us?"

On the way back to the workshop, Saber suddenly mentioned this as if she had just remembered. Sisigou nodded in agreement. It was probably someone using clairvoyance magic or observing through a familiar's shared senses. In other words, the opponent had been watching their battle, trying to gauge their strength.

One of Saber's Noble Phantasms, Secret of Pedigree, could conceal parts of her personal information. Although it couldn't hide generalized information like her Status and Class, it could obscure important parts such as her true name, Noble Phantasms, and inherent skills, making it a convenient tool.

However, in this state, she couldn't activate her most powerful Noble Phantasm. Even so, that was an anti-army Noble Phantasm, designed to annihilate formidable enemies. When revealed, the opponent would undoubtedly be obliterated from this world.

"Is it okay to take it off when not in battle?"

"Ah, it's fine."

Saber cheerfully whistled. Of course, that didn't mean she could leak information. It seemed that only when the helmet was "removed" as part of the full armor set that personal information would be revealed. In other words, if she took off her armor and wore modern clothes, even without the helmet, her personal information would remain concealed.

Therefore, Saber had already changed out of her previous outfit.

"Is that thing uncomfortable?"

"Well, you get used to it, but the sense of freedom is quite different."

Saber stretched widely and then started twirling in the middle of the road with a spring in her step. Perhaps because the battle had just ended, Saber's spirits were still high. Sisigou mused absentmindedly.

Suddenly, Saber stopped twirling and turned to Sisigou, saying:

"By the way, Master, what do you think of me?" (Subtext: Praise me, praise me—a poor kid with a lack of paternal love.)

"Huh?"

"I'm asking how you think I looked during the battle. Well, it wasn't a fight against a Servant, so I couldn't fully demonstrate my abilities."

"Oh, you mean that? It was excellent. I got a full sense of why you're a Saber."

Hearing this, Saber straightened her chest and nodded in satisfaction.

"But at the end, you just threw your sword. Is that a thing?"

"Master, you're so silly. What's important is winning, winning. Swordsmanship is just one option in battle. For victory, I can punch, kick, or even bite."

"I completely agree."

Sisigou couldn't bear to look at her spirit, which was too similar to his own.

.....

In the throne room of Millennia Castle, the Black Caster was observing the battle between the hunters from the Mage's Association and the Red Saber he had summoned through the flames burning on the Seven-Branched Candlestick (Menorah). The image was projected on the wall like a giant cinema screen, and the Masters of the Yggdmillennia clan, along with their Servants, were all watching the scene.

Except for Danic, the other Masters seemed intimidated by the fierce battle of the Red Saber.

That overwhelming fighting spirit could be felt even through the images. Despite her small stature, she wielded massive pieces of steel like cannons, crushing the golems to pieces. Black Caster's methods of creating golems were top-notch. Normally, those golems would possess strength on par with low-ranking Servants.

But Saber defeated them in just one round, or at most, three rounds.

"Indeed, she lives up to the title of Saber," Berserker remarked.

Listening to Berserker, Danic agreed with a subordinate's demeanor:

"Strength B+, Endurance A, Agility B, Mana B—none of her stats are below C except for Luck. She truly has the specifications befitting a Saber."

Especially the B+ in Strength; such a status is exceptional. The "+" is a rare parameter that can instantly double the value. Her ranks in Magic Resistance and Riding are also B. Such solid attributes mean that only high-level magic would be able to harm her.

In the previous three Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars, it was said that Saber always remained until the end. Though it was rumored that she possessed a versatile strength to handle any situation, from the recent battle, it was clear that such achievements were indeed justified.

"More importantly, some of her attributes are concealed."

As a Master, Danic could read the Servant's parameters, something that the Servants themselves could not do. However, he could not read information about Noble Phantasms and inherent skills. He felt a sense of familiarity with the abilities Saber used and the sword she wielded, but he couldn't pinpoint why.

Whether it was due to inherent skills or a Noble Phantasm was unknown. However, it seemed likely that a legend of "concealing one's true nature" had manifested in some form. "What are your thoughts? Saber, can you defeat her?"

In response to Berserker's inquiry, Saber nodded wordlessly. Even in the presence of the king, he followed Gordes' orders and remained silent.

"What is your view, Great Sage?"

Archer responded with a smile, a smile that evoked the calm sea.

"She is undoubtedly a formidable foe. However, once we clearly understand the nature of her Noble Phantasm, I believe there will be no significant issues."

Berserker nodded in satisfaction.

He had spent half his life protecting this country from the Turks. Although he had handled all the administrative duties expected of a Voivode, there was still something lacking—people!

He lacked a leader who could be entrusted with the entire army. Vlad III had dedicated everything to battle and victory, but conversely, he could do nothing else. It wasn't due to incompetence but rather a lack of time and manpower.

Now, it was different. He had finally obtained irreplaceable "people." Six Servants, including Saber—Siegfried, the most exceptional hero he could imagine!

Aside from Gordes, only Berserker and Danic knew what kind of Heroic Spirit this Saber was. Gordes' catalyst was a blood-stained linden leaf. It was said to be acquired with the help of the Einzbern family and a stroke of luck.

Additionally, there was the Great Sage Chiron from Greece, Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins, and the rare golem maker Avicebron. Though that man was somewhat stubborn, the soldiers he created were unparalleled in strength.

Although the true name of the Assassin was unknown, his ability to scout the entire castle area in one night and the reports he submitted demonstrated his exceptional strategic insight. With such qualities, even if he concealed something, Vlad III could tolerate it—talented people were always given preferential treatment.

In this gathering of kings, Assassin was the only one absent. His reports, reviewed by Chiron, were highly valued by Danic, who immediately adjusted the defense system based on the recommendations and requested further reconnaissance from Assassin.

Next, only one remains—the Lancer who has been out of contact all this time!

As the Duke pondered, the Masters returned to their senses. Fiore asked:

"Uncle, do you know that Master?"

Danic nodded and said, "Ah, I obtained information from our kin infiltrated within the Clock Tower. Kairi Shishigou is a necromancer who lives as a bounty hunter. Not limited to the Clock Tower, he's a freelancer who takes on any commission."

"A filthy merchant who makes money with magecraft."

Gordes said disdainfully. To him, magecraft was a pursuit, never something to be used for profit.

The other Masters felt the same. Their eyes showed strong contempt, or perhaps confusion. Only Danic, who had lived in the world of magecraft for a century, and Celenike, who made a profession out of black magic curses, calmly assessed his abilities.

"He's quite powerful."

"It seems so."

After all, necromancy is a magecraft developed alongside corpses. Magecraft that revives simple corpses (zombies) or monsters born from them requires a large number of corpses.

Where can one find many corpses? Not cemeteries or morgues, but battlefields. Thus, top-tier necromancers choose to head to battlefields rather than cemeteries. When revolutions or coups erupt into massacres, they joyfully collect the dead, which is the fate of necromancers.

Since ancient times, wars have never ceased. Necromancers have always coexisted with danger. Magus even conducts experiments that risk their own lives. Sometimes they have to fight the creatures they summon when they go berserk. However, not many magus willingly throw themselves into the irrationality of battlefields.

Kairi Shishigou—the Shishigou family hails from the Far East, where magecraft is not prevalent. Their lineage has continued for seven generations. The thesis of the sixth-generation Shishigou, Touki, was highly praised by the Clock Tower, and it was naturally assumed his son Sisigou would follow the path of a researcher at the Clock Tower. However, he dropped out after less than three years.

Afterward, it is said he collected corpses on battlefields and hunted down stray heretic magus, embarking on a life sustained by bounties.

Though his motives are unclear, his personality and the magecraft he uses seem well-suited to the life of a bounty hunter. In another ten years, Kairi Shishigou's name will resound among underground magus.

But this doesn't mean he has no ties to the Clock Tower. They will likely hire him again with high rewards or other incentives. Of course, he stands on the same footing as most magus sent by the Clock Tower. The only exception is that priest from the Holy Church, Shirou. Apart from his affiliation with the Eighth Sacrament, nothing else is known about him. Although the Holy Church also harbors the Yggdmillennia clan, most of his life remains a mystery. This means he could be a deeply hidden figure, or his history is truly a blank slate.

Excluding the unknown strength of Priest Shirou, the remaining six Masters are all top-tier. Only Danic and Fiore, with their magic prowess, could stand against them. But the sad reality is that those Masters must supply their mana to their Servants as a price for commanding them.

The Yggdmillennia clan doesn't have this disadvantage. Although they hold Command Seals, they provide mana through an alternative route, preventing their mana from being consumed by their Servants.

Naturally, for safety, they provide the minimum mana needed to materialize their Servants—just enough to maintain their presence. This means that for materializing the Heroic Spirits, the Masters handle the core parts, while the mana consumption for Noble Phantasms, self-healing, and magic execution is handled by the homunculi system.

Thus, the disparity in strength is completely overturned. The more advanced a magus is, the more massive the mana they require for magecraft. Depending on the situation, they might even find themselves in a ridiculous state of competing for mana with their Servants.

Assuming they could win the Holy Grail War with just ten days of preparation is a grave mistake. The Yggdmillennia clan, no, Danic, has been preparing for this war since the end of the Third Holy Grail War in Fuyuki.

"The battle is near."

Vlad III said in a low voice. All the Masters and Servants present silently agreed. Something was stirring within their hearts, signaling the start of the war.

Soon, the real curtain would rise, and there was little time left for hesitation. The center of this Holy Grail War would be the fourteen summoned Servants and the two major factions, Yggdmillennia and the Mage's Association. This was the unanimous understanding of all Masters and Servants in this war.