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MMMS 13
🕑 Added 2025-04-01 01:25:34 +0000 UTCAbout 200 years ago, three mage families—the Einzbern, Matou, and Tohsaka—came together with a shared vision. They decided to combine their resources and family magical secrets, which eventually led to what most people know as the Holy Grail—supposedly an all-powerful wish-granting device. The catch was that it could only fulfill one person's wish, so what began as a partnership quickly turned into a deadly competition for survival. And just like that, the Holy Grail War was born.
Since then, the pattern had repeated like clockwork. Every sixty years, the Grail reappeared in Fuyuki, the small city in the Far East where it was first summoned. The Grail selected seven magi it considered worthy, gave each of them a portion of its enormous magical energy, and allowed them to summon Servants. According to the official story, whichever magus and Servant pair managed to defeat all the others got to have their wish granted by the Holy Grail.
But this was all a lie. An all-powerful wish-granting device as the prize? Nothing more than an elaborate cover story created by the founding families. They were simply trying to hide the Holy Grail War's true purpose from the magical community and discourage powerful competitors from getting involved.
In reality, those three founding families set up the Holy Grail War to sacrifice seven heroic souls as a way to reach what they called the Root. In mystical terms, this place exists somewhere beyond their world—it's considered the ultimate point in dimensional theory and the source of everything. That's what all magi truly desire—access to the Root—a place that has recorded everything in the world from beginning to end.
To people outside magical society, this goal might seem odd, but for most magi, "Reaching the Root" was actually far more appealing than any wish-granting device. It represented the ultimate aspiration of what it meant to be a true magus. That's exactly why the founding families kept quiet about the fact that "The Holy Grail could open a path to the Root." By concealing this crucial information, they ensured the Mage's Association wouldn't take too much interest in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.
Ryuuto seemed to understand their motivation. He recognized what drove these magi because he himself was born from humanity's arrogance and greed. The choice of prosperity over peace, the pursuit of glamour over something meaningful—these were the original sins that brought him into existence in the first place.
He thought the magi's aspirations reminded him of that old Confucian saying: "In the morning, hear the Way; in the evening, die content." They simply wanted to find meaning before their lives ended. But if he actually managed to consume the Fuyuki Holy Grail with all seven servants inside it, he would gain power far beyond what anyone could achieve by reaching the Root or using some wish-granting device.
At least that's what his mother had told him—and as Type-Moon's biggest Beast VI fan and self-proclaimed Princess of the Root, she ought to know. According to her, a fully-powered Ryuuto would become the ultimate monster, powerful enough to tear apart even the Quantum Time-Lock and the very Foundation of Human Order.
…
"Please answer my question, Master." Morgan's voice was cold and serious. "Are the souls you wish to sacrifice 6 or 7?"
Ryuuto smiled lazily and waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, you've got it all wrong, Caster. I couldn't care less about reaching the Root, and I'm not trying to unleash some Evil of Humanity. I like my easy life just fine, and I'm not planning to destroy the world or anything, so don't worry; I won't stab you in the back."
He locked eyes with her, deliberately letting a moment pass before his lips curled into a mocking smile. "If I told you that... what would you do, Morgan le Fay?"
Unlike other heroes, the witch who despised Human Order had completely different ambitions. Her wish was similar to what Manaka had wanted before meeting him—to destroy the Quantum Time-Lock. This was the only way she could fulfill her burning desire: complete revenge against the Human Order that had refused to choose her as king.
Morgan simply turned away, her elegant face revealing nothing as she ignored his cruel, taunting question.
"I understand, Master. If that's what you say, I'll trust you for now," she said, extending her hand with a deliberate gesture. "I will obtain the Holy Grail for you. Please take care of me from now on."
She didn't react at all to his provocation. Interesting. He reached out and took her hand, looking up to meet her eyes. "Let's make this Holy Grail War one to remember, Caster."
"!?"
The moment their hands met, the pattern on his hand began to glow. She immediately sensed something was wrong and let out a small gasp. "What are you... doing?"
She tried to pull her hand away from his grip, but somehow this boy—standing a head shorter than her—had strength that even she as a Servant couldn't break free from. Then she felt it—magical energy rushing like hot water through their connected palms and into her body, forcing its way through her magic circuits.
Every sense in her body suddenly heightened at once as the magical energy surged through her, creating a warm sensation that spread across her skin and deep into her core.
"...Haa, haa, haa." Her normally calm, elegant beauty became bewitchingly sensual as her face flushed red, her breathing quick and shallow. When the magical energy finally stopped flowing, she hunched slightly, trying to control her trembling shoulders, and shot her Master an angry glare. "...Why would you do something like that?"
"Well, I'm not really the type who likes to give orders from the back lines," he replied. "For this Holy Grail War, I want to be the one leading the charge."
He had just done two things. First, Command Spell transfer—he'd moved his Command Spells to his Servant, which was actually permitted within the Holy Grail War rules. Second, Forced contract—he'd made himself Caster's Servant by creating a contract with her. This should have been completely impossible under normal Holy Grail War rules, but somehow, he could do it.
If anyone wondered how he could accomplish this, the answer was simple: he was the rule itself. The Grail guarded by the Church, while not the true Holy Grail, was genuinely an evil relic—something far more powerful than any Grail created by modern magi. For a monster like him, changing the Holy Grail War's rules was effortless. To make things more interesting and improve his chances of survival by making people believe Morgan was the vulnerable Master, he decided to reshuffle the deck. He would become a Servant, with Morgan acting as his fake Master.
"...Haa, haa." Morgan stared at him as he casually trampled over the rules, cold sweat running down her pale forehead. Even as merely a young Beast, he already possessed this much power?
"There, all done. Are you okay, Caster?" His voice snapped Morgan back to reality. Her mind had been in a fog, her thoughts frozen by the magical energy that had flooded her body.
"...I'm, I'm fine," she managed, pulling her hand away from his and taking an awkward step backward. Her eyes turned to the Command Spells that had transferred from the young Master's hand to a private area of her body, and her sensual lips curved into a slight frown.
"Next time, Master," she said with a chill in her voice, "please discuss things with me before doing something like this."
"Sure, sure, definitely next time," he replied with a casual wave of his hand.
She glared at her young Master's dismissive attitude, then pouted and looked away. She wanted to be angry, but couldn't find a proper outlet for it. Then she noticed her cheeks felt unusually warm. She really had no idea how to handle this young man.
"I need some fresh air, Master. Standing down here is making me extremely uncomfortable."
"Go ahead," he nodded.
The sound of her high heels clicked against the floor as she walked through the Matou house corridors, growing fainter until they completely faded. Then, unexpectedly, her voice echoed in his mind: "Just to be clear—my discomfort isn't because of you. It's the disgusting smell of worms in this basement."
He chuckled. "I figured as much without you having to tell me."
