The Holy Grail War.
As the name suggests, it was a war planned by magi to obtain the [Holy Grail], which could grant any wish.
Heroic Spirits were summoned by the magi in this process in the form of "Servants," and were assigned to seven different classes.
These seven summoned Servants would fight each other relentlessly with the aim of seizing the Holy Grail, until only one remained, who would be the victor of the Holy Grail War.
If that was the case—
Ian looked at Cu Chulainn before him, and a series of answers formed in his mind.
The reason he appeared here as a Caster was because someone had found the relic that could summon him from that specific period!
Thinking further, the one providing him with magical energy right now might just be the Holy Grail itself!
It all clicked.
Everything made sense.
But what did Cu Chulainn mean by saying "human Masters have long since disappeared"?
Ian felt incredibly worried about this statement.
"..."
Perhaps sensing the strangeness of the man before him, Cu Chulainn spread his hands and threw his magic staff to the ground.
"Alright, it seems you're indeed not a Servant of the Holy Grail War," he conceded, his gaze softening slightly.
"Then—"
"How about we sit down and have a good talk?" he suggested, extending an invitation.
"..."
Cu Chulainn had shown such sincerity, and Ian naturally couldn't ignore it.
Excalibur Galatine dissipated in his hand at an extremely fast speed.
"Then let's talk," Ian agreed, nodding slowly.
On the ruins after the battle, Cu Chulainn and Ian sat side by side.
Having witnessed each other's strength, the two now felt a sense of mutual appreciation, like rivals.
Cu Chulainn spoke first:
"You said you're not a Servant, but a Master?" he inquired, tilting his head slightly.
"I'm a 'Master Candidate'," Ian slightly corrected Cu Chulainn's statement.
"But you can call me Master, it doesn't matter."
"After all—"
"My Servant isn't here."
"Heh."
Cu Chulainn raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"You're quite something then," he remarked, a wry smile on his lips.
"To be able to clash with me like that with a human body—your Servant must be incredibly powerful, right?"
"That's not the point," Ian politely interrupted Cu Chulainn's praise.
"I want to know, where is this place?" he asked, his voice serious.
"Fuyuki City," Cu Chulainn answered directly. "The Holy Grail War is held here every sixty years."
"Then—"
Ian took a deep breath—the smell of burnt debris filled his nostrils, a somewhat unpleasant sensation.
"What did you mean by saying 'human Masters have long since disappeared'?" he pressed, his voice filled with concern.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Cu Chulainn replied, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding scenery.
"Take a good look around yourself."
"..."
At Cu Chulainn's words, Ian began to pay attention to his surroundings.
He was unaware until he looked.
Ian, who had previously focused all his attention on the battle, now realized the state of Fuyuki City where he was.
Ruins were everywhere, with embers still scattered about.
Black smoke rose from the remains of buildings, silently narrating the city's disintegration.
Given this scene, no one would probably question if it were called hell on earth.
"Do you understand now?" Cu Chulainn's voice sounded at the right time. "Under these circumstances, so-called human Masters no longer exist."
"..."
Ian could now understand Cu Chulainn's attack just now.
Since "human Masters" shouldn't exist at all, facing himself who could freely control the replicated Excalibur Galatine and Arondight, he subconsciously treated him as a "Servant."
Just as Ian wanted to ask why Fuyuki City had been destroyed like this, a cry for help came from not far away.
"Help! Help!"
"Someone, please save me!"
Ian turned his head, subconsciously looking in the direction of the sound, and then saw an unexpected figure.
It was Olga Marie.
She was running forward with all her might, completely out of breath.
And behind her, a group of black shadows wearing bone masks were chasing her with daggers.
Thump.
Olga Marie fell to the ground.
She looked in despair at the black shadows approaching her step by step.
"Don't come any closer!" she pleaded, her voice trembling with fear.
"Oh, looks like there are other humans after all," Cu Chulainn laughed self-deprecatingly.
"But—"
"Looks like she's about to die."
"I won't let Director die!" Ian declared firmly, refuting Cu Chulainn's words, and once again projected Excalibur Galatine.
"Hah—!"
He fearlessly charged towards the black shadows.
"Hiss..."
Cu Chulainn picked up his magic staff.
"Looks like someone he knows."
"Now I have no choice but to help."
On the other side.
Olga Marie was deep in despair.
She kept retreating on the ground like an earthworm, grabbing anything she could and throwing it at the black shadows in front of her.
But such attacks naturally had no effect.
The black shadow raised its gleaming dagger high, then forcefully stabbed down.
"Help!"
"I don't want to die!"
Olga Marie raised her hands, blocking her head—a meaningless defense.
But the next moment,
She heard a clang.
It was the sound of weapons colliding.
Olga Marie opened her eyes.
She saw Ian, holding a sword, appear before her, blocking the dagger for her.
"Director, are you alright?!" Ian asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Ian..."
Looking at the man before her, Olga Marie's eyes became a little moist.
"I'm fine," she managed to say, her voice still shaky.
"That's good," Ian breathed a sigh of relief. "We can talk later, you should go hide somewhere safe first!"
"Eh, what about you?"
"I'll be fine, trust me!" Ian reassured her, his gaze determined.
"..."
Although she didn't find Ian's words very convincing, Olga Marie knew that she had no choice but to trust him at this moment.
However—
When she turned her head, she discovered a desperate situation.
There were also many black shadows approaching from the road behind her!
They looked similar but not identical, but all exuded a killing intent.
Olga Marie panicked.
"Ian! There are strange things over here too!" she cried out, her voice filled with terror.
"What?!"
Despite hearing Olga Marie's words, Ian couldn't spare any attention to help her.
Because these black shadows before him were not simple—they emanated a visible magical energy.
Ian realized that these might be Assassins from the Holy Grail War.
Their individual abilities weren't particularly strong.
But now, they seemed to have become troublesome enemies due to the overflowing magical energy from the Holy Grail.
While they weren't impossible to deal with, their large numbers made them very troublesome.
"Damn it!"
Ian flicked away a black shadow's dagger.
"Why are there so many of them?!" he muttered, frustration evident in his voice.
But just at this moment, a series of flames flew over.
"Well, they are Hundred-Faced after all," Cu Chulainn said, as if responding to Ian, and then one after another, he eliminated the black shadows under Olga Marie's surprised gaze.
The blue-haired magus looked at the man who had also defeated the black shadows.
"Hey, what's your name anyway?" Cu Chulainn asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Ian."
"Oh... I'm Cu Chulainn," he replied, a small smile on his lips.
Having exchanged names, Cu Chulainn turned around.
He saw that the flames from just now had attracted even more black shadows.
"Ian, let's have another competition," Cu Chulainn suggested, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Let's see who kills more of 'them'."
"...Alright," Ian replied, looking at the black shadows appearing from another direction, gripping his weapon tightly. "We didn't finish our fight earlier anyway."
He didn't know how much time had passed.
As Ian pulled the sword he had projected from the last black shadow,
A huge threat came to an end.
"Director."
Ian bent down and gently stroked Olga Marie's head.
"It's alright now," he said softly, trying to reassure her.
"..."
Olga Marie, who had been unable to make a sound due to excessive fear, suddenly seemed to be released.
Her frozen expression crumbled in an instant, replaced by extremely distraught crying.
At this moment, she seemed to have returned to the weak appearance she had when secretly comforting herself in her office.
"Waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—!"
"Ian, those things were so scary!" she sobbed, clutching onto him tightly.
"Yeah, I know," Ian replied gently.
Ian hugged Olga Marie, silently listening to her cry in his arms.
Cu Chulainn watched this scene, his expression somewhat complicated.
He felt like he was a bit redundant at this moment.
After a long while, Olga Marie finally calmed down.
She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and held Ian's hand tightly.
Cu Chulainn finally had a chance to interject.
"Ian, I heard you call her Director just now."
"Are you two from some kind of organization?" he asked, his curiosity evident.
Unlike Mordred, who was summoned in a simple way, Cu Chulainn (Caster), who was summoned through proper means, was given sufficient modern knowledge.
Communication would be much more convenient.
"Yes," Ian replied, squeezing Olga Marie's hand reassuringly.
"We're from Chaldea."
"Chaldea?"
Cu Chulainn showed a puzzled expression.
"It feels like a place I've heard of... but I'm not quite sure where it is."
"Well, never mind that," Cu Chulainn said, shaking his head slightly.
Cu Chulainn stared at Ian and Olga Marie before him.
"Looking at the two of you, you don't seem like Masters or Servants, so you shouldn't have anything to do with the Holy Grail War."
"Then—"
"Why are you here?"
"..."
This was a very crucial question.
Ian looked at Olga Marie beside him, frowning slightly.
He was asking her if she could answer truthfully.
But Olga Marie didn't have such concerns—perhaps Cu Chulainn's help just now made her realize that he wasn't an enemy they couldn't try to win over.
She nodded directly.
With this permission, Ian then explained his origins.
"Cu Chulainn, it's like this..."
The man briefly explained the whole process.
After listening, Cu Chulainn nodded thoughtfully.
"So that's how it is... is Fuyuki City now a special Singularity?" he mused, stroking his chin.
"Then I can understand why things have turned out this way."
"Turned out this way?" Ian felt that there was still more to the story.
And Cu Chulainn's next words proved his thoughts.
"Ian, this Holy Grail War has become distorted," Cu Chulainn stated, his voice serious.
"Distorted?" Ian repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Let's leave here first," Cu Chulainn said, picking up his staff. "We can talk on the way."
"Alright," Ian agreed, nodding.
Following Cu Chulainn's words, the group left their original location, their next destination seemingly a large mountain.
After a moment of silence, the blue-haired magus who was walking in front began to speak.
"According to the usual rules, the Holy Grail War should be a battlefield where Servants strive to seize the Holy Grail."
"But—"
Cu Chulainn sighed.
"This time is very different."
"The Saber of this war, despite being able to reach the Holy Grail, did not make any wish," he revealed, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Didn't make any wish?" Ian was a bit surprised—after all, the Holy Grail was known as the "Omnipotent Wish-Granting Machine."
"That's right," Cu Chulainn confirmed with a nod.
"That Saber not only doesn't intend to make a wish herself, but also doesn't allow anyone else to make a wish—she just stands by the Holy Grail, eliminating anyone, human or Servant, who tries to approach it."
"This indirectly caused countless disasters—fires, earthquakes, and other such terrible events followed one after another, and humanity also perished at this time," Cu Chulainn explained, his tone grim.
"Now, out of the seven Servants who originally participated in this Holy Grail War, only that Saber and I remain."
"Then those black shadows just now were..." Ian couldn't help but ask, his curiosity piqued.
"They are Assassins who have become her subordinates," Cu Chulainn continued to explain. "She can turn everyone she defeats into her own subordinates."
"Wait a minute!" Olga Marie realized something, her eyes widening in alarm.
"If this continues, won't this Holy Grail War never end?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
"The Holy Grail can't be taken away either—everyone will be trapped here?"
Because instead of killing Servants, she was turning them into subordinates.
So naturally, the condition for ending the war, which was to "defeat" the other Servants, would never be met.
And the possibility of forcibly ending everything through the Holy Grail was strictly guarded by the Saber herself.
This was... a dead end?
"Yeah," Cu Chulainn said with a wry smile.
"Before, I didn't understand why everything had become so twisted."
"After meeting you, I understood—this shouldn't have happened normally at all."
Ian understood.
"So you're saying you're looking for outside help now?" he asked, his gaze meeting Cu Chulainn's.
"That's right," Cu Chulainn replied, turning his head to look at Ian.
"I believe you are that powerful outside help."
"But that doesn't make sense—" Olga Marie, who was holding Ian's arm, looked directly at Cu Chulainn before her.
She had realized a very crucial issue.
"If you're really Cu Chulainn, shouldn't there be very few Heroic Spirits stronger than you?" she questioned, her brow furrowed.
Hearing this, Cu Chulainn forced a wry smile.
"If I had my spear, I would probably be very happy to agree with your point," he admitted, a hint of regret in his voice.
"But—"
"I'm holding a magic staff right now."
"And that Saber's true name is the legendary Artoria Pendragon—also known as King Arthur."
"Shouldn't no one have truly conquered her in the real sense?" Cu Chulainn finished, his gaze filled with a mixture of respect and helplessness.