Chapter 86: How Can a Person's Luck Always Be This Bad?
"Looks like the kid guessed right after all.
The magus of the Matou family really intended to hunt Servants here at Ryudou Temple while we were heading to the Church."
From within the flames, Lancer's reckless voice drifted over. Clearly, their arrival was no accident.
And it wasn't just Lancer and his companion who had rushed to Ryudou Temple at Emiya Shirou's suggestion. The magical fluctuations of the Rune characters and the sea of fire manifested by the Flame Runes had also alerted Caster inside the temple.
The moment she arrived on the scene, she saw an Assassin whose state was clearly wrong, along with Lancer and Bazett, who were looking at her provocatively. She also saw Matou Zouken, who was already looking to make a run for it upon seeing Lancer's arrival.
"Assassin, what exactly is going on?"
Caster tried to dispel the curse on Assassin, only to discover she couldn't simply remove it. Her expression instantly turned grave. Bypassing Lancer's group, she glared in Matou Zouken's direction. "What did you just endure?"
As she asked this, Caster was already fully prepared for a space transfer. If things turned sour, she ensured she could immediately warp herself and Soichirou Kuzuki away from the area.
After all, as a priestess and contractor of Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, Caster could contact her at any time for assistance once she had constructed a temple dedicated to her within Ryudou Temple.
The reason Caster could analyze the Holy Grail in such a short time—and even hack into the Grail system to summon another Servant while being a Servant herself—wasn't just due to her high-level expertise as a magus from the Age of Gods. It was also because she could borrow the power of the goddess Hecate through her temple.
Much like Ergo in The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II, who possessed a divine perspective for a short time and could directly see all the "IF" lines and parallel world endings of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
Having long completed her analysis of the Grail system, Caster saw through Assassin's current condition at a glance. This wasn't just a curse... no, it was more than that. It was a Heroic Spirit summoning ritual embedded into Assassin's body via a curse!
If she had been any later, Assassin would likely have already become a medium and mana source used by another Master to summon a different Servant.
This was why Caster found it troublesome. Stealing a soul back from the Grail wasn't impossible for her, but it required the temple's assistance to "file a report" to her superior
(Hecate). That method couldn't be completed in a short time. As for methods that could be done quickly... if she used those to save Assassin, she would have to be wary of Assassin himself.
"Lancer, what is your objective?"
Caster received no answer from Assassin. With Matou Zouken forced back by the flames, the mental tension that had been keeping Assassin upright finally snapped; he was now robbed even of the ability to speak.
Fortunately, having sailed on the Argo and seen all manner of heroes in her lifetime, Caster could distinguish by aura alone that "muscle-bound barbarians" like Lancer and Bazett—who studied magecraft only to fight better—didn't have the wits to orchestrate something this complex. This was why she had been instantly wary of Matou Zouken.
"That magical fluctuation just now... you deliberately used that method to inform me of the situation here.
Instead of staying hidden and killing Assassin alongside that magus, you came here wanting to reach an agreement with me, I presume?"
Quickly analyzing the situation, Caster turned to Lancer and Bazett. "Very well. Whether it's an alliance or something else, I accept. As long as you can help me pin down that magus, I will naturally agree to your terms.
Furthermore, as payment for your previous actions, I can tell you one thing in advance: the prize of this Holy Grail War, the Grail itself, has long been corrupted. Even if it descends, it will not grant your wishes in the way you desire."
Seemingly afraid that Lancer's group wouldn't understand the importance of cooperating with her, Caster added another detail she had learned from her analysis: "However, I can purify the curse within the Grail. In fact, only I, manifested in the Caster class, can clear it!"
While exposing this information had its pros and cons, given the current situation, any participant intent on winning the war and seizing the chance to make a wish would do their best to keep Caster alive until the end—unless they didn't want a wish at all.
But how was that possible? Didn't they join the war specifically for the wish?
Whether it was the summoned Servants or the chosen Masters, her luck couldn't be so bad that she had run into a pair of Servant and Master who were actually uninterested in the Grail and its wishes, right?
Caster, who didn't believe such a thing possible, was extremely confident. Without Assassin, having Lancer's help seemed like a good trade.
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At the same time.
Although they had split up based on past-life memories and various potential scenarios, the group that had set out so aggressively for the Church to settle scores with Kotomine Kirei had dwindled.
In the end, only Emiya Shirou and Saber arrived.
"This is truly... an unexpectedly foolish move, Emiya Shirou."
Watching only the two of them enter, Kotomine Kirei couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
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