The infinite sword system has been mastered, and you say this is the dragon clan?

Chapter 180: The Holy Church: We have the Holy Grail
Emiya stood by the window of the room, looking through the glass at the quiet night scene with scattered lights in the distance.

The sound of water rustling in my ears was gentle and regular, like some kind of peaceful melody. That sound came from the bathroom - Eri was taking a bath.

Emiya turned off the external headlights, so the warm yellow bath light was particularly conspicuous, casting her shadow on the wall of the corridor through the frosted glass. The deep red outline swayed gently with the sound of water, like a flowing silhouette painting.

The phone screen was lightly tapped by Emiya's fingertips, and it suddenly lit up. He swept his eyes across the screen, frowning slightly, "So the Holy Church is coming, right? They are not claiming to be here to manage the Holy Grail and supervise the war, are they?"

"Hey, how did you know?"

The kid's sister Charlotte suddenly replied with a message. Emiya was stunned for a moment, then he realized that this girl was still awake at this time and was secretly peeking at the screen.

"You guessed it, right? Anyway, once the Holy Grail War was publicized, it was immediately noticed by the church. The legends of the pursuit of the Holy Grail in history were all products influenced by Christianity."

"They claim that 'holy relics' - not the catalyst for summoning heroic spirits, but a religious term - that is, the remains of saints, blood, the nails of Jesus during the crucifixion, the 30 silver coins given to Judas, and other sacred objects should be under the management of the church."

"And the 'Holy Grail' should also fall within this category, so the Church cannot ignore this Holy Grail War."

Emiya's eyebrows rose, "So, the Church is going to claim the Holy Grail as theirs, right?"

"No, they just used this slogan to gain an opportunity to interfere reasonably, because the church denounced the technology of manipulating the dead as heresy. In fact, as you can see, the form of the Holy Grail War is to summon the 'heroic spirits' of a nature similar to those in Norse mythology."

Charlotte's next message became less certain in its wording:
"So I guess that when the church first learned about the Holy Grail War, they would at most send people to observe and monitor it. Until the last moment - when the true face of the Holy Grail is revealed, the people in the church should not act rashly... right?"

"It would be best if things develop the way you said. Don't forget what we went through today. Even if the church doesn't choose to help, it would be best if it doesn't mess things up."

At this moment, Emiya's mind instantly jumped to the scene of the black shadow that seemed to be "all the evil in this world". With the existence of such evil, the danger of the Holy Grail War suddenly increased by several levels. The intervention of the church might make the situation more complicated. Maybe it is necessary to find it.

He couldn't imagine what kind of bad consequences Odin would cause if he held the Holy Grail War and deliberately cultivated this kind of thing... Human evil? Beast?
When this was mentioned, Charlotte's reply became full of resentment, as if one could see her angry little face through the screen.

"Speaking of which, what is that thing that looks like a black shadow and black mud? I was really scared when I saw it for the first time! I'm telling you, I'm not scared..."

"But could this black thing be the product of an experiment run amok by the mastermind behind the Holy Grail War? Or maybe this monster has a huge appetite, so it uses the name of the Holy Grail War to attract everyone to participate, but is actually feeding this... 'Holy Grail'?"

Perhaps it was because it was late at night, and those who stayed up too long would be more excited. The little girl was very excited and her imagination was full. She began to study the phenomenon of heroic spirits, the technique of spirit advent, and the mechanism of the Holy Grail behind it. As luck would have it, she came up with an amazing conjecture - "black mud = Holy Grail".

Emiya took a deep breath, and was immediately amazed at Charlotte's ability to hit the mark by accident. He slapped his thigh and continued what she said:

"Isn't that a coincidence? Actually, I have some guesses, and they coincide with yours. If we continue along this line of thought, we might be able to find out the real culprit first. Isn't this much better than a stupid bloody fight for a broken cup filled with black mud?"

"Do you really think the same as me?" Charlotte was a little unconvinced. Even through the screen, she could feel the little girl pouting and puffing her cheeks. "You're not just trying to get me to join your team as a laborer, are you?"

"Otherwise, do you still want to rely on your little bit of pseudo-servant strength to become the combat force?"

Are you kidding? Judging from Charlotte's performance in the mirror world last night, Emiya would rather take Eri with him than send this mage-type Rider to the front line.

Charlotte was speechless and replied angrily, "Hmph! Don't underestimate me! I'm a child prodigy from the clock tower!"

----

When Emiya and his group finished their discussion, it would only take a few hours for Tokyo to welcome another sunrise. In this bright morning, the sun gently fell on the front of the church door, as if coating this ancient building with a layer of golden light.

Wearing an apron that smelled of braised eggs and barbecued pork, Uesugi Yue picked up cleaning tools early in the morning and began to sweep the small prayer room. He recently reopened his business and became the eloquent Yue master in the eyes of Tokyo University students.

But he is no longer Master Yue at this moment, but has transformed into a part-time pastor or ordinary volunteer in the community church.

This work has actually been going on for a long time.

Uesugi Yue's mother, Charlotte Chen, was a devout nun of the French Catholic Church. She dedicated her life to the church and God. Today, Uesugi Yue has inherited his mother's faith and works as a part-time volunteer in the church whenever he has time, and prays to God to forgive the sins he has committed in this life.

Sometimes, not only in the early morning, but even in the whole afternoon, he would sit in the church, watching the sun gradually set, as if he had returned to his childhood, to the small church outside Lyon. He could hear people constantly discussing how Sister Charlotte was...

Uesugi Yue knew that the only time his mother betrayed her faith was to give birth to him.

The union of my mother and father was the result of a sudden love affair. At that time, my mother Charlotte was still a novice nun, and my father, as a former movie star, was a Go master. When my mother visited Japan as a representative of the French Catholic Church, she lost to my father in a Go competition at a cultural exchange meeting and fell in love with him. So the two eloped all the way to Lyon, France.

This was a mistake caused by the budding love of a young girl. As a novice nun, my mother was a woman who was to serve God for life. Once she got married and had a family, she could not become a nun for life. My father advised her to abort the fetus. The tragedy of my grandmother and uncle made my father hate his own blood. But my mother insisted on giving birth to Uesugi Koshi, so that the fetus in her belly could be saved.

However, at this moment, the ninjas of the Snake Eight Clan arrived and wanted to take them away. The father threatened to end his own life and ordered the family not to disturb the mother and son. Because the father knew that bringing the mother back to the family and living in a family environment full of breeding women would be a living hell.

But his mother concealed the fact that she was pregnant and joined the French Catholic Church, becoming a seemingly carefree lifelong nun. Uesugi Yue was born, raised and spent his childhood there.

Every day after school, he could go to the church to visit his mother, but unfortunately he could not recognize his mother in person. Although he was not religious, he prayed regularly like other children and called her "Mom Charlotte" affectionately. But only Uesugi Yue knew that she was his mother.

Until one day, Uesugi Yue's bloodline awakened, and the word spirit burst out, destroying three blocks. At this time, the family members suddenly appeared and said they would take him to the other side of the earth to be the "emperor".

Uesugi Yue was very happy at that time, thinking that he could travel for a few years and then come back to be with his mother. However, he did not expect that this trip would be the last time they would be separated.

"Ugh……"

Uesugi Yue sighed softly, and the memories that came back seemed to be swaying in the dust at his feet, and the broom in his hand could not help but stop. He looked through the glazed glass window of the church and looked at the sky in the distance. The sunlight shone through the glass and sprinkled on his face, reflecting the complex thoughts in his eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

There were five people in total entering the church, four of whom were well-proportioned, blond-haired and blue-eyed foreign nuns, and the leader was an energetic old priest. Their arrival seemed to break the tranquility of the church, and an indescribable sense of tension permeated the air.

"Hmm? Where are you guys from? Are you from the West, crossing the ocean to hold a Catholic faith exchange meeting?"

Uesugi Yue has been a volunteer in the community church for many years, and has never seen foreign nuns and priests transferred here. As he spoke, he tightened his grip on the broom in his hand, and the muscles in his arms tightened quietly.

He felt that this group of people was not simple.

"I have finally found you, the former Shadow Emperor of the Snake Eight Clan, Uesugi Yue."

The old man laughed heartily and said something that made Uesugi Yue's face change drastically.

"You know me? What do you want to do?" Uesugi Yue's voice was filled with a hint of caution and coldness. The title of "Shadow Emperor" was irritating him.

"It's nothing, we are just more interested in you, Excellency." The old priest's tone was calm and relaxed, as if he was talking about an insignificant matter.

Several people slowly approached.

Uesugi Yue sensed that the person coming had bad intentions, so he raised the broom in one hand and the dustpan in the other, and assumed the ancient sword stance of "Niten Ichiryu" like a civilian swordsman.

Uesugi Yue is indeed a sword saint, he is a Niten Ichiryu Menkyo Kaiden. Even without using the spirit of words, relying on his imperial strength, he can easily swing the long weapon anytime and anywhere and turn himself into a battlefield harvester.

He swung the broom lightly, and the smell of barbecued pork from his apron floated in the air.

"Don't be disrespectful to adults!"

One of the nuns frowned and smelled the strange smell of barbecued pork. Then she noticed that Shangshan Yue had pointed the "tip" of the broom at the old priest without knowing when, and actually threw a hidden short blunt sword from under his sleeve in front of him. The short sword flew into the air with a whooshing sound, and Shangshan Yue could judge that this sword could easily penetrate the concrete floor!
boom!
However, the next second, the dagger was smashed on the spot by another object that was chasing it.

Uesugi Yue took a closer look and found that it was a bronze coin that popped out of the old priest's hand. That kind of thing was not a real currency, but a toy used as a high-value token by casinos in the last century. At this moment, this antique gadget has become a dangerous weapon like a bullet.

"I'm sorry, this is the first time for the girls from the church to carry out a mission. It's inevitable that they are a little impulsive when they first arrive. If they have offended His Excellency Shadow Emperor, I can apologize on their behalf."

The old priest bowed slightly with an apologetic look on his face. With his kind and thin appearance, he didn't look like a ruthless person who could easily shoot coins as bullets.

Uesugi Yue looked back and saw the front wall of the prayer room pierced by a coin. He said expressionlessly, "You have destroyed the wall of a community church, a public welfare facility, without permission. Remember to pay for it."

"Of course." The old priest's tone contained a hint of disdain. It was obvious that he was financially well-off and did not take this small amount of repair money seriously.

"Oh, and since you've come to me, you have to tell me who you are." Seeing this, Uesugi Yue put down his dustpan and broom and patted his apron. "So that I can think of how to entertain you. After all, it's not business hours yet, so we can't serve ramen. All we have are these strong fists."

"Haha, you can call me Demio Cervantes. As for our identity... have you heard of the Holy Church?"

(End of this chapter)