Why bother with the Holy Grail War? Let's play cards!

【Matou Sakura (Imaginary Number)】 3-star, 1800 attack power

"My own effect, once per turn, can target 1 face-up Attack Position monster your opponent controls. Banish that monster until your next Standby Phase. After this effect is activated, I cannot declare an attack. Shirou-senpai, I'm sorry, because destroying you will cause trouble for your Servant, so you'll be banished for a while." The dark purple alternate dimension swallowed Emiya Shirou.

"Then enter the battle phase! [Gorgon] attacks [Heroic Spirit Kiritsugu]!"

"What a troublesome task!" Kiritsugu, the Heroic Spirit, knew he was no match for Gorgon, but he still went to meet him.

Without any surprise, he successfully turned into a stone statue and appeared behind Sakura Matou.

Rin Tohsaka LP3500→LP1800

"Gorgon cannot be destroyed by spell effects. Even if it is destroyed by the Battle City, I can release a continuous magic card in the backfield as a replacement. Sister, it's over."

"How can you give up until the very end?" Rin Tohsaka laughed, and she wasn't without a winning strategy. "My turn, draw a card!"

"Sakura, you're right, it's over! But I'm the winner!"

"I Normal Summon [Tosaka Tokiomi]! Thanks to Father's effect, I add [Jewel Sword Zelritch] from my deck to my hand!"

[Tokiomi Tohsaka] Attack Power 1200

Sakura Matou realized Rin Tohsaka's thoughts: "You want to bypass [Gorgon] directly with Jewel Magic? But the three-times limit of just one card, Tokiomi Tohsaka, is not enough."

"That's enough. The effect of [Jewel Sword] requires banishing a [Tōsaka] Servant from the Graveyard before it can be equipped. I will equip [Jewel Sword] to my father."

Tohsaka Tokitoki seemed a little excited as he held the legendary magic sword.

[Tokiomi Tohsaka] Attack power 1200 → 1700

"[Jewel Sword] Effect! While face-up on the field, [Jewel] Spell Cards cannot be negated. Once per turn, search your deck for all Jewel Spells except your own!"

Rin Tohsaka LP1800→LP2050

Matou Sakura LP1000→LP750

"I'm searching for [Jewel Bullet]! Card name: once per turn, deals 500 HP damage to the enemy. That's it, Sakura!" Rin Tohsaka's entire deck couldn't directly break through Gorgon, but victory doesn't necessarily require breaking through the Servant.

"I'll make it up to you later. Forgive me, Sakura, this is the last time I'll beat you." Rin Tohsaka's magic bullet delivered its final judgment.

Matou Sakura LP750→LP250→LP0!

Chapter 128 Emiya Shirou: In short, a partner of justice!

Rin Tohsaka successfully defeated her sister and took third place! With less than an hour left until the end of the preliminaries, the remaining players have already been confirmed, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the rankings will likely remain relatively stable. We can congratulate the four players who have secured their spots in the finals in advance. Congratulations!

Sakura Matou flew backwards, and the stars representing the scores scattered all over the ground.

Toosaka Rin rushed over and helped her up. Since it was not a dark duel, Matou Sakura was just weak for a while and was not seriously injured.

"I still couldn't beat you, sister." Matou Sakura smiled at Tohsaka Rin. She was already defeated and didn't bother to dwell on it. She couldn't compete with Illya anymore; in truth, she probably couldn't beat Illya anyway. "Congratulations, sister, on taking another step closer to victory. Don't lose your next duel with Illya. I'll cheer you on."

"We will win!" Rin Tohsaka declared in victory. "I will also take back my Servant and win the Holy Grail along with it!"

"The Holy Grail... Now that things have come to this, you should know about it, sister." Matou Sakura felt that since her sister no longer had any prejudice against Caster, it was better for her to know some things. "We'll talk about it in detail when we get back."

The Emiya residence has basically been used as a temporary base.

"So, because of the Einzbern family's irregularities during the Third Holy Grail War, the Holy Grail was corrupted and has now lost its normal mechanism for fulfilling wishes. Instead, it interprets and fulfills wishes in a malicious way?" Rin Tohsaka quickly gleaned key information from Sakura Matou's explanation, some of which roughly corresponded to what Tokiomi Tohsaka had said. "Then how did the wish to revive everyone work out ten years ago, in the timeline where you met Caster?"

"Because of the appearance of the Beast, it absorbed the evil of this world. When Caster won the Dark Game, the Beast and the evil of this world were destroyed by the rules."

"What is Beast? And how many random classes are there in the Heroic Spirit system?" Rin Tohsaka put this unanswerable question out of her mind. "In other words, if we want the Holy Grail here to work, we need a vessel to accept the evil of this world, and then defeat it with the Dark Game."

Rin Tohsaka turned her gaze to Archer: "Since Sakura knows, there's no reason this guy who wants to use the Holy Grail to enhance Caster's Noble Phantasm shouldn't know. You're in such a hurry to find a Master..."

"So, Archer, you chose me as your Master so you'd make me a vessel for this evil?" Rin Tohsaka jumped to her feet, her magic bullet aimed directly at Archer. "You traitor, Archer! I'll deal with you right here and now, you menace!"

Archer knew that Rin Tohsaka needed to vent her anger, so he projected his twin swords and shattered the magic bullet in mid-air, trying to soothe her: "Rin, you are the strongest Master in this Holy Grail War, and you are the most suitable vessel! This is a talent that no one else has, and only you can do it!"

"The same old tricks again, huh? You're really good at making girls happy, aren't you!" Rin Tohsaka had been fooled once before and wouldn't fall for it again, firing several more magic bullets at Archer. "If you actually succeed, what will I do then? Will I be Rin Tohsaka or Angra Mainyu? Will I live or die? Believe me, I'll make you commit suicide right here right now!"

The more Toosaka Rin thought about it, the angrier she became. She increased her firepower and fired a series of magic bullets that blew the door off.

"Rin, calm down." Shirou Emiya wasn't helping Archer; he was just worried about his house. If Rin kept making a scene like this, his savings would shrink even more.

"You and he are the same person, aren't you? Didn't you want to kill your past self? Forget about the Holy Grail, I'll help you do it!" Rin Tohsaka threatened, holding up the jewel. In reality, she wouldn't actually attack Shirou Emiya.

Red A didn't dare to take any chances. He flipped over and grabbed Emiya Shirou by the collar, leading him away from Tōsaka Rin's attack range. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave right now. This is the closest we'll ever get to peace. You have to trust Caster's Noble Phantasm. His Noble Phantasm, combined with the Dark Game, can accomplish many impossible things. From now on, you can kill or slash this guy as you please."

"What do you mean by 'I'll kill you or torture you'?" Shirou Emiya swung an elbow strike at Archer, which was easily blocked. "It's all your doing, why am I being dragged into this?"

"Is it just my problem? You know I've already tried it, and even if it's indirect damage, this rule can cover the source of the attack." Red A gave his past self a subtle smile. Having returned to his memories after appearing in his own era, he knows his current self all too well.

"Remember the fire ten years ago? That was the result of someone destroying the Holy Grail and releasing the evil of the moment. But if Caster's Noble Phantasm had been effective for everyone at that time, the rules would have erased the first contact of damage, regardless of whether they agreed to the duel or not, and that disaster wouldn't have happened."

The live stream during this period allowed Shirou Emiya to glean some of the rules governing Jiang You's Noble Phantasms, and he knew that what Archer (Red Archer) said was true. He also learned some of the rules for mages from Rin Tohsaka: "But, it's unlikely that a Noble Phantasm can be used globally, right? And would the Mage's Association agree to that? Such a conflict of interest would probably kill quite a few people, wouldn't it?"

“They’ve already agreed.” Bazett said this while Red A was also present, and the biggest obstacle had been removed. “And even if they hadn’t agreed, I would still have done it! Magic or firearms are both tools for killing, so their disappearance wouldn’t have much of an impact. Anyway, magic that makes life easier won’t be popular with many people.”

"Okay, I'll help you!" With the thought that the tragedy of ten years ago would not be repeated, Shirou Emiya was actually convinced.

Rin Tohsaka knew that Shirou Emiya's thought process had become extremely simplistic after triggering the keywords "ally of justice," and she was easily persuaded. She sighed, "I knew this would happen. Are you going to use me as a vessel too?"

“No, I mean I’ll be the vessel. You see, I have magic circuits too, right? You said I was exceptionally talented among the first generation of magicians.” Shirou Emiya’s eyes were resolute; he was willing to give up his life for world peace. “Even losing myself doesn’t matter!”

Chapter 129 The Holy Grail Won't Just Jump Out of Its Own Hands

Faced with Shirou Emiya's resolve, Rin Tohsaka didn't know whether to praise him or not, and finally sighed. "At least think about yourself first, you only have one life."

"No, you just said you were going to kill me, didn't you?" Emiya Shirou retorted, even though they were just facing off with swords drawn.

“Actually, there’s no need to be so pessimistic.” Matou Sakura, who had been drinking tea for a long time, spoke up. She had been watching this farce for a long time, and only refrained from interrupting because she found her sister’s distress quite amusing.

“Now, apart from Gilgamesh, there isn’t a single Servant who has left the stage,” Matou Sakura explained. “And Caster’s personality means he wouldn’t allow anyone to harm his comrades. Neither Illya nor I have any reason to fight him. In fact, this Holy Grail War can’t gather any Servants who can bring down the Holy Grail.”

"Or, sister, even after knowing the true identity of the Holy Grail, do you still want to continue fighting, force all the other Servants to retreat, and seize the title of victor?"

In the final analysis, there weren't many Masters who really wanted to join this Holy Grail War. Coupled with Jiang You's intrusion, the few who really wanted to fight had either already left or were still in the box, so there really wasn't a reason for them to fight.

“If it’s just about proving yourself, this duel is fine too. Instead of me, you should ask Archer; he’s obsessed with the Holy Grail.” Rin Tohsaka understood that the Holy Grail couldn’t be allowed to descend before finding a vessel, and to become a vessel, one had to possess the functions of a Lesser Grail. Right now, it seemed that no one except Illya could do that.

Considering the relationship between Caster and Illya, the Holy Grail War must be postponed. At least a suitable container must be found.

"My primary goal is Caster's Noble Phantasm. If he's unwilling, I naturally can't force him." Archer's stance remained firm. "Besides, there's always a way. Maybe the Holy Grail will just appear on its own?"

"Where did the magic come from to make the Holy Grail appear?" Rin Tohsaka remarked that Shirou Emiya's magical knowledge was still only third-rate, even as a Heroic Spirit. "So how exactly did you, a half-baked magician, manage to possess a Reality Marble?!"

"Congratulations, Shinji."

Shinji Matou lifted his clothes, and black lines spread across his body. He had never felt such abundant magic power before, but his body was aching abnormally. This feeling was not just a side effect of the crest worm, but like something had been inserted into his magic circuit. It felt like something else was inside him.

This made him both happy and scared, but in order to embark on the path of magic, Shinji Matou felt that he could endure it.

The voice continued, "The finals are just around the corner. My insects have gathered information for you: your opponents are Rin Tohsaka from the Tohsaka family and Illya from the Einzbern family. Hehehe... As expected, the final outcome will be decided among the three of us. This is fate, isn't it? Hehehe..."

"As for the remaining one, it seems someone stole Jason, the original Servant, from the Tohsaka family. But don't worry, Jason's deck can't break through the Crest Worm's defense. His deck almost entirely relies on Heracles's oppressive power. As long as we can seize control of Heracles, we can easily defeat him!" Zouken Matou's deck has many cards that allow him to seize control, giving him a significant advantage against Jason.

"The only one we need to be careful of is the little girl from the Tohsaka family. Try not to use the [Book of False Servants], and keep your health low in front of her... Are you even listening? You've already become so arrogant after winning against Cú Chulainn that you think you're invincible, haven't you?" Zouken Matou said with dissatisfaction. He knew Shinji Matou's arrogant and conceited nature. "If you don't get the Soul Crystal, I don't need to say what will happen to you. Your forcibly expanded magic circuits are constantly draining your life force."

"Shut...shut up, I will definitely win!"

This didn't sound like something Shinji Matou would say. He was always very timid when faced with a life-or-death situation, and Zouken Matou just assumed he was getting overconfident from winning too many games. "Then I'll look forward to seeing what you can do."

"Not bad at all." Jiang You counted the cards he had acquired recently. Although most of them were useless cards, after filtering them, there were still some usable ones. After he initiated the duel event, the cards of the defeated magicians and heroic spirits kept refreshing in his mail. "This is much more efficient than sending away soul crystals directly. Is this considered a sweep function?"

With a high degree of freedom, you can always develop some weird ways to play.

"You actually gave this thing away?" Medea, who was making a model, looked incredulous. She always felt that Jiang You's values ​​were seriously flawed. "This thing is worth enough to buy a country. Even in the Age of Gods, it would be enough to ask the gods to take it as an offering... In fact, you could even hire the gods to do your work. Of course, they might just steal it."

"After all, I can't use this thing directly." Jiang You had tried using it with Medea's help, but it was completely useless to him; he was an insulator. "Let's not talk about this anymore. What about Jason? You didn't actually turn him into a puppet, did you?"

"Not yet, at least not now." Medea continued painting her doll model. She already had quite a few Servant models in her hands, including Jason and the members of the Argonauts, as well as models of other Servants from this Holy Grail War. After making the templates, she could use magic to continuously produce rougher replicas.

As a peripheral part of the duel tournament, these figures are selling quite well, and Medea is currently enjoying the process.

"That bastard's upstairs entertaining guests right now." Medea was getting a little revenge. Jason had never served anyone before, and now he had to greet people with a smile all day long. Medea hadn't even hired any other employees; the huge model shop was only staffed by Jason. "If a customer leaves a bad review, his collar will retract, and if there are too many bad reviews, his head will fall off."

"He must be really working hard." Jiang You looked at the business page. Although the positive review rate was high, the actual profit was not high because Jason had to meet whatever requests customers made. Returns and exchanges were common, and there was even a door-to-door delivery service. It was fortunate that Jason was a Heroic Spirit, otherwise he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

However, Medea had no pursuit of money, so Jiang You just let her do what she wanted.

"Is the venue ready for tomorrow's finals?" Medea had a pretty good idea of ​​Jiang You's purpose; she rarely saw him. "Looks like I'll have to start working overtime again."

Chapter 130 Actually, the Noble Phantasm is the World Modulator (not really).

"It's ready. It'll be at Mount Yuanzang. The venue there is large enough. The terrain is high enough, and it'll have a more ceremonial feel." Actually, Jiang You would have preferred to open an aerial arena above the city, but unfortunately, he didn't have the financial resources and advanced technology of Kaiba. He originally wanted to rely on his all-powerful magic, but his suggestion to Medea was strongly rejected.

“You’d have to find the Assyrian Empress for this kind of aerial architecture; it’s not my area of ​​expertise,” Medea had said earlier.

The request was reasonable enough, Medea nodded: "That's fine. The defense, which is a crystallization of the soul, already has a lot of defensive magic set up. We can just modify it later."

The two quickly arrived at Liudong Temple, and under Jiang You's command, Medea began to set up the scene. To ensure that the audience could see clearly, she even used the alien technology that trapped Artoria in the normal world.

"It's amazing that you're willing to put so much effort into these things," Medea remarked, seeing how much Jiang You cared.

"Playing games is all about having fun, right?" Jiang You tried to draw a magic circle like Medea, but unsurprisingly, he failed. "If I can't play the main game in the crossover, then I'll just create my own Duel City. Simulation games are a genre too, after all."

Medea didn't understand what "body linkage" meant, but she'd heard plenty of Jiang You's nonsensical terms and had long since learned to ignore them. "Don't make things worse. And have you thought about what you'll do after the duel?"

"What should we do?" Jiang You didn't realize what Medea was referring to.

"Of course it's a matter for the magic world." Medea had analyzed modern magic, and Jiang You had practically overturned their table and smashed their bowls. "Most Servants already know about the Holy Grail issue, but according to the current rules of the magic world, you should be condemned by everyone, right?"

"Don't worry about that. Someone from them has contacted me. It's Bazett, the one who fought us before, who is also Lancer's Master. The Clock Tower said they will support my actions and even ensure my survival in this Holy Grail War." Bazett found Jiang You as soon as he left the Emiya family and explained his purpose.

Incidentally, Cú Chulainn finally had a satisfying, normal fight with Lancelot, though since neither had unleashed their Noble Phantasms, the outcome was inconclusive. Cú Chulainn expressed satisfaction that even if he were to withdraw now, he would have no regrets.

"I remember you killed quite a few people from the Mage's Association, because they wanted to steal the Soul Crystals." Because of the Soul Crystals, magicians from within a hundred miles were mobilized, and it was inevitable that some would have ulterior motives. As a result, the corpses of magicians on Mount Enzo were piled up, and Medea has been using them to generate electricity. "They still let you go... Do you really not have any Noble Phantasms related to mind control?"

“Yes, I possess the Noble Phantasm of the World Modulation System. Not only you, Medea, but also Tranquility, Hundred Faces, and Lancelot have been brainwashed by me without their knowledge.” Jiang You continued, following Medea’s words. “The next step is to rule the world!”