The Holy Grail War Blessed by the Gods

Although they can disguise themselves with clothing so that the Yaga in the city can't tell they are of the old species, this obviously only applies to avoiding close contact.

And none of them had any Yaga, so they didn't seem to have many ways to gather intelligence, let alone gather information.

“If Patsch were still here, we should be able to extract information smoothly. Now…”

This is indeed a bit of a headache.

"It's not easy to get information by socializing with people, but I can still get information from the side."

Obtaining intelligence isn't just about extracting information from conversations; other people's conversations can also reveal useful information.

"I will send elves to listen to the whispers in the city, and they will return to report if they hear any useful information."

After a moment's thought, Manjusaki made up his mind to find a spirit of a culture at random and summon it to listen to people's conversations in various buildings.

"Mandah, protectors in droves, appear here and grant my wish."

The spirits were formed by magic, merged into the streets, and then dispersed into various buildings.

Most people's conversations were just about ordinary life and praising the Tsar.

However, some people did talk about the Servants who appeared in this city. After all, there are still quite a few differences between human and Yaga, so people inevitably discuss it.

"Alright, here's the useful information the elves have given me. A servant is currently staying at the old church in the north. It seems this matter is quite popular. I've already gathered two or three pieces of information in such a short time."

Having obtained useful information, Manshu did not rush to recall the elves, but instead sent them to continue their investigation.

They went to the church first to check the identity of the servants who had appeared there.

"This must be the church. We haven't detected any moving objects."

However, when they arrived at the church, they found nothing inside.

There weren't many traces left in the church; it looked like an ordinary, abandoned church.

"No, there are traces left. The Servants who came here must have used this place as their base. Perhaps they had a good affinity with the place. Although it did not reach the level of Caster, it was enough to be regarded as a kind of workshop."

Da Vinci spoke over the communication channel, explaining that since the people present didn't actually have much magical skill, they couldn't discern the difference for a while given the harmonious magical offense and defense and the environment.

"Since this is their base, let's wait here for now. If nothing unexpected happens, they'll come back sooner or later."

The wait here wasn't long; before dawn, the reactions of the servants appeared outside the building.

"Here I am."

"Okay, okay. To pull the trigger or not to pull the trigger, that is the question."

Billy the Kid said with a smile, fiddling with the pistol in his hand.

“A follower reminiscent of Mr. Amadeus was standing in front of the church. He seemed to be suppressing his magic, but he stood there motionless.”

It probably means, "Come out here."

"Then let's go out and talk to them."

Manju couldn't wait any longer; he got up from the church pew and went outside.

"Be careful, it's up there!"

As Manju stepped outside, Mashu's voice came from behind, while strange music rushed in from above.

A crimson magic, seemingly imbued with resentment, shot out like a sharp sword. Manshu raised her head and opened her eyes, only to have the blazing sun's magic instantly ignite it all.

That's a bit impolite.

"I originally intended to wait for the unreasonable rebels who defied the Tsar's authority, but I never expected the visitors to be from Chaldea. There is no place for you in this Lostbelt, so you are not allowed to leave. I will kill you."

An odd servant, who bore little resemblance to Mozart, appeared before them; the man's attire was as if he were draped in a demonic shell.

"Wow, that guy is so handsome! What's that covering his whole body? A suit? Armor? Seriously, is that Armadeus III?!"

Billy praised the other's outfit; indeed, the armor looked quite impressive.

"The spirit base value is uncertain; it may be, or it may not be."

Just by looking at them, it's impossible to recognize them as Mozart. The zero-base value measured by the instrument can't be compared with the spirit origin portrait recorded by Chaldea, so Mash can only give a vague answer.

"There is no divine favor here, therefore we must hunt. If I am not a human being, then let this be a farewell to my death."

"Are you really Amadeus?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't be sure either; the feeling the other person gave off was completely unfamiliar.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! My name is Amadeus! Otherwise, the gods will not forgive me!"

Upon hearing this name, the other party nearly went mad.

"Please listen to me!"

"I have nothing to say to you...!"

A sword, charred black from burning flames, appeared in the man's hand, and he launched an attack in the midst of his frenzy.

"It seems like we have no choice but to take action."

"The Bahram created by Ahura transformed a second time into a strong, golden-horned bull and ran toward Zoroaster."

He was incredibly powerful, crushing violence and routing all enemy attacks!

Manju transformed into a bull and charged forward, unleashing his magic into boundless, monstrous power that blasted at his adversary.

The man swung his flaming sword forward, but it was no match for the opponent's strength; both the sword and the man were sent flying.

"No, this person is not Mr. Amadeus! The spirit origin stats and appearance are vastly different. Even if they were reversed, there shouldn't be such a big difference!"

At the start of the battle, the enemy was wounded, and the instrument successfully detected accurate values.

"Who exactly are you!?"

Faced with further questioning, the man who had been knocked to the ground began to look dazed.

“I…I, I am—I am not, Amadeus! Damn it, not Amadeus!”

"Fujimaru! Enemy attack!"

Just as everyone's attention was focused on the struggling man, Leonardo da Vinci's sudden warning alerted the soldiers who had unknowingly surrounded the area.

A white-haired man with dark circles under his eyes walked out.

"Your radar is outdated, which is why we were able to get close so easily."

"This...voice is...!"

Mashu immediately recognized the person she had interacted with before.

"Kill Hunter, standby. The target has delivered himself to our doorstep. The court musician... he can't hold on much longer, huh? Oh well, you're almost done for too. Farewell, Salieri."

"Saleri...is he Antonio Salerba?"

"Are you... Mr. Kadoc...!?"

With both of their identities now known, Kadoc glanced at Mash, who was only in communication mode, in surprise.

"Mash Kyrielight...? Oh, is this a communication? Okay, even though it's all old lines, it's better to say them anyway."

"Finally, I've met you, the final Master. My name is Kadoc Zemurupus. I am one of the Hidden Ones in charge of this Lostbelt."

Clearly, a sense of ritual is still necessary; even though everyone knows each other's identities, they still make a notification.

“Kardok, that means…”

"Yes, he is a member of Group A, which consists of members with the highest aptitude for spirit particle transfer, and he is probably also..."

"No need for explanation. It doesn't matter if this guy doesn't know. Wodim has already introduced the seven Hidden Ones who participated in the world destruction plan, and I am one of them. That explanation is enough."

Kadoc interrupted Mash and said directly.

“We have already declared war. We are the Hidden Ones, and we will cultivate this Lostbelt to bring an end to the history of humankind.”

Chapter Eight: Retreat

Kadoc's appearance also signaled that all previous speculations would become reality, and that the former colleagues had now completely parted ways.

"Why do this?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka asked in bewilderment, "This is not a simple evil deed, or a whimsical violation of moral standards, but the destruction of the world."

“I have no obligation to answer you.” Kadoc wasn’t in a hurry to resolve the matter; he seemed more inclined to talk, pausing briefly before continuing:

"Let's talk for a bit before I kill you. Fujimaru, why didn't you die in our place?"

"Even if you say so..."

Such a rebuke seems rather inexplicable and is completely incomprehensible.

"Forget it, this is just unreasonable lecturing. We all know what you've accomplished. We were told it when we woke up, no matter how hateful it may be. Based on that, I can assert that I will be better than you, all the other members of Group A will be better than me, and Wodim will sacrifice less control than anyone else, without taking a full year."

"That's because there's no one else but me."

"That's right, you just happened to be in the 4th round, just happened to be chosen, but the number of deaths brought by the human reasoning is definitely not small. Congratulations, you caused the most casualties."

Kadoc's expression seemed both mocking and sarcastic, and combined with his deep dark circles, it exuded malice.

Faced with Kadoc's words, which were tantamount to an attack, Mash could no longer tolerate them:

“Mr. Kadoc, I am Fujimaru’s Servant. No matter what position you are in now, I am not magnanimous enough to tolerate your insult to the Master.”

"That's just bluffing, isn't it? You've actually considered this before, haven't you? Anyone could do it. Wodim, Ophelia, Pepe, or Debit. If one of them were to do it, they would probably do it even better."

“What you said may be right, but it’s all meaningless. The reality is not like this. We have done our best on this basis. We have devoted all our efforts to the restoration of human reason this year, to the point of selflessness. We have no energy left to consider these hypothetical situations. But through Mr. Kadoc’s point just now, I am sure of one thing.”

Mashu closed her eyes, scoffing at the idea.

"Oh? What is it? Tell me about it."

"Even if everyone in Group A were still here, that ending wouldn't have happened. It's because Master Fujimaru was here that I've been able to survive until now!"

"Well, that's certainly true. If it were us, we would definitely choose an opportunity to abandon you without any hesitation."

Kadoc grinned and agreed with a slight smile.

"Since Mr. Kadoc is in charge of Russia, it means that the others are naturally also in charge..."

"Yes, but even if you knew, it wouldn't make a difference."

Why destroy the world?

"We don't intend to destroy the world; we only want to destroy Pan-Human History. But since we're planning to fight other Lostbelts anyway, we'll also destroy the other Lostbelts besides the ones I'm in charge of."