The Holy Grail War Blessed by the Gods

"Get Amadeus..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka was surprised to know this story and picked up the conversation, but Salieri interrupted her upon hearing this.

"No need to finish your sentence. The man who killed that genius, is that what you want to say? The one who embodied that reputation is me. Wait a moment, I'll take off this formal attire."

Salieri's armor is his outer shell, his ceremonial attire, a power derived from a compromise and blend of the abilities of the grey-clad man who appears in records related to Mozart—a death-like being who appeared in July 1791 and commissioned the composition of the Requiem Mass in D minor.

This forms the outer shell of the anti-hero⑨, which, when worn by Sasser,⑧, can function as a killing machine. 0° "5.★

"This is the real me. Try to monitor my power as a Servant."

Once the outer garments are removed, Salieri's true form is revealed: a man with gray hair and red eyes, dressed in a black suit.

"Quite weak."

Even without a close look, it's clear that Salieri's spirit origin strength is evident after he takes off his outer armor.

How incredibly weak they are! Even ordinary writers and followers might not be this weak.

"The strength of his spiritual foundation looks about the same as that of Mr. Andersen."

"Of course, I'm just a musician, and I haven't composed anything that will go down in history. Mediocre or dull, humph, it doesn't matter anyway."

"For one reason only—for the fact that I killed Amadeus—I am allowed to exist on the Throne of Heroes. It has nothing to do with whether I actually committed the murder; it's simply because people say I was the one who did it."

Salieri did not appear in the world as a musician, but rather as an anti-hero.

Salieri, originally the court orchestra director, was just a respected musician, but one year, the legend that Mozart was murdered by Salieri suddenly spread throughout the world.

Despite the fact that this is not the case, people fantasize about geniuses who are loved by the gods, as well as the cruel story of hating geniuses and taking their lives.

So, over the long course of time, this baseless assassination legend distorted Salieri's existence.

He merges with the grey-clad man from the legend who also died in connection with Amadeus, and manifests as an anti-hero who murdered the beloved son of the gods.

"So you're saying you're an innocent monster?"

"I'm probably right."

"But why are you siding with Ivan the Terrible?"

Although Salieri eventually awakens and chooses to fight against Anastasia, he directly unleashes his Noble Phantasm in rebellion, and his Noble Phantasm is an indiscriminate area-of-effect attack.

Therefore, from other perspectives, it is indeed impossible to conclude that Salieri defected.

"And there's the Lostbelt that Kadoc mentioned."

"You have already heard of the name 'Nine,' and although you are asking me questions, I also have something I'd like to ask you. Chaldea, what do you think Lostbelts really are?"

Salieri did not answer, but instead asked a question in return.

"Um... all I know is that this is an anomalous zone similar to a singularity."

"Let me answer that question. Nice to meet you, I am Sherlock Holmes, the business advisor of Chaldea. We have been investigating this Russia, which is different from our own history, until now."

The Lostbelts represent different stages of human history, not a single point in time, but rather a continuation of the entire system to the present day. It's normal for them to differ from Singularities, because Singularities represent instances where the true history has deviated from its intended course. But Russia is different; it's a world where no errors exist.

Although it possesses a history different from that of Pan-Human History, it is not a distorted world like a singularity. The divergence likely stems from the great cold wave 450 years ago. Due to some error, an ice age occurred on Earth, and the history accumulated through that Earth forms this Russian territory.

"So... this is human history that has maintained a state of differentiation to this day? Is it possible that it's a parallel world?"

Upon hearing Holmes's deduction based on existing information, Mash asked speculatively.

"No, that's not right. Lostbelts aren't even parallel worlds. If they were parallel worlds, although there would be differences, civilizations, lifestyles, and so on would usually be the same."

Only occasionally does a history deviate from its course, with some bizarre discoveries, cataclysmic events, or technological breakthroughs. Worlds that undergo changes large enough to deviate from their course will be considered different existences by the universe and deleted. No matter what happens, their demise is already predetermined, and no matter how far they develop, evolution has already stopped.

9. The universe is not tolerant enough to allow a world with a foreseeable future to continue. Just as unnecessary branches are pruned when cultivating a tree, the same principle applies here. A world that deviates from the main trunk, the fundamental axis, even if it becomes an ideal world, will be pruned. In the magical world, this is called the "pruning order," and the Mage's Association believes that it is precisely because of this function that our universe has been able to expand without problems to this day.

0 Leonardo da Vinci added his knowledge of magic on the other side, which was enough to explain the mechanism of the Lostbelts.

“The cut-off details... In other words, this Russia is different from the one under the Magic King; it was not turned into an extremely cold land due to someone’s interference.”

8. "That's right. From the very beginning, this kind of environment could not have been built on this kind of environment. Human history should have only lasted for a hundred years before being interrupted, but it has continued to the present world. It can be said that it was defeated by the history of pan-human history, and this history suddenly appeared on Earth."

"In many unknown Lost Stories, it was a powerful existence, perhaps a world with the potential to crush human history, and was used as a weapon of invasion. Humanity Burning was an individual called Goetia, who launched an attack on humanity with the will of life. But this time it's different, this is an attack launched by human history called Lostbelts against Earth itself."

"Alright, after all that, these are our deductions and conclusions, Mr. Salieri. Do they meet your approval?"

Holmes and Leonardo da Vinci complemented each other, clarifying their conclusions, to which Salieri could only offer his praise.

"Really impressive, that someone who isn't a Lostbelt resident could deduce this much. Since you all already know, then I have nothing more to tell you."

Then, of course, I am not a Heroic Spirit from this Lostbelt. This Russia has lost its music. Like the gunman over there, I am a lone Servant summoned by the dying lament of the original land, which was copied by the Lostbelt.

The memories of pan-human history, blurred into indistinct records, mingle with the memories of this Lostbelt. Whether it was that Master or that priest, whoever it was, it seems someone manipulated my mind. Even now, I'm not confident I'm on the right side.

After experiencing brainwashing, it is indeed worthwhile to question one's own position, whether one has truly awakened, and how to confirm that one has not been brainwashed again.

"Only you can believe that you are right about this, but at least you are not Yaga."

The fact that Yaga was not born in Russia in the last 400 years could be considered a convincing reason.

“You’re right, you’re right—most importantly, there’s no music in this Lostbelt… It seems we have no choice but to side with you.”

Salieri was able to stand here because he had at least made some vague decisions in his mind.

There is indeed no place for music to survive in this frozen land. When people can't even fill their stomachs in most parts of the country except for Moscow, where is there any extra entertainment to develop?

The only place where one can hear music is probably in the Royal Palace in Moscow, but that's no different from having no music at all.

"We are extremely grateful. We hope you can provide us with information immediately. Do you have any information about the Servants in Moscow?"

“I am a court musician, just an ordinary court musician. Although I have no contact with the outside world, the only people who would talk to me are Cardinal Machelis.”

Salieri simply shook his head; he didn't have many opportunities to access intelligence.

“Cardinal Matthews…isn’t he the man whom Ivan the Terrible revered as his mentor? Is he also Yaga?”

Machelis is a name that has appeared in intelligence reports, but that's about it.

"No, he is a Servant. Although he looks like an Old One, he is most likely someone else. He looks like a Japanese person. Is he a pseudo-Servant?"

"A Japanese priest... a pseudo-servant... is he Father Kotomine?"

When Chaldea was acquired, Kirei Kotomine and Yanskaya Soprano were among the Servants who were identified as enemies.

"I see. Is there any other information? Like the World Wall and that Imaginary Tree?"

"The same goes for both of them; I know nothing about them. However, Cardinal Machelis said that the tree is the key to the Lostbelt, and it would be impossible for it to invade reality without the Tree of Imagination."

Salieri almost knew nothing when asked, but he eventually managed to reveal the useful information.

"That makes sense, since it's located in the center of this Lostbelt, and it doesn't even appear on the compass of the Flat Moon. Even the Flat Moon, which judges and observes the Russian territory, which is a first-level zone, as Earth's terrain, is excluded. Let's just consider that tree as the keystone that filters out the phenomena of Lostbelt history for now."

"So all we need to do is figure out how to get rid of that tree, and then Russia will be back to normal, right?"

"If we could do that, but the Imaginary Tree is located behind the Tsar. Getting close to the Imaginary Tree means attacking the Tsar's vitals."

While the description alone suggests a two-step operation, the Moscow under the utopian tree is clearly not to be overlooked.

"In other words, a battle with Ivan the Terrible is unavoidable no matter what. (9) 炩ˉ÷四'‰8'"4〉⒉九lin—! (5) 索嗦%○: Approximately how large is the Killing Hunter force stationed in the capital?"

"No less than a division."

Salieri presented a terrifying scale, an undead army of at least ten thousand men, which would make anyone feel powerless under any circumstances.

"Alright, I will assist you with certain conditions. Now you are free to use my power."

"What are the conditions?"

"It's very simple, just allow me to deal with Amadeus first when I discover him."

This was, after all, a condition for Salieri's establishment. Although he could maintain a rational appearance now, once he saw Mozart, he would vanish without a trace and evaporate instantly.

“I can hardly allow that. If Mr. Amadeus is summoned, he should be a follower of the Pan-Human History.”

"If I were summoned as an anti-hero, and I were to be painfully hated by so many people who would not hesitate to oppose you, without even the will to speak with you. But right now, I seem perfectly sane. Amadeus..."

Salieri shook his head and began to present his arguments.

"So, does that mean that the man named Amadeus is now evil?"

"What if he weren't, but rather one of our companions?"

"By then, I will only be your enemy."

Salieri answered without hesitation.

"My purpose in life will never change, and that is to kill Amadeus. Let's end this pleasant conversation here. We'll be setting off for the rebel fortress tomorrow. So please get some rest, everyone. Farewell."

Salieri knew that such a conversation would not lead to any conclusions, so he stopped the topic.

Chapter Ten Attack

The next day, after everyone had packed up and seeing that nothing had happened in Tula, they set off back to the rebel fortress.

Salieri, who was summoned in the Lostbelt and already received some kind of correction, remains quite rational as long as Mozart is not mentioned.

On the way, he was only concerned about whether there was a piano in the rebel stronghold, but obviously, the rebels, who could not even guarantee their food supply, would not have a piano for entertainment.

Even if such a thing were captured during the war, probably no one would bring it back; those with the strength should bring back more grain.

Upon receiving this news, Salieri only planned to make the instruments himself after arriving at the rebel fortress.

Upon returning to the fortress, everyone was naturally welcomed. After spending time together, even without evaluating their strength, the Yaga within the fortress had essentially accepted these old species in their eyes.

Fortress 9 is home to a large number of children and elderly people. Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka, who possess remarkable affability, easily blend in with the crowd.

Atalanta was delighted to have a new Servant join her, and she now planned to make some considerations for the future.

"I plan to build a new fortress, a fortress suitable for defense, and also suitable for launching an attack on the capital, Moscow."

The rebel stronghold is now located on the Russian border. The journey from here to Moscow is long enough for Moscow to be fully armed and ready by the time they arrive.

No matter how much Atalanta overestimated himself, he did not believe that the rebels could win in a head-on confrontation.

To achieve victory, we must seize an opportunity and take advantage of the fact that Moscow is not under attack.

Where did you choose to be located?

"There is a valley between here and the capital. Due to the existence of that vast forest with the aura of ferocious magical beasts, it is very difficult for the capital's killing hunters to reach society. But we can go through this side without any mountain ranges blocking the way, which is very convenient."

Furthermore, our scouts have discovered a secure tunnel there. Although it's not fully completed yet, once it's finished, we can reach Moscow in a day, and launch a lightning-fast attack easily through the tunnel.

Atalanta pointed out the location she had just chosen on the unfolded map, in the center of Moscow, in an area separated from Moscow by a vast forest.

"It is indeed a very suitable place for both defense and offense, and it would also be convenient to transport materials from here for construction. So the remaining issue is to just let the tunnel be dug out."