I'm in a mess, starting with a meteor shower!

Because Irelia and Astrea had been shopping and chatting, Saber hadn't explained what Fujimaru Ritsuka had said to Irelia. Now that Emiya Kiritsugu had arrived, she decided to explain it all at once.

After some time, Saber told Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya what Fujimaru Ritsuka had revealed. After hearing the revelation, both Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya remained silent.

Compared to Saber, who is a Heroic Spirit, Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya are even more desperate. One of them is a homunculus, whose purpose in being born is for this Holy Grail War, while the other has sacrificed a lot in her current life for this ultimate dream. But now they are told that all their previous efforts and sacrifices, and even their future sacrifices, have been in vain.

How could they possibly accept such a shock?

Saber can be summoned again in the future, and at worst, they can fight in a new Holy Grail War. But as humans, they only have one chance!

"impossible."

Unwilling to believe it, Kiritsugu Emiya directly denied what Saber had said.

“Master, I also thought it was impossible, but everything I’ve been going through so far is proving that he’s right.”

"If you don't believe me, you can have Alice ask the family. They should be able to get a reply soon."

Saber gestured to the magic fax machine not far from the living room. It was a special device used by magicians to transmit information over long distances. Fuyuki was located in the Eastern Hemisphere, and it was the first half of the night, while it was still afternoon in Germany. Getting the query results would be easy.

"Kiritsugu."

Alice also looked up at Kiritsugu, waiting for his decision.

"Alice".

Kiritsugu Emiya nodded to Irene, who got up and walked toward the fax machine. As a homunculus of the Einzbern family, she was familiar with the family's basic magic and Mystic Codes. She quickly sent a message to the family via the fax machine, and the message was answered soon after.

Alice's expression darkened upon seeing the reply.

"Grandpa said that the family did indeed summon Angola Manu in the Third Holy Cup, and that he was indeed the first to be eliminated."

Emiya Kiritsugu didn't believe it. He coldly snatched the document from Irisviel's hand and looked at it several times before confirming that he hadn't misread it.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Despite his persistent denials, Kiritsugu Emiya was beginning to believe it in his heart.

"Well, it's okay if you don't believe me. After all, your past experiences make it impossible for you to give up on yourself easily."

Many magicians in the Type-Moon universe have psychological problems, and Kiritsugu Emiya is one of the most prominent among them.

Therefore, just like Tokiomi Tohsaka, Ritsuka Fujimaru didn't think he wanted to believe that Saber was enough for him to finish the Holy Grail War.

"So let's change the subject and let Alice Phil survive this Holy Grail War, and then go with you to bring Ilya back, how about that?"

Book 1: 67. The Separated Little Cup

In Kiritsugu Emiya's world, in order to protect the majority, it is necessary to sacrifice a small number of people. This is something he can accept and has always practiced. For this reason, he can even carry a rocket launcher to blow up an airplane, although from the back, it is clear that the airplane does not need to be blown up at all.

But now he firmly believes this because it has been instilled in him by the people he trusts in his life, leading to a life filled with sacrifice. No one else has told him that he doesn't have to make those sacrifices.

Now, someone is telling him that he doesn't have to make sacrifices.

This was a huge shock to him.

"You want to save Alice?"

Why?

"After all, this is a completely unnecessary tragedy, isn't it? I don't like to see tragedies happen in front of me."

"Just because of this?"

"That's why."

Kiritsugu Emiya couldn't understand what strange reason this was—to intervene and help simply because he didn't like seeing tragedy unfold before his eyes? Was this the mindset of a magician? Wasn't it strange?

"If you don't believe me, you can sign a self-mandated essay contest with me."

Fujimaru Ritsuka used a tactic that Emiya Kiritsugu liked to employ.

"I can assure you in my self-compulsion essay that I will not harm Alice Phil, and that I will not take the Holy Grail in this Holy Grail War."

Emiya Kiritsugu listened to Fujimaru Ritsuka's words with a strange expression.

Does that mean they only kept Alice and didn't want the Holy Grail, but didn't include me?

If Fujimaru Ritsuka knew what Emiya Kiritsugu was thinking, she would definitely answer: Of course! I just want Illya and Irisviel to live a good life. As for you, you are not my concern. Didn't you see that I didn't even include Saber?

Seeing the strange expression on Kiritsugu Emiya's face, Ritsuka Fujimaru spoke up to emphasize it.

"Don't worry, this includes everyone here, including Berserker and my companions. They won't do anything. I signed the agreement myself, but my companions didn't sign it, so my companions can commit such beastly acts."

Emiya Kiritsugu's expression stiffened for a moment; he felt that Fujimaru Ritsuka was giving him a hint.

"What, are you going to sign?"

Seeing the stiff expression on Kiritsugu Emiya's face, Ritsuka Fujimaru asked with a smile.

"Sign!"

He'd sign it anyway, but he wanted to see how Fujimaru Ritsuka was going to do it.

As a magician, Kiritsugu Emiya immediately created a self-imposed constraint. He had to create this constraint himself to feel at ease, and he absolutely wouldn't let Ritsuka Fujimaru do it, leaving any loopholes for others to exploit.

"This is a self-imposed proof based on what you said."

After Fujimaru Ritsuka took the self-forced essay and looked at it to make sure there were no problems, she turned to look at Astrea beside her. Astrea nodded to indicate that Emiya Kiritsugu was not lying.

Thus, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Emiya Kiritsugu formed a self-imposed essay contest.

As Fujimaru Ritsuka and Emiya Kiritsugu stated, the submissions only included Alice Phil and the Holy Grail.

"Now, please begin your operation."

"Then I'll be rude."

Fujimaru Ritsuka got up from the sofa and went to Alice Phil.

With Caster and Archer gone, Irisviel's body was already under some strain. As a homunculus, Irisviel was born from the beginning as the vessel for the Lesser Grail; she was the Lesser Grail and also the sacrifice to summon the Greater Grail.

After a Servant leaves the field, their soul will transfer into a small chalice within their body. The chalice within their body carries the Servant's soul, which increases their own burden. At first, they can still move normally, but later they have difficulty moving, and finally they are unable to move at all, and can only be sacrificed as a sacrifice while they are asleep.

Fujimaru Ritsuka temporarily retrieved Chen Gong's card, and no battles occurred for the time being. Therefore, even if Chen Gong's card was dismantled, it would not affect Lu Bu's actions. He remained in spirit form and stood silently to the side.

After removing Chen Gong's card, the healing costume was re-equipped, and the clone appeared as well.

Seeing the clone appear beside Fujimaru Ritsuka, Emiya Kiritsugu frowned slightly and began to analyze what kind of magic this was.

Then, Fujimaru Ritsuka produced a dagger and stabbed it directly into Irisviel's chest, tearing out her heart in front of Emiya Kiritsugu and Saber's shocked gazes.

Alice Phil was also shocked, but her pupils quickly began to dilate.

Kiritsugu Emiya immediately drew his gun, and Saber drew her holy sword.

Fujimaru Ritsuka's clone immediately drew a dagger and held it to its own neck.

"It's my turn."

"Death is not scary, death is cold..."

"Go to hell!"

Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka's clone was about to begin chanting, Fujimaru Ritsuka grabbed his hand and slapped his neck, killing the clone instantly. A golden light then fell upon Alice Phil.

The empty heart area was immediately filled with a brand new heart, and the wound on the chest returned to normal. Apart from the torn clothes on the chest, there were no problems.

"Alright, now the Little Holy Grail can be taken out."

Fujimaru Ritsuka held Alice Phil's fresh heart in her hand and explained with a smile.

Saber, Kiritsugu Emiya, and even Alice Phil stared blankly at the heart in Ritsuka Fujimaru's hand.

Seeing the stunned expressions on their faces, Fujimaru Ritsuka began to explain.

"Don't worry, there's Avalon inside Madam's body. Avalon itself has healing effects, and with my direct restoration of life force, there's absolutely no problem with safety. The vessel for the Little Holy Grail has already been transferred out, hasn't it?"

No, are you sure it's okay for you to be holding a heart with your hands covered in blood and still smiling? And the act of directly using a knife is completely inconsistent with your persona of not wanting tragedy to happen in front of you!

Clearly, Saber and the others were more speechless at Fujimaru Ritsuka's performance than at her explanation.

Astrea, on the other hand, didn't react much. Just yesterday, Fujimaru Ritsuka had ripped out Sakura's heart and then immediately created a clone to commit suicide for treatment. It was a simple and brutal approach, but it was surprisingly effective. From what I can see, it's very much in line with the emergency treatment behavior of adventurers in dungeons. Isn't that how you do emergency treatment when you're injured in a dungeon battle?

(Adventurer: No, no, no, that's not how we treat it, don't talk nonsense!)

Just like the worm that Fujimaru Ritsuka extracted from Sakura's body, the heart in Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand continued to beat even after it was taken out; it didn't stop beating at all. This was the vitality inherent in the Little Holy Grail.

"The small trophy needs a container to be displayed, and we need a new container."

"Who do you want to be the carrier?"

Emiya Kiritsugu recovered and looked at the heart in Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand. This was the Lesser Holy Grail.

"In this Holy Grail War, there happens to be a Master who is very suitable to serve as the vessel."

Volume 1: Chapter 68. The Holy Grail Container: Ryūnosuke Amuseuki

Ryunosuke Uryu, Caster's Master in this Holy Grail War, originally hid with Caster in the sewers, observing the battlefield through a crystal ball. However, the situation changed the moment Caster saw Saber.

The once enigmatic Caster went mad, even creating a remote projection to greet Saber, and later ran out through the sewers, leaving Ryunosuke Uryu alone in the basement with the sea monsters.

Although the sea monsters moved bizarrely and looked terrifying, it didn't affect Ryunosuke Uryu at all. He was a pervert who treated killing as an art, and the sea monsters were no match for him.

But after spending so much time in the sewers, with Caster still not returning and the sea monster unable to speak, he grew increasingly bored. So he decided to put on the allure bracelet Caster had given him and go outside to bring back some more supplies for Caster.

After all, Caster's appearance is really not suitable for outdoor activities, so all the supplies are brought back from outside, including the two children he brought back last night, who are now locked in the sewer.

However, just as he opened the manhole cover and left the sewer, he encountered the little sea monster coming from another passage.

Ryunosuke Uryu, who had already spent two days with the sea monster, didn't pay any attention. He simply waved to the little sea monster and then climbed out of the sewer.

But as soon as he left, the little sea monster ran away in the direction it had come from.

After leaving the sewers, Ryunosuke Uryu politely closed the manhole cover and began wandering the streets at night. His target was children, which were Caster's favorite consumables. But to be honest, it was already late at night, and finding children at this hour was a little difficult. But he had no choice; being alone in the sewers was too boring, so he had to come out and search. What if he found one?

If he really can't find anything else, he can find some fun outside, like killing a couple of people for fun, to show off his art or something.

Quite by chance, he actually found a target: a little girl who hadn't gone home late at night, but was sitting alone on a swing in the park crying. It was obvious that she had done something to upset her family, or that her family simply didn't care about her. Ryunosuke Uryu had seen too many children like this. After all, although this was Fuyuki, where everyone was used to gas explosions, it was still part of Japan!

"Little sister, what's wrong?"

Ryunosuke Uryu gave a perfect smile and walked over to greet her. He then activated the charm bracelet on his hand, and the little girl was immediately charmed, standing opposite Ryunosuke Uryu in a daze.

Ryunosuke Uryu reached out and took the little girl's hand.

"Come on, brother will take you to a fun place."

They easily took the little girl away.

He was in a great mood after finding his prey not long after he came out. He took the little girl and headed straight back. Soon he arrived at the location of the manhole cover where he had drilled out of the sewer earlier. He squatted down and opened the manhole cover. Ryunosuke Uryu let the little girl go down first, and then he followed her down.

To his surprise, after he went down, the little girl who had come down earlier was being carried up by a little sea monster.

"Oh, you've come to help too? Is it Old Master Greenbeard who's back?"

However, the sea monster did not answer him, but instead led the little girl deeper into the sewers.

Ryunosuke Uryu wasn't dissatisfied. After all, the sea monster couldn't speak. He just thought Caster had returned and followed behind the sea monster with a smile, preparing to chat with Caster.

But when he reached the workshop deep inside, he found that Caster had not returned. Instead, the sea monsters inside the workshop released all the children from the Y side and lifted them up one by one with their tentacles.

"What's going on?"

Ryunosuke Uryu asked the sea monsters a question, and they answered him with their actions.

The powerful tentacles wrapped around Ryunosuke Uryuu's body, immobilizing his limbs, and then lifted him into the air.

"Wait! What are you doing!"

He began to struggle frantically, the sudden situation making him instinctively feel that something was wrong.

But the sea monster didn't respond, nor did it tear him apart like it would the monsters in the dungeon. Instead, it simply lifted him up and began to move out of the sewers.

As they advanced, the sea monsters didn't forget to remove his injured allure bracelet and crush it.

After the bracelet was crushed, the children who had been under control woke up one after another. Seeing the sight of a bunch of sea monsters in front of them, especially since they were being held up by the sea monsters' tentacles, they were all terrified and cried. Some of the children even urinated all over the sea monsters.

The sea monsters were also helpless. Although the children were noisy, they had to obey the summoner's orders. Moreover, the children did not attack the sea monsters, so there was no counterattack. In this way, amidst fear and crying, the sea monsters led Ryunosuke Uryu and the children out of the sewers.

After leaving the sewers, the sea monsters placed the children on the ground and then quickly left, surrounding Ryunosuke Uryu.

The frightened children stood blankly on the street, not knowing what was going on. It wasn't until the cold night wind blew on them that they came to their senses and hurriedly looked for a nearby convenience store, wanting to call the police or find their families.

The departing sea monsters then took Ryunosuke Uryuu along a side path across Fuyuki City, arriving at Ryudou Temple on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, or rather, at the foot of Mount Enzo.