How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

It was a magic workshop built in an underground space that was even larger than the processing plant, without even applying for business registration, and surrounded by several layers of barriers!

On the surface, the factories surrounding the meat processing plant seem unrelated, but if you follow the clues to their source, you will eventually find that the operators are all related to the same mafia organization.

The Squartio family.

Naturally, since a magic workshop was built here, the family members must also be aware of the existence of magic.

The head of this family provides sanctuary for numerous magicians across a vast region, both domestically and internationally.

Those who lose out in the competition for spheres of influence with other families, those who pursue the highest level of magic but go bankrupt because they can no longer afford it, those who are considered heretics and driven out of their original place of residence, those who are criminals and are relentlessly pursued by society and are taboo in the world of magic...

This family became the patrons of magicians with various ulterior motives, supporting their activities in order to collude with some government officials and gain power sufficient to participate in the Snowfield City plan.

Inside the spacious magic workshop, which has a meat processing plant as its entrance.

A man with black gloves on both hands, whose cloudy eyes were more like those of a bird of prey or a carnivore than a human, and who exuded a serious aura, stood here.

Bazdilot Cortiglio.

He was the Master candidate sent by the Squartio family to participate in this sham Holy Grail War.

"are you back?"

At this moment, Bazdilot, sensing the presence, turned around and saw the thin man standing behind him.

He was over two meters tall and extremely thin. He placed a long, patterned cloth vertically above his head, which then hung down to completely cover his face and the back of his head, concealing the front and back of his body.

The man was wearing a loincloth, trousers, and shoes under the long cloth, but his upper body was naked except for the long cloth, revealing only bare skin covered in dark dye.

This guy, who looks like he jumped out of some horror game, is the Servant summoned by Bazdielot.

When he used Francesca to steal 'a part of the Grail's substance' from the Greater Grail in Fuyuki, the black mud extracted from it and the three-stroke Command Seal stripped away her purity, reminding her of her hatred for the gods.

Thus, he gained the Avenger class, becoming a dual-class Archer in this Holy Grail War—

Hercules... or rather, Alcides.

"What about the legendary King of Heroes?"

Recalling his previous battle with Gilgamesh, Alcides remained silent for a moment before replying, "...very strong. He was not disturbed by my provocation. Although he sometimes seemed emotional, it was ultimately just a facade."

He was disturbed by someone he met along the way, Queen Hippolyta, who was also summoned as the true Rider of this Holy Grail War, and an unknown Servant...

It was also because of that unknown Servant that Queen Hippolyta's Master ordered her to retreat, which led to the battle between them ending inconclusively.

However, there was one thing that Alcides didn't quite understand. When Queen Hippolyta announced her departure, Gilgamesh asked him, Queen Hippolyta, and possibly the unidentified Servant a question together.

'Did any of the scattered orbs of light that appeared after the golden dragon disappeared last night come looking for you?'

To be honest, this question is a bit absurd. It's true that a few orbs of light entered Bazdilot's body that night when he wasn't paying attention, but this is the first time he's known that the orbs of light were actually a golden dragon that had broken apart...

Did Gilgamesh know what the golden dragon and the orbs of light it emitted were?

With this doubt in mind, he, Queen Hippolyta, and the unknown Servant all gave an affirmative answer, expecting Gilgamesh to explain to them, or at least mention something related to those orbs of light.

When Gilgamesh heard their answer, he showed a look that... well, how should I put it?

A joyful smile?

'So you guys were targeted by that guy too, huh? No, maybe not just you, probably every Servant involved in this Holy Grail War is being targeted by him, right?'

'Hahahaha, before that guy comes knocking on your door, make the most of your remaining time, you mongrels!'

After leaving behind these two sentences, Gilgamesh laughed and rode away on Vimana after the unknown Servant who had spoken the boy's voice disappeared.

In the end, all he knew was that the golden dragon might be a Servant's Noble Phantasm, and that those of them chosen by the Light were suspected of being marked by that Servant.

However, he did not tell Bazdilot about these things, but only shared his own opinion about Gilgamesh.

"It sounds different from the image of the 'arrogant and passionate king' that Francesca described... It seems that the information from that guy cannot be taken entirely at face value."

"Bazdilot said casually."

Later, when Alcides asked him about the supply of magic, Bazdilot took out a magic crystal and told him that this was what provided him with magic.

Then he was shown the workshop's mountain of magic crystal reserves, and the entire process of how to turn a person into a magic crystal.

"...So you don't need to worry about anything related to magic."

"So that's how it is. The magic you infused into me was the power to sacrifice human lives?"

"After all, the Squartio family will never lack enemies. If you find this unacceptable..."

Turning his head, Bazdilot looked at Alcides with eyes that evoked death itself.

Are you going to just kill me right here?

"These are all trivial matters compared to the great cause of avenging the tyrants of Olympus, even if it means sacrificing my life."

Alcides simply shook his head, his body emanating an ominous red and black magic, and he uttered words of resentment towards the gods.

"After all, they didn't even offer their souls as sacrifices; they just used my children as firewood in the stove out of jealousy!"

Chapter 267 The Cursed Wind of Death

At the same moment that Alcádez returned to the magic workshop located underground in the industrial area, inside the Kozman Special Correction Center.

In a room filled with screens displaying footage from familiars or magical surveillance devices, Faldius frowned as he looked at the data he had collected over this period.

'The Bazdielot family… no, it should be said that the Squartio family isn't fixated on the outcome of the Holy Grail War. If things continue like this, the reins will slip out of their hands sooner or later…'

'It's definitely necessary to eliminate him as soon as possible... but even with the White House involved, we lack the means to stop the Squartio family...'

Although his expression remained unchanged on the surface, his heart was filled with bitterness.

Like Orlando, who is the police chief, he has become a Master and summoned the True Assassin. He is also overwhelmed by the current situation of the Holy Grail War.

'The Kuangu couple haven't made any moves either; we don't even know what Servants they've summoned. Making a rash move would be a huge mistake…'

'The classes of most of the other Servants can be determined. The silver wolf summoned Babylonian clay dolls. If he is a Lancer, then the dolls summoned by the Henchou couple should be either Riders or Berserkers…'

'Hmm... Considering that Frat Escaldes seemed to have interacted with the summoned Servant in the park, it's highly likely that his Servant wasn't Berserker...'

'So the couple from Ganqiu summoned Berserker? Weren't they planning to summon the First Emperor?'

Faldius was puzzled by the result of his deduction.

What's the point of summoning that king who can skillfully organize strategy and tactics in such a irrational manner?

Could it be that the couple was driven mad and controlled by the berserker Qin Shi Huang?

Faldius wondered to himself.

But despite his speculations, he dared not send his summoned True Assassin to investigate, fearing that the Kuiyu couple might summon a Servant with extremely poor compatibility with the True Assassin, a veritable natural enemy, in which case even the True Assassin would have to remain there...

Ah... really, I had planned to make all the Masters of the True Servants my pawns, but one unexpected thing after another has happened.

First, the Master who was supposed to summon Saber was killed by the fake Assassin, and Dorise Lucentdra, who summoned the real Rider, was unwilling to assist him, so she did not intend to contact him proactively.

Haruri, who was supposed to summon the true Berserker, has again gone silent. Sigma, who should have already summoned the true Lancer according to the order, only sent a brief message saying: 'I did summon something, but I'm unsure of its true identity. I'll report back once I have its real name.'

Haha... nothing good ever comes of it...

The only good news is that Saber and her current Master haven't been completely lost, right?

Although they would disappear from the surveillance footage from time to time, only to reappear in another surveillance camera after a while, he was unsure whether his surveillance had been compromised...

Faldius Dioran pressed his eyelids with a headache due to the series of unexpected events that kept popping up like mushrooms after rain.

"Minister Dioran." The woman standing at the door knocked and called out to Faldius, who was suffering from a headache.

"Hmm? Is there something you need, Miss Adela?" Faldius turned around and saw Adela walking towards him with a report in her hand.

Adela handed him the report: "It's actually about those magicians who stayed in Snowfield City but failed to become Masters. Their... uh, their behavior is strange."

"?"

Seeing the indescribable expression on his subordinate's face, Faldius asked a question mark before flipping through the report in his hand. After reading it, he looked at several scenes on the numerous screens and nodded in agreement.

"It really is strange..."

Many magicians had already left the city before noon. Considering the meteorite crater in the desert and the fact that many magicians were killed by the fake Assassin Kyoko, it was normal for the half-baked magicians to choose to run away because they felt they couldn't handle the situation.

What puzzled Faldius was not this part, but what happened afterward.

The magicians, who were supposed to leave the city by car or bicycle before noon, turned back to the city center of Snowfield City as if they had all agreed to do so.

The abrupt change was so sudden that it was hard not to feel something was amiss. Faldius even suspected that they had been hired by someone the moment they left the city.

For example, Clock Tower, Clock Tower, Clock Tower, etc., guarantee to pay them some price, make them pawns of the Clock Tower in Snowfield City, so as to interfere with the Holy Grail War.

However, his guess was quickly refuted by Adela with a single sentence.

“It’s not just magicians, Minister.” Adela shook her head and added, “At a certain point in time, all the ordinary people who left Snowfield City for various reasons also turned back to Snowfield City.”

A strange sense of incongruity instantly swept over Faldius's body.

At that moment, he realized how naive his understanding had been.

Right now, in this city, something is happening that defies all common sense, including magic, and is on an exaggerated scale!

But... even if this is absolutely true, the reasons and purpose behind it are completely unknown.

A barrier that repels people?

No, since it's a barrier that gathers people back into the city from outside, it should be a barrier that brings people together.

As for the purpose... during the Fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, it seems that some Servants were collecting magical energy from ordinary people...

Is it really making a mountain out of a molehill just because of the magic of these people? Instead of going to such lengths, wouldn't it be better to simply set up a barrier in densely populated areas of the city? Wouldn't that be more effective?

The total population of Snowfield City is 800,000. Although he did have contingency plans in place for the entire population to disappear, he still didn't really want that to happen...

Just as Faldius unconsciously clenched his fist because of this unusual situation, he realized that he was holding a note in his hand.

Is it Assassin?

Thinking of his mysterious servant, Faldius carefully avoided Edra's gaze and unfolded the note in his hand.

[Beware! An ominous calamity is lurking outside this barrier.]

The handwriting on the note resembled Faldius's scribbled handwriting, which the other party frequently used to communicate with Faldius. This made him feel that the other party was trying to distance themselves from him if they were discovered.

It must be an illusion, right?

Suppressing the slight unease that had arisen in his heart, Faldius dismissed Adela and asked in a low voice, almost as if talking to himself, "What are you referring to as 'that'?"

Just as he was ready to receive the second note from his servant, perhaps because there was no one else in the room, the screen of one of the computers in front of him that was transmitting and receiving data began to display jumbled information.

A short line of text appeared and was deeply imprinted in Faldius's mind.

[The cursed...wind of death.]

Chapter 268 At least drink a couple of sips of water before you leave!

"Hmm, [True Blood Vampire], [Dragon Blood Vampire], and a Trap Card [Beast Blood Boiling]? This is quite a haul... Master, be careful with what you have!"

On the bustling street, Yuuto boldly faced the curious glances cast their way by passersby, and walked confidently down the road with Ayaka Sajou, who was carrying a golden spear.

Their overly composed attitude, coupled with the long spear that looked gleaming coldly, caused even those blocking their way to instinctively make way for them.

"I don't know much about magic, and if I accidentally let go, I'm not sure if you'll die on the spot..."

As the center of attention, Ayaka Sajou clutched her spear tightly in despair, listening to her servant utter words that made her heart clench, despite her indifferent attitude.

What the hell is going on?!

She had just come out of that animal hospital and was teleported into the air. Before she even landed, You Du shoved a long gun into her arms and told her to hold on tight and never let go, or she might die.

Fortunately, Ayaka Sajou is the type of person who listens to advice and doesn't have much of a rebellious streak. She obediently carried the spear and walked with Yuuto through the bustling city area after landing.

"What exactly happened just now?" Just as the number of passersby around them became sparse and they were far away from the bustling city center, Ayaka Sajou finally couldn't help but lean closer and whisper her question to Yuuto.

Why are you suddenly giving me this spear?

This glittering golden object was something that even a layman like her, who knew nothing about magic, could understand was no ordinary thing, let alone magicians and Servants.

Although she had asked the same question when she first received the spear, she still couldn't understand Yuwatari's answer of "the fog is coming."

"Besides, we could have had Mr. Dark Magician use illusion magic to take us away quietly, why did we have to do it so conspicuously?" Ayaka Sajo muttered to herself, somewhat dissatisfied.

She didn't even dare to lift her head on the street just now. Do you know how agonizing it is for someone with social anxiety to be the center of attention like that?

She glared at Yudo with a reproachful look, only to find him frowning, looking as if he were troubled by something.