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

In response, Jack naturally resorted to his ever-present excuse of 'forgot to take something'.

"I see..." The female doctor nodded, then spoke with a worried tone.

"There are probably still a lot of people in the psychiatric ward, right? These past few days have seen the desert oil pipeline explosion, the opera house explosion, and that golden dragon last night... With so many strange things happening in a row, everyone must be under a lot of mental stress..."

Then, she adopted a more relaxed tone and continued, "However, it hasn't all been bad lately. Xiaochun's condition has been stable since this morning. If it continues to be stable, she may regain consciousness in a short time!"

"Really? Xiaochun... That's wonderful!" The berserker, who had no choice but to copy her memories as well, echoed her words with his all-purpose phrase.

"Yes, I was quite startled when I first discovered that tattoo. I thought my condition had changed again... Now it seems that it might be a blessing from the legendary clan that protects this land?"

"A blessing..."

"Haha, sorry, I'm a doctor, why am I saying such strange things... Just pretend you didn't hear me." Realizing what she had said, the female doctor laughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject before leaving.

Jack watched her go down the stairs before entering the sterilization room.

'Did you hear what she just said, Master?' The telepathic communication channel was re-established, and Jack spoke to Flat in a voice befitting her appearance.

'Ah... it's almost certain now. That child named Tsubaki should be the Master.'

'So that means…' Jack's grave gaze fell on the corridor leading to the ward: 'The Master and her Servant are in here… This is the worst-case scenario.'

From the perspective shared with Jack, Flatt could see that if all he had seen along the way was pitch-black magical 'mist,' then the entrance to that ward was like a giant waterfall!

Even Jack, whose basic abilities had been greatly reduced due to his transformation into an ordinary person, could clearly sense the scale of it.

It was as if the thick fog of London was still clinging to him...

Behind this door lies an absolutely intense concentration of 'death'!

Let's go back and save this file first.

'I agree. Although I feel a bit guilty for my class, I don't want to enter such a dangerous place without any preparation...'

Instead of stepping into the abyss, Jack the Ripper took a step back and turned to walk out of the sterilization room.

Since he was leaving, there was no need to change his appearance any further, so he kept his nurse look and walked towards the stairs.

"Ah...excuse me, nurse."

I was stopped.

"Yes, is there anything I can help you with?"

Jack the Ripper turned around without changing his expression, and smiled at the man who had called out to him, just like a normal nurse.

Her right eye was covered by an eye patch, and her slightly curved black hair fell to her shoulders. She was wearing a black outfit that looked like a suit, but was also a bit too simple.

Magician? Servant?

They suddenly came looking for me...did they see through my changes?

Just as Jack was becoming more wary of the man who had called out to him, Flatt's voice came through the telepathic channel again.

'That clothing...this person seems to be from the Holy Church, right?'

'The Holy Church?'

Jack the Ripper understood perfectly, and continued to stand in front of his opponent without revealing any flaws.

Hansa, acting as the supervisor, spoke like an ordinary person: "I want to enter the special isolation ward. Do you know where the doctor in charge of that ward is now?"

"Huh? Right now... the doctors have all gone home, right?" Jack, who didn't know the name of the female doctor he had met earlier, looked embarrassed.

"How about you come back tomorrow? It might disturb the patient's rest at this time, and the doctor probably won't let you in."

"Is that so? That's a real shame..." Upon hearing this, Hansa seemed to genuinely intend to give up, shaking his head regretfully. "Then I'll come back tomorrow. Goodbye, lovely nurse~"

Ugh...so disgusting...

Jack the Ripper kept his smile on his face as he watched the man's retreating figure until he disappeared from his sight before calmly walking up the stairs.

After some time, Hansa reappeared in the corridor, looking in the direction Jack had left.

"Nothing's wrong... Am I overthinking it?"

Shaking his head, Hansa put the matter out of his mind and walked toward the special isolation ward.

As for the necessary pass to enter... he has his own way of doing it.

……

Nighttime, outside the Central Hospital.

Although it wasn't the same time, it was still the same place. Yuuto appeared here with Ayaka Sajou, who had changed into a new outfit and was holding the Holy Lance.

At this time, most departments in the hospital, except for the emergency room, have turned off their lights and are no longer receiving patients, making it appear exceptionally quiet from the outside.

Ayaka Sajou swallowed hard as she looked at the building in front of her.

Perhaps it's because hospitals are always associated with life and death, but even though she had recently seemed to want to give up on life, Ayaka Sajou still feels a strange unease about being there.

"Saber, where should we begin our investigation?" Suppressing her discomfort, Ayaka Sajou asked Yuuto.

"Well..." Yuuto was about to speak when he heard Ayaka Sajou's cell phone suddenly ring.

The brief ringtone seemed to indicate that a text message notification had been received.

Ayaka Sajou took out her phone with one hand, intending to put it on silent, but after opening the cover, her eyes were unconsciously drawn to the name in the sender's field of the text message she had just received.

From: Philia.

Chapter 273 Then why don't you wear a mask?

Philia!

It's that white-haired woman who forced her to participate in the Holy Grail War!

Is this guy trying to make some pointless request of me again?

Having made up her mind not to be led by the nose anymore, Ayaka Sajou gripped her phone and quickly opened the text message the other party had sent.

"You're free now! Do whatever you want! 😐!"

"Ok?"

The emotions that were about to burst forth were like a gun barrel that had jammed at this moment. Ayaka Sajou stared at the short sentence in the text message, her mouth agape, not knowing what to say for a moment.

To bring this up now... does this mean the curse on her has been lifted?

Ayaka Sajou didn't know, but she felt that she couldn't just believe what that woman said.

"What's wrong?" Seeing that she had been staring at her phone for a long time without saying anything, You Du simply went around behind her and glanced at the contents of the text message.

When she realized someone was looking at her phone, Ayaka Sajou instinctively wanted to get away, but then she realized that there was nothing shameful about the text message on her phone, so she let him read it from beginning to end.

Who is Phyllis?

"Just a domineering woman who likes to force others to follow her ideas."

Putting away her phone, Ayaka Sajo pursed her lips and confessed to Yuuto, "I don't think I've told you yet, have I? The reason I came to this snowy city to participate in the Holy Grail War is because of this woman's instructions. Even the Command Seals on my body were implanted by her."

"You must have had a really tough time..."

You Du nodded seriously.

Upon hearing what Ayaka Sajou said, he unconsciously pictured Ishtar and Ayaka Sajou in his mind.

Of all the people, heroic spirits, and goddesses he knows, these two seem to best fit this assessment.

Looking at Yutari's wistful expression, Ayaka Sajou felt that he had probably misunderstood something...

But whatever, since Saber doesn't care about this kind of thing, there's no need for her to keep dwelling on it.

Without lingering outside any longer, after Ayaka Sajou silenced her phone, Yuuto summoned the Black Magician to use illusion magic as always to conceal their figures, leading them past the security guards and cameras at the entrance and into the somewhat quiet hospital.

"Tsk tsk tsk, the fog inside the hospital is definitely much thicker than outside..."

Looking at the thick, flowing black mist in his field of vision, You Du couldn't help but marvel.

What great luck! It seems like we found the source of the incident right away!

He said it himself: how could the fog that enveloped the entire city and the situation of turning back after leaving the city be unrelated!

Upon hearing what Yuuto said, Ayaka Sajou gripped the Holy Lance tightly in her hand.

Even a touch of the thin fog on the outskirts would be fatal for her; if she were to touch the thick fog inside the hospital, she would probably die on the spot!

"Since you can see the mist, Saber, can you tell which way it's coming from?"

Ayaka Sajou thought that since this fog was different from the usual fog, it should not be affected by environmental factors such as airflow. So, if she just followed the direction it was coming from and searched in the opposite direction, she might be able to find the source of the fog!

"Let me see... Come, General, please take this path!"

Why call her General...?

Despite feeling somewhat speechless, Ayaka Sajou obediently followed Yuuto, clutching the Holy Lance.

Being close to the source means there are Servants or magicians in this hospital. Even if Yuuto says that the Holy Lance can protect her from those magics, what if the other party comes up with a knife and tries to cut her?

Ayaka Sajou heard Yuuto say that those magicians all knew Bajiquan, and that she, a weak woman with no strength to even kill a chicken, couldn't possibly beat them even if she had a long spear in her hand!

Therefore, you must stick close to Saber!

Yu Du led her all the way to the floor where the special isolation ward was located, and stood outside the door of the sterilization room.

"Wait, can this gun help me resist the invasion of germs?" Ayaka Sajou stopped Yutari, who was about to let the black magician teleport them inside, and calmly asked him.

"Of course not, what are you thinking?" Yuuto looked at Ayaka Sajou with an expression as if she were an idiot, as if she had just said something strange.

"What if I get infected with some kind of germ inside?" Ayaka Sajou gave him a strange look in return, then pointed to the sign next to her that read "Special Isolation Ward".

"Or is it that the common sense the Holy Grail instilled in you didn't include any knowledge related to epidemic prevention?"

"emmmm..."

You Du pondered, and then made a suggestion.

"Then why don't you wear a mask?"

Ayaka Sajou: "..."

Well, it's better than nothing...

Ayaka Sajou suddenly realized that she shouldn't expect these summoned ancient people (Yutari: ?) to have any good suggestions on this matter, after all, they might not even have had the concept of disease prevention back then...

Using illusion magic, the black magician secretly stole a mask from under the nose of the on-duty nurse, put it on, and then led Yuu Watari and Ayaka Sajou into the sterilization room.

While they were conducting their investigation, they also didn't want the patients inside to have their conditions worsen due to the bacteria they brought in.

To You Du's surprise, they had just come out of the sterilization room. Because of the thick black fog that was billowing out from behind the door, You Du thought they would be met with a sudden attack when they went in. However, instead, they saw a black-haired man lying on the side of the hospital bed.

Yuwatari & Ayaka Sajou: "?"

Good heavens, is this really a case of killing the moment the door is opened?

what's the situation?

Did they witness the murder scene?

Taking a cautious step closer to the 'corpse', and using the advantage of having a long weapon, Ayaka Sajou flipped it over from a distance with the butt of her spear.

Um...it's someone I don't know.

Seeing that the 'corpse' did not react for a long time, You Du ignored it and walked a little closer to look at the patient lying on the hospital bed.

It was a young girl lying on the hospital bed, her body extremely thin, looking no more than ten years old.

The crimson tattoo on the back of her left hand, which looked like a mournful face, clearly indicated her status as a Master.

Yes, it's now completely certain that the source of the thick fog that has enveloped the entire Snowfield City is the girl in front of Yuwatari, or rather, her servant.

Yuuto pulled Ayaka Sajou, who was still surprised that such a young child, who was on the verge of death in the hospital room, had become her Master, behind him and stared intently at the dark object mixed in with the black mist that filled the room.

"Are you her servant?"

This time, even Ayaka Sajou was able to see it. In fact, compared to Yuwatari, who had to discern the other party from within a thick black mist, her vision, which was completely obscured by the black mist, allowed her to see the existence of that dark object much more clearly.

It was something black, condensed into clumps, that was quite different from the word 'fog'.

Chapter 274 The Undead Corpse

The moment the Pale Knight appeared, the black mist in the ward transformed, changing from its previous lifeless state to a living thing, sweeping towards Yuwatari and Ayaka Sajou.