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

The Holy Grail War is indeed dangerous enough, but I never expected that the danger would come from the Servants she summoned...

"I'll definitely do it next time!" Yuuto put away his black magician and responded by imitating the cooing of a pigeon.

The hospital is quite far from the industrial area, and he was worried that if the black magician relied solely on his magic, he would end up draining Ayaka Sajou dry.

Even though he had never seen Ayaka Sajou lack magic power since she was summoned, and the magic power he provided never fluctuated, he even suspected that she was a magical entity that had come to life, similar to the Holy Grail.

Just in case, Youdu flagged down a taxi.

"Go to the industrial zone."

Chapter 285 The Goddess and the Man Seeking Revenge Against God

Xueyuan City Industrial Zone.

It's almost dawn now, and if anyone went to bed early enough last night, they should be waking up around this time.

Bazdilot, the Master of True Archer Alcides, is a candidate who fits this criterion.

Although he didn't actually go to sleep early, only 5 minutes ago, he used self-suggestion to allow his body to enter a light sleep while his brain fell into a deep sleep. Therefore, he only needed a few minutes of sleep to be able to engage in long-term activities.

This was developed to allow for timely awakening and action when enemies appear. It is a short-term sleep that utilizes the dissipation of consciousness and falls under the category of simple magic. It is also widely used among magicians.

However, this act of dissolving one's consciousness is tantamount to killing oneself, which results in a limited number of magicians being able to use this magic frequently.

Bazdilot, who basically hates dreaming, happens to be one of them.

Just five minutes earlier, as he was falling asleep using the same method as always, he dreamed of Alcides' past because of the magical connection between them.

He dreamt of an arrogant blond brat on a ship, talking incessantly about some ideal world.

Ah, without a doubt, he's dreaming, isn't he?

Bazdilot knew Alcádez's real name, so after realizing he was dreaming, he also knew that the ship he was standing on was the legendary Argo, and the person who was talking to him was Captain Jason.

Wow...you're quite the talker...

Bazdilot rubbed his temples as he woke from his dream, feeling as if Jason's nonsensical words were still echoing in his ears.

As expected, he still really dislikes dreaming.

"What's wrong?" Alcides, now in spirit form, looked at Bazdilot, who seemed unwell after waking up from his sleep.

He wasn't concerned about his Master, but rather because he sensed the presence of a multitude of beings approaching.

Sensing the faint aura, Alcides deactivated his spirit form, only to be met with Bazdilot's expression, which, though not volatile, clearly conveyed a complex and unspeakable meaning.

He had initially thought that the suspected enemy had already made a move against Bazdilot!

The communication equipment in the workshop transmitted a message from the meat processing plant on the ground.

"What's wrong?" After the communication was connected, the same question came from Bazdilot's mouth in a cold tone, but the response to his question was the mournful cry of his subordinate magician.

"It's Einzbern! The Einzbern homunculi have appeared—ah!"

His report ended there.

A crackling noise came from the device, followed by a sound like a heavy object falling to the ground, after which the device lost communication.

Bazdilot silently stood up from his chair; he had just fallen asleep sitting there.

Alcides also conjured his bow and arrow with magic in his hand and looked toward the stairs leading to the ground.

Is it the intuition of a hero... no, it's more like the ability of clairvoyance?

He always felt that the faint presence he sensed might not be the one who had defeated Bazdilot's men.

"Ta...ta...ta..."

The sound of two people's footsteps came from the stairs.

A few seconds later, a woman with snow-white skin and long silver hair, along with a girl who appeared to be a magician and was huddled behind her, entered the workshop.

The girl whose entire body could only be associated with the word 'white' must be the Einzbern family's android mentioned in the subordinate's report.

The female magician behind her was the tiny presence that Alcides had sensed.

At the same time, looking at the hemisphere composed entirely of magic with a radius of several meters in front of him, he realized why he had not sensed the presence of the female homunculus, Einzbern.

Because she controlled her magic to circulate only around herself, without dissipating even a little bit outwards!

Alcides, holding his bow, remained silent and wary of the silver-white woman, while Bazdilot was responsible for communicating with her.

"What brings the Einzbern puppets here?"

Bazdilot's voice was devoid of any emotion as he stared coldly at the white-haired woman, whose face displayed the complete opposite of his own, a happy expression and a gentle smile.

"Oh dear, you're covered in mud... looks like you've already given up on being human~"

Seeing his expressionless face, Philia, the female homunculus of Einzbern, looked him up and down and then spoke casually as if no one else was around.

"Well, if that's the case... then it wouldn't hurt to kill you along with that twisted heroic spirit next to you, would it?"

Felia delivered her verdict to them in a tone that sounded more like an announcement than a question. She showed no intention of answering Bazdilot's question, and the gentle smile on her lips took on a cruel undertone after her words.

"Killing them wouldn't matter...?" Bazdilot's expression remained unchanged: "How many people do you think could accept that?"

Upon hearing this, Felia tilted her head as if incredulous: "Huh? But if you can't accept that, then you don't have to treat him like a human being, right?"

A joke? Or just plain sarcasm?

This woman is probably impossible to communicate with.

Having made this judgment in his mind, Bazdilot still stood in front of Alcides, choosing to continue the conversation in order to find out more information about the other party.

Master in front, Servant behind.

Their positioning was rather odd, prompting the female magician hiding behind Phyllis to glance at them several times.

There was no other way; after all, Alcides was summoned in this Holy Grail War as an archer, and it was more appropriate for him to oversee the overall situation from the rear than Bazdirot.

Moreover, he could guarantee that his attack would be completed in less than half a second, so there was no need to worry about Bazdilot being in danger.

"Is this how Einzbern's androids think?"

It was precisely because Bazdilot knew the strength of Alcides standing behind him that he was able to have a normal conversation with Philia as he was doing now.

Although he had heard Francesca mention the various deeds of the Einzbern family, when he actually stood in front of Felia, he sensed that something seemed off about her thought process...

What do you think you are?

Are they gods high above us?

"Ah..." When asked about Bazdilot's question, Philia nodded her lips and thought for a moment before revealing an expression of sudden realization.

"The Einzbern you've been talking about, you wouldn't be referring to the people who made this 'vessel,' would you? Hmm... although their technology is far behind ours, they've at least made an effort..."

"If it weren't for this vessel, I would have had to find a human to possess forcibly. In that case, our souls would merge, causing some deviations in our memories and personalities, which would be quite troublesome."

"But I don't have to worry about those things with this body, so I'm very satisfied! It's as if this body was created from the very beginning to be used as a vessel for God!"

The air in the workshop fell silent the moment Philia uttered that word.

"You mean... the vessel of the gods?" Alcides spoke for the first time in this conversation.

Philia: "Yeah!"

"You mean...you are a god?"

“Ah…you don’t know yet? That’s true, it would be a problem if you knew.” Philia nodded thoughtfully, then gave a confident smile.

"I am indeed a god."

"And it's a genuine one—"

"A beautiful goddess."

Chapter 286 The maze wasn't meant to trap them.

There was no hesitation.

The instant Philia finished speaking, an arrow was already flying towards the woman who dared to call herself a 'goddess' in front of Alcides.

The arrow stirred up a storm in the room. The arrow, imbued with the aura of death, swept through the magic in the workshop. The roar of its flight was even a step slower than the arrow itself, and it only resounded throughout the underground workshop just before it was about to hit Philia.

But Philia did not panic. In an instant, she released her magic and wrapped the arrow in it.

After that, the flying arrow seemed to be stuck on a fixed track, circling around her dozens of times before shooting towards Bazdilot's face without slowing down at all.

Bazdilot tilted his head slightly to the side, narrowly avoiding the arrow that had been returned from Philia.

As for the storm and impact carried by the arrow, one can only rely on enhancement magic to strengthen the body's surface and try to deflect it.

Alcides, standing behind, reached out a hand and grabbed the arrow, the vibrations echoing through the underground workshop.

Did he return Alcides' arrow simply by manipulating magic?

Bazdilot narrowed his eyes.

This alone is enough to show that the woman standing in front of them is definitely not some artificial magician from the Einzbern family.

Is there an being whose identity is unknown, yet possesses power comparable to that of a Servant?

As for the goddess... he would remain skeptical until he received concrete evidence to confirm it.

A burning, intense feeling of hatred surged from the magical circuit connected to Alcides, its target aimed directly at Philia opposite him. This made Bazdilot silently consider how to control Alcides should he go berserk in the future.

While he was still pondering, Philia and Alcides had already begun their conversation.

"How rude of you to attempt to shoot down a god... Your arrogance is comparable to that of the emperors of the East."

Philia remained calm and composed, seemingly unaffected by Alcides's sudden attack.

Alcides scoffed, "I'm the one who doesn't understand manners, aren't I? You woman who calls herself a goddess in front of me! Answer me, why did you trespass on our stronghold?"

"Oh dear, I think it should be during the Holy Grail War right now, right?" Filia didn't give him a friendly look either, her words carrying a sarcastic tone: "Although I'm neither a Master nor a Servant, it's my freedom to choose which side I want to join, so..."

A strange light flashed in her eyes, and a large number of magic bullets resembling arrows appeared in her hand. She continued speaking in a voice as mechanical as a machine, devoid of any emotion.

"Isn't it only natural for the side I've joined to help eliminate any forces I don't like?"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless magical arrows and projectiles instantly attacked Bazdilot and Alcides.

However, unlike when he faced the arrows that were returned to Alcides earlier, this time Bazdilot calmly watched the magic bullets fly towards him, and then... they all disappeared before his eyes.

The next second, the vanished magic bullets reappeared from various corners of the workshop and flew straight toward Philia.

?

Philia casually waved her hand, and the magic bullets suddenly flew downwards, but they disappeared before everyone's eyes before they even reached the ground because the magic power dissipated.

"This...this is a spatial...maze..."

Whether it was due to nervousness or fear, the female magician named Haruli, who had been hiding behind Felia and peeking at the situation from the shadows of the entrance to the ground, stammered out her name.

"Oh? You finally activated the barrier?" Hearing the female magician say this, Felia smiled fearlessly and mocked, "But you only started building the maze when the enemy was already at your doorstep. You're quite leisurely."

Bazdilot did not argue that this was the proper way to use the labyrinth in response to her mockery. Instead, he simply stretched out his arms with a blank expression and released magic from his hands.

As he moved, the ceiling of the underground warehouse opened, revealing the still-dark sky outside. One side of the meat processing plant began to twist and deform, gradually transforming into a completely different shape.

The ferocious monster fell in free fall from the spiraling ceiling.

At that moment, it was as if the entire factory had transformed into a gigantic beast, ready to devour everyone inside.

"How...how is this possible?! There's actually such a massive defense organization..."

Haruli muttered to herself, somewhat dazed, as she pondered the words.

Is this a transformation of a portion of space into another world?

But if they could create such a massive defense organization, why not just do it from the beginning—

"Hmm? I see, so that's how it is..."

Philia's sudden words interrupted Haruli's thoughts.

She snapped out of her daze and saw Felia staring at the falling monsters with her hands raised.

"This workshop wasn't built to prevent foreign invasion. It seems it was designed from the beginning to prevent anyone who enters from leaving... Tsk, the guy who built this place must have had a really nasty personality."

After speaking, she unleashed countless magnificent magical arrows that shot towards the magical beasts.

"Master, will this barrier hinder us?" Alcides gripped his bow, preparing to attack.