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

Yudu returned to his familiar basement and began his alchemy process, following the steps he had become extremely familiar with.

Having already experienced the Rainbow Dragon incident, Yuuto skillfully gathered all the excess materials together using magic and began additional refining.

However, this time the process took much longer than he had expected. Several hours later, he finally managed to fish out the first extra card from the pot.

It was a card shrouded in deep darkness.

[Ultimate Gem: Divine Rainbow Dark Dragon]

Youdu: ?

Wait, if the Rainbow Dark Dragon has already been disposed of as waste, then what is being refined in the pot now?

Chapter Thirty-Six: Kirei Kotomine: You are free, Lancer.

not right...

Something's definitely not right... even nine out of ten.

You Du stroked his chin, looked at the vortex in the pot that had completely turned into a pure white vortex, and then looked at the two extra cards he had crafted on the table.

That's right, the refining process is almost over, but he has only managed to refine two extra cards.

The balance between the various elemental properties within the pot was maintained perfectly, but it completely removed the contamination from the Holy Grail, namely the darkness within it.

[Ultimate Gem: Divine Rainbow Dark Dragon]

【10 stars】

[Dragon/Dark]

[Attack power: 4000]

[Defense: 0]

[Sacrifice the Demonic Lotus]

【1 stars】

[Demon/Dark]

[Attack power: 0]

[Defense: 0]

These are the only two cards he has ever created.

He hadn't expected that this forging process would expel a portion of the main ingredients, so when he forged the Rainbow Dark Dragon, a small amount of 'darkness' remained in the pot.

It wasn't until he discovered that after forging the Rainbow Dark Dragon, the remaining small portion of 'darkness' was still being rejected by other elemental attributes that he took action and forged this [Sacrifice to the Demon Realm Lotus], allowing the forging process to proceed normally.

It is now the second day, and also the fourth day since the Holy Grail War officially began after the last Saber was summoned. It is 10:00 AM.

Because the excess elemental attributes extracted during this forging process were far less than those extracted during the last forging of the Rainbow Dragon, Yuuto, who only forged two extra cards, did not consume much magic power.

Rin Tohsaka was even able to get up normally in the morning to visit Sakura Matou in the hospital, instead of almost having her magic power drained like last time, and having to sleep for a whole day to recover.

You Du didn't go with her; he was now extremely curious about the card that was about to be completed.

It took him more than ten hours to finish the refining process. What kind of product could he possibly have produced?

Furthermore, although he did not go to the hospital with Rin Tohsaka, even if she were unlucky enough to encounter an enemy, she could definitely use her Command Seals to summon him by relying on the cards of those Gem Beasts, so there was no need to worry too much about her safety.

Time passed second by second.

After about an hour, a card finally condensed in the vortex in the pot, revealing a small purple edge.

This is a fusion monster.

You Du's expression instantly turned strange, and a slightly outlandish guess popped into his mind.

He reached out and pulled out the card, skillfully closing his eyes to avoid the dazzling light that emanated from it when it appeared.

As the light shimmered, Yuuto stared in disbelief at the hero on the card, who was covered in silver-white armor and had wings that were larger than a person.

"No way? Can you really create a Rainbow Light Neo-Universe Hero card by reversing attributes?"

There wasn't anything related to the light attribute in that pile of materials... Could it be that the colorless magic in the Holy Grail fragments can be used to target the light attribute?

But weren't they all already contaminated?

I don't understand, I really don't understand...

Although he didn't understand it, it didn't stop Youdu from being delighted with what he had gained.

After a series of forging attempts, I unexpectedly managed to gather both Rainbow Neos and the Ultimate Jewel Monster, which served as fusion material!

As for Neo-Yuxia... even though he has it in his deck, he should still try to craft another one later.

Otherwise, if he can't use the Hero deck in the next area, wouldn't this Rainbow Neos Knight be wasted?

Having made up his mind, Yuuto tidied up the basement and then went out to meet up with Rin Tohsaka at the hospital.

Oh, right, the Matou family's insect burrow hasn't been destroyed yet. Hmm... I'll trouble Absolute Zero to make a trip there!

……

"Haha...haha..."

Shopping Street.

Hongzhou Banquet Hall, Mount Tai.

Kirei Kotomine was here, exhaling large breaths of hot air as he enthusiastically enjoyed the steaming hot Mapo Tofu in front of him.

When you take a bite of piping hot Mapo Tofu, your tongue will feel as if it has been pricked with needles a thousand times, and then salt has been sprinkled on that wound—it's incredibly spicy and painful.

One bite, two bites...

Unlike the usual portions ordered by customers, the Mapo Tofu, served in an entire pot, was devoured very quickly.

"Master, you really do like eating this kind of thing..."

The shop door opened and closed, and Cú Chulainn, now in spirit form, walked in. He immediately saw Kirei Kotomine, whose forehead was covered in sweat, and instinctively stood still with a hint of disgust.

Don't get me wrong, he didn't think the other person was dirty.

He simply disliked his own Master, who was cowardly and liked to eat things that only caused pain.

Upon hearing Cú Chulainn's voice, Kirei Kotomine stopped scooping up the soup spoon while cooking Mapo Tofu, took out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead and the red oil from his mouth, and asked.

"Lancer? What's up?"

Cú Chulainn sighed and sat down opposite Kirei Kotomine in his spirit form.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to say that the Holy Grail War has already been going on for four days now. Master, do you have any plans for the future?"

He didn't care about the Holy Grail, but he really wanted to have a good, hard-fought battle with someone else!

Explore, explore, explore...

He's been investigating for four days now, and he's only managed to fight Saber and Berserker once. He even had to wander around the place where he'd met Berserker before for two or three days before encountering him again.

Moreover, they only clashed briefly and had to retreat before they could even get into a good fight.

He didn't see any of the other Servants!

Oh, if we count the Caster he was chasing before the Holy Grail War, then he's fought three Servants in total, but only briefly.

He hadn't seen a single Assassin, Archer, or Rider!

It's already the fourth day. Could the remaining three have already left without their knowledge?

Cú Chulainn, who had been idly wandering the streets for two days, couldn't stand it any longer, so he went to Kirei Kotomine to ask him to give him a different mission.

Listening to Cú Chulainn's incessant complaints, Kirei Kotomine continued eating his Mapo Tofu without changing his expression, only letting out a satisfied sigh after finishing it all.

"Is that so? Then let's end the investigation here, Lancer."

Kirei Kotomine leaned back in his chair, his expression serene as if he were about to ascend to heaven.

He went through all the times that Rin Tohsaka had called him during this period, asking him to clean up her messes.

Homurahara Academy... Residential area... Ryudou Temple...

And there was also the commotion at the Matou family's place yesterday...

"Now you can go find your favorite enemy to fight. I won't restrict you too much. Whether you use your Noble Phantasm or not is up to you."

Cu Chulainn: “???”

Cú Chulainn first reached up and picked at his ear, then suddenly became alert, gripping his magic spear and assuming a fighting stance.

He suspected that he might have been affected by a Servant's Noble Phantasm and fallen into an illusion, or rather, entered some kind of illusionary array!

Otherwise, how could his cowardly Master possibly give him such an order?!

Kirei Kotomine looked at Cú Chulainn, who was warily looking around, and after thinking for a while, he still couldn't understand what his Servant was doing, so he simply gave up and called over the landlady.

"Another order of Mapo Tofu, please."

"Extra spicy, please."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Perfect Place with Cold Winters and Cool Summers!

"I'm stuffed……"

The suburbs of Fuyuki.

In the castle of Einzbern.

Ilya put down her knife and fork. The steak in front of her was almost untouched, but she had lost all appetite.

It has no taste... well, that's not entirely true.

There is actually some flavor, but very little. Once you put it in your mouth, there's no texture at all; it just feels like you're chewing on a tasteless belt.

No, the texture of the leather belt might even be stronger.

Ilya let Sera and Lyselle clear away the plates, then returned to her room expressionlessly, sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window, enduring the waves of hunger rumbling in her stomach.

Starting yesterday, she noticed that her sense of taste had weakened; no, it wasn't just her sense of taste.

Blurred vision, dulled sense of touch, hearing impairment...

The five senses, which were originally healthy, begin to fade at some point. If I had to describe it, it would probably be like the stains on a plate being gradually washed away.

The stains on the plate were wiped away layer by layer by the combined action of the sponge, detergent, and water, restoring the pure white surface of the plate.

The loss of other senses can be mitigated by magic to prevent it from affecting normal life, but the sense of taste is the only exception.

The taste simulated by magic couldn't fool her own body at all; no matter what she ate, it tasted like chewing wax.

Ilya knew why.

As the culmination of the Einzbern family's alchemy, and also the Lesser Grail in the Fifth Holy Grail War, her heart was given the responsibility of collecting the souls of Servants who had already left the battlefield.

Until the very end of the Holy Grail War, the collected Servant souls will complete an important task in the final stage of the ritual performed by the Greater Grail.

However, every time she absorbs a Servant's soul, her body feels like it's being swept by a typhoon. As the number of souls she absorbs increases, she has to shut down more of her human functions, otherwise she will be unable to suppress the Servant's soul.

This situation will continue until she becomes the complete Lesser Grail, and at that time, naturally, her part as 'Ilya' will completely disappear.

In other words, at the start of this Holy Grail War, her life was already on a countdown of up to seven days.

After sensing the three extra souls within her, Ilya lay down on her side on the bed.

"very hungry……"

……

"So much free time~"

After becoming a spirit, Cú Chulainn walked down the bustling street, carelessly passing through the bodies of one pedestrian after another, so bored that he was almost about to yawn.

Although he finally received a mission from Kirei Kotomine that allowed him to fight freely, Cú Chulainn didn't realize it until he had been excitedly searching the streets for over two hours after leaving the restaurant.

Speaking of which... it seems that he went to Kirei Kotomine to ask for a different mission because he couldn't find anyone else?

But now that he's changed his mission and can act without restrictions, he still can't seem to find anyone.

If he had known this would happen, he would have been better off fishing at the pier...

Frustrated, Cú Chulainn scratched his blue hair and decided to go to the Matou residence. There seemed to have been quite a commotion there yesterday, and perhaps Servants were fighting there.

If he can't find any opponents there, then he'll have to get some bait and go fishing at the dock; as for the fishing rod...

He felt that his magic spear was quite suitable!