Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Just then, Lady Avalon suddenly sensed an unusual magical fluctuation, which was...

"Master!!"

Ms. Avalon hurriedly tried to remind her verbally, but it was too late.

A bewitching crimson light bloomed between Shirou and Irisviel.

"What's going on here?"

Shirou looked down and saw something burst open Irisviel's coat, leaping out of the collar and flying into the air.

That is Caster's Noble Phantasm, "The Book of the Annihilation Castle".

"What's going on? Why is this Noble Phantasm still here?" Shirou asked, puzzled.

Irisviel looked apologetic: "I'm so sorry, I thought you would like it, Shinji, so I kept it secretly."

Because I want to use this as a bedtime storybook and read it to you..."

Shirou was having trouble keeping up with this woman's train of thought.

"Hasn't Caster already returned to his seat?"

Saber looked up at the "Snail Annihilation City Text" whose pages were rapidly turning in the air.

Gilles de Rais has vanished without a trace.

Shirou speculated that his grimoire remained because the magic spell he had already cast had not yet ended.

Caster previously used a magic book to open an interdimensional portal to summon monsters. Even if you kill the monster, it will not disappear; you can only wait for the portal's duration to expire.

However, the grimoire is now unleashing a far greater magical power than before.

The countless bloody remains scattered on the ground instantly transformed into otherworldly monsters.

Ignoring Shirou and Saber, they extended their tentacles towards the grimoire in mid-air and quickly swallowed it up.

The tentacles multiplied at an unimaginable rate, far exceeding anything seen before.

Thousands of tentacles intertwined and merged, gradually forming a hideous mountain of flesh and blood.

Saber was stunned: "Why? Who is continuously injecting magic into that grimoire?"

Such immense magical power, how could it be... Caster should have already disappeared!

Shirou narrowed his eyes and mentioned a possibility.

"There is only one person in this world who can forcefully activate Caster's Noble Phantasm regardless of any conditions."

Saber and Irisviel's eyes widened at his reminder.

"Caster's Master... Ryunosuke Uryu!"

……

……

in the dark.

The young man sat quietly on the sofa.

He has maintained this posture for three days.

If it were a normal human, he would probably suffer from necrosis of the thigh due to poor blood circulation, but since he is already a corpse, he does not have such a problem.

No, even the ability to "worry" has long since disappeared for Ryunosuke Uryu.

Losing one's brain, losing one's intellect, losing one's sense of self.

At most, he can only make some neural reflexes based on the external environment, just like a dissected frog in a laboratory.

The young man named Ryunosuke Uryu died on the day he met the red-haired boy, and what remains here now is just a piece of dead flesh that inherits his appearance.

Just now, Gilles de Rae was murdered.

Although the Servant disappeared, Ryunosuke Uryuu's Command Seals did not disappear; instead, they remained attached to the back of his hand, which violated the rules of the Holy Grail War.

The so-called Command Seals were originally a binding curse added by Zouken Matou, who was skilled in sorcery, to control his Servants.

Since it is a man-made object, it will inevitably have flaws, and even a genius old magician is no exception.

He probably didn't consider this possibility at the time.

The Servant's owner is actually a zombie.

The inherent affinity between "necromancers" and "cursed magic" allowed the Command Seals to miraculously remain in Ryunosuke Uryu's body.

However, this was not the only accident that happened to him.

Gilles de Rais used a grimoire to create a soul-absorbing barrier in Fuyuki City and transferred the life force he stole from the citizens to his Master.

During this process, Ryunosuke Uryu also gained Caster's life force.

Furthermore, the magical energy pathways connecting Masters and Servants already allow them to achieve a certain level of life sharing—

Meatball (Ryunosuke Uryu) became another Caster (Gil de Rais).

This is the truth behind why the "Snail Annihilation City Text" did not disappear after Caster's death.

Ryunosuke Uryu, this "dead man," inherited Caster's life and Noble Phantasm, and is still "alive."

Now, this cold, lifeless lump of flesh, which had long since lost its intelligence, has acted in a way that defies the logic of a corpse.

"Ah...ah...Master..."

"I'm so unwilling... Lord Bluebeard..."

The corpse stared into the void with its cloudy, vacant eyes, muttering incoherently as it consumed the Command Seals on the back of its hand.

"Kill them... wipe them all out..."

Together.

"Unforgivable... They must be... avenged..."

Two lanes.

"Sir...let me appreciate something cooler...real art..."

Three ways.

Neither magic nor science can explain what kind of will drives this piece of flesh.

But it happened.

If this were a fairy tale, then this phenomenon could be defined as "the power of love causing miracles."

Unfortunately, Bluebeard was a story that was removed from Grimm's Fairy Tales because it was too dark and bloody.

After exhausting all his Command Seals, Ryunosuke Uryu's last breath disappeared.

He transformed from a movable lump of flesh (a corpse) into an ordinary lump of flesh (a corpse), finally ending his sinful life.

even so.

This once belonged to "Ryunosuke Uryu," and he still wore an incredibly satisfied smile on his lips before he passed away.

……

……

Generally speaking, it is very difficult for a magician's familiar to get close to an enemy magician's barrier.

Therefore, Irisviel didn't care that the other families had sent familiars outside the forest, since they couldn't detect anything anyway.

However, Caster went way too far tonight.

Not only did he enter the forest of Einzbern openly in front of numerous familiars, but he also attempted to hold a blood sacrifice ritual and open the gate to another world.

Now, it's impossible for other Masters not to pay attention.

When all the Masters involved in the battle focused their attention on the Einzbern territory, they discovered a magical reaction from a massive ritual magic emanating from the forest.

Kenneth and his servant, the Sorcerer Diarmuid, were searching for enemies in the deep mountain town not far from the Einzbern Forest.

For them, their primary target was Saber, who had defeated them once before in the Warehouse Street.

Now that Eindzbern is in trouble, they can't just sit idly by; this is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of their weakness.

"Can you see what's happening, Lancer?"

The spearman, clad in the skin of a demonic boar, peered through the thick night fog between the cities.

"It's Caster. That guy who recklessly trespassed into the Einzbern Forest seems to be plotting something."

"...Truly astonishing magic power; with that kind of magic power, it would be enough to destroy this city."

Kenneth frowned and said, "Doesn't that guy know that he's been put on a wanted list by the Church and has become the target of all Servants?"

"If a madman had self-awareness, he wouldn't be a madman."

Kenneth's familiar has just returned from Kotomine Risei's place, and the church has just announced:

Caster's disregard for the hidden rules of the Holy Grail War and his various crimes near Fuyuki City have threatened the continuation of the ritual.

Therefore, a temporary rule will be added, which will grant the Master who destroys Caster a Command Seal.

Einzbern has obviously not received this message yet because he has been busy dealing with Caster's intrusion all night.

By the time they learn about this additional rule, the battle will likely be completely over.

This is a major boon for Kenneth, allowing him to keep the prize all to himself.

He now only has one Command Seal left, and he desperately wants to obtain a new one.

"Hmph, let's go."

Kenneth headed towards the fog-shrouded outskirts.

"Tonight they will know the consequences of opposing El-Melloi... but before that..."

The man sneered and asked, "Answer me, Lancer."

Who is your enemy?

Is it the evil and mad Caster? Or Saber, who once defeated you and disgraced Diarmuid's name?

"...Foolish question."

The black-clad spearman turned and gave him a deep look before replying in a completely indifferent tone.

There is only one target to kill...

Saber's Master, Irisviel Einzbern.

For Lancer Diarmuid, who has abandoned chivalry, the glory and joy of battle are no longer worth anything.

Moreover, even the act of reaffirming one's oath to Saber is meaningless.

Only one thing is valuable—

It means to do all the most evil and immoral things in the world by any means necessary, and finally achieve the result of "victory".

……

……

"That is……"

Irisviel stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Caster continues to expand with unstoppable momentum, and has already grown to the size of a hill.

Without a doubt, that was the true face of the otherworldly demonic nature summoned by the "Snail Annihilation City Text".

Against the backdrop of night, towering above the Einzbern Forest stands the nightmare that rules the otherworldly seas, a monster known as the "Sea Demon."

The endless, tidal wave of tentacle monsters that have appeared so far are not its kind or offspring, but merely the tip of the iceberg of its enormous body.

Fortunately, this is in the outskirts of Fuyuki, far from the city, and there have been no casualties so far.

But even in the suburbs, a monster of this size could not possibly go unnoticed.

Although it was nighttime in the suburbs, chaotic shouts still came from afar.

It's no wonder the citizens were surprised to see a scene resembling that of a monster movie.

Fortunately, the ritual magic also generated a large amount of dense fog, so people could not see the full appearance of the sea monster.