Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"...No, let's give up on that; it's unnecessary now." The military leader shook his head, then continued, "But we still need to be very vigilant—"

"General!"

Amid a barrage of reports from various sources, those in charge of the matter repeatedly and accurately issued instructions; however, it was only those who addressed him by his job title that broke the ice.

The man in military uniform, addressed as a general, frowned as he looked over there.

So, the man who was the leader of the observation team stood at the door of the conference room, trembling as he straightened his posture.

"The people of Xueyuan City have disappeared."

"...Does that mean the observation was forcibly interrupted?"

In his view, if a large-scale group of magicians were to be operating, there was a high possibility that each surveillance satellite would disrupt it, or that the followers would obstruct the surveillance.

"No, the observation instruments from the satellite are functioning normally."

After speaking haltingly, the leader operated the control panel in the conference room, and the screen in the observation room reflected the landscape of Xueyuan City.

"I'll repeat myself. The people of Snowfield City... have disappeared."

The masterminds behind the Holy Grail War, led by a man known as the General.

They witnessed the anomalies occurring in Xueyuan City in real time.

Upon seeing the satellite images appear on the monitor, everyone held their breath and was speechless.

Even those who were collected because of their profound knowledge of magic and science had to stop thinking in the face of such an anomaly.

The vast snowfield city, with its entire population of 800,000, vanished in an instant, leaving only scattered specks of light all around.

"...What on earth is going on...? Could it be a Reality Marble...?"

This is one of Novia's abilities as the King of the Wild Hunt, namely—

An inherent barrier that appears in reverse form.

It's not about replacing reality with the mental world, but rather sealing things from reality into the mental world.

In other words, from the moment it was first announced, the Wild Hunt trial, which could simulate a world of 150,000 square kilometers at its highest level, had already begun instantly.

.......

Within this space, there exists a world where darkness and points of light coexist.

In the center of a vast, perfectly spherical room dyed the color of the night sky, a wooden chair floated.

Judging by the chair's appearance alone, it certainly deserves to be called luxurious. However, the wood used as its material has a unique color that avoids a cloying sense of sophistication. Rather, the chair's mere presence lends a sense of solemnity to the surrounding atmosphere.

If an ordinary person were to sit in that chair, they might even be completely swallowed up by the chair's presence and fade out of sight of those around them.

At that moment, a man whose solemn demeanor surpassed that of the chair leaned back forcefully and let out a sigh.

"Hmm... It was him after all. It's about time I said hello to you, right? The communication costs from over there shouldn't be underestimated."

Thus, space seemed to respond to this cry.

"What? So you already figured it out."

There is a small wooden table here, just as unique as the chair, with a 'telephone' placed on it.

It was an old-fashioned telephone, which at first glance looked like a desk lamp. Instead of light, it was projected by a cone-shaped speaker, with a microphone at the front of a slender, extending support, and a dial on the stand supporting both.

It looks like a telephone you'd only see in a movie, a museum, or an antique shop, but with one key difference: its color is surrounded by a beautiful deep blue reminiscent of sapphire, making it look like a huge gemstone artifact at first glance.

"Little Test, why did you change your appearance? I think the lock looks pretty good."

"You can think of this as me going with the times."

A young voice rang out from the telephone's speaker, as if the telephone itself possessed a will.

From the dialogue, we know that the two are Gemstone Elder and Kaubak.

"That's true, anyone who didn't know better would think you were a good person."

Gemstone Elder shrugged and glanced at the blue telephone behind him.

"So what's up? If you're planning to read unhealthy books and watch late-night cartoons together, let's do it another day. It's better to say hello now."

"Well, I don't think Lord Novia would care about these things. Anyway, I'm here for something very important."

"Oh, what is it?"

“Well…” Kobek hesitated for a moment, but finally said with a hint of despair, “Xiaoxiang said she suddenly wanted to find her mother. You know, for her, the so-called mother is that one, well, the one who almost destroyed the world.”

"I--"

Gemstone Elder hesitated, recalling the scene of being severely injured by Qi Huang wielding the Holy Scripture. So now, the pages of the books he had been reading were being turned at an unprecedented speed.

The Hibiki that Kobek mentioned is Hibiki Hibino, who appears in the Wizard of Witch's Box series, and is the human form of the Holy Scripture Treiden.

As for Kaubeck, after the fall of the Western Roman Church in the fifth century, he and Bezier assisted Augustine and Jerome of the Eastern Roman Empire in rebuilding the church with great difficulty. After that, he took the Holy Scripture Tretine back into the labyrinth and planned never to come out again in order to avoid causing a similar situation of chaos and devastation.

So, over the course of a thousand years, Kobaek had essentially become a NEET. When he recently learned that the Holy Scripture Tredin was actually acting in human form, he was thrown into a panic, much like the shock of his personal computer being infected by a virus when logging into an unhealthy website.

As a disciple of Solomon, he was almost rendered unable to move, but thanks to his innate strong will and delusions, he managed to regain his senses.

"But then again, that guy should be a savior now, right?"

"If there are adults around, they probably will."

As the pages in the Gemstone Elder's hand flipped rapidly, the countless 'faces' depicted on them smoothly and gradually changed.

At the same time, he gazed with great interest at the dial on the telephone repeatedly spinning and returning to its original position, as if admiring a photograph of an event from the past.

Then, shortly afterward, the sound of the pages turning gradually subsided.

Ultimately, the image reflected a dark-haired girl with a worried expression in a hospital room.

176: Devout and Sincere Pilgrims and the Goddess of Challenge (4k)

That moment, in a hospital ward in Xueyuan City.

Kichijouin Kihara, who was guarding Tsubaki Kuganoka, showed surprise, as did the Pale Knight, the system avatar who should have been devoid of emotion.

"........."

As for Kichijouin Kihara, she might actually be the same as Francesca, still somewhat afraid.

Her heart was pounding, and the thought of Novia made her feel as if every cell in her body was bursting into bubbles.

In Kichijou's view, although she was now making amends and praying for redemption, in the end, the crime was still a crime, and this would not change in the slightest because of the subsequent trial and changes. She had taken too much from others, to the extent that even if she apologized with her death, she could not make up for much. Wrongdoings are fundamentally irreparable.

Originally, Kichijouin Kiara's plan for her life was to study normally and smoothly enter university, without caring about these things in the magic world. However, she felt that even so, she should still do some things to make amends. Because of this, she knew that her actions in eradicating the cult would definitely be discovered by the church and she would be put under control, but she still did it.

Well, Kichijouin Kihara thinks the Church's behavior is actually quite normal. After all, she has a special identity that transcends everyone else, and it is precisely because of this innate ability that she became Pope back then.

Around the year 200 AD, she grew up in an orphanage, her congenital illness was cured, she joined the church, and received the sacred texts...

Moreover, even now, the illness she was born with still exists in her body, but it is ultimately just a minor ailment that she cured herself long ago.

"Ugh."

After sighing, the black-haired girl jumped off the chair. Her long, straight black hair shone with a luster. Her steps were hurried, and the air around her seemed to change as a result.

"Go if you want, just save some of your strength. I'll keep an eye on things here, no problem."

Upon hearing this, the 'Darkness' in the corner of the ward suddenly stood up, staring at the black-haired girl as if to confirm her reliability. But a few seconds later, the pale knight slid out through the window crack and leaped out of the hospital to find the person it, as the 'system,' was going to meet.

This was both an act to help the sleeping girl overcome her fear and an act to demonstrate that he had no intention of offending her.

However, the Pale Knight is probably not the only Servant who shares the same idea.

.......

On the rooftop of the tallest building in the very heart of Snowfield City, it felt like being in a completely different world from the noisy surroundings.

Perhaps it was because of the solid barrier, or perhaps it was because the man standing within it was capable of such a feat.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the abilities of Heroic Spirits often seem to transcend the realm of humanity.

However, even taking that into account, the thunder here still seems somewhat unusual.

It may be the inherent power of the foundation of a Heroic Spirit.

The concept is achieved by applying a magical amplification process.

And the lightning, which can only be described as a kind of 'blessing' bestowed by the Throne of Heroes and related to the anecdotes of the Servants residing within it.

In short, it was filled with terrifying thunderclouds that made one's heart tremble. Even the smallest shadows immediately turned into dust and fragments lingering in the fierce wind. Even heroic spirits could not remain unharmed in the face of this thunder.

The lightning seemed to stop time, and the thunder's roar blurred the boundary between reality and fantasy. It was merely a half-baked existence, impossible even to get close to this place.

Because of the rune's lightning, it automatically enveloped any approaching creature, tearing it apart and devouring it at the same time.

This is undoubtedly the most direct and aboveboard declaration of war against all participants in the Holy Grail War. Challengers are welcome to come, whether through conspiracy or honorable means. He awaits the arrival of the challengers in the Holy Grail amidst a thunderous storm containing the power of many gods from both the Norse and Greek pantheons.

But in reality, if a Servant were to arrive, they might be somewhat surprised, because in this location, comparable to the final stage of the Demon King's castle, what awaits is not the 'Demon King's' praise for the challenger, but rather—

"How is it? I made this myself, Novia, you should try it."

Looking around at Novia, with neither Typhon nor Melusin in sight, Sajou Aika once again cooked for Novia. Her breakfast was laid out on the carpet: white rice, Saikyo miso grilled salmon, tofu miso soup, and omelets—it was practically a Japanese breakfast extravaganza... even though it wasn't really morning yet.

Moreover, the carpet laid on the floor was chosen by Ayaka Sajo herself, and the pattern was full of hearts.

The grilled salmon wasn't burnt, and the flesh was very tender. The omelet was fluffy and sweet, and overall, it tasted very good.

"how is the taste?"

After Novia answered directly that it was delicious, Sajou Aika smiled shyly and then leaned against the young man's back obediently. Her hands around his abdomen and the warm body heat against his back gave her a feeling of tenderness.

It's also thanks to Melsin now being transformed into a dragon spear and Typhon being in his armored state that Sajō Ayaka's abilities are sufficient to enjoy this. It's just that Novia's mind is a bit noisy. After all, although Melsin is fine, Typhon, despite being usually taciturn, is a real chatterbox when he speaks.

In fact, after agreeing to Humanity's request, Novia became the last Servant to fight in this Holy Grail War...

That's not quite right. It's more accurate to say that, within the bounds of the rules, one can make the most of their abilities during periods when humanity is not in a state of chaos.

After all, in terms of class, he is just a True Knight replacing Hippolyta, so in theory he can't use anything else. But that's just in theory. The only drawback is that his magic power consumption is too high. But in reality, with his inherent abilities and the Primordial Holy Sword that has not yet been summoned and fused with the Demon Sword True World, he is not worried about such things. After all, the magic power support in the reappearance of the Age of Gods within a designated range can be used at will.

To be honest, ending the Holy Grail War in one night wouldn't be a problem. In a normal Holy Grail War, with Novia's strength, she would either be the final and strongest boss, or the strongest boss who gets betrayed. In any case, she's very strong.

However, Novia also remembered the request that Humanity had given her: to prevent Qiu Hai from forgetting her existence on the planet.

He promised, so naturally he had to do it; the simplest way was to eliminate them directly...

In Novia's view, although Alcides, who had become an avenger, had no dignity or honor as a warrior and was a fallen man who would sacrifice innocent lives for revenge, he could be described as an evil being. However, he did indeed experience Hera's inexplicable curse and thus witnessed the death of his loved ones before his eyes.

Although Novia eventually reconciled with Hera, the pain was real. Moreover, at the moment she gained power, Novia heard Juno, the Romanized name of Hera, the queen of the gods in Roman mythology, who, through the power bestowed upon her, made a request to Novia:

If possible, please let me meet the child who abandoned all glory in order to avenge the gods.

"...Are you here?"

That was a mindless, deadly force that brought death to humanity. It was a magical energy surge from the soles of our feet to our hearts and spread throughout our bodies, filled with primal fear. It approached us with a powerful aura, pierced by thousands upon thousands of overlapping, violent storms of black mist.

"Aika, from now on you will be my Master."

"Oh, no problem. Novia, you'd better protect me."

Although she didn't know why Novia did this, the girl quickly nodded and immediately forged a Command Seal on her right hand that only had appearance and no effect.

In the brief moment of the conversation, the first Servant to arrive before Novia, after passing through the thunder, was the black mist that had gathered there.

It was a black mist, deeper than the night, riding the wind, the water, and the earth, rushing in from afar like the terrifying tolling of a doomsday bell. Then, it began to spread calmly and gently. As a chilling aura descended, a shadowy figure with a humanoid outline, carrying an ominous black mist, appeared before the two.

Novia naturally knew that this was the Pale Knight, who appeared in the last book of the New Testament, Revelation, and was the leader of the Four Horsemen who symbolized the end of the world. He represented conquest and victory, and was the knight in charge of plague. He was a 'system' that had no concept of destruction and therefore did not feel fear.

However, looking at the humanoid black mist, Novia gleaned a meaning from its reaction—

Please forgive my Master; she meant you no harm.

The Pale Knight's Master is Tsubaki Kuga, who was experimented on by her parents since childhood. Novia already knows this, so the Pale Knight doesn't need to say more. He will help her with this small favor after the Holy Grail ceremony is over.

"can."

Novia nodded, and the pale knight, having received the promise, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then, he quietly merged the black mist into the raging lightning, as if to show his attitude: he would never attack you or offer his power.

The servant who appeared before Novia, following closely behind the Pale Knight, was the one who had once tried to merge into the old man's shadow, and was also someone who was completely indifferent to his own death.

"You actually condescended to participate in this wish-granting ceremony."

It was a shadow, or more precisely, a mask suspended above the shadow. For Novia, there was the illusion of witnessing the Old Man of the Mountain with Altrucci in the past. It was because of this that he knew the identity of this Servant.

The true assassin, possessing EX-level aura concealment, is one of the nineteen Hassan-i-Sabah, the Ghost Hassan.