Abnormal Moon

Suddenly, Gilgamesh's face darkened, and a dangerous atmosphere immediately filled the entire area.

Golden ripples spread across the sky, from which sprang several golden weapons—knives, spears, swords… Judging by their magnificent appearance and the mystery they exuded, each one was a treasure worthy of being recorded in human history!

Joan of Arc and Demon King Souji immediately became alert.

But unexpectedly, Gilgamesh's target was not them.

The golden Noble Phantasm shot out like an arrow, not towards Roy and his companions, but in another direction.

"Uh ah ah!"

Ji'emon was impaled on the ground by several golden weapons, his limbs pierced through.

Excruciating pain shot through his limbs, causing him to scream in agony.

Chapter 102 The Story of a Certain Man

Let me tell you the story of a certain man.

The man had personally experienced despair three times.

The man was born in the early Edo period, in the Kyushu region.

His family made a living by farming, and both his parents were alive—this was his environment before he came of age.

In the early Edo period, a famine struck the Shimabara area, resulting in a complete crop failure in the fields, with corpses of the starved littering the roads. Some farmers even resorted to cannibalism, a truly horrific sight.

Even though the people's lives had deteriorated to such a state, the cruel and greedy lord Matsui Shigemasa continued to levy exorbitant taxes, focusing solely on accumulating wealth and disregarding the lives of his subjects, leading to widespread chaos in the region.

Outlaws, thugs who kill indiscriminately, and ronin with bloodshot eyes who slash at anyone they see... were everywhere in the Shimabara area, driving the local people to the brink of despair.

The village of men became a sacrifice to this era.

When he returned to the village, all he saw were mutilated corpses scattered everywhere and a raging fire.

My father, my mother, and all the familiar villagers died in that fire.

The man experienced despair for the first time.

The despair of losing all familiar family members.

The man wept bitterly, but no matter how grieved he was, his deceased family members would not return.

In despair and confusion, he left his hometown in a daze.

At this time, there was absolutely no room for farmers to survive in Shimabara. Heavy taxes and famine had literally driven the local farmers to the brink of despair.

At this critical moment, the shogunate issued a "ban on religion," demanding that all people renounce their heretical beliefs, and anyone who did not renounce their heretical beliefs within two months would be executed.

Since the introduction of Christianity, the Shimabara area has been a region where the doctrine has been widely spread. The belief in Christianity is very common in the Shimabara area, and many people, including farmers, wealthy merchants, and even wandering samurai, are devout Christians.

The people of Shimahara, who were already suffering immensely from famine and heavy taxes, were even stripped of their last source of solace—their faith. This drove them to the brink of utter fury, and they could no longer tolerate it, leading to their uprising.

The one who led the Shimabara followers in the uprising was Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, a boy who was only sixteen years old at the time but had a great reputation for wisdom and was believed to have the ability to bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded.

In those days, the appearance of Amakusa was like a gift from heaven, a natural source of faith for believers.

Because Amakusa was indeed a boy with extraordinary abilities, he was able to create many miracles, such as healing wounds and walking on water. Amakusa was quickly worshipped as a "son of the gods" and a "saint," and naturally became the leader of the rebel army.

This peasant uprising is historically known as the Shimabara Rebellion.

The man also joined Shimabara's rebel army and became a close retainer of the rebel leader Amakusa, witnessing Amakusa's miraculous feat firsthand.

At that time, he was deeply moved and thought it was a miracle bestowed by God. It wasn't until much later that he realized it was just a natural magical talent.

At first, the Shimabara rebels won a series of victories, defeating an army of 120,000 men on several occasions with only 30,000 men.

But the good times didn't last long.

After suffering several defeats, the shogunate began to fear the Shimabara rebels and dispatched a seasoned general to attack them. After two months of blockade without any water or food supplies, the rebels were ultimately betrayed and lost everything.

All 30,000 residents of Shimabara Castle perished in a fire.

Among them were villagers suffering from famine and heavy taxes, ronin from outside who disapproved of the ban on Christianity, Amakusa Shiro, the leader of the rebel army who was regarded as a saint, and many elderly people, women, and children... all of whom were very familiar to men.

They had committed no sins; they simply wanted to survive.

As a result, it was all destroyed in a fire.

Only the men survived.

"You must live."

Amakusa Shiro said this, allowing him to fake his death and escape the shogunate's massacre. He then calmly walked towards the fire, joining countless civilians in the fiery hell.

This is the second time the man has experienced despair.

The despair of seeing all their comrades with the same aspirations, and the tens of thousands of women and children they swore to protect with their lives, burned to ashes before their very eyes.

The man successfully faked his death and numbly fled Shimabara.

Whether they loved themselves or loved others, all perished in the flames within a mere twenty or thirty years.

This time, the man was like an empty shell, living in a daze for nearly four hundred years.

He couldn't understand why Lord Amakusa had singled him out to live. He couldn't comprehend the value of his survival. He felt that someone like him would only bring misfortune and unhappiness to those around him.

What right does someone like him have to survive alone after everyone else has died?

He kept thinking, thinking.

Without even realizing it, he plunged headlong into the world of magic.

He thought a lot and encountered a lot, and tried to make all sorts of efforts along the way.

He wanted to see his parents again, the ones who used to smile and pat his head when he was a child. He tried to recreate the world of the dead with magic, but he failed. He wanted to summon the spirits of Amakusa Shiro and the other rebel soldiers, and to ask the questions that had accumulated in his heart for countless years, but he failed again. He wanted to... fail, fail, fail, and fail again, failing repeatedly, failing endlessly.

When he came to his senses, he had lived for nearly four hundred years.

The year has come to the end of the 20th century, and the world has undergone tremendous changes.

None of the things he wanted to do were ever successful.

—Until that night.

The vast black mud radiated outwards from Fuyuki City, surging towards all directions of the neon lights, and within a year it covered the entire globe, dragging the entire surface into a sea of ​​fire that burned fiercely for a year. The land was polluted, and large numbers of humans died, eventually forced to retreat into their bases, while the wilderness was occupied by inhuman monsters.

The whole world seems to have taken a sudden sharp turn, entering a track that no one can predict.

The man, relying on his connections in the Mage's Association, came to Fuyuki City and saw the Greater Grail, the source of all evil.

He, along with many other magicians, experimented with the Greater Grail and eventually came to a conclusion.

No one can use the current Greater Grail.

Even the most skilled magicians would be corrupted and killed by the curse before they could achieve anything against the current Holy Grail.

They can do nothing to restore the world to its former state.

"No, if it's Lord Amakusa...!"

But when the man faced that scene, a thought suddenly popped into his mind that made him tremble.

That's right!

Ordinary magicians simply cannot use the current Holy Grail; even making contact with it is difficult, let alone utilizing it.

But what if it's Amakusa Shiro's ability?

With Amakusa-sama's innate talent, as long as he comes into contact with the magic disk, he can turn that disk into his own. In other words, as long as he touches the Greater Grail, he can take the Greater Grail for himself!

No, I can't touch it. I have to stay as far away from the Greater Grail as possible and use Amakusa's ability from a sufficiently far distance and in a sufficiently shallow manner!

Therefore, the most suitable method is undoubtedly the Magic Eye!

If we can reproduce Amakusa Shirou's abilities in the form of the Mystic Eyes, we can utilize the power of the Greater Grail by relying on those Mystic Eyes!

The man—Ji'emon—felt that his entire soul was trembling.

"Lord Amakusa, I've found what I should do!"

Ji'emon was so moved that he burst into tears.

He lived for four hundred years with guilt towards everyone, and finally found his mission at this moment.

That's right.

He found what he wanted to do.

He found the value in his four hundred years of surviving.

Everyone else is dead.

Father, Mother, villagers, soldiers, Lord Amakusa... they are all dead.

Then, the one who lives in their place must have a mission and responsibility that must be fulfilled!

That's why he's still alive today!

He wants to use the Greater Grail to save the world!