They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

Now, all you can see around you is the super rift valley echoing with the mountain wind and the underground magma faintly surging out.

Such great power is not a miracle, but is released by humans. This is a bit challenging to Minamoto no Raikou's cognition. Is Emiya a human being?

"Of course I'm human!"

The giant armor of purple lightning finally began to dissipate, and Emiya's figure floated down from mid-air. "I am just a special human who has inhabited the power of the gods."

He refused to admit that he had been "expelled from the community".

However, facing the sword-class Minamoto no Raikou who came to help out of kindness, Emiya had to explain that his armor filled with divine power came from Minamoto no Raikou when she was a girl, that is, the "Dukusha" armor of Uzumaki Gozen, and the source of divinity, Susanoo, naturally also has a connection with Gyuto Deva and Indra, so the divinity can be regarded as a gift from Minamoto no Raikou.

This is the fate that he and Minamoto no Raikou had during the Tokyo Holy Grail War in normal history.

"Hmm, so that's how it is. Another Holy Grail War in a different time and space... There are such wonderful connections in this world!"

As the conversation began, the familiarity faded as they shared their experiences. Minamoto no Raikou approached, his eyes flickering with a smile. That familiar aura couldn't be faked. At least she couldn't mistake the armor and divinity. Even if they possessed these two qualities, not everyone could possess them and develop them to such a high level.

"Who said it wasn't!" When Emiya learned that there was a Heroic Swordsman in the singularity F, he began to speculate about the remaining servants who had not appeared. Minamoto no Raikou in the FGO Shimosa Kunihara plot was one of them.

And judging by the Heroic Swordsmen's plan to ambush and besiege Minamoto no Raikou, it seems obvious that Raikou before them will be the original victor of the Holy Grail War.

Minamoto no Raikou of the Sword Class, as a legendary general of the Heian period, is the strongest form when he leads the Four Heavenly Kings to slay demons!

"Kid, you've made it this far... You look like you've been through some pretty brutal battlefields."

Minamoto no Raikou's tone was gentle, and she didn't sound like she had the morbid temperament of a Berserker at all. When she was a Saber, the heroic demeanor of a general and the tenderness of a mother seemed to be perfectly blended into one at this moment.

Emiya was about to say something about this, but suddenly he noticed Minamoto no Raikou sighing and stroking his head with his hand.

"!" Mashu, who was blatantly peeking from the side, exclaimed, "There she is! A female Servant with a mature figure who dares to touch the senior in public! Could she be the woman who can become Emiya-senpai's mother?"

God damn mother, it’s not Char!

Emiya felt a little confused by this sudden motherly care and love.

"Ah?" Abbas still looked detached from the situation. "Isn't she Minamoto no Raikou? How could a Servant become Captain Emiya's mother?"

BB put on an amused expression, "Wow, what a compliment! — She's definitely not my real mother, but it wouldn't be wrong to let Senior recognize a mother like her to fill the gap in his lack of maternal love, right?"

"Eh?" Minamoto no Raikou withdrew his hand. The comments from the others finally made her stop being immersed in the atmosphere of mother-son affection. She looked at Emiya with a hint of apology, "For some reason, I subconsciously think of you as my child."

"Perhaps it's fate brought about by another Holy Grail War." Emiya didn't care much. "By the way, we're here as representatives of Chaldea to repair the singularity. Raikou, do you know what happened here before and after the Holy Grail War in Tokyo? Didn't you, the victor, obtain the Holy Grail in the end?"

"Yaori..." Minamoto no Raikou was taken aback when he heard Emiya address him so directly and intimately. This kid is really bold...

"Perhaps this Holy Grail War wasn't normal from the start. And as for the whereabouts of the Holy Grail... I can't explain it here. Go to the Night Food Plain and you'll understand."

Minamoto no Raikou said this as he led everyone in the opposite direction of the Great Rift Valley. The people of Chaldea were shocked to find that after going around in circles, they actually returned to the Yaki Shrine.

"Right here, with the shrine in real space as the reference point—"

Before Minamoto no Raikou could finish, BB immediately took over. "Then, we'll connect the earth veins, complete the connection technique according to the specific magic wavelength and frequency, and open the ancient portal of the Night Food Source. Am I right?"

"……Correct."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked surprised. Originally, this task should have been led by her, after all, she was the leader of the Eight Clans of Snake during the Heian Period. Unexpectedly, this... girl with a somewhat peculiar way of being could accomplish all of this so seamlessly.

She looked at the baby twice more. Could this be... the Shikigami raised by that Emiya kid?

"Could it be considered a shikigami?" Emiya struggled to explain the extent of BB's advanced AI technology. It's not wrong to say that AI is a data-based shikigami.

Mashu suddenly raised her head. "The world...has changed."

A desolate and ancient atmosphere hits you in the face.

The sulfurous smell of lava that had been wafting from the Great Rift Valley in Yamanashi Prefecture suddenly vanished, and gloomy water vapor and raindrops fell sparsely.

The rugged mountain roads and canyons were replaced by plain stone roads with green grass growing out of the cracks. A drizzle fell on the dark and gray shiny walls of the ancient Edo, and the copper tiles jingled in the wind and rain.

The shrine where the Chaldeans were staying was still a shrine, but its scale and interiors were hundreds of times more magnificent. The courtyard not only featured miniature landscapes, but also gurgling streams and ponds, and tall bamboo and cherry trees created a garden-like atmosphere. Metal wind chimes adorned the eaves, and within the high walls, one could see brown ornaments, ornate gold leaf paintings, and carvings.

Is this the Night Food Ground? ...It feels more like...Edo Castle?

Chapter 317 I am here to repair the singularity, what are you doing!

"Huh? These wide, low-hanging eaves look like 'Dozo-zukuri'. This gray-black wall coating is probably a fireproofing layer made from a mixture of oyster shell ash and ink, right?"

After the world changed, everyone subconsciously looked around, but Mash was carefully identifying the dark color of the walls. "I saw in an architectural history book that the shogunate once promoted this kind of house coating in Edo Castle, so the streets at that time were all shiny black. So, could this be..."

Edo!?

But according to Emiya's information, this place is essentially the "Night Food Field" used to exile out-of-control ghosts.

This kind of Nibelungen would certainly retain the urban appearance of the time during its formation stage - the ancient name of Tokyo is Edo, and it is also the location of the shogunate - allowing some Edo period scenery to be reproduced in Nibelungen, but this place should have long since become a gathering place for monsters over the years.

"That's right, everyone. This is indeed Edo, but not entirely."

"Let's start from the beginning," Minamoto no Raikou explained. "Since the events of the Holy Grail War, the defeated Servants have not only not been eliminated, but have instead been transformed into 'Heroic Swordsmen' who can be resurrected from the dead. These are the ones you have seen."

"The Heroic Swordsman was slaughtering civilians wantonly, and all those he killed were absorbed by a strange barrier, disappearing from reality. This aroused our vigilance, and my former Master and I decided to resolve the situation immediately and deal with the culprits at the source. However, we later discovered that it was difficult to kill the Heroic Swordsman at its root."

"So we decided to do everything we could to evacuate the civilian population, hoping to get as many out of Tokyo as possible and minimize casualties... Unfortunately, this action was still too late. On that horrific night, the Heroic Sword Masters launched a ferocious coordinated attack, igniting at least three areas of Tokyo, engulfing the civilian population in flames."

"We were short of manpower and couldn't resist... In the end, I had to lead the people of the Snake Eight Clan and transfer some of the people to this world - I was once the leader of their family. The modern Snake Eight Clan seems to have forgotten this place. Only I know the way to reach this world. But my Master was ultimately unable to return -"

Emiya suddenly guessed something. Minamoto no Raikou and her Master could command the eight Snake Clans... "Your Master is... Minamoto no Nakasei?"

"Yes, although he was young, he was a very tenacious child. Unfortunately, he died in a fratricidal fight that night..."

Minamoto no Raikou was silent for a moment before nodding softly, "I spent too much time fighting monsters to create a safe area for the people who migrated here. As a result... I was unable to intervene, and I had no time to intervene in this battle of the Master."

Emiya's face turned pale upon hearing this. In this singularity, Minamoto no Chisei and Minamoto no Chijo had perished together. What about the others? "Are there any other heads of the Snake Eight Clan left?"

"No more. Most of the top leaders, patriarchs, and elders of the Eight Snake Families have died," Minamoto no Raikou whispered the heavy truth.

"The fire and fierce fighting erupted swiftly, seemingly premeditated. To save as many people as possible, many members of the Sheqi Eight Clans bravely sacrificed their lives. Many elderly people who couldn't keep up also refused assistance, hoping to give the opportunity to be rescued to the younger generation, and chose to perish in the flames."

"I led the remaining people out and moved to this world, but the situation didn't subside—we encountered a wave of roaming monsters. Therefore, I focused my attention on protecting the people and fighting the monsters. However, due to the continuous fighting day and night, I relaxed for a moment, and some people slipped through the net. Some people still died, including several underage children..."

The atmosphere was suddenly filled with sadness. Everyone witnessed Minamoto no Yorimitsu's maternal love, but at this moment they could only express their comfort with powerless words.

After a while, we returned to the main topic.

Mashu asked with deep doubt, "Excuse me, Miss Minamoto no Raikou is currently without a Master? From what you said, it seems that you have been without a Master for a long time...?"

"That's right. Ever since the events of the Holy Grail War, it's been like this. The 'Heroic Swordsmen' you saw were also in the same state of being without a master. Yet, for some reason, we've been able to operate independently for so long without retreating. I suspect we've established a connection with Tokyo's ley lines, barely maintaining the stability of our spiritual base."

"Oh, so this is possible?"

Mashu was a little surprised. Could the stability of a Servant without a master actually be maintained by ley lines? She secretly noted this information down and asked, "Speaking of which, this place does look quite like historical Edo. Why is there a shrine of this scale here? Is it also dedicated to the Yamata-no-Orochi...?"

"That's why I brought you here," Minamoto no Raikou led the group into the magnificent shrine. Dazzling gold leaf and intricate carvings formed winding serpentine patterns on the walls and columns. Several men and women dressed in the uniforms of priests and shrine maidens approached, offering tea and fresh snacks. "Please take a seat."

"Are they also from the Sheqi Eight Clans?"

Emiya was not unfamiliar with them. He knew that there were special shrines and shrine staff within the Snake Eight Families, and they were needed to appear at special large gatherings or ceremonies.

"Indeed, the main management personnel gathered in this not-so-big Edo Castle are the surviving Snake Eight Clan. The other survivors, apart from some children, are mostly young people. I am responsible for clearing out the monsters, while the young people, under the leadership of the Snake Eight Clan, have cleared out habitable housing spaces."

Abbas immediately saw the difficulty. "What about food, water, and other daily necessities? Since most of the people you rescued are young people, I'm sure the daily consumption of supplies is quite high."

Minamoto no Raikou said, "At first, there was a way—I would lead a group of agile mixed-race youths back to Tokyo City on the surface every once in a while to collect usable supplies. Although the fire was raging, there were always some places that hadn't been destroyed. They were locals and were familiar with the environment and the distribution of shops, so finding them wasn't difficult."

"However, during one operation, an unexpected event occurred—we were discovered by the 'Heroic Swordsman'. I repelled the enemy at the time, but from that moment on, they began to deliberately surround and attack us. As time went on, more and more locations were destroyed, and we had to avoid enemy obstruction, so the mission of searching for supplies became increasingly difficult..."

"Then, you met us?" Mashu said subconsciously.

"No, later on, we discovered that this world wasn't safe either. Even though I'd cleaned it up thoroughly, monsters still attacked from time to time. I tracked them down for a while, and the only conclusion I came to was that most of them were snake monsters that appeared and disappeared without a trace."

"Snakes..." Emiya thought to himself. He had encountered snake monsters in this "Night Food Field" before, and they were quite large ones at that.

Yamata no Orochi!

He suddenly looked up and found that this was the Yaki Shrine!

Minamoto no Raikou's gaze was also solemn as he spoke of his conjecture regarding this matter. "The priests of the Eight Snake Clans and I all suspect... the culprit behind the frequent appearance of monsters is the Yamata-no-Orochi."

According to the Imperial Chronicles, in ancient times, the first descendants of the White King established Takama-ga-hara and the Well of Bones to worship and imprison the holy bones bestowed by the White King. They created an unprecedentedly large alchemical matrix "Dragon Vein" around the holy bones, and based on this, formed the Nibelungen "Night Food Field".

Although the Kingdom of Night is governed by the first Tsukuyomi, the real master is undoubtedly the White King.

However, the First Susanoo came into contact with the Sacred Remains, transforming into the White King, Yamata-no-Orochi. The First Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi were forced to set out to subdue him. They sacrificed themselves, harnessing the power of the Dragon Veins to successfully mentally simulate the Ultimate Word Spirits, "Returning to the Ruins" and "Shiva's Dance," sinking Takama-ga-hara Castle and the Yamata-no-Orochi to the seabed. From then on, the Yomiuri Plain lost the foundation upon which it was built—the Sacred Remains, or Yamata-no-Orochi.

The priests of the Eight Snake Families knew their family history, and therefore seriously suspected that this ancient Night Food Plain had welcomed its former owner.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain the snake monsters moving around wantonly and the Edo Castle that was restored so perfectly.

After countless years and countless evil spirits roaming the night food plains, it should have long been in ruins. If it weren't for the arrival of the former master Yamata no Orochi, who else could have the ability to restore this ancient prison to a pristine state, like Edo Castle?

'But if that's the case...' Emiya had personally experienced the normal Tokyo Holy Grail War, so how could he not know that Yamata no Orochi was equivalent to the White King?

Right now, they have just dealt with the White King Herzog, who relied on the actions of Old Six to rise to power, in Tokyo City above. So who else is qualified to become the Yamata no Orochi?

Emiya thought about it carefully and always felt that he had missed something before, some clue that seemed insignificant but became particularly important at this moment.

"Ms. Minamoto no Raikou," Abbas, who had been silent until then, suddenly seemed to have noticed something. "There should be seven Servants in the Holy Grail War, right? Do you know who the last one left is?"

"Right!" Mashu also remembered this question. "If Miss Minamoto no Raikou happens to be Saber, then there are four Heroic Sword Masters on the opposite side and Caster is secretly causing trouble. The only remaining class that has not appeared is Assassin..."

"Assassin is—"

Minamoto no Raikou was about to speak when his words were suddenly interrupted.

bass!

The sharp knife in her hand flashed, and a long snake that fell from the sky was cut into many thin pieces by Minamoto no Raikou.

"Enemy attack!"

The reaction of the Chaldeans was not much slower than that of Minamoto no Raikou.

Sure enough, the snake monster that Minamoto no Raikou mentioned appeared without any warning right under everyone's noses!

In a flash, Emiya drew the swords of Hoki Province Yasutsuna and Izumi no Kami Fujiwara no Kanesada from his waist. In order to practice and explore Miyamoto Musashi's sword that cuts off karma and cause and effect, he decided to use Niten Ichiryu more often in the near future, especially when fighting against the enemy.

"Let's get out of here first. The indoor terrain is not open enough and not conducive to performance."

Minamoto no Raikou swung his blade seemingly casually, and a dense web of light formed, easily annihilating the long snakes that emerged from the corners. As she turned back to help the Chaldeans eliminate the monsters, she saw Emiya wielding his blade like the wind, forming a solid defense line, the boundaries clearly defined, as if perfectly round, and completely slaying all the monsters. Is this... a two-sword style?

Boom!

The crowd had just hurriedly killed all the snakes that were swarming everywhere and rushed straight out of the courtyard, only to run head-on into a giant snake monster that was bigger than a house!

The basilisk's vertical pupils flashed golden, and it opened its mouth and roared, emitting a fishy smell.

"Niten Ichiryu: Wind Form!" Emiya used both hands to form a katana stance, "—Yachiryu!"

Whoosh whoosh!

The number of transparent and fine wind blades was astonishing, as if endless, forming a brutal and sharp storm rising from the ground. The wind blades drove dust and debris all over the sky, completely covering the giant snake that was pressing down on the roof, and then blood spurted out and pieces of flesh flew around!

The giant snake seemed to have been dismembered by countless knives from all directions, and it collapsed like a sand dune that would collapse at the slightest touch!

"The rotation of the five elements... a very sophisticated sword technique." Minamoto no Raikou, the military commander who commanded the Four Heavenly Kings, wiped out all kinds of demons in the Heian period with his absolute military force during his lifetime. So after seeing Emiya's Niten Ichiryu "martial arts" skills, she couldn't help but admire him.

"Oh my, what a swift knife! Even I am a little frightened."

I don't know who it is, but from a distant place came an incomprehensible exclamation.

"Look, there's someone on the roof opposite!" Mashu exclaimed immediately.

The tall, dark-gray walls were either chopped into pieces or directly collapsed by the dense sword energy, revealing a few beams and scattered copper tiles of the dilapidated building opposite the shrine. A petite figure was half-sitting and half-stepping on the roof in a lazy posture, holding a full wine dish in her hand.

Emiya looked up with a look of surprise, "Shuten-doji!"

"Ah, besides that cow girl, there is actually someone who can recognize me at a glance? Hehe."

Assassin Shuten-doji grinned, her kimono half-revealing. Though young, she was alluring, with a pair of sharp, pointed horns on her head and a rosy complexion. If she hadn't just summoned those numerous snake monsters, anyone would have thought she was just a lazy, harmless drunk.

"I see. The so-called 'Yamata no Orochi'—no, the source of the chaos and anomalies in this world is you, Assassin!"

Minamoto no Raikou drew his sword decisively, and the sword in his hand, Donjikiri Yasutsuna, was aimed at Shuten-doji who was still drinking, as if it was fate.

"Wow? Wow? That annoying cow girl actually put on a serious attitude to talk to me? Hehehe, could it be that she's just been acting so dignified these days because she's gotten used to temporarily leading the Eight Snake Clans?"

"You're just a ghost girl, stop getting in the way!"

Minamoto no Raikou's face suddenly turned cold. It was clear that she and Shuten-doji had a bad relationship. No... it should be said that their relationship was extremely bad. They had been enemies for life and death since the Heian period a thousand years ago. The story of Minamoto no Raikou and his four heavenly kings conquering the demons of Mount Oe was also widely circulated in later generations.

boom!

In anger, Minamoto no Raikou launched a powerful blow, as if a mighty thunder was radiating from the inside of the blade. The hundreds of meters long thunder blade energy mercilessly bombarded the roof where Shuten Douji was!

Bang!

The thunderous slash was shattered by the long sword that Shuten Douji casually pulled out from behind his back, and turned into a sky full of lightning that suddenly dissipated.