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

Abbas walked into the house of the Genji Building and followed the arrangement of the Snake Eight Families to go down to the underground floor from the safe corridor. As he went deeper, waves of freshness rose from the soles of his feet. The stuffy discomfort brought by the Dirty World City gradually disappeared, and the strange cries and howls of the demons outside also became low.

The weary faces of the surrounding people were filled with relief. They had long been numb to the various terrible disasters and huge sacrifices. Although they were very accepting of various situations, if possible, a comfortable environment would naturally be better.

No one likes to eat something without suffering.

Abbas followed the crowd into a small room, sat down to rest with his head down, feeling somewhat powerless. For some reason, the evil spirit and heat did not make him uncomfortable. What aroused his reaction was the thunder.

That terrible sound was like the roar of Indra's angry thunder.

Crack!

Abbas's fingers moved slightly, and a tiny arc of electricity flickered between them. It was as if something alive stirred within his blood, energizing his power.

He knew that this was his word spirit "Indra", a word spirit that even the secret party had never recorded.

One reason why Abbas was reluctant to use it was that this word spirit put a huge strain on the body. It not only consumed his physical and mental strength but also caused internal bleeding and even made him emotionally unstable.

Another reason was that he'd heard former Director Pompey mention that the ultimate Word Spirit of Odin, Lord of Sky and Wind, was called "Indra's Wrath." The fact that his own Word Spirit was so similar to the Dragon King's, and that it was an unknown, undocumented Word Spirit, seemed a bit odd.

Could it be that... there is some connection between me and the Dragon King?

Perhaps it was the stimulation of Indra's thunder outside, this suspicion that he had forgotten in the past suddenly became inexplicably clear at this moment.

Abbas forced himself to endure the discomfort brought by the thunder in his ears, and recalled the orphanage where he lived in his youth, his director, and the brothers who lived with him... All the memories were vivid, and when he carefully traced the details, there seemed to be no contradictions.

Boom!

The floor suddenly shook violently, and he reacted quickly to steady his posture, like an agile hunting tiger.

Is this an earthquake?

Abbas left the room arranged by the Eight Snake Families and found that some people had also poked their heads out of other doors. They did not look panicked, and some of them were looking around curiously. After all, the island country had frequent earthquakes and had suffered many disasters since the Tokyo Holy Grail War, so they were no longer surprised.

"Mr. Abbas! Please come here!"

"Matthew?"

Abbas subconsciously obeyed after seeing the girl. It made him sigh. Back in Chaldea, it should have been the other way around. But after Mashu became a Sub-Servant, her value grew, and he ended up being the one following behind.

"Mr. Abbas, good news! With Miss BB's remote assistance, we've successfully established contact with Chaldea!"

"So fast?"

"Well, first time is raw, second time is familiar... I had no experience the first time, so I'm sure it will be quick this time, haha." Mashu was trying to save face for BB's last disruptive behavior.

"Is it necessary..." Abbas thought to himself, do you really need to cover up the AI's destructive behavior the first time? There are no other outsiders here -

Suddenly, as he entered the room, he saw a woman with a longbow and arrow—it was Minamoto no Raikou's bow clone.

In the center of the room is a summoning circle constructed with Mashu's shield as the catalyst. A virtual light and shadow is projected, and it is Caesar, the new director of Chaldea.

"Abbas, member of Team A, please answer my question."

"Huh?" Abbas' heart skipped a beat. Caesar's tone seemed unusual and serious.

"Can you guarantee... your loyalty to Chaldea and not betray her? Are you loyal to the current Chaldea, or to the former director's Chaldea?"

In a word, are you loyal?

Chapter 324: The Island Nation Mythology War Becomes One

Loyalty! To Chaldea, of course, I am undeniably loyal!

Abbas really wanted to say this, but seeing how they were on high alert, he felt that he couldn't fool them with any casual remarks.

"Director, are you... doubting my past?"

"Well, we didn't have time to announce it when your spirit particles were transferred. Actually, the former director... Pompey was the one who confirmed that there was a problem, and you were the only talent he personally recruited from outside and whose personnel information he personally handled."

"If possible, at this unusual moment, we don't want to raise unwarranted suspicions, as this will affect teamwork. But I have to be frank upfront. If we don't identify potential enemies, the danger will only increase in the future."

Caesar wasn't joking; he was quite frank and honest. "So I think it's best to get this out of the way."

Abbas nodded. "Since you may think that the former director erased some information for me, I can promise to tell you what I remember about the past."

"I was born in a remote town in the war-torn Middle East. I'm sure you have the information about the town's name, but the wars were so frequent that I don't know if it still exists after all these years."

"I've been an orphan since I can remember, surviving by stealing food. Later, I was adopted by a wealthy old man with my seven brothers. He called himself the dean. When I grew up, he told me the secret of where he had hidden the gold bars. Perhaps he wanted me to inherit the inheritance alone?"

"At the time, I didn't trust the director, so I told the secret to my brothers. They then hatched a plan to kill the old man and seize his inheritance. I ran away at first out of cowardice, but later I realized... that the old man truly loved me. I regretted it so much that I frantically ran back to the orphanage, only to discover it was too late. The old man and the orphanage had already been burned to ashes, and the murderer was nowhere to be found."

Abbas tried to narrate the story in a calm tone. These were unforgettable nightmares for him. The burning scene kept stinging his heart. He wanted to go back to the past and change his foolish decision, or find and kill the seven murderers, but he had been searching for them in vain over the years.

"Later, just as the information in your hands states, I naturally awakened my bloodline and was invited to Chaldea by the former director of Pompeii."

"—We've already investigated," Caesar nodded. "What you said is basically consistent with our findings. I asked the family to investigate the town where you were born and the surrounding area. But as you said, with the frequent wars and countless deaths, no one knew of the existence of an elderly dean and his seven brothers there over a decade ago."

In other words, the authenticity is still in doubt.

Abbas's hopeful eyes gradually dimmed. He lowered his head with a confused mood. He also wanted to know if there were any doubts about his past. If Caesar found out something - whether it could confirm his statement or deny it, at least he would feel relieved.

Unfortunately not.

"Also," Caesar added, "the inexplicable activation of the control room's spirit particle transfer is truly bizarre."

"How did that 'Demon Pillar' Emiya mentioned sneak into the heart of Chaldea without making any noise? And how did it even seize the opportunity to ambush you while you were 'inspecting' Chaldeas while Emiya was in the interrogation room? There are so many doubts here."

"I also had Finkel and his team set up a team to check the supercomputing center's spirit particle transfer records—we keep records of any use of Chaldeas. Logically, you were only performing maintenance and didn't activate it, but what we show here is that it was you, Abbas, who activated the accelerator and performed the spirit particle transfer, not that Demon Pillar or any other name."

"Of course, this could also be understood as a deliberate frame-up by the Demon Pillar, but that still doesn't explain why—Abbas, why were you in the control room at that moment, and why did you happen to start the maintenance work?"

"I remember that the person on duty at the time was Operator Videl. Did you send him away? Although you hold a high rank within Chaldea as a member of Team A, this wasn't your responsibility, right?"

Caesar's questions were like a sharp sword piercing Abbas's chest, as if hitting his vitals, slashing his bronchus and making him gasp for air. His already chaotic mood became even more anxious.

Yes, why would he go to inspect Chaldeas at that time? Abbas, think about it quickly, recall it quickly -

Under the watchful eyes of Mashu, Minamoto no Raikou's clone, Caesar and others, Abbas tortured himself desperately, with beads of sweat almost appearing on the tip of his nose, but still got nothing.

He only clearly remembered that he didn't encounter any operators at the time. He even noticed that the duty roster for that day didn't include Biddle, but was blank. Out of kindness, he, with his experience, took it upon himself to help...

Thinking back on it now, Abbas realized that his actions back then had been quite oversights. Logically, shouldn't he have reported the issue with the duty roster to the director's office? Had he done so, he could have easily discovered the discrepancy between the office's records and the duty station's, thus redirecting the investigation in a different direction.

Going to help without saying a word seems to be in line with my personality, but when I think about it carefully, I always feel a sense of incongruity.

It was as if some existence in a dark corner interfered with his judgment, dug a conspicuous pit, and kicked Abbas in like a pawn.

"Director! Director! Hehehe, the results of the data analysis are out!"

At this moment, a new voice appeared on the communication from Chaldea. The speaker was obviously not Caesar, but a flattering voice with a smug tone, asking for credit and reward... As expected, it was Fingel.

"That immature girl, Charlotte, actually tried to challenge me to a data analysis task with the Sheba Lens to see who could crack it faster. Humph, is my reputation as a genius researcher truly undeserved?"

Finkel in the virtual image raised his chin. There was an opportunity to make a contribution and gain benefits. He didn't want to play the pig and eat the tiger again. If he let a little girl take the lead, he would become a "real pig"!

...He actually secretly asked for help from outsiders - because EVA's personality data was transferred from Kassel Academy, he asked EVA to provide a little bit of calculation assistance plug-in.

Hahaha, I'm sorry, Charlotte, this society is so cruel! For victory, I will do anything!

Who made you so arrogant and naive? You made a verbal agreement with me, Finger, that neither of us would use any off-site tactics, and yet you actually don't use your Mercury Maid computer? Since you don't use it, I'll use it secretly. Sorry, Finger always picks on the honest!

"Well, although you're all colleagues, you're also a team. Remember to maintain healthy competition," Caesar said. Then, with a wave of his hand, he began to distribute money. "This month, your salary will be doubled, plus a meal allowance for the cafeteria's A-grade meal plan for two months."

"Great, great, the director is so generous! I wish the director good health and eternal life!" Finkel rubbed his hands with a look of satisfaction on his face, almost screaming with joy.

"...Where did you steal that flattery from?" Caesar felt like there was a cultural gap between him and his men. Was immortality appropriate? Was this a blessing for him to become a dragon king or a god?

"Report the situation immediately!"

"Okay," Finkel finally stopped smiling. "I went over to check the electronic equipment in the duty office and found that there was indeed some information modification. The modification was recorded a week before the incident. In other words, this was a completely premeditated act."

"Also, if this information was altered through cyber-hacking, the perpetrator would have to be someone in Chaldea at the time, and possess a high level of privilege. After all, Chaldea has confidentiality regulations... We use an internal LAN, not connected to the public internet. Only those with special privileges can briefly contact the outside world via satellite."

"Of course, the 'unless' situation mentioned above is also impossible."

"Why?" Mashu asked curiously.

Abbas also waited nervously for Finkel's answer. Then he saw this sloppy genius researcher from Group A open his mouth and utter a sentence that almost made him breathless:

“Because after checking, the perpetrator hijacked the authority of Abbas of Group A.”

The air was suddenly quiet.

Apart from a few breaths, the only sounds were the rumbling thunder outside and the occasional feeling of earthquake.

Abbas felt that everyone's eyes were focused on him.

"...So," Mashu broke the silence first, "that Demon Pillar has been targeting Mr. Abbas for a long time and has been lurking in Chaldea for a long time?"

Caesar frowned. "Didn't you say the Demon Pillar is enormous? Such a giant has been hiding in our facility for over a week, and no one has noticed? ... Not even Emiya?"

Doesn't that mean this inexplicable demon pillar is even more troublesome than a deity? This seems a bit absurd. Is it possible? According to the dragon history recorded by the mixed-blood family, if these are indeed the seventy-two demons controlled by King Solomon in history, then they are essentially just pure-blooded dragons.

Although for unknown reasons, the one that appeared in Chaldea mutated into a pillar-shaped monster, theoretically it should not be comparable to the "God Ibuki Douji" that appeared at the end of the Holy Grail War in 2004.

"..."

The atmosphere was silent again for a while.

Finkel looked around and said, "Well, Captain Emiya told us the information about the Demon Pillar after he personally encountered it, right? Then why not tell Captain Emiya about it and ask his opinion?"

"Eh?" Mashu thought about it and found that it was indeed like this. When Senior Emiya was in the control room, he recognized that thing as the "Demon Pillar" in an instant. Obviously, that monster was completely different from the demon in the records.

"Hey, everyone! You don't have to worry about this issue at all!"

A playful female voice suddenly interrupted the communication channel.

"?" Caesar turned to look at Finkel, "Who is this? How did he hack into our communications?"

"My hen!"

Finger was sweating profusely. It was his first time to operate the lepton communication system built by the cross-time and space summoning array. He felt that the protection he had built was like that of a blind interstellar player. In the blink of an eye, someone broke into his house and turned it upside down.

"That's not an enemy! It's Miss BB!" Mashu recognized the voice.

"Hello, everyone, don't be nervous!" BB's virtual image rose from the side. "In fact, BB has already conveyed the complete and accurate record of the conversation just now to Emiya-senpai."

"He does have some important information he wants me to pass on. It's about how the Demon Pillar is hidden." BB waved his pointer in the video.

Caesar suddenly perked up and retreated strategically, "What did he say?"

"He said," BB covered his mouth to hide his expression, as if he was enjoying a good show. He flicked his pointer at Abbas, "...The Demon Pillar hides itself by parasitizing humans."

Abbas suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Senior also said to be careful! We haven't seen the Demon Pillar transferred here in the singularity so far. This is definitely very strange! So, it's very likely that it's still parasitizing humans~"

Rumble, rumble!

Perhaps the war outside was becoming more intense, and there happened to be a loud thunder explosion in the sky, so that even in the basement of the Genji Building, one could feel the obvious vibration of the eardrums.

"!"

As soon as BB finished speaking, the meaning of the words was so obvious that everyone... especially Mashu was shocked. When she subconsciously looked at Abbas, the latter's pupils suddenly turned into the color of lava.

Like some creepy monster is about to come out!

"Something's wrong, grab your weapons!"

Minamoto no Raikou's clone reacted the fastest, quickly drawing his bow and arrow, and several bolts of lightning shot towards Abbas's limbs!

Mashu, a moment too slow, hurriedly raised her shield. When she looked again, she saw the lightning arrows swept away, Abbas vanished, and giant eyeballs with crimson pupils appeared outside the room! The massive Demon Pillar's true form covered the entire underground corridor!

"...Foolish human, have you only just discovered where I am?"

The densely packed crimson pupils expanded and contracted rhythmically, and the magical power of an absolute magnitude exceeding that of several servants was brewing within them.

"Danger!" Minamoto no Raikou's clone immediately realized that the result of a head-on battle with the Demon Pillar's magic cannon here would be countless casualties.

"It's okay, Miss Raikou! Leave it to me!" Mashu roared and raised her shield, advancing instead of retreating!

At this moment, she thought of the people who were talking, laughing and praising her along the way. They were all trying hard to live, and she couldn't just abandon them!

"Faced with the Demon Pillar, you didn't flee, but instead approached me? How foolish... The time has come to awaken, Incineration Style: Flauros!"

The densely packed crimson Demonic Eyes all lit up, and the entire underground floor shimmered with dazzling red light. Then, the terrifying magical power was released in an explosive torrent, destroying—

boom!

Mashu raised her shield and moved forward. The violent explosion made her small hands numb, but she still held on tightly!

"What--"

The Demon Pillar Flauros cried out in surprise, and Mashu also looked up in surprise. The explosive torrent of attacks was deflected! It was not because of Mashu's shield that blocked it, but because of an unprecedented and unexpected ground shaking!

As the shock wave came, the torrent that originally penetrated the layers horizontally became straight upwards, followed by continuous explosion echoes, and the gloomy sky with flashing lightning appeared before everyone's eyes - the entire Genji Building was blown away!