How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

what?

What about people?

How come another fish I caught got away?

Chapter Seventeen: A man in a blue bodysuit: "I could fight you all day long!"

In the Fuyuki City at night, Shirou Emiya, who had just left home, was running through the streets.

Looking back on what he had experienced, he felt a sense of surrealism.

He had accidentally fallen asleep on the warehouse floor, but was soon awakened by a series of loud noises and roars. When he woke up, he found a red-glowing magic circle under him, and the 'bruise' on the back of his hand had turned into a strange pattern.

Startled, he accidentally cut his finger on a piece of metal placed nearby. Unexpectedly, when his blood dripped onto the magic circle, it summoned a blonde girl who claimed to be Saber. She even asked him if he was her Master.

Before Shirou Emiya could speak, the other person recognized him as his Master after seeing the tattoo-like pattern on the back of his hand.

What is this all about?

Shirou Emiya only had time to ask what a Master was before the blonde girl, who called herself Saber, said that there was a battle nearby and she was going to drive the enemies away. Then she grabbed an invisible weapon and rushed out.

His decisiveness was so great that Shirou Emiya couldn't stop him at all...

With a lot of questions he wanted to ask the other person, Shirou Emiya quickly grabbed his coat and ran after the other person who was moving extremely fast, but unfortunately he lost them halfway.

However, when he used his memory to find the place where the loud noise had come from, all he saw were the destroyed walls next to the surrounding houses and the obvious signs of a battle on the ground.

There wasn't a single person in sight.

But looking at the traces around him, Shirou Emiya was certain that Saber was right; there really was a battle taking place nearby.

So, have they left or... moved their battlefield?

Seeing that other people nearby were also coming out of their homes to check the situation, Shirou Emiya didn't linger and ran towards the nearby open space.

Now, hearing the clanging sound from afar, like the clashing of iron against iron, Shirou Emiya knew that he had probably found the right place!

Turning the corner, he was greeted by bursts of sparks.

The crimson demonic spear clashed with the invisible weapon, and the two sides in the battle had solemn expressions. It didn't look like a battle, but rather like they were performing some kind of solemn ritual.

Cú Chulainn and Artoria have been fighting for a while now.

The sudden disappearance of the New Universe Knights caused the two to exchange glances for a moment, after which Cú Chulainn felt a strange sense of urgency.

Two out of three fish escaped! This is outrageous!

Is the last one going to run away too?

So after the New Knights disappeared, Cú Chulainn, worried that things might change if he delayed, only reminded Artoria once before immediately stepping forward.

The demonic spear in his hand skipped the probing phase and thrust straight at Artoria's head, but she reacted quickly and blocked it.

His strike officially signaled the start of the battle.

Cú Chulainn's magic spear struck repeatedly, thrusting, parrying, and sweeping across the ground, showcasing his superb martial arts skills to the fullest.

Artoria, his opponent, used her invisible weapon to block his attacks repeatedly, and then counterattacked. The powerful force deflected Cú Chulainn's magic spear and slashed at him.

Cú Chulainn's pupils contracted, and he tilted his head back sharply in an attempt to dodge the unknown weapon of indeterminate length in his opponent's hand.

A sharp blade grazed past his face, and the swirling wind blades left a cut on his face. He then regained his footing and attacked Artoria again.

The two fought so fast that they didn't even leave afterimages of their weapons, making it impossible for Shirou Emiya, who arrived later, to see their weapons at all. He could only judge the battle by the sparks produced when their weapons clashed.

In the open field, as the battle progressed, Cú Chulainn, who was completely absorbed in the fight and had forgotten about the two fish that had escaped, fought while trying to figure out the invisible weapon in Artoria's hand.

A knife... no, a sword?

This is the best we can do for now. If we want more detailed information, we'll have to keep fighting for a while longer.

Cú Chulainn was naturally very happy about this; if he could, he would even like to fight Artoria for a whole day!

Unfortunately, he ended up with a Master who was completely incompatible with him and gave him such a disgusting order through a Command Seal... So he's almost reached his limit now and has to retreat according to the Command Seal's command.

Tsk, it was precisely because he knew the battle would be short that he planned to fight all three of them simultaneously. Unfortunately, now there's only one left, and they have to stop halfway through the fight...

Cú Chulainn stopped his attack and used Artoria's attack to flip over and create distance between them. Artoria was worried that this was a trap, so she didn't make any rash moves, but instead provocatively said:

"What's wrong, Lancer? Are you tired?"

Upon hearing this, Cú Chulainn merely scoffed.

"Hmph, what nonsense are you talking about, little swordswoman? Even if I fought with you for a whole day, it would be as easy as taking a walk for me."

"But what can I do when my current employer is such a coward?"

Casually slinging his magic spear over his shoulder, Cú Chulainn spoke to Artoria in the tone of a corporate slave complaining about his boss after finishing overtime.

"He doesn't want me to fight the other Servants for too long, so this is the final blow!"

Cú Chulainn got into position, his magic spear tilted and pointing at the ground.

"Just asking as a formality, you wouldn't just watch me leave like this, right? But even if your answer is 'yes,' I'll just pretend I didn't hear it!"

"Enough talk, bring out your moves, Lancer!" Artoria gripped Excalibur tightly, facing Cú Chulainn without fear.

"Or is it that the sharpness of the sword of the little girl you speak of frightens you?"

"Huh? You really dare to say that! Then try and take this hit!"

Cú Chulainn gripped the magic spear tightly with both hands, and crimson magic power surged continuously from the spear tip like a raging tide, making the crimson magic spear appear even more bewitching, as if it were saturated with blood.

“Gáe——”

Just as Cú Chulainn was about to unleash his Noble Phantasm to pierce Artoria's heart, everyone present suddenly felt a strong sense of disharmony.

What... what 'thing' is here!

Cú Chulainn immediately abandoned the release of his Noble Phantasm and retreated simultaneously with Artoria, moving away from the center of the open space.

"Strange...how come..."

Emiya Shirou rubbed his eyes, feeling as if he vaguely saw a... shadowy figure made of bandages in the center of the open space?

But after he rubbed his eyes, he found that the center of the open space was still empty.

"Illusion?"

No, none of the three people present thought it was their imagination.

That sense of incongruity... is undoubtedly something that exists somewhere between non-existence and non-existence.

just.

It really is there!

Chapter 18 Yes, that's how we alchemists are.

[Ace Gem: A]

[A top-quality gem containing seventeen years' worth of Rin Tohsaka's magical energy. Although it's a one-time use item, its power is undoubtedly comparable to an A-rank Noble Phantasm when used.]

"Excuse me, Master, I don't think I heard you quite clearly. What did you just say?"

Inside the Tohsaka residence, Yuwatari, who had just returned from outside, picked at his ear and stared incredulously at the 10 gems neatly arranged on the table.

what's the situation?

How did my Master, who always looked so poor, suddenly get so much gold?

Did Goetia come over and throw the Holy Grail?

Or did an alien god come to plant the tree?

Where are the Chaldea people? Come quickly and save them!

“I already told you, each of these gems has the power equivalent to a Rank A Grand Magic spell. You can use them as materials for alchemy…”

Rin Tohsaka, with her arms crossed and her back to Yuuto, didn't see the fascinating expression on his face. She tapped her arm in frustration, not daring to turn around.

She worried that she would immediately regret it if she turned back.

It's important to know that each of these 10 gems is worth at least seven figures, making them the most valuable gems in her inventory!

The term "top-tier" here refers not only to the quality of the gemstone, but also to the magic it contains.

Rin Tohsaka has other gems of equal quality to these 10 gems, but these 10 are not only of top quality, but also contain magic power that has been stored within them for a full 10 years!

As a user of gem magic, these 10 gems are Rin Tohsaka's most powerful trump card!

Originally, she only planned to use the gems that contained a year's worth of magic power for this Holy Grail War, since these were all her precious little money, and she wanted to save as much as possible.

Anyway, she didn't have any wishes she wanted to fulfill through the Holy Grail. She only participated in this Holy Grail War to win, and the gems that had stored a year's worth of magic power were enough for her!

However, after witnessing Yuuto's battle with Berserker through their shared vision today, Rin Tohsaka has already abandoned such naive ideas.

Just kidding. She conservatively estimated that it would take at least five gems with seventeen years of magic power to kill that Berserker, but after being dealt with by Yuuto, he was able to revive completely unharmed in the blink of an eye.

Even under ideal circumstances, if she threw all 10 gems at him, it would only cost him two lives.

She wasn't even sure how many times the Berserker could resurrect!

In that case, instead of keeping these gems in our hands and trying to exchange them for two lives when we encounter Berserker, it would be better to give them to our Servants. This way, they can definitely be more useful than if we keep them!

Besides, she didn't want to be a mere decorative vase at home like she was today!

"...I don't care who you are, but if you don't get off Rin, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"...What's wrong with you now?"

Seeing Yutari looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy, Rin Tohsaka suddenly felt a little worried about her own Servant's mental state.

Or what should I say?

Are all alchemists like this?

"Oh, and this too, use it if you can."

As she spoke, Rin Tohsaka took out a ruby ​​pendant from her pocket and pushed it firmly in front of Yuuto.

"Although it's my father's heirloom, it contains magic powerful enough to bring the dead back to life. It should be a good material. If that's not enough, I also have an Azoth sword, which contains ten years' worth of my magic..."

Yuuto remained silent as he looked at the gem pendant placed on the table and at Rin Tohsaka's retreating figure as she ran to get the Azoth sword.

That's strange...did he make a mistake somewhere?

He basically won every battle by crushing his opponents, so why does it feel like he's preparing for the final showdown?

but……

Since Rin Tohsaka has gone this far, wouldn't it be a waste of her determination if he didn't do something?

With his eyes closed, You Du leaned back on the sofa and sighed with a helpless smile.

"Ha...really, a Master's strong sense of pride can be a real problem sometimes..."

Did you say anything?

Rin Tohsaka, carrying a box containing the AZOTH sword, entered the living room and only heard the last syllable of Yuuto's voice before asking in confusion.

"not enough……"

"Eh?"

Rin Tohsaka stared at Yuuto for a moment, stunned.

"I mean it's not enough!" Yuto opened his eyes, his dark pupils meeting Rin Tohsaka's azure eyes, and repeated what he had just said.

"Take out those gems whose magic you haven't stored enough of, and also—"

You Du paused for a moment.

"I also need the blueprints for the Jewel Sword!"

Rin Tohsaka: "!"

"What—where did you learn about this?"

For a moment, Rin Tohsaka didn't even care about her jewel inventory that was about to be depleted, and stared at Yuuto in horror.

She remembered that she had never mentioned the existence of this thing to the other person...

"Just take it as that old man, Gemstone Elder, appearing in my dream."

Yuuto didn't intend to say much, so he made up a reason to get by, took the box containing the AZOTH sword from Rin Tohsaka, opened it, put all the gems and pendants on the table inside, and turned to walk towards the basement.

"Anyway, once you've prepared the materials, bring them to the basement. I'll give you a surprise after I've finished cooking! Oh, and one more thing!"