Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Therefore, everything here will be literally frozen, and at the same time, a line of words will be spelled out on the ice: "Utsumi Erise is destined to be brought back to death by the Gleipnir chains at dusk today."

"Destined? I'm afraid that time hasn't come yet."

The silver-haired Erize simply waved her hand casually, and the ice field emitted a mournful sound of shattering glass.

"Boom-"

Starting from where Eri, possessed by the Demon King, stood, an ancient authority, even more ancient than the authority of death held by Hela, a power that could shake everyone present, was manifesting at an unimaginable speed—an ice sculpture from the World Tree Yggdrasil, appearing in the form of ice.

"The set design is really uncomfortable."

Silver-haired Eri's fingertips brushed against the branches and leaves of the ice sculpture world that stretched out beside her. "But isn't it a bit too early for you to take Eri away?"

According to Fr's timeline, the 'Grim Reapers' invasion of the city should have occurred four years after Erise arrived in Akihabara; it's too early now.

However, Hela did not give a direct answer. She stared at the ice-made World Tree, and the rotting flesh on her left cheek slowly fell off.

"Stop... You are blaspheming Yggdrasil..."

With her voice, the roar of the hellhound Gam stirred up waves of ice, its rotting left paw slapping the ice surface, bringing with it the poisonous waters of Helheim. Seeing this, Novia merely flicked her nails, and the phantom of the Norse hellhound appeared behind her, as if to proclaim to the world that this is how a divine beast should gaze upon another, different version of itself.

As a divine beast and a servant of Hela, the goddess of death, Gam clearly sensed—

The illusory figure before me was indeed myself.

However, after experiencing almost identical specifications, Gam was only certain of one thing.

That is, even so, she must eliminate all enemies who stand in Helen's way, even herself.

"Is it fake, or is it real...?"

Hela could tell from Gam's attitude and her own senses that the phantom in front of her was undoubtedly the real Cerberus Gam. This puzzled the Grim Reaper of the Norse: if hers was real and the one opposite was real, then which one was fake?

Gam's mangled body suddenly leaped up for a final charge, but transformed into a docile hound the instant it touched Novia.

"How about we take a look at this one?"

The moment the silver-haired Eri said those words, the icy sea suddenly boiled, the ice pillars carbonized in the heat wave, and every step she took on the ice ladder left lava footprints on the ice surface.

This is the flame from the giant king Surtur.

As the one who holds authority over all of Northern Europe, Novia can naturally use the powers of Hela, Surtur, and others.

"What exactly are you now...?"

Is it Odin? But why is there Surtur... and my power?

Hela couldn't understand why Utsumi Erise, the daughter of Izanami, the symbol of death in Japan, possessed such power.

The Age of Gods has long since ended, and the authority of the gods should belong to themselves. How could there possibly be one who unifies the divine authority?

As Helen pondered, Gam, who had been timid and hesitant, suddenly leaped up and charged. Novia, who had anticipated this, lightly touched the ice World Tree with Eri's fingertips, and Frey's Golden-Maned Boar and Heimdall's Rainbow Bridge suppressed Gam, who belonged to Hela.

The boar's tusks and the phantom of the hellhound pierced the rotting flesh, and the Rainbow Bridge Light melted its mechanical parts.

The hellhound howled in agony amidst the double divine punishment.

"You, Anubis, Mote... you Shinigami don't really intend to destroy the new era created by Chitose Manazuru, do you?"

"Haha, only things that are buried can become eternal and unchanging truths."

Hela laughed loudly, her divine aura surging and sweeping across the Akihabara coastline, causing the seawater to rise into the air.

Before the ice-made World Tree of Novia pierced through them, ripples appeared one after another, and the human and animal forms collapsed the next second, returning to their original watery state, leaving only a low, muffled sound.

That was the declaration that Anubis should have delivered four years later—

"Day will shatter night—just as men reveal femininity and women reveal masculinity. The Throne of Heroes is already distorted, and the Holy Grail is already filled with black mud that deceives all beings. The sun will soon set in the west, and the time to recreate day has come."

At this moment, the water flowed down smoothly, and the silver-haired Eri walked upstream in the water, as if searching for the source of the water, stepping on the ice ladder to walk into the air.

Finally, she casually picked up a drop of water and held it as if crushing a crown.

As Novia, who possesses authority over many myths, senses a premonition, the lingering aura of death here tells of how, no matter how prosperous the human era may seem, it is immersed in a chilling 'darkness'.

Just as with heat death in the realm of modern magic, according to the second law of thermodynamics, everything in this world, whether planets or living beings, will sooner or later be drawn into an energy equilibrium, eventually leading to an eternal state of stagnation.

The universe and the galaxy, everything will eventually come to an end, and Fr's new era undoubtedly violates this principle.

Novia squinted, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

If that's the case, then Anubis, Hela, and possibly Yama, the gods of death, led by Mote, must be planning to completely destroy the new era and bring death to humanity once again. To some extent, this is the right option.

but--

"So what? This doesn't justify your indiscriminate killing."

"I will end you all first, and then end the Holy Grail War that is still ongoing in this world."

For some reason, Eri instantly realized that the demon king within her was currently contemplating something, not some grand undertaking, but rather the lives of everyone beneath him.

Just like what Lucius once told her about 'every day that the Pope of Novia worked hard for the development of the church and the empire,' Eri felt that the Demon King must be doing something similar at this moment. The thought that the Demon King would do this made her feel a little embarrassed, and she felt even more like saying something mocking.

But the girl could not deny one thing: the Demon King was definitely sighing softly and deeply.

Immediately afterward, the silver-haired Erise watched the figure flash by below and jumped straight down without hesitation.

……

Earlier, while Eri and Hela were fighting, there was also a battle on the coast.

The two sides in the battle were Kuonji Yuzu and Kundre.

"I'll say it again, please leave this city. You don't want to perish because your injuries are too severe to heal, do you?"

"I'll say it again, give him back."

"They're still asking him..."

Kuonji Yuzu covered her mouth in slight surprise. "It's too late. It's a pity. Although the sea is frozen, they have already successfully set sail while you and I were arguing. So now we can't catch up. The underwater drones won't sit idly by and ignore any signs of life."

It is true that Ahazurus has set sail, but it is a lie that he cannot catch up with it. Kuonji Yuzu still hopes that she can give up.

"Waaah, oh oh oh, it's all because of you, and that woman..."

Kundley scratched her hair violently. "I want revenge! I'll make you taste the bitterness of retribution!"

This is a huge misunderstanding, a huge problem. Do women in love really get so easily consumed by jealousy...?

This is really too much trouble.

As if she didn't want to see such things, she looked away and for some reason, Kuonji Yuju let out a heavy sigh.

"If I only wanted to kill you, I alone would have been enough."

“Really? You saw it too, my spirit origin is still being maintained in Helheim, and it’s quite stable.”

Kundley descended the port's stairs step by step, tilting her head dramatically as she spoke, "As an old human, you take on the night patrol duties of this fortress. I admire your courage and extraordinary sense of mission, but..."

Ice crystals reappeared around Kundali, and the rune pages reappeared.

"In the end, you are human—and I am the follower."

"I know."

Kuonji Yuju maintained a cold expression and took out a small object from her bosom. It was a metallic decorative egg, and a clattering countdown could be heard echoing inside.

"That's why, Kundley, Akihabara can't tolerate your existence. No matter where you go in Mosaic City, you'll be rejected as an outsider because your Spirit Origin has been marked with an identification mark, and the city will no longer supply you with magic. Not only that, just by staying here, the magic here will turn into toxins that pollute your Spirit Origin and slowly erode you."

Even without Kuonji Aratsumi's explicit warning, Quindrie should already be in excruciating pain just from absorbing magic power through her breathing.

But she seems to see even this pain as the agony of being separated from her loved one by the ends of the earth, representing how deep her bond with her lover is.

"So what! I will take my revenge, I will take my revenge on bastards like you..."

"You shouldn't have died here."

Upon hearing this, Kundley frowned in surprise.

"Because that would be such a waste..."

Kuonji Yuju believed this was truly a miracle.

One Servant falls in love with another Servant.

This kind of miracle is not a mission bestowed by the Holy Grail, and it is unlikely to happen a second time.

Quindley should have fallen in love with the holy knight Percival, who hovered above the white doves, but the captain of the drifting Dutch ship was completely different from that knight. The title of holiness had nothing to do with the captain; the seaman was only dirty and disheveled.

"You defied your fate and fell in love with the captain. Knowing it was impossible, you still followed him here. You have broken free from the shackles of the Holy Grail and are living out a completely new story that no one has ever seen before, a story that belongs only to you."

The indifferent girl approached her step by step, while putting the decorative egg she had taken out back into her bosom.

She was willing to sacrifice everything for a miraculous love, which reminded her of her parents. This is also why Kuonji Yuzu repeatedly hoped that Kundley would leave instead of insisting on fighting her.

Logically, a Servant's memories should be reset to zero upon summoning, but Quindre's characteristics even affect her memories as a Servant. This tragic fate is a completely different kind of living hell compared to Ahasulus.

"In that case, you are neither a follower nor a ghost from the past. You are a person living in the present, an upright person... But I'm sorry, I can't help you. Driving you away and killing you is my job this time."

"So you're willing to let me leave? Just because of your own wishful thinking? Heh heh... You're so kind... Anyone who didn't know better would think you're a new human, not one of the old humans."

Kundley let out a few weak, self-deprecating laughs, her body swaying slightly. "Will his ship... ever return here...?"

At this moment, the hostility in Kundley's words had disappeared. Although her voice sounded hoarse like an old woman's, her tone was like that of an innocent young girl.

"...I don't know, but things may change in the future."

"enough."

Kundley stared intently at Kuonji Yuzu with unwavering and fiercely defiant eyes. "On my stage, no one is allowed to clap and cheer without proper etiquette. How much do you know about my despair?"

"You say the future can change? Change my future? In that case, if you really have the ability to kill me, then try it—"

"You human being who doesn't even know what love is!"

“Kundree…”

Legend has it that the pagan woman Kundri would never lie or deceive—but she would also never do good.

She raised her hand above her head, and a magical force instantly coalesced into a straight crystal.

It was a long spear with a design style reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire, and it was issued to infantrymen.

"That spear is—"

Before Kuonji Yuju could finish her mutterings, she instinctively flew backward.

How could she not recognize it? That was Longinus, the Holy Lance possessed by Lucius, the victor of the Holy Grail War and a Servant of Chitose Manazuru.

Kuonji Yuzu never expected that the cursed and blessed spear would end up in Kundley's hands.

The crazed woman raised her gun high, her eyes fixed on Yuju, who was quickly putting distance between herself and her. She bent her body like a whip and hurled the gun straight at Kuonji's heart.

The Holy Lance, hurtling straight at supersonic speed, pierced deeply into Kuonji's body. She flew sideways across the entire harbor, just as Novia had finished off Hela and Gam. As a result, the frozen sea had melted, meaning she fell straight into the waters of the Kanda River harbor.

The splashing water reflected the neon lights of the street, creating a fleeting, tacky glow.

"...I was careless."

Kuonji Yuju could only murmur a word before helplessly sinking straight to the bottom of the water.

Immediately afterwards, Kuonji Yuju, who was already fifty years old, had a dream, much like a person's last moments of lucidity before death.

Her mother was a witch and died after giving birth to her. Her father also passed away a few years later. Alone, she inherited the mansion where her parents had lived together and chose the same witch's path as her mother.

The days that followed were uneventful. One day, she was asked to accept a roommate. Although Aoko's personality was quite annoying, it was still a memorable period. In order to deal with her sister, Aoko had to join forces with her.

Later, the two sisters, who had been locked in a stalemate, finally made peace, and she entered a very ordinary period of time. She thought it would continue like this until she died, until the global Holy Grail War broke out in 2011. In Misaki City, which was involved, Arisu's only worry was whether she could protect the mansion where she had spent every day with her parents.

However, just as Misaki City was about to be razed to the ground by the aftermath of the Holy Grail War, Chitose Manazuru and Lucius ended the Holy Grail War, ushering in a new era and preserving the Kuonji Mansion in the city.

Kuonji Yuju was naturally grateful to Masuru Chitose, which is why, thirty years after Aoko's departure, she accepted Chitose's granddaughter to live in the Western-style mansion.

Stimulated by the icy seawater, Kuonji Yuju awoke from her brief dream. Immediately, a cold and intense pain pierced her chest, and a burning fatigue slowly swept over her entire body.

In her blurred vision, the outline of the spear stuck in her heart became blurry, gradually losing its substance, and slowly melting away from the end.

It was just a projection... not the real Noble Phantasm... That makes sense, Quindrie saw the real Holy Lance at Percival's place... which means she really did see Percival, but still fell in love with the captain by her own will...

I never imagined that before I died, I would be thinking of others instead of myself...

This made Kuonji Aryuu raise the corners of her mouth and laugh at herself.

Although she was not actually afraid of death, because the magical mark inside her body could be repaired, the projection of the Holy Lance clearly also carried some of the effects of the genuine artifact, so her body was difficult to repair at the moment, especially since she was currently underwater.

At Kuonji Temple, which is underwater, the pearl has lost its sense of up and down, and it seems to be sinking face up.

I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but the neon lights of Akihabara mingled and covered the water, like stars dotting the sky on a moonlit night.