"Speaking of which... you don't even have a master to provide you with mana. How are you maintaining your existence in this world?"
This was a question Saber had been unable to figure out.
Ordinary Servants would feel weak even just walking if they didn't have a master to provide them with mana.
Yet the man before her was not only full of vigor but could even unleash those terrifying attacks at will.
"Want to know?" Hansen stopped his knife and fork, looking at her with a faint smile. "Address me with something pleasant, and I'll tell you."
"You—!" Saber was choked with anger.
"Now, now, you two." Irisviel quickly stepped in to smooth things over. She poured a glass of wine for Hansen with a slight smile. "Mr. Han Sen, please stop teasing Saber. She's a very serious person."
"It's precisely because she's too serious that she's being used as a tool by that heartless man." Hansen raised his wine glass and spoke nonchalantly.
As soon as he spoke, the originally cheerful and lively atmosphere in the dining room instantly froze.
Saber put down her knife and fork, her gaze turning sharp once more. "Hansen, if you intend to insult my master, even if you are a Ruler, I must demand that you take back what you just said."
Irisviel's face also turned slightly pale.
Hansen ignored Saber's murderous intent. He elegantly wiped his mouth and leaned back against the chair, his gaze passing over Saber to look directly at Irisviel.
"Now that I've had my fill, it's time to talk business."
Hansen snapped his fingers.
*Vwoom—!*
An invisible barrier of "Imaginary Divine Power" instantly expanded, isolating the entire dining room from the outside world.
All sound and light were sealed within. Even Kiritsugu Emiya, despite possessing command spells, could not sense the slightest bit of what was happening inside.
"What did you do?!" Saber instantly summoned the Invisible Air and stood up to shield Irisviel.
"Don't be nervous. It's just to prevent eavesdropping," Hansen waved his hand. "After all, what I'm about to say should be considered top secret."
Irisviel gently tugged at Saber's sleeve, signaling her to sit down.
"Mr. Han Sen... what do you want to say?"
Hansen looked at the beautiful wife, a cruel and playful curve touching the corners of his mouth.
"Madam, do you know what that thing installed inside you actually is?"
"It's... the vessel for the Holy Grail." Irisviel subconsciously stroked her lower abdomen. "It is a miracle intended to achieve the salvation of all mankind."
"A miracle? Salvation?"
Hansen acted as if he had heard the world's greatest joke and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The laughter echoed within the sealed barrier, carrying a spine-chilling coldness.
"What if I told you that what's inside that cup isn't a wish-granting machine, but the curse of six billion people?"
"What?!" Saber and Irisviel exclaimed simultaneously.
"Impossible!" Saber retorted sharply. "The Holy Grail is an omnipotent wish-granting machine, the very reason we respond to the summons from the Throne of Heroes! How could it be a curse?"
"Naive King of Knights," Hansen looked at her with pity. "Why do you think this ritual is called a 'war'? Because it's not a holy selection; it's a ritual of Gu-rearing."
He extended a finger, and a wisp of ink-black flame ignited at the tip. Within that flame, it seemed as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing.
"As early as the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family, in their quest for victory, illegally summoned a Heroic Spirit known as 'Avenger'—Angra Mainyu."
"That man, bestowed with the title 'all the worlds evils,' was absorbed into the Holy Grail after his defeat."
Hansen's voice was deep and magnetic, like a demon telling a ghost story.
"From that moment on, the greater grail's system was completely corrupted."
"The current Holy Grail still possesses immense mana and can still grant wishes. However..." Hansen paused, his gaze as sharp as a blade. "It will only grant them through 'evil' means."
"For example, if you wish for 'world peace'..." Hansen looked at Saber. "The Grail would slaughter every human being on Earth. After all, if there are no people, there is no conflict. That is what it calls 'peace'."
*Boom!*
These words were like a bolt from the blue, striking hard at the hearts of the two women.
"This... this is absurd!" Saber clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly. "Such a thing... such twisted logic..."
"This is reality," Hansen interrupted coldly. "And the 'justice' your master, Kiritsugu Emiya, has pursued his entire life is exactly this kind of thing."
"He believes that sacrificing the few can save the many, and that as long as he obtains the Holy Grail, he can end all tragedies."
"But he doesn't know that what he is risking his life to obtain is the very source of all tragedy."
Hansen looked at Irisviel, whose face was as pale as paper.
"And you, Irisviel. You are the vessel that holds that 'evil'."
"Once the Holy Grail descends, that black mud will first devour your soul, using your body as a hole to flow into the physical world, turning this world into a literal hell."
"No... I don't believe it..." Irisviel shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
She wanted to argue, to deny it.
However, as Hansen spoke those words, the functions of the lesser grail within her body resonated with unprecedented intensity.
That nauseating, viscous, and malicious surge of mana was welling up from the depths of her soul, as if confirming every word Hansen said.
It was her instinct; it was her factory settings as a homunculus sounding the alarm.
"It seems your body is more honest than your mouth." Hansen saw through her hesitation at a glance.
Looking at the pained Irisviel, a seed of doubt also sprouted in Saber's heart.
Is this... really what I have been seeking?
If what that man said is true, then wouldn't Kiritsugu Emiya's actions—and even her own efforts to save Britain—all become a joke?
"Why are you telling us this?" Irisviel asked with a trembling voice. "If it's such a hell, why don't you, as the adjudicator, just destroy it?"
"Destroying it is easy." Hansen shrugged, the black flame on his fingertip dissipating. "But I came here to retrieve something of mine. Until I get it, the game must go on."
He stood up, his tall figure casting a massive shadow under the lights, completely enveloping Irisviel.
He walked up to Irisviel, leaned down slightly, and reached out to gently tilt up her delicate chin.
The gesture was extremely frivolous, yet under the pressure of Hansen's absolute strength, it exuded a sense of overbearing beauty.
"One's heart softens after a good meal."
Hansen looked into those panicked red eyes, the corners of his mouth curving up.
"Since I've enjoyed such a sumptuous dinner from you, I'll do you a favor."
"In this farce, I will protect your safety."
"Even if that man named Kiritsugu intends to sacrifice you, even if the rules of this world seek to erase you."
"As long as I am here, you will not become a sacrifice."
Irisviel was stunned.
She looked at Hansen, who was inches away, feeling the arrogance and confidence radiating from him.
Clearly, he was an enemy she had just met, an uncontrollable monster.
Yet at this moment, after learning of her cruel and inevitable fate, the words this man spoke actually gave her an unprecedented sense of... security?
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