Ryuudou Temple, an ancient shrine in Fuyuki's heart, drew tourists during peak seasons.
It held significant mystical importance.
Situated at a leyline nexus, the three great families had carved a vast cavern beneath it, installing the Greater Grail to siphon leyline energy for the Holy Grail War.
Today, early in this war, someone arrived.
Samuel, dragging Reines and a humiliated yet helpless Jeanne, entered the cavern.
It was vast—nearly two hundred square meters, with a five-meter ceiling.
Justeaze emerged from the earth like a guardian spirit, her face blank as she addressed Samuel: "The sacrifices are incomplete. The Greater Grail cannot activate yet!"
"Heh, I have my ways!"
Ignoring her, Samuel raised his right hand. A thunderbolt pierced the ground, forming a hand that grasped the "foreign object" within the leyline.
"I advise against recklessness. It could destabilize the leyline and cause undesirable outcomes."
Justeaze spoke emotionlessly, unfazed by Samuel's apparent breach of their agreement.
"Nothing will happen! Why? Because I'm here!"
Arrogant words spilled from Samuel, yet they felt natural, as if destined.
The earth cracked, magical light gleaming through fissures. The greatest known mystery, "Gaia," unleashed its eons of accumulated power.
Surging mana erupted like a volcano, the cavern trembling like a dam against a flood.
The roaring "Greater Source" emitted a piercing, terrifying sound.
The leyline's disturbance rippled through Fuyuki, shaking the earth and stirring the sea—an earthquake!
Amid the tremors, Samuel unearthed a massive object from the leyline.
A statue resembling the Virgin Mary, its wing-like shell encasing a core of unimaginable mystery and a colossal magical furnace.
"The Third Magic is in there?"
The structure was extraordinary, nearly angelic in essence.
Yet, seeing it, Samuel doubted whether it truly held the "Third Magic: Heaven's Feel."
The statue's wings parted slightly, a light shining from within.
Samuel stepped forward, intent on entering the Grail to see for himself.
"The sacrifices aren't ready. Entering now won't yield the Third Magic!"
Justeaze continued her warnings.
Samuel ignored her, advancing.
"..."
Justeaze's eyes, once cold, flickered with complex emotions—anger, disgust, indifference, hatred—shifting rapidly.
"..."
Boom!
Something shattered invisibly. The Greater Grail, resembling the Virgin Mary, underwent a transformation.
A liquid seeped from its eyes and mouth, its holy white mana light turning dark.
Not impure, but a pure, absolute black light.
More liquid poured out, not just from its orifices—the Grail became a sieve, leaking black fluid from countless pores.
Like oil or mud, merely gazing at it felt like black arms reaching out.
"Back!"
Jeanne instinctively grabbed Reines and retreated. The black mud sent shivers through her, as if ants gnawed her bones.
The Greater Grail exploded, black liquid surging forth. Amid it, a cup gleamed brilliantly.
A golden chalice, intricately carved, embodying the world's beauty.
Yet from this resplendent cup poured endless black liquid.
The contrast was stark, a visual shock.
"Hmph."
Justeaze sneered, her pristine form collapsing into a pool of the same black mud, merging with the dark sea.
The mud flooded the cavern, reaching Samuel's ankles.
He stood silently, as if stunned.
Black arms emerged from the mud, clutching his clothes, like damned souls trying to drag him into hell.
Figures formed from the mud, whispering around him.
Countless voices cursed and muttered.
"Hate, hate, hate!!!"
"Die, die, die!!!"
This spiritual pollution surpassed even an Outer God—not because it was stronger, but because it was born of humanity's "evil."
This was "Evil of Humanity," part of the Human Order, like Samuel. To be consumed by it...
Incomplete, it sought to complete itself by dragging Samuel into the abyss.
Inescapable whispers echoed in his ears, memories and sorrows of countless "people" replaying in his mind.
"Accept us!"
A soft voice murmured, a gentle touch grazing his chest. Justeaze pressed against him, whispering.
Pride, wrath, lust, gluttony—desires. Joy, sorrow—emotions. All stirred, a conceptual resonance between "Evil of Humanity" and humanity.
Good or evil, in different eyes, held no fixed meaning. It could be either, a human delusion.
Under "Evil of Humanity," every human component was roused.
"No!"
Jeanne shouted from a high ledge, too afraid to descend—she'd be consumed instantly.
Reines, smiling gleefully, admired the hellish scene.
"I'll accept you... you're part of me."
Samuel was the pinnacle of "Human Order" and "Calculation." Unique, as life reaching angelic status "ascends," losing racial identity—called "gods," "transcendents," or "angels."
Yet Samuel, even as a "god," remained "human."
As human, embracing his "evil" was only natural.
"Tomorrow night, come to this place for a Holy Grail War that may not shed blood. Those absent... forfeit!"
The black mud surged toward Samuel like rivers to the sea. Justeaze tiptoed, kissing his lips.
Her form became a vast blanket, enveloping him.
***
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