Matou Zouken was silent for a long time, then said, "Strange, I've never told anyone these things. How do you know them so clearly?"
"You don't need to know. You just need to admit it, that's enough," Rin was determined not to let the old bug have his way.
At this moment, Jalter, who had been silently closing her eyes since Matou Zouken first spoke, suddenly opened them wide.
"Here!"
Jalter spun the battle standard in her hand, its sharp tip pointing towards the marble floor. She gripped it tightly with both hands and plunged it heavily into the ground, with a crisp sound of cracking stone! The battle standard sunk into the ground, and a dozen giant, spiderweb-like cracks spread throughout the entire hall!
"Master, there's a barrier underground."
Upon hearing this, Rin immediately knelt down, placing her hands on the ground.
Mana Burst!
The clear blue Magic Power flowed like mercury spilling onto the ground, seeping into the cracks. The defensive barrier hidden deep underground, encountering the End Magic that analyzes all mysteries, began to rapidly decompose.
"Ha!"
As Rin's Magic Power dissolved the barrier, Jalter raised her iron fist and let out a sharp cry, smashing a thunderous punch into the center of the cracks!
The dozens of meters thick marble floor, without the protection of the barrier, was shattered into palm-sized fragments by Jalter's single punch. The entire hall's floor instantly collapsed.
The ground shattered, and countless insect familiars, as dense as a dark cloud, immediately flew up from the void below, with blade-like wings and sharp fangs, each as large as a washbasin.
"Hmph, the old monster is feeling guilty, so it seems I was right." Facing the cloud of demonic insects, Jalter sneered dismissively.
Her left hand, not holding the flag, once again raised a dark magical flame, palm facing down towards the countless demonic insects.
"Roar, my wrath!"
Boom!
A wall of black flame shot out from Jalter's palm; any demonic insect that touched it was instantly incinerated, leaving not even ashes.
The wall of flame rapidly advanced towards the bottom of the pit, immediately clearing all obstacles.
After a vertical drop of nearly fifty meters, Rin and Jalter landed safely, relying on their superhuman physical abilities.
"Thump! Thump!"
Heavy landing sounds echoed in an empty stone corridor.
Besides a dark, lightless path ahead, the other three sides were walls, and the ceiling of the corridor in front was only five meters from the ground.
"That's it, this place is where it was originally dug.
That old thing later used magic to seal the excavated entrance.
This place has no entrance except by brute force, and if it weren't for the unique soul fluctuations, it would be hard to imagine a living being within dozens of meters of rock."
Jalter murmured.
The previously silent, withered voice spoke again: "It seems you truly came prepared.
The Heroic Spirit you summoned is entirely meant to counter this old man, and you even managed to find this old man's dwelling place for his soul.
However, as early as two years ago when the command spells were stolen by you, this old man was already prepared for this moment."
As Matou Zouken's words fell, a torrent of magical power, unexpected even by Rin, blew in from an unknown source.
Under the gaze of Rin and Jalter, the swirling magical power gradually solidified into form, transforming into a stubborn, unyielding figure.
Dark, lightless magical energy surged and gathered, finally condensing into an incredibly tall form, which was actually a Servant!
Its body, black as cast iron, was nearly four meters tall, with powerful, intertwined muscles covered in simple yet luxurious golden and jade armor.
In the dark, lightless underground stone corridor, its skin gleamed black, and a pair of giant eyes illuminated the passage like incandescent lamps.
It held a pair of ornate golden sabers in its hands.
A powerful, ferocious aura rushed forth.
Rin recognized the Servant's class at a glance and immediately exclaimed, "Berserker?!
How is this possible?
The Matou Family's command spells are in my hands.
Did the Holy Grail choose you autonomously?"
She had already used the Berserker class to summon Lancelot, so how could another one appear... Wait, this situation, in the Fifth Holy Grail War...
"Heh heh heh heh...
Children always like to make a fuss.
Did you, who participated in the Holy Grail War, not know what role the Matou clan played in the Holy Grail War?"
"Matou... created command spells."
"Exactly, then do you know who created these command spells, which every Magus participating in the Holy Grail War cherishes as a treasure?"
"It's... you..."
She had been careless, truly careless.
She had calculated everything but overlooked the relationship between this old man and the Holy Grail War.
Matou Zouken was one of the original three founders of the Holy Grail War, and the crucial command spells system of the Holy Grail War came from this old monster.
Since he could independently develop this technique back then, there's no reason why he couldn't make another set of command spells!
In fact, this could be seen from the Fifth Holy Grail War, because, as it turns out, eight command spells appeared in the Fifth Holy Grail War!
"This old man originally had no intentions for this Holy Grail War, focusing all efforts on preparing for the next Holy Grail War.
However, just in case, this old man casually summoned a bodyguard for himself, but I didn't expect to summon such a powerful Berserker without a relic.
It seems he was summoned because there was an Heroic Spirit with a connection to him among those who descended in this era."
While Matou Zouken was speaking, Jalter had already activated her Ruler class's inherent skill: True Name Discernment, and murmured with a frown, "Darius III, Master, do you know him?"
She knew, too well!
Who didn't know the African War God, the Chief's Proof!
Of course, Rin wasn't foolish enough to measure the strength of Heroic Spirits by the character strengths in games from her previous life, and frowned, saying:
"Darius III, the last monarch of the Persian Empire, and the only Persian king whose portrait has survived.
Compared to other Persian monarchs, only their uniform side profiles on reliefs and coins have been passed down."
Darius III, a valiant ancient Persian king, whose original name was Artashata, a figure from the fourth century BCE, known as the last king of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia.
He was a formidable rival of Iskandar, the King of Conquerors of Macedon, and on several occasions became an obstacle on his path of conquest.
He was unyielding in battle, always filled with unwavering fighting spirit.
Once in battle, he would open his eyes wide and begin to destroy his opponents like a storm.
His wish entrusted to the Holy Grail was to fight Iskandar again.
Not a one-on-one, he desired another fierce battle between armies and forces.
Rin recalled this Persian king, whom players in her previous life jokingly called the "African War God."
In truth, by simply looking at his data as an Heroic Spirit, one would know he was definitely not some "African War God."
Just by his history of repeatedly halting the Great Emperor's advance, one could tell that his strength was likely on par with the Great Emperor.
Above all, as a Berserker, he possessed an Reality Marble!
From his wish entrusted to the Holy Grail, it was clear that he was summoned by the Great Emperor!
"By the name of the command spells, I order you, enhance your power, Berserker."
"By the name of the command spells, I order you, enhance your power, Berserker."
"By the name of the command spells, I order you, use your noble phantasm to kill them, Berserker!"
"Roar—!"
Instantly, the world was overturned!
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