“Alliance…”
Irisviel frowned slightly, her ruby-like eyes flashing with a hint of doubt.
In previous Holy Grail Wars, alliances between Magi were not uncommon, but the result of such alliances often ended in failure.
The first Holy Grail summoning ritual was conducted in the form of “cooperative summoning,” where the Makiri, Tohsaka, and Einzbern Families were considered allies.
However, due to the immaturity of the Holy Grail ritual and the battles that broke out over the desire to monopolize the Holy Grail, the Holy Grail was not summoned.
Thus, The Three Families adjusted the Command Seal system and made a pact, waiting for the leyline to accumulate enough magic for the Holy Grail to descend.
This wait lasted sixty years.
In the Second Holy Grail War, having learned from the lessons of sixty years prior, The Three Families formally planned the Holy Grail War’s “Command Seal system” and invited other Magi to jointly participate in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, using the “witnessing the Holy Grail’s magic ritual” as an enticement.
But faced with the temptation of the Holy Grail’s descent, The Three Families once again chose to break their alliance in the Second Holy Grail War.
Consequently, with the declaration of the alliance of The Three Families breaking apart, external Magi seized the opportunity, and after a fierce free-for-all, all participants died, and the Second Holy Grail War failed.
After another sixty years, when the Holy Grail ritual had once again accumulated enough magic, the Third Holy Grail War began.
But Hegel once said: “The only lesson people learn from history is that people learn nothing from history.”
The Third Holy Grail War was the same; the Holy Grail failed to descend because the lesser grail was destroyed.
Alliances were also like a joke; even the twin sister Magi of the Edelfelt Family ultimately chose to break their alliance.
The younger sister never returned to Finland, falling in love with Tohsaka’s grandfather and choosing to remain in Japan.
The elder sister, after withdrawing from the Holy Grail War, swore never to set foot on Japanese soil again.
Then came the Fourth Holy Grail War, which is this current one.
To fulfill the long-cherished wish of the Einzbern Family, the head of the Einzbern Family chose to invite outside assistance, opting to have the Magus Killer—Kiritsugu Emiya—fight on their behalf, recruiting Kiritsugu Emiya into the family and making him the Master for the Einzbern side in the Fourth Fuyuki Holy Grail War, to compensate for the Einzbern Family’s weakness in combat.
If Kiritsugu Emiya’s dream had not been in line with the Einzbern Family’s long-cherished wish, and there was no possibility of betrayal, the Einzbern Family would not have trusted Kiritsugu Emiya to participate in this Holy Grail War.
After all, there is only one Holy Grail, and ultimately only one victor.
Even between a Master and Servant who are part of the same team, there is a possibility of turning swords against each other when facing the Holy Grail in the end.
Therefore, forming an alliance in the Holy Grail War is not a good choice.
Alliances are merely temporary measures; in the end, they will inevitably lead to mutual slaughter for the sake of realizing dreams and obtaining the Holy Grail.
Unless the other party is not interested in the Holy Grail, otherwise, a so-called alliance is nothing more than a pretense.
But if one chooses to participate in the Holy Grail War, how could one not be interested in the “Omnipotent Pot” that can grant any wish?
However, considering that the other party saved him and Maiya, a temporary alliance with him is not a bad option.
After all, Caster is not good at close combat, and Saber’s left hand is currently cursed and cannot exert her full power, so a joint effort between the two sides is indeed more advantageous at the moment.
But she is not Saber’s true Master, nor can she fully represent Kiritsugu Emiya to agree to the other party’s request for an alliance.
Irisviel exposed her fair hand to Chen Yu and said, “Of course, but as you can see, I am not Saber’s true Master. It would be best for you to discuss the alliance with Kiritsugu; he is Saber’s true Master. My pretending to be Saber’s Master before was merely a tactic.”
When speaking of Kiritsugu, Irisviel’s eyes dimmed slightly, revealing concern.
She didn't know how Kiritsugu was doing now... Although theoretically, without her as a burden, Kiritsugu should be capable enough to handle those invaders.
But just like a wife worrying about her husband going to war, even if there is a one percent chance of failure, Irisviel still worried about Kiritsugu Emiya’s current situation before making contact with him.
“In that case, please contact Kiritsugu Emiya; I will wait here for good news,” Chen Yu continued politely.
Hearing Chen Yu ask her to contact Kiritsugu Emiya using a familiar, Irisviel’s face showed unconcealed joy.
“Really... Really... Can I really contact Kiritsugu?”
“Of course, please.”
After confirming Chen Yu’s attitude, Irisviel quickly wove a pigeon-sized bird familiar from silk threads, opened the window, and released it.
Watching the pigeon familiar pass through layers of barriers unhindered by the boundary, flying into the sky, Irisviel seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
It was only then that Irisviel truly let down her guard, confirming that the Magus who called himself a wizard currently held no ill will towards her and her companions.
Watching her familiar disappear into the night, Irisviel turned to look at Chen Yu, her lips slightly parted: “Um... Wizard Chen Yu, after all, there is only one Holy Grail. Are you suggesting we first unite to eliminate the other Masters, and then compete for ownership of the Holy Grail?”
Chen Yu shook his head and spread his hands: “I’m not interested in the Holy Grail.”
Upon hearing Chen Yu’s statement, Irisviel covered her mouth in surprise: “Wizard Chen Yu, you said you’re not interested in the Holy Grail? Not even interested in the ‘Omnipotent Pot’ that can grant any wish?”
Irisviel’s expression looked as if she had heard someone say: they weren't interested in money.
How could a Magus not be interested in the “Holy Grail”?
That was the Holy Grail that could use the Third Magic 【Materialization of the Soul】 to open a path between the human world and the Root.
The magic accumulated within it was enough to fulfill most human desires.
Could it be that the other party had no wishes?
Seeing Irisviel’s somewhat suspicious gaze, Chen Yu continued, “If the Holy Grail hadn’t been corrupted, as a crystalline aggregate of immense magical power, I would naturally be interested in it. But unfortunately, the Holy Grail has been corrupted. Now, any wish made will be granted in a twisted manner. If the wish-maker wished for ‘world peace,’ the Holy Grail would fulfill the wish-maker’s desire for ‘world peace’ by ‘killing all humans on Earth.’ I am naturally not interested in such a ‘wish-granting device’ that fulfills wishes in a twisted way.”
As soon as Chen Yu finished speaking, Irisviel immediately stood up in shock, looking incredulous: “What? The Holy Grail has been corrupted? Is there evidence? Who did it? Why did they do it?”
Irisviel felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue, unwilling to believe Chen Yu’s words.
If the Holy Grail was truly corrupted and the granted wishes were twisted, then Kiritsugu Emiya’s long-sought dream would certainly not be realized.
And her own persistent efforts would be nothing more than a joke.
Looking at the wavering Irisviel, Chen Yu continued to explain, “There once was a village that worshipped Zoroastrianism. The villagers there pondered whether humanity could be freed from evil, allowing everyone to live sacred lives. Therefore, they selected a young man, making him bear all the sins of the world, and thus a hero was born. People denounced him as evil, yet revered him as a god. This anti-hero was named Angra Mainyu. In the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern Family, in order to achieve victory, illegally summoned a Servant of a special class—Avenger Angra Mainyu.”
“Although Angra Mainyu’s deeds, which left their mark on the world, allowed him to enter the Throne of Heroes after death, it did not change the fact of Angra Mainyu’s weakness. Thus, he quickly died in the Third Holy Grail War and entered the lesser grail.”
“But after Angra Mainyu entered the Holy Grail, the Holy Grail unexpectedly responded to his wish.”
“People’s desire for pure evil gave birth to him, and within the Holy Grail, this desire was finally realized. The concept of ‘all the evil of the world’ that Angra Mainyu bore was actualized by the Holy Grail. From this moment on, the Holy Grail was corrupted by Angra Mainyu. The method of fulfilling the victor’s wish would be imbued with endless malice; the wish would be forcefully interpreted in an evil way, manifesting in the form of disaster.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can follow Kiritsugu Emiya to personally investigate the ritual array of the Holy Grail War held in the Mount Enzou Great Cavern. I imagine it shouldn’t be difficult to uncover clues.”
Looking at Irisviel, who was stunned by the series of revelations and had slumped back onto the bed, Chen Yu shrugged and continued, “I wouldn’t deceive you with such news, Mrs. Kiritsugu Emiya.”