A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 1231 Fake Priest

"Seven hundred and twenty-six... There are so many Holy Grails?"

"Who knows? At least there are that many similar things."

"Then one of them is the Holy Grail observed in this city, the Holy Grail War. According to records, the first war was about two hundred years ago. After that, the battles between masters have been repeated every sixty years. This is the fifth Holy Grail War. The previous one was ten years ago, so it is the shortest cycle so far."

"What... Are you okay? This has actually lasted four times so far...!?"

"I feel the same way. As you said, those people have repeated this many times - that's right. In the past, the repeated Holy Grail Wars became more and more intense. The masters were driven by their own desires, forgot the teachings of being a magician, and just killed each other indiscriminately."

"I think you should also know that for a magician, using magic in the general society is a heinous crime. Because As a magician, you cannot let the public know your identity. However, the previous Master broke that taboo. The Magic Association sent a supervisor to discipline them, but when they arrived, they were already in the Third Holy Grail War. The one who was sent at that time was my father, do you understand, boy? "

"... Well, I understand why the supervisor is needed. But from what you just said, this Holy Grail War should be something terrible, right?"

"Really? What do you mean by bad?"

"Because the previous Master seemed to be someone who would break the rules of magicians. Then, assuming that the Holy Grail exists, what if the person who won all the way to the end is a guy who would use the Holy Grail to do whatever he wants. Wouldn't it be bad to give such a thing to a guy who kills without blinking an eye? Since supervising magicians is the job of the church, you should punish people like that, right?"

Emiya Shirou asked with some expectation.

But Kotomine Kirei, as he thought, put on a calm attitude and smiled strangely.

"How is that possible? There is no magician who is not motivated by personal gain. We only manage the rules of the Holy Grail War. We don't care about what happens afterwards. The Association will not interfere with what kind of personality obtains the Holy Grail."

"How can such a stupid thing happen...! What if the person who obtains the Holy Grail is extremely bad!"

"It's really a headache. But we can't do anything about it. It is the Holy Grail that chooses the holder. And we don't have the power to stop the Master chosen by the Holy Grail. After all, it is a cup that can grant wishes. The person who gets it can do whatever he wants - but if you don't want this, then you can just win all the way and survive. Instead of expecting others, this method is the most practical, right?"

Kotomine was laughing.

It seemed that he was enjoying the embarrassment of Shirou Emiya who couldn't accept that he was the Master.

"What do you think, young man? I think what I just said is a good idea. I wonder if you are planning to take a look at it."

"... You don't need to worry about that. Besides, I have no reason to fight. I have no interest in the Holy Grail, and I don't feel real even if I am called a Master."

"Is that so? Then what will the person who gets the Holy Grail do, and even if it will cause a disaster, you are not interested, right?"

"That's──" Shirou Emiya couldn't refute it after hearing it.

Damn, this guy's words are like violence.

Ignoring his feelings here, he just pushed the facts here mercilessly────

"If there is no reason, then it's fine. Then you have no interest in what happened ten years ago, right?"

"──Ten years ago...?"

"That's right. At the end of the previous Holy Grail War, an unsuitable Master came into contact with the Holy Grail. We don't know what the Master wants. All we know is the claws of the disaster left behind at that time."

"!!"

In an instant.

Shirou Emiya's mind emerged that hell.

"--Wait a minute. Could it be that!?"

"Yes, that's what everyone who lives in this city knows, Emiya Shirou. Five hundred people were killed or injured, and a total of 134 buildings were burned and collapsed. The fire, which is still considered to have an unknown cause, was the claw mark left by the Holy Grail War."

"!!"

Emiya Shirou felt like vomiting.

His vision became blurry.

He lost his focus and his viewpoint could not be stabilized.

His body swayed and fell down.

However, before that, he steadied his feet.

He gritted his teeth to stay awake.

The urge to vomit that could cause fainting was suppressed by the anger alone.

"Emiya-san? What's wrong with you? Your face suddenly turned so pale... That's really uncomfortable to hear. That--by the way, do you want to rest for a while?"

It seems that his face is really pale, right?

How should I put it, it's really rare for Tousaka to worry about him like this.

"Don't worry. Seeing Toosaka's weird face will heal you."

"...Wait a minute. What do you mean by that?"

"No, it doesn't mean anything else. It means exactly what it says, so don't worry about it."

"That's good... Hey, doesn't that mean something worse, you big blockhead!"

Bang, the top model student in school who hit him on the head mercilessly? Toosaka Rin.

That strike marked the end.

Really, just one strike made all the anger and rage disappear without a trace.

"…Thank you. You really helped a lot, so don't bully me too much, Toosaka. Now there are some things that I need to ask clearly."

With an expression that he hadn't fought enough, Toosaka gave in for the time being.

"I see, you still have questions, right? Okay, tell me everything you want to say."

I thought the priest would see through what he wanted to ask, but the priest just urged him happily.

This is just right.

Emiya Shirou thought he would not lose his temper like he did just now.

"Then let me ask you. You just said that this is the fifth Holy Grail War. In that case, has anyone obtained the Holy Grail so far?"

"Of course. It's not possible for the whole army to be annihilated every time."

"Then──"

"Don't worry. It's easy if you just want to get it. After all, the Holy Grail itself is managed by this church. If I just hold it in my hand, I touch it every day."

"Huh──?"

The Holy, the Holy Grail is in this church──?

"It's just a container. It's empty inside. Didn't Rin just say that the so-called Holy Grail is a spirit? The one managed by this church is a replica of the Holy Grail made with extremely sophisticated technology. It is used as a medium to allow the real Holy Grail to descend here, and finally become a cup that can fulfill wishes. Let me think about it, it's very similar to the relationship between the Master and the Servant... Yes. There was indeed a man who got the Holy Grail that became the real one."

"Then the Holy Grail is the real one, right? Wait, what happened to the guy who got it?"

??????55.??????

"Nothing happened. The Holy Grail was not completed. It was the result of a stupid man's boredom and sentimentality."

...?

Where did the high attitude just now go?

The priest half closed his eyes as if he was regretful.

"…What's going on? Didn't the Holy Grail appear?"

"It's easy to make the Holy Grail appear. Once all seven Servants are together, the Holy Grail will appear after a while. As Rin said, there is no need to kill other Masters. However, the Holy Grail will not be complete. It will choose the holder who is suitable to have it. Therefore, men who avoid fighting cannot get the Holy Grail at all."

"Humph. What you mean is that if you don't compete with other Masters, there is no point in getting the Holy Grail, right? The last time, the first Master to get the Holy Grail was a naive Master. He said that he didn't want to fight the enemy Master, so he ran away from the Holy Grail."

Tōsaka said this and turned his eyes away from Kotomine.

"──No way?"

That means Kotomine was one of the Masters last time, and he refused to fight with the one who got the Holy Grail and was eliminated...! ?

"... Kotomine. Didn't you fight?"

"I did fight until halfway. But I misjudged. In the end, I only got an empty shell of the Holy Grail. But that was the limit for me. After all, all the other Masters were like monsters. I lost my Servant first, and then I accepted my father's protection."

"... Now that I think about it, it was not allowed at the time for the son of the Supervisor to be chosen as the Master. My father passed away at that time. After that, I took over the work of the Supervisor and guarded the Holy Grail in this church."

As he said this, the priest named Kotomine Kirei turned his back to him.

At the front of his sight, a symbol that should be worshipped stood.

"That's it. The only one who is qualified to obtain the Holy Grail is the Master who commands the Servant. When there is only one of you seven left, the Holy Grail will appear at the feet of the winner. The willingness to participate in this war────the Holy Grail War will be decided here, right?"

Looking down with a high attitude, the priest asked for the final decision.

"..."

Emiya Shirou was speechless.

The lack of reason to fight was only a matter of time.

Now, the reason and will to fight have indeed emerged.

But is that really acceptable?

"Are you still hesitating? Listen carefully, you can't just become a Master if you want to. Rin, who stayed there, also trained as a magician for a long time, but it didn't decide that she would become a Master. If there is anything that is decided, it is whether you are mentally prepared or not, right?"

"Only magicians can be chosen as Masters. Since you are a magician, you should have prepared yourself long ago. If you say you don't, then there is nothing you can do. You and the master who trained you are both useless. Letting such a magician fight is just a nuisance to others, so remove the mark here now."

"!!"

There is no need to say it at all.

Emiya Shirou will not escape.

To be honest, it doesn't feel real to him to tell him that the Master is still the Holy Grail War.

Even so, if there are only two ways, fighting and escaping, he will not choose to escape.

The priest said.

Since he is a magician, he should have prepared himself long ago.

So I have to decide.

Even if he is only half-hearted, Emiya Shirou is still a magician.

Since I have decided to follow closely behind Emiya Kiritsugu, whom I admire, and become a partner of justice────

"—I will fight as a Master. Since the fire ten years ago was caused by the Holy Grail War, I can't let that happen again!"

The priest smiled contentedly, as if he was satisfied with his answer.

"Huh..."

Emiya Shirou took a deep breath.

All the confusion was gone.

The man had said he wanted to fight.

So, from now on, he had to live up to what he had said before and move forward with his head held high.

"Then I acknowledge you as Saber's Master. At this moment, the Holy Grail War has been accepted. From now on, until there is only one Master left, I allow magic wars to take place in this city. You should each obey your own boasting and compete with each other!"

Speaking heavily, the priest's words echoed throughout the chapel.

That declaration had no meaning.

The only ones who could hear what the priest said were Emiya Shirou and Tōsaka.

This man was just ringing the bell to start the battle as the priest of this church.

"It's decided. Then we'll go back, but before that, can I ask you a question, Kirei?"

"It doesn't matter. This may be the last time, I'll just answer your general questions."

"Then I won't be polite. Kirei, since you are in charge of surveillance, you should know more or less about other Masters. I'm following the rules of the association here, so just tell me this?"

"This is really a headache. I want to tell you a lot, but I don't know the details. Including Shirou Emiya, there are not many regular magicians this time. There are only two Masters I know. If you include Shirou Emiya, that makes three, right?"

"Ah, really? Then you should know the order of being summoned. After all, they are all monitors."

"...Yeah. The first one is Berserker. The second one is It was Caster. The following times were similar. The day before yesterday it was Archer, and a few hours ago Saber was summoned. "

"—Is that so? That's it."

"The Holy Grail War has officially begun. Rin. You are not allowed to come to this church before the Holy Grail War is over. The only time you are allowed is-"

"When a Servant who has lost his own needs protection, right? If you rely on me for anything else, I will lose points."

"That's right. Although I think you will probably be the winner, if there is a stain left, the church will not turn a blind eye. Those people may end up taking the Holy Grail away from you as a result of their boring meeting. That would be the worst development for me."

"Fake priest. The people in the church are colluding with the Magic Association."

"I serve God. Not the church."