Chapter 38: Fragments of the Sixth Holy Grail War

Watching the innocent look on her face, the anxiety I felt about "things you didn't want to talk about" completely vanished.

"I have only heard of the Holy Grail War that your senior sister and apprentice participated in," Kurapika replied.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I finished it early and retired, not to mention the ending; I still don't know what the mastermind was planning, nor do I know what the enemy Servant actually was, and I didn't say it because it's too hard to digest as a story."

"……Is that the reason you weren't talking, then?"

Kurapika lowered his head, exhausted for a reason that was truly similar to Sora's.

Sora told Kurapika about the "Holy Grail War" that Dino had given him. The story of Dino and "Hunter" is set on the same level; Sora, who is telling the story, has nothing to do with it, and it is a completely finished story, so some parts have a bad aftertaste, but we all think it is an interesting story. First of all, there is no need to blame Kurapika and Sora for not telling Sora's own story.

However, as the name "War" implies, Sora himself, who participated in the battle for life, thought this was just a topic Kurapika liked, so he should be angry. Even thinking about it, I had no energy left to be angry.

Sora said to the multi-dimensionally weakened Kurapika: "Kurapika. I'm sorry."

Leorio, while watching the exchange, interjected, representing the three who were left behind because they couldn't understand the conversation.

"Hey, I'm glad you two get along well, but we don't understand your conversation at all."

"What is this disturbing term 'Holy Grail War'? Please explain."

"Hmm? Simply put, it's a battle where you summon mythical heroes or great historical figures as familiars to satisfy the survivor's wish."

To Leorio's question, Sora gave a very simple and direct answer.

"! What! What do you mean by summoning mythical heroes!?"

"! Will your wish really come true!? What kind of wish is it!?"

Then, Gon and Leorio ate mouthful after mouthful. Killua looked at the two in surprise and muttered: "Are you kids?"

"It's easy to understand what you guys are interested in, man."

Sora gave a wry smile at the two who were biting into it, and then, just as the three of them expected, he began to talk about the Holy Grail War.

＊＊＊

"If I were to go into detail, I think even if it weren't Gon, it would surprise me, so I'll skip most of it, but there is a desire-granting device called the 'Holy Grail'. It requires Mana to activate that desire-granting device. Seven mythical heroes and historical great figures called 'Heroic Spirits' are summoned as familiars and fight."

The summoned familiars are called 'Servants', but the defeated Servants become the contents of the Holy Grail, which can be activated as a wish-granting device possessing the souls of 6 Servants. This is the reason why mages themselves do not specifically summon Servants to fight, and it is also the minimum rule of the Holy Grail War."

Just as Sora said himself, I earnestly skipped over 90% of the explanation.

In fact, it can be said that the real purpose is not to activate everything as a wish-granting device, but for the mage to reach the Origin. For this purpose, it is a Servant summoning system that utilizes the moment the Heroic Spirit returns to the 'Throne'. Although there are many parts that need explanation, there is no point in knowing and understanding them, so this level of explanation and understanding should be enough.

"……Are you planning to use the summoned souls as Material to realize your wish?"

Although he said some rude things to me at first, perhaps because he realized this, Gon didn't care at all. Putting six souls into the Holy Grail."

It seemed to be to comfort Gon, as Sora's hand rubbed his hair.

"Although they are called souls, it is impossible to bring a person's true soul from the past to the present. So, this is absolutely inhumane, but the disappearance of a person's existence is not that desperate."

"First of all, the summoned Heroic Spirits have many wishes and yearn for the Holy Grail, so be prepared to use their own souls as Material."

To be precise, this explanation is also very different, but Sora did not lie rudely, because he made a rough decision that it might take a whole day for Gon to understand the concept of the 'Throne of Heroes'. It is not entirely accurate.

"That's right. ……I still hate it, but it's okay. I'm dead, I'll die again, and my life won't even be used as an object."

Gon's overly simple words made Sora feel a terrible sense of guilt for some reason, even though he didn't lie.

Not only Sora, but Leorio, who was only interested in the 'wish comes true' part, and Killua, who didn't think about it at all when he heard that the Servant's soul was Material, were hit by the same pain. Conscience, everyone cheered up. They struck Sora with their own questions.

"Is the wish that 'Holy Grail' guy can grant really okay?"

"Well, if that familiar also participates in wishing, wouldn't he eventually betray the summoned mage?"

To Leorio, who was only focused on the 'wish machine' to the point of being refreshed and loyal to his own desires, and Killua, who noticed the annoying potential with childish caution, "Aren't your questions usually the opposite?" Sora rushed in to answer.

"As for wishing, actually, I don't know very well either. I didn't create the Holy Grail, so I don't know its role and capacity as a wish-granting device. In general, I participated in the Holy Grail War six times. However, it seems that all the Servants were annihilated, there was constant trouble, and in the end, it wasn't even activated correctly once."

"However, my old man attended the ceremony, and if I remember correctly, it was an application of the Third Magic or something, so most wishes will come true, right?"

Regarding Killua's question, I think that depending on the content and scale of the wish, and the amount of Mana stored in the Holy Grail, multiple wishes can be realized, but first, one must ensure that the Servant will not betray the Master. It is the summoner. World."

"As proof of being a Master, somewhere on my body, mainly the back of my hand, there is a 'Command Spell' like a Tattoo, which has absolute command over the Servant. There is a limit of 3 times, but it can prevent betrayal, and even if the Servant is far away, it can be forcibly summoned to one's side, and it can also be used as a booster to strengthen the Servant itself, it's very convenient..."

"……If the Servant is too strong and the Master is a weakling, the Command Spell order is cancelled, a Downgrade."

Seeing him talk about the last 'Command Spell cancellation' with a strangely distant look in his eyes, Killua was convinced that "it's already done," and then expressed sympathy without a word.

Instead, Kurapika, who was weakened by Sora's answer, raised his head and asked if he still remembered the details of the Fifth Holy Grail War he heard three years ago.

"……Wait a minute, didn't the Holy Grail War end, and your senior sister and apprentice both participated? Wasn't the Holy Grail polluted, not only meaningless as a wish-granting device, but only causing harm?"

"Ah…… that's the reason why the war I was forced to participate in became so complicated. I didn't participate to make a wish, but to destroy the polluted Holy Grail." This was an old man's order."

The information Kurapika recalled made Sora's distant gaze even more distant, and when he spoke of the reason for participating, his eyes were already dead.

Everyone recoiled, expressing sympathy for this situation, and for the information they didn't know much about, they all tilted their heads.

"What do you mean by the pollution you mentioned?"

Leorio asked, and Kurapika took the lead in answering.

"Even Sora himself doesn't seem to know what happened, but after the Third War, for some reason, the function of the Holy Grail seems to have been twisted in the direction of 'wishing in a negative direction'."

"……For example, if Leorio wanted 'I want money', it wouldn't come true like winning the Lottery. I would annihilate your relatives and get all your wealth."

In Kurapika's first explanation, not only Leorio, but even Killua and Gon didn't quite understand, but when he gave them an analogy, the three of them suddenly changed their expressions.

"……Isn't this the product of the worst Curse?"

"Yeah, yeah. During the fourth time, I didn't expect it to turn out like this, and because of that, a big Fire occurred in the city where the Holy Grail War was held, so the Holy Grail War was won." It wasn't held, and the polluted Holy Grail was dismantled as planned... but the Holy Grail, twisted and tainted by that bottomless Malice, was further trampled, modified, and used. Injured."

Affirming Leorio's words, Sora clenched his hands.

His words and voice were calm, but everyone present could understand that his heart was full of anger, which could not be compared to his previous complaints about his teacher.

As for why Kurapika didn't tell me, "because the story is indigestible" is probably not a lie, but the reason I didn't want to tell him is because of his eye color, like a blue Fire. Have"

"……Hey. What is the 'Holy Grail War' Sora participated in?"

But I asked.

Gon hesitated about the part everyone wanted to know, but didn't have the courage to touch it, but he still touched it and appealed to know.

Sora returned his gaze to the color of the night sky and said to Gon: "This is not an interesting story. Just as I said just now, there are many things I don't understand, and they are all about troublesome conspiracies."

But Gon did not shrink back.

"Yeah, it's okay. I want to know more about Sora, so I want to know why Sora is so angry."

He looked straight at her and answered.

"If you want to understand a person, you have to know what makes them angry."

When he answered using the words his favorite grandma had given him, Gon noticed that not only Sora, but all three of them were looking back at him with blank expressions, and Gon panicked: "Ah, I didn't mean to speak. If it's a bad memory, it's fine, if talking about it will hurt Sora, then don't say it!"

"……Aha! Gon, you really are simple and wonderful!"

She smiled brilliantly, proving that Gon's worry about forcing Sora to say things she didn't want to was unfounded.

Gon was startled by Sora's words.

Seeing this, Sora let out a snort of laughter, and the other three followed suit.

In order to know, I had to be prepared to be hurt, but I couldn't make up my mind, nor did I have the courage to touch it.

I envied Gon while I started to laugh.

＊＊＊

"As I said at the beginning, the rules of the sixth war I participated in were twisted, and the situation was very different from previous Holy Grail Wars; it was a chaotic situation. There were many things."

After reiterating the premise, Sora first explained the differences from previous Holy Grail Wars.

"Activating the desire device requires the souls of 6 Servants. Since it is a battrois, there must be 7 Servants; this number should be impossible to increase or decrease. 13 Riders…… in other words, what is this number? The participants of the Holy Grail War are about twice the normal amount."

"Why is it salty?"

Killua suddenly jumped in.

There was no help for it; if it were one or two people fewer or more, I could understand it as an exception, but I didn't expect it to almost double, and I couldn't imagine the reason for it.

"I don't know the specific situation either, but somehow, the first thing I did was gather the positive Masters participating in the Holy Grail War to summon a Servant. At this time, the rules were tampered with, and only 6 Servants could be summoned. I was one of the Holy Grail War Masters at that table."

So, using those six horses as the motive force, it seems there were seven horses gathered as Holy Grail War Masters by the mastermind, for a total of thirteen horses.

I still don't understand why so many Servants had to be summoned. Perhaps he was asking the Holy Grail for something that wasn't enough for the six souls of the Servants, but... even if the master puts the cart before the horse and the soul rots, the old man of the wood master who can persist in life, the exposure of pleasure and enjoyment above all else. It is because of madness. It is very likely he just did it because 'this looks more interesting'."

As Sora answered, she gradually increased the brightness of her eyes, not knowing if she could really forgive the mastermind's "old wounds."

For a moment, everyone was a bit worried about the "showing off" part, but since Sora was speaking seriously, the four of them looked at the atmosphere and decided not to listen.

Fortunately, when Sora went specifically to see one of the masterminds, she covered the mastermind's identity and shouted: "You forgot to wear a skirt!".

"Although there were 6 groups that didn't understand the situation and 7 groups of masterminds, which is a bit confusing, the clan that originally created the Holy Grail got involved and stole a group of Servants from the planners. Well, although the battle was chaotic again, there was one factor that made this battle even more chaotic."

……Since it is called the "Holy Grail," you might think it is a luxurious cup like a championship trophy, but this name is for convenience; it is to contain Mana for a period of time, so it is just a shape. Of course, any Material can be used. It could be a metal pot, a kindergarten child's water bottle, or even a person."

After saying the last word, Sora's eyes lit up and she looked toward the azure sky.

At the same time, everyone understood. Why was she so angry?

"……There are two Holy Grails. The Greater Grail is used to summon Servants and perform the Holy Grail War ritual, and the Lesser Grail is to store the souls of the Servants."

And the person used as the Lesser Grail in the sixth one was the older sister's younger sister. Because the child of the mastermind's family had no Magic Circuits, and for other reasons, she was adopted by the main family and experimentally modified into a 'Holy Grail', which was not enough for the fifth rank at all. Used in the 6th.

……And my younger sister, who became a Lesser Grail due to the influence of the Greater Grail, the source of pollution, turned to the Greater Grail during her own negative emotions, while she was sleeping, or while she was in a coma. Due to the influence received, I had encountered atrocities of indiscriminate killing and wounding."

……And that senior sister who felt responsible for that thought, at least tried to complete it with her own hands. So, although the previous Holy Grail War and the later Holy Grail War overlapped, because they were different, it was completely chaotic. The cause of the conflict."

I was ordered by the old man to 'destroy this crazy, twisted Holy Grail War', and I participated in it bit by bit, so it's strange that I didn't die from overwork."

In the end, it was said with a bit of a joking tone as usual, but the sad expressions of the four who heard the story naturally did not dissipate, and Sora smiled bitterly, as if feeling troubled.

"Sorry, you guys are really too polite."

Don't look like you think this is your fault, because this has nothing to do with you, this is a thing of the past. Like I said, I'm fine. My younger sister didn't become a Holy Grail, my own younger sister is living and reconciling well, the polluted Greater Grail was destroyed... or rather, it was destroyed before I came here. It's a happy ending, so don't make that kind of face."

"Happy ending? Didn't you say you didn't know the ending?"

I knew Sora's words were their follow-up, but I was more worried about his tone, as if he really thought so, rather than trying to be awkward.

"I don't know. But it is definitely a happy ending."

Because there is an 'Ally of Justice'."

His eyes were the usual black, similar to Pitch Darkness, but with a soft glow.

"Hero of Justice?"

"Eh? Could it be Sora's Servant?"

Leorio tilted his head, seeing that the name didn't fit the topic, Gon asked again with bright, childish expectation.

Only Kurapika knew who the name referred to and smiled bitterly.

Smiling bitterly, he was relieved at first. Of course, I was sure that if "he" was there, it would be fine.

"Dino is different from the protagonist of Hunter, I know from hearing it from Sora, how the protagonist, who was supposed to be just a nearly helpless boy, insisted on the dream he drew himself."

Recalling the "protagonist" of the previous "Holy Grail War."

"No, no, not at all. I am not a Servant, I am an ordinary human, one of the participants in the last Holy Grail War."

By the way, my sister-in-law was also a participant last time, but I probably didn't want them to participate, so they were deceived by them or something, they were not qualified to be Masters. Well, I don't care about that."

After denying the misunderstanding caused by Gon's expectation, Sora narrowed her eyes and said nostalgically.

"That person was a strange and stupid person, he wanted to be an 'Ally of Justice' so much, but he chased that dream so directly that he couldn't think of anything other than that way of life."

So it's fine. If that person is there, everything will be fine."

……Or rather, I told him that if I gave up on a happy ending because of laziness, I would get a Castration Fist, so it's fine."

"What kind of criminal law is that!?"

In the end, Leorio's face changed, and he pressed his crotch with a gloomy smile in response to Sora's line.

Seeing the other three kneeling silently, Sora laughed.

＊＊＊

"Hey, what kind of person is Sora's Servant?"

The situation was more serious than everyone imagined, but perhaps because he knew that even if he didn't know the ending, he didn't seriously doubt that he had a happy ending, so Gon was worried that the laughter Sora burst out would fade. He asked again.

"If I speak with you, I don't think you would understand. You are a mythical inhabitant of my world."

"Alright, but I still want to know! Because I'm really curious about what kind of person a mythical hero is, even in another world! What kind of person is he? What did he do? Did he become friends with him? Sora?"

"……Gon, you've forgotten the purpose of the Holy Grail War, haven't you?"

"I mean, you don't even know the meaning of the word 'Servant', do you? 'Servant' or 'slave', that is what it means."

Leorio and Killua rushed forward as if to curry favor with Gon, and Gon, eyes shining, asked Sora, refusing to give up even after being rejected by Sora multiple times.

But this time, it was not Gon who was rejected.

"No, there are groups that are strictly professional, some have bad relationships, and some even want to kill their own Servant because they hate their Master too much, but there are also those who have forged bonds that completely transcend the Master-Servant relationship. In my era. And before."

"As for my friends, the reason for participating in the war at the beginning was 'I want to be friends with the Heroic Spirit'."

"……It really seems like your friends."

Kurapika gave the impression of being frank, half-surprised and half-admiring.

Seeing Sora's answer, just thinking that his expectations this time would come true, Gon's eyes brightened even more, saying: "That person is amazing!" He crossed his arms and tilted his head left and right, not answering easily.

It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but that reaction made him worry about how to speak. It wasn't just Gon; the three who had started to become interested in him also looked at each other curiously. Suddenly, he said.

"For the time being, a beam of light shot out of my eyes."

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't want to say this either……"

When Kurapika reflexively blurted out that he had no idea what was going on, Sora held his head with both hands and responded immediately.

With a reaction like that, not just Kurapika, but everyone realized it. Not being able to read the atmosphere wasn't a joke, because I wanted to grasp it; this wasn't a metaphor, it was serious……

"No, I really like that person, you know?"

"But come on, 'weapons are useless.' If you say 'a true hero kills with his eyes,' then you might imagine his eyes showing a difference in ability, making him lose his fighting spirit, or his spirit making him faint, right? ……When I saw the beam actually fire, the friends and Servants I allied with shouted 'Physics!?' It's not my fault, could it be that this is the impression I've temporarily given you?"

Sora kept his head down, still looking down, and said things that made Gon and the others even more confused.

Sora raised his head to answer, perhaps having regained his composure regarding that question.

"I am not a Lobo…… it's hard to say I am human."

"Karna, the hero of the famous epic 'Mahabharata' from my world, India, whose father is the Sun God, the 'Charity Hero'. That is my Servant."

Even if someone told me there is no country called "India" in this world, naturally there would be no reaction like "Ah, that hero!"

However, hearing about the Demi-god hero, everyone's eyes widened as if they could imagine how abnormal this was. ……However, immediately after, everyone remembered the information about "shooting beams from the eyes," and everyone showed a puzzled expression.

"……That person, was it that person who shot a beam from his eyes and defeated something?"

"No, that's not it. In the original text, I didn't shoot a beam from my eyes. Or rather, it was a type of archery."

For Servants, there are seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker, and Assassin. Usually, they wouldn't wear them, and even if there were anecdotes about swords and bows in their lifetime, I wouldn't copy them alone. So Mr. Karna was summoned as a Lancer, and for some reason, his archery skill was distorted and manifested in that direction……

"If he were an Archer-class…… then that person would very likely shoot a beam."

Sora tried to follow up on Gon's question, but it was impossible. No matter how you think about it, it's easy to imagine that if it were that man, even if he shot with an ordinary bow and arrow, it would have the destructive power of a laser.

"Seriously, what kind of Heroic Spirit is your Servant exactly?"

Although attracted by the words that no one paid attention to, when Kurapika asked, Sora smiled bitterly.

"No, he really is a good person, isn't he? I mean, he is a good person known as the 'Charity Hero', and his cause of death was 'because he was too holy'. He is really strong and amazing. He lies. His insight is good enough to be a Discovery, he is so handsome that you can't even call him an Explosion, even if he can clearly point out what he should say to anyone, but even the bad points are assessed and evaluated. Accepted as 'that's fine too'. Well, he respects me, goes out with me, doesn't complain about my recklessness, and is a perfect follow-up……"

However, at the same time, I wonder if "communication Obstacle" was one of the causes of death.

"Your answer just created a mystery a moment ago."

After Killua confirmed the accurate hit, Sora sighed and said: "That's right." Apparently, he had given up on following his Servant.

"I am very happy that Karna is a Servant, and I like her too, but from the outside, it would be nice if she looked like a natural person who is hard to understand, and at first glance, she looks like a sarcastic person."

"Isn't it a Gu Sheng?"

She gave up on following, becoming a bit complaining, and when Leorio pointed out the contradiction between his first impression and what she said, Sora said with a look of heartfelt indifference.

"I was excited the day I summoned Karna, I wanted to be friends instead of Master and Servant, so when I said 'Let's eat together! Is there anything Karna wants to eat?' Why would you do that? Such a meaningless thing? Eat whatever you want to eat."

"Are you two speaking the same language?!"

Just hearing Karna's answer, some people's faces twisted with disgust, but after hearing Sora's translation, Leorio rushed in as a representative. Words are not enough.

"I thought so too…… would this person be cursed if he didn't combine phrases so short that the meaning is the opposite? I would look like a very annoying person because I am someone who would go bang-bang-bang without hesitation or reservation."

"But in reality, he has no ulterior motives, only good intentions, so once you get used to it, it will be automatically translated in the brain, which instead eases this speechless clumsiness."

"Perhaps only you can get along with me to this extent."

Kurapika immediately interrupted Sora's words, and everyone except Sora nodded deeply.

Actually, even if you say that as soon as you open your mouth, you can go with the flow, even if you say that getting angry is troublesome, and you basically don't get angry at yourself, you still forcibly drag it into your own rhythm. Like Sora, seeing through your true feelings, sensitive.

Sora himself smiled and said: "Maybe it's an apartment." The four people who didn't know the "flat" person naturally disapproved, but if it were the guys from the Clock Tower, that level would make them shudder, "The superman's mentality collapsed!?" It is definitely Karna.

"However, he is a good person, and he is the Servant you are proud of, right? I am too lazy as a Magician, although I am in a state where I cannot exert my true strength, don't say 'don't blame me at all', but try your best to do well for me. However, even if I warned you about my recklessness, you still respected my intentions and wishes and went out with me."

"However, because I am a born warrior, there were several times when a worthy enemy appeared, and I almost forgot how to adjust, and my heart trembled. It's just that this time, I'm glad I am Hebo."

"In the original work, the half-brother was also summoned as a Servant, so when the sibling quarrel started, I seriously thought the town would be burned down. Even if my brother is an enemy, he is not the mastermind. Kana?"

If you know the original "Mahabharata", or if you look at the person himself, Sora would talk about the situation with a smile. No one knows if it is fortunate that no one could understand that they were non-standard Heroic Spirits, enough to be placed here.

However, seeing Sora's happy face, a face of true happiness and joy, talking about his Servant and the person named "Karna" with nostalgia, Gon listened innocently and happily.

Although I don't like saying "I love you" to anyone other than myself in front of me, that person is not an object I want to protect, but a "reliable person who protects me." Even for Leorio, it is clear that he doesn't like talking about it very much.

However, because Sora is sensitive enough to make both of them want to vomit sugar, and Sora, who has always been pampering them, might really miss the Servant, want to brag, or perhaps deliberately neglected it for some reason? With ulterior motives? Without doing any follow-up, he touched the back of his right hand with the fingertips of his left hand while speaking.

"……Even if I fell after being sucked into something in another dimension, Mr. Karna grabbed my hand without hesitation. He gave me his armor and tried to protect me."

"——Mr. Karna didn't have any expectations of me, but even if I had no value, he still protected me. It is truly a sample of guusei."

My back of the hand is now missing the Command Spell bond, Sora stared at where it was and said.

The three moves all stuck to the end, because he served me so faithfully that I didn't even need to use the Command Spell.

Using the three moves together, she said: "Karna, return to the throne!!"

"... I am the one who let myself live. Perhaps it is because you protected me."

"That is why, even if I am meaningless, even if I am worthless, in any world, I cannot die dissatisfied."

Sora looked at the blue sky and announced with a smile.

Even your eyes should be proud that you are still alive now.

Looking at the main storyline, it is clear that the Holy Grail War that Kong Sang participated in is a bizarre counterfeit containing elements of the HF route.

The reason I say I cannot write it is because by the time I reached volume 3, the strange fake was still in a state of merely creating mysteries, so I could not write it because there was too much information.

Additionally, if I were to write it, I think it would be a complete ensemble drama, so whether I have the energy to write it is a mystery.

Seriously, do not expect this Sixth Holy Grail War. I am just delusional right now, so I have no plans to write it properly.

I will write down the settings decided so far in the activity report, so if you are interested, please check there.

Sora's Servant is the Charity Hero from (4).

I was impressed by the Servant who revived the Master in CCC and Apocrypha, so I thought Sora could be convincing thanks to him, which is why I decided on him.

... Well, I mainly wanted to have him say, "There is light in my eyes for the time being."

I'm sorry, Karna. I cannot forget how I laughed at that CCC.

Furthermore, there is no "plan" for Karna to appear in the main storyline, but there is a "possibility."

Well, it should be the Throne Succession Front, so even if it is decided, there is still a long way to go.