Chapter 582

The Holy Grail War is a battle to seize the wish-granting machine of universal miracles.

The Holy Grail spans multiversal timelines to select suitable Masters, who summon Servants as familiars to fight.

Heroes from every universe, every timeline, every planet, every nation answer the mage's call and slaughter one another across the infinite battlefield until only one group remains, gathering enough Sacred Signs to complete the sacrifice to the Holy Grail.

This is the Holy Grail War.

The so-called Holy Grail originates from a miraculous relic left behind in Christian legend.

Though it is unknown whether this Holy Grail is the same as the one that once held the blood of the divine, there is no doubt that the power spanning countless multiversal timelines can fulfill any wish of its holder!

But ownership is limited to only seven slots.

That is, seven Servants at the peak of their attributes, along with their Masters, must become the final victors.

"This is a secret known only to a handful of mages; had I not seen records of it in the forbidden archives of Kamar-Taj, I would have thought it merely a legend."

Under the sunset, Shi Difen walked through the streets of New York, gazing at the familiar and nostalgic modern landscape for a long while: "So you understand now, Master—we have earned the right to achieve miracles."

"Don't call me Master, Shi Difen. When did you start enjoying this kind of roleplay?"

Lou Baiyu spoke with dissatisfaction, probing: "Call me by my name."

Shi Difen stopped walking, turned back, and looked at her with slight confusion: "Uh, Master… do we even know each other?"

"What are you joking about?" Lou Baiyu frowned, flustered: "Half an hour ago you said you'd love me forever!"

Shi Difen raised his eyebrows, visibly startled:

"Sorry… I need to explain this again: participants come from all timelines and universes."

"Especially for Servants, time and universe hold no meaning—I am not the Shi Difen you know, but one from a parallel universe."

"In this parallel universe, you didn't stay with Christine?"

He glanced at Lou Baiyu, then studied the Ring of Suspension in her hand, lost in thought.

"You broke up years ago!" Lou Baiyu frowned, unable to accept it.

As the Supreme Sorceress of another dimension, she naturally understood the concept of parallel universes, but seeing this Shi Difen—similar yet not the same—she could not suppress a surge of regret and sorrow.

"The runes carved on this ring are the Holy Grail ritual—looks like it's my own handwriting."

Shi Difen stared at the Ring of Suspension: "Now I understand why those people looked at me so unfriendly. May I ask—what happened to the other me?"

"He died. To protect our retreat, he was killed by the Three Mothers you defeated." Lou Baiyu's voice sank.

"Sorry, but Shi Difen would want you to pull yourself together. Though… it's strange for me to say this."

Shi Difen noticed her gaze, felt awkward, and shifted his eyes away, changing the subject: "Lou Baiyu, do you have a wish?"

Lou Baiyu's gaze grew resolute: "Resurrect Shi Difen."

Shi Difen: "."

"What about you? Parallel-universe Shi Difen?" Lou Baiyu asked, puzzled: "You're already so powerful…"

"To be with Christine." Shi Difen answered without hesitation.

Lou Baiyu: "."

The atmosphere turned subtly strange; the two stared at each other, sensing an unspoken oddness.

Not far away, four Reincarnators closely following them communicated internally through a psychic channel.

【Lou Baiyu: "Caster, the Dark Strange Doctor—we'd never stand a chance against a Servant of this caliber during past missions."】

【Eleanor: "Is that the point?! The point is—why is there a Holy Grail War in the Marvel Universe?!"】

【Berant: "This looks like we got lost, right?!"】

【Nanayashiki Shigeki: "We didn't get lost—my Pure Eye has fully restored its Death-Seeing function."】

Instantly, the other three Reincarnators turned their gazes sharply toward the young man wearing black-rimmed glasses, flooding the psychic channel with a wall of question marks.

All things originate from the Source; where there is birth, there must be end—the end of things is called "Death."

After experiencing death twice, Nanayashiki Shigeki became linked to the Source; his Death-Seeing Eye fused with his brain matter, allowing him to directly perceive Death.

Therefore, for the Death-Seeing Eye to fully manifest its power,

it must be connected to the Source.

"You're kidding…" Eleanor stood frozen, mouth agape.

Is this still Marvel?!

Did these two franchises really crossover, or did Type-Moon get acquired?!

"It's not just restored," Nanayashiki Shigeki removed his glasses, revealing his deep, demonic blue eyes: "The burden is far heavier than before—at least ten times stronger…"

As he spoke, he put on the "Eye of Death" glasses—he was not yet accustomed to this level of strain.

He could now see more points and lines than ever before.

"Your eyes are fascinating." Shi Difen glanced at the Reincarnator's attire and asked: "Are you mages from Kamar-Taj?"

He had sensed the instant scrutiny from those eyes.

"They are all comrades who fought alongside Shi Difen and me against the Three Mothers," Lou Baiyu said.

"You might be able to help, but you have no wish-granting opportunity." Shi Difen paused, then asked: "Shall I send you back?"

"We want to help Lou Baiyu fulfill her wish—to resurrect the other Shi Difen!" Eleanor quickly spoke: "He saved us many times!"

It was true.

Shi Difen's trust in these individuals rose slightly; he was about to speak when he suddenly turned toward the city center.

"It seems someone can't wait until nightfall…"

The sky was covered by a flood of metal—a vast army of robots.

They blotted out the last rays of the setting sun, casting the earth under a chilling shadow.

The scale of this robotic army seemed the ultimate expression of future industrial technology, and among them stood a unique figure wielding a long spear, six gems embedded in his chest.

He stood out sharply in the night.

"Even a crazy robot can become a Servant—I guess he might be a Berserker?" Shi Difen raised an eyebrow.

"Enemy?" Klia summoned two purple magical energy orbs in her palms.

"Don't rush." Shi Difen glanced around, snapped his fingers, and said, "The participants in this Holy Grail War aren't just us."

In the instant their forms vanished, the roar of motorcycles and bellowing cries filled the sky.

A flaming motorcycle chariot ridden by a burning skeletal knight swung his iron chain; the green giant with a white beard swung his fists, leaping from the earth toward the dense steel tide.

The Holy Grail War officially began.

【Eleanor: Is that Infinite Ultron?】

【Lou Baiyu: It looks like it】

Is it still possible to abandon the mission and turn back?

The sun blazed overhead, sand swept across the sky, and a lone vehicle slowly trudged along a nearly invisible trail.

"Buddy, I assume you know the movie being filmed right now is 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' right?"

"Do you think we have the budget to pay Warner Bros.?! Or do you think Disney has enough money to buy Warner Bros.?!?"

"If they actually had that kind of cash, I just want them to buy Sony ASAP—you have no idea how much I want to play with Peter. Not Diabetic Man, the one who sprinkles ash in your eyes. Well, even that guy, I can't mess with."

From a battered pickup truck, nonstop chatter spilled out from beneath a red mask.

As he cursed, he kept glancing every few seconds at the man in a trench coat smoking in the back seat; beside him, Logan in his yellow spandex had veins bulging, his hands gripping the steering wheel slowly extending claws.

"No smoking in the car—that's you, you bastard!!!" Deadpool leaned out, reached out his right hand, and knocked the cigarette from the trench coat man's fingers.

"You placed a magical mark inside my body—I liked you so much, and now I'm done with you!!!"

"The point I'm making is, even if this is the Void, a dumping ground for garbage from every universe and timeline, you absolutely shouldn't be here!"

"Keanu Reeves!"

"I'm John Constantine, you bastard." Constantine took a deep breath, grimacing with weary frustration as he dragged his hand across his face, smearing oil and sweat.

"If I hadn't been forced to use a teleportation spell on you back then, do you think I'd want to be stuck with you, you piece of trash?!?"

"Damn it, this shitty place, your goddamn mouth that needs sewing shut."

"Fuck—!"

Constantine slammed his fist against the seat in agitation.

Heat waves rolled across the desert surface; the vehicle seemed to glide through steaming air, and Deadpool's incessant mouth made the already stifling cabin even more oppressive.

"You're right—he's definitely a bastard and a trashbag." Logan glanced in the rearview mirror and silently retracted his claws.

At least this guy could understand him.

Deadpool glanced at Logan, then turned and pulled out a pistol, aiming it at John, and disengaged the safety.

"We only welcome Kryptonian Wolverine. Your setup clashes with Doctor Strange. Get the hell back where you came from and don't bring trouble over here!"

"Back? I'd rather die here."

Sssssss—!

Bang—!

BANG!!!

As the screech of brakes rang out, the gunshot echoed simultaneously, followed by the crash of colliding objects.

Constantine stared at the smoking leather seat and the bullet hole beside his ear, his eyelid twitching.

Deadpool rubbed his head and turned to look at the driver, Logan, asking:

"You trying to get us sued by Warner Bros.?"

"We hit someone." Logan ignored Deadpool, staring ahead.

In the desert landscape, incongruous yet fused into place, a silver-haired girl lay on the ground.

"Shit," Deadpool cursed.

But within seconds, the girl on the ground slowly pushed herself up, gripping the trunk of a tree, a crowbar in hand, staring at the vehicle.

Long silver-white hair, an extra-long cowlick, green eyes—her beautiful, cute face twisted in pain.

She walked slowly to the vehicle, knocked on the door, and said, "Forget the medical fees—can I hitch a ride?"

"Of course, Lady~" Deadpool cupped his head and called to Logan behind him:

"Driver, open the door quick."

"Who are you?" Logan asked warily. "How did you suddenly pop out of the ground?"

"Nyaa-ko."

Against all logic, Logan, after a momentary daze, unlocked the rear door and let her in.

"What a pain—no service spirit at all," Nyaa-ko complained from the back seat.

"Since I'm not a Reincarnator, I can't use the deployment system. By the way, do you know how to get out of here?"

"Based on the bootleg movies I've seen, we can go find Cassandra next." Deadpool said.

The car resumed driving, but this time, Deadpool left Constantine alone and turned his attention to the new passenger.

He spoke one sentence; Nyaa-ko echoed each one—they chatted merrily, laughing and joking.

Except Logan, who glanced in the rearview mirror with a strange expression.

Why the hell had he just let this unknown girl get in?

"How did you end up here?" Logan asked.

"Me?" Nyaa-ko propped her feet on the front seat. "I wasn't dumped here—I came on my own."

"You came to this hellhole yourself?" Deadpool exclaimed.

"There aren't even any teenage boys here."

"What can I do?" Nyaa-ko sighed, her cowlick drooping.

"Door-to-door service is like this—my boss always has terrible sleep, so I have to play lullaby music for him."

She pulled out a black flute, her expression one of reluctant resignation.

"Maybe I can also find him a few sleep companions to keep him asleep forever."

She pulled out a crowbar from nowhere again, assuming a swinging pose: "This is for the peace of the Void—perfectly fitting for a superhero!"

"Then you must be the new character coming soon."

Deadpool suddenly understood and said: "Looks like they've finally abandoned political correctness and started targeting otaku markets."

Nyaa-ko found Deadpool's words hilarious; she laughed heartily for a moment, then turned to the side, squinting and asking:

"By the way, big brother, who are you? Have you ever appeared on the big screen?"

Since Nyaa-ko got in the car, Constantine had grown unnaturally quiet, even pulling his legs up and pressing himself as far as possible toward the edge of the seat.

Constantine clutched the burning Spear of Destiny in his arms, his eyes blank, then blinked at Deadpool.

"Ignore him."

Deadpool made a gesture of whispering, which relieved Constantine.

"This guy slipped in from DC. Even though our comics had crossovers in the last world, the honeymoon's long over."

"DC?" Nyaa-ko's antennae twitched: "Like Superman and Batman?"

"That one," Deadpool whispered, ignoring Constantine's frantic blinking:

"Watch out for this winking John Constantine—he's probably already fantasizing about how to sleep with you."

"His God fell, so he came here to seek refuge. You'd better wear a gas mask—who knows what reverse virus this refugee might carry?"

Reverse

Fallen?

Nyaa-ko's antennae slowly rose upright, like a satellite dish.

Her smile stiffened; after a few seconds of silence, she asked: "The World-Eater?"

"Oh my god, you know?!" Deadpool gasped, covering his mouth.

"..." Nyaa-ko's lips widened slightly; she turned to Constantine, voice trembling: "Your God... and the Fallen God... are the same?"

Constantine's blank expression vanished; he nodded slowly, with great difficulty.

"Really?"

"Heaven and Hell are already in chaos."

The car kept driving, Deadpool kept talking—but this time...

"He is the First Firmament of this world," Nyaa-ko said slowly, turning her head to Deadpool after a long silence: "He has arrived."

"..."

Deadpool fell utterly silent.

He slowly turned and sat back down in the passenger seat, sitting upright; after a moment, he fastened his seatbelt.

No one spoke for the rest of the ride.