Chapter 249: Attempt to Summon

Late at night, moonlight was blocked by thick clouds; only scattered specks of light leaked through the broken window into the room.

This is an old house that has long been uninhabited.

On the floor, a dark‑red liquid—whether paint or something else—had been used to draw a crooked pattern that faintly resembled a summoning circle.

Beside the diagram, a young man with greasy hair and a wild, unfocused gaze knelt on the floor, muttering to the diagram and occasionally letting out a nervous, low laugh.

He was one of the Masters in this Holy Grail War, having summoned a Caster‑class Servant, but clearly his mental state and behavior were more like a berserker than his Servant's.

In the corner, a boy who looked just over ten was bound with rough rope, a rag stuffed in his mouth, already half‑unconscious from fear and exhaustion.

This was one of the "materials" the man had snatched on a whim to complete a certain "ritual."

The man was utterly lost in his own world and failed to notice a gray figure slip silently through the broken window like a ghost, landing without stirring a speck of dust.

A Xing stood in the shadows, her golden eyes calmly sweeping over the scene inside: the madman, the summoning circle on the floor, and the bound boy.

Her gaze lingered on the boy for a second, confirming he was still alive—his breathing weak but steady—then she shifted her focus back to the man.

(Objective: seize the Command Spell, obtain Master Qualification.)

(Secondary: deal with any potential threat.)

A Xing acted without the slightest hesitation.

She sprang like a leopard that had been coiling for power, bursting from the shadows in a blur of gray so fast only a gray afterimage remained!

The man heard the wind behind him and turned his head in a dazed, frenzied motion——

Thud!

A dull thump.

A Xing's bat struck the man's occiput with precise accuracy.

The man couldn't even cry out before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed limp to the floor, the dagger he'd been clutching clanging to the ground.

Without sparing a glance at the fallen man, A Xing walked straight to him, crouched, and seized his left hand.

On the back of his hand, three vivid red Command Spells stood out starkly in the dim light.

A Xing extended her right hand, palm covering it.

A few seconds later.

The Command Spells on the man's hand vanished.

A Xing turned over her left hand—on her pale hand‑back, three fresh Command Spells slowly surfaced.

She nodded in satisfaction, a flicker of ease passing through her golden eyes.

Then she rose, went to the unconscious boy, deftly untied the ropes with her bat, and gently patted his cheek.

The boy blinked open his eyes, saw A Xing's expressionless face, stared for a moment, then burst into a wail—but quickly, from overwhelming fright and weakness, fainted again.

A Xing: "…… "

She grabbed the boy's collar with one hand and placed him in a relatively clean corner of the wall.

Having done that, she finally turned her attention back to the summoning circle already drawn on the floor.

(Having seized the Caster Master's qualification… this summoning circle is now ownerless.)

(One can attempt to summon a Servant.)

A Xing approached the summoning circle, examined the dark‑red stains on the ground closely, and even leaned in to smell them.

(It's blood, mixed with other things—smells awful.)

She didn't know much about magic, but basic information about the "Holy Grail War Summoning Ritual" seemed to surface automatically in her mind.

(One needs to chant the incantation, pour in magical power, and establish a connection.)

A Xing thought for a moment.

She wasn't sure if she possessed "magical power," but she had something else—the energy of the Star Core.

(Let's give it a try.)

She lifted her left hand; the Command Spells grew slightly warm.

Her right hand gripped the bat, lightly tapping its tip against the edge of the summoning circle on the floor.

Then she closed her eyes, began recalling fragments of the summoning chant, and tried to mobilize her inner power, channeling it through the bat into the diagram beneath her feet.

"Proclaim—"

Her voice was calm, devoid of emotional inflection, as if she were reading a manual.

"Your body… heed my command; my fate rests upon your sword……"

The summoning circle beneath her feet, those dark‑red marks, began to glow with a dark red and faint gold light.

"If you are willing to follow this meaning… this law… then you ought to answer my summon……"

The light grew stronger; the diagram seemed to come alive, its lines twitching faintly.

"Entwined… the Three Great Word Spirits of Seven Days… the Self‑Restraint Wheel… arriving……"

A Xing wasn't entirely sure she'd chanted it correctly, but the diagram's response was genuine.

She could sense a vague presence answering the call, descending toward these coordinates.

"The… Guardian of the Scales——"

The final line of the incantation fell.

Hum——!!!

The summoning circle burst forth with light far more intense than any previous summoning!

It was not the usual gold or silver, nor the deep crimson of Chang Ye Yue's summoning, but a violet halo!

The light shot skyward, nearly overturning the dilapidated ceiling!

A Xing had to raise her arm to shield her eyes.

The light persisted for several seconds before gradually waning.

At the center of the formation diagram, a tall figure gradually became clear.

System Space

Heimu was staring at another split-screen—there Chang Ye Yue and San Yue Qi were displayed—making him feel a bit headache.

"System,"

She rubbed her forehead, 'You say, if we directly take Ying away, will it provoke Shi Chen's investigation? That guy is probably busy preparing for the Holy Grail War now, but his daughter is lost…'

"Probability is below 17%."

System floated beside, data streaming in its inverted-cross pupils, 'According to this worldline information, Yuanban Shichen has entrusted Ying to the Jiantong Family, considering it a good arrangement for his daughter. During the Holy Grail War, he is likely too busy to investigate the Jiantong Family's "internal affairs." Jiantong Zangyan has disappeared, and Jiantong Yanye will remain in a prolonged coma. From an outside view, the Jiantong Family is merely "temporarily closing its doors to guests."'

"Then that's good."

Heimu nodded, then turned his gaze to another screen—that was the abandoned civilian residence where A Xing was staying—'A Xing's side should also be wrapping up soon, right? She's obtained that murderer's Command Spell, now…'

Her words trailed off.

On the screen, the Summoning Circle before A Xing was bursting out an extremely abnormal light.

"This light effect…"

Heimu frowned slightly, 'How… this… looks somewhat familiar…'

System quickly analyzed: 'The energy spectrum is abnormal, not matching the regular Heroic Spirit Summoning Wave, and there are signs of high-intensity external interference. The interference source spectrum matches… Pleasure, with a confidence of 99.8%.'

Heimu's mouth twitched: 'Aha is intervening again?'

She watched the light on the screen gradually converge, a figure wearing a Witch Hat slowly taking shape.

When that figure became completely clear, revealing a delicate face extremely similar to Heimu's own——

Heimu's expression froze.

She blinked, then blinked again.

On the screen, the summoned Servant was also using those eyes visibly displeased to survey the surroundings, and finally his gaze fell on A Xing, who held a bat and had a blank expression.

Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Then——

"System."

Heimu's voice was soft and even, but listening closely one could detect a slight tremor (from anger), 'My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, right? The…… that A Xing summoned…… is it the Black Tower?'