Dark, damp, and muggy, the surrounding air was filled with an uncomfortable smell, as if they had crawled into the stomach of some monster.
This was Surtr’s first impression of the Great Cavern.
It looked like a perfect hiding spot for a final boss.
Passing through a moss-covered tunnel, the two first arrived at a spacious underground area.
It wasn’t the Great Cavern itself; Surtr guessed this was probably where Saber Alter and Medusa fought in the Fate/hollow ataraxia route.
It could be considered a scenic spot of sorts.
Could this be considered a holy land pilgrimage?
Or rather, she had been on a pilgrimage from the moment she arrived in Fuyuki.
Without stopping, the two continued forward, the tunnel gradually narrowing.
“Master, you seem to know a lot about the Holy Grail War.”
Perhaps finding the silence too oppressive, Medea suddenly spoke up.
“I only know about its current state. When it comes to professional knowledge, I’m completely clueless.”
“Then, what is the wish you want to grant with the Holy Grail?”
“I don’t really have a wish to entrust to the Holy Grail. If I had to say, I want to use the Holy Grail to grant other people’s wishes.”
Surtr didn’t hide it; it wasn’t something that needed to be hidden anyway.
Medea paused in her tracks, her tone filled with disbelief.
“Are you joking?”
Could her Master be a saint?
She didn’t seem like one.
Although she had never met one, she doubted a saint would stand in front of a mirror for half an hour.
“It’s true.”
“Just think of it as me gaining power by granting others’ wishes. But since my own ability is lacking, I want to use the Holy Grail to take a shortcut.”
Surtr explained.
“I see.”
As a magus from the Age of Gods, Medea was quite knowledgeable.
She had heard of magi who obtained a power called miracles by helping others grant their wishes.
Perhaps her own Master was the same.
“I’ve told you my wish, now it’s your turn.”
A real conversation requires back-and-forth, though she actually already knew the answer.
“[Client: Medea]”
“[Quest: Return to her homeland]”
“[Rewards: Primogems × 1500, Random Reward × 3]”
The other party’s wish had triggered immediately after she completed the first quest, looking very much like a chain quest.
Time passed as they conversed, and they were gradually approaching the end of this journey.
After walking a few dozen more steps, the space suddenly opened up.
Barring any surprises, that should be the center of the ritual.
The place where Justeaze became the grail.
Surtr walked in front, holding Lævateinn defensively before her.
Although she didn’t sense any danger here, it was still better to be cautious in a place that looked so eerie.
“Don’t worry, Master. She shouldn’t be awake yet, so there is no need to be so vigilant.”
Medea let out a soft chuckle.
“Even though I only told you about the pollution last night, why does it feel like you are so familiar with all of this?”
“I still have some understanding of magecraft. It isn’t difficult to make deductions based on a few pieces of information.”
In the end, it was indeed a false alarm.
Even after the two of them arrived right beneath the stone pillar, nothing happened.
Relaxing slightly, Surtr walked in a circle around the stone pillar, but other than a general feeling that something was off, she couldn’t see anything.
She did have some knowledge of magecraft in her head, but it was only the most superficial application.
After all, to a giant, how could magecraft ever compare to using their own sword?
If Medea was a national academician, then Surtr had only just graduated from elementary school.
For this trip down, she had already naturally cast herself in the role of Medea’s bodyguard.
Medea paced near the stone pillar, her staff occasionally poking into the ground as if she were investigating something.
The wait was boring.
It was like sending a soldier to do experiments with a scientist; other than carrying things around, there was nothing they could do.
She didn’t even have anything to carry, as Medea could easily handle it all on her own.
Surtr could only amuse herself with Lævateinn during this time.
In her perception, the sword did indeed possess a hazy consciousness, though it wasn’t very active and seemed somewhat confused.
If she referred to the original Surtr’s lore, it should contain a fragment of the Fire Demon.
Considering her dreams, it was probably a fragment of the Fire Giant.
In fact, a large portion of Surtr’s current power also came from the sword in her hand.
Just like a Servant’s Noble Phantasm.
She just didn’t know what the price was; she didn’t really believe in free lunches.
Her feelings were somewhat complicated.
However, considering she would leave this world after the Holy Grail War, she cast this bit of worry to the back of her mind.
Even a Fire Giant couldn’t cross dimensions to capture her, right?
While she was lost in thought, a black-and-red magic circle, centered around the stone pillar, spread out to Surtr’s feet.
“Medea?”
Thinking that something had gone out of control, Miss Surtr almost jumped out of her skin.
She looked over at Medea, and only relaxed after seeing that nothing was amiss.
It was likely a normal occurrence.
Medea spoke to reassure her, but her tone was visibly serious.
“Alright, any results then?”
Surtr asked.
“Yes. The purification itself isn’t difficult. Although an extreme concept like ‘all the evils of the world’ is powerful, its weaknesses are also very obvious.”
Medea nodded first, then added,
“But the concept of ‘all the evils of the world’ has already mixed with the entire Holy Grail ritual, causing a fundamental deterioration in the ritual itself.”
“It’s like a cup of contaminated water; not only is the water dirty, but even the container itself has been polluted.”
“I need more data on this ritual.”
Medea stated her requirement.
The problem was quite serious, but it wasn’t to the point of being unsolvable.
It was just that the Holy Grail ritual was a bit too massive.
Considering time and efficiency, it would be best if there were ready-made data.
“Data, huh… I certainly don’t have any here. The data on the Holy Grail War is basically all with the Three Founding Families.”
Surtr looked up in thought.
If they wanted it, they could either borrow it or…
Steal it.
Considering that such a thing couldn’t possibly be lent out, there was really only one choice.
“Looks like our primary targets from now on will be the Three Founding Families.”
Einzbern, Tohsaka, Matou…
since they were hostile to each other anyway, Surtr felt no guilt whatsoever about robbing them.
Judging by her personal likes and dislikes, Surtr decided to make the Matou Family her first target.
And crush some bugs while she was at it.
If judged by modern moral standards, mages were basically the kind of group where killing them all might hit an innocent, but killing nine out of ten would definitely leave some guilty ones alive.
Especially for an old worm like him who would resort to any means just to stay alive, it would be downright unreasonable if the Fuyuki Police Station didn’t award her a commendation banner for taking him out.
“Do you need anything else besides data?”
Surtr asked again.
“Considering that I need to set up a large-scale ritual, I would like some magecraft materials.”
Mm, good, another item added to the robbery list.
“Also, besides the greater grail, there should be a lesser grail as well. We’d best get our hands on it.”
As expected of Medea; after looking around for just a short while, she already knew there was a lesser grail.
“I know where that lesser grail is, but’she’ might be a bit different from what you think.”
“She?”
Medea noticed Surtr’s choice of word.
Could this lesser grail actually be female?