Police Station.
Although it was deep into the night, the lights in the superintendent's office were still on.
A man named Orlando Reeve sat expressionlessly behind a large desk.
He sat with his eyes closed, as if constantly regulating his breathing and suppressing the violent pounding of his heart.
Just thirty minutes earlier he had received an emergency combat report from the northern desert region.
For the police chief who wielded immense power in Snowfield City and had overcome countless difficulties, this information brought an unprecedented sense of lost control.
The intelligence report was so absurd it sounded like fantasy. The grand battle between the Hero King Gilgamesh and the divine weapon Enkidu had ended with both sides retreating because of the intervention of a mysterious woman!
"Ahaha~ This is truly an unimaginably perfect script! Better than Shakespeare's tragedies, isn't it?"
A clear, melodious yet somewhat sickly laugh came from the hands-free speakerphone.
"That blue-haired goddess who suddenly appeared was really charming! I wanted my Caster to rush onto the stage and enjoy the fun with her, but he got scared and hid in his workshop, flatly refusing my orders!"
Listening to Francesca's mischievous laughter, Orlando took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes, filled with solemn determination.
"Francesca, I'm surprised you still have the brainpower to joke around."
His voice was extremely low. "Matou Yuu… adopted son of the Matou family from Fuyuki City, disciple of Lord El-Melloi II at the Clock Tower. His magical achievements during his student days were nothing remarkable."
Orlando paused, stared at the young man's photograph on the desk, and voiced the fatal question that had plagued him all night.
"But why… can a mere human magus defy the absolute laws of the Holy Grail and summon a true God?"
"Or… is that woman whom even Gilgamesh had to yield to—not actually a god?"
"Who knows?" The reply from the other end of the line remained lively and cheerful. "Because the real Holy Grail War has only just begun, after all."
In a luxurious suite, Francesca chuckled softly.
She rolled comfortably on a large velvet round bed. Her silk nightgown slipped along her alluring curves, revealing translucent delicate skin and a slender, supple waist.
She lay lazily like a cat at the edge of the bed, gently swinging her slender white legs in the air. Her crossed legs traced an astonishingly beautiful curve.
Her youthful, innocent yet charming face held eyes sparkling with extreme madness and pleasure.
"Tonight's commotion was too loud. It must have woken all the rats and Masters hiding in the shadows… No need to worry. Impatient fools who want to test that handsome young man will definitely appear."
She stuck out her pink tongue tip and licked her lips. "Ah… I really want to meet him soon. But as a proper mastermind, not being able to appear in the first act makes this show so boring~"
Hearing this, Orlando displayed a cold smile. "Bored? Or are you afraid that blue-haired goddess has set her sights on you and you'll turn to ash?"
"Hahahaha…"
Francesca burst into uncontrollable laughter, tilted her head back to gaze at the magnificent chandelier above, and said with shining eyes, "Don't be in such a hurry, Orlando. That self-important Faldeus has only just begun the true Heroic Spirit summoning."
"At the very least… the show can only truly begin once all the actors have taken the stage, right?"
…
At the same time.
Deep in Snowfield City, in a secluded underground chamber, Faldeus stood silently before a massive summoning circle.
The magic circle, drawn with mercury and monster blood, now emitted a strange, intense dark-blue light.
Unlike previous Holy Grail Wars, the American government had deliberately created a flawed Fake Grail to steal the miracle of Fuyuki City. At present, only incomplete Fake Servants could be summoned.
Only when the Fake Holy Grail War intensified sufficiently and absorbed enough magic power would the true Holy Grail system activate, bringing forth "True Servants."
This was a nested deception—using the Fake Holy Grail War as a sacrifice to manifest the true Holy Grail.
This was Faldeus's final plan, hatched in collusion with the American Mage's Association.
Tonight, the near-catastrophic clash between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, combined with the magic tsunami triggered by the unknown goddess's descent, had instantly satisfied the Holy Grail system's magical threshold!
Now the true Holy Grail system had awakened.
Faldeus stared at the magic circle, his eyes burning with unconcealed passion and anticipation.
Even he, the mastermind of the Holy Grail War, had no idea what kind of existence he was about to summon.
He had intended to exploit the unique rules of the Assassin class and prepared no relic.
According to the underlying logic of the Fuyuki Holy Grail, without the interference of a specific relic, the Assassin class would inevitably summon one of the past Hassan-i-Sabbah.
"Come… Leader of the Assassins' Order, become America's blade."
He finished chanting the final spell in a low voice.
BOOM—!
The magic circle blazed with dazzling light. A violent magical storm swept through the entire underground chamber.
However, when the light dimmed and the smoke cleared, Faldeus stood dumbfounded.
The center of the magic circle was empty. There was no sign of any Servant.
"Failed?" Faldeus frowned, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
After a moment he sighed.
Even though he had performed a forced summoning beyond the Holy Grail's level, the Grail's magic reserves still didn't seem stable enough…
The man shook his head, turned away, and prepared to leave the chamber to re-examine the procedure.
But just as he turned—
An indescribable chill shot up his spine without warning, reaching the top of his head.
It was not a drop in temperature, but a "deadly cold" that trapped life in the presence of an absolutely superior existence.
Faldeus's hair stood on end. Goosebumps covered his entire body.
In that instant his heart felt as if it had stopped beating.
The sensation was… as if something indescribably terrifying now stood behind him.
Clang!
Then, in a daze, he felt as though he heard a heavy, desolate sound—like an evening bell announcing the end of life.
Faldeus stiffly turned his neck with great difficulty and looked behind him.
His pupils contracted to their limits.
In the dark corner where nothing had been before, two eerie blue flames quietly appeared.
Beneath a skull mask, eyes that silently watched the birth and death of all things in the world… the eyes of judgment… lurked.
…