358 The Truth

"It's you... but how is this possible?"

Jeanne exclaimed in surprise as she watched the figure gradually approaching. She seemed to have discovered something extremely unbelievable, causing her to draw in a sharp breath, her face showing evident astonishment.

"Greetings, Your Excellency La Pucelle."

Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, dressed in the attire of an ancient samurai, halted about ten meters away. It was a distance safe enough for both him and Jeanne.

"My name is Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, and I am also the Master of Assassin of Red in this Holy Grail War."

"I never imagined that in this Holy Grail War, there would be a tenth Servant appearing, and a Ruler at that..." Jeanne breathed deeply as if trying to express her amazement and shock. "If I'm not mistaken, you should be the Ruler summoned in the previous Holy Grail War held in Fuyuki City, right?"

Shirou remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly.

As Jeanne had said, he was indeed one of the participants in the previous Holy Grail War, the Third Holy Grail War.

However, unlike Jeanne, though his class was Ruler, who was meant to be an impartial party who regulated the progress of the Holy Grail War and summoned by the Holy Grail itself, he was a Servant summoned by the Einzbern family to compete for the Holy Grail. Though he didn't emerge victorious in that war, he had managed to come into contact with the Greater Grail and incarnated as a result, surviving until the present day.

Nevertheless, all of this explained Jeanne's recent confusion about why she got summoned not in a normal way but in a manner of possession.

Upon careful consideration, it became clear that if the Holy Grail deemed fourteen Masters would create chaos, then it should prioritize summoning a Ruler in the correct and proper form.

After all, the risks and inconveniences of possessing the body of a normal human were severe. From any perspective, it was not a good choice to make.

And now, the answer stood before Jeanne.

Typically, in a Holy Grail War, it would be impossible for two Rulers to exist simultaneously. Yet, this 'impossibility' had actually occurred.

No one would have imagined that someone could summon a Ruler outside the seven standard classes. On top of that, this Ruler would successfully incarnate and gain a human body with the Holy Grail's help, survive until the current Great Holy Grail War, and become one of its participants.

Due to the peculiar nature of this Great Holy Grail War, the Holy Grail had no choice but to summon another Ruler.

For all these conditions to be met was an incredible twist of fate in itself. If any one of them had not been met, such an extraordinary event would never have occurred.

Indeed, it was akin to pulling ten SSRs in a row, though theoretically possible, it was virtually unheard of. Even if it did occur, it would likely be suspected of being photoshopped, cheating, or a bug.

Needless to say, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had become a bug in the system of the Holy Grail War. It was doubtful that even the original creators of this system would have foreseen such an unexpected event.

It was because of this bug that the perception of the Holy Grail had become confused. This confusion led to Jeanne's unusual form of manifestation as a Servant.

Shirou's aim to avoid Jeanne altogether, even to eliminate her, wasn't solely because she held the two command spells for each Servant, but also because she was a Ruler like himself.

One of the privileges of being a Ruler was possessing the unique class skill known as 'True Name Discernment'.

That skill could reveal a Servant's true name and status, even if Shirou had incarnated and gained a body like a normal human. Once Jeanne made eye contact with him, his plans would be completely disrupted.

"I finally understand now why I was summoned..." Jeanne said, clutching her holy flag tightly, her violet eyes fixed unwaveringly on Shirou. "All this time, the sense of warning I felt from the Lord was directed at you, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada."

"Though I'm not denying this fact, there's something I want to clarify..." Shirou chuckled helplessly. "I never intended to defy the Lord. I just wanted to fulfill my lifelong dream."

"Your dream?" Jeanne's eyebrows furrowed. "What exactly do you want?"

She was certain that Shirou wouldn't risk so much solely for personal gain. Servants capable of becoming Rulers meant they weren't entirely devoid of desires but rather pursued beliefs or ideals, something beyond the ordinary. Needless to say, this also implied that once they achieved their goals, it could lead to unpredictable consequences.

Jeanne pondered silently and thought that perhaps the reason the Holy Grail summoned her was to prevent Shirou from achieving his so-called dream.

Facing Jeanne's question, Shirou remained silent for a while before finally answering.

"What if I told you I'm doing it to save humanity?"

"Save... humanity?" Jeanne was taken aback since his answer truly surprised her.

"If it were before, I might have had the patience to explain it to you slowly, but I'm sorry, we don't have much time..." Shirou sighed regretfully, glancing at the dawn breaking on the distant horizon. "Anyway, I've given up on that dream now. I have more important things to do now."

Upon hearing that, Jeanne furrowed her brow tightly, and a hint of wariness appeared in her eyes.

She wasn't naive.

Confronting a Ruler with such depth of intelligence and tactical thinking, she held strong vigilance, even toward what he said, only half-believing.

Having experienced the world for decades, Shirou clearly sensed Jeanne's hostility, but he didn't care.

 "I'm not here to cause you trouble. I'm here to assist Rider of Black and Archer of Black in eliminating that Beast." Shirou said calmly, pointing toward the black velvet curtain behind her.

Jeanne glanced at the black velvet curtain behind her, then turned to Shirou.

"How do you plan to do that?"

Hearing her question, Shirou raised his hands, each wrapped in magic circles of different colors.

"This is my Noble Phantasm, 'Right Hand - Evil Eater' and 'Left Hand - Xanadu Matrix'."

Shirou explained patiently, revealing his strongest Noble Phantasm without hesitation.

"It is a Noble Phantasm derived from my legend of the 'child of miracle' that has the ability to create miracles itself. It can connect to any Thaumaturgical Foundation, allowing the use of any magecraft."

Hearing his explanation, Jeanne frowned, pondering for a moment, then widened her eyes in an instant.

"Wait, are you suggesting that..."

"To defeat a Beast, it must be done by Grand Servants themselves." Shirou nodded calmly. "And what I intend to do is use this Noble Phantasm to connect to the Greater Grail and perform the ultimate magecraft—Ritual: Heroic Spirit Summon."

As mentioned earlier, the Holy Grail War was a summoning ritual originating from the world's summoning ritual known as 'Ritual: Heroic Spirit Summon'.

The true purpose of this ritual was to summon humanity's strongest seven Heroic Spirits, known as 'Grand Servants', to fight against a single powerful enemy, the great calamity known as 'Beast'.

If Shirou could really use this ultimate magecraft, then there was indeed a great chance of defeating the Beast, as the Counter Force would surely cooperate with him wholeheartedly in such a scenario.

However, one crucial question remained in Jeanne's mind.

Could this man, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, truly be trusted?