273 Yggdmillennia

This was a war that could be considered accidental in every sense.

In the 1930s, on the eve of Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland, which ignited the flames of World War II, a battle between the past and the present erupted in the city of Japan known as Fuyuki.

Heroes from the ancient era and mages from the modern era, clashed with each other, fighting until the bitter end. However, the Holy Grail, a wish-granting machine serving as their wishes, unexpectedly crumbled along the way.

As a result, this war concluded at such a peculiar moment in time.

However, soon after, another unexpected event unfolded.

A mage from the Nazi army stumbled upon a wish-granting machine hidden in the caverns of Mount Enzou. Mobilizing the army, he attempted to plunder and relocate it.

Despite the combined efforts of the three founding families who built the Holy Grail War system to resist, they ultimately failed because of exhaustion from just finishing the Holy Grail War. This included a certain user of Crest Worm who had fallen into depravity in pursuit of immortality, meeting his end prematurely.

The Greater Holy Grail—or the Greater Grail for short, constructed by the combined power of the three founding families of Fuyuki, was thus seized by the Nazi army.

This war was not documented in any literature, left no visual records, and did not even exist in people's memories. Nevertheless, it was undoubtedly a brutal war between the military and mages.

Afterward, information about the Holy Grail War was disclosed, and 'imitations' of the Holy Grail War occurred worldwide, which made summoning Heroic Spirits became commonplace. However, due to the absence of the Greater Grail, the summoned Heroic Spirits in these imitations were limited in number and incapable of reaching the Root.

That being said, could the Nazis, with the Greater Grail in hand, freely rule the world?

Such a future, of course, did not come to pass.

In transit to Germany, the Greater Grail mysteriously vanished.

Was it forcibly taken by the Japanese Imperial Army, or did it fall victim to an attack by Soviet forces? No one knew.

Regardless, the Greater Grail, supposed to fulfill the dream of world unity, ended up disappearing mysteriously without falling into anyone's hands.

Leaders changed, associates were sent to the battlefield, and the Nazis, supposed to be the victor, had no idea about the fate of the Greater Grail.

In the end, no human who knew of the existence of the Greater Grail remained. The mage who affiliated with the Nazis, self-proclaimed as 'Yggdmillennia', also vanished without a trace.

The Greater Grail was gone.

The dreams or, one might say, obsessions of the three founding families dissipated like smoke, and Fuyuki welcomed the end of the war in a state of peace and stability.

To this day, the Nazis had become a thing of the past, and the fate of the Greater Grail remains unknown.

However, at this moment, the truth of history had finally come to light.

"Eight-Forked Tongue, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia..."

Inside the Clock Tower, the head of the Department of Summoning, Rocco Belfeban, sat in his single-seat chair, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"We should have discovered this earlier. Darnic once joined the Nazis and was involved in transporting the Greater Grail. If we had found out sooner, we could have reclaimed the Grail. Everyone in the intelligence department is an absolute fool!"

*BANG!*

Emotionally charged, Rocco slammed his hand on his table.

First, the Yggdmillennia declared their defection from the Mage's Association. Second, their deployed enforcers were completely annihilated by the Yggdmillennia.

The Mage's Association had never experienced such humiliation in two thousand years. Their reputation was swollen beyond recognition.

"So, what did you bring me here for?"

A muscular man with a scary appearance, akin to an American gangster, asked while crossing his arms.

He was Shishigou Kairi, a necromancer with long and wild brown hair swept to the back, wearing black eyeglasses and dressed in black with an orange shirt beneath his black jacket.

"Just to be clear, I'm not gonna fight those monsters, absolutely." Kairi added as he withdrew his gaze from the cabinet where a Hydra hatchling was stored.

Rocco's familiar brought back the scene from the battle—fifty mages, specializing in hunting, instantly turned into pincushions by the sudden emergence of black spikes from the ground. It made even the necromancer, accustomed to life and death, shiver.

It wasn't a battle; it was a massacre.

"Don't worry; I'm not naive enough for that." Rocco smirked. "What you need to do is summon a Servant to join the fight."

"The hell?" Kairi's eye twitched slightly. "Are you out of your mind? The Yggdmillennia has already taken all seven Master positions. I can't just summon a Servant out of thin air."

"Precisely because of that, the Holy Grail had activated its backup system. When all seven Masters are controlled by a single faction, the Holy Grail will select seven more Masters to balance the situation."

"Seven Masters against seven Masters..." Kairi pinched his brow and let out a long sigh. "It's a disaster in every sense, y'know..."

"This is the catalyst we've prepared for you." Rocco took out a black sandalwood box from a drawer, carefully opening it.

Kairi leaned in to see a visibly processed wooden shard inside.

"What's this?"

"A fragment of the legendary round table. Even among the numerous relics controlled by the Clock Tower, it can be considered a treasure among treasures." Rocco smiled. "Arthur, Lancelot, Gawain, Tristan, Percival... Regardless of who, each Servant is renowned and powerful. This is a gift specially prepared for you."

"Heh, I'm truly grateful." Kairi took the black sandalwood box without hesitation. "Well, according to the rules, let's settle the payment first."

Hearing that, Rocco's expression stiffened slightly.

"Can't we settle it after the task is completed?"

"I don't need to explain how dangerous this task is, or else you wouldn't have sought me out." Kairi shrugged. "So, of course, I'll grab my reward while I can."

"...What do you want then?"

Rising from the sofa, Kairi casually picked up the Hydra hatchling placed on the cabinet.

"I want this."

Rocco's expression darkened slightly, but in the end, he sighed in resignation and waved his hand.

"Then I won't be polite." Kairi happily packed the box containing the fragment of the round table and the preserved Hydra hatchling into his carry-on suitcase. "By the way, besides me, who are the other participants on our side?"

Rocco hesitated for a moment.

"Originally, according to the initial agreement, we were supposed to send five people from our side, and the Holy Church was supposed to send one person. But don't know why later on, the Holy Church changed their mind and demanded an additional candidate."

"Oh? Who is it?" Kairi asked curiously.

Rocco shook his head.

"I don't know. Our relationship with the Holy Church has never been too good, and this time we only joined forces because it was practical. All I know is that the Holy Church sent a man and a woman. The man seems to be a priest named Kotomine Shirou, but I don't know who the woman is... I heard she came from Shingon Tachikawa Eiten School in Japan."

Unfortunately, those were names Kairi had never heard of.

Shaking his head, he picked up his suitcase and walked out of the room.

Seven Servants against Seven Servants, an extraordinary Holy Grail War had finally begun.