In a way, this piece of news was far more shocking than the previous revelation of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War's true purpose. After all, it just should not be possible.
Generally speaking, the Association of Magi is divided into three groups. One is the Atlas Academy - an organization centred around alchemy, having existed since before the Common Era and based in the Atlas Mountains of Egypt. Another is the Wandering Sea, which roams the coastal lands of Northern Europe, and can be said to be prototypical thamaturgical organization. Last is the Clock Tower, the central pillar of the Association and the newest and greatest research institute.
Even within the Association, there are certainly those who defect due to heresy... or perhaps, due to being so powerful that they had to be designated for sealing. The act itself is not so rare. However, that is not the case when an entire clan secedes.
"They all defected at once? What the hell?"
"You know that the Yggdmillennia clan are not Lords."
The quality of a magus is influenced by how much time they have spent with thaumaturgy - in other words, their history. One of the oldest of the royal families, those who have studied thaumaturgy since ancient times, is said to have a history which dates back over two thousand years.
There are three royal families, with twenty clans related to them. But the clan of Yggdmillennia does not belong in nor has any connections with either groups. The reason for this is not certain, though they certainly did not have a short history. It is rumored that they lost a power struggle in the past and have been on poor terms with the three royal families ever since. Others say that they were estranged from the others due to the poor quality of their magic circuits.
Whatever the case, they are often not recognized as a noble thamaturgical family. But they did not sit down and take this without a fight.
The clan abandoned the common methods among magi of thickening the blood of thaumaturgical potential over generations, and mastering the thaumaturgical system chosen by the first generation. Instead, they scraped together all the magi who had the faintest of connections to them from all over.
They aimed for the clans who had little history and possessed weak magic circuits. Or clans which have begun to decline, their magic circuits becoming weaker with every generation. Clans which have been defeated in power struggles and were forced into ruin. Or those magi who had a price placed on their head as punishment by the Association. In other words, those who have strayed from the core of the Association and yet refused to give up the path to the Root.
The Yggdmillennia whispered to them. Do you not wish to leave behind the legacy in your blood? Do you not wish to proclaim ownership over the fruits of your own research? Do you not wish for your clan to leave its mark upon history?
The middle name of each Yggdmillennia comes from the names of the clans they have absorbed. Even their thaumaturgical crest is not unified. The family crests of past clans continued to be passed down.
As for thaumaturgy, the area of their study is also broad: Western alchemy, dark arts, witchcraft, astrology, Kabbalah, runology, even the Onmyodo of Japan - each has one member of the clan pursuing it.
Be that as it may, they are in the end simply a loose alliance of the new, the weak and the dying. The Lords laughed and let them be with their trivial, insignificant arts.
On average, most Yggdmillennia magi can only reach second-class, except for those rare cases of first-class. They are many in number, but pose little threat. Of course, it was mostly due to Darnic's political finesse that they were left at large, but in the end, the only merit to their clan was that of quantity - or so it should have been.
"It is not known to us how much anguish it had meant for them, but one day, they came forward saying that they would secede from the Association - that they would form a new Association of Magi around their own clan."
What a sorry lot, sighed Belfaban. Shishigou agreed. Clearly stating your defection from the Association is essentially a declaration of war. They might as have thrown their gloves and spat on their faces.
It is true that, as long as they remain in the Clock Tower, the chance of the Yggdmillennia clan being added to the Lords is close to non-existent. Without a major revolution, they would never be rescued from their supposed inferiority in a hundred or even a thousand years.
But that did not mean they must resort to secession. At the very least, it would be impossible for an entire clan to defect unless they had something exceptional on their hands.
Then again... speaking from another perspective, if they did possess something significant, it could be more than enough of an incentive to begin a secession. Yes, for example - an omnipotent wish-granting device, a Greater Grail which could show them the path to reaching Akasha.
Shishigou's expression showed that he had reached the answer. Seeing this, Belfaban nodded satisfactorily.
"Yes, the Greater Grail of Fuyuki is to be the symbol of their new 'association'. The surviving magus brought this message to us."
"...The surviving magus?"
Belfaban scratched his head and took out a piece of parchment, tapping it with one finger. It activated a thaumaturgy which played images from the past. Shishigou would not have minded a photo or video, but to an old man like Belfaban, even video camera technology would probably be unacceptable.
What appeared in the image was something that Shishigou was fairly used to seeing. A man showing clear signs of having been tortured was sitting in a chair, staring into space and muttering something with an empty expression.
"This is the magus who delivered the message. He was already in this state when we found him; the surgery was successful and he is now in deep sleep. It will likely take six months before his mind is fully cleansed."
"What's he saying?"
"We of the Yggdmillennia have freed ourselves from the petty political bickerings of the Association of Magi and aim to establish a new association here in Romania, a true place of inquiry for the pursuits of thaumaturgy. For we possess the 726th Holy Grail, and when it is brought to life with the souls of seven Heroic Spirits, we shall be one step closer on the path to brilliant glory...just that, over and over again."
The 726th - that was the Holy Grail observed in Fuyuki. If they can activate it, then even as a rough estimate, they will have free access to an enormous source of prana which will not run dry for several centuries. It might even be possible to reach the Root.
"Can I just ask something? You said he's the surviving magus. So there were deaths?"
"As a matter of course."
"How many died?"
Belfaban hesitated somewhat before answering frankly.
"Forty-nine. We had sent fifty specialized 'hunters' in an assault, but only one returned alive."
"..."
There was a sigh. It is difficult to say who it belonged to.
Specialized hunters - in other words, magi in the same line of work as Shishigou. Of course, these were not freelancers and belonged to the Association, but fifty was still far too large a number. From this alone, one can infer that it was a force meant from the start for extermination.
It was only natural, considering the scale of the defection. It would dishonor the Association to simply laugh it off. And above all, the trampling of two thousand years of thaumaturgical history was an insult that required no less than the most severe of retribution. Fifty would have been suitable for such a purpose.
And yet, it was not enough.
"It was not even a matter of numbers. They were on another scale entirely. They met the attack with a Servant, of all things."
After Belfaban's words, the annihilation of the fifty magi made clear sense.
"...So that's it. They didn't stand a chance."
It would have made no difference whether there had been fifty magi or a hundred. Whoever it was, it had become an existence known as a Heroic Spirit. To someone like that, all modern magi might as well be infants.
"The familiar we sent there saw everything. The Servant suddenly appeared before the magi, waved his hand with a smile - and it was over. In an instant, every single magi save one was impaled on long stakes."
"Stakes in Romania. You don't say..."
In any case, it seems they have already summoned a Servant, although this might actually be to their advantage.
"So Gramps, if the Yggdmillennia have summoned a Servant, doesn't that mean we can just join in as Masters?"
If the Greater Grail has been activated, other magi should be qualified to become Masters as well. The Association can send magi there to summon Servants which can oppose the Yggdmillennia.
"It's too late. They have already assembled seven Masters. The summoning might not have taken place just yet, but the Grail will never brand Command Spells onto any magi we send."
"...So are they planning on killing each other?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps one of the clan will lead the rest and command the other Servants to commit suicide. Whichever it may be, the fact remains that we have no way to thwart them."
"I'll just say this now, but I'm not going to be fighting any Servants."
Shishigou declared, just in case. You could assemble strategies and organize tactics, and have all the luck and miracles in the world on your side, and the odds would still be against your defeating even a single Servant. Defeating seven would be a true miracle. Yes - that would truly be something worth requesting from the Holy Grail.
Seeming very pleased with himself, Belfaban smirked.
"I won't ask that much of you. What I want you to do is fight using a Servant you summoned."
"...You lost me."
What are you even saying? Shishigou thought. Under the system of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, the maximum number of Servants is seven, and so is the number of Masters.
"That is the most intriguing aspect of this Holy Grail War. The number of Servants that can be summoned is twice the norm - fourteen."
"What...?"
"The last surviving magus discovered the dormant Greater Grail in the depths of the fortress. He managed to unlock the reserve system."
"Reserve?"
"Depending on the situation, the Greater Grail could support the Holy Grail War by once again distributing Command Spells. It was an auxiliary prepared as a countermeasure for the highly unlikely situation of all seven Servants joining forces."
"So basically... summoning another seven Servants to oppose the original seven Servants."
That makes fourteen in total. Shishigou understood the significance of this number.
"Exactly. The land of Trifas is positioned on the best leylines of Romania to begin with. Quite likely, it has been stockpiling prana at a higher speed than Fuyuki, to the point that it now possesses an inexhaustible amount of prana with which it can summon even fourteen Servants."
In Fuyuki, such a system would certainly have been an emergency measure. If worst came to worst, such an act might even have exhausted the leyline itself.
"What you're saying is, if the Yggdmillennia have already got seven Masters and seven Servants, then..."
"...then we will also assemble seven Masters and seven Servants, wage war upon the Yggdmillennia and claim our victory."
"What happens to the Grail if we win?"
"We will take it for safekeeping, naturally. Well, it is difficult to say how the surviving magi will be able to remain calm when faced with something that can easily lead them to the Root."
...So that's how it is. In other words, 'whatever happens after the Yggdmillennia are destroyed is your own responsibility'. You can make a wish upon the Grail, or you can prevent others from doing so - you can even destroy everything. Of course, this old fox will obviously be ready and waiting. A retrieval team is probably set to move in as soon as the war ends.
But, still, if he manages to get around them... he will surely have the chance to have his own wish be realized. A shiver ran up Shishigou's back, making his heart race. Seeing this clearly, the old man nodded in approval, as though this was what he had expected.
"So you will accept?"
However, Shishigou did not reply immediately. Agreeing so readily would only reveal his own weakness.
"I still have a few questions left. I'll decide after that."
"Very well."
"First, about the Masters on this side."
"Ah, yes. The remaining six Masters have all been decided on and sent to Trifas already - Rottweil Berzinsky, the 'Silver Lizard'; 'Storm Treads' Gene Rum; the 'Gum Brothers' of the Pentel family; and our own Feend vor Sembren, a first-class instructor. These are the five who we've sent."
Shishigou agreed with this selection as well. They are all magi known throughout the world - monsters specialized in combat who remove the opposition without mercy. He has worked with all of them before except Sembren. He should have no problem fighting on the same side as them.
"The last Master, and the overseer, will be sent from the Holy Church"
"...A Master acting as the overseer?"
"Indeed."
Due to its naming, the Holy Grail War will inevitably draw in another force, the only one in the world which can oppose the Association of Magi - that is, the Holy Church. Although it is almost certain that the Holy Grail in this case is a fake, they can hardly sit by and watch in silence as magi compete over a treasure crowned with its name. It is said that the Church had intervened during the third Holy Grail War of Fuyuki. According to some, it is in fact the three great families of Fuyuki that had began the tradition of Church intervention, but the truth has long been lost in the haystack of conflicting theories.
"But... do we even need an overseer for this war?"
The Holy Grail War of Fuyuki had need of an impartial judge between the three great families and outside Masters. It stood to reason that they chose the Holy Church, which had to be involved in some way regardless.
However, this war is different. This is a struggle between the Association and a force which opposes it, and a neutral overseer who would judge this conflict between magi is completely unnecessary. If anything, the Church would only be needed for the task of concealing the war, but the Association is not exactly lacking in terms of human resources.
"Well, we can hardly exclude them. It would only trouble us further if they sided with the Yggdmillennia instead. We should use this opportunity to proclaim ourselves as the only legitimate thaumaturgical organization."
As a result, the Holy Church will support the Association... for the time being. Of course, from the eyes of the Church, this is just another way to keep the Association in check.
"Second question: a holy relic is needed to act as a catalyst in summoning a Servant. Have you got something prepared?"
Belfaban nodded. Strictly speaking, a catalyst is not absolutely necessary. When summoning a Servant without a catalyst, a Heroic Spirit will be chosen, not based in any way on the summoner's power, but similarities with his or her own nature. However, most Masters would avoid this in favor of summoning a particular Servant using a holy relic as a catalyst.
Of course, having such a catalyst does not guarantee that a certain Servant will be drawn. Suppose that a magus uses a remnant of the Argo, the ship which bore many a Greek hero, as a catalyst. Who would answer the call? The unparalleled Heracles? Captain Jason? Medea, the witch of betrayal? Or perhaps the 'god of medicine' Asclepius? None would know until the summoning. But it is possible to narrow the choice down, if you use a catalyst which was only ever connected to a single Heroic Spirit - for example, the skin of the first snake in the world to shed its skin, or a scrap of cloth from the mantle once worn by a certain king. With such relics, it would be possible to summon the exact Heroic Spirit you wish for regardless of affinity.
Then again, summoning without a catalyst is not without its merits. As the summoner and the spirit summoned will be similar in nature, it becomes easy to build trust with the Servant in a short time. In the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, poor affinity between Master and Servant would have been as fatal as carrying a time-bomb. It could invite tragedy if, in the very end, they did not have complete faith in one another. However, with a single misstep, it is not impossible for hate and distrust to surface due to that very same resemblance.
While affinity is certainly a matter which cannot be overlooked, the possible loss from such a high-stakes gamble as summoning without a catalyst is too great.
A catalyst would solve all these problems. This being the Association of Magi, they should be able to prepare holy relics with connections to the majority of Heroic Spirits.
Standing up, Belfaban took out an ebony case from the desk's drawer, opening it carefully - inside is a piece of wood with signs of having been worked on. There is nothing remarkable about it... but when Shishigou opened his mouth, his voice became strangely shrill. There is some sort of heat within the wood.
"What's this?"
"The Round Table. The greatest of knights once talked with one another at this table. To protect Britain, their home, they fought not with swords, but with words."
"The Round Table of Britain... as in, King Arthur's?"
Without thinking, Shishigou reached out and attempted to take the catalyst, but checked himself just in time. The Knights of the Round Table - no introductions are needed for the followers of King Arthur. The Round Table was proposed by the King himself as away to remove the distinction between lord and subject.
Every single knight who sat at that table was a hero sung of in legends. King Arthur himself, of course, and also Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, Tristan, Percival... any one of them summoned as a Servant would boast indisputable fame and strength.
"But... it cannot be known which knight will be summoned. It would unmistakably summon a Heroic Spirit based on your own nature."
"That's not a problem. Any Knight of the Round Table summoned as a Servant is a pass in my books."
"I see. By which you mean, you will accept?"
Shishigou gave himself some time to think. Everything has been set for him to summon a Servant. The Yggdmillennia will likely take full advantage of their location in Romania to draw the strongest possible Servant in that country. However, when it comes down to it, that is not such an overwhelming disadvantage.
After all, it is seven versus seven - they are numerically even. And most importantly, Shishigou also has a wish which can only be granted by relying upon an omnipotent wish-granter - Belfaban knows this.
....It's decided, then.
Shishigou nodded, and lit a cigarette. He breathed in the smoke deeply, relishing the poison filling his lungs for a moment. There was irritation on Belfaban's face - the man hated cigarettes.
"Then we have assembled seven Masters. The Yggdmillennia clan possesses seven; now the Association shall send seven. In other words, fourteen Servants will take form in this world. Never before in history has a ritual of such scale been conducted. This is not merely another Holy Grail War - but the Great War to all Holy Grail Wars."
"'The Great War', huh..."
Seven Servants versus seven Servants. In the past, it has always been a free-for-all between all seven until only one is left standing, but this time - it will truly be total war between Servants. Having become the stage for this conflict, one dreads to imagine what state Trifas will be in after the war.
"I want half up-front. If you're okay with that, then let's sign on it."
Belfaban frowned at Shishigou's words.
"Is the contingency fee not enough?"
"This job doesn't have a very high survival rate. I'd prefer to take what I can right now."
"Oh? Do you already have something in mind?"
Standing up from the sofa, Shishigou walked over to the display case without any sign of hesitation and picked up the preserved juvenile Hydra.
"This."
"...And you are fine with a forgery?"
Shishigou gave his assent without a second thought. Belfaban's expression turned grim in the blink of an eye. But of course, for the Hydra was very much the genuine article. You could sell off every asset owned by the Shishigou family, and the amount would almost certainly not reach a third of its selling price.
"I'll take that as a yes, then."
Shishigou happily carried off the Hydra with one hand, and took the catalyst's case with the other.
"Off with you to Romania, then. I will be in touch with the overseer and the other Masters. They should make contact with you as soon as you pass the border."
"Oh, right. What's the name of this overseer?"
Shishiou asked offhandedly just as he was leaving. This war would likely warrant an assignment from the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. It might even be someone well known.
"I haven't met him personally, but, yes... it was a priest called Shirou."
Not a name he was familiar with, unfortunately.
In a way, this piece of news was far more shocking than the previous revelation of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War's true purpose. After all, it just should not be possible.
Generally speaking, the Association of Magi is divided into three groups. One is the Atlas Academy - an organization centred around alchemy, having existed since before the Common Era and based in the Atlas Mountains of Egypt. Another is the Wandering Sea, which roams the coastal lands of Northern Europe, and can be said to be prototypical thamaturgical organization. Last is the Clock Tower, the central pillar of the Association and the newest and greatest research institute.
Even within the Association, there are certainly those who defect due to heresy... or perhaps, due to being so powerful that they had to be designated for sealing. The act itself is not so rare. However, that is not the case when an entire clan secedes.
"They all defected at once? What the hell?"
"You know that the Yggdmillennia clan are not Lords."
The quality of a magus is influenced by how much time they have spent with thaumaturgy - in other words, their history. One of the oldest of the royal families, those who have studied thaumaturgy since ancient times, is said to have a history which dates back over two thousand years.
There are three royal families, with twenty clans related to them. But the clan of Yggdmillennia does not belong in nor has any connections with either groups. The reason for this is not certain, though they certainly did not have a short history. It is rumored that they lost a power struggle in the past and have been on poor terms with the three royal families ever since. Others say that they were estranged from the others due to the poor quality of their magic circuits.
Whatever the case, they are often not recognized as a noble thamaturgical family. But they did not sit down and take this without a fight.
The clan abandoned the common methods among magi of thickening the blood of thaumaturgical potential over generations, and mastering the thaumaturgical system chosen by the first generation. Instead, they scraped together all the magi who had the faintest of connections to them from all over.
They aimed for the clans who had little history and possessed weak magic circuits. Or clans which have begun to decline, their magic circuits becoming weaker with every generation. Clans which have been defeated in power struggles and were forced into ruin. Or those magi who had a price placed on their head as punishment by the Association. In other words, those who have strayed from the core of the Association and yet refused to give up the path to the Root.
The Yggdmillennia whispered to them. Do you not wish to leave behind the legacy in your blood? Do you not wish to proclaim ownership over the fruits of your own research? Do you not wish for your clan to leave its mark upon history?
The middle name of each Yggdmillennia comes from the names of the clans they have absorbed. Even their thaumaturgical crest is not unified. The family crests of past clans continued to be passed down.
As for thaumaturgy, the area of their study is also broad: Western alchemy, dark arts, witchcraft, astrology, Kabbalah, runology, even the Onmyodo of Japan - each has one member of the clan pursuing it.
Be that as it may, they are in the end simply a loose alliance of the new, the weak and the dying. The Lords laughed and let them be with their trivial, insignificant arts.
On average, most Yggdmillennia magi can only reach second-class, except for those rare cases of first-class. They are many in number, but pose little threat. Of course, it was mostly due to Darnic's political finesse that they were left at large, but in the end, the only merit to their clan was that of quantity - or so it should have been.
"It is not known to us how much anguish it had meant for them, but one day, they came forward saying that they would secede from the Association - that they would form a new Association of Magi around their own clan."
What a sorry lot, sighed Belfaban. Shishigou agreed. Clearly stating your defection from the Association is essentially a declaration of war. They might as have thrown their gloves and spat on their faces.
It is true that, as long as they remain in the Clock Tower, the chance of the Yggdmillennia clan being added to the Lords is close to non-existent. Without a major revolution, they would never be rescued from their supposed inferiority in a hundred or even a thousand years.
But that did not mean they must resort to secession. At the very least, it would be impossible for an entire clan to defect unless they had something exceptional on their hands.
Then again... speaking from another perspective, if they did possess something significant, it could be more than enough of an incentive to begin a secession. Yes, for example - an omnipotent wish-granting device, a Greater Grail which could show them the path to reaching Akasha.
Shishigou's expression showed that he had reached the answer. Seeing this, Belfaban nodded satisfactorily.
"Yes, the Greater Grail of Fuyuki is to be the symbol of their new 'association'. The surviving magus brought this message to us."
"...The surviving magus?"
Belfaban scratched his head and took out a piece of parchment, tapping it with one finger. It activated a thaumaturgy which played images from the past. Shishigou would not have minded a photo or video, but to an old man like Belfaban, even video camera technology would probably be unacceptable.
What appeared in the image was something that Shishigou was fairly used to seeing. A man showing clear signs of having been tortured was sitting in a chair, staring into space and muttering something with an empty expression.
"This is the magus who delivered the message. He was already in this state when we found him; the surgery was successful and he is now in deep sleep. It will likely take six months before his mind is fully cleansed."
"What's he saying?"
"We of the Yggdmillennia have freed ourselves from the petty political bickerings of the Association of Magi and aim to establish a new association here in Romania, a true place of inquiry for the pursuits of thaumaturgy. For we possess the 726th Holy Grail, and when it is brought to life with the souls of seven Heroic Spirits, we shall be one step closer on the path to brilliant glory...just that, over and over again."
The 726th - that was the Holy Grail observed in Fuyuki. If they can activate it, then even as a rough estimate, they will have free access to an enormous source of prana which will not run dry for several centuries. It might even be possible to reach the Root.
"Can I just ask something? You said he's the surviving magus. So there were deaths?"
"As a matter of course."
"How many died?"
Belfaban hesitated somewhat before answering frankly.
"Forty-nine. We had sent fifty specialized 'hunters' in an assault, but only one returned alive."
"..."
There was a sigh. It is difficult to say who it belonged to.
Specialized hunters - in other words, magi in the same line of work as Shishigou. Of course, these were not freelancers and belonged to the Association, but fifty was still far too large a number. From this alone, one can infer that it was a force meant from the start for extermination.
It was only natural, considering the scale of the defection. It would dishonor the Association to simply laugh it off. And above all, the trampling of two thousand years of thaumaturgical history was an insult that required no less than the most severe of retribution. Fifty would have been suitable for such a purpose.
And yet, it was not enough.
"It was not even a matter of numbers. They were on another scale entirely. They met the attack with a Servant, of all things."
After Belfaban's words, the annihilation of the fifty magi made clear sense.
"...So that's it. They didn't stand a chance."
It would have made no difference whether there had been fifty magi or a hundred. Whoever it was, it had become an existence known as a Heroic Spirit. To someone like that, all modern magi might as well be infants.
"The familiar we sent there saw everything. The Servant suddenly appeared before the magi, waved his hand with a smile - and it was over. In an instant, every single magi save one was impaled on long stakes."
"Stakes in Romania. You don't say..."
In any case, it seems they have already summoned a Servant, although this might actually be to their advantage.
"So Gramps, if the Yggdmillennia have summoned a Servant, doesn't that mean we can just join in as Masters?"
If the Greater Grail has been activated, other magi should be qualified to become Masters as well. The Association can send magi there to summon Servants which can oppose the Yggdmillennia.
"It's too late. They have already assembled seven Masters. The summoning might not have taken place just yet, but the Grail will never brand Command Spells onto any magi we send."
"...So are they planning on killing each other?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps one of the clan will lead the rest and command the other Servants to commit suicide. Whichever it may be, the fact remains that we have no way to thwart them."
"I'll just say this now, but I'm not going to be fighting any Servants."
Shishigou declared, just in case. You could assemble strategies and organize tactics, and have all the luck and miracles in the world on your side, and the odds would still be against your defeating even a single Servant. Defeating seven would be a true miracle. Yes - that would truly be something worth requesting from the Holy Grail.
Seeming very pleased with himself, Belfaban smirked.
"I won't ask that much of you. What I want you to do is fight using a Servant you summoned."
"...You lost me."
What are you even saying? Shishigou thought. Under the system of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, the maximum number of Servants is seven, and so is the number of Masters.
"That is the most intriguing aspect of this Holy Grail War. The number of Servants that can be summoned is twice the norm - fourteen."
"What...?"
"The last surviving magus discovered the dormant Greater Grail in the depths of the fortress. He managed to unlock the reserve system."
"Reserve?"
"Depending on the situation, the Greater Grail could support the Holy Grail War by once again distributing Command Spells. It was an auxiliary prepared as a countermeasure for the highly unlikely situation of all seven Servants joining forces."
"So basically... summoning another seven Servants to oppose the original seven Servants."
That makes fourteen in total. Shishigou understood the significance of this number.
"Exactly. The land of Trifas is positioned on the best leylines of Romania to begin with. Quite likely, it has been stockpiling prana at a higher speed than Fuyuki, to the point that it now possesses an inexhaustible amount of prana with which it can summon even fourteen Servants."
In Fuyuki, such a system would certainly have been an emergency measure. If worst came to worst, such an act might even have exhausted the leyline itself.
"What you're saying is, if the Yggdmillennia have already got seven Masters and seven Servants, then..."
"...then we will also assemble seven Masters and seven Servants, wage war upon the Yggdmillennia and claim our victory."
"What happens to the Grail if we win?"
"We will take it for safekeeping, naturally. Well, it is difficult to say how the surviving magi will be able to remain calm when faced with something that can easily lead them to the Root."
...So that's how it is. In other words, 'whatever happens after the Yggdmillennia are destroyed is your own responsibility'. You can make a wish upon the Grail, or you can prevent others from doing so - you can even destroy everything. Of course, this old fox will obviously be ready and waiting. A retrieval team is probably set to move in as soon as the war ends.
But, still, if he manages to get around them... he will surely have the chance to have his own wish be realized. A shiver ran up Shishigou's back, making his heart race. Seeing this clearly, the old man nodded in approval, as though this was what he had expected.
"So you will accept?"
However, Shishigou did not reply immediately. Agreeing so readily would only reveal his own weakness.
"I still have a few questions left. I'll decide after that."
"Very well."
"First, about the Masters on this side."
"Ah, yes. The remaining six Masters have all been decided on and sent to Trifas already - Rottweil Berzinsky, the 'Silver Lizard'; 'Storm Treads' Gene Rum; the 'Gum Brothers' of the Pentel family; and our own Feend vor Sembren, a first-class instructor. These are the five who we've sent."
Shishigou agreed with this selection as well. They are all magi known throughout the world - monsters specialized in combat who remove the opposition without mercy. He has worked with all of them before except Sembren. He should have no problem fighting on the same side as them.
"The last Master, and the overseer, will be sent from the Holy Church"
"...A Master acting as the overseer?"
"Indeed."
Due to its naming, the Holy Grail War will inevitably draw in another force, the only one in the world which can oppose the Association of Magi - that is, the Holy Church. Although it is almost certain that the Holy Grail in this case is a fake, they can hardly sit by and watch in silence as magi compete over a treasure crowned with its name. It is said that the Church had intervened during the third Holy Grail War of Fuyuki. According to some, it is in fact the three great families of Fuyuki that had began the tradition of Church intervention, but the truth has long been lost in the haystack of conflicting theories.
"But... do we even need an overseer for this war?"
The Holy Grail War of Fuyuki had need of an impartial judge between the three great families and outside Masters. It stood to reason that they chose the Holy Church, which had to be involved in some way regardless.
However, this war is different. This is a struggle between the Association and a force which opposes it, and a neutral overseer who would judge this conflict between magi is completely unnecessary. If anything, the Church would only be needed for the task of concealing the war, but the Association is not exactly lacking in terms of human resources.
"Well, we can hardly exclude them. It would only trouble us further if they sided with the Yggdmillennia instead. We should use this opportunity to proclaim ourselves as the only legitimate thaumaturgical organization."
As a result, the Holy Church will support the Association... for the time being. Of course, from the eyes of the Church, this is just another way to keep the Association in check.
"Second question: a holy relic is needed to act as a catalyst in summoning a Servant. Have you got something prepared?"
Belfaban nodded. Strictly speaking, a catalyst is not absolutely necessary. When summoning a Servant without a catalyst, a Heroic Spirit will be chosen, not based in any way on the summoner's power, but similarities with his or her own nature. However, most Masters would avoid this in favor of summoning a particular Servant using a holy relic as a catalyst.
Of course, having such a catalyst does not guarantee that a certain Servant will be drawn. Suppose that a magus uses a remnant of the Argo, the ship which bore many a Greek hero, as a catalyst. Who would answer the call? The unparalleled Heracles? Captain Jason? Medea, the witch of betrayal? Or perhaps the 'god of medicine' Asclepius? None would know until the summoning. But it is possible to narrow the choice down, if you use a catalyst which was only ever connected to a single Heroic Spirit - for example, the skin of the first snake in the world to shed its skin, or a scrap of cloth from the mantle once worn by a certain king. With such relics, it would be possible to summon the exact Heroic Spirit you wish for regardless of affinity.
Then again, summoning without a catalyst is not without its merits. As the summoner and the spirit summoned will be similar in nature, it becomes easy to build trust with the Servant in a short time. In the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, poor affinity between Master and Servant would have been as fatal as carrying a time-bomb. It could invite tragedy if, in the very end, they did not have complete faith in one another. However, with a single misstep, it is not impossible for hate and distrust to surface due to that very same resemblance.
While affinity is certainly a matter which cannot be overlooked, the possible loss from such a high-stakes gamble as summoning without a catalyst is too great.
A catalyst would solve all these problems. This being the Association of Magi, they should be able to prepare holy relics with connections to the majority of Heroic Spirits.
Standing up, Belfaban took out an ebony case from the desk's drawer, opening it carefully - inside is a piece of wood with signs of having been worked on. There is nothing remarkable about it... but when Shishigou opened his mouth, his voice became strangely shrill. There is some sort of heat within the wood.
"What's this?"
"The Round Table. The greatest of knights once talked with one another at this table. To protect Britain, their home, they fought not with swords, but with words."
"The Round Table of Britain... as in, King Arthur's?"
Without thinking, Shishigou reached out and attempted to take the catalyst, but checked himself just in time. The Knights of the Round Table - no introductions are needed for the followers of King Arthur. The Round Table was proposed by the King himself as away to remove the distinction between lord and subject.
Every single knight who sat at that table was a hero sung of in legends. King Arthur himself, of course, and also Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, Tristan, Percival... any one of them summoned as a Servant would boast indisputable fame and strength.
"But... it cannot be known which knight will be summoned. It would unmistakably summon a Heroic Spirit based on your own nature."
"That's not a problem. Any Knight of the Round Table summoned as a Servant is a pass in my books."
"I see. By which you mean, you will accept?"
Shishigou gave himself some time to think. Everything has been set for him to summon a Servant. The Yggdmillennia will likely take full advantage of their location in Romania to draw the strongest possible Servant in that country. However, when it comes down to it, that is not such an overwhelming disadvantage.
After all, it is seven versus seven - they are numerically even. And most importantly, Shishigou also has a wish which can only be granted by relying upon an omnipotent wish-granter - Belfaban knows this.
....It's decided, then.
Shishigou nodded, and lit a cigarette. He breathed in the smoke deeply, relishing the poison filling his lungs for a moment. There was irritation on Belfaban's face - the man hated cigarettes.
"Then we have assembled seven Masters. The Yggdmillennia clan possesses seven; now the Association shall send seven. In other words, fourteen Servants will take form in this world. Never before in history has a ritual of such scale been conducted. This is not merely another Holy Grail War - but the Great War to all Holy Grail Wars."
"'The Great War', huh..."
Seven Servants versus seven Servants. In the past, it has always been a free-for-all between all seven until only one is left standing, but this time - it will truly be total war between Servants. Having become the stage for this conflict, one dreads to imagine what state Trifas will be in after the war.
"I want half up-front. If you're okay with that, then let's sign on it."
Belfaban frowned at Shishigou's words.
"Is the contingency fee not enough?"
"This job doesn't have a very high survival rate. I'd prefer to take what I can right now."
"Oh? Do you already have something in mind?"
Standing up from the sofa, Shishigou walked over to the display case without any sign of hesitation and picked up the preserved juvenile Hydra.
"This."
"...And you are fine with a forgery?"
Shishigou gave his assent without a second thought. Belfaban's expression turned grim in the blink of an eye. But of course, for the Hydra was very much the genuine article. You could sell off every asset owned by the Shishigou family, and the amount would almost certainly not reach a third of its selling price.
"I'll take that as a yes, then."
Shishigou happily carried off the Hydra with one hand, and took the catalyst's case with the other.
"Off with you to Romania, then. I will be in touch with the overseer and the other Masters. They should make contact with you as soon as you pass the border."
"Oh, right. What's the name of this overseer?"
Shishiou asked offhandedly just as he was leaving. This war would likely warrant an assignment from the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. It might even be someone well known.
"I haven't met him personally, but, yes... it was a priest called Shirou."
Not a name he was familiar with, unfortunately.
