A foreigner's journey

The Holy Grail War revolves around the battle for the [Holy Grail] that can fulfill the wish of the holder.

The [Holy Grail] is a miraculous relic originating from the legend of Christ.

In Christian circles, there are also many legends about travelers who searched for the Holy Grail. Then when the Holy Grail appears and is judged to be "real" by the Holy Church, a battle for it will naturally break out.

The battle to pursue the Holy Grail as a holy relic is the Holy Grail War.

…………………………

"Hahaha……"

The sound of rapid and heavy breathing, accompanied by the collision of leather shoes and stone pavement, echoed in the alley after the rain.

Two young men and a woman were walking quickly through the alley in almost no particular order. Without exception, they were all covered in black cloaks and looked in a hurry.

Hiding in the shadow of a relatively hidden corner, the three of them could finally take a breather. Even so, they still did not dare to make too much noise.

"...are you chasing me?"

The speaker was the only woman in the trio. She had a full head of brown waist-length hair, a pretty face, and a lot of freckles on her face.

The blond man, who was holding on to the wall to calm his breathing, was tall and handsome. He carefully raised his head and looked around the corner. He only looked at it for two seconds before immediately retracting his head and saying in a low voice: "No, I didn't see [the familiar]. .Liner, did you lose anything?"

The man known as 'Reiner' was a thin, slightly stooped man. His cheeks were slightly sunken inward, and his greasy flaxen short hair fell downwards, covering most of his face. Sitting on the ground gasping for air, he finally managed to catch his breath, and with his trembling right hand, he took out a cloth bag from the coat pocket inside the cloak.

It was said to be a cloth bag, but the surface was tied with a total of six cursed papers with strange runes painted on it. Judging from the shape, it should be a palm-sized box inside.

"Huh...it's not lost. Holly, Buffett, which one of you two is holding it?" Reiner tremblingly raised the cloth bag in his hand and handed it to his two companions.

Holly and Buffett quickly shook their heads: "Just take it, we believe you."

Hearing the encouragement from his companions, Reiner became inexplicably excited. He first carefully put the cloth bag back into his arms, and then stood up slowly while holding on to the wall that was still slippery from the rain, mumbling something. Said: "We have even passed the most dangerous link, and everything will be smooth sailing from now on... The rainy season is really annoying, my coat is soaked, who of you brings a handkerchief..."

"Shh!"

Holly suddenly rushed over and covered Reiner's mouth. Ignoring Reiner's red face, she carefully looked around the corner and saw a strange big dog made of rocks and flesh intertwined, jumping in the alley. He sniffed back and forth at the entrance of the alley.

The three of them immediately held their breath.

After about ten seconds, a noise suddenly came from outside the alley, and the big dog immediately raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound. I saw only one huge eyeball in the center of this big dog's face. The eyeball, which was not covered by the eyelids, was spinning flexibly. The place where the mouth and nose should have been was replaced by the funnel mouth of the same style as the lamprey eel. The file-toothed mouth slowly swallowed a long, smooth tongue.

The 'big dog' probably didn't smell anything at the entrance of the alley, so he turned around and ran in the direction of the sound.

The three people who had been holding their breath began to gasp for breath as the sound of paws clacking gradually faded away.

"It's the teacher's [familiar]! Have you chased him around here?" Reiner looked frightened and his voice began to tremble.

"No, now is the best time, because the suspicion around here has been temporarily eliminated."

Buffett shook his head, then looked up at the night sky. The moon above his head was bright and bright:

"As long as we can summon the legendary [Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse], the beings at the top of the RIDER class, we won't have to fear any pursuers."

Holly's pretty face showed excitement: "That's right! Use this sacred relic accidentally obtained from [Spirit Tomb Albion] to summon [Doomsday Knight Death]!"

Although Reiner did not speak, his face showed excitement.

The three of them were originally students of the Magic Association Clock Tower. Reiner had always had a crush on Holly, and Holly had a closer relationship with Reiner's good friend Buffett.

A week ago, Reiner learned by chance that the archaeological monarch, Meastia, had excavated a strange sickle fragment from the spiritual tomb Albion. Any creature that directly touches the fragment with his body will be separated from him. If you touch it with gloves or other utensils, you will die immediately for various unbelievable reasons.

[Death], this is already a curse at the level of the law of cause and effect.

There is no doubt that this must be the holy relic left by the green horse knight in the "Apocalypse", the doomsday knight called [Death].

Lord Meastia remotely controlled the autonomous magic doll to seal the scythe fragments into the Secret Knowledge Box, and sealed the box with six curse seals obtained from the Curse Department to prevent the curse from [Death] from continuing to spread outwards.

Just as the [Holy Grail War] was approaching, Lord Meastia did not make a big announcement, but prepared to quietly distribute this item to the descendants of the family who had high hopes.

If [Death] can be successfully summoned, then this Holy Grail War will be a sure thing. By then, by making a wish to the Holy Grail, the Meastia family will definitely be able to surpass Barthemero and become the top of the Clock Tower!

Reiner, who was an apprentice under Lord Meastia, told Holly about this, and naturally Buffett also learned about it. Instigated by the two of them, Reiner plucked up the courage to steal the box while Lord Meastia was out.

Then the three of them fled all the way to the seaside city [Melisis] in Greece. According to what Reiner overheard from Meastia, Melisis will be the battlefield in this Holy Grail War.

Now, finally getting rid of the trackers sent by the Meastia family, the three of them immediately rushed to the previously determined target location.

After Meastia's calculations, it was a small gathering point for the underground spiritual veins flowing in the city of Melisis, and it was one of the most outstanding summoning locations they could find.

Not long after, the three of them came to an abandoned port warehouse.

The rusty iron gate is spray-painted with various graffiti and paintings, but even these spray-paints have begun to fade. It is obvious that this place has been abandoned for a long time.

Bang! The door lock, which was useless due to severe corrosion, was smashed open and then fell to the ground.

With a heartbreaking creaking sound, the rusty iron door was slowly pushed open.

Reiner was left at the door because Holly said he was trustworthy and alert. Holly and Buffett took the time to draw a summoning circle inside the warehouse using magical paint.

Almost successful! Once I win this Holy Grail War, Holly will definitely fall in love with me, and I will become your most valued student after offering the Holy Grail to Lord Meastia... Thinking of this, Reiner's thin face revealed smile.

Yes, just like what Holly and Buffett said, if the final fruits of victory are dedicated to the Lord Meastia, that lord will definitely forgive me with a smile... He will definitely...

Right here, there was a sudden commotion in the warehouse, which was also mixed with curses and beatings.

Reiner quickly ran in and found that Buffett was kicking a group of black figures huddled on the ground in a mixture of shock and anger, while Holly was also frightened and was looking at Buffett while stroking her high chest in shock.

Every time the tall and powerful Buffett kicked the black shadow hard, the shadow would make an uncontrollable groan and cry with all his strength.

"Wait, wait a minute!"

Reiner hurriedly ran over and hugged Buffett:

"What's wrong? Isn't this, isn't this a child?"

It turned out that the person who was kicked hard by Buffett was a skinny child about eight or nine years old. Her clothes were in tatters and her hair was as messy as a straw nest. Even though she was treated so cruelly, she still did not dare to lift her head. With eyes full of fear, he just lowered his eyes humbly and curled up into a ball as much as possible, as if this could calm these noble adults who were frightened by their dirty self.

"Go away! This mute little bastard was hiding in the corner of the warehouse without saying a word, and it was Holly who found her. She was so frightened that the summoning array even drew two wrong squares! Damn it, bad luck!"

Buffett broke away from Reiner's arms and adjusted his collar impatiently.

Is he a deaf-mute street kid? Reiner half-knelt in front of the child and wanted to reach out and push her hair away to see if she was injured, but she cowered back, obviously scared of being beaten. Even so, Reiner could still see the blood flowing from the corner of the child's mouth through the faint light.

She must have been kicked in the gut by Buffett.

Before Reiner could think of what to do, Holly suddenly let out a "huh" sound, walked over and used her high-heeled leather boots to kick away the child's thin arms that were tightly wrapped around her: "What is this little bastard holding?" ? Tsk, fairy tale book..."

A hard-cover story picture book that was kept very clean on the surface fell out of the child's arms. Although it was carefully kept, it still looked very old because of frequent flipping.

"With our level, we don't know if we can successfully summon a super-standard heroic spirit like the [Doomsday Knight]... After all, only the magic power of Holly and I can be used to summon, and Reiner is just a waste..." Buffett squatted down again He began to use paint to smear the summoning array on his lower body, while he kept complaining.

Reiner could only smile and rub his head.

Holly's eyes suddenly lit up: "Hey, let me tell you? What we are summoning is [Death]. If we offer a living sacrifice, we will definitely have an advantage when summoning it, right?"

"What you said makes so much sense, my baby!" Buffett had just finished drawing the summoning circle. Hearing this, he stood up, hugged Holly and kissed her painfully.

well? Holly and Buffett...when? Reiner was still in a daze, but he saw Buffett striding towards the child curled up on the ground, grabbing the child's hair and dragging her towards the summoning array.

"Huh? Buffett...what do you want to do? No! You can't kill!"

Reiner became anxious, rushed over and grabbed Buffett's muscular arms, shouting:

"This child is innocent and can't... ugh!"

Before he could finish his words, he felt a heavy blow to his stomach, and he curled up like a shrimp and fell heavily to the ground.

Buffett shook his hand and said disdainfully: "Idiot, I just want to use this little bastard to replace your incompetent waste. What if the summoning fails? Are you responsible?"

Lying on the ground, Reiner tremblingly stretched out his arm to grab Buffett's trouser leg, but was severely stepped on the back of his hand by a high-heeled leather boot.

"Since you don't like fighting and killing so much, then just withdraw from this Holy Grail War. Dear Buffett, sacrifice that little bastard to [Death] first. If the 'quantity' is not enough, there is Reiner."

The charming and charming voice in the past now sounded to Reiner like the voice of a poisonous snake.

"Hey, okay, it's time to start!"

Throwing the child into the center of the summoning array, ignoring the child's pleading eyes, Buffett took out a personal dagger and stabbed it directly into the child's delicate chest.

The vitality gradually disappeared from her body, and even before she died, she seemed unable to understand why she ended up like this.

Reiner looked at the eyes that were gradually becoming dull, with tears in the corners of his eyes.

Originally...it wasn't supposed to be like this! When Reiner came to participate in the Holy Grail War, he was actually prepared to kill people, but he was definitely not prepared to kill such an innocent child!

At this time, Holly had taken out the cloth bag from Reiner's arms and placed it in the center of the summoning circle, close to the child. As Holly used magic to remotely remove the curse seal, the lid of the box was opened to reveal the dim scythe fragment lying quietly inside.

Buffett stood in front of the summoning array, raised his arms and began to shout the summoning spell loudly:

"Declaration! You are beneath me, and I entrust my fate to your sword."

"Follow the call of the Holy Grail. Follow its will and follow the laws of nature. You will answer immediately..."

"I swear here - I am the one who only does good in the world! I am the one who eliminates the evil in the world! The three great speaking spirits that haunt you! From the wheel of suppression...the guardian of the scales!"

As the last spell was uttered, the entire abandoned warehouse shimmered with violent fluctuations, which was the impact of a wave of magic!

The huge impact blew up the dust in the warehouse and turned into a thick dust mist. Then the walls of the entire warehouse collapsed inch by inch and collapsed into ruins with a deafening loud noise.

The strange thing is that there are no debris around or in the summoning circle.

"Cough! Cough... was it successful?" Holly fanned the dust mist in front of her vigorously, but found that the dust mist in front of her eyes began to disperse automatically.

Without the cover of the ceiling, the moonlight shines above the head.

Only then did everyone present realize a figure standing in the center of the summoning array.

Success! The heroic spirit has been summoned!

"[Death]! I am your Master! Look, I have dedicated my life to you. As long as you obey my orders, you can get more life..."

Buffett's excited shouts gradually stopped because he realized something was wrong.

No matter how you look at it, that figure does not look like the image of [Apocalypse Knight Death].

With a well-proportioned figure, matte black hair as smooth as crow feathers, a dark blue windbreaker, and a look of neither sadness nor joy, he was scanning the crowd through his glasses.

"Wait a minute! That, that's not [Death]! The summoning went awry!!" Holly suddenly shouted in terror.

As if being disturbed by Holly's sharp voice, the figure standing in the center of the summoning array suddenly raised his chin, and two stone balls appeared beside him and flew out.

Then, with two popping sounds, the two headless corpses collapsed heavily on the ground, and the ground was stained red with blood.

Reiner, who was lying on the ground, was pale and trembling all over.

In his sight, a hard-cover story picture book slowly slipped from the child's arms into the blood.

The cover of the picture book depicts a cartoon image that is identical to the figure in front of you, and the title reads——

"Prince of the Star Ocean: The Legend of Heather".

PS: Melicis is a city I made up, just like Fuyuki City.

PS again: This time it’s the original Holy Grail War.