Chapter 77: Unshakable 20

Hoshino Nozomi was very moved by the King of Heroes' "kindness" and refused without hesitation.

"You know there's something wrong with the Holy Grail, but you still want to use it on me. What are you thinking?" Hoshino Nozomi questioned.

He tried to awaken Gilgamesh's conscience and make him realize how outrageous his behavior was. Unfortunately, the adult version of Gilgamesh did not have the ability to "reflect". When he heard this, he thought Zhongli was really asking him what he thought.

"It's just dirt," Gilgamesh said confidently, "it won't bother you at all."

People with extremely strong wills can suppress the malice of the black mud and avoid being altered. He himself is a typical example - at the end of the Fourth World War, he was swallowed by the black mud. After a confrontation, not only was he not transformed into magic power, but he gained a physical body instead.

Zhongli was a god recognized by him, and there was no way he would easily get lost in "all the evil at this time."

Thinking of this, Gilgamesh said firmly, "It is impossible for me to be wrong."

Xing Yewang: “…”

But he was worried about his luck. The Willpower on the Rock God character card was 90 points, and the Luck value was only 12 points. Even if he burned his luck, it would only be enough to offset one big failure.

In order to avoid other emergencies, Hoshino Nozomi had to pull Gilgamesh aside for a "mind-to-mind communication" and have a "long talk" with him. Unfortunately, since he did not understand the King of Heroes' train of thought at all, the conversation eventually turned into a battle - if Gilgamesh could not break his shield within five minutes, he would have to follow his arrangements.

The battle took place at the ruins of Einzbern Castle. The temporarily captured "referee" Illya hid in a safe place and watched the dilapidated castle turn into complete ruins. Finally, she announced Zhongli's victory with an expressionless face.

It is well known that the Holy Grail War is conducted in secret.jpg

"That guy Kotomine Kirei will try to explain it," Gilgamesh didn't care about these rules. He changed the subject and looked at Zhongli unconvinced, "Give me another half minute, no, ten seconds will be enough, I will definitely smash your jade scepter into pieces."

The light golden jade halberd was covered with several large and small spider-web-like cracks. If it had been ten more seconds, it would have really shattered under Wang Cai's bombardment.

"I believe you have the ability," Zhong Li said with a smile, "but unfortunately the agreed time is only so long, the Hero King cannot go back on his word at will."

Gilgamesh snorted softly, jumped down from the broken wall, and finally gave up his original idea.

Zhong Li breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't know why Gilgamesh thought he "wanted to become a real human being", but since this misunderstanding was not a big deal, he didn't explain it any further to avoid wasting time.

He was about to go to the Matou residence, and Gilgamesh followed him naturally. However, Illya wanted to go with him, contrary to her usual behavior. The King of Heroes said rudely, "You finally managed to save your life, why don't you hurry back?"

Illya walked around behind Zhong Li and asked: "What if you don't go back?"

Gilgamesh immediately frowned in displeasure. Illya's actions made it clear that she thought Zhongli would protect her, and he would not go against Zhongli's wishes.

Ridiculous, if he is annoyed, even if it is a clock...

Zhong Li coughed lightly and said, "Gil, we just made an appointment."

Gilgamesh: “…”

He turned and walked away, leaving the two far behind, as if he was going to separate from them. Illya looked for a long time, and finally pulled Zhongli's sleeve and said, "Gilgamesh is still heading to the Matou residence."

"Really?" Zhong Li couldn't help laughing. "He still has a good temper, but he is harsh in his words."

Illya couldn't help but ask, "Are you serious?"

Zhong Li: "Of course. A truly irritable person won't listen to me, nor will he keep his promises."

...That's because you are a special case! If it were someone else, they would have died countless times! Illya couldn't help but think, this filter is at least 800 meters thick... Gods, especially gods recognized by Gilgamesh, really can't think of ordinary people.

She swallowed her rebuttal silently and was about to move forward, but Zhong Li's words made her stop suddenly.

He said, "Ms. Illya, I agree that you can come with us, but please don't do anything stupid."

Illya froze for a moment: "What do you mean?"

Zhong Li did not explain: "Miss, you know it in your heart. There are some things I don't need to say more."

After saying that, he followed Gilgamesh without stopping, leaving Illya standing there in a daze, her heart pounding.

What did Zhongli mean by this? What did he mean by "stupid things"? She followed Zhongli to the Matou residence to find out the truth about the appearance of the gods - she had to be cautious when it came to the Holy Grail. At most, she had a little selfish desire unique to magicians, wanting to see the mystery of the Age of Gods.

...Could it be that he saw through her thoughts and was warning her to stay within her means and not try to touch the realm of God...The gap in strength between the two sides was as huge as a chasm. Once a conflict arose, she would be powerless to resist.

The pros and cons were clearly listed in her mind. After hesitating for a moment, Illya gritted her teeth and decided to follow.

She is gambling.

She bet on the kindness of a god, believing that he would never really harm her no matter what - her previous actions made her feel that Zhong Li did not fit the image of a moody and arbitrary god in many myths.

Although Zhongli's true identity is still unclear, he must be a benevolent god.

*

System: [Did the host just discover something? ]

Xingye paused and asked: What did you find?

The system is puzzled: [Since there is nothing abnormal, why did you warn Illya? ]

Hoshino Nozomi: No.

The system choked, and quickly realized that the words just now were probably not a warning, but the host thought that Illya was still preparing to absorb Assassin and the Black Holy Grail's bond, so she wanted to go with him, so it advised her not to do anything stupid.

However, because the host was in a hurry to merge with Gilgamesh, he did not explain much, which made this thoughtful gesture a little bit distorted.

I have a feeling that the host has changed a lot... When Lord Barbatos comes next time, he will probably be surprised by his changes.

Just as I was thinking, a familiar building appeared in front of me, and the system reminded me: [Host, the Matou residence is in front of me.]

Hoshino Nozomi stopped.

Since Matou Rankan was originally a Western magician, the style of Matou's house is more European, which is out of tune with the surrounding houses. At this moment, the tall iron gate is wide open, as if inviting him to come in.

...something is wrong.

Magicians will set up defensive magic at the entrance of their residence. During the Holy Grail War, as a participant in the war, the defense strength of the Matou residence will only increase, not decrease.

Gilgamesh was walking in front of him. Could it be that he opened the iron gate? But he was walking in silence all the way, and he didn't hear any sound of the King of Heroes fighting with magic after it was activated.

Xingye Wang thought to himself: Conduct investigation and identification.

【Detection and identification, success.】

In the blink of an eye, a series of footprints appeared on the ground. Judging from the traces, Gilgamesh should have entered the Matou residence smoothly without encountering any obstacles.

Hoshino Nozomi had a bad feeling in his heart, and he quickly walked into the mansion and ran into Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes seemed to be in a bad mood, and he patted his sleeves with one hand in disgust, as if something dirty was stained on it.

"You're finally here," Gilgamesh looked back and found that there was no third person, so he smiled, "The counterfeit didn't come with you?"

Zhong Li: "Illya is still behind."

The smile on Gilgamesh's face disappeared instantly.

Zhong Li continued, "I was anxious to reunite with you, so I hurried over here. There shouldn't be any danger on the road, so your side is more important."

Gilgamesh raised his lips slightly. "What a joke! How could I be in any danger?"

"I think so," Zhong Li followed up and asked, "Did you find anything?"

Gilgamesh put down his hand and threw a bombshell: "Matou Ruoyan is dead, and Assassin must have been absorbed by the Black Holy Grail."

He arrived at the Matou residence first, walked around the house and successfully found the insect pond, where he discovered Matou Rankan's body - or to be more precise, his remaining clothes.

The body of Matou Ruoyan is made up of the insects he feeds, and his existence itself is close to that of the undead. Ordinary physical or magical attacks cannot completely destroy him. Who else can exorcise him from the root, except for the supervisor of the church, Kotomine Kirei?

He told Zhongli the news. After thinking for a moment, Zhongli remembered a piece of information that Dazai Osamu had mentioned to him - Fyodor was from Russia, and that was also one of the major bases owned by the Holy Church.

The Luoyan City Cult can provide magic power. If Fyodor had known about the purification methods of the Holy Church, then purifying the Matou Dirty Inkstone would naturally not be a problem.

Perhaps even Matou Ruoyan himself did not expect that he would die in his own magic workshop.

The next question is – how did Fyodor enter the Matou residence without triggering the magic mechanism?

Archer watched the Matou residence the entire night last night. After dawn, Tosaka Rin also sent a familiar to monitor outside and report to him if anything unusual happened... This means that Fyodor came directly to the Matou residence, and it is even possible that he came directly to the insect pond.

——In the hotel, Matou Ruoyan once said: "He has a special person to protect him. Assassin almost died at the hands of that person."

In other words, Assassin had come into direct contact with the Red King.

If the Red King had done something to Assassin at that time and achieved the conditions for launching some kind of magic, then Fyodor's silent infiltration seemed reasonable.

In order to avoid missing any information, Zhongli went to the insect pond in person again. Gilgamesh disliked the environment there and did not follow him.

The insect pond is extremely dark. Without the source of magic power, the lights on the rock walls are off, making it impossible to see the scenery clearly. All one can hear are rustling sounds. But soon, these insects will die because they have lost their owners.

【Detection and identification, success.】

Several crisscrossing scratches immediately appeared on the ground and the walls. They were probably traces of the battle between the Red King and Assassin. Apart from that, there was no more information.

When Zhongli returned upstairs, Illya finally arrived at the Matou residence.

The girl panted and held her knees with her hands, but she did not forget to argue with the King of Heroes.

Gilgamesh: "You are really brave. Do you think Zhongli will always..."

Illya looked at Zhong Li suddenly: "Big brother!"

Gilgamesh: “…” You came at the perfect time.

Zhong Li was inexplicably dragged into the center of the dispute: "Huh?"

He looked left and right, and finally squeezed in between the two of them, smiling and trying to smooth things over: "Why don't we go back to the hotel first."

"It seems I'm late." Illya complained softly.

"No, you're here just in time. Assassin has disappeared," Zhong Li touched her head, "Just stay in a safe place."

Illya was startled.

What does "just right" mean? She couldn't help but ponder its meaning.

... Could it be that Zhongli told her not to do stupid things because he cared about her? Thinking back to the night they first met, from that moment on, Zhongli had always disagreed with her using the Holy Grail's function.

This was the first time since her birth that someone had separated her from the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail could be Illya, but Illya could not be the Holy Grail.

In Gilgamesh's unhappy eyes, Zhong Li said, "Let's go."

Illya quickly followed.

*

hotel.

Weber and Gray have calmed down a lot about the arrival of the King of Heroes. In their opinion, Gilgamesh has a mysterious liking for Zhongli, so it is not surprising that he appears next to Zhongli. In addition, with Rider regulating the atmosphere, everything is peaceful during the day.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the moon is at its zenith.

Gray was the first to notice the abnormality: "Master, Mr. Zhongli, there is fog!"

Thick fog enveloped the entire river and showed signs of spreading into the city. Thanks to the thermal imaging system, Zhong Li did not need to find a way to dispel the fog to clearly see the "creatures" in the fog.

Its body was tall and bloated, with countless twisted tentacles flapping aimlessly in the air, and it was getting bigger and bigger - to be more precise, it was getting closer and closer to where they were.

It wants to go ashore.

"This thing," Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, "looks familiar."

"Of course! Ten years ago, we got together and used Saber's Noble Phantasm to defeat the sea monster summoned by Caster!" Weber gripped the railing tightly. "The monster that appeared in the Pacific Ocean not long ago also had a similar structure, but this time it didn't seem as huge as last time."

He turned to Zhong Li and asked, "Sir, what are you going to do?"

Zhongli would certainly not let the sea monster come ashore and harm the people. While answering, he was also thinking about why Fyodor chose tonight.

For Fyodor, the most reliable approach is to defeat them separately, and the opponent has been using this tactic to prevent him and the heroes from increasing their combat power.

Since this tactic was effective, why did Fyodor suddenly give up? Did he have a bigger trump card, or... someone did something that forced Fyodor to start the final plan ahead of time?

Who is this person? What did he/she do and why did he/she do it? To be able to predict the plans of the "devil" and disrupt his rhythm, he must be a very smart and predictable person...

Hoshino Nozomi was thinking hard, and suddenly remembered last night's [Lucky Identification, Great Success]. He casually mentioned a time, and Weber happened to summon Rider.

At that time, he only thought that this was the effect of the system, but he overlooked one thing - no matter how great the effect of the system is, under the influence of world consciousness, it must also integrate the effect with reality and form a certain logic to work.

Therefore, he was not lucky enough that night to encounter the moment when the summoning system was operating normally, but he intercepted the results of Fyodor using forbidden knowledge to repair the Holy Grail system.

So, this extremely intelligent and predictable person... is actually himself?

Xing Yewang: “…”

He has no idea.