The infinite sword system has been mastered, and you say this is the dragon clan?

Chapter 360 We, Chaldea, are definitely not evil forces.
Emiya, posing as Bishop Pierre, stepped into a medieval cathedral for the first time, and couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia for some of the familiar sights—

The priest, the little boy...

Wait, no, the real reason I'm familiar with it is because a few years ago, Erii and I visited the community church where Uesugi Koshi worked.

After the old shadow king of the Snake Clan reunited with his children, he claimed he was unwilling to return to the family, but in reality, he was extremely concerned about the important matters of his descendants' lives. For example, he had spent the last five years painstakingly trying to bring together the slow-moving relationship between Genjiro and his secretary. As for the romantic problems of Genjiro's daughter, who was always clinging to her brother, the situation was even more complicated. The old shadow king had repeatedly failed in his attempts to win her over, but he kept trying...

Emiya once suspected that Genji had entered Chaldea not simply to assist his brother, but because he was so bothered by him that he had traveled a long distance to Chaldea to guard it.

This little boy probably knew a certain fact that Uesugi Kotsugu was particularly angry about but had no way to deal with—Emiya had kidnapped his own daughter Erii, so he didn't want to see Emiya's face.

Therefore, Minamoto no Chinobu believed that Chaldea was definitely peaceful, which is why she felt at ease staying in the lonely building on the Antarctic snow peak.

"I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to preside over such a religious ceremony. Phew, if Grandpa Yue had accepted the Church's invitation back then, he might have even landed a bishop's position. Well, I guess I've come from behind to surpass him..."

Emiya shook his head inwardly in front of the St. Andrew's Cathedral. Plerati's illusion was still quite well maintained, and no one who didn't know the truth could see it. The only flaw was that the bishop's theological cultivation could not be replicated. Therefore, he could only contact the Chaldea Caesar to see how to make up for it temporarily in the next three days.

Although Jeanne Alter scoffed at Pierre as a selfish opportunist who used faith as a tool, Emiya thought to himself, "You country bumpkin may have been devout in life, but when it comes to theological knowledge and culture, you're definitely miles behind him."

Fortunately, the director, Caesar, who was from Italy, happened to be quite familiar with the Roman Catholic system. He immediately brought over some materials for reference, and Mashu, who was known as a little encyclopedia of knowledge, also provided tutoring. They memorized the books until they were exhausted, and finally, Emiya's acting method was settled.

Not long after entering, a priest hurriedly walked in from among those who were busy preparing for the Mass. At this time, there was still some time before the ceremony began, and apart from the resident church staff, there were no foreign guests coming to worship.

“Your Excellency, I am very sorry that I forgot to mention this in advance yesterday. This is an extra prayer that needs to be read aloud during the Mass.”

"what?"

When Emiya took over, his eyes widened in surprise.

Is there such a passage in the Christian scriptures? I didn't see it during my tutoring session.
Even Caesar, this blond-haired German Roman, had things he didn't understand about Christianity?
Seemingly noticing Emiya's bewildered expression, the priest bowed apologetically once more.

"Your Excellency, please forgive my oversight. This prayer is not a tradition within St. Andrew's Cathedral, but rather something His Majesty the King mandated to be added to all churches for every ceremony. There are new prescribed prayers for all Masses, large and small, and for all ceremonies. In recent years, with frequent wars, St. Andrew's Cathedral has not held such a grand Mass for a long time."

The priest coughed awkwardly twice. "In addition to the tense situation and the financial difficulties caused by the British occupation, the previous bishop cut most of the budget for large events such as Easter, citing the exploitation by the British army. He ordered all large events to be simplified or canceled altogether, and even confiscated the account books..."

"Thanks to His Majesty the King for driving away the despicable English, the Church's chaotic state has been swept away, and the budget is now visibly full, bringing comfort to us believers. Now, hearing that the Grand Mass is reopening, and that the legendary Holy Knight will be present, we are so overjoyed that we have been busy preparing day and night, to the point that we forgot about preparing the new prayers..."

"I see. Go ahead."

Emiya, from the local priest's embarrassed expression and exaggerated yet subtly suggestive words, deduced that "the former bishop made a fortune during the national crisis, to the point that his accounts were a complete mess." He waved his hand, letting the innocent priest continue with his work.

Making money through war, he said. His character, Pierre, had actually done it before, though some of his methods were more palatable than others. Pierre, who served as bishop in the British-occupied territory, even endorsed the British occupation; his political acumen was remarkably flexible and adaptable.

It can only be said that very few of these upper-class individuals have been deeply brainwashed by religion. They would certainly do many things that violate religious doctrine or use it as a pretext for personal gain; otherwise, things like "indulgences" wouldn't exist.

Conversely, the lower classes in the Middle Ages lived in hardship and desperately needed religion to fill the void in their spiritual lives; therefore, they remained steadfast in their faith in God despite their suffering. It's no wonder that wherever the Holy Knights marched, the people cheered with jubilation. The legendary figures had reappeared on earth—a spectacle no less grand than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet, the attitudes of the nobility and the Church were vastly different…

'Let me see what Charlemagne has changed. Such a grand gesture, and he's even forcing churches nationwide to make changes…'

Emiya casually flipped through a couple of pages, and this excerpt made his eyelids twitch: '...We praise your miracle of raising the Franks from the dead, just as Elijah raised the widow's son, just as the Son of God raised Lazarus. This resurrected kingdom is proof of your plan of salvation, bringing fallen people back to the true path...'

It was quite shocking. Although he hadn't discovered anything unusual about the church from the outside before entering, the content of the prayers for the churches in the territories ruled by Charlemagne would surely enrage the Roman Catholics of this era if they were shown it.

The entire text is filled with numerous allusions and praises to Charlemagne, which in a sense challenges and subverts traditional Roman Catholicism.

In other words, the Catholic Church of this era had undergone a major schism that lasted forty years, and it no longer held the same prestige and power it once did.

In addition, the Holy Roman Empire had also fought with the Church several times over succession disputes. Not to mention that the story of Charlemagne and the Twelve Knights was originally endorsed and promoted by the Church itself. As a result, in order to avoid contradicting themselves, the Roman Catholic Church did not react immediately when the "Second Coming of Charlemagne" happened, but is still observing until now.

'However, with such high-profile promotion and anti-traditionalism, the allied forces will likely soon be united by the 'conservative churches.' After all, this era is still a century away from the original Great Reformation.'

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After much preparation, the Mass, which had been the focus of attention throughout Bordeaux, finally began.

The solemn ceremonies of the Middle Ages were actually quite complicated. According to the procedure, in addition to the preparations before the ceremony, they were divided into the entrance ceremony, the liturgy of the Word, the liturgy of the Sacrament, and the receiving of Holy Communion. The entrance ceremony was the choir singing the "Entrance Hymn," followed by the whole assembly reciting the "Confession."

It wasn't until the second phase of the Liturgy of the Word that it was Emiya's turn to preach, and that's when Charlemagne's personal agenda began to emerge:

"Almighty Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Triune God, may Your glory shine upon Caesar Charlemagne—"

Emiya's portrayal of Pierre, holding the doctrinal texts on the platform, was impeccable.

"...You have chosen the 'Secundus Post Deum Agape,' the cornerstone of the world's order of salvation. May His throne be secured by the winds of the Holy Spirit, and His law be like the sun, which cannot be obscured; all who obey this beloved one will receive the key to eternal life."

Among the faithful were members of the Albrecht family, the Counts of Foix family, the Lord of Périgord, and the local Bordeaux families of Solon and Montesquieu.

What particularly caught Emiya's attention was that this clearly presumptuous eulogy did not elicit any unusual reactions from them, which was abnormal. In this era, there would inevitably be conservatives who would oppose such arbitrary modifications to the text.

[Senior, senior, something really seems off.]

BB's voice echoed in my mind.

Stop talking nonsense, you should have already reached your conclusion.

[Hehehe, don't be in such a hurry, senior! Actually, the specific principle is pretty much what you imagined before. That king cleverly used the church as the ceremony location and his self-designed prayer as the incantation for the magic ritual, which is the unlocking code for activating this spiritual link ritual.]

'That's strange. Putting aside the fact that I'm a god-slayer, the original Pierre was just an ordinary person, right? How could he have believed that such a mortal bishop could preside over and successfully perform a large-scale ritual?'

【That's Charlemagne's idea!】 BB's voice resonated in my heart. She had probably discovered the secret that Emiya had been searching for for so long without finding it, and couldn't help but hum softly.

[Senior, have you forgotten? The mental link technique that Caesar developed using a wealth of information from the Secret Society was also based on an external object like the Alchemy Matrix, wasn't it? That thing has been iterated several times and is now quite simple to operate. As long as there are enough participants, 'miracles can happen with brute force,' greatly increasing the range or upper limit of its power.]

'But that also needs a main body, right? For example, Lu Mingfei saved the entire Chaldea team at once because he himself had that ability to not die. Before that, Caesar and the others survived the explosion in the control room by secretly having someone from the Snake Clan cast that shikigami technique that could enhance self-healing...'

[No, no, no, senior, you've overlooked a crucial issue—this ritual itself has a subject capable of unleashing its power!]

"Ok?"

After receiving BB's reminder, Emiya finally realized something. While reciting a prayer, he "multitasked" and carefully observed everyone's facial expressions.

From the priests with different roles to the noble believers present, everyone became solemn and calm in this solemn ceremony. If this could be considered normal, then the invisible azure light particles emanating from them seemed somewhat strange.

The original medieval chapel religious style was instantly transformed into a mysterious fantasy film set.

Those were strange blue particles of light that were invisible to the naked eye, and only those with strong mental fortitude like Emiya could barely observe them while remaining unaffected.

These dissipated particles flowed slowly in a certain direction, as if being manipulated and harmonized by an unseen hand, seeping from mid-air into the ground, gradually converging into a magnificent, azure, and dazzling river.

And the final direction of this thick river is exactly the same as the direction of Aachen, the holy city where Charlemagne lived!
Emiya suddenly realized that the clues were now connected.

'So that's how it is. Throughout Frankish territory, the one who performs all the rituals is Charlemagne!'

[That's right, senior! Congratulations on uncovering the greatest secret of the Father of Europe's rule over the entire land! This secret was something we wouldn't have discovered if we hadn't personally participated in a religious ceremony!]

'is that so?'

[Yes, you saw the underground spiritual river as well, didn't you, senior? This is different from a typical super-large alchemical matrix—a dragon vein. The carrier of this matrix is ​​the spirit of all living beings, not visible matter. It exists on a different level from ordinary ley lines. Otherwise, with Chaldea's technological capabilities, it would theoretically be impossible for them to be completely unaware of this anomaly.]

'It's truly inconceivable. The content of a person's spirit and thoughts changes drastically and chaotically from moment to moment, far more uncontrollable than the waves of an ordinary river. How could a complex and orderly system possibly be constructed using such an illusory medium as a carrier?'

[Hmm, even BB doesn't know the answer to this! The only solution I can think of right now is this—for example, Charlemagne sitting in the central command center day and night, constantly 'tuning' the music, manipulating the various melodies like a conductor, making the chaotic sounds blend together. Hmm, anyway, if that person theoretically possesses the Holy Grail of this era, it's not impossible for them...]

'Well, even with the Holy Grail, this kind of endless overtime must be exhausting. Charlemagne is a follower, but I doubt he could handle this kind of workload—'

[Hmph, maybe Charlemagne's self-proclaimed 'Second Greatest Lover' and 'Holy King' is real. He'd really be happy to sit on his golden toilet nonstop until the end of time in order to spiritually assimilate the masses. Ugh, this overflowing possessiveness is making even BB feel nauseous.]

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"These are the latest findings of our investigation into 'Singularity: Charlemagne's New Empire.' What are your thoughts and countermeasures?"

In the small conference room located in Shadow Border, Emiya, who had finished playing the role of the bishop, returned here and held a short meeting with the passengers in the Imaginary Submarine and Chaldea via remote connection.

Captain Constantine, who claimed to have some knowledge of various forms of alchemy and magic, glanced at Emiya and then said modestly:
"Let me share my opinion. Charlemagne may have received energy and technological support from somewhere. In terms of energy, it is undoubtedly the Holy Grail, while in terms of technology, it may involve a considerable degree of 'spiritual reconstruction'."

Caesar on the other end of the communication line nodded. Spiritual reconstruction is considered one of the seven great achievements in traditional alchemy, but with the spread and increasing complexity of magic, this traditional explanation seems somewhat cumbersome and redundant. This is because sufficiently advanced magic always involves, to some extent, multiple areas of alchemy. It's only because institutions like the Atlas Institute, which specialize in alchemy, are relatively conservative in this regard.

Constantine pointed to the empty space, indicating the church footage that BB had secretly recorded. "The participants in the ceremony were clearly linked and adjusted by an invisible entity on a spiritual level, which is significantly different from the spells developed by Chaldea."

“We only use spiritual connections to amplify specific effects, and the participants are just temporary nodes. Charlemagne turned the participants into permanent nodes. They are like gears forcibly fitted into a huge machine. This is assimilation.”

"What methods are there to prevent or reverse this assimilation?" Caesar asked.

Constantine shook his head.

Emiya thought for a moment, "Both of you Avengers, you seem to have experience with contacting and resisting assimilation?" He remembered that Black Mary had mentioned her wariness of assimilation.

Black Mary waved her hand, "Not entirely...tsk, this question is better left to the black sorcerer to explain himself."

Despite the crowd's gaze, Prieratie maintained a smile, her expression innocent. "Oh dear, everyone's looking at me? Am I suddenly so highly anticipated? Even if I cast a Reversal (Alterification) spell on my Servant, I can't guarantee they won't be brainwashed and assimilated, hehe!"

"After all, that emperor commands the will of all living beings across a vast territory. A single Avenger Servant is at most a tiny, misfit cog in a machine, perhaps able to resist for a time. However, even if they cannot be integrated into the system, they might still be annihilated by the immense power!"

Gears...system...

Emiya frowned. This Charlemagne Empire was actually hiding a spiritual superpower beneath the surface, with countless people assimilated and integrated into the system to form gears, and Charlemagne was the core source.

One can imagine how immense their power would be, given that they possessed the combined strength of an entire nation capable of sweeping across Europe. The Avengers were, at best, irregular cogs in a machine, and Astolfo was merely a special case of a slightly broken cog stuck at a crucial juncture.

Instead of going through all that trouble to figure out a solution... let's fight magic with magic!
Emiya suddenly had a breakthrough in his thinking. "Wait, I have a bold idea. If we also learn his methods and brainwash all of our people, once we reach a certain scale, wouldn't we be immune to his brainwashing?"

No problem, if you can't beat them, join them!

Constantine was taken aback upon hearing this, but after careful consideration, he immediately said, "I feel confident that we can do it technically!"

He finally understood why his brother Norton praised Emiya's talent. Ordinary geniuses could only occasionally produce something of note, but Emiya's words were always exceptional.

"?"

Caesar silently typed a question mark, thinking that if this thing were promoted, things would get really messy... What would Chaldea, an organization dedicated to protecting the world and human civilization, become?

Armed with Heroic Spirit summoning and various technologies far ahead of their time, they've now started using powerful mind control techniques—a pure template for a dark and evil force! Is this the beginning of Chaldea's invasion of the multiverse...?

(End of this chapter)