They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 325 The First Battle of the Holy Grail War

Walter's interpretation saved Dan Lei the trouble of explaining.

Because, in principle, he is right. The Heroic Spirits summoned in this Holy Grail War are truly dead once they die, of course, in this dream world.

However, this conclusion clearly startled Paimon, who exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah! This is so dangerous! Will both Ying and I die?"

In response to her question, Danlei replied
"You will definitely die, but you two don't need to worry."

The Holy Grail typically summons the dead or legendary figures as Heroic Spirits.

You are clearly the latter, summoned as legends from the Sea of ​​Memories.

But your original selves are still alive, so what is summoned are clones with memories.

Therefore, the death of your clone in Pinocene has no effect on your main body.

However, this is equivalent to you experiencing death firsthand, and the process certainly won't be pleasant.

After Danlei finished speaking, Artoria added...
"Yes, Danlei is right. As Heroic Spirits, you should have received the Holy Grail's basic knowledge about Heroic Spirits."

I am one of those who are already dead and have been summoned. If I am defeated, I will simply return to the Throne of Heroes.

For living people, being summoned by their original form is possible, but the chances are very small.

Danlei and Artoria's words put Luminosity and Paimon at ease. If the Holy Grail War was a fight to the death for them, Luminosity, whose only wish was to know the truth about her brother's actions, would certainly not risk her life for it.

After all, she would eventually find the answer by slowly exploring Teyvat.

However, after hearing this, March 7th went straight to Himeko's side, took her hand, and said...

"Himeko-nee, if that's the case, it's too unfair to you. You shouldn't participate in the Holy Grail War."

"Find a place to hide. Uncle Yang, Xing, and I will handle things outside. Our main purpose in coming to Pinocchio isn't to participate in any Holy Grail War; your safety is definitely the most important thing."

Walter agreed with the statement on March 7th, and then said...
"I think March's suggestion was good, Himeko. Compared to my way home, your life is definitely more important."

After saying that, Walter turned directly to Danlei and said...

"Danlei, I want to withdraw from the Holy Grail War."

Seeing that Walter was about to back out for Himeko's safety, Danlei quickly pulled him back, shaking his head.
"Running away won't solve the problem."

Welt, you can withdraw from the Holy Grail War by using or transferring the three Command Seals you have.

However, Himeko's Demi-Servant status will not be removed.

Because in this Holy Grail War, apart from me, the other Masters' magical power is insufficient to sustain the Heroic Spirits.

Therefore, the existence and power of Heroic Spirits are provided by the power of the Holy Grail.

Even if you withdraw from the competition, Himeko can't.

The Holy Grail wishing ceremony requires at least six Heroic Spirits to be defeated and eliminated in order to complete the ceremony.

Aside from the seven guaranteed classes, the Luminous Adventors are considered a special class.

In other words, it can now be confirmed that there are at least seven Heroic Spirits participating in the battle.

I don’t know if there are any other special classes participating, but I’m sure few others would be willing to sacrifice themselves for others.

Therefore, I do not recommend that Himeko keep hiding.

Because if she were to separate from the main group and be discovered to be acting alone, she would definitely be surrounded and attacked.

Heroic Spirits have all sorts of abilities, so it's normal for them to have intelligence-gathering abilities.

On the other hand, Himeko's counter-surveillance abilities certainly don't reach the level of becoming a legendary Noble Phantasm. Since Himeko is a Saber-class character, she generally wouldn't provide any stealth-related skills.

Now it seems that there is only one way for Himeko to survive: you must end the Holy Grail War quickly. Simply kill six Heroic Spirits and make a wish, and the Holy Grail War will end automatically.

Himeko's status as a Servant will be dissolved due to the interruption of her willpower.

Upon hearing Dan Lei's words, Walter's face turned pale. It seemed that in this Holy Grail War, he couldn't choose whether to fight or not.

Why am I so unlucky? I ran into such a low-probability event as a Demi-Servant.

However, Xing suddenly had a brilliant idea, and she said...

"No, there is another way to ensure Himeko's safety."

At that time, the idea was to have Sister Ji stay by your side, Danlei. As long as you were with her, Sister Ji would definitely be safe.

After all, if even you can't defeat an enemy, we certainly can't."

As soon as Xing said this, everyone else's eyes lit up instantly, and Dan Lei broke out in a cold sweat.

If Himeko finds out what I'm about to do, will I still be able to be the mastermind?

Therefore, Dan Lei decisively refused.
"I'm sorry, it won't work this time."

It's not that I don't want to protect Himeko's safety, but I have my own reasons for staying in Pinocchio.

Although this purpose is not directed at you at all, nor will it harm innocent people.

But I'm afraid that if Himeko finds out my purpose, she'll just draw her sword and kill me.

I can't go into details, but as a friend, I can only offer this advice: in the struggle for destiny, there is no right or wrong.

As soon as Dan Lei said this, Ji Zi interrupted before Xing and San Yueqi could speak.

"A battle of destiny, Danlei. It seems you've already uncovered quite a bit of the truth about Pinocchio."

Since you have your own purpose, we naturally won't force you.

So let's start eating. This is a rare opportunity to rip off a big spender; we can't miss it.

Himeko clearly understood Dan Lei's words; the conflict within Pinocchio had secretly reached the level of their shared philosophy of destiny.

That's why Danlei refused to protect him, because Danlei doesn't think from the perspective of forging a new path.

If I find out about Danlei's secrets and then don't acknowledge them, it will make things awkward for both sides.

What Himeko had figured out, Walter naturally understood as well, so he remained silent.

Xing and March 7th wanted to say something, but with the two adults pulling them back, the topic was always steered away from where it left off.

In short, the meal was quite awkward, and even Paimon ate much less because of the atmosphere.

Only Artoria ate with relish.

After it was over, Danlei reminded him before leaving.
"Star, Welt, the identity, skills, and Noble Phantasm of the Heroic Spirits are the most important intelligence in this war. Remember not to reveal them casually."

I wish you the best of luck in achieving final victory.

After saying that, Danlei left with Artoria.

Dan Lei nodded to Xing and Valte, but still thought to himself, "Didn't you also reveal your true name as a Heroic Spirit?"

However, Danlei wasn't afraid to tell Walter and the others Artoria's name.

Given the name Artoria and her female identity, Welt couldn't possibly guess that she was King Arthur. Furthermore, very few people knew of Artoria's adult female form.

As long as no one reveals their names, when Dan Lei takes Artoria out, even if they encounter Type-Moon Servants who know King Arthur, their first thought will be that this adult female form of King Arthur is one of Artoria's relatives.

However, while Dan Lei was having dinner with the train crew, Pinocchio's Holy Grail War had already begun.

In the golden hour of the street, a short-haired man in a blue denim jacket is following a girl with pigtails.

The man followed the girl into the deserted streets, and before he knew it, he had reached a dead end, and the girl had disappeared without a trace.

Then the man summoned a red spear and shouted...
"Hey! You led me to this place, and you're not going to just leave without a word, are you, evil spirit?!"

As soon as the man finished speaking, a shadow appeared out of thin air behind him, and a girl dressed in black and blood-red gothic clothing rose from the shadow, speaking in a slightly manic tone.

"Oh dear, how rude of me to call a girl I'm meeting for the first time an evil spirit, Lancer."

Upon seeing the girl appear, Lancer, named Cú Chulainn, assumed a fighting stance and spoke with murderous intent.
"Your malice and curses are practically overflowing. You've got quite a few lives on your hands, Berserker."

Cú Chulainn was right; Berserker Kurumi Tokisaki killed and devoured more than 10,000 humans (most of whom were villains and petty thugs).

Humanity's loathing and fear of her were transformed into her innate skill, "The Wickedest Spirit," which burdened her with a curse.

This curse can obscure all her information, rendering conventional detection methods ineffective.

But to the other heroes, this Berserker is a real evil spirit.

Therefore, Cú Chulainn disregarded any sense of warrior's honor, because there was no point in reasoning with evil spirits.

Before he could finish speaking, he instantly transformed into a streak of blue light, his crimson spear piercing straight for Kurumi's heart.

However, just as he charged forward, the ground suddenly swelled with shadow energy, and countless pale, spiritual hands emerged from the shadows, attempting to block Cu Chulainn's assault.

Faced with the ghostly attacks, Cú Chulainn scoffed, "Child's play," and without slowing down, unleashed a series of rapid thrusts and parries with his spear, instantly deflecting all the spiritual energy hands.

However, in that brief moment of obstruction, Kurumi on the other side had already summoned an ancient rifle and pistol, one long and one short, and the clockwork-like spirit armor [Zafkiel] appeared behind her.

He pointed the pistol directly at his chin, whispered "First bullet," and a red light flashed from the number "I" on the clock behind him into the pistol, which he then immediately fired.

Kurumi's figure disappeared immediately, and Cú Chulainn's high-speed attack missed its mark.

At the same time, Kurumi appeared behind Cú Chulainn and fired several shots from her rifle without hesitation.

Cú Chulainn possesses the skill "Protection from Arrows," allowing him to instinctively dodge or block attacks from projectiles.

So Cú Chulainn didn't even turn his head, but instead thrust his spear back and swept it horizontally, deflecting all the bullets aimed at his back.

As Cu Chulainn swept his spear horizontally, he also turned around and charged forward again in front of Kurumi, smashing down with his spear.

However, as Kurumi Tokisaki unleashed her first bullet again, her figure vanished once more, disappearing into the distance.

Cú Chulainn watched Kurumi flee into the distance, but instead of giving chase, he said with a troubled expression.
"A time-based Noble Phantasm, this is really troublesome."

Why do I always encounter such troublesome opponents whenever I go out to gather intelligence?

Kurumi laughed when she saw that Cú Chulainn had stopped pursuing.

"What? Are you tired of fighting, Lancer?"

Cú Chulainn simply smiled in response to Kurumi's provocation.

"Just kidding, a demon like you, you could beat me up all day and I wouldn't get tired."

However, I'm not very interested in catching mice. Since you've already used your treasure, why don't you take a look at mine?

After he finished speaking, the Death Thorn Spear in Cú Chulainn's hand began to emit a dangerous red light, and the power attached to it began to surge.

Seeing this, Kurumi didn't run away at all, acting as if she didn't care if Kurumi used her Noble Phantasm.

However, at that moment, an arrow suddenly flew from the horizon and landed with perfect accuracy on Kurumi's head, causing a massive explosion.

Cú Chulainn was thrown back dozens of meters by the blast's force before regaining his footing.

After the explosion ended, a crater half a meter deep and more than twenty meters in diameter appeared in front of Cú Chulainn, and all the buildings within the area were completely destroyed.

Kurumi has also disappeared.

Faced with this familiar scene, Cú Chulainn looked in the direction from which the arrows had come and muttered something under his breath.
"Damn it, was that guy summoned too?"

After saying that, Cú Chulainn vanished in spirit form, giving his opponent no chance to pursue him.

At this moment, Archer, located on the rooftop of a high-rise building several kilometers away, spoke to the gold dust beside him.

“If Berserker doesn’t have any special means of survival, she should be out of the game by now, Master. As for Lancer, shouldn’t we pursue her?”

Sand Gold, holding a telescope, witnessed the power of Archer's arrow and immediately clapped his hands.
"Oh, Archer, you're quite skilled. That arrow was just as powerful as the Blazing Crossbow used by a single person on the Immortal Boat."

And to be able to shoot so far and so accurately, truly worthy of an archer-class Heroic Spirit.

Sand Gold's praise here is mostly encouragement, because in his opinion, Archer's archery skills are indeed praiseworthy, but the power is only decent, not top-notch.

Archer could naturally see that his master's apparent excitement was actually a form of leadership encouragement for his subordinates, so he directly said...

"This isn't exactly a technique worth praising, and this kind of sneak attack won't work on Lancer. We'll still need a head-on confrontation later."

Sand Gold had already figured out that his Archer and the opposing Lancer probably knew each other, so he asked...

"It seems you know that Lancer."

Archer, let's go talk to Lancer and see if he can find his master.

Now that we know each other, we should at least chat.

After saying that, Sand Gold wrapped himself in the protective energy of his life path and jumped off the high building.

Seeing this, Archer shook his head helplessly and complained.
"What a bizarre Holy Grail War. The Master is stronger than the Heroic Spirit. I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck."

After saying that, Archer transformed into spirit particles and left the rooftop.

About ten minutes later, Sunday brought Metatron and Jeanne to the crater where Archer had bombed.

Watching the dream architects around him frantically repairing the destroyed dream structure, Sunday remained silent for a moment before finally turning to Metatron and speaking.
"let's go."

Metatron asked this directly.
"Should we just leave? Without taking action against those who caused the damage?"

Moreover, I sensed a curse here; there must be evil spirits among the heroic spirits summoned this time.

On Sunday, seeing this, he said to Metatron
“The person who disrupts the dream has a special identity, and I cannot expel them. For the level of damage they have caused, they only need to pay a fine.”

We cannot break the rules we set ourselves first. I will send the bill to the person who drove the heroic spirits to destroy this place.

For us, the most crucial thing is to first complete your throne; only then will you have the power to judge all things.

　Currently, counting those summoned from their original form (in the game's Chaldea arc), it seems like only Miyamoto Musashi is one of them.

　　Of course, in the story, she travels around on her own, not summoned by the protagonist.

　　So when she died, she really died.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)