The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

Such astonishing regenerative abilities are unmatched even by Hachiman Hikigaya, who has fused with a portion of the Sesshoseki.

Hachiman Hikigaya found it hard to believe that androids had such strong self-healing abilities.

"Hachiman, have you ever heard of Avalon?"

"Avalon?"

Upon hearing Irisviel's words, Hachiman Hikigaya and Sakura exchanged a bewildered glance, then shook their heads after seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

Although he was indeed good at humanities subjects, he didn't know much about things that sounded like they came from abroad.

"Avalon is Saber's final resting place... The reason I possess such strong self-healing abilities is because of a Noble Phantasm originating from Avalon..."

As she spoke, Irisviel placed her hand on her chest and took out the scabbard of Artoria that had been buried inside her body.

"A distant paradise, Saber's scabbard. Its wielder will heal from any injury, and even the process of aging will cease!"

Seeing the two people curiously examining the scabbard taken from her body, Irisviel gave a brief explanation of the origin of the scabbard in her hand.

Can even aging be stopped?

Irisviel's description of the blue-gold scabbard in her hand made Hachiman Hikigaya's lips twitch.

I always feel like there are a lot of things that break the rules in this world.

If anyone possesses a sword sheath, wouldn't they be immortal?

And this was not an isolated incident.

If there are items that can grant immortality, then there must be other ways to achieve immortality or greatly extend one's lifespan...

"If this hypothesis holds true... wouldn't there be a lot of old fogies hiding in the shadows in this world?"

The speculation that popped into his mind gave Hachiman Hikigaya a chill down his spine.

It's definitely better to resolve things here quickly and then go home...

"Then I'll leave this to Saber."

After healing her injuries with the distant utopia, Irisviel handed the scabbard to Hachiman Hikigaya.

"This scabbard originally belonged to Saber, and now I want to return it to its rightful owner. I imagine Saber will find it easier to deal with Archer with it..."

"you sure?"

Reaching out to take the scabbard from Irisviel, Hachiman Hikigaya asked her again if she wanted to return the item to Artoria.

"Of course, I don't need it anymore."

Irisviel nodded firmly.

The Holy Grail War is about to end, and her role as a medium has been transferred by Hachiman Hikigaya to Zouken Matou through a magic circle.

Aside from not yet killing Kirei Kotomine to avenge Kiritsugu Emiya and returning to Germany to bring Illya out, she had no regrets.

"Alright, I'll pass it on to Saber."

Seeing that Irisviel was serious, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately put the distant utopia into his system space.

He got up, preparing to summon two foxes to take Sakura and Irisviel to another safe place, when suddenly, a dark gray pillar of light shot into the sky from the magic circle beside him.

"The Holy Grail summoning is complete."

Looking at the cup slowly rising within the pillar of light, Irisviel murmured to herself.

"Is that the Holy Grail?"

Upon hearing Irisviel's words, Hachiman Hikigaya also looked at the cup that had caused the seven teams to fight each other with interest.

However, to his regret, the Holy Grail, aside from possessing immense magical power, was merely an ancient-looking cup...

"Hey, what's that?"

Suddenly, a black, mud-like substance appeared to overflow from the Holy Grail in the mortal realm.

Sensing the ominous aura filling the black mud, Hachiman Hikigaya did not hesitate at all and immediately grabbed the two women's hands and ran down the mountain.

However, the black mud seemed to have a life of its own. Almost at the same time that Hachiman Hikigaya left with Sakura and Irisviel, the black mud that was originally scattered on the ground suddenly accelerated its overflow.

Within seconds, the black mud had reached a massive quantity, and then swallowed the three of them with lightning speed!

Before the black mud engulfed them, Hachiman Hikigaya used all his strength to cover the three of them with divine power, forming a sturdy protective shield.

However, the black mud completely ignored the defenses constructed by Hachiman Hikigaya and easily penetrated the interior of the protective shield...

"Really..."

After an unknown amount of time, Hachiman Hikigaya, whose consciousness had been fading, suddenly regained consciousness.

Standing before him was a petite, fair-skinned girl, who was looking at him with a rather helpless expression.

He regained consciousness, and the little girl immediately said in a complaining tone:

"Why would you put that filthy stuff into the Holy Grail?!"

"dirty stuff?"

Hachiman Hikigaya seemed somewhat bewildered.

"Look, it's this bug!"

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya still didn't understand, the little girl immediately pulled Zouken Matou's Crest Worm out of the void in front of her.

"The Holy Grail was already corrupted during the last war, and now you're using such a filthy thing as a medium to summon the Greater Grail? Are you an idiot?"

Looking at the culprit who had contaminated the Holy Grail a second time, Alaya felt quite helpless.

According to the original timeline, the corruption of the Holy Grail should have been dealt with by Saber's Master during the Fifth Holy Grail War.

However, world lines have just too many branches.

After Hachiman Hikigaya from the other world received Sakura's message, the future of this branch of life was completely changed.

In order to ensure the survival of the human race in the future, Alaya had no choice but to lure Hachiman Hikigaya to save Sakura and have him participate in the Fourth Holy Grail War, so as to resolve the pollution ahead of schedule.

However, to her surprise, in order to save Irisviel from becoming the Holy Grail, Hachiman Hikigaya actually made Zouken Matou his substitute.

When she heard the news, her feelings were quite complicated...

Now, with Zouken Matou's involvement, the Holy Grail's contamination has become even more severe. Alaya, unable to sit still, has no choice but to appear and urge Hachiman Hikigaya to quickly clean up the contamination.

"Feel sorry...."

Completely unprepared for the trouble his decision would cause, Hachiman Hikigaya instinctively apologized upon hearing Alaya's explanation.

"If apologies were enough, why would I need to come to you?! Get back to work!"

Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya's guilty expression, Alaya went berserk just like a real human.

Despite being a demigod from another world with magical powers, his first reaction to something is to apologize. He has completely disgraced the demigods!

"However, it's also partly my fault for not communicating with you in time..."

After a period of unusual emotional fluctuation, Alaya returned to calm.

After all, if she hadn't been scheming against Hachiman Hikigaya, wanting him to work for her for free without his knowledge, but had instead informed him of the mission from the beginning, the current situation might have been avoided.

"If you can clean up the pollution, I will pay you accordingly, how about it? This is a promise of global deterrence."

"Inhibition?"

Upon hearing the strange and unfamiliar words, Hachiman Hikigaya was immediately filled with curiosity.

"Since I don't want to explain, just think of me as the administrator who keeps this world running. What do you think of my proposal, rather than my official position?"

"What would happen if I refused?"

"There will be no punishment, except that the three of you will awaken in that black mud filled with all sorts of curses. As for any side effects from touching the mud, I have no idea..."

"Isn't this a complete threat?!"

Alaya's answer instantly displeased Hachiman Hikigaya.

"This is not a threat, it's just a fact."

Perhaps sensing Hachiman Hikigaya's anger, Alaya's lively expression instantly vanished, replaced by a cold and indifferent face.

"I contacted you through the Black Mud, which means that in reality, the Black Mud has already swallowed you, Sakura, and Irisviel."

"However, if you agree to help me remove the contamination from the Holy Grail, I will naturally help you avoid the side effects of the black mud..."

"There was absolutely no choice."

Upon hearing Alaya's words, Hachiman Hikigaya's expression softened somewhat. After pondering for a while, he raised his head with a wry smile.

If they don't agree to help, the curse of the black mud will befall the three of them; only by agreeing to help will they be safe.

Although it appears to be a choice between two options, in reality, the path of rejection has already been blocked...

"The contract is now established!"

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya nodded in agreement to help, Alaya's eyes gleamed with silver light.

Immediately, a silver chain emerged from the void behind her, one end binding Alaya, while the other end pierced straight into Hachiman Hikigaya's heart.

"!"

The moment his heart was pierced by the chains, Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly opened his eyes.

Less than half a centimeter from his face, an extremely fragile silver barrier was struggling to resist the black mud...

Chapter 259 The Final Battle (End)

"If I don't agree, will this barrier cease to exist?"

Looking at the seemingly fragile but actually quite sturdy barrier in front of him, Hachiman Hikigaya pondered thoughtfully.

He turned and looked in the direction where Sakura and Irisviel had been standing. Sure enough, just like him, two silver 'cocoons' were floating in the black mud.

It's unclear how long it will take to purify such a large amount of black sludge...

Looking at the black mud around him, Hachiman Hikigaya felt a sense of helplessness.

However, the most urgent task now is to get Sakura and Irisviel to a safe place.

After calming down and taking a closer look, Hachiman Hikigaya realized that they were not standing still.