The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

"Master, what's going on?"

The three retreated to a place where the black mud could not reach them for the time being. Looking at the 'hole' in the sky that was constantly pouring black mud, Artoria's face was full of confusion.

"I'm afraid this is because the Holy Grail was destroyed..."

Hachiman Hikigaya first lost focus and stood there like a wooden figure for a while.

When he regained consciousness, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

Just now, Alaya pulled his consciousness over for another conversation.

Alaya told him both good news and bad news.

The bad news is that because the medium connecting to the Greater Grail has been destroyed, the hole in the sky is now the direct passage to the Grail, and the black sludge from the Grail is continuously flowing into the world through that passage...

The good news is also related to that passage.

Because the black sludge from the Greater Grail has flowed through the passage, Alaya has found a way to completely purify the Grail.

She will then guide the source of the Holy Grail's corruption through the passage and sever it from the already corrupted part of the Grail. Hachiman Hikigaya only needs to destroy the source and the Grail part connected to that passage, and the mission will be complete.

"That's easy to say..."

Upon examining the empty magical power within his body, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but complain.

Keep in mind that they had just finished fighting Gilgamesh. Although the three of them looked energetic, they actually had very little magic power left in their bodies.

In this situation, they are still being asked to fight, and the enemy is the very culprit who caused the Holy Grail to be corrupted...

Perhaps they heard Hachiman Hikigaya's complaints, or perhaps they had already taken into account Hachiman Hikigaya's condition after the battle.

Shortly after Hachiman Hikigaya finished speaking, a light blue membrane instantly enveloped him.

"Master!"

This sudden turn of events instantly put the two heroic spirits, who were already on high alert, into a state of tension.

Karna even raised the tip of his spear, preparing to attack the membrane to rescue Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Lancer, wait!"

At first, Hachiman Hikigaya was also startled by the sudden appearance of the blue shield around him.

But upon discovering that he was inside the protective shield and that his magic was being restored at an astonishing rate, he quickly stopped Karna from doing so.

Soon, as Hachiman Hikigaya's magical energy was replenished, the excess magical energy spread through his connection with Karna and Artoria into their bodies.

"A truly amazing power..."

As Karna carefully sensed that he was gradually approaching his peak state, he came to a conclusion about the suddenly appearing protective shield.

With the magical power provided by Hachiman Hikigaya, his body, which was born into this world, could only exert a small portion of its power.

However, with the replenishment of the shield's energy, his strength broke through the previous limitations and entered a new realm...

"Gulu..."

Suddenly, the black mud stopped pouring out from the 'hole', and a monster that defied description and exuded an ominous aura was struggling to crawl out of the 'hole'.

"Is that the culprit that Alaya spoke of?"

Hachiman Hikigaya stared at the monster in mid-air, lost in thought.

Having no intention of fighting again, he took advantage of the fact that the monster had not yet completely emerged from the passage and directly ordered Karna and Artoria to unleash their Noble Phantasms again using the magic power they had just replenished.

With two dazzling beams of light streaking across the night sky, the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City finally came to a perfect end.

Chapter 261 Return

4:50 p.m.

A tram stop platform near an amusement park in Chiba City, Japan.

As the tram sped out of the station, only a handful of pedestrians remained on the platform.

Suddenly, a white light flashed in a hidden corner of the platform, and a group of people appeared out of thin air in the corner.

"I'm finally back!"

Looking at the modern train station reflecting the orange-red light of the setting sun, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a little teary-eyed.

A year! A whole year!

He's finally back in his own world!

"Is this my brother's world?"

Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya's excited expression, Sakura curiously looked around at the station, which had a modern, craftsmanship feel.

"Another world?"

Irisviel also looked around at the scenery.

She had to act like Shuyun simply because her daughter Ilya was by her side.

"Mom, will we be living here from now on?"

With her long silver hair and a top hat, Ilya nervously clung to Irisviel's hand, feeling anxious in the unfamiliar environment.

However, she was soon drawn to the cell phone in the hand of a passerby in the distance.

"Well, anyway, let's get out of the station first..."

She went alone, but came back with three people of the opposite sex, one adult and two children.

While agonizing over how to settle them and resolve their identity issues, Hachiman Hikigaya led the three women out of the station.

Irisviel, needless to say, with her tall figure, exquisite face, and the temperament cultivated in the Einzbern family since childhood, is definitely the focus of attention wherever she goes.

Although Sakura and Illya are young and their bodies haven't fully developed yet, their adorable appearance alone is enough to attract everyone's attention!

Then, following the three of them was a man with rotten, dead fish eyes and a 'sleazy' face...

As he led the three toward the exit, Hachiman Hikigaya keenly sensed that something was amiss.

The police officers, who were originally scattered in various corners of the station, were now clearly moving closer to him.

After calmly considering the current situation, Hachiman Hikigaya sadly realized that the problem lay with himself and unhesitatingly cast a spell on each of the four to reduce their presence.

After using the talisman, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately felt all the gazes that had been focused on him disappear.

After successfully getting the exit staff to let him through using magic hypnosis, Hachiman Hikigaya stood on the street with three unlicensed individuals and began to think about his next move.

Hachiman Hikigaya originally only planned to bring Sakura back.

However, after handling Alaya's request, in order to fulfill his promise, Hachiman Hikigaya took Karna, Artoria, and Irisviel to Germany and politely explained his request.

Naturally, the understanding head of the Einzbern family immediately granted Irisviel and her daughter Ilya their freedom, and also gifted them a large amount of jewelry to cover their future living expenses.

After leaving the Einzbern family, Karna was the first to bid farewell to everyone.

After all, he only answered Hachiman Hikigaya's summons for the sake of fighting. Now that the Holy Grail War is over, he has lost any reason to remain in this world.

Then, on the way back to Fuyuki City, Alaya sought out Hachiman Hikigaya once more.

However, this time she wasn't there to cause trouble for Hachiman Hikigaya, but rather to fulfill the agreement they had made and reward him for purifying the Holy Grail.

At the same time, Alaya brought the good news that the Holy Grail could continue to be used, and threw the newly repaired Holy Grail to Hachiman Hikigaya, letting him handle it himself.

As agreed with Artoria, Hachiman Hikigaya handed the Holy Grail to her.

Having obtained the Holy Grail she had longed for, Artoria was extremely excited. To express her gratitude, she gifted the scabbard, which was also her Noble Phantasm, 'The Distant Ideal World', to Hachiman Hikigaya as a thank-you gift.

Hachiman Hikigaya initially refused the gift, but after hearing Artoria say that she would enter Valhalla after using the Holy Grail and would never use the scabbard again, he accepted it.

After that, Artoria also disappeared with the Holy Grail, and only four people eventually returned to Fuyuki City.

As for why Irisviel and Illya went back to Fuyuki City?

This is certainly not because of Hachiman Hikigaya's personal charm; it's just that since leaving the Einzbern family, Irisviel currently only knows Hachiman Hikigaya and hasn't decided where to live yet.

The reason Hachiman Hikigaya returned to Fuyuki City was because he wanted Sakura to see her family one last time.

Tokiomi Tohsaka died during the Holy Grail War.

Hachiman Hikigaya was unclear about the specific cause of death, but he could clearly sense the decline of the Tohsaka family, a prominent clan in Fuyuki City.

After letting Sakura catch a glimpse of her mother and sister who were in mourning, and then handing over all the wealth he had earned in the previous year to Aoi Tohsaka through his familiar as compensation for taking Sakura away, Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly received a request from Irisviel to take her and Illya back to his world.

Irisviel had clearly given serious consideration to going to the world of Hachiman Hikigaya.

Although the Einzbern family has made it clear that they will let them go, she is, after all, an artificial human created as a vessel for the Holy Grail.

In particular, Illya is the offspring of her and a normal human, Kiritsugu Emiya.

Whether it's the mother or the daughter, they both hold great exploratory value for magicians.

It's alright as long as Hachiman Hikigaya is here, but once he leaves, I'm afraid some magicians will soon be unable to resist and attack them.

Since I didn't know anyone in my original world anyway, I might as well escape to Hachiman Hikigaya's world and start a new life.

Furthermore, given Hachiman Hikigaya's personality, he definitely wouldn't abandon her and Illya once they're in another world...

Although it was somewhat shameful to exploit Hachiman Hikigaya's weaknesses, Irisviel did so without hesitation in order to give Illya a wonderful life.

Hachiman Hikigaya looked at Irisviel and the white-haired, tsundere little girl Illya beside him.

He was actually quite clear about what the other party was planning.

However, the troubles of bringing two more people back to his own world are actually the same as bringing only Sakura back, so he doesn't intend to care.

Besides, Artoria had asked him to take good care of Irisviel before she left. Therefore, taking care of the mother and daughter would be a good extra condition for obtaining the 'distant utopia'.

Chapter 262 It's all Onii-chan's fault

"In short, we need to arrange a place for them to stay first..."

After glancing at the mother and daughter beside him, who were curious about everything in the world, Hachiman Hikigaya made up his mind to settle the three of them down first.

Considering Irisviel and Illya's previous standard of living, Hachiman Hikigaya chose a relatively upscale hotel near his home for the two of them to stay in, and then returned home with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

"Ah, Onii-chan, welcome back........."

In the living room of the Hikigaya family, Komachi was lying on the sofa, swinging her legs and playing on her phone.