On how PhDs become human evil

After the battle between Athena and Iskandar ended, the Holy Grail War continued smoothly for several days. Compared to the various outrageous maneuvers of the divine combinations in the Fourth Holy Grail War, this Holy Grail War seemed surprisingly normal.

First of all, no blind Caster should cause trouble by releasing the Sea Demon or something.

Secondly, the Masters are all normal people; there are no serial killers, no demolition-specialized righteous allies, and no arrogant lemon-heads (Kenneth: What's wrong with my hairstyle!?).

In light of this, even though Bai Jie has been taking Artoria out to challenge other Servants every day for the past few days, Fuyuki City has maintained its tranquility at night, and there have been no reports of gas explosions in the news. It can be said to be extremely peaceful.

Unfortunately, Bai Jie did not like peace.

"So boring~~~~"

Lying on the hotel sofa, Bai Jie let out a weak cry like a salted fish.

"When did the Holy Grail War become so peaceful? Shouldn't it be Masters leading their Servants in a battle of gods every night? Why is there no fighting in this Holy Grail War? It's just me and Artoria causing trouble the whole time."

In the past few days, relying on his overpowered search ability, Bai Jie has found every Master and Servant in Fuyuki City without missing a single one, and then led Artoria to kill them one group at a time.

Over four days, apart from the Rider group whose whereabouts are still unknown and who are likely to die, every Master and Servant in the group was challenged by Bai Jie.

Saber·Artoria, Archer·Athena, Lancer·Cú Chulainn, Rider·? ? ?, Caster·Mostima, Berserker·Einzbern that silly goose, Assassin·Nagumo Hajime and Tsuki.

To be honest, Bai Jie's side should have the biggest advantage in winning. After all, they have two Servants, Artoria and Mostima, and both are top-tier Servants, capable of taking on two or three opponents at once. Not to mention Bai Jie, an exceptionally powerful monster. If it were like ten years ago, with five groups of people starting a chaotic battle on the first night, Bai Jie alone could take them all down.

However, what left Bai Jie speechless was that everyone in this Holy Grail War was too cowardly. Apart from Athena popping up briefly on the first night, the rest of them actually stayed at home. In fact, when Bai Jie found Lancer's group, they were fishing!

Seriously?! Are you guys even that laid-back?! Can't you take the Holy Grail War even a little bit more seriously?! If everyone's this laid-back, doesn't it make it seem like Grimm, who's taking it seriously, is an idiot?!

In response to Bai Jie's sigh, Kiana said helplessly, "If you're bored, bro, why don't you hurry up and end this Holy Grail War, then we can go play in another world? Besides, how did you manage to let the opponent escape? How much of a handicap did you hold back during the battle?"

"About a dozen Pacific Oceans."

Kiana was speechless. "Luckily you're strong enough. If someone else had held back this much, they would have crashed and burned long ago."

“It seems that Master deliberately held back quite a bit to see how much strength the enemy Master could unleash in a desperate situation. However, I also have my reasons for not being able to end the Holy Grail War.” Artoria, who was serving by Bai Jie’s side, said, “Whether it was dealing with Lancer or Assassin, I was a bit careless. Perhaps it was because I picked up my sword again that I became a little complacent. I am very sorry, Master.”

"Ah, it's okay, it's okay, we can take care of it next time."

Bai Jie waved his hand, then rolled over and assumed the "Ge You slouch" posture.

"Let's make some plans. What should we do next? Anyway, we know the location of all the Servants and Masters except for Rider, who is probably already dead. The problem is how to send them to their deaths."

"Wait a minute, Master. If I remember correctly, the Holy Grail requires the magical power and souls of at least six Servants to manifest. In that case, wouldn't Caster be..."

As Artoria said, the true Holy Grail will only appear and fall into the hands of the last surviving Master and Servant after the other six Servants have been defeated and their souls and magical power have been absorbed by the Lesser Grail. Therefore, the death of the other six Servants is inevitable.

Therefore, if Artoria wants to obtain the Holy Grail, she must kill all Servants except herself.

“I understand what you’re trying to say, but don’t worry, there are more than seven Servants in this Holy Grail War,” Bai Jie said. “You remember Gilgamesh, the golden-haired guy? The King of Heroes from the last Holy Grail War. He survived by bathing in black mud. Although he has a physical body, his soul is still that of a Servant. If we take him, Athena, Berserker, Lancer, and Hajime Nagumo, the Holy Grail can still be saved. We won’t need to take down Mostima.”

"Huh? I don't have to die?"

Mostima, who had been silently watching the show from the sidelines, was somewhat surprised.

"I thought I would be killed by you, Master, in the end."

"Why would I want to kill you?"

"Didn't you say you were going to let Lia get the Holy Grail? I thought you were definitely going to kill me, but I didn't expect you wouldn't have to die."

Helplessly rubbing his forehead, Bai Jie sighed, "No matter how ruthless I am, I would never kill you, who are practically my family. At least have some faith in me, okay? Besides, even without Gilgamesh, I would have killed Artoria, not you."

"Huh? Didn't you want her to get the Holy Grail?"

"I can make that kind of thing myself. I don't even care about the Holy Grail in Fuyuki City."

The so-called Holy Grail is not an all-powerful wish-granting machine like in mythology, capable of granting any wish. It is merely a collection of a large amount of magical power. While such a large amount of magical power can indeed accomplish many things, it is far from being able to grant any wish.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Bai Jie never intended for Artoria to obtain the Holy Grail of Fuyuki City. The Holy Grail here was developed by a magician, and it can only fulfill the magician's wish—that is, to reach the Root.

“Speaking of Saber, I haven’t asked you what your wish is yet.” Bai Jie looked at Artoria. “Although I think it’s impossible, your wish shouldn’t be the same as last time, wanting to use the Holy Grail to go back to the day of the King’s Selection, right? If that’s the case, I don’t mind stabbing you again.”

"My wish... to be honest, I'm a little lost right now."

P.S.: I've been rewatching Drive lately and just realized I haven't written anything today. Time to get to work!

Section 470, page 24: Sending two at once

To Bai Jie's surprise, Artoria did not immediately express her wish.

"Indeed, I once thought of using the power of the Holy Grail to return to the day of the King's Selection, to make someone more capable than me king, and to save Camelot from its fate of destruction."

This was a wish that Artoria expressed at the King's Banquet ten years ago. At that time, whether it was the Hero King, the Conqueror King, or Bai Jie, they all ridiculed her wish without exception, because it was not a wish that a king should have. Having this wish was equivalent to denying one's history as a king.

But now, Artoria says she has given up that wish.

"When I was on the Throne of Heroes, I carefully considered what you, Master, had said, as well as what the King of Conquerors had said. Just as you said, as a king, one should not have such self-destructive thoughts. Now that I think about it, I must have shown an extremely ugly side back then."

"Yeah, so I stabbed you without hesitation, and then I gave you a backstab."

Hearing Bai Jie so readily expose her sore spot, Artoria's face froze instantly: "Master, how can you say something so despicable so openly?"

Backstabbing, scheming, and ambushes... these are all unacceptable to Artoria. As a knight, she craves fair, just, and honorable duels, not winning by taking advantage of others, muddying the waters, or stealing kills like Bai Jie.

In response to Artoria's question, Bai Jie simply shrugged and said, "Well, you know what kind of person I am."

(Phew... Calm down, Artoria, don't get angry at the man in front of you.)

After calming her somewhat wavering heart, Artoria continued, "Although I have abandoned my immature dreams of the past, I still don't know what I should do or what I should do in the future. Even if I obtain the Holy Grail, I probably won't make any effective or practical wishes."

In short, Artoria has lost her way in life. Like many people who feel aimless after achieving a goal, Artoria is now in a similar state. She had fought to change the fate of Britain, but two fellow rulers rejected her ideas, with White Knight shattering her wishes and dignity beyond repair. After her defeat in the previous Holy Grail War, Artoria also deeply reflected on her actions on the Throne of Heroes, ultimately abandoning the self-destructive desire she had always been unable to relinquish.

However, after giving up her wish, Artoria felt lost; she didn't know what she should do.

“In that case, let’s find a goal,” Bai Jie said. “There are so many things you can do in the world. There’s bound to be something that suits your heart. For example, you could maintain public order or something. Or, if all else fails, you could set a goal like eating all the delicious food in the world.”

"Eat all the world's delicacies?!"

The latter immediately made Artoria's ahoge stand up! Looking at Bai Jie with excitement, Artoria asked, "Master, if I obtain the Holy Grail, can I wish to eat all the delicious food in the world?"

"Uh... I don't think that'll work. By the way, are you really that craving delicious food?"

"Hmm! Because food was scarce in Britain, I was often hungry, and on top of that, Gao Wenqing provided endless mashed potatoes... In short, I want to eat delicious food!"

Seeing Artoria suddenly perk up, a strange thought suddenly arose in Bai Jie's mind.

—How did Britain raise this Saber-haired king in the first place?

"Oh, you're having a great chat. How about I join you?"

Suddenly, a slightly cold voice rang out in the room. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Athena was sitting on the sofa opposite Bai Jie. Beside her sat a girl in red, who was presumably her Master.

Faced with the sudden appearance of the two, Artoria immediately went to Whitebeard and summoned her holy sword: "Archer! Why are you here!?"

“I have something to discuss with the Godslayer. Put down your sword, Eternal King.” Athena smiled, then looked at Bai Jie. “But I am truly surprised. I did not expect you to be completely unprepared. I thought you would set up a basic soundproof barrier.”

"There's no need for that, I've already taken care of this layer."

Bai Jie's words made Rin Tohsaka, who was next to Athena, instantly spit out "ORZ" (a Chinese internet slang term for "contempt"). Damn it, is this the attitude of rich people? Don't think that just because you're rich you can do whatever you want, you bastard!

Waving Artoria away, Bai Jie looked at Athena with a complicated expression: "So, what do you want with me? Athena, you can't be that you've lost interest in the Holy Grail War and want to settle things with me, can you?"

"How could this be? I only began to understand the interesting aspects of the Holy Grail War last night. How could I let this ritual end like this?"

"Then why did you come to see me? Just to chat?"

"In a sense, that's true. After all, I don't know anyone else in this world besides you."

"Then go find Shi and Yue."

"As for that monster and the vampire, I have already gone to look for them." Athena took a sip of red tea that she had produced from who-knows-where. "Getting back to the point, I've come here to explain two things to you. The first is the Holy Grail War."

“Last night I defeated the first Servant, Rider, leaving six Servants. If you include those that survived, there are seven. I think that number is a bit too many. The Holy Grail War has now ended the initial stage of mutual probing, and the real fierce battle should begin.”

Now that things had come to this, Bai Jie understood Athena's meaning perfectly: "Are you planning to target a certain Servant? Do you want to start a Servant war?"

"Exactly. You're getting a little tired of the status quo too, aren't you?"

"Hmm, that's true, I have no objection. So, what's the second thing?"

"The second thing... I originally planned to tell you after the Holy Grail War ended, but I'll tell you now."

Athena put down her teacup and stared intently at Bai Jie.

"Godslayer, do you still remember the promise you made with me? If I ever encounter a difficult situation, you must lend a helping hand."

"...Ah, I remember now!" Bai Jie was wondering when he had made a promise with Athena, but as soon as she said the second half of her sentence, she immediately remembered. "What, is there a troublesome situation that the Language Dao can't handle?"

"This is a very troublesome situation for me, as it concerns whether I can return to the triune goddess form."

That sounds pretty serious.

"So, how do you want me to help you?"

"It's not the right time yet. I'll let you know when I need your help."

"Ha, if it's not the right time, why are you saying it so early?"

Section 471, 25.40 shots, year's profit secured.

Fuyuki City, church.

"boom!"

Bai Jie kicked the church's iron gate open, stepping into the church with one foot. Before he could step in with his second foot, a deadly golden flash appeared in his vision!

"Ding ding ding ding ding!"

An invisible world of gravity unfolded, and under an environment with a gravity a hundred times greater, the golden flashes paused for a moment before falling to the ground.

Glancing at the incoming Noble Phantasms, Bai Jie looked up at the top of the church: "You really think highly of me, Gilgamesh, shooting thirty Noble Phantasms at me without warning."

"Hmph! You've become quite arrogant since you trespassed into my territory, you evil dragon."

At the top of the church, Gilgamesh, clad in golden armor, coldly stared at Bai Jie. Behind him, the gates of the Gate of Babylon opened, and nearly a hundred golden ripples almost completely covered the sky. The sharpness of the Noble Phantasms that sprang out from within made the night sky as bright as day!

Without a trace of fear on his face, Bai Jie smiled and unzipped his coat, tossing it aside.