Those time travelers that year

If it were Ciel, after some calculation, he felt that to fully utilize the power of this magical artifact, it would be best to find a material that even the Origin Bullet couldn't touch, such as the liquid metal Breathing Soil from the game *Divine Weapon Mystic*. As an incredibly powerful liquid metal, Breathing Soil in *Divine Weapon Mystic* becomes so solid that even divine weapons can't cut it once the water is removed. Later, Nangong Wentian, who became a demigod, used the Phoenix Heart and the Celestial Crystal Green Pearl to create various imitation divine/demonic weapons with different abilities using Breathing Soil. This shows just how overpowered Breathing Soil in *Divine Weapon Mystic* truly is.

But thinking about it, with so many god-level figures inside, and a large number of near-god-level experts, Xia Er decided to just wash up and go to sleep! In a fight between those warriors, even Servants without using Noble Phantasms would be no match. And the very top-tier ones could easily slaughter any Servant.

With that in mind, Ciel put the magical artifact aside. Without good materials, the effect of the Moon Spirit Essence Liquid was indeed not ideal.

On the contrary, Ciel was quite surprised to discover research on Reality Marbles in Ken's memories. In Type-Moon, a Reality Marble is a magic spell that materializes one's own mental landscape. Once activated, it transforms the surrounding space into a completely different landscape. The materialization of mental landscapes means that a Reality Marble replaces oneself and the world while maintaining the same boundary.

"Reality Marble," a magic technique that rewrites reality using the caster's "mental landscape," is the closest thing to "magic" and is listed in the Mage's Association's Forbidden Spells Index. This is undoubtedly an extremely powerful ability. Consider this: the Emperor's massive army of friends is a Reality Marble. Archer's bootleg Blade Works is also a Reality Marble. While other powerful characters in Type-Moon may not possess Reality Marbles, those who do are undoubtedly among the top powerhouses in the Type-Moon universe.

Unfortunately, Director Ken was indeed a genius, and his memory contained complete research on the inherent barrier. But research is one thing, and practice is another.

Originally, "Realm Marbles" were abilities wielded only by elves and demons. However, with the development of magic that allowed the creation of personal mental worlds over many years, some advanced magicians have made it possible to create Realm Marbles. Most of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles can use Realm Marbles, but overall, the number of magicians capable of performing this world-altering magic is not large. Apart from naturally occurring elves, other worlds created by others are naturally eliminated. Therefore, maintaining a Realm Marble requires enormous energy and resources, resulting in Realm Marbles only lasting for a few minutes.

In the Type-Moon universe, humanity itself struggles to provide enough magical energy to utilize Reality Marbles. Therefore, while Director Ken and his predecessors did indeed research Reality Marbles, whether they could actually use them is another matter entirely.

However, this wasn't a big problem for Ciel! He had originally planned to stay in this world a while longer after the Holy Grail War to look for information about Reality Marbles at the Clock Tower. Unexpectedly, what he found so easily came to him...

So, Ciel simply stopped paying attention to the game with the broken cup. After handing over control of the Berserker to Medea, he immediately turned his attention to researching Reality Marbles.

69. The Holy Grail War Towards Its End (Part 2)

Reality Marbles, which are incredibly powerful even in high-magic worlds, are actually quite simple in principle. Essentially, they are a representation of one's personal mental world—in other words, one's imagination. The more powerful your imagination and the more powerful your realization, the stronger your Reality Marble. However, this imagination isn't just about whatever you think; the so-called mental world is something that has profoundly impacted you. For example, the Emperor's mental world is the days he spent fighting alongside his massive group of friends while he was alive. Archer's mental world is a wasteland filled with swords—the story that unfolds on his timeline.

Whatever scene has a profound impact on an individual, that scene is very likely to become the foundation of their inherent barrier. So, what has had the most profound impact on Ciel?

Thinking about this, Charles felt a little lost. Time travel, rebirth, and more time travel—his memories of his previous life were already quite hazy. To be honest, nothing really had a particularly deep impact! If he had to pinpoint the most profound thing…

Charles took out the magical pocket watch from his pocket. All those magical artifacts were a joke compared to this watch. This watch, with its wondrous origins, could transport him between reality and illusion, across endless crystal walls and planes, traversing worlds. If there was one thing that had left the deepest impression, it was undoubtedly this pocket watch.

Use this as the basis for your own inherent barrier?

After thinking for a moment, Ciel shook his head. Reality Marbles weren't so easy to use, and summoning a mental world wasn't something one could do at will. It required either a fortuitous encounter or ascension as a Heroic Spirit. For an ordinary mage to create a Reality Marble, it was a long process. After all, if one's own magical energy was insufficient, it could be replenished through ley lines and other rituals. However, how many human mages had actually created Reality Marbles over the years?

According to the memories left by Director Ken, research on Realistic Boundaries indicates that to complete a mental world, the magician must first construct it bit by bit, like building a house, starting with laying the foundation. The prerequisite for laying the foundation is finding the correct mental world; otherwise, all efforts will be in vain, and it may even harm the magician.

After completing the basic structure, you must gradually complete its fundamental framework, which is the theme of the mental world. Once the theme is complete, you must patch the mental world, much like a computer. The more powerful the mental world, the more difficult this final step becomes. After construction, when you summon the Reality Marble into reality, you must confront the world's own corrective abilities. Unless you can resist the world's restraining forces or possess unimaginably vast magical power to sustain it, you will constantly face external pressures when the mental world replaces the real world.

If it were Ciel Phantomhive doing this, he might never have been able to create a Reality Marble in his entire life. However, with the research knowledge left behind by Director Ken, it's only a matter of time. In any case, compared to acquiring the knowledge to create Reality Marbles, the Holy Grail War isn't that important. After all, the central prize in the Holy Grail War is the corrupted Holy Grail and the incomprehensible Third Law. If Reality Marbles could truly be created, powerful Reality Marbles would be no less powerful than Laws in the Type-Moon universe, and in Ciel's view, the potential of Reality Marbles even surpasses that of so-called Laws. After all, in a high-magic world, such things could be treated as 'domains' or 'alternate dimensions,' and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them the basic form of a divine kingdom, a Buddha kingdom in the palm of your hand, or a universe within your sleeve.

Therefore, dealing with this Ciel is quite troublesome.

However, no matter how troublesome it was, Ciel felt that Reality Marbles were still very necessary. So for the next few days, Ciel stayed in his room, trying to build the foundation of a Reality Marble little by little. Thanks to the fact that he and Medea had already taken control of the ley lines of both Ryutoji Temple and the Matou family, and had a continuous supply of energy from the city's ley lines, Ciel was able to create a basic foundation despite repeated failures in his attempts to build the Reality Marble.

However, at this moment, Medea's report pulled Charles out of his research state.

…………

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...

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"Wait, Caster, you mean Archer contacted Rider, tonight?" Ciel was slightly bewildered after being pulled from his research by Medea. "What day is it today?"

“Master, you’ve been staying in your room for days!” Caster sighed. “Now, the Holy Grail War has reached its final stage. After the Assassins were wiped out by Rider, the Assassins’ Master openly attacked Saber’s Master.”

"After that, he even murdered his own master and became Archer's new Master."

"Holy crap!" Charles was stunned. "Wait, you mean... Kirei Kotomine killed Tokiomi Tohsaka? What about Risei Kotomine? Doesn't he care about his son at all?"

"The former priests and overseers of the Holy Church have been confirmed dead. The murderer is Kiritsugu Emiya, Saber's Master!"

"Damn it..."

Ciel initially thought that without the chaos caused by the serial killer and without Ken's erratic behavior, Kirei Kotomine wouldn't have died, preventing Father Kirei from becoming completely corrupted and assassinating Tokiomi Tohsaka. However, he didn't expect that the ability to correct history was so damn damning. After listening to Caster's detailed explanation, Ciel felt utterly devastated.

First, after Caster gained control of the Berserker, he dispatched the Berserker to attempt to eliminate the Assassin. Before that, after learning about the Assassin and Archer, Caster planned to weaken Archer's forces during Ciel's seclusion. Since Ciel hadn't informed Caster of the plot's development, Caster proactively decided to focus on weakening the most powerful faction, Archer.

So, the Berserker stormed the door. But, coincidentally, he was discovered by the dog's father. Before that, the dog's father had discovered that the assassin was still alive, so he had been secretly monitoring the Church. Without the troublemaking killer duo from the original story, and with Saber's injury cured because Ciel's car overturned and Ken's head was injured, the dog's father had plenty of time to monitor the Church.

When he discovered that the Berserker had openly attacked (Caster had no intention of intervening; she believed the Berserker was enough to defeat the Assassin. Furthermore, no one knew the Berserker had changed masters.)

The dog's father secretly followed, intending to take advantage of the chaos. The assassin, however, was no match for the berserker and was utterly slaughtered. With an almost unlimited supply of magic power, the berserker demolished the entire church. In the chaos, the dog's father discovered a large number of Command Seals in Kotomine Risei's hand. Combined with his previous suspicions, the dog's father immediately realized that Tohsaka Tokiomi was cheating.

So, without hesitation, he seized an opportunity to use the Origin Bullet, instantly killing the unsuspecting Kotomine Risei. Just as he was about to snatch all the Command Seals, Kirei Kotomine rolled over in the chaos. Kirei Kotomine didn't care about his father's killer; what pleased him more was the ruthless attack from the dog's father (yooooooooooo…). Anyway, the two of them started fighting, and the dog's father, who hadn't regained his full strength, was almost beaten to a pulp by Kirei Kotomine. In addition, because he discovered that the assassin had too many clones, he couldn't effectively kill Caster, so he ordered the Berserker to try to wipe out both Masters in one fell swoop.

At this moment, the dog's father used a Command Spell to summon Saber, and when Saber appeared, the Berserker immediately went out of control...

In the chaos, Father Kirei, along with his father Kotomine Risei, escaped with the help of assassins, while Saber was thoroughly thrashed by the Berserker. It's as if the timeline has reverted to its original state—can you believe that someone with such a significant advantage was actually defeated by Saber? Sure enough, it's because of the Crimson Rose Spear she wields! A weapon with E-rank luck is a no-no!

In short, Caster was dumbfounded by this situation... She had control over the Berserker, but no Command Spells to amplify it! After the Berserker went out of control, it already had a continuous supply of magic power from the ley lines, so it no longer cared about Caster.

As a result of various unexpected circumstances, the Berserker was eliminated before the Assassin.

"I'm so sorry, Master, this is all my fault!" Caster knelt down. "I beg you, Master, punish me for this loss of valuable combat power..."

"Forget it, forget it, let the Berserker fight Saber. Whether he wins or not, the Berserker can't beat Saber." Ciel waved his hand. "Do you know the Berserker's true identity? His real name is Lancelot, one of the original Knights of the Round Table, and one of the reasons that caused the end of King Arthur's reign."

"Are you saying that the Berserker was originally a subject of Saber?"

“Yes! Logically speaking, the Berserker really has no chance of defeating Saber. Even if he has an advantage… he’ll be killed by the plot…” Ciel said. “So, let’s not worry about that. Since the Holy Grail War is about to end, then… it’s our turn to step in!”

70. The Holy Grail War Towards Its End (Part 2)

In the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars, the most difficult Servant to deal with was Gilgamesh, who was an Archer. While the Gate of Babylon is a decent, conventional attack method that is overwhelming for many Servants with weak attributes, its effectiveness diminishes significantly against Servants who are well-prepared and possess powerful Noble Phantasms.

After all, even though he has countless Noble Phantasms, Gilgamesh himself cannot fully utilize all of them in the treasure vault. In other words, he cannot use his true name to unleash the power of the Noble Phantasms; he can only discard them like consumables.

In the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars, the two Noble Phantasms Gilgamesh could truly master were the Chains of Heaven, which targeted divinity, and his trump card, the Extra Armor (EA). However, the Chains of Heaven were ineffective against Caster. Although she was from the Age of Mythology, she didn't possess divinity; instead, she had the Talisman of All Laws, a Noble Phantasm representing the embodiment of the Betraying Demoness's divine nature. However, even without divinity, Caster's physical strength wouldn't allow her to break free from the Chains of Heaven.

In Ciel's view, Gilgamesh's strongest form was undoubtedly the EA. His original plan was to defeat Tokiomi Tohsaka and then use the Soul Reaper's Curse to control him and weaken Gilgamesh with Command Seals. While Command Seals couldn't force the chuunibyou to commit suicide, they could certainly strip him of his Noble Phantasm abilities. Unfortunately, plans don't always go as expected. While Ciel was engrossed in learning how to create a Reality Marble, the world's corrective forces caused Ciel's plans to crumble completely.

Just as Ciel was racking his brains trying to figure out how to kill Gilgamesh, Caster gave him some good news.

"Um, Master!" Caster said, sounding slightly bewildered, "Although I lost some combat power due to my mistake, the spoils I seized when fighting Lancer are still here!"

"Ah?"

“Although the Berserker has returned to Valhalla, I deliberately used magic to intercept one of Lancer’s Noble Phantasms, the Crimson Rose Spear that extinguishes magic.” As he spoke, Caster waved his hand, and a long spear covered in crimson appeared in front of Ciel. “However, this Noble Phantasm is now only effective for one hit; it will disappear immediately after being used once.”

"Hmm...it seems there's not entirely...no way out!"

——————————This is a long-awaited dividing line——————————

Alexander the Conqueror, Gilgamesh the Hero. These three Heroic Spirits, bearing the titles of King, have finally arrived before each other in this Holy Grail War, as if by destiny. Here, on the first night of battle, Alexander the Conqueror, as a Rider, stood atop this very bridge, gazing upon the battlefield. And now, he stands on this very bridge once more, facing his destined enemy.

What happened to your proudest chariot?

"That? Yeah, it's infuriating that Saber stole it!" Rider said nonchalantly. Even with Ciel's intervention, history was still rewritten; Rider's chariot was destroyed by Excalibur in their battle against Saber. This time, although no one was impersonating him, Kirei Kotomine still kidnapped Irisviel and directly killed Irisviel's father's mistress, leaving behind disguised tire tracks at the scene.

In a moment of madness, Saber naturally went to cause trouble for Rider without thinking. Before Kiritsugu Emiya could find enough evidence, she had already clashed with Rider and, just like in the story, won the road racing championship (the AE86 on Mount Akina... lol).

"Have you forgotten my decision?" Gilgamesh asked with displeasure. "I should have told you to fight at your best."

“My weapons are indeed insufficient!” Rider replied, “But tonight’s Iskandar surpasses perfection precisely because of its imperfection.”

……

The two talked as they downed their drinks in one gulp.

Finally, they tossed their cups into the air and walked away, each with their backs to the other.

The Reality Marble opened, and the desert landscape instantly replaced the original world. Then, amidst the swirling sandstorm, the army that had once fought alongside the King of Conquerors appeared in the desert.

"The enemy is a hero king who is invincible."

"They are qualified to be our opponents."

"Alright, my heroic comrades, let the primordial spirits bear witness to our will!"

A deafening roar erupted, the thunderous bellows of the army overpowering the desert winds. The earth trembled as the army charged forward… This was a spectacle only witnessed in the age of cold weapons, and after being elevated to heroic spirits, this army, in both will and morale, far surpassed its most glorious moment.

Gilgamesh, facing the charging army, stood indifferently, watching thousands of men rush towards him, lonely and arrogant.

"Lord of all armies, come forth! Now I will show you what a true king is!"

"Let dreams unite and march towards conquest; I admire your ambition."

"However, warriors! Do you understand? That is, dreams will eventually disappear when you are sober. That is why it is inevitable that I will stand in your way, Conqueror King."

"Alright, it's time to end this endless dream! I will show you without any mercy."

"Wake up, EA! The stage for you is ready—in the beginning of time, in the primordial world..."

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“Hmm!” Caster paused for a moment.

"What's wrong, Medea?" Charles looked at Caster.

"In the area where the battle began on the first night, a massive burst of magical energy erupted; a Servant was unleashing the power of their Noble Phantasm." Caster gazed into the distance. "This is magical energy different from the Noble Phantasms we've already displayed, and... it's terrifying!"

"That port area? I see. It seems Rider is about to leave the stage!" After thinking for a moment, Ciel realized that it must be the penultimate act of the original story, the King of Conquerors vs. the King of Heroes. "Don't be surprised. If I'm not mistaken, that should be Archer's Noble Phantasm."

"Archer, Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm..."

“Yes! The EX-rank Noble Phantasm, Ea, creates a spatial rift with wind pressure to attack, forming an attack that shatters all enemies. Its attack power is so great that opponents must withstand large-scale damage or equivalent damage to negate it, otherwise it is almost impossible to defend against.” Ciel explained, “Rider’s strongest Noble Phantasm is that Reality Marble, but unfortunately it is countered by the world-class Ea.”

"However, don't worry! Within the Reality Marble, the effects of EA can be unleashed on a large scale, but in the real world, the power of EA will inevitably be limited by a suppressor... an absolute limitation. In this way, Caster, you can use the power of the Divine Age Magic to temporarily counteract the power of EA."

"By the way, has the ritual for the Boundary Corridor been completed?"

"...It's done. With the power of Fuyuki City's own ley lines, plus my analysis of the Holy Grail War ritual system, I can complete this spell in a short time. By directly entrusting the spell to the Holy Grail War system, I can save the long casting time. But..." Caster hesitated, then said, "...If Archer's final Noble Phantasm is truly as Master said...then, the Mirror World will be even more..."

"No, you've got the wrong Caster!"

"The Mirror World is merely a stage. The oldest king wouldn't easily use Ea on someone he despises. And the protagonist of this stage play, facing the final boss, is actually the remaining Saber, and you..."

"And me..."

71. Fate, which was forcibly ended at your request.