It's normal for an evil god to raise an Abyss.

The red desert receded and the scene returned to the snow-capped mountains.

"The play time is over, now it's time to end everything~"

Xueyue said this with a smile.

As Xueyue spoke, the surrounding blizzard suddenly intensified, and the Sheba indicator carried by Mash also made a sharp explosion.

"The opponent's magic power is increasing, and the value... cannot be measured?!"

Mashu's tone was full of panic. Excluding the possibility that the indicator was wrong, Xueyue's magical reaction in front of her was equal to or even exceeded that of the so-called "beast"...

"The enemy is preparing to attack, Mashu, defend with all your strength!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted and activated the Command Seal, but his voice was soon drowned out by the roaring wind and snow.

"Yes!"

Mashu tried her best to hold on to the cross shield, preparing to release the treasure again.

however--

"too slow……"

The blizzard in the sky instantly converged onto the ice blade in Xueyue's hand, and then Xueyue gently swung the ice blade forward.

"【Frozen World】"

"?!"

Before everyone had time to show their surprise, they were all turned into ice sculptures. Mashu, who was about to release her treasure, was naturally stopped and her cross shield was covered in frost.

This was not a power driven by magic, but a real physical temperature attack, and even a Servant with excellent magical power could not be immune.

"Hmm... maybe I went a little too far..."

Xueyue touched her chin.

"Forget it, let them out~"

Lift up Levatin and gently stroke it in the air, and the warm breath will gradually melt the ice.

-------------------------------------

"Hiss... It's so cold..."

Toosaka Rin gradually came to her senses.

(What just happened?)

Toosaka Rin recalled and gradually recovered her fragmented memories.

He climbed the snow mountain with others to challenge Xue Yue, but he was no match for her at all. Then a cold wave hit him and he lost consciousness.

Judging from the result, I should have been frozen into an ice cube, so who rescued me?

Feeling a hint of warmth emanating from the object in front of her, Toosaka Rin looked at it intently.

It was a sword burning with flames, now stuck in the ground, acting as a heater.

Perhaps because she had just woken up and her brain was still a little fuzzy, Toosaka Rin subconsciously reached out her hand.

"If you reach out, your hand will be burned~"

A word with a smile stopped Toosaka Rin's actions.

Chapter 173 Choice

Toosaka Rin looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xueyue's smiling face.

"?!"

Perhaps it was because she saw Xueyue that Toosaka Rin's mind suddenly became clear.

"you you you……"

Looking at Xueyue sitting casually on the bench in front of her, Toosaka Rin subconsciously wanted to step back.

Then, Toosaka Rin's shoulder was tapped lightly, and Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice came:

"Ms. Lin, don't be nervous. Miss Xueyue is not an enemy."

"Eh?!"

Toosaka Rin was once again in a daze.

"Hmm~"

Xueyue calmly drank a sip of hot tea.

"Since everyone is awake, there's no problem~"

"Ms. Xueyue, you could have avoided the fight by explaining yourself, so why did you try to lure us into a fight with you?"

Ritsuka Fujimaru was very helpless. You know, being trapped in ice is not a pleasant feeling.

"That's because... Logically speaking, shouldn't the protagonists unravel the clues and then gather together to challenge the final boss? This is the structure of a story~"

"I wanted to see how strong you are, maybe I could even pretend to be a big devil who was defeated due to exhaustion. However, the situation has changed a little. You are weaker than I thought..."

Xueyue smiled apologetically.

"........."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Although Xueyue's words were a little impolite, it was indeed a fact. Even Toosaka Rin, who was the most unyielding, could not find a reason to refute it.

"Ahem, let me briefly explain. This Holy Grail War was indeed organized by me, but the main purpose was actually to train my three sisters in practical combat skills."

Xueyue cleared her throat and got down to business.

"And the reason for the chaos in the world line you mentioned is not me, but..."

Xueyue waved her hand, and a huge bubble floated out from the palace, wrapping up the sleeping Miyu.

"This child is the root cause of the disruption of the world line and the creation of the [Singularity], and I cannot guarantee that she will not harm the world in the future."

Xueyue explained,

"And I am just a passer-by in this world. I have no intention of resolving this matter, so I will only render her harmless for the time being. Then, the right to choose the life and death of this child is in your hands."

"So, what will you choose? [Allies of Justice], [King of Britain], [Savior of Humanity], and... the eldest daughter of the Tōsaka family. This is related to the safety of the world and whether the singularity can be repaired. Please consider it carefully."

"........."

The sudden news silenced everyone again.

"Ms. Xueyue, is this true? Is there no other way?"

Mash asked with a glimmer of hope.

"If you are suspecting that I am deceiving you, then there is no need to do so. With my [strength], I don't need to deceive you to gain any benefit. This girl has nothing to do with me, so I leave the right to choose to you as [friends]. Of course, if you are unwilling to make a choice, I will make the choice for you. At that time, it's up to me."

Xueyue walked into the temple, and the bubble wrapped around Miyu also floated in with Xueyue's movements.

"You have five minutes to discuss. I will be waiting for your response in the temple."

-------------------------------------

five minutes later.

Xue Yue leaned on the throne and looked at Shirou Emiya, Rin Toosaka, Altria, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mashu below.

"Can you tell me why you want to let this girl go? As far as I know, this is not a choice that a [Partner of Justice] or a [Savior of Humanity] would make."

Xueyue raised her eyebrows slightly, looking a little confused about this decision.

"Sacrificing one person to preserve the integrity of your respective worlds, isn't that what you should do? [Sacrificing one person to save the world], what a good deal~ isn't it?"

"If it's my life I have to sacrifice, then I will make the choice without hesitation. But if the survival of the world depends on taking the life of an innocent girl... then it can only show our incompetence. But we will not take the life of a girl for this reason. We believe that there must be other ways. If we can't even save a girl, it's impossible to save the world."

This was everyone's answer, a surprisingly unanimous answer.

Xueyue was thoughtful:

"Is that so... Then——"

"Clap-pop-pop-"

As if she had suddenly changed her face, Xueyue clapped her hands happily.

"Not bad, not bad, congratulations, you passed the test~"

"Eh?!"

Mashu and Toosaka Rin were surprised again, but Fujimaru Ritsuka, Emiya Shirou and Altria showed expressions of expectedness, and at the same time they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xueyue stood up from the throne and gently poked the bubble. The bubble burst and Miyu fell into Xueyue's arms.

Xueyue bent down slightly and put the awakened Miyou on the ground. Miyou crossed her hands in front of her and bowed slightly to everyone as a greeting.

"Miyu-chan, you should go back first. I have some things to take care of here."

Xueyue touched Miyu's head and opened a portal.

"Ah."

Miyu nodded obediently, stepped into the portal and disappeared.

"Miyu is indeed a factor that caused the world line to change, but it is not fatal. In fact, there is no need to worry about it. This phenomenon will naturally return to normal gradually."

Xueyue explained to everyone.

"Um... Miss Xueyue, although it may be a bit presumptuous, I would like to ask, if we chose to sacrifice Miss Miyu just now, what would you do?"

Mashu asked cautiously.

"Good question. Before this, Miyu was actually considered my 'sister', so of course I won't sacrifice her. But as punishment for making the wrong choice, I will laugh at you and give you a little punishment by the way~"

Xueyue said this with a gentle smile.

It’s hard to say whether this smile is seen as a sign of sinister intent by others, but probably no one wants to know the content of the so-called "small punishment".

"Next, it's time to discuss a question."

Xueyue snapped her fingers, and the snow-capped mountains gradually melted away, transforming into another landscape.

No, it should be said that it returned to the original scenery.

Looking around, this is Ryudo Temple on the top of Mount Enzo.

Chapter 174 Xueyue's Intelligence

The rapid change of scenes gave everyone an illusion for a moment, as if the snow-capped mountains before were the reality.

"It seems... it's not an inherent barrier."

Shirou Emiya felt it and realized that this was not just a simple transformation of the mental landscape.

"It's not true. The snow mountain can indeed be considered real. This is an ability similar to [Fantasy Materialization] and [Inherent Boundary], but different. You can also simply think of it as [Spatial Replacement]."

"But this is not important now. We still have to reveal the truth about the Holy Grail War. Of course, this does not include the fake Holy Grail War."

"Wait, Miss Xueyue, from what you said, this world has hosted more than one Holy Grail War?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka asked a question.

"Well, this world has hosted four Holy Grail Wars before, not counting this one."

Xueyue nodded.

"Our world has only held the Holy Grail War once. It seems that there are many differences between the two worlds..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed.

"It's normal for different worlds to have differences... Rin, you know where the Greater Holy Grail is."

Xueyue looked at Toosaka Rin.

"The Greater Holy Grail?"

"It's the one at the bottom of Mount Enzo."