How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

Having made up his mind, Cú Chulainn stopped strolling leisurely down the street like an ordinary person and instead leaped several times to the rooftops of nearby buildings, using his extraordinary jumping ability to move between the rooftops of various buildings.

They rushed towards the location of the Matou family.

……

On the other side, before heading to the hospital, Yuuto first went to Matou's residence to deal with the insect cave problem.

Unfortunately, Absolute Zero couldn't materialize like him; his armor was too conspicuous on the street, so he had no choice but to come over and perform a fusion summon on the spot.

"Ugh... This kind of place is really enough to make you lose your mind..."

Just by glancing at the various insects crawling inside the wormhole, You Du felt something crawling on his body, and the rustling sound made him shiver involuntarily.

Staying in this place any longer would only be a double torture for his mind and body. He rubbed his goosebump-covered arms, summoned Absolute Zero with a card, and quickly left.

"Sorry, Absolute Zero, please destroy this place completely."

Actually, other heroes could also destroy the wormhole.

However, Yuwatari was unsure whether directly blowing up the insect burrow would cause the Matou residence to collapse, so to be on the safe side, it was better to freeze them all to death with ice, which would also reinforce the foundation of the place.

The Absolute Zero Knight, clad in snow-white armor, did not reply, but simply nodded silently. Then, the extremely cold aura emanating from his body rapidly spread into the insect lairs.

After all, he didn't want to touch those insects...

Soon, the entire insect cave was covered with a thick layer of frost. Under the rapid onslaught of the frost, the insects didn't even have time to curl up and enter a state of suspended animation before turning into countless tiny ice sculptures.

In every corner, you can see insects that are as lifelike as amber, frozen in the ice.

Absolute Zero didn't leave immediately. He stepped on the insects that had been frozen into the floor and carefully checked every visible and invisible place in the insect cave. Only after confirming that there were no more signs of life did he leave the insect cave and freeze the door leading to it from the inside.

Because it was frozen inside, there was no visible change from the outside, except that Yuuto felt the temperature inside the Matou residence seemed to have dropped a bit.

But thinking about it, this is normal. After all, the insect cave below is now like a large block of ice. Although the cold air inside will definitely be lost when it is transmitted to the top through the thick earth, it is enough to form a 'ground cold' that is completely opposite to ground heating.

The Absolute Zero Hero's freezing ability should last at least ten years, right?

That's great! From now on, this place will be a cool summer resort with cold winters and cool summers.

In the cold winter wind, You Du tightened his clothes and thought to himself, against his conscience.

Just as he was about to dispel the call of Absolute Zero and leave this freezing place, he caught a glimpse of a figure walking in from outside the Matou residence.

Since the location of the insect cave was considered secluded even within the Matou residence, Yuwatari wasn't worried about being discovered by the other party as soon as they arrived. He first hid in the shadows to confirm the identity of the person who came.

The other party's blue bodysuit and the red magic gun slung over their shoulder were actually quite distinctive features.

"Cú Chulainn? What's he doing here?"

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Are you ready for the ice explosion?

Cú Chulainn dispelled his spirit form as soon as he arrived at the gate of the Matou residence, and casually kicked open the gate while carrying his gun and walked in.

He wasn't worried about anyone ambushing him from the shadows.

Or rather, he's probably just hoping someone will jump out and ambush him right now, even if it's just by using a Noble Phantasm to launch a sneak attack!

Since joining the Holy Grail War, he hasn't fought a decent battle, and Cú Chulainn, who has been itching for a fight for several days, is no longer picky.

Even an opponent like Assassin who isn't good at direct combat will do, hurry up and give him one!

Is the temperature always this low in this godforsaken place?

Why does it feel like the temperature here is lower than outside?

Cú Chulainn, who was walking straight toward the wall where Saber had smashed a large hole, paused, suddenly feeling a sense of being watched.

Enemies?! (Excited)

"who?!"

Cú Chulainn shouted excitedly, as if he had won the lottery, and the tip of his magic spear instantly pointed in the direction of the perceived line of sight.

His mouth unconsciously revealed sharp canine teeth due to excitement, and his scarlet eyes, as red as the magic gun in his hand, were fixed on You Du's direction, like a hunting dog aiming at its target.

Hiding in the shadows, Yuuto thought for a moment, then stopped trying to dispel the summoning of Absolute Zero and instead let the other person go out in his place.

He wanted to test whether Cú Chulainn had come here because of the instructions of that priest, and whether the other party was still thinking about bringing down the Black Grail.

But the Holy Grail fragment has already been removed from Matou Sakura's body. If Kirei Kotomine still wants the Black Grail to descend... should he start with Illya?

As You Du pondered, Absolute Zero silently emerged from the shadows and stood opposite Cú Chulainn.

"Oh? You actually came out so obediently?"

Cú Chulainn looked at Absolute Zero standing in front of him and felt his blood boil, only to be cooled down by the cold aura emanating from the other man.

Clad in snow-white armor, and seemingly possessing some kind of low-temperature ability or magical artifact...

He's a good opponent!

Ignoring the biting cold that seeped into his bones, Cú Chulainn twirled his gun a couple of times to warm up and then asked Absolute Zero:

"Although I don't know who you are, this biting cold... I suppose you must have some kind of legend related to ice and cold, right? Rider? Or Archer?"

Currently, Cú Chulainn has not yet encountered three Servants of the Assassin, Rider, and Archer classes.

However, judging from the chill emanating from Absolute Zero, he first ruled out the Assassin, who needed to be concealed.

Just kidding, this guy's natural cooling aura alone means he's destined to be unsuitable for assassination!

It's impossible to hide it at all, okay?

Absolute Zero didn't answer Cú Chulainn's question. Instead, he silently gathered ice in his hand, condensing it into a crystal-clear ice greatsword made entirely of ice.

"Hmph, you don't want to answer? Fine, whatever, as long as you can have a good fight with me, that's all that matters!"

Seeing Absolute Zero take a fighting stance, Cú Chulainn's long-suppressed fighting spirit finally burst forth. Gripping his magic spear, he immediately unleashed his full speed.

"Alright, let's have a battle that will never end, not even until death!"

Hearing Cú Chulainn's words, Yuuto now seriously doubts what Cú Chulainn actually learned from Scáthach in the Land of Shadows.

Why does it look like he's looking for someone to kill him in battle?

Is this considered a kind of master-apprentice tradition?

clang!

Absolute Zero used his ice greatsword to block Cú Chulainn's thrusting spear, and the two weapons clashed with a metallic clang.

Wow...thick ice?

Upon first encountering a weapon made entirely of frost, even the battle-hardened Cú Chulainn was momentarily at a loss for words to describe it.

But looking at the sword, which he had already stabbed halfway into with the spear tip but hadn't pierced through yet, he still chose to describe it as 'thick'.

Drawing his magic spear, Cú Chulainn no longer used it as a dagger, but instead used it as a club.

Swing, smash, fling...

The hard gun barrel felt as soft as an iron whip in his hand, striking Absolute Zero's ice greatsword repeatedly at an extremely fast speed.

Absolute Zero, with a steady and methodical approach, first blocked Cú Chulainn's attack with the broad blade of his sword, then seized the opportunity, gripped the hilt with both hands, flicked Cú Chulainn's magic spear upwards, and then slammed it down on him with great force.

Ha, how could such a clumsy attack possibly hit me?

With his A-rank agility, Cú Chulainn gave a light snort, about to use his nimble skills to dodge the powerful attack while simultaneously striking the opponent's wide-open body, when he was shocked to find that his feet were covered in frost.

This is ice?

when?

There was no time to break free and dodge. Absolute Zero's downward strike was powerful and heavy, but that didn't mean his speed was slow. It was just that Cú Chulainn was faster, which gave him the confidence to dodge it.

Now that his feet were frozen in place, he couldn't break free in time to dodge, so Cú Chulainn had no choice but to raise his magic spear to take the hit head-on.

Can he bear it?

We can't hold on any longer!

The moment the spear made contact with the ice greatsword, Cú Chulainn realized what was happening. He quickly twisted his body, trying to deflect the immense force, but the thick ice beneath his feet was still shattered, and he was sent flying by the blow.

Fortunately, he was a seasoned warrior, and the blow that didn't land entirely on him wasn't fatal.

"Ha, what a monster!"

Cú Chulainn, who was feeling a bit short of breath from the force of the blow, grinned excitedly, and unleashed the crimson magic power from his magic spear.

"If it were me who had accepted the reconnaissance mission before, I would probably have regretted meeting you, right? Fortunately, my cowardly employer must have taken some kind of medicine today, and actually let me fight freely."

Without further ado, facing Absolute Zero's overwhelming power, Cú Chulainn, now free of restrictions, directly chose to unleash his Noble Phantasm.

"I hope you won't die from this attack!"

Seeing that Absolute Zero didn't intend to stop him from unleashing his Noble Phantasm, Cú Chulainn didn't know what gave him such confidence, or whether he simply felt he was too slow to interrupt him.

In short, once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Cú Chulainn immediately gripped his spear with both hands and assumed a thrusting stance, his ferocious face resembling a beast under the crimson glow of his magic.

"Pierce the Death Thorn Spear (Gáe Bolg)!"

Despite being a considerable distance from Absolute Zero, Cú Chulainn thrust his demonic spear into the air in Absolute Zero's direction without hesitation. The spear tip instantly transformed into a crimson ray, tracing a winding path through the air.

The target was clearly aimed at Absolute Zero's heart!

Just as Cú Chulainn was waiting for Absolute Zero's heart to be pierced by this causality-reversing blow, he discovered that Absolute Zero had vanished right before his eyes, replaced by a guy in blue armor standing there.

His spear tip, which was supposed to reverse cause and effect after being thrust out and theoretically would definitely hit, missed and was easily dodged by the blue-armored man.

"Masked transformation! Lancer! Also..."

Hiding in the shadows, Yuwatari calmly flicked the card in his hand and smiled at Cú Chulainn, who was still unaware of what had happened.

"Are you ready for an ice explosion?"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Winter Timber Market

What is ice bursting?

As the name suggests, it is the explosion of ice.

It's not as simple as a piece of ice shattering into several small pieces and flying away. The ice explosion is a continuous, large-scale explosion unique to the ice element, enough to cover the entire battlefield where they are fighting.

Unlike normal explosions, which are always accompanied by flames and high temperatures, ice explosions tend to cause more cold and freezing effects.

Just as Cú Chulainn was wondering why his opponent had suddenly changed, he found an ice flower suddenly appearing in front of him.

what?

Cú Chulainn remained vigilant. When the ice flower appeared in the empty air in front of him, he jumped back alertly, thinking it was the effect of some kind of Noble Phantasm.

His choice was undoubtedly correct.

Because the instant he jumped away, the ice flower began to spread rapidly at an exponential speed, and countless identical ice flowers were generated out of thin air one after another, condensing into a large number of ice spikes that looked like they were piercing out of the ground.

If Cú Chulainn had hesitated just now, he would either be pierced by the icicles or frozen in the thick, pillar-like cluster of icicles.

Unfortunately, although his decision was decisive, he clearly underestimated the blast radius of the ice explosion.

The ice clusters exploded rapidly, reaching Cú Chulainn, who had only jumped a short distance away. A corrosive chill, completely different from before, invaded his body with the explosion.

"Oops--"

Cú Chulainn only realized something was wrong when the ice explosion was about to hit him. He only had time to hold his gun in front of him with both hands. The next second, ice condensed around his body, and he was frozen into a large blooming ice flower along with the entire Matou family.

The barriers formed by the Holy Defense on the Yutari and Suanshui sides were not affected much, but the ice flower that froze the entire Matou family, though impressive, could only last for a very short time.

But this is for the best, since such a large block of ice can't stay here indefinitely.

Whether or not the magic is exposed is not important. The key issue is that this ice flower, formed by the power of Absolute Zero, is too big and the temperature is too low. If it stays here, it will affect the temperature of the entire Fuyuki sooner or later.

If they want to stay like in the insect cave for ten or eight years, then this winter in Fuyuki might never pass, and it will truly become a 'Fuyuki' city in the future.

click-

Just as Yuuto was imagining what Fuyuki would be like in the future, with all four seasons like winter, a crisp cracking sound accompanied the moment, and the entire ice flower was instantly covered with dense cracks, then it all shattered, turning into tiny ice crystals scattered in the surrounding air.

Cú Chulainn also escaped from the ice at this time.

He looks like he's not in good condition.

Although there were no bloodstains or obvious external injuries on his face, the obvious purple discoloration of his exposed skin clearly indicated that he had suffered severe frostbite.

"what……"

Panting, Cu Chulainn exhaled a breath of white air that quickly condensed into ice crystals in the surrounding low temperature environment. He could hardly feel his own body anymore.

He was starting to wonder if he was facing some mythical ice god. The short time he was frozen had almost killed him. If the ice had broken any later, his battle continuation might have been triggered!