Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

With Hana Rin's confirmation, Samael retracted the wings on his back and entered Chitose Manzuru's solitary home directly through the balcony.

The interior was quite cluttered, with empty beer cans, cigarette butts, and lunchbox wrappers piled up in the corners.

Clearly, this Masuru leads a rather casual life.

However, Samael and Hana Rin didn't care about any of that.

Upon entering the house, the two made a clear decision to first settle the two injured people, Momiji and Eriyo, and then sat in the living room to wait patiently.

About ten minutes later, a loud, rough sound of the door lock being turned came.

"boom!"

It seems that because too much force was used, the entire lock was pulled off.

Immediately afterwards, a swift and decisive figure kicked open the door and burst into the room.

"Mother-in-law!"

Seeing the person enter the house, Hua Lin got up and went to greet them with a sigh of relief. The heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled down.

However, Samael couldn't help but twitch his eye as he looked at his grandmother, Masuru, who had finally arrived at the door.

The woman in the billowing smoke had beautiful purple eyes and wore a vintage black sailor uniform, with long silver hair trailing behind her.

Judging from her appearance, she was a beautiful and dashing young woman in her early twenties.

Chapter Fifty-Five: You've been caught!

The scene before him was somewhat unbelievable. Samael opened his mouth and tentatively asked a question.

"Shin-tsuru Chitose?"

"it's me!"

The white-haired woman in a sailor uniform nodded, answered in an old-fashioned tone, then went inside, casually tossing the things she was carrying onto the sofa.

Samael glanced at it; it was the same guitar case as Eriyo's.

There seemed to be some dark marks on the surface, like blood residue.

Judging from the degree of dent in the sofa, the weight of this thing is obviously unclear.

Chitose Masuru stretched her shoulders, which seemed a little sore, frowned, and looked around, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Where's Eriyo? Take me to see her!"

"It's inside, come with me."

Samael responded in a deep voice as he turned and led Chitose Masuru into the bedroom.

Having been vaccinated, the elder knew about his granddaughter's critical condition. Although his expression turned somewhat grim upon seeing the unconscious Eri, he remained calm.

However, this was after Samael had already treated his internal and external injuries.

Otherwise, the delay and the bumpy ride alone would have been enough to kill the girl.

After a cursory examination, Chitose Masuru clearly realized this as well, and turned to Samael and sincerely said a word.

"Thanks."

"No need, this child has helped me before."

Samael shook his head and answered half-truthfully.

Chitose looked Eri and Samael up and down, raised her eyebrows slightly, but did not ask any further questions. She then rolled up her sleeves.

Samael stared in surprise at the bright red cross-shaped nail marks on the woman's wrists.

Command Seal?

Immediately, sensing the familiar rhythm emanating from above, the ancient serpent narrowed its eyes.

It seems, or perhaps, to be a sacred mark.

Unexpectedly, this "Grandma Zhenhe" was actually a rare saint.

and……

Samael's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the woman's ankles, where he noticed two identical bright red cross-shaped marks.

The Command Spell has four parts, one on each hand and one on each foot.

It must be said that this phenomenon is extremely rare.

"puff!"

Just as Samael was lost in thought, the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh pulled him back to reality.

Standing in front of the bed, Chitose Masuru suddenly inserted a specially made nail into her palm.

In an instant, the sharp tip pierced through the cross-shaped stigma on the back of her hand, and bright red blood gushed from the wound, flowing down the nail and onto Eriyo's body.

Soon, the blood was absorbed by Eriyo's skin, and the girl's pale, almost transparent face finally gained some realism.

At the same time, as blood was lost, the cross-shaped stigma on the back of Chitose's hand gradually faded.

The woman lowered her arm only after the bright red mark on the back of her hand had completely faded and disappeared.

But as soon as she took a step, she stumbled and fell forward.

"careful!"

Samael instinctively stepped forward, reached out and helped Chitose Masuru up, and casually asked her a question.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm alright, just a little exhausted. Could you please help me outside to rest for a bit?"

Chitose answered weakly, her face pale and somewhat frightening. She leaned her upper body directly on Samael's shoulder, and even simple movements seemed extremely difficult for her.

As the two came into close contact, Samael felt something quite surging against his chest.

Unexpectedly, this person referred to as "Grandma" is actually a hidden busty mature woman.

So, is this considered a family trait?

Samael glanced back at Eri, who was so young yet had such a promising future, on the bed, then shook his head to dispel the distracting thoughts in his mind and helped Chitose Masuru to the sofa in the living room.

With the support of the soft cushions, the woman slumped back on the sofa with a sigh of relief, casually picked up half a pack of cigarettes from the table, skillfully shook out one, and put it in her mouth.

However, although the cigarette was in his mouth, it did not light.

Those few simple movements had almost exhausted all her strength.

The woman stared at the lighter on the table, speechless, and turned away in embarrassment and frustration.

"Borrow a fire."

Samael was both amused and exasperated. He casually picked up a lighter and condescended to light a cigarette for the True Crane Lord.

It's strange, for some reason, all the white-haired people he encountered had some bad habits.

For example, yandere, sadist, lack of basic common sense, etc...

Here, I must give a special critique to a certain mixed-race nightmare who is both a heavy smoker and an alcoholic.

That woman was incredibly corrupt; Orange, Shiki, and Akiha were basically all corrupted by her.

At that moment, Chitose Masuru, having finally gotten her wish, took a satisfying drag of her cigarette, exhaled slowly after it passed through her lungs, and gently closed her eyes as she savored the taste. Her pale complexion seemed to regain some color, and her emotions eased considerably.

For smokers, this stuff can not only refresh them, but also relieve stress.

Clearly, Chitose Masuru, who had been traveling all the way, was also on edge.

Fortunately, with the help of a benefactor, things didn't develop in the worst possible direction.

Shinzuru Chitose calmed himself down, dusted off his cigarette ash, and turned to look to the side.

"You should have realized by now that that child is no ordinary person..."

"so?"

"She is a hybrid of human and heroic spirit."

The woman remained silent for a moment, then quietly uttered her answer.

That's it!

This is truly a rare type; no wonder I couldn't figure out Eriyo's physical condition.

Thinking back on everything that had happened, Samael suddenly realized what was going on.

After briefly explaining her granddaughter's background, Chitose Masuru did not mention Eriyo's parents in much detail.

It seems that she still cannot let go of the fact that she failed to protect her blood relatives.

Samael wisely refrained from pressing the matter, but a question remained in his mind.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"What I'm trying to say is: she is neither a heroic spirit nor a human, but something in between—a forbidden union of the dead and the living. Even if I infuse her with blood and life force of the same origin, it can only delay her collapse, not solve the problem at its root."

Shinzuru Chitose pinched the bridge of her nose, sighed helplessly, and her annoyance was evident on her face.

Samael listened quietly for a moment, then spoke leisurely.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Chitose Masuru was taken aback by what she heard and looked at the man beside her in surprise.

“If there really is no other way, you wouldn’t have made me travel hundreds of miles to bring her here.”

Samael's gaze was deep and unfathomable, his expression serene.

There was another sentence he didn't say.

The two sides have only just met and are far from being able to confide in each other. The other side has said so much, which is definitely not from their own feelings. They probably need to recruit him, so they try to persuade him with emotion and reason.

Having her thoughts read, Chitose Masuru felt embarrassed and coughed a few times before pretending to be nonchalant and getting to the point.

"I would like to ask you to go to the shogunate to retrieve something for me."

"what?"

"Holy Grail!"

"..."

Samael was speechless. Asking him to find that thing was like exposing the Shogunate's true colors and revealing the entire singularity that had been created.

"Don't worry, I just finished working for the shogunate and they still owe me a favor. They'll agree."

Seemingly sensing Samael's hesitation, Chitose Masuru repeatedly explained and made a solemn promise.

"You only need to run an errand; there shouldn't be any danger."

"should?"

Hearing the other person speak so casually, Samael gritted his teeth and couldn't help but laugh in anger.

"Do you think the Holy Grail is some kind of cabbage you can just pick up and give away whenever you want it?"

"It's just a copied projection; the other side shouldn't be that stingy."

Seeing Samael's intense reaction, Chitose Masuru looked surprised.

Last night, Tama also encountered the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, along with two heavyweight leaders. Since Caster Murasaki Shikibu, who was dispatched to guard the area, was not a combat specialist, the situation was equally precarious.

If it weren't for her help as an exorcist, this place would most likely be history.

The adult world is naturally not so simple.

Unlike her granddaughter, she is not a selfless and dedicated police officer.

According to the agreement he made with that "general" before the war, the Holy Grail was simply the reward he deserved.

At this moment, Samael also realized what was happening, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

You mean a replica?

Chitose Masuru nodded and began to patiently explain.

"As you should know, since that Holy Grail War, every human being has been blessed by the Holy Grail and possesses a miniature version of the Holy Grail within them, thus being able to resist diseases, death, aging and all sorts of problems, and thus be able to live in this dangerous situation today."

However, there are always exceptions. Eri is neither a Heroic Spirit nor a human, but rather an existence somewhere in between, so she was not possessed by the Holy Grail.