Hogwarts and the Holy Grail War

"But I know that my sister is not seriously ill. If it was an ordinary illness, she would not have stayed in St. Mungo's Hospital for so long. My sister... was cursed by dark magic."

Alanna said, her hand holding the robe unconsciously tightened a little, and continued.

"During the summer vacation this year, I overheard a conversation between Professor Snape and the healer at St. Mungo's, which confirmed my thoughts. So since then, I have been looking for a way to remove the curse on my sister."

"But my sister's body can't hold on for much longer. If she continues like this, she may not survive this winter. This Holy Grail War is my last hope. As long as I can win and make a wish to the Holy Grail, the curse on my sister may be removed..."

Tears as big as beans dripped onto the back of her fair hands. The girl's body kept shaking slightly and she sobbed softly.

“Then how did you come up with the idea of ​​participating in the Holy Grail War? In other words, who told you that the Holy Grail War would be held here?” Ethan wiped away the tears from the corners of the girl’s eyes and slightly tightened her hand.

This thing is not particularly popular in the wizarding world. Even in the Ministry of Magic, not many people know about it.

Where did she hear that?

“I read it in this book.”

Alanna sniffed twice, pulled out a hardcover book with a black cover from under her robe, and handed it to Ethan.

Ethan took the book and recognized it at once. It was the black book that Alanna always carried with her. He had asked her what the book was before, but she had fooled him by saying, "It's a precious family album."

Ethan opened the book and read its contents slowly. His forehead tightened with every page he turned.

"Alanna, this book...where did you get it from?" Ethan closed the book and asked in a deep voice.

Except for the last few pages that record the Holy Grail War and a few blank pages, the contents recorded in this book are simply a replica of ancient magic.

To be precise, there is still some gap between it and ancient magic. It sacrifices the magic power and the number of skill lists, but in return it has stronger universality, just like the difference between Gang Damu's test machine and the mass-produced machine.

No wonder Alanna couldn't see the red light on the troll's armor when she was in Hogsmeade. She didn't have the same ability as herself, but she just took advantage of it and learned some similar tricks.

"…Last school year, when summer vacation was about to start, Rosier and Anderson used Floo powder to forcibly send me to a dark magic item store in Knockturn Alley. The store was empty at the time, and this book was glowing light blue in the trash can. I thought it was very strange, so I took it out of the trash can while no one was in the store and fled back to Diagon Alley."

“…I’m sorry for reminding you of bad things.” A trace of embarrassment appeared on Ethan’s face.

Just asking a random question hurt the girl's psychological trauma. In a sense, I was really a bad mouth.

"It's okay. If it's you, it's fine." Alana forced a smile and continued, "Then around the beginning of this month, the contents about the Holy Grail War appeared on the last few blank pages of the book, so I decided to give it a try."

Alanna raised her head, looked at Ethan's serious face, and asked, "Is there anything wrong with this book?"

"A little bit. Don't you think it's a bit too coincidental?" Ethan frowned. "You need a powerful force that can change your fate, and then the relevant words appear in this book. It's like a trap has been set for you to take the bait."

He had read the Harry Potter series in his previous life and knew that even an ordinary diary could be a carrier of dark magic. A book like Alanna's that could automatically display words was likely to carry some kind of curse, or even that a dark wizard was monitoring Alanna's every move through this book and setting a trap for her.

At the very least, you might be confused and become an accomplice of the dark wizard's crime. At the worst, you might even almost lose your life like Ginny.

He was just worried that Alana came here because of the influence of this book.

"But... I don't have any other choice." Alanna looked at Ethan aggrievedly, "I know there must be something fishy going on here, but if I don't come here and give it a try, then I will..."

"I know, I know." Ethan patted the girl's shoulder gently. "I don't mean to blame you, but I don't understand why you won't tell me."

"Because I'm afraid something will happen to you if you come with me." Alanna stared at Ethan with her misty eyes, her face serious. "When you were in Hogsmeade, you were already targeted by those dark wizards, right? That's why the professors have been trying to prevent you from leaving Hogwarts. If I tell you this, you will definitely leave the school and follow me regardless of the consequences. In that case, your safety will be..."

"..."

Ethan actually wanted to say that you were worrying too much. With my current combat power, instead of worrying about my safety, you might as well worry about whether the final deaths of those criminals could pass the trial.

He opened his mouth, but found that his throat had been choked for some reason and he couldn't say anything. In the end, he could only sigh dejectedly and silently hugged Alana's shoulders.

How could there be such a silly girl in the world? She was the one in more danger!

"Ethan..." Alanna was surprised by Ethan's sudden intimate behavior. Her face flushed bright red and she leaned on Ethan's shoulder obediently.

This seemed to be the first time he took the initiative to be so intimate with me. In the past, he would only respond when I took the initiative to get close to him. He had never expressed anything on his own initiative.

Is there a chance tonight...

"By the way, Alanna." Ethan remembered something and looked a little strange. "How much of the magic recorded in this book do you know now? I saw that you used those flying swords quite well."

"Yeah, I know a little, but not much. I've learned about half of it." Alanna pursed her lips, thinking of something happy, and said with a smile, "Ethan, if you want to learn, I can teach you. I promise you will learn it."

"No, I'll just take you with me whenever I need to release a flying sword next time." Ethan chuckled and replied in a serious manner.

It's the switch between offense and defense.

"Well... OK, I'm looking forward to it." Alana held Ethan's arm tightly and smiled softly, "But why are you asking this?"

"I'm just a little confused. If you know these moves, why didn't you fight back when Rozier and the others bullied you?" Ethan's face was a little serious. "Don't tell me you're too kind and don't have the heart to hurt them."

Kindness also has its limits. Foolish kindness without understanding the truth will only encourage others' arrogance, and blindly forgiving without distinguishing right from wrong will only make bad people more rampant. For those who have hurt you, you should strike hard instead of just tolerating them. If Alanna really has this idea, then Ethan needs to correct her in time.

"Who do you think I am? I did think about fighting back, but I don't know what happened before. I tried many times according to the teaching methods in the book, but it just never worked." Alana pouted slightly, feeling a little indignant about Ethan's misunderstanding of her.

"Before? Then when did you start being able to use it?"

"After I went to Hogsmeade with you that time, I wanted to give it a try for no reason after returning to the dormitory that day. As a result, I was able to use it when I was experimenting on the bed that night." Alana pursed her lips and recalled with a bitter face, "But I feel like you might have been able to use it after you were hit by the Killing Curse. But then we encountered trolls and dark wizards, so we didn't have time to try it."

As for recalling the past when she was bullied, she was even more reluctant to recall the time when Ethan was almost killed by the Killing Curse. That would make her feel even more scared and distressed.

"Is that so... I roughly understand." Ethan's expression became more and more strange, with a black question mark on his face.

What is this? Is this a friend offering sacrifices to the heavens with boundless magical powers?

But when you think about it, Alanna's life trajectory does fit the protagonist template quite well.

At the beginning, both his parents died, but later he found out that he was the chosen one (a wizard). After entering the sect (Hogwarts), some blind people found fault with him (Abby Anderson), and he was supported by his eccentric elders (his sister, Snape). He was proud and then frustrated (his sister fell ill). After being framed by his mortal enemy, he got a cheat (a book), and then he was helped by masters (he met himself). After his close friends were sacrificed to the gods, his idealism awakened (he was eaten by a big melon). After that, he probably fought back all the way, punched Voldemort, stepped on the Ministry of Magic, married a tall, rich and handsome man, and reached the peak of his life.

Wait a minute, so it seems that I am not just a humanoid self-propelled plug-in, and the real protagonist is actually Alanna?

It's over, I have become a hedgehog cat type system.

"Ethan? What are you thinking about?" Alanna saw Ethan beside her and suddenly began to smile foolishly, then waved her hand in front of Ethan's eyes.

"Oh, nothing." Ethan blinked, retracted his unrealistic fantasies, and slowly stroked the girl's soft hair. "I'm thinking about what to do next."

"What should we do?" Alana tilted her head.

"Of course it's something here, what else could it be?"

Ethan sighed in mock melancholy and said.

"After all, this involves the Holy Grail War, and the armor we encountered last night also looks like a creation of some kind of dark magic. Logically, we should leave here immediately and inform the Ministry of Magic to get involved. Of course, the school will definitely know about this, and you and I will definitely be punished. Slytherin and Gryffindor will inevitably lose a lot of points."

When Alanna heard Ethan's words, her face fell at a speed visible to the naked eye. She shrank on the sofa without saying a word, and looked unhappy no matter how you looked at her.

"...But luckily, I'm the one who's here."

Ethan smiled softly:

"I am not a well-behaved student. I am the one who took the lead in testing the boundaries of discipline. How could I behave like a good kid?"

"And didn't I tell you before? I will protect you. Since you are involved in something as dangerous as the Holy Grail War, I certainly can't just ignore it. To hell with the rules!"

"If you need to win this Holy Grail War, then I have only one answer - I will help you."

Chapter 186 It’s decided to be you, King of Daimao!

"Ethan..."

Alanna raised her head, staring blankly at the gentle yet firm gaze directed at her, and her nose felt sore again.

"You'll help me...really?"

The girl's excitement was palpable, but she withdrew it in an instant: "Forget it. I appreciate your kindness. But I am enough on my own."

"Why, you don't trust me?" Ethan raised his eyebrows, a little surprised.

The atmosphere is already so tense, and you can still refuse. Is there something wrong with you or with me?

"No, I'm just worried about your safety." Alana shook her head, "I don't want to involve you..."

"What? It's just a small problem." Ethan smiled nonchalantly, "Then you don't have to worry at all."

"Are you trying to show off again?" Alanna pouted, looking unhappy.

"That's not the case. It's just because of this."

Ethan snapped his fingers, and dozens of silver-white energy swords condensed out of thin air at his side; his free right hand stretched out in front of his chest and opened slightly, and a silver-white flame ignited from the palm of his hand; then he clenched the burning palm suddenly, and the white flame turned into a light spear more than a person long that was placed horizontally in the palm of his hand.

"Well, do you understand now?" Ethan waved his hands to end his display of weapons, and snapped his fingers again to dispel all the magic around him, with a look of pride between his brows.

It is indeed more satisfying to act cool in front of the girl you like than to act like a pig and eat the tiger in front of your enemy.

Alanna opened her mouth in surprise. She was stunned for a while before she reacted and exclaimed:

"Ethan, you learn things so fast! You've mastered it after just reading it once?"

"Uh...it's not what you think."

Ethan scratched his ears and explained:

"The ability you have mastered is something called ancient magic. Although this ability is very powerful, it is very difficult to master. What you have learned is just a castrated version that has been simplified and barely maintains its effect."

"And what I master is the complete and unabridged version of ancient magic. It is more powerful than yours, but the qualifications required are also more stringent."

"Like you, I discovered this power by chance, and Professor Figo also gave me a lot of guidance. It was also because of this power that I was able to survive when Rosier used the Killing Curse on me."

Since Alanna has already taught herself this lightweight version of ancient magic, she probably won't be able to get out of her troubles. In that case, there's no need to keep hiding this from her. I might as well say that I've wanted to tell her for a long time.

Hiding things may lead to estrangement, and estrangement may lead to misunderstanding. If some things can be made clear as soon as possible, it is better not to hide them, at least that's what he thinks.

Moreover, the situation this time is rather special, and Professor Figo will definitely understand my difficulties.

Professor Figo: You got the guts to say that again in front of me?!

"Huh? Then Ethan, you are so amazing! You are simply the Chosen One!" Alanna exclaimed sincerely, with stars starting to appear in her eyes.

"Ahem, keep a low profile, keep a low profile." Ethan's old face flushed, and he waved his hand modestly, "I'll explain the ancient magic to you in detail later. Now you should be able to rest assured that I can fight with you, right?"

"Don't worry, but you still have to be careful."

"I will." Ethan smiled softly and pointed to the light blue shadow behind him. "Okay, now tell me the details. For example, what is this guy like? Could this be your Servant?"

"Yes, but not entirely." Alanna scratched the back of his head and said a little embarrassedly, "In fact, in this Holy Grail War, I used some unusual means."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a passage in this book that reminded me," Alanna pointed to the black book next to Ethan, "When summoning a Servant, if you break up and collect its Spirit Core before the ritual ends, you can trick the Holy Grail into thinking that your summoning has failed, and you can continue to summon other Servants."

"In this way, although the personality of the Servant cannot be maintained, only the fighting instinct can be retained. However, when there are multiple Servants at the same time, you can freely choose who to fight according to the battle situation, and you can still deal with it flexibly."

Upon hearing this, Ethan took a tactical step back and looked at the slightly embarrassed girl in front of him with an expression as if he was looking at a cheater.

Wow, it really is the shadow of the spiritual base.

You are free to choose, so you are still a FGO player?

As for Alanna's cheating, Ethan said that was not a problem at all.

What's wrong with cheating? Has any Holy Grail War ever been conducted normally? Either the cup has a problem or the contestants have a problem. There has never been a normal Holy Grail War.

This is so funny. Is there really anyone who has only fought in the normal Holy Grail War? No way, no way?

If anyone has only fought normal cup battles, I will be the first to laugh at him.

Besides, if you don't agree with other people's cheating, why don't you use a stronger cheat yourself? Why can't you do what she can do? Isn't this a reflection of her extraordinary qualities?

It can only be said that Ethan has always been so open-minded when it comes to matters involving his own people.

"However, this cheating method also has certain flaws. It is actually equivalent to multiple servants sharing the strength of one spiritual base. If multiple servants are released at the same time, the combat power of each servant will definitely be greatly reduced. Even if only one servant is released to fight, since a part of the spiritual base must be divided to maintain the survival of other servants, the strength will definitely not be as good as other servants in a complete state."

"Even if that's the case, he's still strong enough." Ethan twitched his lips, "This guy was able to fight me in a hand-to-hand fight. Weren't you afraid that he would hurt me?"

"In fact, I only released half of my spiritual power at that time... I just wanted to scare you, thinking you would run away... But who knew that not only did you not run away, but you also fought."

Alana lowered her head and tapped her fingers, somewhat embarrassedly.

"…blame me." Ethan rolled his eyes.

"So according to what you said, you have more than one servant now, right? Which servants are they?"

"This..." The girl picked up the black book and turned to the last few pages. She pointed them out to Ethan and took back Lancer's spirit. "There are five of them at the moment. In addition to Lancer Cu Chulainn, whom you have already met, I also summoned these people."

"Saber Siegfried, the dragon slayer who defeated the evil dragon Fafnir in the Nibelungenlied."

"Archer Arash, a great hero in ancient Persian legend."

"There are also Caster Chen Gong and Berserker Lu Bu. These two are Chinese. You should know them, Ethan."

"By the way, there was actually an Assassin named Tiangang before, but he was accidentally blown up when he was doing an experiment at the dock just now."

"Wait a minute." Ethan's face looked a little strange. "These guys are very different in terms of their origins and personalities. How did you summon them? Is your affinity so strange?"

"No... no, except for the time when I summoned Cu Chulainn, I summoned him based on his affinity as a trial, and for the rest, I used relics as catalysts." Alanna thought of something and pointed to a pile of debris in the corner of the basement, and his voice gradually faded.

"Holy relics? Where did you get so many holy relics?" Ethan turned his head to look at the huge pile of holy relics, his eyelids twitching constantly.