For a moment, Rider didn't know how to respond to Fu Zhu. After a long pause, she managed to squeeze out an odd remark.
"So, you weren't joking before, Master? You really plan to just destroy the Holy Grail like that?"
"Of course. Something that twists the wishes of others has no reason to exist except to be smashed."
Fu Zhu tossed out a line that Rider couldn't understand and then strode into the Grand Theater.
"Something that twists the wishes of others... is he talking about the Holy Grail?"
Rider muttered to herself while looking at Fu Zhu's back, then quickened her pace to follow. Xing, Saber, and the others hurried to catch up. Saber picked up her speed to walk alongside Rider, asking in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.
"Rider, do you understand your Master?"
Rider shook her head.
"Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing, I'm just curious. He seems like he's participated in many Holy Grail Wars."
Fu Zhu's phrase, "something that twists the wishes of others," had instantly triggered some unpleasant memories for Saber, which is why she suspected he might have fought in many such wars before.
She had privately asked Archer and Lancer about this as well, but neither of them had ever met Fu Zhu. They were, however, equally curious about how Fu Zhu knew about their pasts. Unfortunately for them, this was a mystery destined to remain unsolved.
---o---
Inside the Grand Theater, it seemed that the space had been cleared for the Holy Grail War. All the chairs that once filled the venue had been removed. In the vast theater, only a single chair remained, placed in the center of the stage.
And Old Oti, the very man Fu Zhu and the others had been looking for, was sitting in that chair with his legs crossed. The Holy Grail floated before him, emitting a soft glow.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho, Mr. Fu Zhu, you've arrived quite quickly. This is giving an old man like me a bit of a headache."
Fu Zhu walked onto the stage and stopped in front of Old Oti. He gave the floating Holy Grail a casual glance before fixing his gaze on the old man.
"Isn't it better to settle this quickly?"
Old Oti slowly shook his head and sighed with some regret.
"It might be a good thing for you all, but for me, the organizer, it's really not. I was originally planning to use this Holy Grail War to offset the losses Sunday caused Penacony and revitalize the economy, but now, I'm afraid that's no longer possible."
"No guest enjoys watching a competition where the outcome is a foregone conclusion. But... there is a pleasant surprise now, and I have you to thank for that, Mr. Fu Zhu."
"What do you mean?"
Old Oti chuckled and stroked his beard, then pointed a finger toward the ceiling.
Fu Zhu glanced up, but he saw only the ceiling of the Grand Theater and nothing else.
Seeing that Fu Zhu didn't seem to have noticed, Old Oti explained.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, you should have realized long ago that this old man is not who he appears to be, correct?"
Fu Zhu nodded. The moment he had stepped into the theater, he had checked his minimap to avoid being ambushed. The result was that the person sitting on the chair was not Old Oti, but the Servant, Berserker.
He wasn't particularly surprised by this. After all, Old Oti clearly wasn't a fighter, so it was perfectly normal for him to have his Servant appear on his behalf. What he didn't understand was why Berserker was bringing this up.
"In fact, my Master is currently outside the Dreamscape, entertaining a very important guest. A black dragon that has come pursuing you, Mr. Fu Zhu."
A black dragon? The Ender Dragon?!
The Ender Dragon was the first thing that came to Fu Zhu's mind. In this entire cosmos, the only black dragon he had any connection with was the Ender Dragon. But shouldn't it be in the Simulated Universe?
Unable to figure it out, Fu Zhu frowned and asked Berserker, "Where, exactly?"
"Just outside Penacony. My Master has likely already joined forces with the other Family Heads to summon the Infinite Patriarch to greet our guest."
Upon receiving the location information, Fu Zhu immediately turned to leave.
Xing reached out to stop him. She had, of course, overheard the conversation but had no idea what this "black dragon" was. In her mind, the only thing that could be associated with a dragon was [The Immortality].
"Old Bro, are you going? Is it dangerous?"
Fu Zhu smiled and gently patted her on the head, giving her a reassuring look.
"Relax, no one in this world can take down your Old Bro. Besides, it's an old acquaintance of mine. I've been looking for it for ages, so of course, I have to go see it now that it's here. I'll leave the Holy Grail to you all. Rider, protect her."
Rider nodded.
Fu Zhu gave Xing's shoulder another pat to reassure her, and then his figure vanished.
---o---
Outside Penacony, a colossal, glowing giant flew alongside the Ender Dragon, circling the planet of dreams.
"What exactly is its purpose?"
Inside the Infinite Patriarch, the Head of the Hound Family watched the Ender Dragon, which had done nothing but circle Penacony since its arrival, and posed the question to the other Family Heads.
"We do not know. How could we possibly guess its intentions? However, judging by its demeanor, it doesn't seem to have come for [Harmony]. It almost seems to be waiting for someone."
"If my senses are not mistaken, the person it is waiting for is likely Mr. Fu Zhu."
"Mr. Fu Zhu?"
"Yes. The dense, suffocating presence of [Finality] emanating from it is identical to Mr. Fu Zhu's. It's difficult not to connect the two."
As the Family Heads conversed within the Infinite Patriarch, Fu Zhu's figure suddenly appeared between them and the Ender Dragon. The dragon, which had been flying forward, seemed to sense his presence. It immediately turned to face Fu Zhu, hovering in mid-air.
"Mr. Fu Zhu!" x5
Seeing Fu Zhu appear, the Family Heads showed a hint of joy on their faces. They couldn't determine the Ender Dragon's purpose, nor could they gauge its power. Having an Emanator arrive to assist them couldn't be better.
However, before Fu Zhu could even greet them, the Ender Dragon cast its gaze upon them.
"Begone."
With just that single, simple word, the Infinite Patriarch, summoned by several Family Heads and over a hundred thousand family members, instantly disintegrated. Everyone inside was sent flying back towards Penacony like streams of light.
Seeing this, Fu Zhu frowned. He quickly glanced at his minimap and confirmed that the Family Heads were still alive, which brought him some relief.
Still, what surprised him was that the Ender Dragon before him seemed to have grown stronger. With just a single word, it had caused the Infinite Patriarch, which was essentially a manifestation of [Harmony], to completely collapse.
As Fu Zhu remained silent, the Ender Dragon spoke first.
"Steve, are you ready? The Battle of the Gods has begun."