"A powerful sense of self…?"
After hearing Ren Kuroda's explanation, Medea murmured softly. Then, quite suddenly, determination filled her face. Without hesitation, she stepped toward the roiling black mud.
After spending so much time together, Medea had developed an almost blind faith in Ren.If this man said it could be done—then there had to be a chance of success.
A powerful ego?Perhaps she, Medea, lacked that.
But the fierce wish burning in her heart could more than make up for it.
"Ren," she said quietly,"if I truly become corrupted by the Evil of This World… I want you to kill me."
"I've been called the Witch of Betrayal. I've endured countless betrayals in my life.""But what this Holy Grail War gave me… were beautiful memories."
"If possible, I don't want to betray you—or Sōichirō-san—in the end.""I don't want to stain those memories."
Leaving those words behind, Medea glanced once at Ren, then at Sōichirō Kuzuki beside him. A faint smile curved beneath her hood.
And then—without a moment's hesitation—
She leapt straight into the Evil of This World.
"So this is the legendary Witch of Betrayal from the Age of Gods?"The King of Conquerors froze for a moment—then burst out laughing.
"Seems the legends don't tell the whole truth after all!""If even a woman can show such resolve, then how could I retreat now and still call myself a conqueror of the world?!"
With that, Rider followed right after her—laughing loudly as he plunged into the black mud.
"So that's your plan," Kiritsugu said coldly."You summoned the Grail just to give Caster and Rider physical bodies."
"But have you thought about what happens if they fail?""And if you let the Evil of This World spread unchecked, Fuyuki City will be destroyed!"
Having finally grasped Ren's true intention, Kiritsugu Emiya glared at him, fury written across his face.
Until now, everything Ren had done—eliminating Bluebeard, saving Illya—had convinced Kiritsugu that this Assassin was a Heroic Spirit much like himself.
Someone who fought for others.
Now, it seemed he had been wrong.
After all, Servants were no longer living beings.How could the dead truly care about ordinary people in the present world?
"Sacrificing civilians' lives just to obtain physical bodies," Kiritsugu spat."And here I thought you owed me something."
"So this is how you see me, Kiritsugu Emiya?"
Ren sighed lightly.
"Well, I won't deny that I'm not a good person.""But disregarding human lives entirely? That's one line I won't cross."
The Evil of This World continued to pour from the dimensional rift, spreading rapidly across Enzō Mountain and threatening to flow beyond it.
Just as the black sludge was about to spill into the city—
Ren finally moved.
Facing an Evil amassed from nearly a century of humanity's malice, he no longer held back.
He entered full yōkai transformation.
Not only that—he directly activated his Noble Phantasm, entering a state of perfect unity with his blade spirit.
Half-demon transformation.Blade–Spirit Synchronization.
This was Ren Kuroda's absolute strongest state.
If even this couldn't stop the Evil of This World… then he would be forced to use the one thing he'd avoided until now—
The Killing Stone.
As Ren's magical power exploded, it became so dense it manifested as the colossal phantom of a demonic god behind him.
The towering apparition appeared for only an instant—
Then detonated like fireworks, dispersing into vast clouds of violet mist-like mana that flooded the entire mountain.
Enzō Mountain was instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness.
A suffocating blackness that made skin crawl.
Whispers of something ancient and monstrous echoed faintly in the air.
When the flowing black sludge came into contact with the violet mana permeating the space, a violent reaction erupted.
The previously advancing Evil of This World was forced to a halt.
"This is… a Reality Marble?" Kiritsugu muttered in shock."One that covers the entire mountain?!"
"No… it's not fully completed.""We're still in the original space—it's just being heavily distorted and overwritten by sheer magical pressure."
Familiar with Reality Marbles, Kiritsugu immediately understood what kind of environment they were in.
Reality Marbles varied greatly depending on the caster's mana.
Kiritsugu's own could barely affect anything beyond himself—its effect limited to altered time perception, and even then only for moments.
Heroic Spirits could sustain them longer and affect more targets.
But covering all of Enzō Mountain?
That was absurd.
Rider's Reality Marble only worked on such a scale because his entire army supplied mana.
Ren, on the other hand…
He was doing this alone.
Even worse, he was simultaneously holding back the Evil of This World pouring from the Grail.
An Evil born from nearly a century of humanity's negative emotions.
He'd said earlier that only saints could stop such a thing—
And now he was doing it himself.
Was that bravado?
Hardly.
What Kiritsugu didn't realize was that Ren was suffering just as badly.
Ren had guessed that using raw mana to block the Evil of This World was theoretically possible.
But even after repeatedly overestimating it—
He had still underestimated it.
Half-demon form plus blade–spirit unity made his mana output absurd—well beyond standard Heroic Spirits.
But against the near-infinite malice of the world…
It wasn't enough.
Every second, Ren burned through massive amounts of mana just to maintain the stalemate.
Which led to one brutal result—
All the reputation points he'd earned in the Nurarihyon world were rapidly being converted into Low-Grade Yōkai Power Crystals—
Which he was now shoveling into his mouth like candy.
He'd thought he could hold on until Medea and Rider gained physical bodies.
Reality proved otherwise.
Facing the world itself, he could barely endure—and his heart bled at the sheer cost.
This is killing my savings…
Elsewhere—
Saber had no interest in gaining a physical body.
She raised the Sword of Promised Victory, preparing to destroy the Grail—
Only to be intercepted once again by Mordred.
The two Sabers immediately plunged into yet another violent, emotionally charged clash.
And while the Sabers fought, and Medea and Rider bathed in black mud—
In a quiet corner, unnoticed by most—
A violet-haired girl slowly approached the Evil of This World.
"Sakura! What are you doing?!"Rin cried out urgently."Come back—now! That thing is dangerous!"
"Even if Assassin was telling the truth and it can give Servants physical bodies—you're a magus! You're not the same as them! Gaining a body won't help you at all!"
Others might have overlooked the shy, low-presence girl.
But Rin Tōsaka, burdened by guilt toward Sakura, noticed instantly.
Ren noticed too.
And his brow furrowed deeply.
Before the Evil of This World, most beings were either consumed or corrupted.
But a rare few reacted differently.
Some—due to their inherent nature—could treat the black mud as their own power.
Others—through sheer ego—were immune to mental corruption.
The former was Sakura Matō.The latter had been Gilgamesh.
Sakura felt "called" because her very nature resonated with the Evil of This World.
Ren wasn't afraid of a normal corrupted Sakura—he'd already seen what she could do, and Medusa had faced her.
Stronger than the original timeline, sure.
But manageable.
A Sakura amplified by the Evil of This World, however—
Ren absolutely did not want to deal with that.
Unfortunately, he was already at his limit holding back the spread.
He had no strength left to stop her.
Mordred was locked in battle with Saber.
No one else could intervene.
When Ren saw the black sludge responding to Sakura—flowing toward her as if summoned—
He clenched his teeth.
"Evil of This World, huh?""If a damn high-school girl can absorb you—"
"Then I, Ren Kuroda, yōkai boss with a thousand underlings—there's no way I can't!"
The Evil spilling from the Grail covered a massive area.
If Sakura absorbed it all, her power would skyrocket instantly.
Medusa would become unstoppable.
And with Sakura's already unstable, hatred-filled mindset—
If she absorbed everything…
Who here would survive?
Ren made his choice.