Time flew by, and amidst the preparations and relaxation of the various participants, the day the Holy Grail War was about to begin quickly arrived.
Everyone who followed the Ignition website had opened it long in advance, watching the countdown.
"Why doesn't this live broadcast even have comments enabled!?"
This was almost everyone's thought. In this era, providing comments on live streams and videos for commentary and interaction with streamers had become a trend, but Tinder seemed out of touch with the times, not following any trends.
Nevertheless, even with such "uninteresting" content, hundreds of millions of people still tuned in on time, watching on their televisions or computers.
As the countdown ended, three figures appeared on the screen, seated behind a table.
"Hello, viewers all over the world. Thank you for your attention to the Holy Grail War, to this ceremony that can influence the world. Every bit of your attention will be our motivation."
Takatsuki, still wearing a mask, spoke these words to the entire world.
"Of course, the protagonists of this live broadcast are no longer me. I am only temporarily serving as a temporary guest to introduce some little-known secrets. The two commentators for this live broadcast will be the two YoRHa members beside me, 2B and 9S."
Takatsuki raised his hand to introduce the blindfolded young man and woman sitting beside him.
Although there were no bullet comments and he couldn't see the audience's thoughts, Takatsuki still knew what the audience wanted to see. After the two hosts greeted the audience, Takatsuki continued, "Since 9S and 2B are androids, they can provide commentary twenty-four hours a day. Our live broadcast will also continue uninterrupted. Aside from the privacy of the participants, other situations will be broadcast live. Everyone can watch the Holy Grail War through seven different screens."
"Currently, the contestants are in position, and the signal within the competition venue has been completely blocked to ensure that the contestants cannot receive external assistance, whether it be information or resources. Therefore, before we begin, I will introduce this competition's participants."
"First up is the Valkyrie representing Tinder, Durandal, and her Servant is also the Strongest Valkyrie of the previous generation of Schicksal from the modern era, and the Saintess of the Schariac Family, one of Schicksal's three great families, Cecilia Schariac, manifested as a Lancer."
Two agile figures appeared before everyone, none other than Durandal and Cecilia. The two were already on the island serving as the battlefield, fighting Honkai Beasts that had appeared on the island.
"I think many people might know this name, but even if you don't, it doesn't matter. I will introduce the deeds of the Heroic Spirits here. I believe many viewers over fifteen years old might still remember the unexplained disaster that occurred in the Siberia region."
"Many Honkai-induced disasters have always been glossed over in this manner. That unexplained disaster in Siberia, I believe many people in Siberia at the time knew that their bodies suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable, because that disaster was the Second Eruption. When the Second Herrscher, Sirin, was defeated, the energy within her ran wild, almost engulfing half a continent. Cecilia exhausted all the blood in her body to purify that Honkai Energy, thereby saving hundreds of thousands of people, and she subsequently withdrew from the stage of history."
As Takatsuki briefly introduced this, many people offline became excited.
Although this group was a small fraction compared to the entire world, they were genuinely people saved by Cecilia.
Ordinary people didn't know it was Honkai Sickness caused by Honkai Energy erosion, but they all knew that they and those around them indeed had such an experience, and then inexplicably recovered. Now, the reason for that suffering was finally revealed.
At the same time, they also learned that they were saved by Cecilia sacrificing her own life.
Many young people from this group began posting messages online.
"It's true! About ten years ago, I suddenly felt pain all over my body, but then it inexplicably got better. I thought it was a sudden illness and even went to the hospital for many check-ups, only to find out many people were like me."
Although there were no bullet comments, the audience still created their own places to communicate, and although few people went online to verify, they were still noticed by netizens.
Not long after Takatsuki finished his introduction, he received a message from Ai: a surge of power had entered Throne of Heroes. Although not much, it was very noticeable.
"The second participant is from Schicksal, also the Grand Archbishop of Schicksal, a great scientist and leader, who served as Schicksal's Archbishop for five hundred years, the head of the Apocalypse Family, Mr. Otto Apocalypse."
Although it might be satisfying to badmouth Otto in front of the whole world, it wouldn't be very meaningful because few people would believe it. After all, Otto did a good job maintaining his public image. This was similar to him not mentioning that Cecilia was ultimately killed by Otto using a Honkai Energy fission bomb, and it might even make many people wary of him.
So, rather than badmouthing Otto, it's better to achieve his main goal. As long as Throne of Heroes can be established in this world, then neither Otto nor Honkai will be a big problem.
"And his Servant is his childhood sweetheart from five hundred years ago, who was also the Saintess and the Strongest Valkyrie of that era, Kallen Kaslana, manifested as an Assassin."
"It's truly a coincidence that two Saintesses are participating in this Holy Grail War. The Kaslana Family, like the Schariac Family, is also one of Schicksal's three great families. The Kaslana Family has always been the people's shield, protecting them. Historically, many members of the Kaslana Family became powerful knights and sacrificed themselves to protect the people."
"And this time, Kallen is manifested based on her past experiences as a phantom thief. The Assassin class requires experience in infiltration or assassination. The era Kallen lived in was 1476. I won't introduce the situation in Europe at that time; anyone interested can research it themselves. At that time, Kallen saw the suffering of the common people and transformed into a phantom thief, stealing wealth from the nobles who bullied the people to help the poor, thus becoming the Phantom Thief Violet."
Compared to Cecilia's story, not many people knew about Kallen's deeds, and there wasn't much feedback. But it didn't matter; as long as a seed was planted in everyone's hearts, someone would eventually start investigating that history, and her legend status would continuously increase.
"The third participant, representing Anti-Entropy, is Bronya Zaychik. Compared to the previous one, she doesn't have much fame, and her Servant is finally not someone related to Schicksal, but a figure from mythology."
"Medea, manifested as a Caster."
"I believe many people have seen the story of Jason and Medea, or know Medea, the Witch of Colchis, or the story of the Golden Fleece. Yes, this is the Medea from that story, but also not entirely."
"The manifested Servant is a part of the Heroic Spirit, but not entirely. Just as Kallen appeared as she was during her time as a phantom thief, the Medea manifested this time is also like that. The current her is still in the period of studying magic with Hecate, and has not yet met Jason, who would change her life. This is her image from her maidenhood, still an innocent and pure girl."