Mordred understood completely.
So that's how it was!
The so-called Holy Grail War was a scam. The omnipotent device was just a tool for magi to deceive Heroic Spirits. The true goal was achieving the Third Magic!
Clever bastards!
She gritted her teeth tightly.
Just then, Saber looked at the black mud and said: "But you also left the War - why wasn't your soul taken? Alive or not, your soul should've gone to the Grail first. Only after the Third Magic would it be freed."
"The Grail's pull wasn't strong enough to take me then!"
Kiara reflexively recalled how Shirou had destroyed the Devil's Bodhisattva. As if the Bodhisattva's emotions infected her, she shuddered instinctively.
"But destroying the Grail means our contracts and Saint Graphs will start fading," Saber frowned.
"There's no other way. If this drags on, the rift will expand unstoppably. Have your Masters use their last Commands to slow your fading speed. There's little time left. Saber, stay here - your sword counters these creatures well. Mordred, escort Mash and destroy the Grail!"
Mordred frowned. "Don't order me!"
"I'm not ordering you...anyways, remember, destroy the Grail then use the catalyst to summon me...!"
"Wait, Fujimaru-sama!" Gray hurriedly said, "Destroying the coordinates doesn't mean the connection will stop."
"Destroy the coordinates and I will destroy the Outer God's connection to that world!"
"But, even so. Using this catalyst doesn't necessarily mean Mr. Fujimaru will be summoned..." Mash said uncertainly.
"As long as you call, I'll do my best to respond. The most important thing is...I believe in you, Master."
"Mr. Fujimaru..."
Mash tightly clenched her palm.
"Good luck everyone. I will...always be by your side..."
Before he could finish, the mud in Mash's hand dissipated like melting snow.
The path forward had been clearly shown by Shirou.
Destroy the Greater Grail!
But...
"What joke is this?!" A Yggdmillennia magus suddenly yelled. "That's our Holy Grail! Our clan's revival hope - how can we let the Greater Grail be destroyed?!"
Before the magus could continue, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Darnic gazed at him solemnly.
"Clan head..."
Darnic shook his head, then regarded Gray's group seriously. "Travelers from Chaldea. The Grail lies under the Yggdmillennia castle. We didn't move it. You...go and destroy it."
"Clan head...!"
The Yggdmillennia magi shouted in dismay.
Darnic turned to the magi, speaking earnestly: "Many of you are from families expelled by the Association, who then joined the Yggdmillennia clan. I appreciate all your hard work through our rise and fall. But I've made my decision - we don't need the Holy Grail."
The magi stared at Darnic blankly.
"Our future will be opened by our own hands," Darnic continued. "No more relying on pointless miracles. I, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, hereby forfeit any claim to the Grail, and any pursuit of the Root. From this day forward, we shall focus on rebuilding the clan to its former glory. Then those condescending Clock Tower nobles will see our prosperity is eternal!"
The magi watched Darnic dumbfounded. They could hardly believe these words came from their crafty leader, who had always been consumed in political disputes.
"Thank you for your understanding, clan head of the Yggdmillennia," Gray said seriously. "In my world, the Yggdmillennia clan still prospers. Several have even made great achievements at the Clock Tower. I was once classmates with Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia under Lord El-Melloi II's tutelage."
"Is that so? How delightful," Darnic said. "Then our Yggdmillennia cannot lose to another world's."
Gray nodded at Darnic before heading to the castle with Mash and Mordred.
Meanwhile, Saber stayed to help with the fight.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
The crimson stake collapsed. The two massive monsters were slowly regaining mobility.
Watching the crumbling stake, Darnic thought: "Lancer...you really are a bastard!"
Darnic's hands clenched tightly.
...
The frontlines weren't far from the Yggdmillennia castle. With Mordred and Gray's abilities, even the Chthonian worms hindering their path were no threat - they easily tore them apart to clear a straight path to the castle.
They arrived before the Greater Grail. It was time for Mordred to make her move.
But at the crucial moment, Mordred hesitated.
Mash watched her in anxious bewilderment.
Gray looked at Mordred earnestly. "I understand Fujimaru-sama's intention. I'll do it, Mordred."
Hearing this, Mordred gripped her sword tighter.
Gray understood. How could she not? The moment Shirou said his main body was in the dimensional rift, she realized his purpose for manifesting in this Grail War - no doubt to try and use the Holy Grail to escape the rift. Or rather, that had been his goal all along.
If she and Saber weren't here, if Spartacus wasn't here, if Kiara wasn't here, if the Outer God connection hadn't occurred...Eternal King probably could've won this War and used the Grail to free his main body from the rift.
Mordred clenched her fist tightly. She understood his intentions now - destroy the Greater Grail and summon him as a Servant using the catalyst.
That also meant...
He was giving up this long-awaited chance for his main body's return, all to prevent this crisis!
Once she swung her sword, any hope Eternal King had of escape would be cut off for good.
She had always been quite cold to him and had complex feelings as well. But after directly facing Paradise's illusions and confronting her innermost desires...perhaps it was seeing that happy dream that now gave her pause.
"Let me do it," Gray said.
Mordred shook her head. "No. His choice is made. To falter now would only serve to disgrace him." She took a deep breath before raising her sword.
Roaring loudly, she swung the sword down. A black and crimson beam shot forth like a meteor toward the Greater Grail, illuminating Mordred's gritted teeth, Mash's anxious expression, and Gray's... somewhat guilty face.
Gray understood Shirou's plan.
Because here, no one understood that man better than her.
His true intentions.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The Greater Grail suffered a merciless bombardment. In that moment, the souls contained inside were freed. The summoned Servants also began fading away.
As her contract with Kairi severed, Mordred's body started emitting faint spiritron light.
"Now is the moment!" Mash shouted. She had long since created the Heroic Spirit summoning circle with Gray. The moment the Greater Grail collapsed, their Mystic Code bracelets reconnected to Chaldea's systems. The circle on the ground also emitted a faint glow.
"Heed my summons, come forth Mr. Fujimaru!" Mash yelled, slapping the catalyst onto the illuminated circle.
She watched the circle full of anticipation, expecting Shirou's descent once more.
But Gray closed her eyes in guilt.
Fujimaru-sama... he won't come.
Because the Heroic Spirit they were contracting with...was right beside them!
The catalyst lightly dissipated. The summoning circle rapidly lit up.
Mash sensed a Master-Servant connection suddenly established with Mordred.
But...
"Why?" Mash looked at Mordred in shock.
Mordred stared bewildered at her own hands, sensing the connection between them. She sensed that her body had completely stopped fading.
"Why? Why is it like this?"
The one crying out wasn't Mash, but Mordred!
"Just what is going on here?" Mordred asked in complete bewilderment. "Why wasn't Eternal King summoned? Why did I form a connection with her instead?"
Gray closed her eyes. "I don't know," she said. "But I know Fujimaru-sama had you make a contract with Mash for a reason, Mordred."
"Why did he do this?!" Mordred exploded, like an enraged lion demanding answers.
"I'm not sure," Gray replied. "But if it was Fujimaru-sama's decision, he must have had his reasons. Perhaps because you're his daughter."
Mordred inhaled sharply, as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Fury and confusion swirling within, she felt suffocated by this revelation.
"As we suspected, Fujimaru-sama intends to abandon his only escape from the rift in order to stop the disaster," Gray continued. "This summoning was likely his last chance. Even with a catalyst, he may not get another opportunity. But he understands that as a Servant summoned by the Grail, you may not manifest again either. So he gave you his only chance to escape. That's why he asked you to come with us."
"How do you know all this?" Mordred said.
"Because I lived with Fujimaru-sama for a time," Gray explained. "He may seem cold, but he has a warm heart. At first he appears frightening, but if you get to know him, you'll find no one kinder. He treats everyone as a friend. He gives his all for those he cherishes, unable to bear seeing them hurt. The fact that he chose you shows how much he must cherish you."
"But what about him?" Mordred shouted. "He abandoned us to deal with this disaster alone!"
"There's no more danger," Gray said calmly. "Inside the rift, Fujimaru-sama will destroy the source of the invasion. No doubt even now he is fighting those invaders alone."
"How can you be so sure?!" she demanded.
"Because..." Gray raised her bracelet. "The depth gauge is declining, returning to normal levels. And haven't you noticed? Since Fujimaru-sama contacted us, fewer and fewer creatures have emerged from the ground."
Mordred watched Gray in stunned disbelief, gnashing her teeth. "No—! No! That bastard! What's he trying to do? Make me owe him? Damn—! Damn!"
"I doubt Fujimaru-sama wants you to feel indebted," Gray said gently. "He likely just wants you to keep on living, to join us at Chaldea...to reunite with your mother."
Mordred clenched her fists, teeth gritted tightly.
She couldn't forgive this. She felt he had utterly fooled her, utterly played with her, mercilessly tearing her pride and dignity and throwing it to the ground to trample.
She didn't need anyone's protection! Damn it!
Now she would owe him a debt she could never repay. Double damn!
Clenching her jaw, Mordred fumed. Through eyes blurred with rage, she could see his infuriatingly gentle smile hovering in her hazy vision.
She swung a fist at the empty air. The illusion vanished.
That man could never return - not even as a Servant.
He was trapped in the interdimensional rift, having given Mordred his only chance for escape.
Damn him!
Damn Eternal King!