The land controlled by the Tohsaka family contained a ley line known as "Fuyuki Town," which was connected to a source of mana so vast it could be called endless.

To use this mana, aside from the massive magic circle on the surface, two other conditions were necessary: a key to open the magic circle, and a conduit to draw out the mana.

In terms of practical application, this meant gathering the mana contained within seven Heroic Spirits to serve as the key to activate the magic circle, and then channeling the mana out through the Holy Grail.

It sounds like it lowers its prestige, but the wish-granting ability of the so-called omnipotent cauldron, which skips the process to obtain the result, is in essence...

Brute force.

However, for Li Zihan, who possessed Jizo Mitama, opening the Greater Grail obviously didn't require finding a bunch of Heroic Spirits to serve as sacrificial keys, nor did it require the Grail as a conduit.

The so-called Greater Grail was the "human cosmos" of the "Winter Saintess," Justeaze—a homunculus accidentally created by the disciples of the Third Magic User with performance identical to her master's—formed by the disassembly and magical formula substitution of her magic circuits.

In essence, it was just a magic circuit that had sealed itself off because it was unmanned.

As long as he used Jizo Mitama to control the Greater Grail, he could naturally open it and release its mana at a designated location.

Then, through brute force, he could achieve his wish.

Next, all he had to do was take Aoko to Mount Enzo, where Ryuudou Temple was located, break through the mountain, find the Greater Grail, and discard the whole "Little Angra corrupted the Grail" issue. Then he could harvest the sixty years of accumulated mana from Fuyuki City.

That sixty years of mana would be more than enough to modify the past and create the Spiritron Calculation Engine: Trismegistus.

Perhaps he could even hold another Holy Grail War in ten years.

The young man chuckled, feeling that after controlling the Greater Grail and forcing it to accelerate its mana absorption, he could quickly start another Holy Grail War.

If a group of people fought to the death for ages, only to discover that the Greater Grail had already been locked down and couldn't release any mana at all, their expressions would surely be priceless.

A certain magus, who was up to no good, thought to himself.

However, before that, he still had to deal with Aoko.

Li Zihan reached into his shadow.

Subsequently, a puppet that looked very similar to Old Ancestor Kevin popped out.

It was the armed puppet with the highest combat power in the Honkai world, a freak capable of fighting Silly Goose to a standstill until they both ran out of power.

Normal Aoko wasn't strong, with combat power only around the level of Caster Medea. She was no match for the current Li Zihan, and compared to Karna, she was pathetically weak.

However, if Miss Aoko couldn't win a fight, she could call for backup and have her future self fight for her.

At that point, her power output would be on the same level as a serious Uruk's Big G. As long as someone guarded her and ensured her safety, even Karna might not win against her endless beam spam.

And Miyamoto Musashi, one of the pinnacles among sword-saint class Servants, was precisely the kind of Servant who could guarantee a caster's safety.

This combination was actually unexpectedly tricky.

So, he would just have to find some backup of his own.

The young man, who hadn't released the Kevin puppet whose combat power surpassed even Karna's because Lancer could handle most enemies, chuckled.

He quietly waited for Brother Red A to be beaten so badly that he could no longer maintain his Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works.

And then...

The Reality Marble was not dispelled.

"He actually lasted this long?"

The young man, who had expected Brother Red A to last five minutes at most, stood in the forest, looking at the Reality Marble that had yet to be broken. A hint of admiration couldn't help but appear on his face.

A Heroic Spirit who had to reach the level of a top-tier gatekeeper by projecting Noble Phantasms and reading the abilities of their owners from them had actually managed to hold off an inheritor of the Fifth Magic and a sword-saint class Servant who was top-tier even among the top-tier.

So he really is Emiya 50/50.

Li Zihan, whose opinion of him had lowered somewhat after seeing the man-of-the-back-view get beaten like a grandson by Mad Dog, felt a little regretful.

If only I knew the Ainsworth family's Displacement Magecraft.

Then he could directly seal Servants and turn them into Servant Cards, instead of having to argue with people just to obtain some power.

The young man, who wasn't very confident in persuading either Gilgamesh or Mad Dog, stood behind the Kevin puppet and Karna, waiting for Red A to be utterly defeated.

Then, the gate of the Reality Marble opened.

The first sound that came out was—

"Hic~"

A rather impressive burp rang out.

Li Zihan looked over and saw it was Saber—Miyamoto Musashi—whose sleeves were stained with a layer of grease from wiping her mouth.

Her heroic face was flushed from drinking, and she walked a little strangely from having eaten too much.

...

Was this a picnic?

Li Zihan, who had remembered to tell Red A and Emiya Kiritsugu to bribe Miyamoto Musashi with food, wine, and money, but hadn't expected her to eat this much, had a strange look on his face.

Could it be... that scoundrel Red A stalled for time by cooking?

"Saber, where's your master?"

The young man, who had also brought out the Kevin puppet because Karna might not be able to defeat the future version of Aozaki Aoko, asked the swordswoman who was too full to likely perform at her full potential.

"She's putting on makeup."

The swordswoman, feeling that her Master was a complete slacker and having started to slack off herself, picked her teeth with a toothpick she had gotten from who-knows-where.

Makeup?

Li Zihan's expression became bewildered.

Isn't this a fight? What's with putting on makeup before a fight?

Compared to Li Zihan's rather drastic change in expression, Karna's remained calm.

He had seen too many bizarre operations in the past two days; he was already getting used to it.

"When is she coming?"

Li Zihan, who was just waiting for Aoko to appear before ordering Karna and the Kevin puppet to attack, asked.

"I'm here."

Before Miyamoto Musashi could speak, a voice that was very similar to the one in his memory, yet slightly different, came from another direction.

Li Zihan looked over and saw a figure that was both strange and familiar.

It was an incredibly beautiful girl, appearing to be around fifteen or sixteen years old.

Her azure eyes were clear and bright, and her flawless white skin had a faint pinkish hue. Her long black hair, which reached her waist, swayed and shone with a silky luster in the sunlight.

The knitted white sweater and slim-fit trousers she wore perfectly accentuated her fine and youthful figure.

For the first time in a long while, the feeling of a fluttering heart surfaced.

"Ao-Aoko?"

The young man, feeling that the girl before him was slightly different from the person in his memory, asked tentatively.

"Of course."

The Magic User, whose body was slightly different from the past, walked toward Li Zihan. Every move was crisp and clean, without a single wasted motion.

"Aoko, what do you need me for?"

Because of the change in her appearance, the young man, who hadn't immediately ordered Karna and the Kevin puppet to unleash their ultimate attacks, spoke in a gentle tone.

Like Miyamoto Musashi, Li Zihan was a sucker for a pretty face.

"Of course, I'm here to have you fulfill your promise."

The Magic User, who had regressed her body to a past state, chuckled, her beautiful eyes curving into lovely crescents.

"You haven't forgotten about being my hug pillow for a month, have you?"