Chapter 10: Opening the Path to the 'Root'
In simple terms, seven mages are chosen by the Greater Grail, after which they summon Servants (followers, heroic spirits) to engage in battle, and the final victorious mage obtains the Holy Grail.
As for the seven heroic spirits, in principle, all seven must die, because the Holy Grail requires their souls to be filled.
Although Su Xiao appears as a heroic spirit, he lacks most of the characteristics of one. He is a false heroic spirit. Aside from being strong enough in strength, his soul has nothing to do with the Holy Grail, and his life or death is unrelated to the Holy Grail's appearance.
Compared to Reincarnation Paradise, the Greater Grail's ability is insignificant.
Su Xiao possesses his own physical body, so he can exist without needing a magical energy supply. However, once Matō Kariya dies, Su Xiao's stay time in the Holy Grail World will be greatly reduced, allowing him to stay for a maximum of 2 days before being forcibly returned.
Now, the main mission is still unknown, and the talent awakening mission is about to activate. If forcibly returned, the losses would be extremely severe.
Currently, Su Xiao has replaced the Berserker class. If there are no contractors with strength similar to his, the other heroic spirits can appear normally.
Moreover, if there were a contractor with strength similar to Su Xiao's, he would not have become a false heroic spirit.
Thinking this, Su Xiao roughly understood the current situation. Although he is a false heroic spirit, Matō Kariya cannot affect him in any way. As for the three command seals on the other's hand, they are used to control a dead heroic spirit.
If Su Xiao finds Matō Kariya disagreeable, he could kill him outright, as long as he finds a new magical energy supplier. Considering there aren't many mages in the Holy Grail World, Su Xiao plans to spare his life for now.
Su Xiao withdrew his gaze from Matō Kariya, who relaxed his body and gasped heavily. Being stared at by Su Xiao was far from a pleasant experience.
"Then, let's deal with you first."
Su Xiao raised his left arm. In his hand, wrapped in a metal bracer, he held a strange insect. This thing had tried to burrow into his flesh when he first stepped out of the spatial rift.
With a squeeze of his fingers, with a squelch, the fat worm, full of sharp teeth, was crushed into a pulp.
Su Xiao looked at the old man slowly retreating in the basement. He knew the information on this old fellow. His name was Matō Zōken, the head of the Matō family, one of the three great mage families, who had lived for a full 500 years.
Although mages in the Holy Grail World can master some supernatural abilities, living over 500 years is still quite astonishing.
The reason Matō Zōken could live for 500 years was that he abandoned his original body and manipulated magical insects to form a new body, essentially transforming himself into Crest Worms.
The Matō Zōken standing in the basement appeared as an old man, but that was just a skin, a decayed and stinking skin, soon to be destroyed by the worms.
Matō Zōken's method of longevity was somewhat similar to Orochimaru from the Naruto World, though Orochimaru's method was much more refined.
Orochimaru separated his own soul, allowing it to enter new physical containers, replacing them when they wore out.
In contrast, Matō Zōken turned his main body into Crest Worms, which also needed to inhabit human bodies. However, this method caused his soul to gradually wither.
Once, Matō Zōken only needed to change bodies every few decades, but now he needed to do so every few months.
Matō Zōken longed to obtain the Greater Grail for one simple reason: immortality.
In the basement.
Su Xiao stepped over to Matō Kariya and wiped his hand, stained with insect remains, on the other's clothes. Matō Kariya's mouth twitched, but he dared not move.
"I wonder which heroic spirit this is? Although the ritual seems to have gone wrong, our Matō family will help you win the Holy Grail War."
Realizing the situation was unfavorable, Matō Zōken stopped retreating and attempted to negotiate with Su Xiao.
"That insect... was it yours?"
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face, and Matō Zōken also smiled.
"This is caused by the Matō family's magic circuits. My son's magical talent is poor, so we had to..."
Boom!
Just as Matō Zōken was about to shift the blame to Matō Kariya, a loud explosion sounded.
Clang.
A pale blue blade aura flashed, and a withered head flew up.
With a thud, the head hit the ground, and Matō Zōken's headless corpse fell.
"This..."
Matō Kariya beside him was full of disbelief, because Matō Zōken's death was simply too easy.
"Your speed is good, and your swordsmanship is sharp enough. Even compared to the Saber class, you are not inferior."
Matō Zōken's head on the ground spoke.
"Don't think mages can't fight heroic spirits. Whether it's the Holy Grail or heroic spirits, in the end, they are all summoned or constructed by us mages."
Matō Zōken's head sneered, and cracks began to appear on his withered face.
With a buzzing sound, a large number of winged Crest Worms surged out from Matō Zōken's corpse. The mostly decayed skin on the ground had long since dried and shattered.