Shinji Matou at Your Service

Ten years... ten whole years.

How many decades does a person have in a lifetime?

It felt like such a long time. The once naive and ignorant child was now a young magus.

Once, it was my brother who protected me throughout my life. Now, it's my turn to protect my brother's dream.

The persistence, the resilience, the emotions hidden deep within Sakura's heart—these were so intense that even Lorelei felt some pressure.

She glanced at Shinji, sitting cross-legged in the distance, then at Sakura, resolute in front of her, and finally at Fujino and Kirie, who had quietly appeared behind her. After a moment of contemplation, she sighed, "I will trust you for now. But if I judge that there's any danger, I will immediately destroy this ritual."

"You won't have the chance, because I'll act faster than you."

Fujino blinked, and the spirals of red and green in her eyes faintly flickered. If she unleashed her full power without regard for her burden, her ocular ability would rival the highest-ranked anti-world Noble Phantasms.

"I hope so," Lorelei responded, her expression complicated.

"It's starting," someone quietly remarked.

With the emergence of the black sun, the sealed door began to open.

First, a small rift appeared in the mortal world, and from the other side of the door, something began to seep through the tiny crack and into the golden vessel.

The only way to describe the thing seeping through was as sludge. It looked like mud—black mud, deep and boundless in its darkness.

One drop after another dripped in, and after one drop, a stream of black sludge followed. Soon, it was like a dam breaking. The flowing black mud quickly overflowed from the vessel, pouring down.

Now, the onlookers finally understood why those pits resembling reservoirs had been dug. They weren't just similar to reservoirs—they were reservoirs, meant to contain this ominous black sludge.

However, the function of these reservoirs was limited. It wasn't just because the black sludge was surging in such massive quantities, but also because the ordinary ground couldn't bear the weight of these dark, corrosive things, which were constantly eroding and breaking it down.

Fortunately, Justeaze had anticipated this after experiencing it once before. The reservoirs were merely meant to buy some time. The real purification would rely on her and Shinji.

As the reservoirs gradually filled, and as the black sun finally fully pierced through into the mortal world, completely opening the door, the two—mere meters from the black mud—exchanged smiles.

Justeaze bent down, cupping Shinji's face in her hands, then lowered her head and pressed her lips to his.

This action had a name among humans—kissing.

Yes, they kissed.

In front of everyone, they performed this act that left the onlookers dumbfounded.

However, before the crowd could react, something new happened.

Shinji who was kissed began to emit a blue light—the same color as his hair, the same as his eyes—an ocean-like blue.

That was the color of his soul, the radiance of his spirit, which effortlessly drew everyone's gaze. Even the raging, boiling black mud quieted down under that light.

Immediately afterward, Justeaze also began to emit her radiance.

White—a pure, pristine white, like the snow-covered earth after a winter storm, a vast expanse of white.

The black mud, illuminated by this white light, began to neutralize at a visible speed. The sickening blackness faded, returning to its original, attribute-less, untainted state of nothingness.

Unfortunately, compared to the immense quantity of black mud continuously pouring from the black sun, the purification process was still too slow. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed, repeating the failure of ten years ago. Back then, she had failed in this same way, nearly causing her spiritual foundation to collapse and her soul to disperse.

At that critical moment, the blue radiance of Shinji's soul suddenly surged. It not only stabilized the surrounding black mud but also flowed into Justeaze's body through their connected lips.

In the next instant, the calm yet insufficient white light was infused with new strength, expanding outward at an astonishing speed, neutralizing the ever-flowing black mud.

Born from a chance occurrence, Justeaze's proficiency in the Third Magic was quite high—higher than even Shinji and Touko, both of whom had also stepped into the realm of magic. Otherwise, the Einzbern family wouldn't have viewed her as humanity's hope for salvation.

There was only one shortcoming: output. Her magic couldn't be applied on a large scale. Whether it was her past attempts at salvation or the current purification, her power was limited to a small range.

That was why, 200 years ago, she had relied on the leyline and the method of multiplying magic circuits to create the Greater Grail.

The fundamental reason for her failure ten years ago was that her qualitative change couldn't overcome the quantitative threshold of the Greater Grail.

But now, things were different. Shinji had filled that gap.

His magic originated from his origin, born within battle. While it wasn't as refined as Justeaze's, its quantity was more than sufficient.

He gathered faith and converted it into magical energy.

He turned human emotions into power.

This was something Justeaze didn't have, but it was exactly what she needed most.

With Shinji's support, she could finally break through her limitations, elevating her magic and her power to an entirely new level. She was now ready to face off against her most perfect creation from the past.

With him by my side, I will not lose again.

I can lose to anyone, but I cannot lose to myself.

...

By this time, the onlookers had gradually regained their senses.

"This… is the purification?"

Irisviel mumbled.

"Yes, this is the purification," Touko nodded. Apart from the pair performing the ritual, only she understood the full scope of the purification process, as she had helped design the ritual.

"But… but why… why do it in such an impure… position?"

Rin asked through gritted teeth, and seeing her reaction, Luvia couldn't resist teasing her.

"Ara~, your face is red! Are you jealous?"

"I'm not!"

Rin's signature twin tails seemed to defy gravity once again.

"Actually, I'm curious about it too," Kirie pouted.

"Because the Third Magic is the magic of the soul, the magic of the heart. Desires, obsessions, beauty, ugliness—as long as they are emotions, they can all be turned into power. These ominous clusters of curses are the embodiment of malice. To neutralize them, they chose an opposing emotion—one that has been celebrated by humanity and can create miracles. That emotion is love. A kiss is one of the most expressive forms of love. Through this act, they can amplify and release their emotions to the fullest. Look—"

As Touko explained, Justeaze, now bolstered by Shinji's support, spread her magic over the entire reservoir. The amount of black sludge inside decreased rapidly, while more and more colorless magical crystals formed. These colorless crystals then became a source of power for Justeaze, accelerating her purification process.

Once the reservoir below was completely purified, it would be time for the pair to counterattack the black sun and completely purify the Greater Grail.

PS: Fujino, as a Servant, has the Noble Phantasm Mystic Eyes of Distortion, Rank EX, Type: Anti-World, Range: 1-9999. Just by looking at the stats, it's more powerful than EA.