What Holy Grail War? Let's Play Cards! (Fate/Yugioh)

"Why are you suppressing your desires?"

Kiara Sesshouin's cryptic parting words left Jiang You scratching his chin in confusion. But remembering how video games often love to play the enigma game with players, he quickly brushed the question aside. He had acquired something far more important.

Whether it was a special reward from the Shadow Game or pure luck, Jiang You had actually obtained a Kiara Sesshouin card from the battle rewards.

Kiara Sesshouin's other line, "We'll meet again," proved remarkably prescient. After all, how could they not meet again now? Jiang You was thrilled with such a powerful card.

He had decided: Kiara Sesshouin would be his ultimate monster.

"Your grin is disgusting," Illya remarked, glancing at the card in Jiang You's hand. The artwork immediately revealed it was the timid, bodhisattva-like servant from earlier.

"You really like her that much? So this is your type... No wonder you mentioned giving Minamoto no Raikou the Love Elixir. I'll have to warn her to be careful around you."

Meanwhile, as the Shadow Game's conclusion unfolded, the Black Mud began flowing back into the rift in defiance of physical laws. Before long, all the mud that had seeped into reality would be purged from the world.

Even Black Archer, who had been incapacitated beside them, began shedding the Black Mud that covered his body, reverting to his original form as Archer. This defied the very rules of magic.

"Is this the end?" he muttered. "As a second-rate Servant, this is as far as I can go."

Angra Mainyu had always coveted Shirou Emiya's body. For nearly a century, he had been confined within the Holy Grail, granted only a fleeting hour of freedom. His resentment burned fiercely.

"You Mages made this mistake, yet I must bear the consequences? How utterly vile!"

Illegally summoned as Avenger, Angra Mainyu was forced to assume a title not his own, battle Heroic Spirits far beyond his capabilities, and suffer repeated defeats. It was impossible for him not to harbor resentment. Jiang You's intervention had prevented Bazett from reaching near-death, thus disrupting the endless four-day cycle that would have allowed Angra Mainyu to experience the normalcy of daily life while inhabiting Shirou Emiya's body. His current outburst was entirely understandable.

His suffering was undeniable, yet the tragedies he had directly or indirectly caused were just as real.

As Illya's servant, Jiang You stood firmly by her side. In this Worldline, it was only fitting that Angra Mainyu, who had masqueraded as Irisviel and amplified Illya's negative emotions, should meet his deserved end.

"That expression on your face is truly hideous," Jiang You sneered. "If the Great Dark God could see you sullying his name like that, he'd probably kill himself out of shame."

After his taunt, Jiang You offered Angra Mainyu a glimmer of hope. "If a place called Chaldea ever summons you, you might want to check it out. Even someone like you could find a place there."

"No way!" Rin Tohsaka protested, still reeling from the havoc Angra Mainyu had wreaked.

"Don't worry," Jiang You replied, hinting at the two goddesses who had borrowed Rin's body in Chaldea. He chose not to elaborate, enjoying her bewildered reaction.

Rin Tohsaka: "?"

A hand formed from the rules of the Shadow Game was pulling Angra Mainyu from Shirou Emiya's body. If all went according to plan, Shirou would immediately undergo Holy Grailification upon Angra Mainyu's departure.

The moment Angra Mainyu detached from Shirou Emiya's body, he glanced at the elegant woman in a suit watching from afar. He felt a deep connection to her, a sense of shared fate, but now it was all over.

This time, Illya wouldn't be there to materialize Shirou's soul and preserve his existence by clothing him in the Dress of Heaven. In this Worldline, Illya and Shirou had barely interacted, making it impossible for her to sacrifice herself to save him.

Still, Jiang You had a solution. He couldn't simply let Shirou become the Holy Grail here, for various reasons.

"Medea, Atrum could theoretically be used as the Holy Grail, right?" Jiang You asked.

He intended to keep his promise to release Atrum. With All the World's Evils resolved, the Otherworld Medea had constructed no longer needed a power source to sustain it. Atrum could now serve his final purpose.

"If we're talking about using someone as the Holy Grail, Atrum is the best choice after Illya," Medea nodded. Thanks to the Shadow Game's modifications, Atrum had been transformed into a pure magical power battery with an exceptionally high conversion efficiency. Even Medea marveled at the convenience of the Shadow Game's technology. Of course, he still couldn't compare to Illya, who was inherently the Lesser Grail.

If Medea weren't fairly certain she couldn't defeat Jason, she would have used the Shadow Game to force him into complete submission.

"What are we waiting for?"

The longer they hesitated, the more likely Shirou Emiya would become the Holy Grail.

Atrum was quickly brought forward. This grotesque mass of flesh, riddled with magic circuits, stared at the surrounding crowd, its myriad eyes darting wildly across his skin, betraying either fear or feverish anticipation of release.

"I don't know which is worse—becoming the Holy Grail or a Soul Crystal for spell materials—but you certainly don't want to stay like this. At least take comfort in knowing your torment is finally over."

Jiang You wasn't sure if his words offered any solace, but it didn't matter; Atrum couldn't respond anyway.

"How would you even tell if he's happy in that state?"

Even though she knew what lay inside the box, Atrum's appearance still sent a chill down Rin Tohsaka's spine. The Shadow Game truly was a terrifying thing.

Sakura Matou, however, showed no reaction. Her upbringing had left her indifferent to others, save for those she was close to.

Next, Shirou Emiya and Atrum exchanged hearts once more. The poor boy's previous wounds had barely begun to heal before they were ripped open again.

Incidentally, Atrum's heart, a vital organ, was perfectly preserved and modified to be more compatible with magic. Shirou Emiya inadvertently benefited from this misfortune. While commendable, Medea cautioned that the altered heart could no longer be considered a human organ. It would serve as a temporary fix—Shirou was resilient—but prolonged use would inevitably trigger a rejection response. Eventually, they would need Jason to summon Asclepius for proper treatment.

In a way, Medea's methods were excessively modernized.

There was no need for such caution with Atrum. Medea simply shoved Shinji Matou's original heart into his chest.

Then, before everyone's eyes, Atrum transformed into the Holy Grail, opening a blue portal that connected to the Reverse Side of the World.

At that moment, Illya quietly tugged on Jiang You's sleeve. She knew that, according to the normal course of events, she would have been the one transformed into this state. Jiang You responded by clasping her hand.

"Alright," he said, "what should we wish for?"