As Rin and Mikoto made their way toward the serial killer's hideout, Lin Luo also departed the inn shortly after, as he felt uneasy leaving Lei alone. Thus, he released Bai Rui to protect her.

In this Nasuverse world, Bai Rui, as a familiar, ranked slightly above average. Although a fragment of the Nine-Tailed Beast that could destroy worlds, it possessed only a single Life Stone, rendering it an extremely incomplete state. Compared to the fully realized Nine-Tails... the gap was perhaps akin to Madoka Kaname in her first loop versus the Goddess Madoka in her fifth.

Even though Xiao Bai's power wasn't particularly high and would be useless in top-tier battles, in this mere Fuyuki City, besides the seven Servants of the Holy Grail War, there was little else capable of defeating it. And among the Servants, barring that lunatic Caster, no one would bother harassing a little girl, so Lin Luo was perfectly at ease with Xiao Bai protecting Lei.

After releasing Xiao Bai from its seal, it transformed into its miniature form, flew to the bed where Lei lay, coiled itself like a ferret, closed its eyes, and began to doze... With its abilities, even without using its eyes, it could react in the shortest possible time if any living person approached.

Looking at Xiao Bai beside Lei, seemingly asleep, a thought suddenly struck Lin Luo... Logically, since he could travel to the worlds of the girls contracted to him, could Bai Rui, as his summoned beast, travel to the world of the Shokugen?

If that were possible, perhaps by gathering all the Life Stones, the Nine-Tailed Beast capable of destroying worlds could manifest...

"Well, that's something for later," Lin Luo scratched his head, finding the thought troublesome, so he dismissed it and left the inn.

What to do next? Although he already had a plan in mind, Lin Luo decided to reorganize his thoughts... Among all his opponents, Gilgamesh, that ultimate BOSS, was temporarily off-limits. The mercurial King of Heroes was someone Lin Luo had no confidence in facing. Similarly, Kirei Kotomine had likely already forged a good camaraderie with Gilgamesh by now, and his Assassins were numerous and elusive, making them troublesome to deal with as well—both were temporarily PASS.

Next was the Conqueror King, whose threat level was considerable... Forget it, that towering brute was rather entertaining; he wouldn't bother him for now. Then there was Caster, who had been left for Rin and the others to handle. A perfect Saber combined with two Level 5s possessing Authority over rules—no matter how strong Caster was, he stood no chance against them, so no need to worry about him currently.

After that were Berserker and Lancer... The Matou household was destroyed by him, leaving the identity of Berserker's MASTER unknown, with no clues to follow—it wasn't something he could just fight. As for Lancer, that side seemed simpler, but that pair was the first to clash with Kiritsugu Emiya. Lin Luo saw no need to interfere. More importantly, if he contacted Kiritsugu Emiya now, he absolutely wouldn't resist hacking him to pieces, and at that point, it would be hard to guarantee he wouldn't end up confronting My King... This was something Lin Luo currently wanted to avoid.

While Lin Luo was happy to deal with Kiritsugu Emiya, fighting My King would put immense pressure on him. Moreover, if Kiritsugu Emiya died, My King would be gone too—that was the dilemma... At the very least, he needed to secure the Scabbard first, but the Scabbard was inside Irisviel... leading to various internal struggles.

In truth, if Lin Luo were a cold-blooded assassin like Kiritsugu Emiya, given his familiarity with the plot, his own strength, and the presence of the Red and White Twin Kings, he could absolutely eliminate the other seven pairs in the shortest time and become the ultimate victor. But the problem was... Lin Luo was not Kiritsugu Emiya; he could not reach that level of cold-blooded ruthlessness. He was not a pure warrior.

Otherwise, at the initial dock battle before tonight, he never would have agreed to let Lily fight, nor would he have risked exposing himself to save Saber. Therefore, as a warrior, Lin Luo was extremely unqualified.

But...

It was precisely because of this "unqualification" that he could stand here, that he could possess such joy and sorrow; he was a truly human being.

Just as Aozaki Aoko had said: Even if you possess strange eyes, don't let your heart become strange too.

Even if you possess power that surpasses humanity, you must not erase your humanity. This was Lin Luo's principle, the path he walked.

If he ever became a cold, ruthless killer like Kiritsugu Emiya, capable of brutally erasing the very things he loved and respected, then Lin Luo would no longer be Lin Luo.

"So, the only one I can deal with right now is this one guy," he murmured, glancing up at the sky before running off in a specific direction.

About half an hour later, Lin Luo stopped at the foot of a mountain... This was Mount Mikurayama.

"This is the location of the Greater Grail, isn't it..." He frowned, then looked up at the sky and shouted, "Little Saber, come down."

Quickly, a point of light, like a shooting star, rapidly descended and stopped with a swoosh right on Lin Luo's head. Little Saber crossed her arms, looking somewhat smug, "MASTER, now you know how formidable I am, right?"

"Yes, yes, very formidable, very formidable." Regarding Little Saber's desire to show off, Lin Luo could only offer affirmation, though it wasn't entirely dismissive. At least, the fact that he could arrive atop Mount Mikurayama without anyone noticing was largely thanks to Little Saber.

In terms of stealth ability, Little Saber, with her A++ rank, was undeniably the best in all past Holy Grail Wars, surpassing even Assassins.

If her stealth was high, it was understandable that she could break stealth ranked a level lower than her own. If the Assassin's stealth was a level below hers, Little Saber couldn't detect them if they were completely still, but if they were moving, she would definitely sense their presence.

Of course, this was what Little Saber claimed. Given her tendency to boast, Lin Luo didn't find it entirely reliable, but... he chose not to trust her for the moment.

Lin Luo came to Mount Mikurayama to find the Greater Grail. At the time, he thought that if he could destroy the Grail, all his problems would be resolved once and for all.

However, first, he couldn't find the Grail's exact location. Although it was said to be beneath Ryūdō-ji Temple, beneath beneath—where exactly? Second, there was the "Avenger" within the Greater Grail; Lin Luo wasn't sure if he would be subjected to its curse, as that thing was too mysterious, so he hadn't acted on it back then.

But the situation was somewhat different now. After all, he had already deciphered some of the rules, so perceiving the Greater Grail's location wasn't difficult. If he truly found the Grail, even if he couldn't destroy much of it, perhaps by analyzing it, he might find another path.

After all, no matter how mysterious the Grail was, it couldn't surpass the Root, couldn't surpass the Counter Force, couldn't surpass the true nature of the world. In the end, the Grail system merely exploited loopholes in the two major Counter Forces, and perhaps the two Counter Forces had already noticed this minor issue and simply couldn't be bothered to deal with it.

Leaving Little Saber outside to keep watch, Lin Luo entered Ryūdō-ji Temple alone. He closed his eyes, activating the unique sensory domain of a Walker, perceiving the location of the Greater Grail as if analyzing the world's rules. The controllable "threads" followed his thoughts, gradually delving downward...

After an indeterminate amount of time... suddenly—

Lin Luo violently snapped his eyes open. His face was utterly pale, devoid of color, and he gasped in great, ragged breaths. "No, impossible... impossible... that thing couldn't... it couldn't possibly be like this..."

Lin Luo felt it. In that very moment, he had truly felt that extreme existence, one that seemed to embody all the negative emotions of this world... hatred, resentment, destruction, jealousy, slaughter, greed... If he tried to understand it using his original knowledge of this world, then without a doubt, the name of that thing was—the embodiment of ultimate evil in this world—All the World's Evils.

But... no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Something was wrong. Lin Luo didn't know what was wrong, didn't know how to express it, didn't know how to comprehend it, but... that deep, dark, and immensely powerful entity absolutely, positively could not be the All the World's Evils from the original story.

Was it because of his interference, or the time reversal, or some other unknown reason... Something had changed, evolving into an existence he completely failed to understand.

The All the World's Evils in the original story was merely a condensed collection of evil. While terrifying in appearance, it couldn't withstand Saber's Noble Phantasm of Pledge. But... what he felt now was definitely an existence close to the level of the Root.

It cannot be allowed to emerge. Absolutely cannot be allowed to emerge!

Lin Luo didn't know why things had changed this way, but one thing he understood very clearly: the power of this All the World's Evils far surpassed the one in the original work. If it were allowed to fully awaken, it could alter this world in an instant.

Nothing could stop it.

Disrupting the Holy Grail War... No, it should be said: preventing the Holy Grail War, not letting the Servants die easily. Once all the Servants were absorbed by it, the "All the World's Evils" would awaken, and at that point, nothing could stop it.

Lin Luo grasped this point profoundly.

...

"What was that?" Just as Mugino Shizuri prepared to attack again, her expression suddenly changed. She saw it—in a dark corner across from her, two eyes blazing with terrifying malice were staring at her. She couldn't make out what the thing was, but in an instant, she felt a sense of being locked down by death, penetrating to the marrow of her bones.

"Damn it, what are you!"

Mugino Shizuri, who hadn't felt fear in a long time, was enraged by this oppressive feeling. Particle Destruction shot out fiercely. The target wasn't the man across from her, but the two eyes glaring at her from the dark corner to the right behind him.

White electronic threads pierced the void, shooting into the darkness, but... there was no reaction. Mugino Shizuri felt nothing being destroyed, as if her attack had been pulled into another dimension. Those eyes were still staring at her.

Fear. At this moment, Mugino Shizuri genuinely felt fear—fear of the unknown.

"Go... hurry and leave!"

Without hesitation, Mugino Shizuri yelled, pulling the closest person, Misaki, rapidly backward. Although Mikoto and Rin didn't understand what had happened, seeing Mugino's state, they didn't dare be careless and immediately retreated.

It was precisely at this moment, where they had been standing, on the slightly forward staircase, on the landing invisible from the living room due to the stairs blocking the view, something suddenly surged down like an avalanche.

It was an extremely thick robe sash... No, it looked like a swarm of snakes composed of countless serpents? It was an indescribable creature, perhaps more appropriately described as an organ of a creature. Its body was covered in dense, thick mouths. The moment its body moved slightly and its mouths opened, terrifying fangs were visible inside.

What kind of monster was this?

Yes, the thing before them could only be described as a monster. Instantly, all four felt a chill strike their hearts. If Mugino hadn't warned them quickly enough, they might have been enveloped by this monster at that very moment.

"Attack immediately!" Mugino Shizuri roared. White electronic threads shot out continuously from her hands.

In fact, they didn't need her instruction. Seeing the monster about to pounce on them, Mikoto and Rin instinctively struck out at once, slamming down their Lance of Thunder and Gemstone Magic attacks fiercely, but... it was useless!

No, it wasn't entirely useless. Their attacks did have an effect... The moment Particle Destruction hit the monster, a part of its body was instantly pulverized. When the Lance of Thunder struck the monster's body, large patches of flesh were instantly charred by electricity. The combined attack of Curse Bullets and Gemstone Magic weakened the monster while simultaneously blasting its body apart.

However, injuries that could instantly kill ordinary creatures seemed like mere tickling to this monster. The pulverized body would regenerate the next second, the charred flesh would instantly restore itself, and the blasted parts would quickly reassemble... Rather than being ineffective, the monster's damage resistance and regenerative abilities far exceeded their imagination.

"It's a demonic creature! This must be a demonic creature summoned by Caster!" Although unsure of the exact situation, recalling the information Lin Luo had previously shared about the Servants, Rin immediately judged the monster's origin. It couldn't be wrong; besides that evil sorcerer, no human in this world could summon such a creature.

"Damn it, how are we supposed to fight something like this? No matter how we attack, it regenerates!" Mikoto was completely enveloped in electricity, sending wave after wave of Lance of Thunder. Although every shot hit and inflicted certain damage on the monster, it was completely incapable of stopping its advance.

"Arooooooh..." Emitting a roar like an evil spirit from hell, the aggregate creature resembling a swarm of snakes surged toward them with countless mouths open.

"It's charging! Retreat, retreat!" Seeing that conventional attacks couldn't stop this monster, Rin immediately shouted... Come on, just looking at that terrifying monster was enough to chill one's blood. Who would dare engage in close combat with it?

Not just her, even Mugino, with her near-master-level close combat skills, dared not get close, especially to those mouths.

"Vanish, you monster!"

The group retreated a considerable distance. Before the monster could reach them, Mikoto's angry voice rang out, and a massive black tide rose from the ground. Countless iron sand particles were instantly gathered by her, forming a whip like a black dragon in mid-air.

Swish—

The iron sand whip tore through the air, emitting a piercing shriek, and as it descended, it instantly sliced the monster, nearly ten meters away, in half.

"Roar!" The monster seemed to let out a painful cry and collapsed.

"Huh? Did we kill it?" Mikoto was instantly stunned. The fierce attacks launched by the three of them hadn't done much to the monster, so why was it so easy now? Did only pure physical attacks work?

Just as everyone was thinking this, the monster lying on the ground stood up suddenly... No, it should be said, two of them stood up.

After being divided in half by Mikoto, the monster didn't reaggregate but completely split into two. Although slightly smaller in stature, they were still...

"Third seat, you caused trouble again," Mugino Shizuri said, somewhat angrily. Dealing with one monster was already difficult; now there were two...

"Disgusting monstrosity, go back to hell and moan!" Mugino Shizuri attacked without mercy, the electronic threads shooting from her hands growing larger, her output increasing steadily.

"Wait, let me try." At this moment, Shokuhō Misaki, who hadn't acted, suddenly spoke. She smiled mysteriously, then pulled out something resembling a small remote control from her indispensable backpack and pressed it lightly.

Crack.

It sounded like a flash of electrical light, and then everyone watched as the two extremely violent monsters suddenly froze.

"What is this..."

"See? I told you my ability was easier." Shokuhō smiled. As an all-powerful esper capable of handling all forms of mental phenomena, her abilities weren't limited to humans. This was because she controlled the brainwaves of the body to achieve her effects, not direct thought transfer. Otherwise, her ability wouldn't be useless against Misaka Mikoto, nor would she be ranked fifth in Academy City instead of the true NO.1.

Of course, this didn't mean her mental abilities were weak. Although they were ineffective against Accelerator due to vector control, and ineffective against Misaka Mikoto and Mugino Shizuri because they involved electricity, any living thing possesses brainwaves. Therefore, theoretically, her attack was applicable to any living creature.

Now, by directly controlling the monsters' thoughts via brainwaves, in a sense, she had become their master.

"It really is a disgusting ability," Mikoto frowned.

"But it's effective, isn't it?"

"..." Mikoto had no reply. Indeed, dealing with such an unkillable creature, directly controlling them was much simpler. But... was it really that simple? V