Ch 164: The Corrupted Grail.

As soon as Tiné formally accepted Akeno's offer and joined her faction, keeping her authority as Berserker's Master and her command seals, Akeno and everyone else felt mana gather deep underground, some distance behind the temple.

"It's the Holy Grail." said Melusine. "It is starting to manifest."

Maiya, Kiritsugu and Irisviel reached the end of the stairs and came closer.

"That is quite the crowd you have gathered." he said with a nod.

"Indeed. I am a firm believer of 'waste not, want not'. You came just in time." smiled Akeno.

"Yes, I am feeling it." said Irisviel, her eyes staring down as if she could see the Holy Grail.

"A cave entrance is opening on the cliff behind the temple." reported Tomoe, who had jumped on the temple's roof to get a better view.

"Then we should hurry up, just in case some idiot might try something." said Akeno, walking briskly, and everyone followed.

They easily found the cave's entrance, as it exuded large amounts of mana, and entered. The cave was dimly illuminated by light particles that floated in the air like frozen snowflakes. the narrow passage sometimes opened to large subterranean rooms, but they only had to follow the mana to know where to go, and soon, a red glow illuminated the passage.

Akeno and the others entered the biggest room yet, and the Grail was there.

Thet were standing on a large stone terrace, with lava surrounding it. It was the source of the light. The terrace narrowed into a stone bridge connected to a larger stone platform, half of it occupied by the Grail itself. A grail that vaguely looked like a giant, fleshy womb, and the translucent layer allowed everyone to stare at what was inside. Angra Mainyu. His huge upper body, far larger than normal, was upside down, his thin arms crossed against his chest.

The most disturbing thing was his head. instead of a face, there was a void, inside which floated four purple eyes of different sizes. The eyes were staring at the group who had just intruded.

As for Angra Mainyu's lower body… he had none. Everything from the waist down… up? was missing. The Servant would be about ten meter tall if he had a whole body.

Black mud constantly exuded from the Grail. Som of it pooled around the Grail on the platform, and more fell into the Lava, where it didn't seem to be consumed.

"What is this thing? Is it really the Holy Grail?" asked Tiné, shocked.

"Yes. The very reason there are fourteen Masters in this War. We have been sent to purify it."

"It really looks and feels evil." frowned Kiritsugu. "Even without your warnings, I'm not sure I would have wanted to use that to make a wish."

"Everyone stays there." said Akeno. "Only I and the other six Masters from outside are immune to the black mud, and I don't think that thing wants to go quietly.

She walked on the bridge, and as she had expected, as soon as she stepped on the stone bridge, black ribbons erupted from the mud to try to kill or corrupt her. The effort was moot, as Akeno simply continued walking, her aura proving impregnable.

Angra Mainyu's only increased his efforts, then started to seize pieces of rock to throw them at Akeno and make her fall into the lava.

Akeno simply shook her head as she used Shunpo, and placed a hand on the fleshy cocoon, right in front of Angra Mainyu's face.

Rays of bright light fell from the ceiling, burning the black ooze into nothingness, and the Grail shrunk. Akeno saw Angra Mainyu fade and disappear before the membrane turned opaque, and as the Grail kept shrinking, its appearance became less fleshy and more metallic. When the transformation stopped, the Holy Grail looked like a golden chalice, and it disappeared.

Akeno kept standing for a few seconds, hearing Lilith's voice in her mind.

[Congratulations. You have won the Holy Grail War and purified it. You gain 40 levels, 20 000 Yin points, and a Reinforcement Ticket. Darkness, Chisato, Genos, Miwa, Asuka and Bell gain 25 levels and 10 000 points of their currency.]

[Thank you very much, Lilith-sama.]

Akeno immediately distributed her free attribute points, investing 10 in END, 20 in MAG and 10 in CHA.

She turned back to her companions, and used Shunpo to get closer.

"And that is done. We can return home."

…

"Here you go, Hotaru. Tell me later which ones are your favorites." smiled Akeno as she gave the silver-haired girl a platter full of onigiris with a dozen types of stuffing.

"I already told you, please call me Saika. It is the name passed down to the leader of the Saika Magoichi. And since I am the last surviving member…" replied the girl, referring to the name of the mercenary group she had once belonged to during the Nobunaga era.

"It's a pity. Hotaru is a cute name, and it suits you well. But if you insist, Saika."

"I insist, thank you… Hum, these are very good!" exclaimed Saika after taking a bite of the first onigiri.

"I hope so. I worked hard to master many kinds of traditional Japanese dishes." proudly boasted Akeno. "And you can shed some of your clothes, you know? You're making me hot just looking at you."

"This coat is bulletproof and bladeproof, is packed full with numerous firearms and other Saika secrets. So I can't take it off. Besides… It'll be cold if I take it off."

"Have it your way." said Akeno with a fond smile, giving up for now. The Holy Grail War might be over, but she still had plenty of 'work' ahead of her to get her companions ready before the second crisis started.

In the other end of the living room, Artoria and Rin were chatting with Tiné about the Snowlands, while Lancelot stood at attention, stubbornly refusing to sit. He was now dressed in a white suit, and Akeno didn't doubt he would leave a wake a broken hearts behind him if he appeared in public. Artoria smiled more often, happy that she wouldn't have to wait for Noah to revive one of her companions.

Tiné had participated in the Holy War in the hope of preventing any foreign Magus from ever entering her homelands. A replica of the Holy Grail War performed by several independent Magus had happened a few years back and caused a lot of devastation.

Thinking about it, Akeno suddenly wondered if Gilgamesh had been summoned during that war, and somehow managed to avoid being unsummoned after its conclusion.

They were now mid-morning, but only Rin and Sakura had gone to school. They intended to inform their friends and acquaintances about their imminent departure.

Asuka caught Akeno's intention and gestured toward the door. Akeno followed her to her bedroom. She could see that Asuka was already preparing for departure.

"You aren't wasting time, I see." smiled Akeno.

"Don't do tomorrow what you can do today. Most of my stuff is inside my inventory, and it only makes sense to leave the room in the same state I found it."

"It makes sense indeed. I wouldn't want to leave my own bedroom messy. Rin would never let me hear the end of it!"

Asuka smiled for a second as she agreed. Rin would seize on any weakness and never let go of it. She then took a deep breath.

"Akeno, about your mother's request… I'm fine with it."

Akeno grinned and gave Asuna a tight hug. One Asuka returned.

"I'm very happy, Asuka. I have a little sister now."

"No, I'm the big sister. I think I'm a little older than you." protested Asuka.

"Nope. Little sister you are. It's the role of little sisters to be pampered by their older sisters."

"…fine." nodded Asuka.

"… still, I don't think I can call Shuri Mom for now. I'm going to need some time. And that's if all goes well."

"It's fine. Mom isn't stupid enough to demand this, and we're immortals. You can take as much time as you need. Even if you never call her Mom, Shuri will still always take care of you."

"Yeah."

"Let's call her and tell her the good news." smiled Akeno, taking her smartphone.

…

"Mmpht!"

"You may protest all you want, but your body is honest. You just love this, you little masochistic slut!" exclaimed Akeno as she delivered a spank to Medb's left butt cheek.

They were in Sanctuary's basement, and Medb was in the middle of the bed supporting her body with her knees and elbows, while Akeno roughly took her doggy-style, one hand holding the leash connected to the red collar around Medb's neck. In addition to the collar, she was wearing red latex stocking and opera gloves a red leather corset around her waist. Red leather cuffs linked by short chains were locked on her wrists and ankles, a red military cap somehow still held on over her head despite her vigorous activities. The latest element of her bondage was the red ball gag turning her protests into moans and groans.

Akeno spanked her again, and Medb's pussy tightened around Corruption's shaft. Pink hearts glowed in the Servant's pupils as her mind went blank under the sexual pleasure.

"You love being taken and used, Medb." claimed Akeno as she ruthlessly pounded the pink-haired girl. "You were born to be a slave!"

Akeno felt Medb reach another orgasm as she groaned loudly, and Akeno wasn't long after her. The Thrall Crest reached lv 55.

The ability of the Crest unlocked at lv 50, giving its wearer erotic dreams of being dominated by Akeno or Noah or both, might not be very useful to subjugate Medb, as Servants only slept if they wished to, but even without that trick, Akeno was confident that Medb's resistance would soon crumble.

Initially, it had taken a lot of effort to make Medb cum. She just wasn't used to not being on top. But now, after a week of training in the real world, and significantly more inside the Sanctuary, it was very easy for Akeno to make Medb very aroused. Her mind was still defiant, but her body was beginning to crave Akeno's touch.

Pausing for an instant, Akeno leaned forward and loosened the strap keeping the rubber ball inside Medb's mouth. She helped Medb push the ball out and let is hang around her neck like a fetish necklace.

Akeno stuck her index and middle finger inside Medb's mouth.

"Suck on my fingers, little slutty slave." said Akeno, and she resumed her trusts.

After a short hesitation, Medb started to suck and lick on her fingers, occasionally moaning and groaning. She did a lousy job about it, but Akeno didn't care.

After a few minutes, Akeno removed her fingers.

"This is what you are born for, slave. You were born to be bound in leather and chains, to moan at the end of this strap-on, and to please your Mistress. Introduce yourself!"

"I… I am Medb." gasped Medb, no close to yet another orgasm as Akeno slightly pulled on the leash.

Akeno spanked her.

"Pathetic! Introduce yourself properly! You should say 'I am Medb, Akeno-sama's slave.' Do it again."

"I…No." said Medb as she shook her head weakly.

Akeno immediately stopped trusting. She kept a firm grip on Medb's waist as the Servant tried to move back and forth.

"Nooo… don't keep me like this! I need to cum!" complained Medb.

"Introduce yourself."

"I…" Medb winced but shook her head.

"Introduce yourself, or we will stop here, and I'll shove a vibrator on both your pussy and ass, then put you in a chastity belt and use rune magic to prevent you from cumming again, until you beg me to give you another chance."

Medb's eyes widened in horror at the perspective. There was no way she would withstand this!

"Fine! …I am Medb, and I am Akeno-sama's slave! …oooh"

Akeno resumed her trusts. "Was it so hard? Let go of your useless pride, Medb. You love being a slave. You love being bound and used."

Akeno kept going, occasionally saying similar things, occasionally ordering Medb to introduce herself.

It was still going to take some time for Medb to accept that she would be happier as Akeno's slave than as another dominant, but she was getting there.

Akeno wondered if Medb was aware of how much she had already changed. While she tended to show defiance just as often as when her training had started, that defiance crumbled almost as soon as Akeno applied some pressure. If Medb had acted like in the beginning, she would have accepted being belted and vibrated if that was the price for not showing weakness.

Soon, Medb would only protest for the sake of it, and shortly after, she wouldn't bother.

…

Five days after the end of the Holy Grail War, Akeno, Rin, Sakura, Artoria, Ciel, Caren, and the other Masters stood on the tarmac of Fuyuki City's airport. All the Servants that could dematerialize had done so, to reduce the considerable attention they were already getting.

"She's late." grumbled Rin as she stared at a large private jet about to land.

"Only one minute late, and your friend is doing us a favor." shrugged Akeno.

"Zelretch could have teleported us all in an instant, since he has taken an interest in us."

"Better not to incur more debts than we have to."

The white and blue jet had made contact with the ground and was slowing down.

"You didn't tell us about your friend, but she must be quite wealthy to have a jet." said Genos.

"Wealthy? If the ten most prominent Magus families weren't hiding their wealth, they would occupy the top spots of the Fortune 500. And among them, the Edelfelt is the wealthiest. Not the most powerful, or the oldest, but the one with the most assets." said Rin.

The jet left the main runway to take a taxi road and came closer. It stopped fifteen meters from the group, turning off its engines, and the hatch opened.

A blonde-haired young woman descended the steps and walked closer, dressed in an elegant blue dress.

Akeno observed her with interest. Luvia Edelfelt, as was the name Rin had given Akeno, was a tall, blonde young woman with golden eyes. She styled her hair on the right side into drill-like ringlets, with a large blue accessory tying them. Her body curves were average, but there was a grace and elegance in her movements that spoke of aristocratic education. Akeno had some similar experience with the heirs of some highly-ranked devil families back home.

"Rin, long time no see!" exclaimed Luvia with a grin and a wave of the hand as she walked into easy conversation distance.

"Hi, Luvia. Thank you for helping us." said Rin with a nod. "Everyone, this is Luviagelita Edelfelt. Don't mistake her for a proper lady, she's a gorilla in disguise."

"Oh dear, it seems like someone is still sore about the result of our last sparring match. And the one before. And the one before." countered Luvia with a hand hiding her mouth.

"Luvia, this is Akeno Himejima…" said Rin, ignoring the jab as she introducing everyone.

"…And there are no less than fifteen other Servants, beside Artoria, hanging around. I'm not introducing them right now, because we're in public."

"I'm aware." nodded Luvia. "This Holy Grail War is already the subject of countless rumors around the Tower, even for a relatively small event in the grand scheme of things. Not just because there were fourteen Servants and Masters, and two Rulers on top, but also because not a single Servant died, and only Atrum Galliasta on the Masters' side? That's unheard of."

"There are special circumstances." shrugged Rin.

Luvi nodded and turned to Akeno. "Miss Himejima, the Overseer reported that you are the victor of the Holy Grail War."

"Please call me Akeno, miss Edelfelt. And do you mind if I call you Luvia? as for winning the war, this was a group effort." asked Akeno with a respectful nod.

"Ohohoh, Rin, you should learn humility and etiquette from her! Yes, please call me Luvia. I do not care about formalities, at least outside of formal occasions. How about we continue this talk inside the plane? We will have more privacy."

"Of course." nodded Akeno, glancing at the groups of people hanging around in the distance, many of them having smartphones in hand.

For an instant, she felt tempted to use her mastery over lightning to send an EMP and brick those smartphones, but damaging electronics in the middle of an airport would cause a lot of trouble.

"Do you have any luggage?" Asked Luvia as she had expected to see them with suitcases and backpacks.

"Stored in an internal dimension." said Akeno, and Luvia nodded in appreciation. Dimensional storage was a very rare thing even for her family.

They all moved inside the plane as the crew was busy doing refueling and some pre-flight checks on the plane.

For a private plane, the one Luvia owned was on the larger size, and there were enough passenger seats for every servant to sit, but they decided not to appear until they were in the air, in case someone outside would get a glimpse through the window.

Luvia took a seat facing Akeno and Rin.

"Rin told me that you wish the join the Mage Association and learn Magecraft."

"That is mandatory for us. We have been sent on this world for two reasons. The first was to deal with the Holy Grail's corruption. That is done. The second reason is to stop a larger crisis, and the gods informed us that we needed to be in a place named Chaldea before it starts. The Association is our ticket to reach that place."

"Chaldea…" frowned Luvia. "I know about this place. This is a largely-secret project of the Animusphere family, but the Edelfelt family is partially financing it, though we do not really expect any immediate return."

"Luvia, what can you tell us about Chaldea?" asked Rin. "What are they doing over there that might justify the gods sending their operatives to that place to save the world?"

"That's a secret, Rin. I'm not at a liberty to say much about it."

"…Would it help if I said that Zelretch supports our endeavor, and that he agreed to send us to Chaldea as special investigators after we get a few things done at the Tower?" asked Akeno.

"He did?"

"Yes. I was there." confirmed Rin.

Luvia's phone made a sound, and she turned it on. Her eyebrows shot up as she read the message she had received, and she put it back in her pocket.

"A message from Lord Zelretch himself. He asked me to cooperate with you about matters related to Chaldea."

"Figures, of course the old man would be watching. He must be very bored." sighed Akeno. "So, Chaldea?"

Luvia looked at Akeno with wonder for a moment. Not many people dared to speak with such familiarity about one of the strongest Magus in existence. Especially when being just made aware that he was watching.

"…It is the pet project of the Animusphere family. An old and fairly influent family of Magus that specializes in Astronomancy, a kind of Magecraft drawing power from celestial bodies, and Astrology, aka predicting events by observing the stars, planets and so on. Chaldea is based on the concept that the same kind of Magecraft might be adapted to see some of the possible futures of our planet and humanity as a whole, not just at an individual's scale."

"If we could observe different versions of humanity's future, we could determine what decisions would lead to what outcomes and choose the most favorable ones for humanity to thrive."

"…That is a very impressive idea." said Akeno in awe. "It could allow us to stop plagues before they could spread, give accurate earthquake and tsunami warnings, avoid stupid economic decisions leading to recessions, stop warmongers and tyrants early…"

"And it would be great for business!" smiled Luvia. "Although we know not to be overly greedy. Our agreement with the Head of the Animusphere family was that if it really worked, they would give us enough information for us to earn twice as much money as we invested, then they would stop feeding us intel. It is good for our family as well. If Chaldea were to spoon-feed us, our family's instinct for business would quickly dull, and that would lead to our downfall."

"It's good that you know not to be overly dependent of a single system." nodded Rin.

"Yes. The Director of Chaldea is Olga-Marie Animusphere, the daughter of the family Head, and according to the latest reports they sent us, they met some encouraging success."

"They can only read a few years into the future for now, and each reading takes a whole lot of energy. The research center has its own Magecraft enhanced fusion reactor to power it, but that is barely enough. Interestingly, their experiments produced two side effects that they didn't see coming. The first is that they can look into the past as well. Useful to find criminals or make accurate historical documentaries if we decide to spend energy for it."

"They did fail in their attempt to send a Master into the past, though." mused Luvia.

"The gods themselves can't go back in time. Trying to send a Master if a fool's errand." shrugged Akeno.

"…Possibly." acknowledged Luvia. "But I did say there was another side effect. More often than not, the instrument they use to try to observe the future ends up observing the present of other timelines. Like a badly tuned radio playing several channels. Tuning the device to ignore parallel timelines is the researchers' biggest headache currently."

"I see." nodded Akeno, trying to imagine what crisis could be triggered by what they were doing. Maybe an invasion from one of those alternate timelines? If a link was created to allow observation, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that link could be changed or strengthened to carry physical matter instead of just data.

"What does Chaldea have for security?" asked Asuka, maybe thinking along the same lines.

"A squad of Count and Cause Magus, one Master, one Caster-class Servant, and one Demi-Servant."

"A Demi-Servant?" asked Rin.

"A young woman who made a pact with a Servant. She had a strengthened body and summon the Servant's weapon, or in this specific case, a shield, but she cannot dematerialize or use a noble phantasm, and doesn't know the identity of the Servant whose powers she's borrowing."

"Still, for a place this important, the security definitely is on the light side." sighed Akeno. "Let's hope nothing happen before we ever get there."

The flight crew was done with preparing the plane, and the pilot came out of the front cabin to inform Luvia, who nodded.

Minutes later, they were in the air, flying toward London.