Chapter 51: The Origin of the Holy Grail War

Chapter 51: The Origin of the Holy Grail War

Shinji took a sip of water, moistening his throat, and began to recount the details that only a few people knew.

"Let's start with the origin of the Einzbern family, the founders of the Holy Grail. Listen to me from beginning to end without interrupting, and ask your questions after I finish."

"The predecessors of the Einzbern family were disciples of the Third Magus, and they established a workshop that has continued since the first year of the Western calendar. They attempted to replicate the miracles of their master but couldn't achieve it themselves. As an alternative, they created individuals identical to their master and had those individuals reproduce the magic."

"After nearly nine hundred years of futile efforts, they finally created an artificial being known as the Winter Maiden, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern."

"She was created purely by chance, and although she possessed the same abilities as her master, the magi were not pleased. Lady Justeaze's birth was a random occurrence unrelated to their skills and efforts, even though she reproduced the Third Magic."

"This was an 'outcome' that they could not tolerate after enduring more than nine hundred years of setbacks. So the magi began to use their technical systems to create artificial beings that surpassed Lady Justeaze."

"In the end, they concluded. Even if humans could create something surpassing humanity, they couldn't create something to save humanity. They accepted this fact. Perhaps, if the miracle of Lady Justeaze's birth hadn't occurred, they wouldn't have faced such setbacks. The magi succumbed to the limitations of their talents. Some left the castle, while others ended their lives."

"Although the artificial beings created by the remaining Einzbern members were abandoned by their creators, they continued to operate the workshop, which was established for the redemption of humanity and the reproduction of miracles. Since then, all the artificial beings created by the Einzberns have been based on Lady Justeaze, and the workshop officially became the Einzbern family, a family of artificial beings."

"Five hundred years after the departure of the magi from the Einzbern Castle, a prototype of the Broad-Spectrum Operating Device for the Third Magic, which Lady Justeaze used, was created."

"Unlike the former Third Magus, Lady Justeaze had insurmountable flaws. Her magic was like intricate weaving, requiring several years to save a single person, but it was impossible to achieve the salvation of all humanity."

"At the same time, although Lady Justeaze herself would not age, she would die due to her frail body and therefore couldn't leave the castle. Due to her intellectual and spiritual immortality, she would never grow. Objectively speaking, it was like living the 'same day' repeatedly. Although leaving the castle would free her from the 'same day,' anything that happened outside the castle would signify a slow death for Lady Justeaze."

"The Einzbern family concluded that it was impossible to recreate Lady Justeaze. To preserve the precious prototype that had only one chance, they changed their plan to mass-produce miracles like her."

"In simpler terms, Lady Justeaze is the appliance, Fuyuki's leylines are the power source, Irisviel is the wiring board, and the soul of the Servants is the switch. However, only the three families involved in the creation of the Holy Grail system know this truth. The other participants are kept in the dark, and they are only competing for the 'Lesser Grail,' which is the switch."

"From the beginning of the framework to the completion of the system, it took a total of ten years. The first Holy Grail summoning ritual was conducted in the form of 'cooperative summoning.' However, after the Holy Grail was connected to the source of magical energy, the situation evolved into a power struggle between the Tohsaka and Einzbern families, the Matou family, and ended in immediate failure."

"After that, the three major families formed the Holy Grail Alliance and established the rules that are still in use today. They called upon other magus and made them kill each other for the sake of the Holy Grail. Except for themselves, all the magus capable of summoning Heroic Spirits were considered obstacles, and it was enough for them to die in battle. It is a cruel but efficient method. From the perspective of the three major families, it is beneficial to legally dispose of magus other than themselves. That is the origin of the Holy Grail War."

"In 1815, the first Holy Grail War began. Due to the lack of formal rules beforehand, the Masters had a weak understanding of their role as 'participants.' On the other hand, because there were no Command Spells like the ones we have now, there were cases where the Servants did not obey orders. As a result, the Holy Grail summoning in this war failed before the ritual took shape."

"In 1875, the second Holy Grail War began. Learning from the failure of the first war, the three families established detailed rules this time. Makiri Zogen, who changed his name to Matou Zouken, settled in Japan and created the 'Command Spell system' that could force Servants to obey. However, for various reasons, this Holy Grail War still failed."

"In 1935, the third Holy Grail War began. This war was the largest in scale, with the Church sending supervisors and the involvement of the Japanese military and the Nazis from Germany, making the battle intensify unprecedentedly. The Einzbern family withdrew in the first round, but unwilling to accept defeat, they illegally summoned the eighth Servant, Avenger. However, they were still defeated, and Avenger's soul was absorbed by the Greater Grail through the Lesser Grail."

"The name of Avenger is Angra Mainyu, a collective embodiment of the world's evils, a kind of collective desire. Therefore, when he entered the Holy Grail, it was equivalent to making a wish, and the Holy Grail, which truly had the power to grant wishes, accepted it as a wish and activated its effect. The Greater Grail itself was also contaminated by Angra Mainyu, and its original colorless power became a vortex of malignant force, only capable of fulfilling wishes through destruction."

"For example, if I made a wish to become the King of Fuyuki, the Holy Grail would fulfill my wish by killing all the citizens of Fuyuki except for me."

"The consciousness of Lady Justeaze preserved within the Greater Grail, or rather, her ghost hopes to purify the contaminated Holy Grail. Through a fortuitous encounter, she made a contract with me, allowing her to leave the corrupted 'Greater Grail' and manifest in the world using my magical power as a vessel, similar to a Servant."

"I became a Master and was able to summon a Servant in advance because Lady Justeaze made some adjustments when making the contract. My knowledge and experience were also obtained when making the contract."

In the latter half of the sentence, Shinji lied. He considered this place as his home and didn't want to cause any friction between him and Kariya.