C476

The corrupted gods began to disintegrate, transforming into a mud-like substance that flowed with a sloshing sound. They merged into a single entity, taking on the nightmarish form of a monstrous humanoid creature.

Reaching a height of roughly ten meters, it looked like some kind of freakish humanoid mass. It was covered in twisted faces that made people's skin crawl. Then, with a series of creepy "cracks," the surface burst open, and a bunch of twisted hands shot out, oozing nasty black goo that was just plain revolting.

Shirou and Gilgamesh tried their best to stop it, but when faced with that uncontrollable surge of power, there was nothing they could do.

"Hmph. This is what greed leads to – a truly repulsive spectacle. But it's fitting for the wretchedness of these mongrels," Gilgamesh taunted, his words dripping with disdain.

Even in this situation, Gilgamesh maintained his condescending tone and penchant for foul language. Of course, everyone had their own pride, and Shirou was no exception, nor was Gilgamesh.

"Vessel... vessel..."

"Vessel... our vessel..."

Each face on the grotesque humanoid mass emitted a howl that resembled a ghostly wail, sending shivers down the spine.

"This is beyond disgusting," Shirou muttered, his face twisted with revulsion.

Gilgamesh shot him a mocking glance. "You might end up like that after you eat them. It's an affront to humanity and an eyesore to the King of Heroes. But fear not; when the time comes, I'll be sure to remind you of your ugliness just before I finish you off."

Shirou chuckled, "If I ever looked like that, I'd shut your mouth so fast, you wouldn't get a word out."

Splash, splash.

The humanoid mass writhed and pulsated, its fleshy form undulating, occasionally obscuring those grotesque faces, making the scene all the more repulsive.

Even the aesthetically sophisticated Gilgamesh felt a wave of nausea washing over him. Solomon, known for his fundamentally emotionless nature, remained outwardly composed.

In truth, Solomon too experienced a sense of queasiness. However, he was mirroring Gilgamesh, attempting to learn the complex spectrum of human emotions.

Despite assuming this grotesque humanoid mass, the entity still possessed the formidable powers of its original form. None of their attacks seemed to have any effect, and even attempting to impede its transformation was futile. In gaming terms, this can be called the boss's invincibility phase.

In reality, the creature wasn't completely invincible; it's just that the overwhelming power it displayed couldn't be penetrated by their current firepower. Therefore, describing it as the "invincibility phase" of a boss was an apt metaphor for the situation.

"Vessel, vessel, vessel... vessel...!!!"

The faces embedded in the unsettling mass began to chant in unison, their speech accelerated as if communicating in a high-speed divine language.

The voices were so rapid and overlapping that it just sounded like a buzzing swarm of flies in Shirou's ears, and it was really grating on him.

Just then, the nightmarish mass made its move!

Shirou snapped to attention, but what happened next caught him off guard.

The creature lunged at Zelretch.

"Why is it attacking me...?"

The old man was genuinely surprised. After being consumed by the creature, he should have been under its influence and theoretically on its side. Yet, against all odds, the unsettling mass was actually attacking him!

The most crucial point was...

"It hasn't stopped me from fighting back? Well then, no more holding back!"

Zelretch struck with a surge of pent-up anger.

Having been ambushed and consumed was a lifelong disgrace for him. If he hadn't been under its influence, he would have taken action much sooner. Now that he was free to retaliate, he saw no reason to restrain himself.

His Second Magic flared to life, pulling in mana from parallel worlds to form a torrent of magical energy. He was all set to direct it toward the monstrous mass. But just then, the black cup behind him flickered with an ominous light. His expression tightened, and, against his will, his hand turned to aim the torrent at Shirou and Gilgamesh instead.

There was no question about it; he was back under Pandora's mental control.

Shirou was about to use the Tower of Light bombardment, but King Solomon beat him to it, unleashing the Demon God Pillars' energy cannon to shred the torrent of magical energy.

"Damn it! This is infuriating! If not for the limitations of this Dead Apostle body, I wouldn't be so easily controlled!" Zelretch was boiling with rage.

Being blindsided and consumed by this invading entity while he was busy mending dimensional boundaries was one thing. The real kicker was that he had been turned into a Dead Apostle by Crimson Moon over fifteen hundred years ago. And that curse still held him back, limiting his true power.

Just then, the monstrous mass lunged at him again. Zelretch wore a scowl. But, to his surprise, the creature didn't go for him this time. Instead, it zipped past him and grabbed the Black Cup that Pandora was holding.

"Ah, I see... you're taking it back... you don't need me as your little vessel anymore," Pandora murmured.

The disturbing mass grabbed the Black Cup, and as it did, the god's evil that had clung to Pandora flowed back into the cup entirely.

Now stripped of that black mud, Pandora revealed her true form. She was a girl with golden ponytails, wearing black clothes, and emanating a sense of nobility and grace. Yet her pretty face was ghostly pale, as if everything had been drained away.

She plummeted from the sky and hit the ground, looking worse for wear. But all eyes were on the monstrous form clutching the Black Cup; nobody even spared her a glance.

However, Gilgamesh was an exception; he shot her a sidelong glance and sneered, "A doll of calamity."

Shirou didn't pay attention to her; his eyes were locked on the Black Cup that the monstrous mass was holding.

It was clear that the cup was the root of all this chaos. Everything that had happened was tied back to that Black Cup. But what exactly was this object?

His all-seeing eyes were blocked; they couldn't identify the Black Cup. He was pretty sure it was similar to how All the World's Evil could interfere with Clairvoyance (EX), or how the God's Evil disrupted Gilgamesh's Sha Naqba Imuru and his Noble Phantasm.

Even if he couldn't pinpoint what the Black Cup exactly was, he knew that letting the monster roam freely was a bad idea.

Summoning the Tower of Light once more, he launched an attack against the creature. King Solomon and Gilgamesh also joined in bombarding the creature

The energy beam from the Demon God Pillars surged from all directions, aiming squarely at the monstrous mass.

This time, Zelretch wasn't manipulated into action. Instead, the Black Cup held by the creature automatically emitted a pitch-black light that neutralized all incoming attacks.

Meanwhile, Artoria, Karna, and the others had dispatched the one-eyed giants in the adjacent hall and were making their way toward the main hall.

The decisive battle was drawing near, but the true nature of that Black Cup remained a pressing concern.

Though Pandora looked frail, she had gained her freedom after the evil of the gods had left her.

Catching sight of the Black Cup in the creature's hand and sensing Shirou's inner confusion, she calmly said, "That cup is Zeus's Holy Grail."

"Zeus's Holy Grail?" His brow furrowed in puzzlement.

Was there a legend about Zeus possessing a Holy Grail? No such thing came to mind. The closest connection between Zeus and a cup was perhaps the constellation Aquarius.

According to myth, Zeus had abducted the handsome youth Ganymede, bringing him to Mount Olympus. Their companionship day and night had aroused the jealousy of Hera, the queen of the gods. After Hera's condemnation and curse, Zeus chose to immortalize Ganymede by placing his soul in the heavens, transforming him into the constellation Aquarius, the Water Bearer.

This story had no relation to a cup, much less a Holy Grail. How could Zeus have such a thing? As far as Shirou was aware, in the world he inhabited, there was no legend, no myth, that spoke of Zeus owning a Holy Grail!

Could this be another twist unique to that parallel world?

Pandora smoothed out her rumpled dress and stated, "Zeus acquired that Grail from this world thousands of years ago."

"What?" His eyebrow shot up.