[204] Timid Warrior

At the beginning, there was a slight itch on the back of his hand, but he didn't pay much attention to it. It seemed that at that moment, three new Command Spells had appeared...

Along with that, the other two Command Spells on Kazuya's hand seemed to come alive.

It wasn't a metaphor; it was real...

Kazuya could feel the connection between the Command Spells and the Greater Grail.

"Well then... if that's the case—"

Kazuya slowly closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the Command Spells on the back of his hand.

Last time, he was able to determine the exact start time of the Holy Grail War through this...

The Greater Grail would convey some information to the Master through the Command Spells, such as the location of the Holy Grail War, or details about the summoning of Heroic Spirits...

Speaking of summoning Heroic Spirits, it could start now.

However— summoning at this moment wouldn't receive much help from the Greater Grail because... the magical energy within the Greater Grail itself was not yet sufficient.

At this point, it could only rely on the magical energy of the magus.

If one wanted to truly summon Heroic Spirits, it would still take some time.

And then... another piece of information was transmitted.

"Indeed..." Kazuya slightly furrowed his brow, then relaxed and moved towards the nearby wall. After looking around and confirming that no one had broken the bounded field or tried to eavesdrop, he continued.

Behind him, a figure appeared—

It was his Stand, Atum.

Similar to how Jotaro Kujo's Stand, Star Platinum, could reach through his body to grab his heart and restart it when it stopped beating.

The nature of Stands, whether they were tangible or intangible, was quite vague. There was no setting for instant materialization in battle moments; instead, certain parts could be made tangible while others could remain intangible.

When intangible, besides the Stand itself, nothing else could defeat the Stand...

No... perhaps from within, it could...

But—

This secret compartment was created with such a principle.

There was simply no key to open it.

Only by making part of it intangible, like Kazuya's Stand, and then making another part tangible, could it be opened from the inside!

If it weren't for the fact that things inside couldn't be taken out, and even the switch inside didn't need to be arranged.

Crack—

The next moment, Kazuya opened the secret compartment and took out something like a letter.

This Holy Grail War was a bit different from the ones before. According to the information Kazuya obtained from his Command Spells, this Holy Grail War would involve a total of fifteen Heroic Spirits.

The usual seven classes, with two in each class... divided into the Red and Black factions.

The physical body of the Greater Grail was currently in the hands of the Red faction... and it was moving— moving away from London in the United Kingdom.

"It seems that the Clock Tower hasn't considered hosting the Holy Grail War in London... well, that's understandable. After all, that place is the headquarters of the Clock Tower. Although being there means getting more supplies and having a greater advantage in local battles, there are various dangers, such as... what if a Heroic Spirit capable of destroying London appears? What if... that Heroic Spirit actually takes action? If that happens, it would be troublesome."

And, besides...

There would be an additional class introduced this time— Ruler.

As the Holy Grail's invitation, the Ruler would act as the referee for this Holy Grail War.

Looking at the gloves on his hands, part of the Command Spells was already exposed, though only a small part.

However... for ordinary people, they might just wrap their hands with bandages and be done with it. But... that couldn't fool the eyes of a magus; the exposed part wouldn't be covered, and the magical aura couldn't be hidden.

So, he needed something larger, something that could cover up to his elbow just to be on the safe side. Not only would it further conceal the Command Spells, but it would easily block attacks from short-range firearms and serve as a useful tool for manipulating his Ripple to its full extent.

Moreover, the person who could help him make this item was currently on the Mage's Association's designated seal and wanted list, so he didn't have to worry about her betraying him... that's why.

Following the contact method mentioned earlier, he wrote down his request on a piece of paper and stuffed it into an envelope.

Then, he threw it into a prepared brazier nearby—

Crackle, crackle, crackle—

The envelope containing the paper didn't burn! Instead, something inside emitted a hissing sound!

The next moment, he took a deep breath, started the final step of this contact, pricked his finger slightly, and let a drop of blood into it—

Swish—

The next moment—

A shadow burst out from the envelope and bit his broken finger. The next moment— turning into a shadow, it followed through breaking the room's boundary and smashing through the glass, rushing outside!

"...That person Aozaki didn't mention anything about breaking glass and the boundary or anything..."

Kazuya's mouth twitched slightly, and with a faint glow, the wound on his finger quickly healed.

"But... forget it. Contact has been made. Now all that's left is to wait slowly."

...

And, at this moment, the animated adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure finally officially aired on television.

Accompanied by exhilarating music, this more refined animation than the theatrical version was brought onto the screen.

The first episode was a relatively complete story, telling of DIO and JOJO's initial encounter, their enmity, and the change in their attitudes...

Fans were astonished; it was even more impressive than what was shown in JOJO's Theme Park.

People who had never been exposed to it before were also surprised—

Surprised to find that this animation was different from what they had imagined, and... even with just the first episode, it felt very impactful!

At this moment—

A man sat in front of the television, watching this JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that had just been broadcast.

At times, he touched his back.

On it, there were blood-red traces, and three unknown marks formed a twisted pattern on the back of his hand.

"JoJo..."

The man slowly stood up, his figure much more robust than the last time he appeared—

"I never expected... that the Holy Grail would choose me... choose me, such a coward. Courage... what I need is courage!"

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