-44- The Altered Holy Grail War

"Don't... don't know?"

At this moment, even Rozen was somewhat taken aback. As a participant in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, how could this Servant not know the reason behind the city's current state?

"Are you deliberately hiding it from us?" Olga Marie also expressed her surprise and became furious.

After all, Rozen had mentioned that there were no humans left in Fuyuki City, only the Servants participating in the Holy Grail War. So these Servants were the only ones who should be aware of the abnormalities happening in the city.

But Caster still claimed ignorance.

"I really don't know," Caster insisted without changing his statement.

Caster continued with the information he knew. Not long ago, Fuyuki City was still normal, and they were discreetly fighting the Holy Grail War, challenging the other Masters and Servants.

But then, one day, the anomaly occurred.

A great fire, enough to incinerate the entire Fuyuki City and all its inhabitants, including the Masters contracted with the Servants, leaving only the seven Servants.

Caster's gaze swept across Rozen, Mash, and Olga Marie as he spoke.

"Although we lost our Masters, we Servants still remained. This was obviously an abnormal situation, and even I was confused and didn't know how to act."

And then...

"Saber appeared."

At this point, Caster finally became more serious.

"While the other Servants were still trying to figure out what was happening, that person, Saber, actually reignited the Holy Grail War. She sought out the other Servants one by one and fought them."

That was the information Caster knew.

According to him, Saber reignited the Holy Grail War and defeated Archer, Lancer, Rider, Assassin, and even Berserker, leaving only Caster himself.

"Wait a moment!" Olga Marie interrupted Caster's explanation, astonished. "So, according to you, all the other Servants lost in the Holy Grail War?"

If that were the case, who were Archer and Berserker who attacked their group?

"As far as I know, in Fuyuki City's Holy Grail War, the Servants only have one life. Once defeated, they disappear and cannot be summoned again," Rozen added, expressing his doubts.

Resurrecting a defeated Servant was not impossible, but it required specific conditions and a considerable amount of magical energy, which was difficult to obtain in Fuyuki City.

"No, they were not re-summoned. They were resurrected," Caster clarified.

Caster explained that Saber obtained the Holy Grail in advance and used its power to resurrect the defeated Servants. However, their spirits were corrupted, leading to the five Servants turning into corrupted versions of themselves. Saber exiled them to Fuyuki City.

The black lines on Archer and Berserker's bodies were a result of this corruption, indicating their mental instability and the fact that they had been resurrected.

"That's why you were able to defeat that Berserker," Caster chuckled with a touch of helplessness. "That Servant possesses Noble Phantasm and combat power that even Saber finds troublesome. Without the Holy Grail's magic supporting her, it would be uncertain if Saber could defeat Berserker."

And it seems that Berserker, who was defeated, lost the effect of that special Noble Phantasm.

(So that's why he said, "Defeating him once," right?)

From this deduction, Berserker should possess a Noble Phantasm that allows him to revive even after being defeated.

Just thinking about this made Rozen's head ache.

(That monster was already difficult to deal with. If he can come back after being defeated, it's simply a nightmare.)

But precisely because that Noble Phantasm is so irregular, it must have some sort of limitation, right?

(Maybe it's limited by the number of uses?)

This explanation wouldn't be difficult to understand.

In the battle against Saber, Berserker definitely exhausted the number of times he could use his Noble Phantasm and was eventually slain.

What Rozen encountered was only a Berserker with a significantly reduced level of difficulty, having depleted the uses of his Noble Phantasm.

"Thank goodness..." Rozen felt relieved.

"If it was a Berserker capable of using his Noble Phantasm, we would have been completely helpless," Olga Marie seemed to understand this and couldn't help but feel grateful.

However, Caster himself seemed unconcerned.

"Noble Phantasms are a Servant's trump card, capable of turning the tables in battle. The existence or absence of such a weapon greatly influences the outcome of a fight. Losing it would undoubtedly diminish a Servant's value," Caster commented.

Rozen and Olga Marie agreed wholeheartedly with these words.

However, they failed to notice that Mash, who was nearby, lowered her head at this moment, revealing a complex emotion on her face.

"Now, back to the point," Caster stood up and looked at Rozen.

"I say, kid, do you want to form a contract with me?"