Seeing the atmosphere spiraling out of control, Amakusa quickly feigned seriousness, cleared his throat, and took over the conversation.
"Ahem. Since you and Caster have arrived, Souya, we should discuss our upcoming battle plan."
Souya froze slightly and instinctively scanned his surroundings.
Seeing that only he and Amakusa—two Master-Servant pairs—were present in the massive throne room, he looked at Amakusa in confusion.
"Amakusa, if we are discussing battle plans, why are there only four of us? Where are Archer, Lancer, and the others?"
"Archer and Rider were tasked with conducting a final reconnaissance of the Trifas terrain earlier; we will choose that as our main battlefield. As for Lancer and the remaining Servants, excluding the Saber team which continues to act independently, I have notified them to gather here in two hours." Amakusa smiled faintly, explaining at a measured pace.
"Regarding the battle plan, it actually doesn't involve them significantly. They are primarily responsible for combat; they only need to follow our arrangements to pin down the enemy. The true core of this plan relies primarily on our Casters and Assassin."
"Oh?"
Not only Souya, but even Morgan—who had shown zero interest in the proceedings—shifted her gaze from Souya to Amakusa. She looked with interest at this man who clearly harbored ulterior motives for this war, wanting to hear what he had to say.
"Hmph!" Semiramis smirked smugly, declining to explain the plan herself and yielding the floor to Amakusa.
Amakusa didn't keep them in suspense. He laid out his entire plan.
"I believe you are already thoroughly familiar with the fundamental reason this war is occurring, Souya. So I won't waste time on explanations and will cut straight to the core."
Amakusa smiled gently, locking eyes with Souya.
"Souya, do you know what we must do above all else to secure victory in a Holy Grail War of this unprecedented scale?"
Souya didn't hesitate. After a moment of thought, he looked up and answered.
"Seize the core of the Holy Grail War—that is, take ownership of the Greater Grail?"
It was a simple logic: to win the Holy Grail War and make a wish upon the wish-granting machine, one must obtain the Holy Grail itself. After all, it wasn't just an abstract concept; it was a tangible, existing object.
The reason Amakusa asked Souya this question was entirely due to the uniqueness of this war.
In a standard seven-person war like the Fourth or Fifth, the issue of Grail ownership could be resolved purely through combat, as defeating the other six Servants was necessary to fill the Grail's energy.
But in this fourteen-Servant Great War between two factions, if the Holy Grail—a massive reservoir of magical energy—was not firmly controlled, unforeseeable variables could arise.
In this worldline, the factions and magi aware of the Greater Grail's existence were numerous. On the surface, it was a battle between the Black Faction (Yggdmillennia) and the Red Faction (Mage's Association), but shadows of many other predators lurked in the background.
For instance, the Holy Church supposedly backing Souya (a complete assumption on the Black Faction's part); the Einzbern family, one of the original Three Founding Families who might want to reclaim their property; or the Edelfelt family, known as the "Hyenas."
Being highly sensitive to "treasure," they undoubtedly possessed immense interest in the Greater Grail.
These were all potential threats Amakusa's plan had to address. Therefore, securing the Greater Grail was the absolute top priority of his upcoming strategy.
Souya, leveraging his meta-knowledge and understanding of Amakusa, had easily deduced this point.
"Exactly. Truly worthy of being the most outstanding child of our Kotomine family."
Seeing Souya instantly answer his question, a smile bloomed on Amakusa's face, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Therefore, our next plan is to use Lancer and the others as our main vanguard to launch an assault on the Black Faction. Simultaneously, relying on Semiramis's Noble Phantasm, the 'Hanging Gardens of Babylon,' we will breach the Black Faction's stronghold and seize the Holy Grail for ourselves."
At this point, Amakusa's joyous smile was practically bursting forth. It was as if he could already envision the moment of victory, followed by the arrival of the salvation of all humanity.
Sitting beside him, Semiramis saw his smile and smirked, revealing a deeply meaningful expression.
"Heh, interesting." Morgan offered a brief assessment after hearing the plan.
While Souya nodded in agreement, he remained somewhat confused and asked Amakusa.
"Then, according to your plan, Amakusa, what exactly are Caster and I supposed to accomplish?"
Amakusa's smile faded slightly, his expression growing serious.
"This is the intelligence I was about to share with you. Last night, while you were battling in Sighisoara, reports from Assassin's familiars revealed that the entire Yggdmillennia fortress has been enveloped by a layer of illusion magecraft superimposed on their defensive Bounded Field."
"This not only prevents us from gathering detailed intelligence but also raises concerns regarding our plan."
"According to the Mage's Association's analysis, the rank of this illusion Bounded Field is high enough to affect reality itself. It is highly probable that it originates from the Black Faction's Caster, who has yet to show their face."
The moment he heard the word "illusion," Souya immediately recalled the incident where the Black Assassin Carmilla was rescued right in front of him, and the attempts to bewitch him using illusions by someone resembling Merlin.
Receiving this concrete confirmation from Amakusa made Souya's heart grow heavy.
He realized that Heroic Spirits capable of executing illusions to this extent were extremely rare, aside from Merlin or Proto-Merlin.
As expected, we ran into him here.
Recalling the endless troubles Merlin had caused him and Artoria back in Britain, Souya's brow furrowed deeply.
Morgan proactively took over the conversation.
"So, you are implying that you expect me to breach this illusion Bounded Field for you?" Morgan asked, staring at the serious Amakusa with an indifferent, unreadable expression.
"Yes." Amakusa admitted readily without attempting to hide his intentions.
"As you can see, Caster, due to my Assassin's class and abilities, this magnificent and massive 'Garden' is her strongest combat asset. However, when it comes to illusions, neither she nor I possess effective countermeasures."
"Tch." Semiramis clicked her tongue in annoyance. Even though she knew it was an undeniable fact, it still rankled her.
Amakusa shot her a comforting look before respectfully addressing Morgan again.
"But you are different. Your True Name is Morgan le Fay. As the ruler of a glorious Britain and the Master of Fairies, history records your ability to dispel illusions. Therefore, regarding this illusion Bounded Field, we can only rely on you."
Hearing Amakusa's clearly flattering words, Morgan's azure eyes rippled. She glanced at Souya.
I must say, they are both priests surnamed Kotomine. This pair of brothers is remarkably similar when it comes to smooth-talking.
However, Morgan did not mind; in fact, she felt rather pleased.
Because she knew Souya only reserved his sweet talk for her. For others, it was merely being eloquent.
In a good mood, Morgan did not refuse Amakusa's request. She nodded lightly, agreeing to the plan.
Seeing this, Amakusa exchanged a joyous look with Semiramis.
Although she did not show overt happiness, Semiramis curled her lip, the corners of her mouth twitching upward slightly.
Souya, naturally, smiled and offered no objections.
Through the conversation between the Kotomine brothers, the subsequent battle plan was finalized.
Noticing there was still ample time before the other Servants arrived, Amakusa invited Souya and Morgan to tour this massive Noble Phantasm manifested from one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the "Hanging Gardens of Babylon."
With Morgan's consent, Souya agreed.
Semiramis felt it was somewhat undignified for an Empress to abandon her throne to act as a tour guide for a woman she disliked. But considering she was the master of this place, guiding Morgan around could be seen as fulfilling her duties as a host, allowing the Queen from a tiny island to broaden her horizons. She eventually agreed and stepped down from the throne alongside Amakusa.
If Morgan had known her thoughts, she would have only offered an even colder sneer.
The group of four strolled through the massive palace corridors, then ascended to a high vantage point to observe the Sumerian-style architecture built at the base. Finally, they stopped at the gardens and pavilions located at the very top of the structure to take in the full view of this wonder of the world.
Souya could not help but marvel at the greatness of the ancients' miracles.
Interestingly, while walking through the palace corridors, Souya noticed several fascinating murals on the walls.
Relying on his familiarity with anime art styles (laughs), Souya instantly recognized the protagonists of the murals.
That guy with the golden hair, adventuring, battling giant serpents, and seeking the elixir of immortality... wasn't that Fuyuki's most enthusiastic citizen, the hero known as humanity's oldest bully, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh?
In some of the murals, Souya also spotted figures strongly resembling Enkidu, Siduri, Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and even Tiamat.
After Semiramis confirmed his suspicions, Souya marveled at the fact that his first encounter with these legendary figures was through viewing them on the Empress's Noble Phantasm.
But it made sense. As an inheritor of Sumerian civilization, it was normal for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to feature such depictions.
While lamenting whether he would ever have the chance to visit the Seventh Singularity, Souya suddenly realized a technicality.
The reason this Hanging Garden possessed the prefix "Phantom" in Empress Semiramis's hands, rather than bearing its true name directly, was because she did not actually construct it in reality.
The reason it became her Noble Phantasm was that later historical records and legends falsely attributed its creation to her, spreading the misconception widely.
This was the influence of later generations' legends mentioned earlier.
Hence the prefix "Phantom" before the Hanging Gardens.
If, in the same Holy Grail War, someone summoned Nebuchadnezzar II—the true builder of the Hanging Gardens, the Tower of Babel, and the Ishtar Gate—the ownership and control of this Noble Phantasm would likely transfer from the Empress to him in an instant.
Unfortunately, due to certain mythological reasons, the Servant Nebuchadnezzar II was practically impossible to summon. This was one of the reasons Amakusa did not directly seek his catalyst.
However, there are exceptions to every rule. For Souya, who possessed miracles bestowed by God, his third "Holy Spirit" coincidentally had a connection to this famous tyrant.
But that is a story for later.
Given the time constraints, two hours was definitely not enough to fully appreciate this world-class architectural wonder. When Semiramis sensed that Lancer, Archer, and the other Red Faction Servants had arrived at the throne room, she immediately utilized her authority over the Noble Phantasm to transport Amakusa, Souya, and Morgan back.
Sitting high upon the throne once more, Semiramis looked down disdainfully at the Servants gathered below, a smirk playing on her lips.
Similarly, Amakusa Shirou's eyes shone brightly the moment everyone assembled. He knew that his grand vision to save all of humanity was finally about to begin.