__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hestia shook her head. "That won't work. The King's Treasury holds the prototypes of every Noble Phantasm in existence. A human body like yours can't withstand that kind of manifested history."
Alex was disappointed for a moment, but then another idea struck him. "Then I want limitless martial training!"
Hestia smiled. "That, I can grant you. I'll give it to you right now."
In the next instant, the mana inside the Greater Grail turned into countless fragments of knowledge and poured straight into Alex's mind.
He began practicing unfamiliar martial arts without even realizing it, and different weapons kept materializing in his hands as he moved.
The hundreds of techniques Luo Hao had given him were mastered in a blink and perfected instantly.
Those techniques fused with everything the Grail was imprinting into him, branding themselves onto his soul and becoming part of who he was.
His muscles changed as mana flowed through them, building muscle memory for every form and stance.
Perfect Martial Dao—completed.
But the moment he attained it, something unexpected happened.
The Grail's gift, Limitless Martial Training, actually started merging with Perfect Martial Dao.
They slowly blended together until a brand new skill emerged.
Grandmaster Martial Arts.
Right then, Alex's martial prowess finally reached the ultimate peak Luo Hao had once spoken of—the greatest level a human could reach.
One more step, and he'd enter the realm of the divine. A true Martial God.
Hestia looked at the transformation happening in him and smiled. "Congratulations. Your wish has been granted. My time here is over."
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but she had already vanished.
A moment later, he was teleported outside the Grail.
The Greater Grail returned on its own to the depths beneath Ryuudou Temple, awaiting the next war once its mana gathered again.
Luo Hao noticed the change in him immediately and raised a brow. "Your martial aura has shifted."
Alex grinned and explained the wish he made.
"Limitless martial training… interesting. Come, exchange a few blows with me," Luo Hao said, clearly excited.
"Hold on, sis. Can we at least go back first?" Alex protested helplessly.
"Fine. We'll do it your way." She nodded.
…
With the Holy Grail War over, the mission for Luo Hao and the others was complete.
Alex's mission reward was only ten points. Normally, no one would bother with something so low.
But Luo Hao came to train him, not for points. Hestia was the same—she took the quest to help her Familia. Esdeath came purely to fight. And Roxy… clicked the wrong button.
Ten points divided four ways—two and a half each.
After finishing the mission, they were allowed to stay in that world for only twelve more hours before being forced back.
Back at the castle, Esdeath said her goodbyes first and returned to her world.
Roxy followed after a brief farewell—bringing along a pile of magecraft notes from the Nasuverse before she left.
Hestia was taking Irisviel, Sakura, Illya, Sella, Leysritt, and Maiya with her.
Since she would lose her divine power again upon returning to the Danmachi world and be stuck living in a shabby basement, she bought tons of food and supplies in Fuyuki to bring home.
After paying six hundred points, Hestia left with the six girls.
Once they were gone, only Alex and Luo Hao remained in the entire castle—plus Merlin, Morgan, and Artoria.
The artificial maids had already been ordered by Irisviel to return to the German headquarters.
Alex and Luo Hao exchanged a look. They both knew exactly what the other wanted.
They moved to the training grounds and began sparring.
Luo Hao didn't use any Godslayer power, only pure martial arts.
Alex also held back, matching technique against technique, the two dismantling each other's moves as fast as they formed them.
The flow of their combat was endlessly intricate, dazzling enough to leave Merlin and the others stunned into silence.
After a hundred moves, Luo Hao still hadn't beaten Alex. She looked extremely satisfied.
Now she was certain—his martial arts had reached the very highest human level.
She hadn't expected him to reach it this fast. The Greater Grail was truly remarkable.
And since she understood his level now, the spar had served its purpose.
Her stance suddenly shifted as she unleashed her signature technique—
Flying Phoenix Twelve Divine Palms.
Alex felt the pressure immediately. He lasted fewer than fifty moves before being completely overwhelmed.
So this was what divine-realm martial arts felt like… he still had a long way to go.
Luo Hao smiled. "Che'er, you did very well. Your martial realm is the best a human can achieve. But don't grow arrogant. Work even harder. Aim for divinity."
"Don't worry, sis. I'll train hard. When the time comes, I'll visit your world and slay some gods too. Maybe even become a Godslayer myself," Alex replied with a grin.
"That's the spirit. That's how the younger brother of Luo Cuilian should be." Luo Hao patted his shoulder, and as he watched, her figure slowly faded away.
"Sis is gone too… looks like I'm the only one left." Alex looked at the empty castle and let out a soft sigh.
The past half-month really felt like a dream.
But his journey had only just begun. Next was the trip to the Danmachi world.
Merlin practically ran up to him. "Master, when are we leaving? I've been waiting!"
Alex chuckled. "Wait for Hestia to post the quest. Shouldn't take long."
He opened the chat group. The chat was active as usual.
Yotsuya Miko:The Holy Grail War is finally over! @Hestia Goddess-sama, hurry and post a quest! I wanna go to Orario and get stronger too!
Hestia:Don't rush. Everyone's time flow is different. I need to post several tasks.
Shinobu:She's right. Our timelines are… inconvenient.
Unlike Alex, who could take a long mission and stay in the Danmachi world for years without issue, others had strict limitations.
Yotsuya was still a student—she couldn't disappear for long and needed to jump back and forth.
Shinobu was a Hashira, the master of the Butterfly Estate, constantly handling missions and treating injured hunters. She also couldn't leave for long.
So Hestia needed to tailor quests based on each person's available time.
But just as she was thinking about what quests to post, a system announcement appeared on its own.
[Announcement: Emergency Special Quest issued. Busujima Saeko's world has been hit by a corpse-virus outbreak. Apocalypse survival mode initiated.]
[Main Objective: Help Busujima Saeko escape danger.]
[Side Objective: Kill the infected. The more you kill, the more points you earn.]
[Difficulty: Three Stars.]
[Reward: 500 points.]
[Participants: Three members.]
The sudden announcement stunned the entire group into silence.
Saeko herself was bewildered. A corpse-virus outbreak? Her world… was turning into a zombie apocalypse?
"..."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________