---o---
[Conan Edogawa: Elysia has mentioned several times that she wants to see the happy lives of people in this world. In other words, in her world, are most people unhappy?]
[Ai Haibara: A world where even ordinary people cannot live normal lives... what a cruel world that must be.]
[Eriri Spencer Sawamura: I don't think the people of Fuyuki City are very happy at all! Look at the state of that port right now. Is it really safe to live in that city?]
[Utaha Kasumigaoka: As they say, when gods fight, mortals suffer. It's a good thing the port was empty at night; otherwise, a few lives would have definitely been lost.]
[Schicksal Overseer: Hmm... It's not as severe as you might imagine. Although dangerous beings like Heroic Spirits exist, they originate from history and myth. Furthermore, this world does a very good job of concealing such special powers, so ordinary people can, for the most part, still live ordinary and happy lives.]
[Tokiomi Tohsaka: Mr. Otto is correct. The Mage's Association keeps the Mystery well hidden. Any act that reveals the Mystery is forbidden. The Holy Grail War is also conducted in absolute secrecy and should not affect ordinary people in the slightest...]
Given the destruction wrought by the Heroic Spirits, frankly, it was difficult for the people of the multiverse to imagine how the Holy Grail War had remained hidden for so long without being discovered.
Perhaps it truly was because these Masters exercised strict self-control, preventing the Mystery from ever appearing before the public eye...
---o---
However, just as the comment section was discussing how magi conceal the Mystery, the light screen's projection shifted its focus away from Elysia.
The scene changed to a house with its door open late at night. In a dark, unlit room, a boy of about twelve or thirteen lay in a pool of blood, his body covered in it. Beside him were the bodies of two adults, presumably his parents, also lying in the blood.
Standing nearby was a young man with orange hair and a cheerful smile on his face. In his hand, a blood-stained dagger was clearly visible. On a television set to the side, a news report was playing about a serial killer. Without a doubt, the killer being described was this seemingly cheerful young man.
This depraved murderer didn't even glance at the corpses at his feet. He was simply using the blood on the floor to draw a bizarre pattern.
The reference for his drawing was a black magic book he held in his hand, something he likely bought from a street stall. What was clearly a cheap trick to fool children was being treated as the real deal by this man.
Honestly, it was quite ridiculous. But many who watched felt a chill run down their spines, their brows furrowing in disgust. This man was trying to perform a dark ritual with a shabby book he bought from who-knows-where. Such a person was either a lunatic or a psychopath, someone who could not be understood with normal logic.
And yet, as absurd as he seemed, the sigil he drew was exquisitely detailed. He even used his feet to draw parts of it, yet the pattern remained flawless. His artistic skill was absurdly high, clear evidence of a great, natural talent for painting.
But it was precisely this talented person, who always wore a bright, sunny smile, whose actions were so terrifying. The sheer contrast was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Why was the light screen showing something so unrelated to the Holy Grail War and Elysia? Although this killer was detestable, he shouldn't have anything to do with the content of the projection, right? Doubts arose in the viewers' minds, but they were quickly answered by the projection itself.
The camera zoomed in on the back of Ryuunosuke Uryuu's right hand. There, a red tattoo, clearly a Command Spell, was visible.
His Command Spell was an abstract image, like the slash of a scythe leaving behind a sharp after-image. Although the design of the Command Spell differed for every magus, its location on the back of the hand and its red color made it highly recognizable.
As the camera focused on Ryuunosuke Uryuu's Command Spell, the summoning circle he had drawn began to glow. As magical energy surged, a white light started to emerge.
Seeing this scene, the hearts of the multiverse viewers sank, especially those from the Type-Moon world. Although they had never witnessed a Servant summoning ritual, this was undoubtedly the process.
To think that even a depraved monster like this could summon a Servant... what kind of Heroic Spirit would possibly answer the call of this madman?
Witnessing this, Ryuunosuke Uryuu's eyes lit up, and his brilliant smile grew even wider. "Ahh, did it work? Did I succeed? Wonderful! This is so cool~~~"
His cheerful and trendy demeanor sent a deeper chill through the viewers, confirming that this man was a genuine lunatic.
Most importantly, a madman like this had actually received a response and summoned a Heroic Spirit.
In an instant, the grand and noble image people had of Heroic Spirits suffered a massive blow. It seemed... not all heroes were great.
Every Heroic Spirit who had appeared before was famous. Even if not world-renowned, they were all great heroes in their respective regions.
Even the foul-mouthed and ill-tempered Gilgamesh was a protagonist in his mythology. And as the earliest recorded epic king, Gilgamesh was quite popular in historical circles.
Although in terms of popular fame, Gilgamesh couldn't compare to the King of Conquerors or King Arthur, since his history was mostly confined to epic myths that not everyone was familiar with.
But with the title of the Oldest King and his handsome features, despite his rotten personality, he was still seen as a heroic figure by most. Even the projection itself had stated that Gilgamesh was of a 'Good' alignment.
This showed that, in the minds of the people, Heroic Spirits were righteous, noble, and grand. Personality aside, their lives were surely filled with glorious deeds recorded in human history.
However, a situation that would subvert this ingrained perception was now at hand.
When a strange man appeared, dressed in a long blue robe, exuding an evil aura, his intelligent eyes bulging wide, the viewers' inherent impression of Heroic Spirits was finally shattered and reshaped.
This bizarre man, who looked like a villain at first glance, was completely out of place with the style of the other Heroic Spirits.
After appearing, the man asked in a deep voice, "I ask of you, O summoner who has called upon me, who has sought me, who has brought me forth in the Caster class... pray, tell me your name... Who are you?"