---o---
Seeing this scene unfold on the screen, countless viewers across the multiverse felt their scalps tingle. Many were vomiting, many were cursing, many were enraged, and many were terrified.
It was horrifying. This pair was simply insane, an existence more terrifying than any mere serial killer. From Master to Servant, not a single one of their minds belonged in the realm of normalcy.
[Madara Uchiha: Extreme terror does not necessarily yield the most effective results. Giving hope, only to twist it into despair, is a far better method for 'torture' and 'interrogation'. Although I understand this principle... such insects should just die quickly.]
[Tanjiro Kamado: I can't understand. I can't understand it at all. Why would they trample on life like this? What... what do they think life is?]
[Muzan Kibutsuji: The 'freshness' of fear... It seems they understand how to make people afraid even better than I do.]
[Aizen Sousuke: More important than that is Caster's identity. It should be about time to confirm who he is.]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: Bluebeard, also known as Barbe-bleue, is the titular character of a fairy tale by the French poet Charles Perrault. He murdered his wives in succession. His real name is unknown; he is named for the color of his beard. The story was once included in the first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales but was removed from the second edition onwards. The name has since been used to refer to playboys, philanderers, or men who abuse their wives.]
[Eriri Spencer Sawamura: So characters from fairy tales can become Heroic Spirits, not just figures from history and myth?]
[Hachiman Hikigaya: Although he calls himself Bluebeard, don't forget, he said it's what he's called in this era. If we match this identity to a real historical figure, we can find a direct match.]
Gilles de Rais!
A Marshal of France during the Hundred Years' War against Britain, a renowned practitioner of black magic, once a hero of France, later a murderer who committed crimes against humanity. He tortured hundreds of children to death and was eventually burned at the stake as a heretic!
Without a doubt, this man was a famous figure in history, at least an important one for France, and had some notoriety throughout the Western world. In terms of fame, he was certainly qualified to be a Heroic Spirit.
However, the depravity, corruption, and madness of his later life made it difficult for people to accept that such a monster could become a Heroic Spirit.
Still, this also updated everyone's understanding of what a Heroic Spirit could be—they weren't all great figures. Infamous monsters with sufficient fame could also be summoned.
In other words, anyone with fame who had performed recorded deeds had a chance of becoming a Heroic Spirit, even if they had fallen into depravity.
After all, no matter what, this man had once been a Marshal of France who led armies into battle against Britain. In a way, he had once been a national hero.
---o---
In the light screen projection, Caster had only just debuted, and his identity had already been unmasked by the viewers of the multiverse. Now, only the Assassin camp remained. Though, according to what Waver had said earlier, Assassin had already been killed by Gilgamesh without even appearing on screen.
How tragic. But that was his bad luck for encountering the strongest existence in this Holy Grail War right at the start.
After the scene with Caster, the camera shifted back to Elysia. As expected, after witnessing such a cruel and twisted event, people felt a particular warmth at the sight of her.
It was all because Elysia was so adorable, as dazzling as a fleeting flower, and her personality was so kind. A beautiful girl like her could capture countless gazes just by standing there.
At this moment, many in the comment section had even started calling her their "waifu" on the spot.
But... who was that handsome man next to her?
Currently, standing opposite Elysia was a young man with silver hair tied in a long braid that rested over his left shoulder. He was so handsome he bordered on beautiful.
He wore a white lab coat over a suit and tie, exuded a very gentle temperament, and had a warm smile on his face, giving him the air of a well-mannered nobleman.
The camera then gave a specific shot of the back of his right hand. Faint red marks were visible, suggesting that something had once been tattooed there but was now gone.
The man opened his mouth, his voice gentle. "Miss Elysia, what do you think of my request? As long as you are willing to join us, I will use all of my power to help you return to your original world."
As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Elysia, the gentle and kind smile never leaving his face.
The appearance of this girl was completely outside of that King's expectations. Could there be other new variables in this Holy Grail War besides him?
Elysia just pondered for a moment. She really couldn't figure it out. She had been walking down the road, humming a little tune, when she was suddenly stopped by this person.
What's more, he had immediately identified her as someone not of this world, which scared the fairy-like lady into thinking he was looking for trouble. But instead, he was inviting her to join his yet-to-be-established organization.
What was this all about? Although a beautiful girl is popular everywhere she goes, only a fool would accept an invitation from a mysterious stranger on the street.
"What you're offering is certainly very attractive. To be honest, while this world is beautiful, without the Honkai and without disasters, there are still people waiting for me back in my world. No matter what, I'm still the second-in-command of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers~ There are some things that only I can do."
Elysia took a deep breath. The Thirteen Flame-Chasers, the Fire Moths... she had too many bonds she couldn't let go of. After the Honkai is defeated, wouldn't it be wonderful to bring everyone to travel in this world together?
Seeing this, the white-haired man's smile deepened. It seemed things were settled. The organization he wanted to create needed talent like Elysia. To be able to fight the King of Heroes and evade that King's predictions—no matter how you looked at it, Elysia was a rare talent.
"But... I refuse!" Elysia's words made the white-haired man's smile freeze. He looked at her in disbelief. He truly couldn't understand why she would refuse him.
"Ahem~~ Elysia's favorite thing to do is to refuse invitations from anyone other than beautiful girls~~ So... sorry about that~ But there's no need to be sad. Maybe when your organization is established and you have a whole bunch of beautiful girls, I might just join~"