Fate Q&A: Chapter 280/281

Chapter 280: Fuxi Vs Goetia

Chihiro, still observing the battle within the Holy Grail, found his mind racing with thoughts.

[Name: Fuxi (Chihiro)]
[Class: Caster]
[Gender: Male]
[Alignment: Lawful Neutral]

[Strength: C | Endurance: B | Agility: C | Mana: EX | Luck: A+ | Noble Phantasm: EX]

[Class Skills: Territory Creation E | High-Speed Incantation A | Item Construction A+]

[Personal Skills: Dragon Creator A | Law Forging EX | Hunting & Taming A | Music Composition A+++ | Leadership EX | Thought Key Pattern EX]

[Noble Phantasms: Yin-Yang Bagua Diagram (EX, Anti-Magic) | Primordial Net (A+, Anti-Army, Range: 1-100 meters, Can Capture: 1 Target) | Fuxi's Qin (A, Anti-Army) | River Diagram & Luo Script (EX, Self-Targeting, Range: 0 meters, Can Capture: 1 Target)]

Chihiro stared at the panel in shock.

Fuxi had descended into his body.

Not only that, but his skill set was absurd, he had seven inherent skills, even more than Karna.

But… no Clairvoyance? Wasn't that a standard feature for Grand Casters?

Still, why did summoning himself as a catalyst result in Fuxi appearing? Was this a complication arising from Zhang Jiao's interference, his manipulation and enhancement of his Spiritual Key within the Thought Network during the Fourth Holy Grail War?

Fate had a twisted sense of humor.

With this descent, Fuxi also gained access to Chihiro's knowledge, including his understanding of Onmyōdō.

However, as a Grand Caster, Fuxi's adaptability to magic was unparalleled.

He instantly mastered Onmyōdō, elevating Chihiro's Thought Key Pattern to its highest authority.

With a single step into the Thought Realm, Fuxi absorbed millennia's worth of accumulated magecraft, enriching his own knowledge base.

Chihiro's expression darkened.

He could already picture the sheer chaos that this would bring to the Mountain.

But beyond being a mage and ruler, Fuxi was also a god.

Of course, such a powerful deity could never fully descend into the modern world.

This was why Fuxi had materialized only as a Heroic Spirit, rather than a full-fledged god.

Even so, his strength was nothing to scoff at.

— Bang!!!

Goetia's fist came crashing down, but rather than blocking head-on, Fuxi flowed around the attack.

He redirected the force and struck back, successfully knocking Goetia away.

Casters… engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Chihiro honestly had no words for this situation.

Taking advantage of the moment, he quickly scanned Goetia's status panel.

[Name: Solomon (Goetia)]
[Class: Caster]
[Gender: Male]
[Alignment: Lawful Good]

[Strength: E | Endurance: E | Agility: B | Mana: A++ | Luck: A++ | Noble Phantasm: A++]

[Class Skills: Territory Creation A | High-Speed Incantation A | Item Construction C]

[Personal Skills: Revelation B | Summoning EX | Solomon's Ring EX | Clairvoyance EX]

[Noble Phantasm: None]

…Yeah, this was bullshit.

The guy had been throwing bare-knuckle beatdowns for the past hour and tanking Noble Phantasms left and right.

Yet his Strength and Endurance were both listed as E?!

Also, his Noble Phantasm section was completely blank.

This was nowhere near Goetia at his full power.

Though, upon reflection, it made sense.

"The Time of Crowning hath come, He is the One who Begins All."—this referred to the Time Temple itself.

"The Time of Birth hath come, I am the remedy of Eternity."—this referred to Ars Almadel Salomonis, the Rings of Light.

But since the Human Order Incineration hadn't started yet, that Noble Phantasm didn't even exist in this timeline.

So this was a severely weakened manifestation of Goetia.

Even with immortality, Fuxi should be able to handle him.

"Interesting," Goetia remarked, separating from Fuxi. "Even as a Grand Servant, how long can you last?"

Their battle resumed.

This time, Fuxi switched to full-fledged magecraft combat.

With a wave of his hand, the sky filled with talismans, each transforming into fire, lightning, golden light, ice, and torrents of water—all crashing toward Goetia.

But—nothing got through.

Goetia countered with a barrage of light rays, sweeping across the battlefield.

Fuxi, however, vanished in an instant, reappearing directly behind Goetia.

A storm of binding talismans rained down, locking him in place.

The effects barely lasted a second.

But in a battle at this level, a second was all he needed.

"Primordial Net!"

Golden threads materialized, weaving together in an instant, ensnaring Goetia completely.

Goetia struggled but found himself unable to break free.

The Primordial Net, the first fishing net ever created by mankind.

A tool so integral to human civilization that its very concept had ascended into legend.

But it had a flaw.

One end had to be held by the caster.

And Goetia noticed immediately.

"You think this can hold me forever?" he taunted.

Fuxi smirked.

"I don't need my hands to fight."

With a single command—

The Yin-Yang Bagua Diagram manifested beneath their feet.

Goetia's expression darkened.

"In this formation," Fuxi declared, "every path is under my control."

"And you, are now standing at the Gate of Death."

Goetia's eyes narrowed.

"So you changed my fate and made the world itself reject me?"

Fuxi's smirk widened.

"That's the idea."

Crack.

The Primordial Net began to strain.

Goetia was about to break free.

But Fuxi was waiting for something.

Something crucial.

Chihiro, watching from within the Grail, could sense it.

"He's waiting for…"

Puff!!

Finally, Goetia managed to tear a hole in the Primordial Net, forcing Fuxi to withdraw it.

"Die!"

Goetia lunged forward, his iron fists raining down like a relentless storm.

Fuxi did his best to counter, but even with his skill, several strikes landed cleanly, sending him staggering backward several meters.



T/N: You might notice this chapter was shorter than usual yeah, I had to remove alot of chinese whatnot and still try to make it make sense.


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Chapter 281: Goetia Withdraws, the Holy Grail War Ends

"Alright..."

After exchanging blows with Goetia for some time, Fuxi finally saw his moment. Without hesitation, he swiftly retreated, putting distance between himself and his opponent.

"Hm?"

Goetia's expression darkened. He could sense something shifting.

"It's over, Goetia!"

Fuxi's voice rang out as his body was suddenly enveloped in radiant white light.

When the light faded, his form had changed, his robes had vanished, replaced by a fur-lined vest that left his upper body exposed. Below the waist, his legs had transformed into a long, sinuous serpent's tail.

It was the true image of Fuxi from myth, a being with a human head and a snake's body.

"A transformation of the Saint Graph..."

Goetia frowned but was abruptly forced to stagger back, a crushing weight pressing down on him.

Seizing the opportunity, Fuxi moved. A golden talisman in his hand ignited with divine power, morphing into a radiant blade that plunged straight into Goetia's chest.

"...!"

Black smoke billowed from the wound.

Goetia's eyes widened in disbelief. I'm injured...?!

His gaze snapped to Fuxi. This was just a restoration of his spiritual foundation, so how had his strength increased so drastically?

From within the Holy Grail, Chihiro was just as shocked. Did he just... take full control of the entire Thought Disk?!

It was an absurd concept. The Thought Disk functioned like a massive supercomputer for magical processing, and Fuxi had essentially dedicated all of its computational power solely to himself.

The amplification was monstrous, enough that he successfully wounded Goetia in a single strike.

---

BOOM!

A deafening explosion tore through the air. Dark clouds churned above, flashing with divine thunder. The very world seemed to reject Goetia's existence.

That last attack was merely a test—this was the true offensive.

Fuxi, through the Thought Disk, had fully activated the Yin-Yang Bagua Diagram, suppressing Goetia's fate to its lowest possible state. The rejection from the world had reached its peak, forcing him to leave.

At first, Fuxi had considered cutting off Goetia's luck entirely. However, he quickly dismissed the idea, Goetia's luck was too deeply rooted, and even severing it wouldn't significantly weaken him.

A more efficient solution was to use the world itself to eject him.

"...Well, this is a disaster."

Goetia sighed. He could feel it now, the world was actively rejecting his presence. Every movement felt sluggish, as if he were sinking into quicksand.

But truthfully? He wasn't too concerned.

His goal had never been to win this fight.

His sole purpose in coming here was to investigate Chihiro and his so-called communication group. There was no need to risk everything. Revealing his true nature and trump cards would be meaningless here.

Goetia scoffed. "Rejoice, Servants of human history. Today, you have narrowly escaped destruction."

His body began to dissipate, his Saint Graph unraveling like mist in the wind.

"Enjoy what little time you have left… before the flames of hell consume you all."

With those final words, Goetia vanished from the world.


---

"…It's over?"

The gathered Servants let out a collective breath.

Goetia's cryptic parting words were the least of their concerns, what truly weighed on them was the sheer chaos that had unfolded tonight.

Solomon—no, Goetia—had suddenly appeared and turned the Holy Grail War into something beyond their comprehension.

Fuxi, now back in his human form, exhaled deeply. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

The moment Goetia disappeared, he immediately disconnected from the Thought Disk. Even he couldn't handle its overwhelming processing power for long.

This battle had left losses on both sides.

Chihiro's faction had lost Diarmuid and Hassan of the Hundred Faces, but in return, they had gained a Grand Servant—Fuxi. In that regard, it wasn't a total loss.

On the Black Faction's side, Siegfried and Chiron had been gravely wounded and had yet to return, while Astolfo had spent most of the night as an observer.

As for Darnic, he was dead. With their Master gone, the Black Faction was effectively eliminated.

Meanwhile, the Red Faction still had Karna, Achilles, and Vlad III, with Amakusa Shirou barely hanging on. However, their greatest loss was the destruction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, their home base.

The fortress had been Amakusa Shirou's entire life's work—sixty years of effort, gone in an instant.

---
Fuxi's presence faded.

No—more accurately, his consciousness withdrew, returning the body to Chihiro.

As he vanished, the ceremonial robes vanished as well, replaced once more by Chihiro's usual sportswear.

Inside the Holy Grail, Chihiro finally faced Fuxi directly.

Now that they were in the same space, he could properly observe the man—a rugged, yet gentle-looking figure, carrying an air of wisdom far beyond human comprehension.

"You have my thanks. Without your aid, we would have been doomed."

Fuxi nodded. "I never expected to face a Beast so suddenly."

His gaze turned serious. "I did not defeat the opponent, I merely used the world's will to force him out. The real crisis has yet to be resolved."

"Yeah," Chihiro muttered.

This was not a true victory.

Tonight, Goetia had been at a disadvantage, wrong time, wrong place, and outnumbered.

But had this battle taken place in the Grand Temple of Time, where Goetia's true form and Ars Almadel Salomonis were fully unleashed...

The entire war would have ended in an instant.

Fuxi's gaze hardened. "You understand what this means, don't you?"

Chihiro exhaled. "...Yeah."

The emergence of one Beast would inevitably lead to others.

The chain reaction had begun.

"From now on, you will be a target," Fuxi warned. "Beasts exist as calamities to humanity. If we do not act, mankind will be destroyed."

His voice grew distant. His form began to dissolve into motes of golden light.

"...As a parting gift, I have left you something. I hope you'll find it useful."

Chihiro blinked. "A gift?"

But before he could ask—

The world spun.

A dizzying sensation overwhelmed him, like being launched from a roller coaster.

When his vision cleared, he realized, he was back in his body.

The Holy Grail had expelled him.

Not that it mattered. With its magical energy depleted, there was no reason for him to remain there anyway.

"Master, are you alright?"

As Chihiro regained his bearings, he realized.

He was resting on Artoria's lap.

She gazed down at him, concern evident in her emerald eyes.

Chihiro took a moment to process everything that had happened. Despite the chaos, there was at least one silver lining.

However, before he could enjoy it, a distinctively hostile gaze landed on him.

Turning his head, he locked eyes with Mordred, who was glaring at him with murder written all over her face.

"...Ahem."

Without wasting another second, Chihiro quickly sat up.

He had a strong feeling that if he remained lying there for even a moment longer, Mordred's sword would be coming for his head.


---

At that moment, The First Emperor approached.

"Ancestor Fuxi… has he departed?"

"Yeah," Chihiro nodded, still adjusting to his own body again. "He's already gone."

Now that the battle had settled, he turned his attention inward.

Fuxi had left him a gift.

What exactly was it?


---

"Ah! What's happening?!"

Astolfo's startled cry drew everyone's attention.

The assembled warriors turned to look, only to see his body glowing with golden light, his form beginning to dissipate.

A slow, fading exit.

It was different from the usual departure of defeated Servants, this was the natural conclusion of their time in this world.

And it wasn't just Astolfo.

Mordred, Karna, Achilles, Vlad III… one by one, their bodies began to glow, signaling their return to the Throne of Heroes.

However, Amakusa Shirou, Jeanne, and Artoria remained.


---

"This marks the end of the Holy Grail War."

Amakusa Shirou spoke with quiet finality, watching his remaining forces disappear.

But as the realization sank in, his gaze slowly turned to Chihiro.

A flicker of suspicion crossed his face.

The Grand Servant. The sudden shift in events.

It all traced back to him.

Chihiro caught his stare and merely shrugged.

"Don't look at me"

Amakusa Shirou: "…"

Defeat.

There was no other way to describe it.

This war had been an absolute disaster for him.

Sixty years of planning—gone.

His carefully cultivated resources? Wiped out.

His identity? Exposed.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Destroyed.

And worst of all?

He hadn't even gotten the Holy Grail.

…Wait.

The Holy Grail!

A sudden realization struck him.

Almost frantically, Amakusa Shirou reached into his pocket, fingers closing around a smooth, familiar surface.

The Holy Grail—the one that Goetia had discarded.