The golden appearance even looks a little old, and only the pattern and the nine-pointed star mark on it can be faintly distinguished, and there is a notch in the rim of the cup.

This is the Nine-Pointed Star Holy Grail, the treasure that opened the "Wizarding Age" - it was on it that the first wizarding sages hundreds of years ago established the first wizarding academy and laid its roots in Ebolden.

In the thirteen generations that followed, wizards quietly spread to every corner of the kingdom illuminated by the Holy Cross—either through humiliating compromises, to equal exchange of interests, or to gradual control of power...... In the midst of jealousy, disgust, oppression, and the incomprehensible eyes of the world, they survived and thrived.

It all started with this humble vessel......

Looking at the same prosaic Grail placed on the high platform as the other fake "Grail Hall", the somewhat uneasy black-haired wizard never took his eyes off Corona in front of him, looking at the wizarding tower patriarch who claimed to be "a year older than Freswalker".

He felt some scalp tingling.

The wizard in front of him was different from Dalton, Peter, and even all the wizards he had ever met - even if they were smart, cunning, vicious, kind, and forbearing...... But they all have one characteristic, and that is that they are all "wizards".

It is better to say that they all look at the problem from the identity and perspective of a "wizard", most of them have no quarrel with the world, and only when it is time to tolerate the bottom line will they rise up and resist, trying their best to maintain a relatively stable situation, so that they can concentrate on research and study.

But Corona is different.

Everything that happened after I arrived at Ebolden... No, his plan had already begun long before he came here, and it was detailed, well-structured, and flexible, like a huge net that encompassed the whole of Ebberden!

Discovering the Holy Grail, teaming up with Ariel to convince the Wizard Tower, trapping Alto Bellini, and using the Holy Cross, the Night's Watch, the Empire, and even himself...... Almost all of the forces involved in this dispute are fighting each other for the same goal he has set.

It was he who single-handedly designed this "Holy Grail War"!

The head of the Corona family was the first wizard Loren met to talk about "strategy".

This meant that he was more dangerous than any enemy he had ever encountered.

"Before it all begins, I must admit that I didn't expect it to be you who came here - I misjudged Asriel to be two evil gods who relied on the same 'legend'. ”

Corona sighed self-deprecatingly: "In the original plan, it should have been the Lord Farnesian Bishop who came here. ”

"And then on, I'm sure you'd love to talk about it. Loren couldn't help but sneer: "Such a huge and meticulous plan, but there is not even an object to show off - that feeling must be very uncomfortable." ”

"I'm not sure if I'm trying to show off, but you're right, I can't tell anyone — I can't even write it down, I can't think about it too much, or risk being detected. ”

The young Corona smiled modestly: "But I don't think two young people like to listen to an old man's chatter, so I won't talk more about the original plan, anyway, it has long been meaningless." ”

"You have been robbed of your body by the evil god, and Farnesis has managed to find this place, and the nine-pointed star wizard tower that defeated me will also collapse, and the evil god who has not had time to leave will also fall into the void with him, and the Lord Farnesis, who destroyed the Holy Grail, died bravely here.

This is the ending I designed...... Unfortunately, there was no longer a chance to materialize. ”

Loren frowned slightly, while the little wizard behind him grabbed his cuffs and looked at the young man in shock, saying such a terrible thing in a tone like small talk!

The black-haired wizard was silent, waiting for Corona to continue.

"All in all, the whole thing was very complicated, there were a lot of coincidences and accidents, but the end result was really beyond my expectations. Corona, who was sitting across from them, spoke softly: "At first, I just wanted to be able to fight the rule of the Bellini family in Ebolden, but the change of events has opened my eyes to more possibilities, even to achieve a goal that would otherwise be unattainable. ”

"W-What is that?"

The little wizard spoke tremblingly, and Loren felt her hand grip on her sleeve tighten slightly.

Corona on the other side showed a very bitter, but very emotional expression:

"It's to make the Holy Cross Church truly believe that wizards are no longer any threat!"

The two men were stunned almost at the same time.

"This is a 'war' that has been going on for hundreds of years, and has not stopped since the beginning of the wizarding era, at least that's what the Holy Cross Church calls it, and you wizards from Lothair should be more aware of it—harsh prohibitions, impersonal persecution, and the cold eyes and contempt from the world. ”

Corona's tone was filled with deep sorrow: "In my father's time, it wasn't just Lothair, it was the norm for the entire Empire!"

"However, the situation has improved dramatically in recent decades. The richer and more open regions began to discriminate and ignore the wizard as a type of scholar, and the aristocracy began to favor the wisdom of the wizard, and even the imperial capital had a wizarding academy belonging to the royal family, and the whole wizarding world was gradually being accepted. ”

The black-haired wizard nodded, a feeling he had felt most deeply at Ebolden, where the status of a wizard was almost equivalent to that of a nobleman.

He vaguely guessed the other party's purpose, but ...... In order for the church to stop thinking that wizards are a threat, destroy the nine-pointed grail?

It's incredible!

"The reason why the Holy Cross Church sees wizards as a threat is because the nine-pointed star chalice is a valve to the void and the real world, and this power is a hidden danger to the existence of the Holy Cross - this practical 'threat theory' unites the entire church and resists the entire wizarding community regardless of faction. ”

"So you think that if the Holy Grail is destroyed, the church will be split as a result?" Loren looked at him in disbelief, "Or do they just do this, they can reconcile with the wizards and work together for a better tomorrow?"

"No, that's impossible. Corona said lightly: "But the loss of one target will make the Holy Cross Church let down its guard and let them ignore another 'threat'." ”

"What threat?"

"The church and the wizards, the natural opposition between the two wholes—this is the real contradiction between the two, not because the Grail of the Nine-Pointed Star or the wizards don't believe in God, it has nothing to do with that. ”

He shook his head slowly: "The contradiction between the two is natural, and the strength of one party must represent the weakness of the other. Many wizards are blessed with the very naïve illusion that we can be accepted by the church, and as far as I know, there seem to be similar naïve voices in the church. ”

"Aren't you just talking about 'making the church no longer see wizards as a threat.' 'Is it?'" Loren asked rhetorically, without a lack of sarcasm, "isn't it the same naivety?"

"And that's what I call a real threat. Corona shook her head disapprehantly: "Do you think that if the nine-pointed star chalice was the beginning of everything, then why didn't the church destroy the original 'wizard tower'?"

Loren froze.

"Why were they so weak back then, so pathetic that they weren't destroyed by the Church, and why were they able to survive until now that they are so strong that they can no longer be easily defeated?"

The atmosphere gradually fell silent, and the eyes of the three people involuntarily turned to the nine-pointed star chalice placed there—the answer was in it.

"Quite simply, because the Church was strong enough to be confident that a handful of wizards would not be able to resist - the only end of using the Holy Grail was for them to become mortal enemies of the entire empire, and then die without a place to bury.

And they were right.

A holy object, a seemingly powerful weapon, is not enough to make wizards really stand up, what really makes us stand up, what makes us strong and indestructible, is ourselves. ”

Corona spoke, his voice suddenly starting to age, "This is the natural threat of wizards to the church, and there are very few people in the church who are truly aware of this. ”

"Because they represent the past, and we represent the future......

It stands to reason that the past should make way for the future!"