12,000 BCE
A comet passed through the Solar System, like a star shedding tears. Were those tears sorrow? Or joy? No one knew.
Regardless, it brought unwelcome consequences to Earth.
Civilizations were destroyed without leaving even a trace, and countless gods perished. Omnipotent gods had been reduced to Divine Spirits.
"It would be over if you just went yourself. You really do take the long way around."
They do not want to. I have no intention of forcing them.
"You are far too soft. And... stop thinking this might be the place. You know that too, do you not?"
...
The White Titan was, quite literally, a white giant. That colossus had brought this planet to the brink of destruction.
The Counter Force, the planet's instinct for survival, had strained itself to summon the first Servant with whom it had ever formed a contract. Its purpose was to buy time until the Holy Sword, whose forging had taken longer than expected, was complete.
So I have to fight something like this seven times before I can leave?
"Yes, that is the contract. Starting now, if you protect humanity from seven destructions, it will find this world's master for you in the meantime."
How would it know?
I do not even know.
"It does not know. But as humanity's collective unconscious, it will honor the contract. So that makes eight times in total, counting the master. It is not as if the master is going to kill themselves, right?"
Hmm...
My true body is sealed away, so I cannot even bring out a quarter of my power.
"Last time, you simply left, and an entire world exploded along with its master. I rather like that sort of thing, though."
What did this world ever do to deserve that?
"...We are here. Let us get ready."
Beyond the distant hills—or rather, beyond the mountains—the massive white figure gradually came into view.
According to the Counter Force, only purely physical attacks worked against it because of its mana absorption. It would even absorb the physical enhancement granted by mana bursts. Unless...
"Yes, let us see just how impressive that hastily forged sword is. Next time, I shall forge you one from an entire galaxy."
...Why?
"So you will finally throw away that sword whose only virtues are being ordinary and sturdy."
Are you insane?
This is only the second sword I have used since coming here.
Absolutely not.
"We shall see."
I ignored the enemy's ability to absorb mana. I did not possess anything like that to begin with. For a moment, I even considered simply devouring it myself. But that would be a breach of contract.
The titan stepped over a mountain. With a longsword in my right hand and the [Bastard Sword] in my left, I leaped and reached the back of its ankle in an instant.
This was usually how one dealt with giants.
Hup!
As I drove both swords into its ankle, it offered no resistance and let the blades sink in. In less than a second, I slashed at it thousands of times, and the creature dropped to one knee.
"[Aaaaaaaaaah!??????]"
Was that a scream, or rage? Once the titan was wounded and brought to its knees, it became an easy slope to climb. I immediately ran up and began carving across its entire body.
"[Aaaaaaaaaah!]"
Trying desperately to kill the tiny insect causing it pain, the titan rampaged, shattering every piece of terrain around it. When its massive body spun, the motion alone created a storm.
That was the only advantage of something so huge.
A single movement was a disaster.
But...
That was all.
What good was being big?
If having more blood to spill was an advantage, then I would graciously call it one!
I was swept away by the force and landed on the ground. But only for an instant. As the surrounding terrain crumbled, fragments hung in the air.
Using them as footholds, I moved at high speed and severed its right wrist and left eye. At this rate, I really could kill it.
But...
This thing is tenacious.
I could kill it if I kept at it, but this so-called Counter Force cannot even maintain me properly.
Should I use the Erdtree's grace?
In that brief battle, the Counter Force failed to sustain even the body it had made for me. The instant my body began to falter and an opening appeared, the titan's left arm struck me. Even as I was sent flying, I recovered my posture at once and charged back in.
Something this pathetic cannot kill me.
"[Uoooooaaaaaah!]"
Had it developed fear of the insect it had expected to kill so easily? Its attacks no longer carried the will to kill me, but the desire to flee.
"A puppet has emotions? Then this is over. Still, the results of the experiment are poor. It cannot even maintain itself after moving for only a few years. It would be better if I supplied it directly."
Right.
Then it would be best to cut off its head and take it for myself.
To finish it, I turned and sheathed the [Bastard Sword]. Then I gripped the longsword with both hands and took a stance that could send its head flying at any moment. Space warped around the blade.
Just like this... Hm?
But the timing was poor. An enormous buildup of mana rose behind me.
Finally, they are here.
"Excalibur!"
That Holy Sword Wielder really had impeccable timing.
The wounded White Titan was struck by a massive beam. A pillar of light shot into the sky, then out into space.
"So that is the Holy Sword forged within a star's inner sea... It is certainly impressive, but its efficiency is dreadful. It simply converts mana itself into light and fires it off with brute force, so I suppose it is only natural that it can send that titan away in a single blow."
In any case, that makes one. Still, you somehow managed to obtain quite a contract.
"You like it too. And when you return this time, you need to study again. After seeing that, I am going to take the subject of magecraft seriously. I have written down [Glintstone Pebble] as the definition of magecraft here, so memorize it all. Easy, right?"
Uh... I always try.
I am just not very good at it.
But how can mana be fired like that?
No matter how I look at it, I cannot understand.
"...This was my mistake. Rather than this nonsense, I will hammer the origins and history of magecraft into that stone head of yours, from beginning to end."
Sefar was defeated by the Holy Sword Wielder, and the Counter Force of Alaya had successfully tested its first Servant—and its Grand Servant.
And Mari's first contract, her plan to temper me without end with the hammer blows of trials and make me even stronger, came to a safe conclusion.
Afterward, the Age of Gods came to an end on this planet, and the Age of Man began. As the Age of Man began, humanity grew stronger, while the gods, reduced to Divine Spirits, declined.
And time passed once more.
The year was 2015. In Antarctica, the Holy Grail search known as the Grand Order began.
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