Sakura couldn't sleep. She just stood by the front gate, waiting anxiously for Shirou and the others to come home. Her mind raced with what could be happening, picturing terrible scenario after terrible scenario. She shivered in the cold night air, staring in the direction of the temple. Thus she was the first to noticed the bright yellow light of Excalibur. It lasted a heartbeat, and was followed by the birth of a star. She shielded her eyes as it crashed down upon the mountain in an unstoppable explosion, that sent shockwaves through Sakura's feet as she staggered back from the force of the wind blowing from the explosion. Lights flickered on throughout the neighbourhood as people woke up, wondering what just happened.
What was that? Was that...Nanoha? Sakura thought, her eyes wide with fear even as a hopeful smile snuck onto her face. Her chest began to ache and burn as she stared expectantly at the cloud of dust surrounding the mountaintop, hoping to see her Senpai return, and fearing that he had already fallen by the time Nanoha had unleashed her spell.
/*/
Gilgamesh was bored. This war was so limiting in so many ways. Sure, he was looking forward to the end, of finally claiming Saber as his own, of seeing what was inside the Grail, and purging the extraneous humans who infested his garden, but he didn't have anything to actually do. He couldn't even wander the city for fear that Saber would spot him. Not that she could do anything about him or his plans, but he would prefer for the revelation that he was still alive be appropriately dramatic. The look of fear and despair on her face would be delightful. Unfortunate though, since he couldn't even indulge in the few pleasures this city had to offer.
Nor could he witness these mages who had so brazenly challenged the Servants of the War. Such hubris, such a lofty, impossible dream, for a mortal of this age to challenge a hero? Perhaps they might find some success in defeating anti-heroes or the monsters like the Caster of his war, but any true hero should be able to bring them down. Still from the stories the mongrel had been telling, well, it made him hope that they somehow survived until it was time to reveal himself. He longed to witness their expressions as they faced his full power.
Gilgamesh blinked, feeling the air shift minutely. "So it looks like she has finally unleashed Excalibur," he said to himself as he moved to the window to look out on the town. He arrived in time to see Nanoha's Starlight Breaker be unleashed. He watched as the magic created a massive explosion and smiled.
"Now that is truly interesting. I simply have to meet these strange mages for myself."
/*/
Illya was trying to sleep and wasn't having the most success at it. Finally she gave up, slipping out of her bed, and walking across the frozen marble floor. She ignored the chill air, walking outside in her nightgown. This war was moving slower than she expected. Not a single Servant had fallen yet, despite the many battles her familiars had reported.
"Maybe I should take action myself. Something something about doing it myself?" Illya mused to herself. "Arrgh, why is it so hard to summon a bunch of heroes to murder each other over an all powerful wish granting device? In fact, they should all just kill themselves to save everyone some time and effort, because they don't have a chance against Berserker to begin with! Then Onii-chan won't do something stupid like getting himself killed trying to save a Servant who would die anyways! Except he didn't! Somehow! Which is a good thing! So I can kill him! Which is a thing I totally still want to do!" she ranted to herself, throwing her arms in the air. There was a flash of light in the distance, and Illya clutched her chest in pain.
"Owie, what was that? This burning...someone damaged the Greater Holy Grail? How? No, stupid question Illya, a Noble Phantasm of some sort obviously. Why? And who?" Illya whined. There was a low growl as a wave of bloodlust filled the courtyard. With surprising tenderness, Berserker gently lifted Illya up and placed her on his shoulder.
"Right. Something weird is going on and I'm going to figure out what it is," Illya declared. She yawned, and blinked her eyes as Berserker brought her back inside."Tomorrow. I'll figure out what's going on tomorrow."
/*/
The Holy Grail was not a cup. It was barely a container. Yes, it held mana, but that's like saying a space ship was like a donkey pulled cart because they both moved. True, but completely inaccurate. The Holy Grail did so much more than just containing mana. It had many functions. Summoning the Heroic Spirits was a big one, using the slightest catalyst to select the appropriate spirit from the Throne of Heroes and bringing them into the modern world, and failing a catalyst, simply using the personality of the Master as a catalyst. Then there was finding the Masters themselves. Every time, selecting those who had the magic necessary, and a strong wish? It was a lot harder than it seemed. And every time it got a little harder. This time it hadn't even been able to find a full seven, allowing a summon to summon a summon of their own. Then there was the wish granting itself. Wielding an incomprehensible amount of power to grant a complex and usually impossible wish? Well, was that any less of a miracle than the miracle it was granting in the first place? And it did it all without a brain, or any kind of mind at all.
So no, the Holy Grail wasn't a mere container. In fact, if it was capable of thinking, it might even be insulted by the comparison. It was more like a computer. It took complex orders to undergo complex tasks. If it made a mistake, well, usually the mistake could be found within the order itself. Or to put it another way, the Grail itself didn't make a mistake, the people giving it orders did, and it completed the unintended task that such a mistake generated. Such as the summoning of a Heroic Spirit who was also a wish. Such as granting said wish, when the Heroic Spirit reached the Grail by being destroyed. Such as destroying the world, if said wish ever reached the outside world.
But much like how a spaceship and a cart both moved, the Holy Grail did have one thing in common with a cup. They both contained. The Grail might not know it was protecting the world by keeping its granted wish contained within itself, but it did. The wish could not spill out into the real world, not without someone completing the ritual known as the Holy Grail War. And if someone were to notice that the Grail contained such a vile wish, well, any force strong enough to breach the Grail's walls would also be powerful enough to destroy said wish. And if they lacked said force, isn't it convenient that they would be able to demand a wish from the Grail? The destruction of the Grail, by the Grail would be an easy wish to grant in comparison to world peace, resurrecting the dead, or even immortality.
So the idea that someone would unleash the wish inside the Grail by accident was almost unthinkable. The Grail was contained in a safe, hidden area. It would take someone aiming almost directly at the Grail with enough power to blow through a mountain. They would have to be aimed almost straight down, or else they would almost certainly miss. And they would need to be fighting in a location that really, was a horrible place for most beings to fight in. Someone unleashing the vile wish by accident was almost impossible. Deliberately, sure. If someone wanted to pour out the infinite curses it had granted, all they would have to do is win the Grail War. Or if they wanted a more selfish wish granted, and chose to ignore the curses it contained? Well that would be awful, but it would hardly be an accident.
But the thing about almost impossible is the word almost. That means it's not impossible. That it is, in fact, very possible. Unlikely maybe, but unlikely things happen all the time. In fact, you could argue that intelligent life itself was so insanely unlikely that in comparison, everything else was incredibly likely. So when Nanoha shot the most powerful Starlight Breaker she had and would ever shoot, it defeated her target as intended. It also blew through the thick mountain rock. Really, truthfully, it didn't blow through the whole mountain. If the mountain was solid, it would've taken out maybe a couple hundred meters of rock. That's like, half a mountain. Less even. But this mountain contained the Greater Holy Grail, which in of itself, was contained in a vast open cavern. Which mean that those few hundred meters were only enough to dull the blast from the Starlight Breaker. It breached the cavern, and spent its last bit of fury on the framework that made up the Grail. But the Grail was sturdy, and it would need a direct hit to actually be destroyed by such an attack. The Starlight Breaker only caused a tiny crack in the container of the Holy Grail.
And there in the darkness, something began to drip.
Author's Notes: So a small interlude chapter for you all, pretty much of important characters reacting to Nanoha's Starlight Breaker, which very much did not get contained within a barrier and was thus visible for everyone to see. There will be more reactions to that later.
But for now, well as King of Fans said in the comments, the easy part is over. Now it's time for all the big scary monsters to come out and play.