"Hahahaha... That damn Heroic Spirit who made this old man so wary and humiliated me is finally dead!" In a dark cave, an old man with a wrinkled face, leaning on a cane, smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum upon hearing the news of the exit of the Matou family head, Sakura Matou, and her mysterious Servant, KING.
On the ground behind the old man, a rustling sound continued ceaselessly. Countless Crest Worms with incredibly disgusting heads were wriggling constantly, disgusting liquid dripping from their sharp teeth.
This was Zouken Matou, who had been hiding in the shadows since the beginning of the Holy Grail War. As long as he didn't want to come out, unless Meruem was willing to consume a massive amount of mana to thoroughly search the entire Fuyuki City, he couldn't find a trace of this guy. It had to be said that this old guy's hiding ability was no worse than Assassin's.
"Originally, this old man just planned to cause him some trouble. I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise. Hehehehe, the Church Overseer? I didn't expect a fool to actually stick his neck out. This saves this old man from taking action personally and spares me a lot of effort." In the darkness, the old man casually grabbed a handful of Crest Worms and chewed them in his mouth, disgusting mucus flowing slowly down his chin.
This was one of the Matou family's unique ways of replenishing mana, though every single one of them was disgusting.
"CASTER should be just about ready, right? In two more days, it will be time for us to act. Hehehe, I didn't expect the tool I found this time to be so useful. It's simply... simply born for killing. The mana provided by blood and internal organs is so massive. Let this old man make them all exit at once. The Holy Grail belongs to this old man." Zouken Matou once again revealed that creepy smile, his chrysanthemum-like face blooming again. Quietly, Zouken Matou dragged his decaying body and disappeared into the darkness once more.
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the basement of the old Tohsaka mansion, which was in a mess. Tokiomi Tohsaka sat blankly on the chaise longue that usually brought him comfort, constantly repeating a name in his mouth.
"Sakura..."
I'm sorry, Sakura, I'm sorry. I didn't expect that the Master of that Heroic Spirit was really you... There was no other member of the Matou family manipulating things from behind; it was really you...
Even Tokiomi found it hard to accept the sudden news of his daughter's death for a moment. What followed was endless regret. If he had known earlier, he should have... The most sorrowful thing in the world is for a white-haired person to bury a black-haired person (parent burying child), but even more sorrowful than this is for a black-haired person to bury a black-haired person.
"This is all the fault of that man named Kiritsugu Emiya. I will definitely make you pay! Einzbern!" Finally, Tokiomi Tohsaka roared like a beast; this was the anger of a father who had lost his daughter.
Tokiomi, consumed by rage, was lost in hatred, so much so that he couldn't detect anything amiss right now.
For example, the Crest Worms left at the crime scene earlier, or the fact that his Servant hadn't appeared before him for a long time. Or that he didn't even know what his disciple was doing at this moment.
"Did you see? Your teacher, Tokiomi, is so boring... His purpose for obtaining the Holy Grail was first for the Root of Magic, and now? To resurrect his daughter? What a laughable and pathetic wish." In Kirei Mapo's home, Goldie's eyes were filled with devilish temptation as he whispered in Mapo's ear. He also used a quite powerful hypnosis—no, to use modern terminology, it should be called psychological suggestion.
I thought you were a strong enemy, but I didn't expect you to be taken out by a mere mongrel. Trash is indeed trash... This king is the strongest.
Now then, let this king be entertained.
In the basement of a ruined building, a blond man with hair slicked back like he used hair wax slowly climbed up from a yellowing hospital bed.
I, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, am back.
It felt like being reborn—no, it should be said that he was reborn.
Alright, his body was completely healed now. He had become the powerful magus of the Clock Tower who first arrived in Fuyuki City, the head of the world-renowned Archibald family again... No, he should be even stronger than before. Although the Magic Crests in his body had all disappeared, he could feel the surging mana within him, powerful mana.
An unprecedented experience. Kayneth felt that if Kiritsugu Emiya appeared in front of him again, even if the opponent shot at him again, he could easily dodge it.
Hehehehe, this feeling is just fantastic. I didn't expect my body to become strong to this degree.
Suddenly, Kayneth thought of something, and his entire face instantly darkened.
Sola, LANCER... just you wait. For some reason, when the reborn Kayneth recalled his previous feelings for Sola, his love for Sola, he felt a faint nausea in his heart.
He didn't know... that he no longer belonged to the category of humans. Although his body was still in human form, he was essentially inhuman.
Just like that old worm of the Matou family, detached from the realm of humanity.
His thoughts had quietly changed.
"However, to continue participating in this Holy Grail War, even the current me isn't enough. There's only one thing left to do now... I heard that the so-called Church Overseer has quite a few Command Spells in his hand. Hehe... then I won't be polite." As he spoke, Kayneth narrowed his small green eyes and looked at the wheelchair placed by his bed.
That was what his fiancée and the so-called most loyal Servant left for him. Since then, their figures were never seen again.
"Heh, in the minds of others, the current me should still be that crippled waste. In that case, it's only natural for me to go to the church to ask for asylum. Truly... even heaven is helping me."
So, not long after, a man with disheveled clothes pushing a wheelchair appeared in front of the Fuyuki City church.
The fingers wrapped in white bandages gently knocked on the church door.
An elderly priest with squinting eyes and a head full of silver hair opened the church door and let the man pushing the wheelchair enter the church. However, what he didn't know was that the moment he opened the door, the god of death had quietly descended.
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