Night. Fuyuki City.
After taking the last train back to the familiar streets of Fuyuki, Ritsuka headed straight for the Matou residence.
But at this hour, aside from the "little brother" who had only recently been brought back—Matou Shinji—there was no sign of the old worm.
And the moment Shinji saw Ritsuka return, he clung to him as usual, pestering him to teach him how to become a magus.
Ritsuka didn't argue. Like always, he simply raised two fingers, lightly tapped Shinji on the forehead, and said:
"Forgive me, Shinji. Next time."
After brushing him off with practiced ease, Ritsuka started searching the house for the old worm. The promised relic was still in that thing's hands, and Ritsuka couldn't wait to see what "treasure" he'd brought back from Germany.
He searched the Matou residence top to bottom.
Nothing.
So Ritsuka immediately mobilized the information network he'd laid across Fuyuki—his insect familiars—to track Matou Zouken.
It didn't take long.
In a hidden corner of Fuyuki, he located the old worm.
Zouken was at Ryūdō Temple.
The moment the location came back, Ritsuka's expression shifted.
Because Ryūdō Temple wasn't "just a temple."
In the Fate franchise, it was a legendary site—famous even for jokes like "Ryūdō Temple's hardest floor tile" that could tank anti-purge defenses.
More importantly, it was one of the Holy Grail's descent points, and one of Fuyuki's purest leyline nodes—a critical position at the heart of the city's spiritual geography.
When something is abnormal, something is wrong.
Zouken going there alone made Ritsuka suspicious.
Had the old worm noticed something off about this Grail?
Or was he plotting some new scheme in Ryūdō Temple?
Ritsuka never hesitated to interpret Zouken with maximum malice.
Whatever the old worm was doing, Ritsuka filed it under:
"Trying to cause trouble."
So, with questions and suspicion in his chest, Ritsuka moved out immediately—determined to confirm the situation with his own eyes.
Using Fuyuki's night as cover, he cloaked his presence with magecraft and slipped into Enzō Mountain. To survey the area as thoroughly as possible, he released a swarm of sensory-type insect familiars, aiming to map the situation from a distance before entering.
He guided the insects in carefully—from the temple gate all the way to the main hall—layer by layer, inside and out, an exhaustive search without missing a detail.
Only after confirming there were no traps—and that the monks were asleep and unaware—did he finally, cautiously, step into Ryūdō Temple himself.
Everything else had already been scanned.
So he began to move deeper, preparing to infiltrate the vast cavern beneath the temple—the point closest to the leyline boundary.
And then—
"Still as cautious as ever…"
A voice cut through the darkness.
Matou Zouken—that damned old worm—appeared at the cavern entrance as if he'd been waiting there for Ritsuka the entire time.
He glanced toward where Ritsuka was concealed and spoke in a flat, indifferent tone.
"No need to skulk around anymore, Ritsuka. I've been here waiting for you."
He struck his cane hard against stone.
Wood scraped rock with a shrill sound in the night.
Then his eyes fixed on the direction of the hall—precisely where Ritsuka was hiding.
That single motion proved it.
Zouken hadn't been bluffing.
He had pinpointed Ritsuka exactly.
"Tch…"
Since his concealment had been exposed so easily, Ritsuka canceled the magecraft and stepped out.
"So you did leave something on me," he said, voice cold. "Some method I couldn't detect—something that lets you track my position."
A suspicion he'd held for a long time finally solidified into certainty.
"Heh," Zouken chuckled. "Not bad. Whether you were lurking nearby just now, or whether you went to the neighboring city earlier… I could feel it all."
"Did you really think I'd let you move freely without any preparations?" he continued, tone calm but edged with threat. "Ritsuka… you are my property."
Ritsuka's eyes filled with undisguised disgust.
"Then you really are something that deserves to die."
"Perhaps," Zouken replied, shaking his head. "I should have died long ago. I simply… cannot truly let go."
Then he leaned on his cane and spoke as if indulging a casual conversation.
"So, my proud grandson… you slipped out of Fuyuki alone and stayed in another city for quite some time."
"For a moment, I even thought you were foolish enough to try running away…"
"That has nothing to do with you," Ritsuka said. "And it won't affect the Grail War. You don't need to know."
Then he countered immediately, straight to the point:
"And you—what are you doing at the Grail's descent site? What scheme are you cooking up now? Say it."
"Heh. A scheme?" Zouken replied. "I'm only here to confirm the Holy Grail's condition."
"Just as I won't pry into what you did," he said smoothly, "you don't need to pry into what I'm doing."
"Right now, you should be thinking about how to win the Holy Grail War—not letting curiosity drive you into my business."
Zouken's refusal to explain only deepened Ritsuka's suspicions.
Because by now, Ritsuka wasn't just worried Zouken was moving in the shadows—
He was increasingly certain Zouken himself was abnormal.
It was still Matou Zouken—same methods, same stench, same aura, same face.
But the old worm in Ritsuka's memory would never talk like this.
And he would never "allow" Ritsuka space like this.
That thing's possessiveness had always been absolute.
This trip—leaving for Kanbuki City and returning—wasn't only for the prophecy.
It was also a probe.
A test to see how Zouken reacted.
And now…
The answer was in front of him.
Ritsuka narrowed his eyes.
"…Are you really Matou Zouken?"
"Oh?" Zouken said, turning to look at him deeply. "And what makes you say that?"
"Ritsuka—don't tell me you don't recognize your own grandfather."
"If I'm not Zouken, then who am I?" he continued. "Don't forget who tormented you for all these years."
"No," Ritsuka said, shaking his head. "Your aura and your mana insist you're him."
"But my instincts say it's not that simple."
"Old worm," he pressed, voice sharp. "What did you do? What are you plotting?"
"Heh… think whatever you like, Ritsuka."
"But I am who I am. Whether it's Makiri Zolgen or Matou Zouken—they're only names that belong to me."
"Truth," he said calmly, "is not always important to you."
"Instead of clinging to it, focus on what's in front of you."
"For example…"
"The Holy Grail War."
He paused, then waved the conversation away.
"That's enough. If you don't trust me, you may investigate below yourself."
"I'm tired. I'll be going."
His body flickered—
and in the next instant, it burst apart into countless insects that scattered into the night.
A familiar trick.
A puppet body made of bugs.
"…"
Ritsuka clicked his tongue, shut down his Mystic Eyes, and slid the handgun he'd been hiding in his sleeve back out of sight.
Not even a single opening.
The old worm was thorough.
Cowardly and thorough—like the roach he was.
But even as he fled, Zouken didn't forget his promise.
A rustic wooden box dropped where he had been, clacking crisply against the ground—drawing Ritsuka's attention immediately.
Zouken's rotten, low voice lingered in Ritsuka's ears as an echo:
"Ritsuka. This is what I promised you."
"Take it—and use it well."
"I'm looking forward to your performance in the Grail War."
"…This is…?"
Once he was sure Zouken had truly left, Ritsuka approached carefully. He had his familiars pick up the box first.
He closed his eyes and dispatched a cluster of detection-type insect familiars, conducting a meticulous scan—again and again—until he was confident there was no trap.
Only then did he take the strange wooden box into his own hands.
He began feeding mana into it, cautiously probing for deeper mechanisms.
Click.
A crisp sound.
As mana flowed in, the Matou-style sealing boundary on the box yielded. The black, timeworn case slowly opened under his control—
and the previously dull, ancient-looking box suddenly erupted with dazzling, radiant light.
Ritsuka opened it.
And the moment he saw what lay inside, even his eyes widened.
"This… is…?"
Resting at the center of the box was a strange dagger—
ancient in color, forged from splendid gold—
sleeping silently in the darkness like a relic that had been waiting for a hand worthy enough to draw it.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 74)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter20)
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