Chapter 700: Old Bug, Die! Give Sakura a Home!
"I apologize, Master. It was my oversight. I allowed my focus to waver."
Realizing that she had almost let the disgusting, elusive core of the enemy escape, Ria immediately dropped to one knee, her head bowed low.
Her silver armor clinked against the cold, rot-infested stone of the basement. Even though she was Artoria Pendragon, the King of Great Britain, her code of chivalry demanded absolute perfection. To allow such a vile creature to slip away under her watch was a failure that, in her eyes, warranted a severe penalty.
"Get up, Ria. This isn't really your fault. This old guy is just too cunning. A cockroach that has survived for centuries knows how to hide."
Ren stood calmly amidst the debris of the destroyed Matou workshop. He raised his hand, pinching the air as if holding a grape.
But between his fingers was not a fruit. It was a grotesque, writhing worm with the distorted face of an old man.
"Wouldn't you agree, Matou Zouken?"
"!!!"
The Crest Worm in mid-air writhed frantically, its tiny legs flailing against the invisible force binding it. A high-pitched, soul-grating screech emanated from its mouth.
"Who... Who exactly are you?!!" Zouken screamed, his voice a mixture of terror and confusion. "My magecraft... my immortality... how can you bypass my bounded fields?!"
"Heh. At a time like this, when your soul is literally in my hand, you're still concerned about my identity? You really are a boring villain."
Ren sneered, his eyes glowing with a faint, predatory blue light. He brought the worm closer to his face, staring into its beady, terrified eyes.
"Listen closely, little bug. I... am... your daddy."
SPLAT!
"Pfft!!!"
A stifled snicker and the sickeningly wet sound of the insect being crushed into paste coincided perfectly.
Ren didn't use magic. He simply applied pressure. The ancient soul of the Makiri head, a being who had terrorized Fuyuki for generations, was reduced to a smear of green ichor and shattered chitin on Ren's glove.
The sheer absurdity of the "Star Wars" reference, combined with the brutal, casual execution, broke the tension instantly.
Sakura Matou, who had been huddled in the corner like a frightened animal, and Ria, who was still kneeling, both couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter.
"Hahaha..."
The previously heavy, suffocating atmosphere of the worm pit vanished, replaced by the surreal comedy of the moment.
Ren cast a glance at his Servant. Ria immediately cleared her throat, suppressed her smile, and returned to her serious, knightly demeanor, though the corners of her lips still twitched.
Sakura, however, couldn't stop. She laughed. She laughed until her small chest heaved.
And then, the laughter broke.
"Waaaaah!"
Tears burst from her eyes like a dam breaking. She lunged forward, burying her face into Ren's waist, her small hands gripping the fabric of his coat so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"Waaaaah! Sob... Sob..."
It was a total emotional collapse. The shock, the terror, the years of abuse, and the sudden, overwhelming relief crashed into her all at once. Her mind couldn't process it, so her body reacted with a chaotic mix of joy and grief.
Ren didn't move. He stood there, patient as a mountain, waiting for the storm to pass. He gently placed a hand on her purple hair, stroking it rhythmically.
After several long minutes, her wails gradually diminished into faint, hiccuping sobs.
Sakura sniffled, pulling back slightly. She looked up and realized that Ren's expensive coat was soaked with her tears and snot.
Panic flashed in her dull eyes. The conditioning of the Matou household kicked in. Mistakes mean punishment.
She apologized anxiously, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Onii-san! Your clothes... I... I made them dirty. I'll wash them! Please don't hit me!"
Ren chuckled softly, squatting down to be at eye level with her. "I haven't reached the point of blaming children for crying, Sakura. Besides, this coat is easily cleaned."
He reached out and wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek.
"Rather, it seems we destroyed your house and killed your grandfather just now. So, strictly speaking, I should be the one apologizing for the property damage."
"He's not my grandpa!"
Sakura shouted suddenly, her voice shrill. "He's a monster! A devil!"
A grandpa who threw her into a pit of worms, who violated her body with insects, who looked at her like livestock—Sakura would absolutely never acknowledge that thing as family.
"I... I hated him! I was so scared!"
Thinking back to the countless nights of torture, Sakura choked up again, her small body shaking like a leaf in the wind.
Ren's expression softened. He used his thumb to gently wipe away the fresh tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
"I know. It's over now. The bad bug is dead."
He looked into her eyes, ensuring she focused on him.
"Sakura. That's your name, right?"
"Onii-chan... you know me?" Sakura blinked in surprise, her long lashes wet.
"Sort of. I know a lot of things."
Ren gave a perfunctory reply, not wanting to explain the complexities of the multiverse to a traumatized six-year-old. He shifted the topic to the most important matter.
"The Matou family is gone. The house is a ruin. What are your plans now? Should I send you home? Back to the Tohsaka estate?"
...
Hearing the word 'home', specifically implying the Tohsaka mansion, Sakura's small body stiffened as if she had been electrocuted.
The memory was burned into her soul. The image of her father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, standing tall and elegant, looking at her with cold, indifferent eyes as he handed her over to the monster Zouken. 'Be a good mage, Sakura.' That was all he cared about.
He had abandoned her. He had thrown her into hell for the sake of 'tradition'.
Sakura buried her face in Ren's collar again, shaking her head violently.
"No... No!"
She curled into a ball, clutching him like a lifeline. "Onii-chan, I don't want to go home! I don't want to go back there! They don't want me!"
"Master..."
Even Ria, who usually kept her distance from emotional displays, felt a pang of heartache for the girl.
As a King who had sacrificed everything for her country, seeing a child sacrificed by her own father for magecraft disgusted her to her core. She gripped the hilt of Excalibur, her knuckles white.
Seeing this reaction, Ren did not show any surprise. He expected this.
"I see."
He didn't force her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her small frame and lifted her up effortlessly.
"Then, Sakura, answer me this."
He looked at her with a warm, inviting smile that seemed to chase away the shadows of the basement.
"Are you willing to follow me? Not as a mage, not as a tool, but as... family?"
"..."
Sakura looked up, dazed. She thought she had misheard.
"Follow... Onii-chan?"
"That's right. Come with me. I will give you a place where no bugs exist. I will give you a real home, if you are willing to trust me."
As Ren repeated the offer, a light ignited in Sakura's dead eyes. It was faint, fragile, but it was there.
But years of trauma made her cautious. She shrank back slightly. "C-can I really? Is... is a useless child like me allowed?"
Ren smiled and looked over his shoulder. "Ria, it's fine for you to be a witness, right?"
"Of course."
Ria stepped forward. The silver armor clanged softly. She unsheathed her invisible sword, revealing the golden light of the Holy Sword for just a moment, illuminating the dark room.
She raised the sword in a knight's salute, her expression solemn and regal.
"I bear witness! In the name of Artoria Pendragon, King of Knights, I swear that Master will protect you. No harm shall befall you as long as I draw breath."
With her powerful voice and the radiant light of the sword, the last of Sakura's fears melted away. She felt a sense of security she hadn't felt in a year.
She clutched the lapel of Ren's coat and asked expectantly, her voice barely a whisper. "Onii-chan... what is your name?"
"Ren. Ren Kazama. But you can call me Ren-nii."
"Ren-nii!"
Sakura finally broke into a genuine, teary smile. She threw her arms around his neck and instinctively kissed his cheek.
"I'll go! I'll go with Ren-nii!"
"Haha, good girl. Since that's the case, let's go find a new home to live in. This place smells like old people."
Ren stood up, holding Sakura in one arm, and gestured to Ria with the other.
"Find a home?" Both Sakura and Ria looked puzzled.
"Yes. A base of operations. Preferably one with a bath."
...
While Ren and his new family departed, leaving the burning ruins of the Matou estate behind...
Across the river, in the upscale district of Miyama Town.
At the Tohsaka family residence.
The atmosphere here was vastly different. It was elegant, refined, and thick with high-grade mana.
In the underground workshop, three men gathered to perform a miracle.
Tohsaka Tokiomi, the head of the family, stood in the center of a complex magic circle drawn with molten gems.
"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the Archduke of Contracts to the foundation. My great master Schweinorg to the ancestor."
Tokiomi chanted loudly, his voice filled with aristocratic confidence. He threw a handful of crushed dust—worth millions of yen—into the circle.
"A wall against the falling wind. Close the four cardinal gates. Come out from the Crown. Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom."
The mana in the room began to boil. The air pressure dropped, making it hard to breathe.
Standing in the shadows were two observers: Kotomine Risei, the priest and supervisor from the Church, and his son, Kotomine Kirei, a man with empty eyes who was technically Tokiomi's pupil.
They were a cabal, rigged to ensure Tokiomi's victory.
Kirei's gaze was fixed on the catalyst placed on the altar. It looked like a dried, flaky piece of skin.
It was the fossilized skin of the first snake to shed its skin in human history.
Just thinking about the Heroic Spirit connected to this relic made Kirei feel a chill. It was the King of Heroes. The oldest King.
"Heed my words! My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny!"
Tokiomi raised his hand, the Command Seals on his hand glowing crimson.
"If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me!"
"I hereby swear! I will be all that is good in the eternal world! I will be the disposer of all that is evil in the eternal world!"
BOOM!
Wild winds and golden lightning raged within the confined space.
"Thou, clad with the three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Holy Balance!"
As the incantation finished, the magical power flowing into Tokiomi's circuits accelerated to its limit.
The summoning circle exploded with blinding golden light. The connection to the Throne of Heroes was established.
From the depths of that dazzling, surging sea of light, a figure emerged. He stood with his arms crossed, radiating an aura of absolute arrogance and majesty.
Father Risei was so overwhelmed by the sheer divinity of the servant that he murmured in a daze, clutching his cross.
"...We won, Kirei. This battle... it is already over. The King has arrived!"
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