It was obvious that Cu Chulainn had a whole lot of opinions about Scáthach.
Although Rowan knew why Cu Chulainn didn't want to see that purple-haired old lady, he couldn't truly empathize with him.
At the end of the day, people couldn't truly resonate with each other unless they had experienced the same thing.
Without personally understanding just how much suffering Cu Chulainn had endured under the Queen of the Land of Shadows, Rowan had no way to grasp his current feelings.
It took a while before Cu Chulainn finally calmed down. He looked at Rowan and said, "Kid—no, wait, Master. I'll call you that for now. Why are you participating in this Holy Grail War?"
"You do know, right? The Holy Grail can only grant one wish."
"You've gathered so many Heroic Spirits together. Aren't you worried they'll start fighting?"
Rowan smiled. "Relax. I know what I'm doing. Besides, who the hell relies on the Holy Grail to grant wishes these days? Everyone uses the Dragon Balls now, okay?"
"Dragon Balls? What the hell are those?" Cu Chulainn looked confused.
"The Dragon Balls are divine artifacts created by a god. There are seven of them in total. If you collect all seven, you can summon Shenron, and Shenron will grant one wish. Even blowing up the Earth is no problem."
Cu Chulainn's expression changed on the spot. "Huh? There's actually something that dangerous in the world?"
"Not in this world."
Cu Chulainn: "???"
"But they exist in other worlds."
Cu Chulainn: "???!!!"
He felt like he'd just heard something utterly absurd. Was this guy messing with him?
Rowan smiled and extended a hand. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Rowan. I'm from another world. I entered your world by chance this time and got involved in the Holy Grail War. My plan is to gather the seven Heroic Spirits and summon—no, wait, save the world."
"Huh???"
Cu Chulainn stared at Rowan like he was looking at a lunatic. Who would believe something like that?
But after Rowan took him on a quick trip to the One Piece world, Cu Chulainn believed him.
"So you really are from another world, and you really can travel to other worlds."
Cu Chulainn thought this was even more ridiculous than the Second Magic. The Second Magic could only interfere with parallel worlds, but Rowan could actually travel to entirely different worlds. That was insane.
"That's right. Interested in joining me?"
Rowan smiled and extended an olive branch to Cu Chulainn. "I remember you joined the Holy Grail War because you wanted to find a worthy opponent and fight a proper battle."
"As long as you join me, countless battles will be waiting for you in the future."
"Women, money, power, fine wine, delicious food—you can have whatever you want."
"So? Want to consider it?"
"No need. I'm in."
Faced with Rowan's offer, Cu Chulainn agreed without even thinking. If you tested a hero with something like that, what hero could possibly resist?
He certainly couldn't.
He didn't care much about beauties or power. What Cu Chulainn loved most was battle—mad, intense battles, battles against opponents on equal footing. As long as there were enough enemies, he was willing to join.
"A wise choice." Rowan patted Cu Chulainn's shoulder in satisfaction. "Now come with me to the Matou residence. We're going to find another Heroic Spirit."
"No problem." Cu Chulainn agreed without hesitation.
So the group passed through an air door and arrived at the Matou residence.
The Matou mansion had already been turned by Matou Zouken into a magecraft workshop—a complete worm den.
The moment Rowan and the others entered the Matou residence, Matou Zouken discovered the uninvited guests.
But he did not show himself.
The reason was simple.
He was afraid.
Medea, Cu Chulainn, King Hassan, plus Rowan. Among these four, three were Heroic Spirits. They had silently invaded his territory, and they clearly hadn't come with good intentions.
Who wouldn't be afraid?
Matou Zouken was afraid too, so he didn't dare appear. Instead, he hid in the dark, silently observing Rowan and the others.
At the same time, an aged, decaying voice echoed throughout the Matou residence.
"Who are you people, and why have you invaded this old man's home?"
Rowan chuckled. "If I said we were allies of justice, would you believe me?"
Matou Zouken: Like hell I would.
Though he didn't say it outright, Rowan was certain that was exactly what he was thinking.
A few seconds later, that rotten old voice sounded again.
"You have quite the sense of humor, sir. I've never heard of allies of justice invading someone else's base on their own initiative. That hardly seems like the behavior of an ally of justice. If you are willing to leave now, I—"
"Stop rambling and come out to die, Matou Zouken. No, wait, I should call you Makiri Zolgen!"
Rowan impatiently cut off Matou Zouken's words. "A vile bastard like you deserves to die today."
The moment he finished speaking, layer upon layer of magic circles appeared behind Medea, stacked so densely they were dazzling.
In the next second, an overwhelming barrage of magic bullets shot out from the circles, smashing through the floor, walls, and ceiling as they began demolishing the entire Matou mansion.
Explosion after explosion tore through the building, reducing the Matou residence to ruins.
Only the study remained intact.
Because the Matou family's magecraft texts were stored there, Medea had deliberately avoided that area when she attacked.
Matou Zouken, who had been hiding in the shadows, accidentally exposed himself during Medea's demolition.
Cu Chulainn laughed loudly, brandished his red spear, and charged toward him like a whirlwind.
When Matou Zouken saw Cu Chulainn rushing at him, his heart collapsed.
"Stay away from me!!!"
He hurriedly cast defensive magecraft, trying to block Cu Chulainn's attack, but it was useless. That level of magecraft was no different from a child's trick in Cu Chulainn's eyes.
Although Cu Chulainn couldn't use magecraft due to his Lancer class container, that didn't mean he didn't understand magecraft.
As Scáthach's disciple, back in the day, Cu Chulainn had learned not only combat skills under the Queen of the Land of Shadows, but also the Primordial Runes.
Dealing with Matou Zouken was child's play.
Seeing that his magecraft had no effect at all, Matou Zouken instinctively tried to flee.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Cu Chulainn raised his crimson spear and pierced Matou Zouken's head without hesitation.
But in the next second, Matou Zouken's corpse transformed into a swarm of insects that scattered in all directions.
"Disgusting."
Cu Chulainn snorted coldly. He had seen plenty of revolting magecraft, but this was his first time seeing something quite this disgusting.
He swept the tip of his spear across the ground, and the friction ignited a burst of flame that instantly surrounded the fleeing insects.
The roaring fire swallowed the bugs, burning more than half of them. The air filled with a scorched stench.
A portion of the insects still managed to break out of the flames, but before they could celebrate their escape, Medea's magic bullets followed.
Amid a series of booming explosions, every insect that had escaped was destroyed.
And with that, Matou Zouken died.
Cu Chulainn clicked his tongue, clearly unhappy that his kill had been stolen.
But considering Medea's special status, and the fact that she was Rowan's first Heroic Spirit, he swallowed the minor loss.
After dealing with Matou Zouken, Rowan and the others did not leave.
Because Matou Zouken wasn't the only one in the Matou residence.
"Come out. Let's talk, Miss Matou Sakura."
That's right. Aside from Matou Zouken, the Matou residence also contained Matou Sakura, Matou Shinji, and Medusa.
But from the moment Rowan's group appeared, Medusa sensed the presence of three Heroic Spirits and instinctively took Sakura to hide inside a wardrobe.
As the saying went, a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him.
Medusa knew very well she was no match for three Heroic Spirits, so hiding was the only option.
Matou Shinji wasn't stupid either. Seeing what Medusa and Sakura did, he quickly hid as well, crawling under a bed.
Unfortunately, when Medea was throwing magic bullets all over the place and bombarding the Matou mansion, she "accidentally" tossed one under the bed, blowing that scumbag Shinji to pieces.
So at the moment, the only living person left in the Matou residence was Sakura.
As for Medusa, she didn't count as living. At most, she was a Heroic Spirit.
Hearing her name called out directly, Sakura knew she couldn't keep hiding. Under Medusa's protection, she slowly stepped out from the wardrobe.
"Who are you?" Sakura asked cautiously.
Medusa, wearing her eye mask, stood protectively in front of Sakura with full vigilance.
Rowan smiled. "I think I already said it earlier. We're allies of justice."
Sakura: "??? Are you serious?"
Rowan nodded. "Of course I'm serious. Don't you think someone like Matou Zouken absolutely deserved to die?"
Sakura said, "But Grandfather—"
"No buts. Matou Zouken deserved to die. Don't tell me you've had your brain fried into Stockholm syndrome. After everything Matou Zouken did to you, you're still trying to speak for him?"
Rowan cut her off before she could finish.
Then he sighed. "But that isn't your fault. You were sent into this worm den when you were so young. At the end of the day, I just came too late. Sigh. Damn that Tokiomi Tohsaka."
Sakura: "???"
Wait. Wasn't that a little too much of a leap?
What did this have to do with Tokiomi Tohsaka?
No, actually… it did have something to do with Tokiomi. If not for the decision he made back then, she never would have come to this place.
Sakura opened her mouth several times, wanting to say something, but she didn't seem to know what to say.
She simply stood there blankly.
Rowan waved a hand. "Alright, I know what you want to say, but you don't need to say anything right now. Just listen to me."
"And also, this body of yours can't be kept. We'll change it."
"Don't worry. I'll prepare a clean, problem-free body for you."
~~~
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