As the intense light dissipated, Ren Isana's figure was fully revealed. Matou Zouken finally caught sight of the newcomer as the basement returned to its original, gloomy state.
However, the air was filled with the distinct scent of ozone and sun-scorched earth, proving that what had just occurred was no hallucination. Matou Zouken's expression turned incredibly dark as he stared at the suddenly appearing Ren Isana.
"Who are you?!" Zouken questioned, already beginning to prepare his magecraft for a sneak attack. This man was clearly an unwelcome intruder!
"Who am I? You don't deserve to know. Please just die!" Ren Isana didn't feel like wasting words. In the next moment, solar energy erupted, and a terrifying heat was released from his body. In an instant, the entire Matou manor was reduced to ash.
People living near the Matou estate even felt as if the sun had suddenly risen. What was going on? Had dawn already arrived?
The light appeared silently, without the sound of an explosion. The entire Matou residence was completely pulverized into dust in an instant. When everything cleared, only a pitch-black pit dozens of meters deep remained.
Except for Ren Isana and Sakura, the entire Matou family had vanished from the world, turned into dust. The artificial sun vanished, and night once again blanketed the land. Sakura, who was completely unharmed at the bottom of the pit, stared blankly at Ren Isana.
"Are you all right?" Ren Isana turned to look at the dazed Sakura and knelt down to ask. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream to her.
But Sakura knew she was safe now. She opened her mouth and couldn't help but ask, "Big brother..."
"Are you a God?"
"No, I'm not something so low-class. I'm human! At most, I'm a God Slayer!" Ren Isana rubbed Sakura's head, then reached out and pulled her up.
Held by Ren Isana, Sakura felt a sense of safety she had never known before. Her small hand gripped his large one tightly; only this way could she feel secure.
Even though he said he wasn't a God, in Sakura's heart, that was exactly what he was. If he hadn't appeared, heaven only knew what she would have gone through.
"Do you want to come with me?" Ren Isana invited Sakura. He had already decided to dump her onto Natsuki Minamiya.
Sakura possessed an [Imaginary Number Affinity], which was essentially a spatial attribute. This meant making her a student of Natsuki Minamiya was the best choice—or perhaps a daughter? *Natsuki-chan, I've found a daughter for you. I wonder if you want her?*
Thinking of this, Ren Isana's lips curled into a slight smirk. He had settled on a plan for Sakura. After all, she had no one now—the Tohsaka family had sent her away, and the Matou family was gone. It was only natural for him to take her in.
"Onii-chan, will you leave me behind?" Facing Ren Isana's invitation, Sakura didn't agree immediately. Instead, she asked this question with visible nervousness.
"I won't. However, I will send you to my teacher's place. She is the Spatial Witch, and since you have a spatial attribute as well, it's the perfect place for you to learn her magic." Ren Isana's words stunned Sakura.
She was silent for a while before speaking again. "Sakura doesn't know Onii-chan's name yet. Can you tell me?"
Sakura didn't think about it any further. Ren Isana said he wouldn't abandon her, and that was enough. As for studying, she would learn whatever he wanted her to learn. Besides, his teacher probably lived close to him.
"My name is Ren Isana. Let's go; I'll find us a place to stay first." Although the manor had vanished silently, it wouldn't be long before someone noticed the anomaly. That surge of power couldn't be hidden forever.
Ren Isana took Sakura's hand and vanished. About ten minutes after they left, a middle-aged man in a suit carrying a cane arrived. His pupils shrunk as he looked at the deep pit.
What on earth happened? Where did the massive Matou manor go? His expression became incredibly grim. Who could tell him what had transpired?
"Sakura..." Thinking of the daughter he had just given away for adoption, his face darkened further. If something like this had happened here, was it possible his daughter had been killed too?
As time passed, more people arrived. Seeing that the Matou family had completely vanished, everyone's expressions turned ugly. How could such an event happen at a time like this?
It seemed the time for summoning the Heroic Spirits would have to be moved up. Tokiomi Tohsaka quickly made his calculations. He didn't greet the others and simply turned to leave.
Ren Isana didn't know what happened afterward. He had already found a house owned by a wealthy family who lived abroad and moved right in. He had used his abilities to check the place beforehand.
The owners were overseas year-round, so the house stayed empty, though someone came to maintain it monthly. It happened to have been cleaned just yesterday, so Ren Isana could simply move in.
Usually, no one came here, so Ren Isana could stay with peace of mind without worrying about being disturbed. Even if someone did come, it wouldn't matter; he could just use a bit of [Psychological Suggestion]. Ren Isana was quite capable of such minor spells.
Sakura looked at the house with confusion when suddenly the back of her right hand burned. She was startled and looked down to see a crimson mark appearing on her skin.
Ren Isana immediately noticed the mark. When he saw it, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. The [Command Spell] had chosen Sakura? As the representative of the Matou family?
The Three Founding Families were entitled to participate in every Holy Grail War. Now that the Matou family was gone, the only one left might have been that pure-hearted warrior, but since he wasn't at the manor, the choice fell to Sakura?
Or was this the work of Alaya or Gaia? Regardless, this had to be dealt with, as Sakura didn't have enough [Magic Power] to sustain a Heroic Spirit.
"Ren Isana-niisan, what is this?" Sakura looked at the mark on her hand with fear. This mysterious thing terrified her.
Hearing her, Ren Isana spoke up. "Don't be afraid. That's a [Command Spell] used for participating in the Holy Grail War. I'll take care of it for you."
He gestured for her to hold out her hand. Although Ren Isana hadn't studied the magecraft of this world, he had already figured out how to control and transfer these marks now that they were in his presence.
Sakura obediently handed him her hand. Under Ren Isana's manipulation, the [Command Spell] on her hand was transferred directly to his left hand. With a [Command Spell] on each hand, things were about to get interesting.
Ren Isana thought about the antiques he had bought when he arrived and smirked. Perhaps he could use them to try a summoning.
With these two [Command Spells], one could summon a Caster-class and the other a Berserker-class. He wasn't sure what those items would summon. The shopkeeper said they were antiques from ancient Britain, but who knew if that was true?
Sakura felt relieved seeing the mark vanish. It was good it could be transferred; children aren't supposed to have tattoos, and they shouldn't when they grow up either!
"Now then, let's summon a Heroic Spirit first. I want to see what kind of thing I can bring forth," Ren Isana said as he walked into the living room, preparing to perform the summoning.
Does summoning a Heroic Spirit require drawing a [Magic Circle]? That's a lie. You can actually summon without one, as the [Command Spell] acts as the summoner itself. As long as you are part of the Holy Grail War, you can summon.
Drawing a [Magic Circle] was optional; it was mostly just to add a sense of mystery. Besides, it was a waste of money since those magi spent a fortune on materials to draw them.
They believed the more expensive the materials, the stronger the Heroic Spirit would be. That was a joke; it was completely random, depending on which Heroic Spirit wanted to answer the call!
"Let's do a random one first, then use the catalyst for the next one," Ren Isana said, raising his right hand. He decided to go random for the Caster-class to see what he'd get.
The [Command Spell] activated. In an instant, a [Magic Circle] appeared in the room. Ren Isana didn't bother reciting an incantation, simply shouting, "Come, Heroic Spirit! I have plenty of [Magic Power]!"
Sakura was also drawn in by the appearing [Magic Circle]. As Ren Isana's voice fell, the [Magic Circle] erupted with intense light, and a figure appeared within.
"Servant, Leonardo da Vinci, answering your summons! You can call me Da Vinci-chan!" Hearing that voice and that name, Ren Isana was quite surprised.
Good grief, he actually summoned Da Vinci? That was unexpected. But on second thought, it made sense; without a catalyst, summoned Heroic Spirits usually shared the best affinity with the Master.
It was either someone with a similar personality, bloodline, or even a future version of oneself. Since he had no bloodline in this world, he must have summoned someone with a personality similar to his own.
Was Da Vinci's personality like his? Ren Isana pondered it. If he thought about it carefully, they were quite similar. Da Vinci was a genius, and Ren Isana was also a genius. They could learn whatever they wanted. It made perfect sense.
Having reached this conclusion, Ren Isana's lips curled up as he spoke slowly. "I'll be counting on you for the upcoming Holy Grail War, Da Vinci-chan!"
Da Vinci's eyes lit up. After observing Ren Isana for a moment, she smiled warmly and said, "Of course, no problem. It's just a mere Holy Grail War!"
She then glanced at Ren Isana's left hand and noted, "It seems Master was already prepared. You've already obtained two [Command Spells]?"
Two Heroic Spirits working together? Wouldn't that be a total stomp? Well, even alone, she could dominate. She was just that confident, though an extra helper would make things even easier.
"This was Sakura's [Command Spell], but she can't handle that much [Magic Power], so I transferred it to myself. I'm going to continue the summoning now, so please wait a moment.", Ren Isana explained with a smile.
>