"What a shame about this place."
After taking care of Matou Zouken, Daniel returned to the Matou residence with Sakura in his arms. He searched the place briefly before flying into the air and gazing down at the Matou estate from above. In terms of location and surroundings, the estate was quite scenic—no less than the Tohsaka or Einzbern properties. Each of the Three Families' homes had distinct architectural styles.
However, just thinking about the fact that this was once an insect nest made him give up on any notion of staying there. Even if Zouken was now well and truly dead, it made no difference. With that in mind, Daniel raised his right hand and unleashed a massive fire dragon from his palm. In moments, the entire estate was reduced to a sea of flames.
"Next, I should deal with that bastard Shinji as well."
Perhaps to avoid interference during Sakura's "modification," today the only people in the Matou house had been Zouken and Sakura. Everyone else had been absent.
"A gas leak again, huh? That excuse never gets old."
In a hotel in Fuyuki, Daniel watched the morning news. The charred ruins of the Matou estate were being reported, and he lightly shook his head.
He also caught sight of the Matou family's current head—Matou Tsuruno, the father of Shinji and Kariya's older brother. His distinctive hair color gave away his identity immediately. On camera, he feigned a heartbroken expression for the reporters, but Daniel knew better. It was all an act.
"Good morning, big brother!"
"Morning. Go wash up—we'll eat breakfast soon."
Thanks to the money he had retrieved from the Matou household, Daniel had no trouble providing for himself and Sakura. As for her future, he was still considering her options. Sending her back was out of the question. Given Rin's nature, Sakura would likely be adopted out again. While this time it might be to the Edelfelt family, which wasn't a bad choice, the final decision would come down to Sakura herself.
Even though she was only about six or seven, Sakura was a child of a mage family—far more mature than average. Just like in the world of shinobi, kids that age already fought, competed, and even fell in love at first sight.
"Master."
"Any findings?"
While Daniel was eating with Sakura, in the Tohsaka family's basement, Tokiomi met with his disciple, Kotomine Kirei. The sudden destruction of the Matou house had made Tokiomi uneasy—he couldn't help but worry about Sakura.
Despite being considered an "elegant fool," Tokiomi wasn't completely heartless. As a mage, he had hoped for both daughters to flourish. Sending Sakura to the Matous, given their centuries-long bond and what he knew of their magecraft, had seemed a sound decision—until now.
Of course, he hadn't known about Zouken's real methods. Given their alliance and his knowledge of the Matous' surface-level magecraft, Tokiomi had trusted them. Among magi, spying on another family's secrets was taboo and could lead to all-out war.
Although modern times had loosened adherence to these rules, with even the Clock Tower establishing a Department of Modern Magecraft and figures like Waver known as "magecraft breakers," Tokiomi remained a staunch traditionalist. To him, Waver's work was practically heresy.
Likely, that same traditional pride was why he hadn't considered the Edelfelt family when giving Sakura away. He probably scorned their rise to power—comparing them to jackals scavenging the legacies of old families.
He embodied the old-world nobility to a fault: always composed, always elegant—until it mattered most.
"There were signs of battle, but no corpses. Sakura may still be alive."
Kirei shared his findings. As a Church Executor, his tracking and investigative skills were top-notch.
"I understand. Let's put this aside for now and focus on our primary task."
Though clearly worried, Tokiomi had to prioritize the Holy Grail War. Once Sakura was adopted, she was no longer his daughter, and with the war approaching, he couldn't afford distractions.
"As you wish."
Kirei gave his teacher a brief glance before bowing his head again.
"Forget it—I'll spare your lives. Take the Matou family fortune and get the hell out to Ursus."
After breakfast with Sakura, Daniel summoned a shadow clone and sent it to deal with Shinji. If Shinji had been present the night before, he would've been killed alongside Zouken. But since he wasn't, Daniel decided to spare him—barely. He used Hadō 26: Kyokkō to banish Shinji and his father to this world's version of Ursus, with a permanent exile spell attached.
Given Shinji's personality, he would probably receive "special attention" in that country.
"I don't want to go back. Big brother, can I stay with you?"
As expected, when Daniel asked Sakura if she wanted to go home, she refused without hesitation. She had cried and begged Tokiomi not to give her away—and Rin had pleaded too—but both had been ignored. After what she experienced at the Matous, Sakura had no attachment to her birth father. Her love was reserved for her mother and Rin.
"You want to come with me? Fine. You can stay for now."
Daniel wasn't sure what the best arrangement for Sakura was. He had too many options, which only made the decision harder. In the end, he decided to wait and see what Rin wanted.
"I haven't even acted yet, and I've already become a Master. I guess the Fourth Grail War really did start randomly choosing Masters."
Suddenly, Daniel's left hand heated up. Glancing down, he saw a Command Seal appear on the back of his hand. He had been planning to cheat his way in, like in the Fifth War, but now he didn't have to.
As he recalled, the Fourth War's Masters had been largely chosen at random—aside from Kayneth. Waver and Ryuunosuke had both gotten in by chance. Waver had even stolen Kayneth's relic in a fit of spite. Thankfully, he'd ended up summoning the King of Conquerors.
"Should I use Avalon to summon Saber? No, the Einzberns have probably already summoned her. I wonder what classes are still available? Oh well—let's roll the dice."
Without a relic, Daniel had few summoning options besides Avalon. But ultimately, he chose to leave it to fate—summon whoever had the best compatibility with him.
In the Grail War, the earlier you summoned, the more class slots were open. The longer you waited, the fewer options you had.
"Lancelot, Berserker class. That's… interesting. Is it because I took Zouken's spot, or is it because of Avalon?"
Staring at the black-armored figure, Daniel pondered the reason. He doubted Lancelot was his "most compatible" Servant. So either this was the original script, or Avalon's presence had drawn him.
"Come to think of it, this world probably has its own Avalon. And a meeting between two Artorias would be fascinating."
He dropped the line of thought there. Too much speculation would lead to dangerous territory—namely, involving certain extremely powerful individuals.
"So she's a parallel world version of Sakura… That means you're in the Fourth Grail War timeline."
Back in Chaldea, Rin saw Sakura and froze. Her expression turned complicated. Seeing Sakura brought back memories of her parents. Though they were from a parallel world, she couldn't just sit back knowing they were in danger. She demanded to go there personally.
"I get it. Don't worry—I won't let anything happen to him."
Tokiomi may have made some terrible choices, but he was still Rin's father. That was reason enough not to let him die.
"Fourth Holy Grail War, huh? You really are lucky. Shame the Grail's corrupted again."
In the Fifth War timeline, Da Vinci had already analyzed the corrupted Grail. She now wanted to see a genuine wishing Grail—not because she had a wish, but out of curiosity.
"Want to fight in the Grail War? Your class is Caster—you could replace that sunny kid."
Hearing Da Vinci's class, Daniel invited her to participate. Taking out Ryuunosuke would prevent a lot of future problems.
"Why not ask me? My Medea is a Caster too," Luvia chimed in. Apparently, she was interested as well.
"Alright. Let's all go, then."
If Luvia wanted in, Daniel wasn't going to say no. He also intended to bring Waver and the El-Melloi household—saving Tokiomi meant saving Kayneth too. A reunion between Waver and Iskandar would be something special.
"You go ahead. I'm not interested. But if you ever find a real Holy Grail, let me know."
Da Vinci declined. Having already dissected one, she wasn't eager to do it again. Ritsuka and Mash also stayed behind—they had their duties in Chaldea.
"Got it. If I find one, you'll be the first to know." Daniel chuckled. He did know a world with a real Grail—that was part of his future travel plans.
Although the Moon World had many alternate branches—like Tsukihime—his next goal was a world where the Grail could grant wishes. After that would come the Lostbelts.
"Get ready, everyone. I'll be right back. Rin, I'll leave Sakura in your care for now."
After giving Rin the heads-up, Daniel went to the Clock Tower and found Reines. Fortunately, Waver, Reines, Gray, and Alexander were all present.
"The Fourth Grail War in a parallel world? That's just too good! So I get to meet my dear brother, and his wish can finally come true."
Reines beamed at the opportunity. Waver, meanwhile, had an odd glint in his eyes. He hadn't expected to meet Iskandar again so soon.
Only Alexander himself looked less than thrilled.
"Even with the same type of 'joyful' expression, Reines is nothing like Kotomine Kirei."
Daniel couldn't help comparing the two. Both were smug tricksters, but their impacts were worlds apart. Reines might mess with people, but she wasn't sadistic.
"El-Melloi… I nearly forgot. This is a chance to meet the younger version of yourself. And Lord Kayneth."
Seeing Daniel bring Waver and company, Luvia quickly understood his intent. Kayneth's death was the turning point for the El-Melloi family. If he lived, the family might rise to even greater prominence—especially with Waver as his successor.
"Sakura, stay here for a few days. I'll come get you soon. Da Vinci, Romani—I'll leave her in your care."
Considering safety and logistics, Daniel didn't bring Sakura this time. He'd retrieve her once everything was over.
"South is the heart, north the eye, west the fingertips, east the toes. Gather with the wind, scatter with the rain—Bakudō #58: Kakushitsuijaku."
Upon arriving in Fuyuki, Waver didn't rush to meet Kayneth or Iskandar. It was evening—the time when Grail War battles typically began. Meanwhile, Daniel used tracking kido to locate the sunny serial killer.
It wouldn't have been easy to track him normally, but Daniel had ways. He visited the police station, used a suggestion spell on a victim, and traced the lingering aura.
"Found you. So it really is Gilles de Rais, huh? Sorry, no Jeanne d'Arc for you this time. Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō."
Daniel went alone to find Ryuunosuke and Gilles. With his power, he didn't need help. Using Rikujōkōrō, he immobilized both.
Then, using Medea's Noble Phantasm, he severed the contract between the two.
"Looks like we're not the first to act after all."
As night fell and a Servant's aura flared in the distance, Daniel smiled. The original plan had been to provoke all the participants and finish the war in a single night—but someone beat him to it.
"Huh? Didn't expect that—it's Black Saber?"
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