Watching the completely charred Matou Zouken, Rin's greatest enemy in this world was avenged. Joy, relief, the sword that had constantly hung over her head was finally put down, and Sakura's greatest danger was finally eradicated.
But watching Matou Zouken's final struggle of obsession, his roar like a demon from hell was clearly heard by Rin, and the mental fluctuations he emitted in his dazed consciousness were also completely perceived by Rin.
Regarding Matou Zouken's initial dream, it was because of Sakura that Rin hated him to the bone, but Rin still couldn't help but let out a sigh.
The crisp sound of armor plates colliding and rubbing came from behind Rin. Jalter walked to Rin's side and couldn't help but look deeply at the charred carbonized object on the ground that was once called "Matou Zouken."
With the sensitive perception of a Heroic Spirit, Matou Zouken's voice was also heard by Jalter.
Speaking of which, Matou Zouken, born over 500 years ago, should be considered a contemporary of Joan of Arc, except that Joan of Arc was burned at the stake at the age of 19, while Matou Zouken exhausted every possible method to live until now.
When Matou Zouken was young, before he changed his name to Zelretch (Makiri), he was an excellent Magus who worked tirelessly with a grand dream. For the dream of "abolishing all evil in the world," he struggled in this world for over three hundred years without giving up. When he was on the verge of despair, carrying his last bit of hope, he went to the Einzbern Family.
He visited the Einzbern, his last hope, and thus met Justitia, the winter saintess. Hope arose for the fulfillment of his long-cherished wish, he felt envy for Justitia, who might achieve the Third Magic, and complex feelings of sadness arose for Justitia's price of immortality, "forever repeating the same day."
Zelretch (Makiri) believed that his dream could only be realized by reaching the Root.
However, the Holy Grail War ended in failure again and again, and the more it progressed, the more he realized that this dream required a vast amount of time, while he himself was already nearing his end.
To witness its future with his own eyes, he did not hesitate to transform his body into an insect to prolong his life.
However, the passage of long years eroded his soul, and eventually, he forgot his initial dream, becoming a monster who abandoned his physical form purely for eternal life...
It could be said that the former Matou Zouken was a true righteous messenger, dedicating his life for all humanity.
Alas, so-called righteousness...
"This is the end for those who pursue righteousness, the inevitable outcome," Jalter said expressionlessly.
"All beings exist in this world, and every life struggles for its own survival.
So-called karma and so-called evil are necessary.
Dreamers who fantasize about saving humanity and saving the world are destined for a bleak end, because no one actually needs them to be saved."
Rin turned and walked towards the Twin Mansion.
Having personally heard Matou Zouken's tragic wish and his final wail, she suddenly understood something.
This world doesn't need righteousness at all!
People live in this world only to fight for themselves.
All messengers of justice are merely using their own value standards to measure all lives.
The so-called saving humanity is just an attempt to impose these values on everyone.
Therefore, there is no need to sacrifice oneself for others, because no one needs it.
Live for yourself.
Do not base any action on others or on all people.
Only then, no matter what the final outcome, will you not feel regret.
"He gave everything for humanity and justice, enduring 500 years of pain, only to be utterly destroyed by me in the end.
It shows that karma is just nonsense.
Since good deeds don't bring good rewards, then there's no reason why evil deeds should bring evil rewards.
All failures and regrets are merely due to the inadequacy of the person involved!"
Facing the howling, fierce night wind, Rin coldly declared, her back to the righteous man's remains:
"In this life, I will only fight for myself, only to live without regrets and with a clear conscience!"
Rin looked back at Jalter, who was still observing, and said, "Let's go, Jalter.
Righteousness isn't for us.
Our path from now on is destined to diverge from righteousness."
"Oh!" Jalter immediately looked at Rin with great interest.
"Diverge from righteousness, then what will you do, Rin?"
"Hmm, since the end of a righteous messenger is just a pile of charcoal, then I'll be a Demon King.
A selfish, self-serving Demon King who does as he pleases.
Living a life without regrets is my pursuit."
"Ah ha ha ha ha! Since you want to be a Demon King, then I'll be the wicked witch serving beside the Demon King."
(Rin: Alright, stop shouting.
These lines are too chuunibyou; I can't say them anymore.
Let's go home quickly!)
(Jalter: Mm-hmm, I think so too.)
Matou Zouken's death untied a long-standing knot in Rin's heart, and the end of his tragic wish also opened a closed door in Rin's heart—a door to reckless abandon, a door to fearlessness.
How much storm Rin, having opened this door, would stir up in this beautiful yet cruel Nasuverse was, at this moment, unknown to anyone...
Night passed, and morning came.
The new day in Fuyuki City was fraught with turmoil.
Whether ordinary people in the mundane world or Maguss in the hidden world, everyone was in a state of panic, each fearing for their own safety.
During the day, a large explosion suddenly occurred deep in the mountains behind Miyama Town.
The dazzling white light was visible from several kilometers away, and large areas of trees and land were incinerated.
If it had happened in a crowded urban area, the casualties would have been unimaginable.
And then, at night, a famous wealthy family in Fuyuki City suffered a terrorist attack!
Overnight, the entire Matou Residence was razed to the ground!
House debris flew out and landed a kilometer away.
At the same time, a meteorite also struck behind Mount Enzou, creating a crater several hundred meters in diameter!
It was truly unimaginable what kind of tragedy would have occurred if it had hit the urban area.
The residents of Fuyuki City suddenly felt how dangerous this world was!
Perhaps they should move quickly...
And in the hidden world, the Magus Masters who understood what had truly happened were even more shocked.
In the first battle of the Holy Grail War, a Servant released a powerful anti-city noble phantasm, their ultimate trump card, seemingly without any intention of testing each other, or waiting for other groups to reveal themselves.
And at night, the Servant of the known Master Kirei Kotomine, the Assassin Heroic Spirit, launched a night raid on the Tohsaka Residence, only to be instantly killed and eliminated by Tohsaka Tokiomi's golden Servant in a single encounter, or rather, not even a single round!
But just as all eyes were focused on the residence, sensing the power of that golden, unknown Servant, something even more shocking happened.
Silently, bypassing everyone's detection, someone completely leveled the Matou Family, one of the Three Founding Families of the Holy Grail War!
The Matou Family, which had stood firm since the first Holy Grail War, was wiped out overnight!
It should be known that the Matou Family, as one of the developers of the Holy Grail War, could not possibly lack means to defend against Servant attacks.
The Tohsaka Family was the same in this regard.
Leaving aside other things, the perimeter defensive barrier could not be breached without a powerful noble phantasm attack.
And the Matou Family, as one of the Three Founding Families, must also have a command spells holder and their own Servant.
Having prepared relics for decades, they would certainly be able to summon a sufficiently powerful Servant.
Destroying the Matou Family using a Servant was simply impossible.
But now, the impossible had happened right before their eyes!
And subsequently, a massive surge of magical energy, which erupted from the ruins of the razed Matou Family and crushed all the familiars monitoring the Matou Family, attracted the attention of all Masters.
The super-long-range, high-power noble phantasm that streaked across the night sky and landed behind Mount Enzou sent a chill through the hearts of all Masters.
They couldn't even see their opponent; an anti-city noble phantasm descending from the sky was simply impossible to defend against, making them tremble with fear.
However, judging from the fact that the holder did not immediately release the noble phantasm to directly level the Matou Family, it seemed the holder also did not wish to cause casualties among ordinary people.
In just one day, too many trump cards were revealed, making it difficult to adapt.
This Holy Grail War was far more bizarre than usual, and its pace was truly too fast.
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