The blinding golden light faded as quickly as it had appeared, the stale, oppressive air of Father's underground lair instantly replaced by the quiet, familiar atmosphere of my Fuyuki apartment bedroom.
I let out a long, exhausted breath, the sheer adrenaline of the past twenty-four hours finally beginning to catch up with me. I dismissed the Zolda Magnum back into my system inventory, my shoulders slumping as I took in the sight of my completely normal bed and desk.
Before I could even take a step to relax, the translucent blue interface flared to life right in front of my face with a triumphant chime.
[Multiversal Anomaly Resolved.]
Reincarnator Park Jin-woo defeated.]
[System Reward Issued: Random Servant Summoning Card]
A flash of prismatic light coalesced in the air above my open palm. When it faded, a sleek, intricately designed card made of what felt like solid, warm gold dropped into my hand.
It didn't look anything like the Advent Cards or the Yu-Gi-Oh! card I had seen earlier. The back was adorned with the classic Command Seal motif of the Holy Grail system.
I stared at it, completely confused.
'A Servant Summoning Card?' I thought, tapping the item to pull up its description.
[Item: Random Servant Summoning Card]
[Description: Bypasses the traditional Holy Grail War system. Allows the user to summon one random Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes to serve as their familiar. No catalyst required. Servant alignment, class, and identity are entirely randomized.]
My eyes widened. Fuyuki was already an absolute powder keg with the Fourth Holy Grail War currently raging outside my window. I already had Okita Souji, the cherry-blossom saber, resting in my living room.
Adding a completely random, second Heroic Spirit to the mix was basically pulling the ultimate gacha roll. I could get a god-tier ally like Gilgamesh or Artoria, or I could get someone utterly unmanageable who would immediately try to kill me.
My thumb hovered over the edge of the card. The urge to just activate it and see the golden sparks fly was incredibly tempting. I was an otaku at heart, and the gacha addiction was a very real, very dangerous thing.
I almost did it. I actually braced myself to channel my mana into the gold plating.
But then I stopped, letting out a heavy sigh and shaking my head.
"Later," I muttered to myself. "Not right now. I've already caused enough multiversal chaos for one afternoon."
I slipped the golden card safely into my system inventory, deciding it was best to hold off on pulling the ultimate wildcard until I actually needed it—or at least until I had a good night's sleep.
Right now, I had more pressing responsibilities. I was a doctor, and I still had a very important patient to check on.
I turned away from the center of the bedroom, opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. The apartment was quiet, the late afternoon sun filtering through the windows and casting long shadows across the floorboards as I made my way toward the living room to check on Okita.
I walked quietly out of my bedroom and down the short hallway, peeking into the living room.
Okita Souji was still completely passed out on the futon.
I stared at her, struggling to process the sheer whiplash of my day. Right before I had been dragged into the multiversal chat and teleported to Amestris, she had decided to show her immense gratitude for my curing her by boldly attempting to initiate a "traditional mana transfer ritual." However, she had gotten so entirely overwhelmed and flustered by something giving her a massive nosebleed and immediately fainted on the floor.
I had carefully moved her to the futon before the system whisked me away. Since absolutely zero time had passed in this world during my multiversal trip, she was exactly where I had left her just a second ago in real-time.
"Okita," I muttered, crouching down and gently nudging her shoulder. "Hey. Wake up."
She didn't stir. Her breathing remained perfectly even, her face buried halfway into the pillow.
I nudged her a little harder. "Saber. Come on."
Nothing. She was practically comatose.
I let out a long, heavy sigh. Between assassinating homunculi and playing god with alchemy, I was way too tired to force the issue right now. I stood back up, deciding to just let her rest for a few more minutes, and turned to head toward the kitchen.
I made it exactly two steps.
"Turning your back and walking away without your servant, Master? "
Her voice was soft, carrying a distinct blend of professional samurai discipline and a sudden, intense new affection. I stopped in my tracks and looked back over my shoulder.
Okita was sitting up on the futon. She casually wiped a tiny, lingering trace of dried blood from her upper lip, her bright eyes locking onto mine with an earnest, unwavering warmth.
"Glad to see you're finally awake," I said, offering a tired but genuine smile.
"I am fully rested and entirely at your disposal," Okita replied, adjusting her pale blue haori and sitting up straight. Her expression was the absolute picture of a loyal, dedicated retainer. "In fact, since I am now fully recovered, I believe it is imperative that we immediately resume the mana transfer ritual that was regrettably... interrupted."
"We're entirely fine on mana," I said quickly, cutting her off before she could get going. I couldn't explain my infinite reserves or the system to her yet, so I just had to project absolute confidence. "My reserves are completely full."
"Master, please. You must understand the tactical necessity," Okita insisted, leaning forward with absolute, professional earnestness. A faint blush dusted her cheeks, completely betraying her serious tone. "To ensure peak combat efficiency against the other Heroic Spirits in this Holy Grail War, a direct physical exchange of bodily fluids is paramount. I am fully prepared to offer my body to you right h—"
"I'm going to make some tea," I deflected loudly, pointing toward the kitchen counter and taking a step backward.
"Tea is an excellent choice for stamina recovery," Okita nodded sagely, entirely unfazed and tracking my movements with a bright, affectionate gaze. "We will certainly need plenty of hydration for the rigorous, prolonged physical activities required in the bedro—"
"How about we focus on the literal war going on outside?!" I blurted out, holding my hands up in sheer surrender. My face was burning. I was trying to survive a death game, and my loyal vanguard was actively trying to turn this into an eroge.
I let out a long breath, forcing myself to calm down and look toward the window. The sky over Fuyuki City was turning a dark, bruised purple as evening approached. The Fourth Holy Grail War was officially beginning.
I looked back at her. I needed to know she was focused on the battles ahead.
"So," I asked, looking the legendary captain of the Shinsengumi dead in the eye. "Are you ready for tonight?"
Okita gave me a brilliant, devastatingly affectionate smile.
"I will be," she stated earnestly. "If we have sex."
"Okita, I'm serious," I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose as I backed into the kitchen.
She didn't miss a beat. She followed me right across the room, closing the distance until she had me practically pinned against the counter. She reached out, her hands resting lightly but firmly on my chest. She looked up at me, her bright eyes filled with absolute, unwavering resolve.
"I am serious too, Master," Okita said, her tone dropping into that dangerous, professional register. "A true samurai does not shy away from the battlefield, nor do they neglect their lord's needs. My body is a weapon forged for your victory. We must sharpen our bond! Right now! On the kitchen floor if we have to!"
"We are not sharpening anything on the kitchen floor!" I sputtered, desperately trying to pry her hands off my shirt without actually using force. "The Holy Grail War is starting! There are literal psychopaths and ancient kings wandering around Fuyuki right now. We need to be planning our strategy, not... not doing this!"
"This is strategy!" she argued passionately, leaning in closer. "Maximum mana efficiency! I read it in a book once! Or, well, I heard about it! The point is, I am ready to serve!"
"Okay, okay, stop! Timeout!" I surrendered, holding my hands up defensively between us. I needed a distraction, and I needed it immediately before my heart exploded out of my chest.
I let out a long, ragged exhale, looking down at my incredibly eager, lethal Servant.
"Look," I said, trying to steady my voice.
"Let's focus on surviving the first night. If things go well tonight, and we get a solid read on the enemy Masters... maybe tomorrow we can go out into the city. Just the two of us. We can go out, walk around, and get something to eat. I'll buy you all the dango and food you want."
Okita froze.
Her hands immediately dropped from my chest. She took a half-step back, the intense, eager samurai act vanishing in an instant. Her eyes widened slightly as the promise of an actual, proper outing—a date—registered in her mind.
A bright, incredibly proud smile blossomed across her face. She puffed her chest out slightly, looking absolutely thrilled.
"Really?" she beamed, her voice filled with genuine, cheerful excitement. "A victory feast in the city? That's great, Master!"
I let out a massive sigh of relief, glad I had finally managed to redirect her absolute, single-minded focus. "Yeah. It's a promise. So let's just focus on the mission for now, okay?"
"Understood!" Okita nodded sharply, her eyes practically sparkling with anticipation. "We'll secure our position tonight, enjoy a wonderful meal together tomorrow, and then, after all that..."
She gave me a brilliant, devastatingly affectionate smile.
"...we can have sex!"
The panicked, flustered heat entirely drained from my face, replaced instantly by an absolutely deadpan, unamused stone face. I stared flatly at the legendary manslayer who was currently practically vibrating with eagerness in my kitchen.
"Okita," I said, my voice completely flat. "You know you're a virgin too, right?"
Okita gasped, her pale cheeks instantly exploding into a brilliant, fiery red. She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, stepping back and pointing an accusing, trembling finger at me.
"M-Master!" she sputtered, her confident samurai persona completely shattering. "A gentleman should never say or ask whether a woman is a virgin! That is incredibly rude and highly inappropriate to bring up in the middle of tactical planning!"
I just stared at her dumbly.
She was the one who had brought up the idea of having sex on the kitchen floor literally thirty seconds ago.
I let out a long, heavy sigh, rubbing my temples as a headache began to form behind my eyes. "Just... please stop mentioning it. Let's just drop the topic entirely and get ready for tonight. We actually have work to do."
Okita pouted, clearly still embarrassed but trying to regain her composure. She adjusted her haori, clearing her throat. "Right. Of course. The Holy Grail War."
I looked at her, an idea suddenly forming in my mind. I needed her entirely focused, and I needed the worst existence in Fuyuki erased immediately before I had to deal with the other Masters. If I had to use her current... fixation as motivation, so be it.
"Actually," I started, leaning back against the counter and crossing my arms. "I have a primary target for tonight. If you eliminate this person for me... I'll think about having sex with you."
Okita stopped moving entirely.
The blush completely vanished from her face. Her posture straightened, the playful, eager energy evaporating into thin air. Her expression went completely blank, her bright eyes narrowing into an icy, terrifyingly intense stare. The sheer, suffocating aura of the Shinsengumi's most lethal killer instantly filled the room. She was completely, utterly stone-faced.
I swallowed hard, a drop of sweat rolling down the back of my neck.
Am I seriously being mogged by a gag character right now? I questioned myself internally, genuinely intimidated by the sudden, overwhelming shift in her demeanor.
"Who is the target, Master?" Okita asked. Her voice was terrifyingly calm, completely devoid of its usual cheer.
"His name is Zouken Matou," I explained, matching her serious tone as I pulled up the grim details from my knowledge of the timeline. "He's an ancient, rotting magus who keeps himself alive using crest worms. He lives in a mansion on the edge of the city. Right now, he is actively torturing a little girl named Sakura, throwing her into a pit of those worms to physically and mentally break her so she can be used as a vessel for his magic."
Okita's grip on the hilt of her katana tightened. A cold, absolute fury flashed in her eyes. As a heroic spirit who valued justice and duty, hearing about a monster torturing a child was all the motivation she needed.
"And if we don't kill him tonight," I continued grimly, remembering the promise I had made to the reincarnator in Amestris, "his future evil deeds will only escalate. He is the darkest, most corrupt rot in this city. I want him entirely eradicated."
Okita didn't say a word. She just gave me a single, sharp nod of absolute understanding.
Without a moment of hesitation, her physical form dissolved into glowing, pale blue spirit particles. She phased straight through the apartment walls, leaving at once to hunt down the worm mage with terrifying, single-minded efficiency.
The apartment fell completely silent.
I let out a slow breath, the heavy pressure of her killing intent finally lifting from the room. I was alone again.
I turned around, opened the fridge, and grabbed some leftover food I had stored earlier. Popping it into the microwave, I plated it up and walked over to the living room couch.
Sitting down with a quiet sigh, I grabbed the remote, clicked on the TV, and began eating my dinner in peace...
———
[Okita Sōji pov]
The wind whipped past my face as I bounded across the rooftops of Fuyuki City, my pale blue haori fluttering behind me like a comet's tail. As a Saber-class Servant, my Agility was top-tier, and my Shukuchi skill allowed me to cross vast distances in the blink of an eye.
But right now, my unparalleled speed was entirely fueled by one single, overwhelming motivation.
Master said he'd think about it! My cheeks burned hot against the cool night air. I leaped over a narrow alleyway, my geta sandals clicking silently against the concrete tiles.
'If I execute this mission flawlessly, we can finally perform the necessary... Sex! I mean, mana transfer! We can hold hands, and kiss, and—focus, Okita! Focus!'
I shook my head, forcibly slapping my cheeks with both hands to banish the incredibly vivid, distracting fantasies. I was the captain of the Shinsengumi's First Unit. I had a job to do. I had an evil magus to eradicate.
Within minutes, I pinpointed the rotting, sickening magical signature festering on the edge of the city. The Matou estate.
I landed silently on the wall of the compound, blending seamlessly into the shadows. The entire property reeked of dark, stagnant magecraft. I slipped through a second-story window like a ghost, my presence completely erased. I didn't need to search the rooms; my instincts immediately locked onto the most repulsive, vile aura in the house.
I dropped down into the main hallway just as the target rounded the corner.
Zouken Matou. He was exactly as Master had described—an ancient, rotting husk of a man leaning on a cane. The moment my feet touched the floorboards, his sunken, dead eyes widened. Despite being a modern magus, his survival instincts screamed at him. He felt the overwhelming, suffocating threat of my killing intent.
He opened his mouth to cast a spell, his cane raising.
I remembered Master's incredibly serious expression. 'I want him entirely eradicated.'
I simply stepped forward, collapsing the space between us to zero.
Shukuchi.
My katana cleared its scabbard in a blinding flash of silver. In one seamless, fluid motion, I severed his wand arm, pierced his heart, and decapitated him. The three strikes happened so fast they were practically simultaneous. Zouken's ruined body crumpled to the floor with a sickening thud, his severed head rolling away into the shadows.
'Target eliminated.'
I flicked the blood from my blade, but I didn't stop to admire my work. Master had specifically named the little girl. Sakura. He hadn't explicitly ordered me to save her, but I knew my Master. He was a doctor who performed miracles to cure the suffering. He obviously wanted her brought back safe.
I rushed down the hallway, following the putrid scent of magic down a hidden flight of stone stairs leading deep into the basement.
The moment I kicked the heavy wooden doors open, a wave of sheer, unadulterated disgust washed over me.
It was a massive pit swarming with thousands of writhing, grotesque crest worms. And lying in the center of that nightmare, her deadened, lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling, was a little girl with purple hair. The worms were crawling all over her small body, actively trying to force their way into places they absolutely shouldn't be.
A white-hot, furious heat exploded in my chest.
As a samurai, I had seen the horrors of war and the cruelty of men, but this was a completely unforgivable sin against nature.
I forced myself to stay completely calm. I breathed in, channeling my mana into my blade. I blurred into the pit, stepping lightly on the writhing mass of familiars. With terrifying, surgical precision, my katana flashed. I carved through the air, instantly slicing apart the worms that were clinging to the outside of the girl's body without leaving a single scratch on her skin.
I scooped her up into my arms, leaping backward out of the pit and landing safely by the doorway.
"You're alright now," I promised her softly, pulling her close to my haori so she wouldn't have to look at the pit anymore. "My Master is a very kind doctor. He's going to help you."
Sakura didn't respond, her body trembling slightly against mine.
I turned toward the stairs, ready to carry her out of this vile house and return to Master for my well-earned reward.
"Oh? A Servant acting as a thief in my home?"
I froze. My blood ran completely cold.
I slowly turned my head, my grip tightening on my katana. Standing at the top of the basement stairs, staring down at me with an impossibly cold, mocking grin, was Zouken Matou.
My eyes widened in absolute shock. I had just severed his head from his shoulders. I had pierced his heart. I had destroyed every vital organ a human being possessed in a single, perfect strike.
Yet there he stood, entirely unharmed, the darkness of the Matou household writhing in the shadows behind him.