"These pets I raise are also products of Matou Magecraft research... Crest Worms."
Right in front of the deathly pale Tokiomi Tohsaka, the recorder in the boy's hand played back the old Magus's cruel explanation.
"They are monsters that feed on human blood, bodily fluids, and bone marrow.
Once those obscene worms crawl onto a man, they will crush his spine and suck out his brain, leaving him a ruined shell.
But there is no need to worry. They are very gentle with women.
If the victim is a woman, the worms will infest her body, take control of her nervous system, and reduce her to a creature driven by unnatural, degrading urges.
While driving her reason to the brink and burning away the nerves in her brain to force pleasure upon her, they will also invade her body and devour her womb.
In the end, a woman occupied by the worms will have both her heart and body thoroughly violated and completely destroyed."
Zouken Matou's explanation continued.
"The reason that little Tohsaka girl was handed over to me was probably because they hoped that you, with Tohsaka blood in your veins, would continue pursuing the Holy Grail.
Hmph... I will not allow such a thing. I will plant Crest Worms inside you and remake you into a woman of the Matou family through and through.
Sakura, with your talent, you should become the finest mother and give birth to the most outstanding Magus.
But before that, you must first learn how to endure the worms' ravaging."
"...Grandfather, no!"
The recorder carried the hoarse, despairing voice of the young girl, and Tokiomi Tohsaka clenched his fists tight.
"If you must hate someone, then hate the father who sent you here... oh, that's right. Tokiomi is no longer your father, is he? Hahaha, hehehehehe."
Amid Zouken Matou's revolting laughter, the girl let out a shrill, agonized cry.
"No, no, no, no... aaah!!!"
Shirou pressed the switch, and the recording came to an abrupt stop.
Tokiomi Tohsaka's expression, pale at first, slowly twisted into something ferocious.
"W-what is this... why..."
"A recording from Sakura's first night at the Matou house."
"No... impossible!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka roared as if something inside him had shattered.
"Old Zouken is, no matter what, the founder of the Matou family, a man who shared the same ideal as my ancestor and helped build the Holy Grail War together.
How could a Magus like that possibly do something so utterly deranged! Y-you're lying to me!"
Three hundred years ago, Nagato Tohsaka, Zouken Matou, and Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern forged their pact under the witness of a Magician.
At that time, the Tohsaka Family's ideal was not yet what it had become now, reaching the Root as the family's ultimate goal.
Back then, the three of them had actually shared the same wish, to eradicate evil from the world.
"When it came to the truth of the Holy Grail War, you did the same thing. Flatly denying facts just because you do not want to believe them is a bad habit."
Shirou's voice was cold.
"Maybe Zouken Matou really did once wish to use the Holy Grail's power to achieve justice, but that was already three hundred years ago.
And if we are talking about forgetting one's original ideal, is the Tohsaka Family any different?
Even the descendants of Nagato Tohsaka could not walk the same path as their ancestor, so why do you believe Zouken Matou is still the same man of justice he was back then?
Tokiomi Tohsaka, you realized it long ago, didn't you? The Matou family's Magecraft had already strayed from the proper path. A Magus as capable as you could not possibly have failed to notice.
The Matou mansion had long since become a den of demons. As one of Fuyuki's overseers, are you really going to say you knew nothing?
Even so, you still clung to wishful thinking and handed your daughter over to Zouken Matou."
Shirou's words were like blades, stabbing through Tokiomi Tohsaka's chest again and again.
The man could no longer find a single word to refute him. His face turned green, then white.
Despair and regret intertwined, crushing Tokiomi Tohsaka until he could barely breathe.
"Was all of that real... did you see it with your own eyes at the Matou house?"
"Yeah."
Shirou nodded lightly.
"..."
A murderous intent refined from violent hatred made Tokiomi Tohsaka's shoulders tremble.
An unbearable impulse surged through the man.
He wanted nothing more than to lunge at this boy, the boy who had witnessed Sakura's entire tragedy and still stood there acting so indifferent, to wrap both hands around his slender neck and twist with all his strength.
But Tokiomi Tohsaka also understood all too well that the one who had truly harmed Sakura was not Shirou.
It was Zouken Matou and... her foolish father, Tokiomi Tohsaka.
"Sakura... how is she now..."
Shirou smiled without warmth.
"'Sakura is already a daughter of the Matou family. Her current situation is not something I can casually ask about.' Wasn't that what someone just said?"
"Tell me!!!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka summoned his ruby staff and pointed it at Shirou Amamiya with a trembling hand as he shouted.
"If you care that much, why not go see for yourself?"
It was as if Shirou's words had jolted Tokiomi Tohsaka awake. Without another glance back, the man ran toward Miyama Town.
...
...
From the moment he woke up that morning, Byakuya Matou's eyelid had been twitching.
He had a bad feeling, a strong sense that something was going to happen today.
So that morning, he told Shinji and Sakura not to linger outside after school and to come straight home on time.
Then he also warned his younger brother, Kariya Matou, who was staying in the house, not to go out at all today.
He really wanted to call Shirou Amamiya, but Byakuya Matou was especially afraid of that boy.
More importantly, Shirou had also said that during the Holy Grail War, he was not to contact him unless it was something truly important. What if Sakura and Shinji found out?
"Whatever happens, just do not let there be a gas explosion anywhere near my house..."
Byakuya Matou spent the whole day on edge, praying under his breath, and only let out a sigh of relief that evening.
"Oh, come on. Looks like I was just being paranoid. Nothing's going to happen today after a..."
Right then, a loud bang came from the entrance.
"Zouken!!! Get out here!!!"
A man's furious roar shook the Matou family foyer.
Byakuya Matou jolted upright, told his son to stay in his room and not come out, slipped the handgun Shirou had given him into his pocket, and headed over at once.
The one standing in the entryway was a middle-aged man Byakuya Matou knew as well.
His younger brother's childhood friend, and also the head of the Tohsaka Family.
Tokiomi Tohsaka looked nothing like his usual gentlemanly self. His clothes and hair were in disarray, and his expression was unusually strained.
One hand braced against the wall, he panted as if he had just run a marathon, his eyes bloodshot.
What... what is going on here? Where did all that elegance you are always so proud of go?
Byakuya Matou was utterly confused, but he still stepped forward.
As the head of the Matou family, even if he did not want to, he still had to properly receive an ally.
"You've come by awfully late. Is there something you need, Tokiomi Tohsaka?
If you are here for my father, he is currently..."
"Stay out of my way!!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka smashed a fist straight into Byakuya Matou's face, sending him reeling into the wall with stars bursting across his vision.
Ah... I knew this was how it would end up...
Just before the back of his head slammed into the floor and he passed out, Byakuya Matou had one final thought.
Well, what do you know. My bad feeling was pretty accurate after all...
"Zouken! Get out here!"
After knocking Byakuya Matou aside, Tokiomi Tohsaka charged into the living room and kept shouting.
Two minutes later, an equally furious voice thundered down from the second floor.
"Tokiomi Tohsaka! You still have the nerve to come here!!!"
A man without the seaweed hairstyle leaned out from upstairs, glaring at his sworn enemy with fire in his eyes.
Tokiomi Tohsaka froze for a moment. He had not known Kariya Matou was here.
Before he could react, Kariya Matou jumped down from the second floor, and the impact of the fall slammed Tokiomi Tohsaka to the floor.
"I will never forgive you! You filthy Magus!"
Roaring in rage, Kariya Matou drove his fist into Tokiomi Tohsaka's face.
"It's all because of you! All because of you! This is all your fault!"
His punches kept coming, beating the unprepared Tokiomi Tohsaka until blood began to seep from the corner of his mouth and brow.
Though he knew he had no right to complain, Tokiomi Tohsaka did not simply take the beating. In his panic, he fought back.
"And you think you have no blame in this?!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka brought his ruby staff crashing into Kariya Matou's forehead and shouted in pain,
"If you had not refused to inherit the family, Zouken would never have gone looking for a successor! He would never have agreed to take Sakura in!
Kariya! You weak man, I cannot forgive you!"
"What kind of bullshit is that! This is all your fault! And you are still trying to pin it on someone else! Tokiomi! You are not even human!"
By the time Shirou arrived, the two middle-aged men were locked in an ugly brawl on the living room carpet.
Shinji Matou was trembling behind the door, too frightened by the scene before him to say a word.
Sakura Matou, meanwhile, stood off to the side and watched coldly, until she noticed the red-haired boy.
"Shirou-nii-san!"
Sakura Matou darted past the fighting men and ran to Shirou.
"Sakura!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka shoved Kariya Matou off him with all his strength and called out to the girl who had once been his daughter.
"..."
Sakura Matou stopped, then turned back to look at Tokiomi Tohsaka sitting on the floor.
She was confused. Why was Tokiomi Tohsaka here at the Matou house at a time like this?
And unlike the calm, elegant gentleman she remembered, the Tokiomi Tohsaka in front of her now looked like a drenched stray dog.
Was he always like this?
Sorry.
Even if you look at me with those pitiful puppy eyes, I have no idea how I am supposed to react...
Sakura did not know what had happened, but it seemed that because of Tokiomi Tohsaka, Shirou-nii-san had come here too.
That alone was enough to count as a good thing.
Sakura Matou stopped and gave Tokiomi Tohsaka a very polite bow.
"Good evening, Tokiomi-uncle."
"Unc...!?"
Tokiomi Tohsaka took the greatest blow of the night. He felt as if he had fallen straight into an icy winter lake.
The man still wanted to say something, but Sakura had already run over to Shirou's side without sparing him even a second glance.
H... how could this happen...
Does Sakura not even need me to save her...?
On the way here, Tokiomi Tohsaka had imagined it all.
He would burst into that evil, filthy worm pit and rescue Sakura no matter what.
The daughter he saved would cry in her father's arms and tell him all about the horrors she had suffered, while her father held her tight, apologizing and repenting.
And in the end, Sakura would forgive Tokiomi, and the two of them would return together to the familiar mansion.
"We're going home, Sakura. Your mother and Rin are waiting for you."
"Yes, Father."
That was how it was supposed to go.
But what awaited him instead was the icy tone and indifferent gaze of Matou Sakura.
The opposite of love is not dislike, and it is not hatred either. It is indifference.
"Tokiomi!!!"
Byakuya Matou roared as he rushed up and punched Tokiomi Tohsaka, shattering his fantasy.
...
...
An hour later.
Shirou had finally managed to coax Sakura into bed, and Shinji had also been ordered back to his room by his father.
Once the children were asleep, Shirou brought the Matou brothers to see Tokiomi Tohsaka.
Byakuya Matou had not held back in the slightest. Tokiomi Tohsaka had been beaten so badly that his face was swollen and bruised almost beyond recognition.
Now he sat tied to a chair with both hands bound.
Thanks to the Magecraft Shirou had put on him, he would not be waking up anytime soon.
I did not expect this to go so smoothly...
Shirou had managed to take care of Tokiomi Tohsaka without even lifting a hand himself.
Next, all he had to do was force Tokiomi Tohsaka to use a Command Spell and order Archer to kill himself.
No, that would not work.
Shirou already knew the Greater Grail had been corrupted. Letting Servant souls continue returning to the Grail would only speed up the activation of the End Device.
Even among all Servants, the soul of Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was one of the highest class.
His soul alone was worth hundreds of thousands of humans. If the Greater Grail swallowed him, it would probably be enough for it to manifest completely.
The urgent priority should be stopping the Holy Grail War and preventing any more Servants from dying. After that, everyone could discuss what to do next.
So in the end, I still have to go deal with Archer myself.
As for Rider, Shirou did not think he was the type who would obediently cooperate either.
Defeating Archer and Rider without destroying them, then getting them to listen quietly... that really is asking too much.
Shirou sighed and looked at the black-red Command Spell on the back of his hand.
"I thought I would never need to use this again..."
Shirou steadied himself and headed toward the battlefield where he would face Gilgamesh in a decisive fight.
...
...
"The Greater Grail... has been corrupted?"
After hearing the message relayed by Hassan of the Hundred Faces, Irisviel and Artoria both stared in stunned confusion.
Assassin raised an eyebrow.
"Shirou wants to know what you two plan to do. Think it through carefully.
Are you going to keep fighting for the Holy Grail? Or..."
"That is not even a question worth considering."
Saber spoke with a solemn expression.
"If the Holy Grail has become a monster that threatens the world, then the only answer is to destroy it. This is no longer the time to cling to personal wishes."
"Yes, I think so too."
Irisviel nodded in agreement.
Of course, that was only her own opinion.
Destroying the Greater Grail... Irisviel did not believe the Einzbern main family would ever allow something like that.
So this really did make her a traitor to the family now. But as long as Saber and Shirou were by her side, there was nothing to be afraid of...
At that very moment, a crushing pain stabbed through her chest, worse than anything she had ever felt before.
"Irisviel!?"
Saber caught the silver-haired homunculus as she collapsed toward the ground.