My Fates Codex in the Nasuverse Chapter 11

The quiet alleyway streets were just like the ones in his memories. Even as he slowed his pace, immersed in the scenery of his hometown, none of the memories that surfaced brought him any joy. Especially after talking with Aoi an hour ago, he finally understood why he had changed his flight ticket overnight and rushed back to Fuyuki City days ahead of schedule.

Because of unease.

Because of fear.

Because of the pitying look in his young travel companion's eyes when they parted.

And because of the single tear that welled up in Aoi's eye as they said goodbye.

He had indeed met his childhood sweetheart in the park, safe and sound, along with her two beloved daughters, whom she had with the head of the Tohsaka family.

He had already breathed a sigh of relief, but upon learning that Aoi's second daughter, Sakura, had gone to the Matou family that afternoon to become "Sakura Matou," how deep a bloody wound was torn open in his heart?

Ah, ah... Is this really okay? Aoi?

[...I've already prepared myself... Wanting the happiness of an ordinary family was a mistake from the start...]

Such words were a complete lie.

Eight years ago, when Aoi accepted the proposal of the young magus, the expression on her face, so convinced she would find happiness, alternated in Kariya Matou's mind with her current weak and powerless smile.

Back then, it was precisely because he trusted her smile that Kariya had accepted his failure with equanimity.

He thought that perhaps only the man who was about to marry Aoi could give her a truly happy life.

But Kariya was wrong.

The price of his first mistake was losing the woman he loved forever.

And the price of his second mistake... was that the offspring of the woman he loved would fall into the very hell he had once fled.

Regret was now burning Kariya's heart.

He had once again fallen into the same trap, saying the same wrong words, doing the same wrong thing.

If he had stopped Aoi and kept her back on that day eight years ago, perhaps the future would have been different today. If she hadn't gotten together with Tohsaka back then, perhaps she could have stayed away from the cursed fate of a magus her entire life and lived a normal life.

And then, in the park this afternoon, if Kariya had also objected to the decisions of the Tohsaka and Matou families... Aoi might have been surprised, dismissing his opinion as the idle talk of an outsider, but at least she wouldn't have had to blame herself and suppress all her bitterness in her heart.

Kariya would never forgive himself for repeating his mistakes. To punish himself, he returned to the place where they had parted ways. The only way he could atone was surely there. The world he had once turned his back on, the fate he had once avoided to protect himself.

Now he finally had the courage to face it.

For the woman whose sadness he least wanted to see in this world.

Under the dim sky as the sun was about to dip below the horizon, he walked towards a tall, verdant Western-style mansion. The faint roaring sound grew louder, accompanied by a light that stung his eyes.

What was happening? Kariya thought blankly, quickening his pace.

After ten years, he had returned to the entrance of the home where he was born.

And at the main gate, Kariya Matou once again encountered that familiar figure.

His golden eyes were even more brilliant in the afterglow of the sunset, but what drew Kariya's complete attention and stunned him was the ferocious iron weapon in the young man's hands.

"...Sakutsuki?"

"Hm?" Sakutsuki turned at the sound and saw Kariya Matou standing there with his mouth agape, stunned. He instinctively wanted to greet him, but then realized he was holding an RPG-7 with both hands, so he simply smiled and said, "You're here at the perfect time, Kariya! I don't know why you're back early, but you can witness this historic and great moment with me!"

"...What do you want to do, Sakutsuki?"

Facing Kariya Matou's incredulous question, Sakutsuki flashed a childish, brilliant smile and loudly declared like a demon:

"Of course, it's to blow this worm den to smithereens!"

Before Kariya could react, an 84mm caliber rocket projectile streaked across a dazzling arc, piercing through several precarious defensive lines and hitting the Matou mansion head-on!

"BOOM!"

The moment the flames erupted, the young man with golden eyes cheered and, holding a large stack of incendiary bombs that had appeared in his arms at some point, charged straight into the gloomy mansion, braving the flames.

"I'll blow it all up for you!"

"Wait! Don't go in there!" Watching his home being destroyed, Kariya didn't know whether he felt joy or sorrow, but his mind went blank, and he followed his young travel companion into the house.

Explosions, explosions, explosions.

Flames, flames, flames.

In this scene of destruction, the cries of countless arthropod creatures echoed throughout the mansion.

Eggs, larvae, pupae, adults.

Wriggling, crawling, fluttering.

A dense swarm of insects, like a black tide, felt a fatal crisis and fled from their hiding places, moving towards the exit without hesitation.

And then—the merciless flames, with great satisfaction, burned them to ashes.

"Hahaha, Hahahahaha!" The young man roared with laughter, his flamethrower spewing flames for tens of meters, engulfing everything around him, reducing all the filth and disgrace to the karma-fire of crimson lotuses.

Behind him, Kariya Matou watched it all happen with trepidation, as if he were meeting his young travel companion all over again—

Just now, he had watched Sakutsuki throw away his last incendiary bomb, and then conjure such a dangerous weapon out of thin air, wreaking havoc in the mansion and destroying all its mysterious elements.

Up to this point, he had only one thought in his mind—why hasn't this damned house collapsed yet!

"I thought someone was visiting the Matou family; to use such crude weapons, you Einzbern are truly degenerate!"

Amidst the flames, a short old man appeared before Sakutsuki and Kariya Matou. The flames around him extinguished as if in fear, and the shadows of many years once again enveloped him.

"Matou... Zouken." Kariya Matou glared at the head of the family with eyes full of rage.

In fact, even he didn't know the true age of this old man. According to household registration, his identity was the father of the Matou brothers, but strangely, in the family tree records, his great-grandfather and the three generations of ancestors before him were also named Zouken.

No one knew for how many generations this old man had ruled the Matou family.

An immortal magus who had prolonged his life time and time again through indescribably terrifying methods, the progenitor of the Matou bloodline whom Kariya detested the most, a living yokai who had survived to modern times – this was Zouken Matou.

The moment he thought of the timid little girl who always hid behind her older sister falling into the hands of this monster and suffering a cruel fate, an uncontrollable urge surged within Kariya. He wished he could pounce on this evil magus right now, grab his wrinkled neck with all his might, and twist it forcefully.

But Kariya knew very well. No matter how thin or aged, Zouken was still a magus, and killing Kariya alone on the spot would be as easy as flipping a hand. If he resorted to force, Kariya would have absolutely no chance of winning.

A desperate cold light flashed. The moment he dropped the flamethrower, Sakutsuki was already holding Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, slicing the body in half with inhuman speed.

"Old man, you should return to the earth. Like you and Jubstacheit von Einzbern, you reek of decay." The youth, finally displaying an imposing aura, stared at the old man's body, which had been cut in half from top to bottom, and said coldly:

"You should die, Makiri Zolgen!"

[006: Zouken Matou]

[Character Information]: Original name Makiri Zolgen, participated in the construction of the Greater Grail two hundred years ago, one of the founders of the Holy Grail War. Unwilling to die to achieve his long-cherished wish, he has always been the de facto head of the Matou family. After a long period of time, his soul gradually depleted, his will and memories were forgotten or degenerated, and he gradually reversed his methods and goals, becoming a villain who pursued immortality.

[Hidden Information]: Insufficient conditions

[Record Conditions (2/2)]:

1. Save Sakura Matou from Zouken Matou. (Not achieved)

2. Completely kill Zouken Matou. (Not achieved)

Makiri Zolgen.

When this ancient name was spoken, the shadow that had loomed over the family for hundreds of years seemed to be thoroughly provoked. Countless insects swarmed out from the basement, extinguishing the flames and outlining a deep black silhouette.

The withered old man emerged from the swarm of insects, his mouth twisted into a grotesque smile, devoid of any human emotion.

"How did you know that name?"

The response was the fiery blast from the flamethrower.

But this time, Zouken Matou, having been struck at his sore spot, did not intend to tolerate it and revealed a sinister grin:

"Even though mystery is fading now, it's too naive to think you can defeat me with such a weapon, brat!"

Zouken Matou's withered fingers moved slightly, and a ball of dark cloud flew out from the swarm of insects writhing at his feet. Under the enhancement of magic, it shimmered with a faint blue glow, completely ignoring the heat of the flames. It absorbed the raging flames at an astonishing speed. Not satisfied, they then rushed towards Sakutsuki and Kariya Matou.

"Hey, hey, what do we do? Even fire can't deal with these bugs!" Kariya Matou, who already had a phobia of insect users, panicked.

"What are you panicking about? Did you think I only knew how to play with technology?" Sakutsuki casually dropped the flamethrower and raised his right hand. "They can't hurt me!"

The swarm of insects attacked like a dark light, and behind them, the old man cackled:

"So the Einzbern have become this foolish— this is my magic workshop!"

A workshop, as it is known, is a "different world" created by a magus to hone their magic. Even the most powerful magus, as long as they are not the master of the workshop, will have their magic or mysteries greatly restricted, while conversely, they will be greatly enhanced.

If magic crests are organs created internally, then workshops are new external worlds created.

For example, in the battle where Sakutsuki conquered the Einzbern, Alyahdohn used the power of the workshop to suppress Sakutsuki's magic. If Sakutsuki hadn't severed the leyline's power, he wouldn't have even been able to deploy his Reality Marble.

Or, for example... under the power of mystery, it's like Sakutsuki, who carries a magic workshop with him and can use Displacement Magic · Modified.

When two magic workshops collide, besides the intricacy of their composition, what matters is their degree of mystery.

And the Enzworth family, with a thousand years of inheritance, how could the Matou family, with only a few hundred years of history, compare?

However, Displacement Magic has other uses.

"Rho Aias!"

Seven petals unfurled layer by layer, blocking the overwhelming swarm of insects. Under the interplay of the two magics, Zouken Matou's expression became extremely grim.

"Is this a treasure? A conceptual weapon? No, this aura is... a Noble Phantasm!!!"

As the creator of the Holy Grail system, even though Zouken Matou had forgotten his original intention, he still remembered the terrifying power possessed by the familiars (Servants) summoned!

"Are you a Servant? Did you form a contract with my grandson? No, that's impossible! That trash is not qualified!" Zouken Matou's tone was filled with astonishment, even negating his own guess, indicating how chaotic his mind was. "There's still a year before the Holy Grail War begins, how can a Servant appear now!"

In response, Sakutsuki smiled without speaking, then turned his head and looked at Kariya behind him.

"How does it feel to have your home destroyed?"

Kariya Matou came back to his senses and looked at the raging flames all around, especially at Zouken Matou, who was grinding his teeth in front of him. After a long moment, a triumphant smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: "To be honest, I've never felt this good!"

"You?" Zouken Matou had already calmed down and looked at his junior with contempt. "A good-for-nothing who ran away from here, do you think by relying on this Servant who came from who knows where, you can defeat me, defeat the hundred years of accumulation of the Matou family?"

After all, within his magic workshop, even a second-rate magus would have the confidence to spar with an ordinary Servant, let alone him, an old monster who had lived for over two hundred years!

He struck the ground hard with his wooden staff, fully mobilizing the power of the magic workshop. Numerous defensive arrays surged towards Sakutsuki and Kariya Matou. Although the petal shield projected by Sakutsuki was still holding firm, it wouldn't last long.

However, even at this point, Sakutsuki was still smiling and talking to Kariya:

"Do you hate Zouken Matou?"

"Of course!"

"Do you want to protect Sakura, to protect the child of the one you love?"

"Of course!"

"Do you want to blow that old bug's head off with one shot?"

"Ah, I couldn't wish for anything more!"

Faced with danger, Kariya Matou couldn't hold back any longer. His eyes bloodshot, he took the pistol Sakutsuki offered and aimed it at the old man who embodied all his hatred, disgust, and contempt.

"Just a husk." Even with the gun barrel pointed at his head, Zouken Matou maintained his unpleasant smile. "You stray dog have gotten bold, daring to point your mangy paw at me—aren't you afraid I'll kill that child from the Tohsaka family?"

Kariya's hand holding the gun began to tremble.

Yes, his original goal was to save Sakura, but now the entire Matou residence was on the verge of being leveled. Where was Sakura? Where was she?

"Ah, you mean this child."

A voice like heavenly music sounded. Sakutsuki, in front of him, turned around. In his arms, who knew when, was a little girl with black hair (she hadn't undergone the Matou family's modifications yet), sleeping peacefully with her eyes closed.

It wasn't the Sakura Kariya longed for, so who else could it be?

"No, how is that possible!" Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Zouken Matou completely lost his composure. "I clearly locked her in the basement! When did you rescue her, and how did you evade my detection!"

"No comment." Sakutsuki gave the old bug an infuriating smile, then patted Kariya Matou's shoulder. "Your turn."

"Haha... Hahahahaha! Old man, you finally have your day!" After Sakutsuki rescued Sakura using Displacement Magic, Kariya Matou had no more worries. He laughed maniacally and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

The bullet broke the sound barrier and hit Zouken Matou's head unimpeded, sending him flying backward like a sack of rags.

But the old man's sinister voice continued to echo, "It's useless, my foolish offspring. I told you long ago, it's just a husk... Ah! Ahhhhhh! Ughhhhhhh—!"

His words devolved into a scream, a piercing, ghostly sound that suddenly exploded within the Matou residence!