My Type-Moon Fates Codex

The quiet alleyway looked exactly as it had in his memories. Yet even as he slowed his pace and immersed himself in the scenery of his hometown, not a single memory that surfaced brought him any joy—especially after speaking with Aoi an hour ago, when he finally understood why he had changed his flight overnight and returned to Fuyuki City several days early.

Because of unease.

Because of fear.

Because of the pitying look in that young travel companion's eyes before they parted.

And because of the tear at the corner of Aoi's eye when they said goodbye.

He had indeed seen his childhood friend in the park, safe and sound, along with the two beloved daughters she had borne with the head of the Tohsaka family.

After finally breathing a sigh of relief, how deep a bloody wound had been torn open inside him when he learned that Aoi's second daughter, Sakura, had gone to the Matou Estate that afternoon and become "Sakura Matou"?

Ah... is this really all right, Aoi?

...I've already prepared myself... It was wrong to fantasize about the happiness of an ordinary family in the first place...

Those words were nothing but lies.

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

Back then, it was because he trusted her smile that Kariya accepted defeat so calmly.

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

But Kariya had been wrong.

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

And the price of his second mistake... would be that the child of the woman he loved would fall into the hell he himself had once fled from.

Regret was scorching Kariya's heart.

He had actually made the same mistake again, said the same wrong words, done the same wrong thing.

If he had stopped Aoi and asked her to stay eight years ago, perhaps the future would have been different from today. If she had not joined herself to the Tohsaka family back then, perhaps she could have lived an ordinary life, forever unrelated to the cursed fate of magi.

And if, in the park that afternoon, Kariya had also opposed the decision of the Tohsaka and Matou families... Aoi might have been surprised and dismissed his opinion as the foolish words of an outsider, but at least she would not have had to blame herself and bury all her anguish in her heart.

Kariya would never forgive himself for repeating the same mistake again and again. To punish himself, he returned to the place he had once sworn to leave behind. The only way he could atone had to be there—the world he had once turned his back on, the fate he had once fled for self-preservation.

Now, he finally had the courage to face it.

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

Under the dim sky as the sun was about to sink below the horizon, he walked toward a tall, shadowy Western-style house. The faint rumbling grew louder, accompanied by flashes of light that stung his eyes.

What's happening? Kariya wondered blankly as he quickened his pace.

After ten years, he had returned to the house where he was born.

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

The young man's golden eyes shone even more brilliantly beneath the lingering sunset, but what drew all of Kariya's attention and left him stunned was the savage iron weapon in his hands.

"...Sakutsuki?"

"Hm?" Sakutsuki turned at the sound and saw Kariya Matou standing there, mouth agape and frozen stiff. He instinctively wanted to greet him, but then realized he was holding an RPG-7 with both hands. He simply smiled instead. "Perfect timing, Kariya! I don't know why you came back early, but now you can witness this historic and glorious moment with me!"

"...What are you trying to do, Sakutsuki?"

Faced with Kariya Matou's incredulous question, Sakutsuki flashed a bright, childlike grin and announced in a voice like a demon's:

"Obviously—blow this bug nest flat!"

Before Kariya could react, an 84-millimeter rocket streaked through the air in a dazzling arc, punching through several already crumbling layers of defense and striking the Matou residence head-on!

"Boom!"

The instant the flames erupted, the golden-eyed young man let out a cheer. Hugging a large pile of incendiary grenades that had somehow appeared in his arms, he charged straight into the gloomy mansion with the fire at his back.

"I'm blowing—every last bit of it up!"

"Wait! Don't go in there!" Watching his home be destroyed, Kariya did not know whether he felt joy or sorrow. His head went hot, and he followed in the footsteps of his young travel companion, rushing into the house.

Explosions, explosions, explosions.

Flames, flames, flames.

Amid that apocalyptic scene, the cries of countless arthropods echoed through the residence.

Eggs, larvae, pupae, adults.

Wriggling, crawling, fluttering wings.

Dense swarms of insects, like black waves, sensed the deadly danger and poured from their hiding places, desperately surging toward the exit.

And then—the merciless flames gleefully burned them to ash.

"Ha ha, ha ha ha ha!" The young man laughed madly. The flamethrower in his hands spat flames dozens of meters long, sweeping through everything around him and consigning all filth, all ugliness, to the crimson karmic fire.

Behind him, Kariya Matou watched everything unfold in terror, as if he were meeting this young travel companion for the first time—

Just moments ago, he had watched Sakutsuki throw his last incendiary grenade, then conjure such a terrifying weapon out of thin air and slaughter his way through the mansion, destroying every trace of mystery.

At this point, only one thought remained in his mind—why had this damn house not collapsed yet?!

"I was wondering who had come to visit the Matou family. To think you would use such crude weapons... It seems you really have fallen, Einzbern!"

Amid the flames, a small old man appeared before Sakutsuki and Kariya Matou. The fire around him seemed to extinguish in fear, and shadows accumulated over the years once again shrouded his body.

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

In truth, even he did not know the old man's real age. In the household registry, the man was listed as the father of Kariya and his brother. Yet strangely, the family records showed that Kariya's great-grandfather and the three generations before him had also been named Zouken.

No one knew 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 horrific methods; the ancestor of the Matou bloodline Kariya despised most; a living monster who had survived into the modern era—this was Zouken Matou.

Whenever he thought of that introverted little girl, who always hid behind her older sister, falling into this monster's hands and suffering a cruel fate, an uncontrollable impulse surged through Kariya's body. He wanted nothing more than to throw himself at the evil magus, seize his wrinkled throat with all his strength, and snap it.

But Kariya also understood clearly. No matter how thin and frail Zouken looked, he was still a magus. Killing Kariya on the spot would be effortless for him. If it came down to force, Kariya had no chance of winning.

A bleak flash of cold light streaked through the air. The instant he dropped the flamethrower, Sakutsuki was already holding Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, cleaving the shell in two at inhuman speed.

"Old vermin should crawl back into the dirt. Just like Jubstacheit von Einzbern, you reek of decay." The young man finally revealed an intimidating presence as he stared coldly at the old man's body, split from head to toe. "It's time for you to die, Makiri Zolgen!"

006: Zouken Matou

Character Information: Originally named Makiri Zolgen. He participated in the construction of the Greater Grail two hundred years ago and was one of the founders of the Holy Grail War. Unwilling to die before fulfilling his long-cherished wish, he had remained the Matou family's true head. After the passage of countless years, his soul gradually wore away, and his will and memories were forgotten or twisted. He gradually reversed means and ends, becoming an evil man whose purpose was the pursuit of immortality.

Hidden Information: Conditions insufficient.

Record Conditions (2/2):

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

2. Kill Zouken Matou completely. (Not achieved)

Makiri Zolgen.

The moment that ancient name was spoken, the shadow that had shrouded this family for centuries seemed to be thoroughly enraged. Countless insects surged from the basement, extinguishing the flames and forming a deep black silhouette.

The gaunt old man emerged from the swarm, the corners of his mouth twisting upward. There was not a trace of human emotion in that monstrous smile.

"How do you know that name?"

The answer was a tongue of fire from the flamethrower.

But this time, Zouken Matou had no intention of enduring it after having his sore spot struck. Instead, he revealed a sinister grin.

"Though mystery may be fading in this age, you are far too naïve if you think such weapons can defeat me, brat!"

Zouken Matou's gaunt fingers twitched slightly. A black cloud flew from the insect swarm writhing at his feet, gleaming with an eerie blue sheen under the enhancement of magecraft. It ignored the heat of the flames, devoured the blazing fire at an astonishing speed, and still seemed unsatisfied as it rushed toward Sakutsuki and Kariya Matou.

"Hey, hey, what are we supposed to do now? Even fire can't deal with these bugs?!" Kariya Matou, who already had a deep fear of the old bug, immediately panicked.

"What are you panicking for? Do you think all I can do is play with technology?" Sakutsuki casually tossed aside the flamethrower and raised his right hand. "They can't hurt me."

The insect swarm became a streak of ghostly light as it pounced. Behind it, the old man let out a strange, rasping laugh.

"So the Einzbern have become this foolish—this is my Magic Workshop!"

A workshop was a kind of "otherworld" created by a magus to refine his magecraft. No matter how powerful a magus was, if he was not the workshop's owner, the magecraft and mysteries he wielded would be greatly restricted. Conversely, the owner would receive a massive enhancement.

If a Magic Crest was an organ created within the body, then a workshop was a new otherworld created outside it.

For example, during Sakutsuki's assault on the Einzbern, Jubstacheit von Einzbern had used the power of his workshop to suppress Sakutsuki's magecraft. Had Sakutsuki not severed the Leyline's power, he would not even have been able to deploy his Reality Marble.

And for another example... Sakutsuki, who could use Replacement Magic: Modified as though carrying a Magic Workshop with him through mysterious power.

When two Magic Workshops collided, aside from the intricacy of their construction, what mattered was their degree of mystery.

How could the Matou family, with only a few centuries of history, compare to the Einsworth Family, which had been passed down for a thousand years?

Though Displacement Magic had other uses as well.

"Rho Aias!"

Seven petals unfolded layer by layer, blocking the overwhelming insect swarm outside. Beneath the light and shadow of the two clashing magecrafts, Zouken Matou's expression turned extremely ugly.

"A mystic treasure? A Concept Armament? No, that presence is... a Noble Phantasm?!"

As one of the creators of the Holy Grail System, even though Zouken Matou had forgotten his original heart, he would never forget the terrifying power possessed by the summoned familiars known as Servants!

"You're a Servant? Did you form a contract with this old man's grandson? No, that's impossible! That trash isn't qualified for it!" Zouken Matou's voice was filled with shock. He even denied his own guess, showing just how chaotic his thoughts were. "There is still a year before the Holy Grail War begins. How could a Servant appear now?!"

Sakutsuki merely smiled without answering, then turned to look at Kariya behind him.

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

Kariya Matou came back to his senses and looked at the flames all around him, especially Zouken Matou gritting his teeth ahead of them. After a long while, a relieved grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Honestly, I've never felt this good in my life!"

"You?" Zouken Matou had calmed down again. His gaze toward his descendant was filled with contempt. "A piece of trash who fled this place—do you think you can defeat me, defeat the Matou family's centuries of accumulated power, just by relying on some Servant from who knows where?"

After all, inside his own Magic Workshop, even a second-rate magus would be confident in fighting an ordinary Servant, much less an old monster like him who had lived for over two hundred years!

He slammed his wooden staff hard against the floor. The Magic Workshop's power was fully mobilized, and countless defensive formulas surged toward Sakutsuki and Kariya Matou. Though the petal shield Sakutsuki had projected still held firm, it would not last much longer.

Yet even at this point, Sakutsuki continued smiling as he spoke with Kariya.

"Do you hate Zouken Matou?"

"Of course!"

"Do you want to protect Sakura? Protect the child of the woman you love?"

"Of course!"

"Do you want to blow this old bug's head apart with one shot?"

"Yeah. Nothing would make me happier!"

Even in the face of danger, Kariya Matou could no longer worry about anything else. With bloodshot eyes, he took the pistol Sakutsuki handed him and aimed it at the old thing who embodied all the hatred, disgust, and contempt of his life.

"It's only a shell." Even with the gun aimed at his head, Zouken Matou maintained that unpleasant smile. "This stray dog has grown bold. You dare point your dog claws at me—aren't you afraid I'll kill that child from the Tohsaka family?"

Kariya's hand holding the gun began to tremble.

That was right. His original purpose had been to save Sakura. But now the entire Matou residence was nearly being razed to the ground—where was Sakura? Where was she?

"Ah, you mean this child?"

A voice like heavenly music rang out. Sakutsuki, standing before him, turned around. At some point, a black-haired little girl had appeared in his arms. She had not yet undergone the Matou family's alterations, and she slept peacefully with her eyes closed.

Who else could she be but the Sakura Kariya had been desperately thinking of?

"No, how is that possible?!" Faced with such an unexpected development, Zouken Matou completely lost his composure. "I clearly locked her in the basement! When did you save her, and how did you evade my detection?!"

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

"Ha... ha ha ha ha! Old bastard, so this is your day!" After Sakutsuki rescued Sakura with Displacement Magic, Kariya Matou had no more worries. He laughed wildly and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

The bullet broke the sound barrier and struck Zouken Matou in the head without resistance, sending him flying back like a torn sack.

But the old man's sinister voice still rang out. "Useless, my foolish descendant. I told you already, it's only a shell and... Oh, oh! Oaahhhhh! Ughhhhhhhhh—!"