Type-Moon, I, Sakura Matou, Rewrite Destiny

Based on Tokiomi Tohsaka's teachings over the years... Kirei Kotomine outwardly believed that Servants were merely tools similar to familiars.

But that was just on the surface... Kirei Kotomine himself didn't realize that deep down... he had always scoffed at Tokiomi Tohsaka's principles.

After all, before becoming Tokiomi Tohsaka's disciple, Kirei Kotomine was an Executor for the Church of the Holy Church... what kind of people were traditional magi? Kirei Kotomine knew very well...

If Kirei Kotomine's own heart hadn't been so incredibly empty, making it somewhat convenient for others to instill ideas in him... Kirei Kotomine wouldn't have outwardly believed Tokiomi Tohsaka's doctrine.

"What do you want with me... Gilgamesh?"

Smiling, Gilgamesh casually pulled over a female bystander who was watching a car accident. Then... before Kirei Kotomine's bewildered eyes, Gilgamesh suddenly produced a dagger-shaped Noble Phantasm and gently thrust it into the woman.

Faced with Gilgamesh's sudden, unprovoked attack on an ordinary person, Kirei Kotomine desperately wanted to do something to express his anger...

But everything happened so suddenly and so quickly... Before Kirei Kotomine could even figure out what expression to put on or what stance to adopt.

The woman, whose neck was gushing blood, was pushed into Kirei Kotomine's arms by Gilgamesh.

The pungent smell of rust... the warm red blood...

Kirei Kotomine, whose senses easily registered the woman's rapidly draining life before him, felt the blood trickling down his face. The corners of his mouth involuntarily curved into a twisted smile once more.

Satisfied, extremely satisfied.

Compared to that scumbag Tokiomi Tohsaka, Kirei Kotomine was indeed much more interesting.

"Kirei, Tokiomi has been eliminated by this King... How about you become my subject?"

He tried to force an angry expression, but the interference of his involuntary twisted smile made his entire face look exceptionally contorted. Kirei Kotomine didn't look angry at all now...

"You..."

Cutting off Kirei Kotomine's speech, Gilgamesh ignored the bloodstains on him and patted Kirei Kotomine's shoulder again before speaking.

"You've already realized it, haven't you, Kirei... what your hollow heart truly craves..."

"I..."

"Become my subject... I will teach you how to fill the emptiness in your heart with pleasure..."

His heart stirred... Faced with Gilgamesh's words, Kirei Kotomine's calm, utterly hollow heart felt a flicker of emotion for the first time...

This was a feeling he couldn't achieve even with all the Mapo Tofu he could eat.

"I... What should I do?"

As if a gentleman addressing a noble lady.

Gilgamesh gently took Kirei Kotomine's hand, which bore a Command Spell... Then, under Gilgamesh's intensely aggressive and gleeful gaze, the Command Spells on Kirei Kotomine's hand instantly transformed into Gilgamesh's likeness.

"This!"

Shrugging casually, Gilgamesh, who had long been utterly disappointed by this Holy Grail War filled with schemes, falsehoods, and boredom, and only wanted to find some amusement, finally felt the word "interesting" for the first time in days since his summoning.

"Kirei, next... follow this King."

34. The Old Man of the Mountain Pays a 'Visit'

As if by predetermined history, Kirei Kotomine once again fell into the path of pleasure.

Of course, this time he didn't stab Tokiomi Tohsaka in the back as he entered the path of pleasure.

However... Tokiomi Tohsaka was still stabbed, by Kirei Kotomine's former Servant.

Why "former"?

Naturally, it was because that mysterious Hassan was no longer Kirei Kotomine's Servant.

Carrying Tokiomi Tohsaka, Hassan moved through the woods on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.

At this moment, Hassan knew that his contract with Kirei Kotomine had been severed.

Although this Hassan seemed to have been brought into this Holy Grail War by the Counter Force... he clearly felt a surge of weakness after losing his Master.

12 hours... If he couldn't find a new Master, he would only have 12 hours left to remain in the present world.

He glanced at the mountain villa on the nearby mountainside, which was covered in unknown traps.

He then turned and looked at the white-haired Servant standing on a hilltop, nodding and waving at him.

A bell chimed with a dong.

Surrounded by cold blue flames, the Servant, who had been shrouded in a robe, with only a wisp of mottled white beard making his identity unrecognizable, instantly completed his transformation.

Fearsome, dark heavy armor, a skull mask as cold as a symbol of death... Yes, this Hassan was the Hassan of all Hassans—the Old Man of the Mountain... King Hassan, who should absolutely not have appeared in this Holy Grail War in Sakura's eyes!

Having completed his transformation and unleashed his full combat power, King Hassan looked again at the white-haired Servant on the hilltop. He found that the figure who had made him feel so wary had already vanished.

A bloodstained red suit was silently thrown into the Matou family's mountain villa.

Looking at the suit thrown in through the window... Sakura was dumbfounded.

However, compared to Sakura's confusion.

Aoi Tohsaka and Rin Tohsaka, who could clearly recognize the owner of the suit at a glance, appeared much more agitated.

In an instant, the mother and daughter's faces turned deathly pale.

Looking at the jagged tear on the suit and the dark red bloodstains near it...

Aoi Tohsaka, who had been calm moments before, walking through the villa gardens with her daughter and former daughter-in-law as a family, felt her legs give out and she immediately knelt on the ground in disbelief.

"Dad... no... Mom, we..."

Compared to her mother, Rin Tohsaka looked equally terrible at the moment.

Facing the suit, Rin Tohsaka's eyes had completely lost their luster... she stood there like a hollow puppet, muttering something repeatedly in a low voice...

Frowning, Sakura, who felt shocked and heartbroken seeing her mother and sister transform like this in an instant, unconsciously bit her upper lip, forcing herself to calm down, and then waved her hand to give an order.

"Shinji, Noyoru, take my mother and sister back to the villa... Kurumi!"

At Sakura's command.

Shinji and his son, who didn't know what this suit represented, were unclear about the situation. However, seeing the state of the Tohsaka mother and daughter and Sakura's expression, they somehow understood the gravity of the matter.

Under Sakura's orders, the father and son, who quickly reacted, immediately began to act. They helped up Aoi Tohsaka and Rin Tohsaka, while scanning their surroundings vigilantly, and started walking towards the villa that Sakura had meticulously arranged.

Meanwhile, Kurumi, who had excellent compatibility with Sakura and had naturally formed a good bond and understanding with her from their first meeting, didn't need Sakura to explain anything.

The moment Sakura called her name, over a dozen clones flew out from the shadows of the two and scattered towards the surroundings of the villa.

At the same time, Kurumi's main body put on her Spiritron Dress and observed the surroundings warily next to Sakura.

One minute... two minutes... five minutes...

Just as Sakura thought the person who sent the suit might have left and was about to lower her guard.

Suddenly, outside the main entrance of the villa, with a muffled groan from Kurumi, one of Kurumi's clones was thrown from outside the door and landed at Sakura's feet like a discarded doll.

Immediately after... with a roar from the main gate, a black and somewhat ferocious greatsword, as if cutting tofu, tore through the gate, which Sakura had protected with multiple magical defenses.

Faced with this situation, Kurumi immediately summoned a sky full of clones.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred Kurumi clones rushed out from the shadows in various parts of the garden, charging towards the figure who stepped into the garden through the collapsed gate.

"Stop... Kurumi!"

The moment she saw the intruder, Sakura gave up resisting.

Why? Facing an existence like King Hassan, what else could Sakura do with her current combat power besides giving up resistance? Even a desperate struggle would only result in King Hassan swinging his blade a few more times.

Of course, giving up resistance didn't mean Sakura would surrender meekly.

She and Kurumi could escape, but that would mean abandoning everyone else in the mountain villa.

Therefore... Sakura would not run unless absolutely necessary, and she believed that before understanding King Hassan's objective, she absolutely could not attack him...

Although she didn't understand why Sakura told her to stop, Kurumi, who trusted Sakura implicitly, and her clones faithfully carried out Sakura's orders.

"Sakura isn't an enemy?"

"I don't know... I just hope not..."

"...No matter what, I will protect you, Sakura..."

"En."

Casually reaching behind him, King Hassan produced Tokiomi Tohsaka, who had been placed somewhere by him earlier, and held the unconscious Tokiomi in his hand.

"Sakura, you recognized me... did you?"

Pressing her lips together, Sakura glanced at Tokiomi Tohsaka, whose life or death was unknown, and then nervously nodded at King Hassan.

"En."

Seeing Sakura nod and admit she recognized him, King Hassan's aura suddenly changed. If the King Hassan who broke in earlier was like the embodiment of death... then now, the rather ferocious-looking King Hassan somehow made Sakura feel that he was very kind...

Even though King Hassan had done nothing, and his tone and speed of speech hadn't changed, Sakura just felt this way.

"That is good... Come, Sakura, let your Time Spirit obtain time from me!"

35. An Unreasonable Gift from the Counter Force!

"Come, Sakura, let your Time Spirit obtain time from me!"

Hearing these words from King Hassan, Sakura was undoubtedly stunned.

This statement was too sudden, too unexpected...

What did he want? What was his purpose? Was this a trap?

Countless questions flooded Sakura's mind in an instant.

As if sensing Sakura's confusion, King Hassan immediately threw Tokiomi Tohsaka, whom he held in his hand, to the ground at Sakura's feet.

Was this some form of sincerity?

Perhaps King Hassan thought so.

In any case, after these words were spoken, the air between King Hassan and Sakura seemed to become somewhat solidified.

After a long moment, Sakura watched King Hassan, who remained patiently standing in place like a demonic statue.

Unable to fathom King Hassan's intentions, Sakura gave Kurumi a look and signaled her to deploy the Castle of Time at King Hassan's feet!

As a barrier Kurumi used to replenish her time, the Castle of Time would forcibly drain the time from any living being that stepped within its range, making their bodies heavy and their movements difficult. If pushed further, Kurumi could even capture a target directly within the Castle of Time.

However... do Servants even possess time that Kurumi can absorb?

The answer was naturally no!

This was because Servants were essentially special beings formed by the combination of a 'part' of a Heroic Spirit and their Spirit Origin.

Heroic Spirits, who resided in the Hall of Heroes, existed outside the concept of time.

Therefore... normal Servants had no time-based energy that could be siphoned.

But whether or not she could absorb time from King Hassan, Sakura had Kurumi attempt it anyway.

As several clones of Kurumi cautiously approached King Hassan.

The unique, dark red barrier began to spread from beneath the feet of the clones towards King Hassan.

Time... a vast amount of time...

Excitedly, she stuck out her pink tongue and licked her lips.