Sakura Matou Rewrites Destiny

Though she was restless inside, the sensible Rin Tohsaka quieted down again.

Just as Rin Tohsaka eagerly awaited Tokiomi Tohsaka to finish thinking and say something—

Having finished his deliberation, Tokiomi Tohsaka rose directly and strode out of Zenjo Villa.

"Aoi, keep an eye on Rin. I have something to take care of..."

Holding Rin Tohsaka in her arms, the reserved Aoi Tohsaka did not ask what Tokiomi Tohsaka was going to do.

"...I'll take good care of Rin, dear... Be careful."

As for the changes in Fuyuki City over the past few days—

With the ley lines having stopped flowing, Tokiomi Tohsaka had practically lost his ability to manage Fuyuki City during this period.

Still, Tokiomi Tohsaka had noticed, more or less, the large number of Magi and Magic Users entering Fuyuki City.

After all, this was not the first time.

According to the Tohsaka Family's records, after the Second Holy Grail War, news of the Holy Grail War had leaked into the magecraft world on a small scale. There had also been Magi who came to investigate the Holy Grail War after it ended.

Normally, Tokiomi Tohsaka would not have cared about such things. After all, if information on Fuyuki City's Holy Grail War were that easy to investigate, it could not have been held for several centuries across so many iterations.

But this time... with that massive burst of mana from Mount Enzou... everything had changed completely.

As he walked down the road toward Fuyuki City, one side was the Holy Grail, the Tohsaka Family's long-cherished wish; the other was his daughter, Sakura.

His heart filled with two kinds of worry, Tokiomi Tohsaka's pace unconsciously quickened...

What was that mass of mana? Why had such an enormous amount of mana erupted from the direction of Mount Enzou?

Naturally, it was because...

Sakura was carrying out the Winter Saintess plan.

And that burst of mana just now... had happened entirely because... the new Winter Saintess—Irisviel—had been born.

There was no need for repairs, no need for adjustments.

Irisviel, whose bodily functions had already reached their limit, now floated before Sakura and the others in perfect health, dressed in the Heavenly Robe.

Sticking out his tongue and licking his lips, Orochimaru's eyes showed a trace of greed mixed with curiosity. Upon seeing the renewed Irisviel, he instinctively spoke in his raspy voice.

"Third Magic... the miracle Sakura spoke of... hehehe... Would you mind if I took a little tissue for research?"

Sakura glanced at Orochimaru, who had entered a state of "research frenzy." She had long grown accustomed to his chillingly deranged behavior whenever he encountered something like this.

But Sakura knew very well that now was not the time to deal with Orochimaru. Irisviel's condition was what mattered most.

Matou Irisviel...

Reaching out with her little hand, Sakura pulled Irisviel down from midair.

In Sakura's eyes, Irisviel was clearly very different from the innocent, gentle, and strong lady she had been before.

Sakura naturally could not help feeling anxious and worried about this outcome.

After going through all this trouble, Sakura did not want to revive the real Winter Saintess.

What she wanted was that lady, not... Justiça, whom she had never met and knew nothing about...

Fortunately, after Sakura pulled Irisviel back to the ground and she planted her feet on the earth again... Irisviel's aura changed back.

She slowly opened eyes that sparkled like rubies, then elegantly brushed aside her snow-white hair. Though she now possessed a little more sacred, ethereal charm, Sakura knew... the woman before her was still Irisviel!

Under Kurumi's slightly displeased gaze, Irisviel had only just opened her eyes and brushed back the hair before them. Whether out of instinct or gratitude that she could regain her health and live with Illya again—

In any case, once she was awake, Irisviel embraced Sakura like a gentle mother.

"Lord Sakura, I'm back..."

Pressed tightly against Irisviel's soft body, Sakura felt as though she had returned to her mother's womb. Happily, she reached out and stroked Irisviel's cheek under Kurumi's jealous gaze, making the lady's face flush bright red.

"Welcome back—Matou Irisviel!"

Zouken Matou looked at the still-radiant Great Holy Grail before him. Now a bound spirit beside the Great Holy Grail, he smiled... then his gaze became hollow, like that of a puppet...

"Justiça... your mission, our ideal... from now on, leave it to me."

It seemed that this was Zouken Matou's last remaining emotion. After saying those words... the Zouken Matou of old vanished completely from this world. From then on, there was no longer any Zouken Matou... only a bound spirit silently guarding the Great Holy Grail.

Just as Sakura and her group successfully turned Irisviel into the new generation's Winter Saintess and completely restored her bodily functions—

The outsiders who had sensed the earlier mana eruption had already arrived near Ryuudou Temple.

As for this group of outsiders who had come from all over, although about a third of Sakura's Fuyuki City surveillance system from the Holy Grail War had been damaged—

With so many unfamiliar Magi and Magic Users arriving at once, Sakura would have had to be blind not to notice them.

Although Sakura did not want to draw these people's attention and create even greater trouble—

Due to several factors involving Irisviel's body, Zouken Matou's body, and the Clock Tower, Sakura had no choice but to take a risk at this moment.

But even while taking a risk, Sakura had made preparations.

Sure enough, all these outsiders had their eyes fixed on Ryuudou Temple... while the Great Holy Grail truly located underground became a blind spot.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Touko Aozaki at the foot of Mount Enzou, Aoko Aozaki looked at Ryuudou Temple, where residual mana continued to leak out. It was obviously the site of the recent mana eruption, yet for some reason, she felt that something was wrong.

Touko Aozaki, beside her, was unlike Aoko Aozaki. As someone whose magecraft skill had nearly reached the ranks of the top Magi, she relied more on analyzing all kinds of evidence and signs than on mere intuition.

And without question, before the "trap" Sakura had set with Destiny Points, Touko Aozaki instead became convinced that Ryuudou Temple was the point of the eruption.

"I just feel like something's off..."

"I don't see what's wrong, Aoko... Magi use their brains, not their muscles!"

Sakura did not know what Magi relied on.

She relied on cheats. Walking through the rock cave carved out by the scouring of the ley lines as she returned to the surface, Sakura looked at the Panel, which showed only 8,370 units of destiny remaining, and smiled like a little fox that had stolen a chicken.

After all, trading 200 points for a Winter Saintess was profitable no matter how she looked at it.

And this Winter Saintess even came with an Illya. That made it an even bigger profit.

Besides, those 200 points spent... might even bring back more in a moment...

Just as Sakura's group brushed off their sleeves and departed after finishing their task—

On the surface, surrounding Ryuudou Temple—

The outsiders, who already belonged to a whole mess of different factions, had begun fighting.

No one knew who struck first, nor did anyone know what exactly they were fighting over inside Ryuudou Temple.

But a battle was always unavoidable, especially since... most of these people were "scum mercenaries" pulled straight from battlefields.

Gunfire and cannon blasts rang out as flames flew in every direction.

Curses, chants, wails, and cries of grief...

For a time, the area around Ryuudou Temple was soaked in the blood of these outsiders.

"Did these people really just start fighting like that?"

"What else would they do? Most of them are cannon fodder sent by various families, scum picked up from battlefields. I'd be more surprised if they didn't fight."

Flicking away ash from her cigarette, Touko Aozaki was long accustomed to such scenes. She lazily leaned against a tree, her eyes carrying a hint of provocation as she raised an eyebrow at Aoko Aozaki.

Aoko Aozaki did not take her sister's bait. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Kirei Kotomine, whose face was flushed and wore a sickly smile.

"...That guy isn't just a freak. He might actually be sick!"

"He really is sick. He was a participant in the previous Holy Grail War. It seems he was broken by his Servant."

Having arrived in Fuyuki City several days before Aoko Aozaki, Touko had approached Kirei Kotomine first to try her luck. Somehow gaining Kirei Kotomine's trust, she had already pried the entire story of his Holy Grail War experience out of him.

And precisely because of that, Touko Aozaki had not dealt with this broken pervert, Kirei Kotomine. Instead, she even felt a slight pity for him.

"Broken by his Servant? Tell me..."

Gossip always excited women. Though Aoko Aozaki was the Fifth Magic User, she was still a woman.

Touko Aozaki watched Aoko Aozaki's eager face and discreetly glanced at Kirei Kotomine. Seeing that his attention was entirely fixed on the battlefield up the mountain, she did not hide anything.

In a very calm tone, she recounted the story she had learned from Kirei Kotomine to her sister.

After hearing Kirei Kotomine's story, Aoko Aozaki looked at him with pity. Like her sister, she now felt somewhat sorry for him.

"He really was broken... What a pity. Once the emptiness in someone like him is filled, it isn't easy to change him back..."

Touko Aozaki's Split Personality

Arriving shoulder to shoulder before Ryuudou Temple's gate—

Faced with the truth that was about to be revealed, the Aozaki Sisters, whose enemies lay scattered behind them and who had not even broken a sweat, withdrew their hands from the temple gate at the same time.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it... That saying from across the continent goes something like that, right?"

"If I remember correctly..."

Her eyes fell on her sister Touko Aozaki's sensual lips. After answering Touko Aozaki, Aoko Aozaki, who believed this place was not where the earlier mana eruption had occurred, felt her intuition become even clearer.

"Tch, we were actually played..."

Dropping her half-smoked cigarette, Touko Aozaki suddenly gave off an icy aura. Clearly angry, she did not explain anything to her half-baked sister.

After tossing aside her cigarette, Touko Aozaki removed what appeared to be ordinary glasses but were actually a Mystic Code used to seal her Mystic Eyes—the Mystic Eyes Killer.

Every mercenary groaning on the ground within her sight was immediately restrained...

In that instant, the mercenaries who had been energetically cursing and wailing shut their noise-making mouths one after another, becoming motionless like lifelike wax figures.

"What are you planning to do?"

Aoko Aozaki gave Touko Aozaki a puzzled look. She did not mind her punishing these war hyenas, but it had been far too long since she had last seen her sister. Having gone years without speaking to her, Aoko Aozaki could no longer tell what her sister had become.

Thus, while Aoko Aozaki had no intention of stopping Touko Aozaki from punishing the fallen mercenaries, she still prepared herself to stop her sister from slaughtering them indiscriminately—especially since... Touko Aozaki had removed her glasses and revealed her second personality.

Yes, at some unknown point, Touko Aozaki had developed a split personality.

When she wore her glasses, she was subjective and full of human warmth, with an especially gentle tone. But when she removed them, she became highly objective and caustic, her voice turning cold and frosty.

As for which of Touko Aozaki's two personalities was the true primary personality, not even Touko herself knew, let alone Aoko Aozaki.

But one thing was certain: Aoko Aozaki greatly disliked the personality her sister displayed after taking off her glasses—the one that seemed capable of freezing people to the bone and appeared to lack any humanity at all.

Seemingly noticing Aoko Aozaki's subtle movements, Touko Aozaki had not wanted to fight her sister. Originally, she had planned to obtain information from these war hyenas before disposing of them completely.

After all, she was still under a Sealing Designation from the Mage's Association. It would be best if no news of her leaked out.

However, after noticing Aoko Aozaki's actions, she gave up on that plan.

With a snap of her fingers, an incomparably complex set of Mage Circuits appeared directly behind Touko Aozaki in the form of a Magic Circle.

Then, as streams of mana flowed from the Mage Circuits into the mercenaries' bodies... a large-scale Suggestion Magecraft took effect.

The gate of Ryuudou Temple, which had just been incredibly quiet, became an information marketplace the very next second.

More than thirty fallen mercenaries began spilling all the intelligence they possessed at once.

Faced with this chaotic scene, Aoko Aozaki simply felt a headache coming on. It was far too noisy, like dozens of flies buzzing nonstop.

But to Touko Aozaki, this was nothing. Not only did she not find it noisy, she easily remembered every piece of information that came from the mercenaries' mouths and sorted it all in her mind.

Just as Touko Aozaki grew increasingly bored and was about to make the mercenaries stop reporting this outdated garbage intelligence... one piece of information from a mercenary suddenly caught her attention.

"Kischur Zelretch still has a genuine Servant left over from the Holy Grail War? And that Servant defeated an assassination team led by a rank magus yesterday?"

She repeated that information aloud, and a flash of excitement appeared in her eyes.

Sub-Category Holy Grail Wars were not uncommon in this world.

But the overwhelming majority of them were little more than con artists' tricks.

Aside from being able to summon some unimpressive Shadow Servants, those capable of summoning proper Servants were almost unbelievably rare, much less true Servants like those in Fuyuki City's Holy Grail War.

Touko Aozaki had not come to Fuyuki City with any particular goal. She had simply found it inconvenient to stay in her own base while evading debts recently, so she had come over to see whether she could gain anything.

In fact, Touko Aozaki had not expected anything from this trip to Fuyuki City from the very beginning. If this Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City had not involved two Clock Tower Lords, she likely would not have come at all...