Sakura Matou Rewrites Destiny

Though it smelled awful and tasted bitter and spicy.

For Rin's health, Sakura still forced her to down a large cup in one gulp...

Rin stared with big, watery eyes that looked on the verge of tears.

Her body was so weak and limp that she could not resist Sakura at all.

No matter how much she refused, Sakura ultimately picked up that foul-smelling, foul-tasting Magic potion and force-fed it into her stomach.

Rin endured the sudden heat rising inside her body and the nauseating urge to vomit.

The instant she drank the Magic potion, her strength returned. Almost at the same moment, Rin flipped Sakura onto the floor covered in thick carpeting.

Then, before Sakura could react to the sudden burst of monstrous strength from Rin.

Rin, whose stomach had been filled with disgusting stuff by her younger sister, pounced on Sakura and pinned her beneath her.

"Ahhh, Sakura, you actually made me drink something so disgusting! You've changed!"

"Mm... Why are you so strong...? Let go of me, let me get up..."

"No. Apologize. If you don't apologize, I'm not letting you up."

"Apologize? No! I did it for your own good, Sister. I'm not apologizing..."

Hearing Sakura's words, Rin knew that this had all happened because of her own willfulness. Her face could not help turning a little red, but a young girl's pride would not let Rin be defeated by a single sentence from Sakura.

"Even if it was my fault, that medicine tasted horrible... How about... Sakura, you drink some too, and then I'll forgive you."

"No way. I'm not sick, so why should I drink medicine?"

"Waaah... I don't care! Sakura, you bullied me, so you have to apologize!"

Who was bullying whom here...?

Faced with the inexplicable monstrous strength Rin had somehow developed, Sakura, pinned beneath her, was nearly in tears.

Yes, she had changed. After merging with the Foreign Soul, she was no longer Tohsaka Sakura, nor was she Rin's considerate little sister anymore.

But hadn't Rin changed as well?

Compared with the sister in Sakura's memories, Rin was clearly far more willful than before.

Was this some passive buff added by becoming an only child?

After a round of horseplay, Sakura ultimately refused to compromise, and Rin failed to get her way.

Though Rin's strength was practically monstrous for someone her age, Sakura, who often trained in basic ninja Body Techniques, could not even break free from Rin's restraint without using Qi...

But a young girl was still a young girl. Her lack of stamina was an obstacle Rin could never overcome at this age.

Thus, the tussle ultimately ended with Sakura successfully turning the tables and claiming victory.

After that intense "fight," coupled with having soaked in icy water for so long earlier.

The two young girls naturally began to feel ravenous.

Though Sakura had temporarily sent all the staff in the villa away because she wanted to be alone with Rin, whom she had not seen for so long, could the Matou Family's young lady possibly go hungry?

As Sakura's and Rin's stomachs began growling together.

A phone call was made from the villa, and the already-prepared meal was soon delivered there by car.

"Mmm, delicious... Sakura, do you usually eat this at the Matou Family?"

"More or less."

"That's nice... But it still can't compare to Mom's cooking..."

Seeing Rin's proud and happy expression the moment she mentioned their mother.

Sakura could not help smiling along with her.

"Oh, right. Sakura, you sounded so impressive when you made that call just now... Have you really become the head of the Matou Family?"

"Mm... The Matou Family is desperate to pass on its magecraft... As the heir, I naturally..."

"So you've learned Magecraft too, Sakura?"

"Mm, I have... It's just different from the Tohsaka Family's..."

Apparently misunderstanding what Sakura meant.

Rin suddenly set down her spoon after hearing that.

Then she took Sakura's hand and said.

"Mm, it's fine. The Matou Family is one of the Three Founding Families, after all... Sakura, you definitely won't be worse than me in the future."

"Mm. Sister, let's eat first. The food won't taste good once it gets cold."

Naturally, Sakura did not explain Rin's misunderstanding.

And Sakura had not lied to Rin either. She had indeed learned "Magecraft."

But what she had learned was not the Matou Family's inherited Water Magecraft or the Insect Magecraft later developed by Zouken Matou... Rather, it was the Harry Potter series Magecraft that Sakura had exchanged two months ago, when her Destiny Points had accumulated to 1,800.

Complete Hogwarts Study Materials for 500 points... and an Azkaban Graduation Guide for 300 points.

This was the Magecraft Sakura was currently learning.

Incidentally, what Rin had just drunk was a Harry Potter series Magic potion that Sakura had modified for use in the Type-Moon world.

Of course, Sakura's exchange for Harry Potter series magic to study did not mean she had abandoned the Yellow Court Scripture, nor did it mean she intended to change the path she had initially laid out.

The Harry Potter series magic and its knowledge were merely a temporary transition for Sakura.

After all, Sakura had already begun creating a butterfly effect that would influence this world and the future, so she now needed some means of self-protection.

Harry Potter, inexpensive and versatile, naturally became Sakura's choice...

Of course, the reason this series of magic and knowledge was so cheap was because Sakura had exchanged study materials rather than receiving direct implantation...

Zouken's Rebellion?

December 31, 1993.

On the final day of 1993, sudden snowfall made Fuyuki City, a small coastal city in the Far East, look exceptionally cold.

As people bundled themselves tightly against the sharp drop in temperature brought by the snow.

At a key position on a Ley Line Node somewhere in Fuyuki City, within an underground cavern formed by flowing mana, Zouken Matou, who was installing the Pseudo-Holy Grail under Orochimaru's watch, wished he could peel off his own skin.

It was hot. Far too hot.

After the Ley Lines had been reversed, the mana erupting rapidly from the Great Holy Grail had turned the entirety of Fuyuki City's underground into a forbidden zone for life.

For ordinary people, this was undoubtedly precious and abundant geothermal energy.

But for Magi, such a harsh mana environment was enough to burn out their Mage Circuits directly.

The same was naturally true for Zouken Matou.

The Mage Circuits Orochimaru had transplanted into Zouken Matou's body were all burning fiercely.

If someone approached Zouken Matou now, they could even smell something scorched.

Even so, Zouken Matou did not utter a single complaint. Under the surveillance of several special snakes as thick as thighs, he wore a twisted smile and continued the installation of the Pseudo-Holy Grail with meticulous care.

As the final rune was carved by Zouken Matou into the Ley Line passage against the rushing flow of mana.

In almost the blink of an eye, the violent mana that had been rampaging through the Ley Lines vanished. Like countless rivers returning to the sea, it all poured into the Pseudo-Holy Grail before Zouken Matou.

Looking at the magnificent result of his own making, a trace of pride naturally appeared on Zouken Matou's face as the Pseudo-Holy Grail was successfully installed.

He lightly flexed his fingers.

Feeling the nearly inexhaustible mana deep within his soul.

Zouken Matou's smile became twisted once more, and a terrifying killing intent suddenly lit up in his eyes.

That was right. Even under Orochimaru's surveillance, this top magus who had lived for over five hundred years had still tampered with the Pseudo-Holy Grail.

By cutting off a small part of his soul, shaping it into a lesser Holy Grail, and placing it as the core at the center of the Pseudo-Holy Grail... Zouken Matou had regained his ability to cast spells.

However, just as Zouken Matou prepared to break through his own seals in one stroke, use Insect Magecraft again, turn the battered body he was currently using into nourishment, and urgently hatch a swarm of Engraved Insects to form a brand-new body and regain his freedom.

Zouken Matou's face suddenly turned pale. Then, as though suffering immense pain, he dropped to his knees before the Pseudo-Holy Grail.

With a retching sound.

A massive white python suddenly burst from Zouken Matou's mouth, which had stretched far beyond its limits. Then... Orochimaru, the nightmare who had tampered with his body countless times and performed endless experiments on him, writhed out of that white snake like a venomous serpent.

"If I were you, I would immediately stop this foolish behavior..."

He slowly rose from a mass of slime.

As though a gentle breeze brushed past him, he sidestepped the incoming magecraft. Then Orochimaru, smiling, fixed his snake-like eyes tightly on Zouken Matou's.

Because the worlds were different, Orochimaru had indeed suffered severe weakening in the Type-Moon world.

Not only had Chakra become sluggish in this world and dwindled drastically in quantity, all the modifications he had made to his body had vanished... Even some of Orochimaru's signature Ninjutsu had become impossible to use because of the environment.

But Orochimaru was still Orochimaru. With his mastery of the core technologies of the Ninjutsu world, along with his former knowledge and Sakura's nearly limitless support, he could barely restore part of his former power and methods.

Yet it was precisely because of this that Orochimaru, who had devoted most of his time and research to restoring his strength in this world, had allowed Zouken Matou to exploit the stagnation of his magecraft research.

Fortunately, Orochimaru had long since tampered with Zouken Matou's body.

Just as Orochimaru currently knew very little about magecraft, how could Zouken Matou possibly understand the unfamiliar system of Ninjutsu?

A tiny cluster of cells instantly multiplied into a body within him and could even carry the consciousness of a clone... There were similar methods in magecraft, but none could be as effortless as what Orochimaru had just displayed.

Yet Zouken Matou had not lost.

So what if he had been discovered? Zouken Matou had regained his ability to cast spells.

"Hehehe... Mr. Orochimaru truly has remarkable methods. This energy called Chakra has truly opened my eyes as well... But if the Mage's Association learned of it... what would happen, I wonder? This old man very much wishes to know."

With malice and greed flowing through his eyes, and the corners of his mouth nearly splitting to his ears, Zouken Matou calmly began casting Insect Magecraft and transforming his body right before Orochimaru.

However, just as Zouken Matou dissolved the clone body covered in various seals, then hatched countless Engraved Insects and began gathering them into a new body.

A strange cloud of black mist suddenly descended before him and Orochimaru, then transformed directly into... Sakura.

"It won't have any effect, Grandfather, because you won't get the chance to tell anyone..."

At the sight of Sakura, terror, hatred, rage, and countless other emotions filled Zouken Matou's rotten heart almost instantly.

He pushed his mana to its limit and condensed a temporary new body as quickly as possible.

Facing the culprit who had reduced him to such a state, Zouken Matou, who had barely been able to maintain his usual composure before Orochimaru, had now become a man-eating beast.

His bloodshot eyes, nearly bulging from their sockets with rage, and his teeth grinding with a creak, all revealed Zouken Matou's hatred for Sakura.

"Not even going to pretend anymore, grandfather? Looking at you like this, you're really... disgracing the Matou Family... Forget it, let's keep this short. If I waste too much time on you, Sister will be unhappy when she can't find me later!"

"Sharp-tongued... Enjoy it while you can. Before long, you'll be living in terror under the Mage's Association's pursuit, and in the end, you'll be placed under Sealing Designation and soaked in a tank of formalin."

Sakura curled her lips disdainfully.

Completely unconcerned by Zouken Matou's words, Sakura looked at him as he raged like a mad dog.

She casually took a severed hand from her small shoulder bag and threw it directly before Zouken Matou.

"Sealing Designation, huh? Aren't you the same? The Makiri Zolgen who has lived for five hundred years and participated in the creation of the Great Holy Grail..."

The Insects Dancing in Her Palm...

Sealing Designation was no pleasant term.

In the Magecraft world, saying that someone would receive a Sealing Designation was practically the same as cursing them to die a horrible death.

That was because Sealing Designation was itself a special term created by the Mage's Association, a "hegemonic" organization, for imprisoning and capturing Magi with rare talents or those who had violated taboos in the name of "protection."

Once someone was placed under Sealing Designation and fell into the Mage's Association's hands, all that awaited them was hell.

Generally speaking, captured Magi would be dissected alive for research, then preserved alive and carefully stored in Tanks of formalin...

Death and suffering were not things orthodox Magi feared. After all, the pursuit of the Root and exploration of magecraft were the meaning of a magus's existence.