Kirei, having finished laughing, put on the fervent yet devout expression of a martyr, pocketed the test tube, and headed toward Fuyuki Church.
The moment Rin entered the Western-style manor, she saw Da Vinci anxiously shouting at the top of her lungs.
"What happened, Da Vinci?!"
The moment Da Vinci saw Rin, she hurried over, grabbed her arm, and said,
"Rin, this is bad! One vial of Gry's blood is missing!"
"Alright, alright. It's just a vial of blood. Maybe you carelessly tossed it into some corner and forgot about it. Gry is still here, so just draw another vial."
Da Vinci raised her head, stared at the ceiling, thought for a moment, then nodded in sudden realization.
"That's right! I can just draw another vial of Gry's blood!"
Rin looked at Da Vinci, who had started fooling around again, and asked,
"Da Vinci, where's Touko?"
"Touko should be in the study right now. Does Rin need something from her?"
"Yeah. Da Vinci, please tell Waver to wait for me in the basement. I'll go find Touko first."
With that, Rin turned and headed for the study.
Touko, who was flipping through fashion magazines in the study to pass the time, put down the magazine in her hands and looked at Rin as she pushed open the door.
"Rin, what is it at this hour?"
"Touko, the plan is moving up! Please break the seal and start the Holy Grail War now!"
"Wait, Rin. Yuki and Aoko won't arrive until tomorrow. Are you sure you want to start the Holy Grail War today?"
Rin nodded at the puzzled Touko.
"Yes, Touko. Do you remember the Sajyou Manaka I told you about?"
"Of course. I don't think any Magus who heard about Sajyou Manaka, someone connected to the Root from birth, could ever forget her!"
"Sajyou Manaka has come to Fuyuki City too, and she's also a Master!"
"You ran into her today?"
Facing Touko's question, Rin ground her teeth as she answered.
"Yes! I met her today, and she gave me a 'lesson' I'll never forget for the rest of my life!"
Touko looked at Rin, raised a hand to cover her lips, and snickered.
"Looks like it was quite an impressive 'lesson'!"
"Damn it, Touko, you're actually making fun of me!"
Seeing Touko snickering, Rin leaped at her, intending to grab Touko and give her a thorough 'working over.'
Touko nimbly dodged Rin's pounce, then raised a hand to signal for her to stop.
"Alright, Rin. Since you've made up your mind, I'll send a puppet to destroy the seal. Then I should leave this place and activate my workshop. Leave Yuki and Aoko to me. Tomorrow, I'll take them to my workshop and support you in this Holy Grail War."
Rin pulled a communication gemstone from her clothes and placed it in Touko's hand.
"Touko, I'm counting on you!"
"Then I'll go pack up and get ready to leave. I've already activated the puppet on Mt. Ryudou. The seal should be destroyed in about five minutes. Take care of yourself, Rin!"
"You too, Touko."
On Mt. Ryudou, outside the ruins of the Garden of Avalon, a puppet Touko had disguised as a stone rapidly transformed into human form upon activation.
The puppet raised its head and used the device Touko had installed in its head to swiftly lock onto the path Touko had previously drawn with magical energy. Amid a series of cracking sounds, it quickly broke into the Garden of Avalon.
A violent explosion came from within the Garden of Avalon. Then soaring malice poured out from inside, and the nearby small animals began fleeing madly as though they had encountered their natural predators.
"Rin Tohsaka, hahahahahaha! I'm out! Wait for my revenge!"
Angra Mainyu reappeared in the world as the seal shattered.
Suddenly, countless bands of light stretched toward Angra Mainyu from all directions and tightly bound him. Then Rin Tohsaka's voice echoed through the empty hall.
"You should be free now, Angra Mainyu. But don't worry, I won't let you interfere with the Holy Grail War. Please stay here obediently until it's over. Oh, and this is a recorded message!"
As the countless bands of light wound tighter and tighter around him, Angra Mainyu let out a roar!
"Damn it! Damn you, Rin Tohsaka!"
Then, as more and more bands of light wrapped around him, Angra Mainyu was completely bound and fell silent.
At the same time, a large number of dolls sleeping within the Garden of Avalon were activated and began patrolling vigilantly through its interior. Countless magical traps were activated as well, awaiting uninvited intruders.
In the basement of the Tohsaka Villa, Rin sensed the immense magical energy emanating from the direction of Mt. Ryudou and calmly nodded to Waver beside her.
The two each walked before a magic circle and simultaneously took out their respective Holy Relics, placing them beside the circles.
Rin and Waver exchanged a glance.
"Let's begin." X2
As the two chanted, the magic circles before them shone brilliantly at the same time. Two violent surges of magical energy erupted from the circles, making Gry and Da Vinci, who were watching the ritual nearby, unable to resist covering their eyes.
"King, it's been a long time!"
"Yo! Kid, it seems many years have passed? You've actually become a man!"
Just as Waver and the King of Conquerors he had longed for gazed deeply at each other.
Gilgamesh, who had just been summoned, stood bare-chested, the red magical patterns on his body exposed. He frowned as he looked at the little girl who had summoned him.
Suddenly, a stream of memories seemed to pass from his original body into Gilgamesh. The expression on Gilgamesh's face changed instantly as he looked at Rin.
"Rin, you've grown up. Come, form a contract with me!"
Rin did not answer Gilgamesh. She merely raised the Command Spells left over from the previous Holy Grail War and displayed them before him.
"Hahahahaha! As expected of you, Rin. You actually used an irregular summoning. That truly surprises me!"
"Of course, Gil. How could I possibly follow the predetermined future? Didn't expect that, did you?"
"Hahahahaha!"
The King of Conquerors walked over to Gilgamesh, who was standing there laughing wildly, and looked at Gilgamesh and Rin.
"Hahaha, a long-awaited reunion. Former enemies are allies now, huh? Do you remember my proposal, King of Heroes? Rin, this time, let's build an unmatched army!"
Recommended: "Illya's Infinite Multiversal Journey"
Section 82: Chapter 79: Servants Appear One After Another!
Matou Residence.
Shinji Matou, who was sleeping soundly in bed, suddenly felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand.
"What's going on?!"
Still groggy, Shinji Matou raised his left hand. The moment he saw the Command Spells emerging on the back of it, he instantly woke up.
"Command Spells! The Holy Grail War! Hahahahaha!"
At that moment, the bedroom door was suddenly opened. Shinji Matou looked in disbelief at the figure entering from outside. Though his memories had become hazy, no one could completely forget Zouken Matou's distinctive appearance.
"Grandpa? No, Grandpa should have died in the previous Holy Grail War! Who are you?!"
"Hehehe, Shinji, my good grandson, have you forgotten Grandpa already?"
Memories from his childhood flooded Shinji Matou's mind. There's no mistake! This is Grandpa's way of speaking. Could this really be Grandpa? But didn't he die in the previous Holy Grail War?
Zouken Matou saw Shinji Matou's confusion and, with a smile, brought out the excuse he had prepared long ago to explain.
"Shinji, I didn't die. Although Rin Tohsaka nearly killed me back then, I had to hide all these years to avoid her pursuit. Now that you, Shinji, have obtained the qualifications for the Holy Grail War, there is no need for me to keep hiding!"
"Rin? How could that be? Aren't we both among the Three Great Families? Why would Rin want to kill you? That's impossible!"
"Of course it was for the Holy Grail. Don't you want the Holy Grail too, Shinji?"
"No! That's not right. Rin may be crude and short-tempered, but she would never take the initiative to attack someone else, much less Grandpa, who is also one of the Three Great Families! There must be another reason! And if Rin really did it, then that guy and I should have been killed by Rin too!"
Zouken Matou's expression darkened instantly.
"That guy Tsuruno is truly useless. He couldn't even raise you properly!"
"Ah!"
At Zouken Matou's words, Shinji Matou felt a sharp pain in his heart. He involuntarily rolled off the bed and onto the floor, clutching his chest and howling in agony.
"Shinji, you'll cooperate with Grandpa, won't you? Otherwise, your heart will keep hurting like this. Hehehe."
In pain, Shinji Matou raised his head in confusion and looked at the grandfather coldly sneering at him.
"Why? Aren't you my grandfather? Why are you treating me like this?!"
"Hehehe, Shinji, the blood in your veins was bestowed upon you by me, and your surname was given to you by me. You are merely my tool. Now that I need you to repay me, obediently become my tool for obtaining the Holy Grail! Hehehe!"
Shinji Matou instantly fell into despair upon hearing those words.
Ever since Tsuruno Matou learned that his son had been turned into Zouken Matou's nest, Tsuruno Matou, who had never been a qualified father to begin with, completely ignored Shinji Matou from then on. When Shinji Matou was young, he had even nearly starved him to death several times.
However, after being warned by Zouken Matou, such incidents no longer occurred. Still, his attitude toward Shinji Matou only became worse. Although Shinji Matou became a Magus, his half-baked skills meant he could not leave the Matou family and live independently. He could only cling to life in this household.
Yet Shinji Matou had still held onto a sliver of hope. Once he came of age, he could leave this place and follow the example of his uncle, Kariya Matou, by escaping. But Zouken Matou's words had shattered Shinji Matou's last shred of hope.
That's right. I'm just a tool, a tool of the Matou family...
At that moment, Kiritsugu Emiya walked in through the door. Seeing Shinji Matou lying on the floor with hollow eyes, he frowned tightly.
"Zouken, have you really decided?"
"Hehehe, Emiya, isn't that only natural? I'm simply handling this tool according to our plan. This is all for the Holy Grail, for salvation. Isn't that what you agreed with, Emiya? Hehehehe."
Kiritsugu Emiya said nothing more. He merely walked silently outside the Matou Residence, sat on the steps, and lit a cigarette.
"Master, is this really alright? You feel sympathy for that boy too, don't you? Must a young boy truly bear a life arranged and controlled by others?"
"Assassin, it's fine. The Holy Grail... As long as I obtain the Holy Grail, I can save all of this! That's right, I can save all of this. I definitely can!"
Zouken Matou led Shinji Matou, who was like a puppet, into the basement.
After arranging everything Shinji Matou needed to do, he leaned on his cane and walked over to the Servant standing nearby.
"Begin, Shinji!"
The numb Shinji was easily controlled by the Crest Worms now that nothing interfered with them, and he began the Servant summoning ritual.
As brilliant light flared, King Arthur returned to the world.
"You are my Master... Ah!"
Just as King Arthur was about to complete the contract ritual, she was suddenly infected by the malice transmitted through Shinji's contract. In pain, she threw down Excalibur, clutched her head, and fell to her knees.
As a flash of intertwined black and red light passed by, the ahoge atop King Arthur's head drooped as well, and Saber Alter appeared.
"Perfect. What do you think, Saintess?"
"Tch! Old man, don't you think what you're doing is disgusting?"
"Hehehe, then this old man apologizes to you. Next, I'll have to trouble you. Hand Shinji over to Angra Mainyu."
"That useless thing? Fine, I understand. But it seems the people in front of us don't intend to let us do that."
Saber Alter looked disdainfully at the Master and Servant before her and slowly picked up Excalibur from the ground. The instant Saber Alter touched Excalibur, the golden holy sword turned into a black demonic sword.
"You two, what are you whispering about over there? Why haven't you presented food to me yet?!"
Zouken Matou froze upon hearing Saber Alter's words. Then he stepped forward and answered.
"Hehehe, great King, this old man will see to it immediately!"
Seeing Zouken Matou's response, Saber Alter nodded in satisfaction, then swept a hand grandly.
"As long as you offer food that satisfies me, you can take the one on the ground if you want him..."
Fuyuki Cathedral Church.
Before you continue