Hah! Women!

Fu Yuan suddenly pointed at Berserker with one hand, covered his left eye with the other, and leaped onto the steps before the door.

"You are worthy to follow in my footsteps. Rejoice, mortal."

Lancelot still stood there dumbly, showing no reaction at all.

"Berserker, assist Saber." Kariya Matou suddenly came to his senses and gave Berserker an order.

Only then did Lancelot move, taking a few steps forward to stand beside him.

Fu Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then pushed open the door and walked straight inside.

"Not bad. My son... friend Kariya possesses the makings of a Great Emperor."

The moment they entered the hall, it felt clearly different from outside. It was like a cellar that had not seen sunlight in years, every corner reeking of coldness and decay.

It could not really be called a smell. It was more like a sensation that acted directly upon the body—strange, but greatly amplified by the Child of Purity. Fu Yuan sniffed with his small nose and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

At the same time the two of them entered the castle, an old man leaning on a cane emerged from a dark, deep tunnel.

He walked slowly and naturally, as though he was not worried about the current situation in the slightest. Then he spoke unhurriedly.

"May I ask why Your Excellency, a Heroic Spirit, has come to visit the Matou Family today?"

"To meet the Emperor and refuse to bow is to forfeit your destined life. Your name is written upon the Stele of Reincarnation!" Sensing the decaying aura intensify severalfold the instant he emerged, Fu Yuan completely furrowed his little face. At the same time, he drew Heavenly Fire in preparation for battle and habitually delivered a vicious line.

"Are you certain you wish to make an enemy of the Matou Family for the sake of an abandoned child?" Feeling the aura emanating from that crimson greatsword, Zouken Matou's expression changed slightly.

However, he was not worried. Unless someone could instantly and utterly destroy every crest worm he had within the Matou Family, there was simply no possibility of him dying.

"To put it humbly, killing you would be as easy as slaughtering a dog." Fu Yuan looked at the confident Zouken Matou and spoke arrogantly.

Fu Yuan did not deny this man's past contributions, but merits and faults had never canceled one another out. Merit deserved reward, and wrongdoing deserved punishment. That was the principle he had always upheld.

"God will forgive you. My duty, however, is to send you to meet Him."

"Farewell, once-righteous companion—Makiri Zolgen."

"Heavenly Fire: Unsheathe."

Before the greatsword in his hand completely turned the house into a sea of fire, Zouken Matou showed a look of fear for the first time. He frantically activated spell after spell, but before the attack of a "god," everything was utterly meaningless.

Soon, the raging flames swept into every room, burning everything in sight and extinguishing all life. Under the precise control of Void Sword Qi, however, the outer shell of the building remained undamaged. After all, such a huge spectacle could not be explained away as a gas explosion.

Senior Sister, I'll leave the rest to you.

Then invisible ripples began spreading from his body into the surroundings, gradually extending until they had searched every corner of the castle.

No. At least, there are no other soul fluctuations in this house. Her tone was still cold, but now it seemed she was merely sulking.

Fu Yuan shook his arm, and the burns on it began healing continuously.

Heavenly Fire Self-Destruction truly lived up to its name!

"Fight over. Time to wrap up."

Dungeon Exploration Progress: 30%

Quest Completion: 100%

Rating: S

Rewards: Kariya Matou Affinity +50

Sakura Matou Affinity +60

Irisviel and Illya Trust +20

(Lol!)

Heh! Women!

Turning around and walking back out through the main entrance, only a few steps separated the inside from the outside completely. A single thought, and one side was heaven while the other was hell.

Once the injuries on his hand could no longer be seen, Fu Yuan conjured a fresh set of clothes and left the dungeon. Feeling the contrast between within and without, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky.

"Gazing into the future, all is chaos. Looking back, there is only emptiness behind me."

Irisviel, Kariya, and the others outside had been extremely tense. Seeing him emerge completely unharmed, they had intended to step forward and ask him a few questions. Yet faced with this situation, they instead froze in place, at a loss.

There was nothing particularly profound about Fu Yuan's current appearance. At least, Irisviel and the others could not sense anything like that from him.

The reason Irisviel and the others had stopped was the gate that had turned to ash with a light push from Fu Yuan, as well as Fu Yuan striking that pose the moment he emerged from the dust.

Look, Berserker had abruptly retreated several steps, putting distance between himself and that cloud of dust.

"Only when the sword heart is forged can one possess the courage of the sword. Once that courage emerges, only then can one roam the world unchallenged." Fu Yuan felt the strange looks from the others and immediately felt miserable. His act had failed!

It was all that damned gate's fault. Why was it so fragile? It could not even withstand Heavenly Fire's heat. What a useless thing. Leave the group already!

"If even such a trivial matter could make me retreat, then that would mean I..."

"Cough, cough, A Yuan, can anyone still live in there?" Irisviel suddenly interrupted him. Though it was a little rude, seeing A Yuan's face turn bright red, she felt that if she did not say something to end this topic, A Yuan might shut himself away for a long time.

"Cough. Whether anyone can live there is beside the point. What happened to Old Worm?" Kariya Matou had mixed with society before. Giving others a way out was already a skill he had mastered, so he followed along and changed the subject.

"Mm... dealt with." Fu Yuan lowered his head and murmured quietly.

This was so awkward!

The one who should have played along with your performance had instead turned a blind eye.

He would never play like this again. Ugh... he would remember them, Dark Magic Swordsman Kariya and that legally loli seven-year-old.

"Hm? Wait, Irisviel, why are you asking that?" Fu Yuan recovered from his embarrassment and stared at Irisviel in shock.

"I said I wouldn't interfere on Two, Four, Six. Why would I go back there?" Irisviel suddenly said unhappily, her face growing somewhat gloomy.

Fu Yuan looked at Kariya Matou, then at himself, and finally at Irisviel. The corner of his mouth twitched.

Irisviel seems really angry right now. So should I bring up this issue or not?

"Um, Irisviel, why don't you reconsider?" Fu Yuan quietly tried to dissuade her while giving Kariya Matou a meaningful look.

"...No need. Why would I go back there?" Irisviel was silent for a second before making up her mind and speaking firmly, paying no attention to Fu Yuan's little gesture.

Kariya Matou shrugged and returned a helpless look.

It had to be mentioned that although Fu Yuan had not restored Kariya Matou's lost vitality, at least his body could now move as it had in the past.

Fu Yuan sympathized with Kiritsugu Emiya for two seconds, then threw the matter to the back of his mind. If he could not control his lower half, could he really blame someone else?

"Then shall I book some rooms?"

After thinking about the scene inside for two seconds, Fu Yuan spoke rather enthusiastically.

"Book rooms? Can't the house be lived in anymore?"

Irisviel asked in confusion. Then she thought of the gate A Yuan had touched and seemed to understand something.

Kariya Matou looked completely bewildered. Then he looked at Berserker and conveyed his confusion through a Command Spell.

Berserker sensed the message transmitted through the Command Spell. A puzzled gleam appeared in his blood-red eyes. After staring blankly for a moment, he nodded.

After sensing his response, Kariya Matou became even more confused. After all, he had not felt anything outside.

"Mm, only the shell of the house remains. It's completely empty inside."

Fu Yuan spoke somewhat sheepishly, then added uncertainly.

"Though if we have furniture delivered now, maybe people can still live there by tonight?"

Kariya Matou refused to believe it and walked inside. The instant he crossed the "doorway," it was as though he had broken through some barrier.

Then a scorching wave rushed at him. He immediately closed his eyes to avoid being injured by the heat.

He silently backed out and looked at Fu Yuan with extreme speechlessness.

"You call this livable?"

Outside the house, Irisviel also felt a wave of heat rush over her. She first looked worriedly at Illya and Sakura, and after discovering they were fine, she turned to Fu Yuan with concern.

"A Yuan, are you really okay?"

Fu Yuan was stunned by that concerned question. Then he answered gently.

"...Don't worry, Irisviel. I'm fine."

He truly had not expected it. Even after becoming a familiar, he could still receive concern in a situation like this.

"Really fine?" Irisviel asked suspiciously again.

"Really fine!" Fu Yuan answered with complete certainty.

"...If your brain hasn't been cooked, why would you think anyone could live in a place like this?" Seeing that A Yuan really seemed fine, Irisviel relaxed, then spoke with complete seriousness.

Fu Yuan: "..." As expected, I was still too naive.

Kariya Matou: "Pfft!"

Sakura and Illya: "?!"

Fu Yuan looked at Irisviel with a complicated expression and complained, "How could you say something like that in this atmosphere?"

Irisviel thought seriously for two seconds before replying, "Because of your stupidity, A Yuan."

Fu Yuan stared in shock at Irisviel, who had said something so devastating with such a calm expression. He fell silent. Er Gouzi, you've changed!

"Well, there's no helping it. Let's go home!" Irisviel let out a sigh of relief, then put on a helpless expression and spoke as though nothing had happened.

"? Aren't we booking rooms?" Though Fu Yuan was somewhat shut down, he still looked at Irisviel in confusion, unable to understand why she was saying that.

"Cough, cough. For safety's sake, we should still go to Saber's base." Kariya Matou suddenly cut in, looking at Fu Yuan with some pity.

He's just a child. What could he understand?

Even though he still did not know what had happened, he could guess a little based on his years of personal experience abroad.

Fu Yuan paused, then understood. After all, it was only a change of form, not amnesia.

Then he suddenly covered his little face, ashamed of his own actions. At the same time, he added another entry for Dark Magic Swordsman Kariya to his little notebook: One Hundred Ingenious Uses of the Child of Purity (Get).

"Then let's go back, Irisviel." Fu Yuan calmed down and swore inwardly that he would think three times before acting in the future. Otherwise, it was simply too embarrassing.

"Mm, A Yuan, you can testify for me, right? I'm only going back because I have no choice," Irisviel said after taking two steps, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Mm-hm! Irisviel is only going back because she has no choice, not because she misses home—Kiritsugu!" Fu Yuan delivered the line in a flat tone. Looking at the somewhat embarrassed Irisviel, he sighed inwardly.

This won't do, Irisviel!

"Big brother's house? We're not living here?" Sakura timidly spoke only after they had finished talking.

She immediately drew everyone's attention, and Sakura shyly lowered her head again.

Seeing Sakura's reaction, Fu Yuan felt much more at ease. He crouched down and seriously patted her little head. It really was quite pleasant to the touch.

"Mm, we're going to big brother's house," Fu Yuan said after stroking her a few more times, watching Sakura's little face redden all the way to her ears.

Then he reluctantly withdrew his hand. Ah, this felt much better than Illya's. He looked with some regret at Little Illya, who was hopping about nearby.

Was it because she was too lively? Somehow, Illya did not seem as cute as Sakura.

Little Illya, who was hopping around ahead of them, suddenly turned her head. Then, somewhat puzzled, she turned back around.

Huh? It feels like someone is talking badly about Illya behind her back!

Fu Yuan looked at Little Illya's reaction, feeling completely bewildered. Was it merely a coincidence, or something else?

Why did his skills feel increasingly worthless?

After walking for a while, Fu Yuan seemed to remember something and said the same thing he had said a few chapters ago.

"Irisviel, are we really walking all the way back? It's dozens of kilometers!"

Everyone immediately stopped walking. They looked at one another like a group of idiots.

"Cough, cough. The car seems to be over there, and it's quite far too."

Irisviel spoke somewhat awkwardly. She had been angry earlier and had not paid attention to this at all! What were they supposed to do now?

The six of them: ...

"Let's go together! It's far, but at least it isn't dozens of kilometers." After remaining silent for a long time, Fu Yuan made the suggestion. Though he could run over and drive it back himself, he ultimately could not put his mind at ease.