As one of the Magi, Tokiomi Tohsaka naturally understood this better than anyone.
However, he was about to participate in the Holy Grail War.
He himself could not be certain that he would return alive from this Holy Grail War.
Therefore, before that, he had to make arrangements for his family.
Adopting Sakura Tohsaka into the Matou family was one of those arrangements.
This was done to obtain the Matou family's Magic Crest, ensuring that Sakura's talent would not be wasted and that she would have better prospects in the future.
At the same time, when Sakura became the head of the Matou family in the future as Mato Sakura, the Tohsaka family could use Sakura's connection to them to place the Tohsaka and Matou families firmly in the same boat, strengthening the Tohsaka family's influence.
However, no matter how thoroughly Tokiomi Tohsaka calculated, he never expected that the Matou family had already switched to Bug Arts.
Zouken Matou's soul had long since rotted and fallen into depravity. He was an old worm in every sense of the word.
The Matou family was now a genuine nest of worms.
Tohsaka... no, she should be called Mato Sakura now.
Mato Sakura nervously looked up at Zouken Matou. A child's keen intuition made her feel something unpleasant emanating from him.
However, she knew that her father had already adopted her into the Matou family. She would be a member of this place from now on.
Thinking of this, Mato Sakura gathered her courage, walked over to Zouken Matou, and said, "Grandfather."
Type-Moon Main Quest: Kill the Worm, Save Sakura
"Hahaha, what an obedient and sensible granddaughter." Zouken Matou was briefly stunned before bursting into hearty laughter. Deep within his eyes, intense greed surfaced.
"Don't worry, my good granddaughter. I'll give you the very best of everything."
"In that case, Sakura is in your care, Head of the Matou family." A trace of satisfaction appeared in Tokiomi Tohsaka's eyes as he looked at Mato Sakura.
He then gave Zouken Matou another aristocratic salute before turning and returning to his car, leaving the Matou family estate.
Seeing this, Zouken Matou could no longer suppress the upward curve of his lips. An evil smile appeared on his aged, wrinkled face.
"Come with me, Sakura. I'll take you to inherit the Matou family's Magic Crest." Having said that, Zouken Matou impatiently led Mato Sakura into the mansion.
A sudden sense of foreboding rose in Mato Sakura's heart, but she was only a child. Even if she had her own thoughts, she still had to obey the adults' arrangements.
Mato Sakura followed Zouken Matou through the mansion's long corridors, winding around until they reached the basement.
Mato Sakura and Zouken Matou descended the stairs all the way down to a platform, where Mato Sakura finally saw the basement in its entirety.
Countless insects gathered in the pools below, crawling with soft rustling sounds as sharp, clear insect cries echoed from within.
Even an adult would have felt a chill run down their spine and broken out in cold sweat at such a sight.
Let alone a child like Mato Sakura.
Her cute, fair little face had already turned deathly pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Grandfather, what are you going to do?"
Zouken Matou looked at Mato Sakura. Though she was terrified and her body had gone weak, she still had not collapsed to the ground, which surprised him slightly.
She was clearly only a child, yet she performed far better than his previous family members.
This child, Mato Sakura, had truly exceeded his expectations.
"Of course, I'm preparing your Magic Crest!"
"Hahaha—did that brat Tokiomi Tohsaka really think this old man didn't know what he was planning?!"
"Doesn't he just want to use his younger daughter to obtain the Matou family's Magic Crest and the Matou family's magical power?!"
"It was a good plan, but he had no idea that his 'kindness' had pushed his beloved daughter into a pit of fire."
Zouken Matou did not conceal anything and bluntly revealed the truth.
After all, what ability did a mere child like Mato Sakura have to resist him?
"To thank you for delivering such wonderful 'material' right to me."
"Tokiomi Tohsaka! I will properly train your daughter into an outstanding Magus."
With that, Zouken Matou turned his ill-intentioned gaze toward Mato Sakura.
Before he could make a move, a loud boom rang out as the ceiling was suddenly smashed open with a huge hole!
A figure fell from above and stomped heavily onto Zouken Matou's body.
"Fuck! Old worm." Looking at Zouken Matou beneath his foot as though he had stepped on something filthy, Su Luo kicked him straight into the "sea of worms."
His face was filled with utter disgust and revulsion.
He then turned to Mato Sakura, who was still shaken with fear. Seeing that she was unharmed, he reached up and wiped away nonexistent sweat from his forehead.
"Phew, good thing I got here in time." Su Luo let out a long breath.
While on the Vimana, he had found quite a few potions and elixirs from the Gate of Babylon that enhanced magical energy and physical attributes.
He swallowed all of them in one go as casually as if he were eating a meal.
Under such reckless behavior, not only did his physical constitution rapidly improve, but magical energy even began to form within his body.
In just a few minutes, his physical attributes and magical energy underwent an enormous transformation.
The quantity and intensity of his magical energy had already surpassed that of most Magi in the Type-Moon world, while his physical constitution was strong enough to leave him completely unharmed after falling from high in the air.
Fortunately, his adaptability was now incredibly powerful. Otherwise, he would likely have exploded and died the moment he swallowed those magical potions.
"Master, I'm back!" Melly ran back to Su Luo's side with delight.
"Is everything ready?" Su Luo asked.
"Of course. I've already dealt with the backup measures this guy left behind, and I even set up a barrier. This old worm definitely won't leave the Matou family alive!" Melly said confidently, patting her chest.
As Britain's legendary Court Mage and King Arthur's mentor, if she let a modern Magus escape, she might as well smash her head into a block of tofu!
"Good. Then I'll leave this old worm to you."
"Eh?! Master, don't do this! Can you really bear to make a Magical Girl face a pile of bugs?"
"What if some adults-only scenario happens? Wouldn't I be in trouble? Use your Gate of Babylon to think of something instead!" Hearing that, Melly grabbed Su Luo's sleeve, and a pitiful expression immediately appeared on her beautiful face.
She perfectly embodied the meaning of looking utterly pitiful.
Who knew whether Melly was truly a succubus or a demoness?
After silently mocking her in his heart, Su Luo forcibly suppressed the fluttering feelings in his chest.
He turned toward an inconspicuous bug in the swarm that was trying to sneak away and said calmly, "Are you sure you aren't going to act? He's trying to escape."
Hearing this, Zouken Matou immediately controlled his insect body and flew at top speed toward the basement exit.
He had heard Su Luo and Melly's conversation just now.
He knew how powerful Servants were.
If it had been another Servant, perhaps he could have stalled with magic and used it to escape.
However, their conversation had made it clear that the silver-haired Servant before him was a Caster.
Trying to defeat a Caster in magic was practically impossible.
Especially in his current half-crippled state, with his physical body destroyed.
Thus, he had never entertained any thoughts of resistance. He only wanted to seize an opportunity to slip away while Su Luo and Melly lowered their guard.
Yet he had not expected that even while flirting, Su Luo and Melly had still noticed his intention to flee.
In that case, he could only make one final gamble!
Zouken Matou controlled most of the swarm to surge toward Su Luo and Melly, while the remaining small portion clustered around him and escorted him out of the Matou family estate.
Melly calmly looked at Zouken Matou. Her bright amethyst eyes bloomed with a soul-stirring radiance.
As Zouken Matou flew at high speed, he felt a powerful force forcibly intrude into his soul, and he immediately let out a pained wail.
The next moment, Zouken Matou's soul, along with the bug that housed it, exploded!
The scene was an utter mess.
This was Melly's inherent skill, Succubus's Shore.
With just one glance, she could interfere with an enemy's mind and absorb their magical energy.
Naturally, Melly found Zouken Matou's rotten, depraved soul disgusting and had no interest in absorbing his magical energy. Instead, she chose the more direct method of erasing his mind and soul outright.
For her, Blue Star's last succubus, such a minor matter could not have been simpler.
After eliminating Zouken Matou, the disgust and revulsion on Melly's face transformed into a sly smile.
She moved close to Su Luo, wrapped her arms around one of his, and said in a suggestive tone, "Master, everything has been settled. Considering how hard I worked, could you give me a little reward?"
From now on, I'll Take Care of You
Su Luo glanced at his arm and said flatly, "Sure, but wait until we find somewhere to settle down first."
After saying that, Su Luo ignored Melly.
He did not give Melly a chance to state the reward she wanted.
After all, he could tell from the way Melly looked at him that the reward she wanted was definitely not something proper.
It would have been fine elsewhere. Even if Melly had not mentioned it, he would have properly rewarded the Servant who had worked so hard for him.
But not now. Mato Sakura was still here.
If Melly said something explicit in front of a child, who knew whether Mato Sakura would grow up in some strange direction?
Thinking this, Su Luo crouched down until he was at eye level with Mato Sakura.
His warm hand rested atop Mato Sakura's head, giving her a gentle pat as he smiled softly.
"Little sister, what's your name? You weren't scared too badly, were you?"
"No, I'm Tohsaka..." Mato Sakura had already recovered somewhat from her fright. Looking at the big brother who had saved her, she instinctively wanted to say her original name.
But she suddenly remembered what Zouken Matou had said, as well as the fact that Tokiomi Tohsaka had adopted her into the Matou family. Her eyes dimmed, and she immediately corrected herself. "No, I'm Mato Sakura. I was adopted from my original family into the Matou family."
She had first experienced the pain of being separated from her family, then Zouken Matou's malicious intentions, and the shattering of her father's noble and upright image.
Mato Sakura was now completely lost.
She did not want to return to the Tohsaka family. If she went back, her father would most likely adopt her out to another family again, forcing her to endure the pain of separation from her biological parents.
And Zouken Matou was dead. There was no one else in the mansion, and she was only a child. She could not survive alone in this mansion forever.
She could only seek an adult's help.
Thinking this, Mato Sakura looked at Su Luo. "Big brother, can I stay with you from now on?"
"I can do laundry, cook, and clean. As long as you don't make me leave, I'll do anything."
Her voice carried a trace of tears as she spoke, and her eyes were filled with hope and nervousness.
Compared to returning to the Tohsaka family, she preferred staying with this big brother who had saved her from the sea of suffering that was the Matou family.
"Mm, don't worry. I'll take care of you from now on." Su Luo gently stroked Mato Sakura's head.
He then picked up Mato Sakura and returned to the Vimana together with Melly.
However, before leaving, he looked at the Matou family mansion. No matter how he looked at it, he felt vaguely uneasy, so he turned to Melly and asked, "Melly, how strong an attack can the barrier you set up withstand?"
"Not bad, I suppose. I set it up in a hurry, so it can only withstand an attack from an ordinary Servant using a Noble Phantasm."
"You aren't thinking of using the Ancient Nuclear Warhead here, are you?!" Melly first humbly demonstrated her abilities, then suddenly realized something and looked at Su Luo in astonishment.
It was difficult not to think in that direction.
On one hand, Su Luo's name made it clear that he came from the neighboring Eastern Great Nation, whose people held a natural hostility toward the Island Nation.
On the other hand, Su Luo was currently controlling the Vimana.
And the Vimana was equipped with all manner of Noble Phantasm systems and weapons.
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