"Truly beautiful." The young man smiled in admiration. "After not seeing you for a year, Old Man Matou's mastery of the tea ceremony has grown even more refined. I am deeply impressed."
"When one grows old, one naturally becomes interested in such time-consuming pursuits." The gaunt elder, dry as firewood, smiled as he responded to his guest's praise. "It seems the effort this old man has spent on it was not wasted."
Yet his voice was hoarse and grating, like rusted iron scraping against the floor. His smile, distorted by his appearance, was sinister and terrifying. He was a hundred thousand miles away from the kind and amiable old grandpa of fairy tales—more like an evil ghost lingering in the human world.
No, this fellow was an undead spirit shackled to the human world, a monster that did not belong to this era, the guest thought.
Zouken Matou, the founding head of the Matou Family six generations ago, a Grand Mage who had lived for five hundred years. A Bug Master. One of the creators of the Holy Grail War, the inventor of the Command Spell system, a man who in his prime had been capable of rivaling Heroic Spirits.
Unfortunately, that had been the man he once was. Now, he was merely an evil heretic burdened with countless atrocities.
Yet this former hero and current villain sighed. "If this old man's descendants possessed even a tenth of Li-kun's talent, I could finally let go."
That was a lie. Zouken Matou—no, Matou Zouken's obsession was immortality. Even if he had to live like a slug in a dark, damp underground chamber or parasitize others like a bloodsucking insect, he would accept it.
"The decline of Magic Circuits does not mean the end of a bloodline. Please keep your spirits up and do not abandon hope." The youth lifted his tea bowl and took a sip. "As long as you return to your ancestral homeland or marry into a local family, reactivating sealed Magic Circuits will not be difficult."
"Even so, it will be a long process." The old man shook his head and sneered at his descendants. "The children of these recent generations can no longer bear the Matou name. They do not even qualify to participate in the Holy Grail War."
"Perhaps the Matou Family no longer has the qualifications to participate in this feast for magi." Matou Zouken complained thus, yet his eyes remained fixed on the youth seated before him, keen light gleaming from within his sunken eye sockets.
"Old Man Matou, did I not come here to ease your worries?" Li Zihan smiled as he removed the glove from his left hand, revealing three crimson strokes that freely formed the head of a roaring lion.
"It is truly the Matou Family's honor to receive Li-kun's assistance." An exceedingly stiff smile stretched across the old man's face, making him resemble a corpse rising from the dead—grim and terrifying.
Old Worm's body had already reached its limit. Before long, he would need to change bodies. Smelling the stench of decay on the old man, far stronger than when they had last met, Li Zihan came to that conclusion.
"I should be the one giving thanks." Li Zihan put his glove back on. "If not for Senior gifting me the Magic Crest, I would not be where I am today."
"Leaving the Crest to a gifted junior is far better than handing it to worthless descendants." Old Worm raised his tea bowl, took a sip, and continued, "When Li-kun achieves victory, this old man is willing to gift you the remaining Magic Crest as a congratulatory present."
"Then I thank Old Man Matou once again." Li Zihan drained the matcha from his cup, then rose to his feet. "It is getting late. It is time to prepare for the war."
"Will you not go see Sakura?" The old man used his cane to support himself as he stood. "She has been mentioning you often lately."
"There is no need. We have plenty of time ahead of us; there is no need to rush." Li Zihan's expression grew somewhat melancholy, and he sighed. "There are more important matters to deal with now."
"Are you preparing for the coming battle?" Old Worm tapped the wooden cane in his hand and said slowly, "If you have any questions regarding the Command Spell system, you may ask this old man. Although the Matou Family has declined, we still possess our most basic foundations."
"If I have any questions, I will naturally seek your guidance, sir." The youth smiled. "I am merely going to clear away a future threat and eliminate an enemy in advance."
"It seems this old man has underestimated Li-kun. How shameful." Old Worm coughed, and the stench of decay from his body grew noticeably stronger. Clearly, this body was nearing its limit.
"If sir feels unwell, please rest." Li Zihan noticed Matou Zouken's abnormal condition and offered this suggestion.
"So Li-kun saw through it." Matou Zouken did not force himself to endure it and readily admitted that he was in poor condition. "Then this old man shall take his leave first."
The strange old man walked stiffly toward the darkened area. This body, composed of insects, possessed habits similar to theirs—it hated sunlight and favored darkness.
Watching Old Worm depart and gradually vanish from sight, Li Zihan placed the case he carried onto the table, opened it, and began inspecting his weapons. Mysterious and bizarre runes were carved into the intricate components. As their owner assembled them, their original forms gradually emerged.
Li Zihan and Old Worm did not actually share much of a relationship. Though they had always addressed one another as senior and junior, theirs was merely a superficial connection—an unlikely friendship maintained only while both parties remained useful.
About a year ago, Li Zihan had passed through Fuyuki. On a whim, he had wanted to try the standard quest of a Type-Moon transmigrator: kill Old Man Worm and save Sakura. He then used an interest in the Matou Family's Magic Crest as an excuse and, under the guidance of the Matou Family's number-one traitor, Kariya Matou, fought his way into the Matou Family estate.
Then Li Zihan awkwardly discovered that Old Man Worm was just too damn good at hiding. He had countless clones, and his main body's whereabouts were unknown. Li Zihan could beat him, but he could not kill him.
Li Zihan was not a holder of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. He could not seize one clone and then kill the main body outright. Nor could he expect a system that had trouble even booting up to hand out some god-tier equipment as a beginner's gift.
Before you continue