Kayneth said coldly.
"I will bring back victory!"
Lancer knelt before Kayneth and swore his oath.
Insect Room
The dim basement.
Wriggling insects gathered into a sea of bugs. Amid the swarm, a strange old man leaning on a cane suddenly opened his eyes. "A guest has come to visit. Wouldn't it be rude not to entertain them?"
His hoarse voice echoed through the gloomy insect chamber.
"Kariya—"
"Arrrrrrrr—!!!"
A bloodcurdling roar rang out from the residence, putting Lancer on high alert as he had already charged into the courtyard of the Matou House.
"Here it comes?"
Lancer gripped his two spears and took up a fighting stance.
The next second—
A black Servant appeared out of nowhere in the courtyard and charged straight at Lancer!
Faced with the frenzied Berserker, Lancer met him head-on without backing down.
In an instant, the two Servants collided!
The shock wave from their impact kicked up dust across the courtyard. The billowing clouds of dust left the onlookers outside the battlefield able to make out the fight between the two Servants only vaguely, by their silhouettes!
Every blow the two Servants struck through the dust carried a powerful gust of wind. The dust was quickly swept away, revealing the two figures battling.
The black Servant gripped an iron rod he had casually snapped off in the courtyard. Blood-red patterns covered the "weapon," and it held its own even against the Two-Colored Roses in Lancer's hands.
"From your skill with arms, you must have been a renowned hero in history."
Though they had exchanged only a few blows, Lancer could already tell that Berserker's martial skill was formidable. Even under the violent curse of Mad Enhancement, Berserker wielded the skills deeply imprinted in his memories without the slightest hesitation.
"Arrrrr—"
But the only answer Lancer received was an unintelligible roar from the black Servant.
"It's a pity I can't learn your name. What a shame."
Facing the frenzied black Servant, Lancer smiled excitedly, his aura rising once more.
And so—
The two Servants clashed again, the clang of their weapons ringing throughout the courtyard.
While Lancer and Berserker fought fiercely in the courtyard, Wang Xiaoming and his group took the opportunity to charge straight into the Matou Residence.
As for the protective barrier around the residence?
Miss Medea looked at them as if they had to be joking.
With Medea, a being practically a cheat when it came to Magecraft, helping them, the group entered the residence with almost no effort.
"There are two sources of magical energy in this house. One is in a room upstairs, and the other is below. The one below..."
As soon as they entered the residence, the nauseating feeling grew stronger. Medea spoke with her brow furrowed the entire time.
The one below should be that old worm, Zouken Matou. As for the one upstairs...
"We don't need to worry about the one upstairs for now, but..."
Wang Xiaoming looked at Kayneth.
"Can you have Lancer hold Berserker off without making him withdraw from the battle?"
Though he didn't understand what Wang Xiaoming meant, Kayneth did as asked. He closed his eyes and sent Lancer the order, then nodded to Wang Xiaoming.
"Done."
"Then let's head downstairs."
Following Medea's directions, the group reached the door to a basement.
"Heh heh. May I ask why you've come to visit the Matou House in the middle of the night?"
As the door opened, a dry chuckle reached their ears.
The surroundings were shrouded in darkness. The dim candlelight made everything indistinct, and they couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.
"Enough with the theatrics!"
Kayneth snorted. A magical light appeared in the room, allowing them to see their surroundings—
The vast basement had a hollowed-out pit at its center, from which countless insects crawled. They writhed, murmured, scraped against one another, and made crunching noises as they devoured each other. The pit, which extended several meters down, was already filled with countless horrifying magical insects whose names were beyond imagining.
At some point, these insects had even crawled all over the floor beneath their feet.
Even though Wang Xiaoming had already braced himself, the sight before him left his face pale. The others were no better.
Medea and Shirou were the only ones Wang Xiaoming had instinctively pulled behind him. Kayneth's face had already turned livid at the sight, while Sola was so frightened by the mass of insects that she was vomiting.
"Scalp!"
At Kayneth's command, the ball of mercury beside him instantly turned into blades, slaughtering the insects around them!
"So you're unwelcome guests."
An old man emerged from the insect pit. He was bald, with limbs as thin and dry as a mummy's. A sharp glint shone from his sunken eyes. He wore a kimono of deep blue and dark gray, and leaned on a cane. Though he stood below them in the insect pit, his presence was no less imposing than anyone else's.
"Then there's no need to be polite. You'll all become bait for my precious insects!"
The cane in his hand tapped the floor, and the swarm that had been restlessly circling him erupted!
The insects, which should have crawled slowly, now moved at an unbelievable speed under the old man's command. In the blink of an eye, they were upon the group. The insects leaped into the air, their mucus-coated mouths opening wide as they tried to devour everyone before them!
"Automatoportum defensio!"
At Kayneth's command, the ball of mercury instantly spread out and enclosed the group. But the insects didn't care. They surged forward one after another, covering the mercury sphere in a dense mass.
Volumen Hydrargyrum used 140 kilograms of mercury as its base, combining the metal's physical properties with the fluid manipulation Magecraft its user specialized in. It could attack, seek out targets, and defend automatically.
There was a reason Kayneth, its wielder, favored this Mystic Code above all others.
Squish, squish, squish—
A string of squelching noises rang out from inside the "ball of insects." The insects clinging to the outside fell to the ground. Their broken bodies oozed foul-smelling liquid, then twitched for a while before going still.
Once all the insects had fallen away, Volumen Hydrargyrum's defensive state quietly ended.
"Heh heh heh—"
The old man's dry voice rang out again. "A fine Mystic Code. But how many times can your magical energy sustain it?"
"Enough to slaughter you right here."
Kayneth replied coldly.
"Then let's find out..."
The old man tapped his cane against the floor again, and his skin-crawling laughter rang out once more.
"Will my insects die out first, or will your magical energy run dry?"
As the cane clicked against the floor, a sudden change took place—
The insects writhing on the floor, spurred on by the old man's magical energy, split open their shells. Flies coated in mucus rose from their bodies.
The flies were extremely bizarre. Their mouthparts resembled those of mosquitoes, but were even more terrifying than blades. Their bodies were as long as an adult's forearm, and their appearance was so hideous and grotesque that they sent a chill through anyone who saw them.
Even Kayneth, who had remained calm and collected until then, couldn't help but change expression at the sight of the flies.
Extermination
Seeing the dense swarm of flies behind the old man, Kayneth couldn't help but change expression.
Just as the old man had said, maintaining a precise Mystic Code like Volumen Hydrargyrum consumed a great deal of magical energy. Using it once or twice was no problem, but under an attack by such an overwhelming swarm, even a Heroic Spirit would find it difficult to escape unscathed.
If this went on, their side would inevitably fall into a disadvantage.
However—
Kayneth glanced from the corner of his eye at Wang Xiaoming, who stood behind him with an impassive expression. All he could do now was grit his teeth and keep holding out.
Seeing Kayneth's hesitation from within the swarm, the old man snorted.
"Do you think anyone can just waltz into the Matou House and leave whenever they please?"
As soon as the old man finished speaking, the swarm that had been gathering strength erupted once more—
Seeing the insects rushing toward them, Kayneth had no choice but to raise Volumen Hydrargyrum again.
The insects charged forward one after another, throwing themselves against the surface of the mercury sphere as if willing to die. The flies' mouthparts stabbed viciously into it, as though trying to punch a hole through the sphere.
Standing inside the mercury sphere, Kayneth watched ripples constantly spread across its outer surface and felt his magical energy rapidly draining away. Even he was starting to struggle. He turned to Wang Xiaoming and asked:
"Are you done yet?!"
At that, Wang Xiaoming turned to Medea. When she nodded, he answered Kayneth:
"Just in time!"
Hearing that, the sharp gaze characteristic of a Mage returned to Kayneth's eyes.
"A little slow, but not too late—"
The mercury sphere enclosing them shattered with a crash! Every insect around its outer surface was caught in the blast. The insects struck by the mercury pellets fell to the ground, letting out shrill cries as they struggled in pain.
The motionless insect corpses were quickly devoured by the others.
The mercury that had fallen to the ground gathered beside Kayneth again, though it was now noticeably smaller than before. The shattering had clearly damaged the Mystic Code.
"So you've finally stopped hiding like a turtle?"
The old man's hoarse voice echoed through the room.
Standing on the patch of ground that had just been cleared, Kayneth coldly watched the old man amid the swarm.
"I'll make you pay for insulting me."
"Heh heh—"
The old man's laughter was as chilling as an owl's while it hunted for prey.
"Young man, don't be so arrogant."
"That's right—"
Another voice in the room chimed in on the old man's side, much to everyone's surprise. Kayneth soon realized that it was Wang Xiaoming, standing beside him.
After his initial disgust and shock, Wang Xiaoming had regained his composure.
"After all, this is an old worm who's lived for five hundred years. He must have a few tricks up his sleeve."
Looking at the old man amid the swarm, Wang Xiaoming said calmly:
"Am I right, Zouken Matou? No, I should call you..."
"Zolgen Makiri."
The old man's constant sneer finally changed.
"Who are you?"
Zouken Matou stared at Wang Xiaoming. Only then did he realize that the man speaking seemed to be the leader of the group.
"Me? Just a reporter passing by."
Wang Xiaoming shrugged as he answered Zouken Matou's question.
"I don't know where you got your information, but you clearly know too much."
Before you continue