"What should I do?"
Weakness and helplessness surfaced on Saber's face once more.
"Hmm..."
Seeing Saber like this, the sorrow in Medea's eyes from a moment ago seemed like an illusion. She eyed Saber, still dressed in a black suit, and a mischievous smile curled her lips.
"If you want to know, change into a girl's outfit first, then come ask me~"
"You really are..."
After saying goodbye to Saber's group, Wang Xiaoming strolled beneath the night sky with Medea. Remembering how Saber had blushed at the bridge just moments ago because of Medea's words, Wang Xiaoming couldn't help feeling amused—and exasperated.
Just how badly did you want Saber to dress like a girl?
But more than that, he wondered how Kariya was doing...
"Things aren't going too well over at the Matou House."
As if she'd sensed the mood of the man beside her, Medea suddenly spoke.
"..."
After a long silence came a drawn-out sigh.
"Whatever happens, this was Kariya's choice. I hope he can fulfill his wish. Let's head back first. The two kids are still at home, after all."
Maybe there'll be another update tonight.
By the way, the original moe king is back~
Though I haven't watched it yet
Tokiomi and Kariya (Extra Chapter Complete!)
Miyama Town, the underground workshop of the Tohsaka estate. A gloomy silence enveloped the place.
"So that's Rider's Noble Phantasm... A Reality Marble, of all things... What a miscalculation."
Thinking back to the scene he'd witnessed through Magecraft, when everyone on the bridge had been engulfed by Rider's "Ionioi Hetairoi," Tohsaka Tokiomi felt a bitter pang.
Things had unfolded just as he'd planned: Assassin's sacrifice had revealed Rider's trump card, giving Assassin's death some value.
But the one thing that had exceeded Tokiomi's expectations was Rider's Noble Phantasm... Even if he'd learned about it in advance, how was he supposed to counter it?
For once, Tohsaka Tokiomi felt regret.
Perhaps abandoning Assassin at that point had been a mistake.
Against a dangerous enemy like Rider, gathering information by having someone follow him was safer than risking a frontal assault. If Rider and his Master ever split up, there might even be a chance to assassinate one of them...
"Never mind..."
Tohsaka Tokiomi shook his head. Regretting it now would do no good. His own plans had led to this situation. Even if they brought bitter consequences, he would have to grit his teeth and swallow them.
Still, there was some good news—plenty of information could give him reason to recover his spirits.
For instance, the person who had made a contract with the Heroic Spirit Iskandar was only a third-rate magus. A Servant's parameters fluctuated according to their Master's abilities. If Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald had summoned Rider, the situation would have been far more serious.
Fortunately, it hadn't been Kayneth. In the hands of that third-rate magus, how many times could Rider use that trump card?
It seemed time to get serious. The preliminary information-gathering phase had ended the moment he decided to abandon Assassin. Tohsaka Tokiomi gently stroked the Cane beside him. The enormous gemstone set into its handle held the magical energy he'd spent his entire life refining. It was also the formal Mystic Code of the magus Tohsaka Tokiomi.
"Kirei..."
Through the Magic Communication Device, Tohsaka Tokiomi called out to his disciple.
Along with serving as his disciple, Kirei Kotomine was also an Executor of the Church. Even without a Servant, he still possessed considerable combat ability. Now that he could no longer command Assassin, there was no need for him to keep up the act. It was time for him to show what he could do.
"..."
But something happened that surprised Tokiomi: the Magic Communication Device did not relay the familiar voice of his disciple.
Perhaps something had blocked his way...
"Hmm?"
Tohsaka Tokiomi suddenly sensed that someone had breached the barrier surrounding his estate.
The frequent unexpected events left him no time to worry about his disciple's current situation. At the same time, they stirred a faint sense of foreboding in the elegant man's heart.
It seemed some small-time opportunists had chosen this moment to make their move.
But so what?
Tohsaka Tokiomi looked at the Command Spell on the back of his hand. The unease in his heart gradually faded, and his bone-deep, elegant smile returned. He held the strongest cards. How could he lose with a hand full of trump cards, even if his opponent could see them?
Tohsaka Tokiomi stood, picked up the Cane beside him, straightened his jacket, and left the workshop.
The cold night air was shrouded in thick fog, but it did not hinder the magus Tohsaka Tokiomi's vision. He strode solemnly toward the courtyard where the intruder was. To his surprise, the intruder hadn't moved since first triggering the barrier. It seemed they had no intention of hiding.
That didn't seem like the behavior of a small-time opportunist. In that case, he'd give them a swift end.
With that thought, Tohsaka Tokiomi reached the courtyard, where he could just make out the intruder's silhouette.
"So it's you, Kariya."
As he drew closer and recognized the person standing in the courtyard, Tohsaka Tokiomi couldn't help feeling surprised.
His face was twisted with pain, the left half stiff as a corpse. His one remaining eye burned with hatred like a demon's. Matou Kariya was scarcely human anymore. If Tokiomi hadn't known him, he probably wouldn't have recognized the man as his former "rival in love."
After his initial surprise, Tohsaka Tokiomi's narrowed eyes sharpened with the composure of a man facing battle. He taunted Kariya.
"I thought you might have made some progress over the years, but it seems... You abandoned Magecraft, yet still cling to the Holy Grail, and now you've returned in this state. Matou Kariya, your disgrace alone is enough to bring shame upon the Three Founding Families!"
"Ha—shame?"
Kariya's cold laugh sent a chill down the spine. Looking at the man who made elegance his life's creed, Kariya's desire to question him vanished.
Question him?
Would that restore Sakura's shattered outlook on life?
Whenever he thought of—
The hollow look in Sakura's eyes when he'd returned to the Matou House and seen her inside.
Whenever he imagined—
That while Sakura was being cruelly tormented by the Old Worm, the father who had entrusted her to Zouken Matou might have been elegantly sipping tea.
"I can't take it..."
Matou Kariya's low growl was full of helplessness and despair.
So questioning him no longer mattered. Kariya couldn't be bothered to listen to Tohsaka Tokiomi's so-called theories about magi. Even hearing a little of them would make him feel like throwing up.
All Kariya wanted now was to knock Tohsaka Tokiomi's so-called pride as a magus to the ground, grab him by the collar, and pound his fist into his face.
"What's wrong, Kariya? Where did that spirit from a moment ago go?"
Looking at Matou Kariya's wretched appearance, Tohsaka Tokiomi continued to taunt him.
Tohsaka Tokiomi had decided long ago that he would deal with Matou Kariya personally. Since they had some personal history between them, he didn't mind taking care of the matter himself.
In fact, it was better if this thief, who had always coveted his family, disappeared as soon as possible!
Ha...
As he watched Tohsaka Tokiomi prattle on, the look in Kariya's right eye grew colder.
Why did this man think the happiness he'd gained was so deserved?
Why had this man so readily given away the happiness Kariya had dreamed of?
Unforgivable...
Absolutely unforgivable!
"Tohsaka Tokiomi—"
Kariya's voice seemed to rise from the depths of hell, sending a chill through the air.
"I'm going to kill you!"
"You think you can?"
Tohsaka Tokiomi sneered.
"You, who never understood the nobility of Magecraft and once turned your back on it?"
But the very next moment, the elegant expression on Tohsaka Tokiomi's face finally faltered.
Because—
"Waaaaaaaagh!!!"
The black Berserker, who had been hiding nearby in spirit form, let out his own roar!
"Waaaaaaaagh!!!"
Black magical energy surged upward behind Kariya and rapidly took shape. As if he'd understood the hatred and curses in his Master's heart, the furious roar that erupted from beneath Berserker's helmet scattered the magical energy around him by sheer force!
Berserker emerged from the pitch-black mist, his body surrounded by surging, violent magical energy. Tohsaka Tokiomi could no longer maintain his elegant false smile.
"Matou Kariya, do you no longer care about a magus's honor?!"
There was less fear than anger in Tohsaka Tokiomi's voice—the anger and regret of seeing a comrade fall into depravity, unable to do anything to change it.
"A magus?"
Looking at Tohsaka Tokiomi's nauseating attitude, Kariya suddenly felt his pent-up anger boil over.
That man was always like this!
His speech, his manner, the way he always carried himself with such elegance. From the day he'd appeared before Aoi and Kariya, that man had always been like this!
The gap between them, facing that elegance and composure, had once tormented Kariya endlessly.
But—
That ended tonight!
Now, all Kariya wanted was to trample and crush the elegance and composure that man treasured most.
"I have to say, you've disappointed me, Matou Kariya. It seems that, having only just begun your path in Magecraft, you've already been blinded by your newfound power."
Ignoring Kariya's terrifying glare, which looked ready to devour someone, Tohsaka Tokiomi remained as composed as ever. He shook his head, then looked at Kariya with pity.
"But so be it. As your senior in Magecraft, I'll teach you just how insignificant the power you've gained is compared to mine."
Kill him...
Kill him...
Kill him!!!
That was the only thought filling Kariya's mind.
He frantically drew on every last bit of his magical energy and supplied it to his raging Servant. At the same time, the pain caused by the Crest Worms in his body activating felt like his hands and feet were being scraped by a rasp. It pierced his bones and nearly made him faint.
But compared to the hatred gnawing at Kariya's heart, this pain was nothing!
"Berserker, kill him!"
Before you continue