Wanting to Run Before the Will of the Earth?

The moment the words fell.

Lin Xiao's eyes lit up with scarlet radiance as brilliant as the blazing sun!

Bzzzz—!!!

An incomparably holy light belonging to the earth itself swept through the entire Matou Household hall, centered on Lin Xiao!

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!!!"

The instant they touched that light, the Crest Worms clinging to Sakura Matou did not even have a chance to flee before instantly turning into ash that scattered through the air!

As though it possessed a will of its own, the light gently and precisely seeped into her body.

"Mmph~"

Sakura suddenly let out a soft groan of pain and relief.

Immediately afterward, a Crest Worm hidden deep within her heart was purified directly within her body under the radiance of the Light of Gaia, becoming the purest energy and nourishing her broken body as it repaired it.

Not only that, with the Crest Worm's demise and the cleansing of that pure light, Sakura Matou's long purple hair, which had originally been turned that color by magical alterations, miraculously returned to the Tohsaka Household's jet-black shade!

Her body went limp, and Rin Tohsaka, who rushed over, caught her in her arms.

"Th-this... what kind of magecraft is this?! Impossible! My worms! The worms I planted inside that girl!!!"

Zouken Matou, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, was now so terrified that even his cane fell to the floor.

He stared in horror at the man radiating red light all over his body. His centuries of experience told him that this was not magecraft at all—it was absolute erasure on the level of existence itself!

"Y-you... what kind of monster are you?! The sun?!"

Zouken let out the same despairing scream as Muzan Kibutsuji. Turning around, he tried to transform into a swarm of worms and escape underground. "As long as I hide underground... I am immortal..."

"Hide underground?"

Lin Xiao watched the worms trying to burrow into the earth, and a trace of extreme mockery flashed through his eyes.

This old worm actually wanted to hide underground before the "will of Earth's soil"?

"Since you like the underground so much, I'll grant your wish."

Lin Xiao slowly raised his right foot. Without any flashy movement, he simply gave the floor of the Matou Household hall a light stomp.

Thud!

A deeply muffled boom exploded in the depths of the earth!

The next second, the boundless, violent Light of Gaia surged straight from Lin Ye's foot into the underground magical ley lines of Fuyuki City!

"Aaaahhhhhhh!!!"

Within several kilometers, the millions upon millions of Crest Worms buried underground, along with the unhatched eggs, instantly triggered a chain annihilation reaction beneath the cleansing pulse of the earth!

Zouken Matou, who had just been about to flee, discovered in terror that his connection to every backup body within the ley lines had been completely severed in that instant!

Light surged back up from underground, completely engulfing Zouken's shriveled body.

"No!! I don't want to die yet!! My immortality—"

Amid the ultimate light and heat, the malignant growth that had caused countless tragedies was completely vaporized along with the Matou Household's rotten worm nest before he could even finish his last words.

Ding!

A crisp notification sounded in Lin Ye's mind from the chat group.

[Detected that the host has killed "Twisted Dream: Zouken Matou!"]

[Sakura Matou's fate has undergone a final reversal! Fuyuki City's hidden blight has been completely removed!]

[Congratulations, host! You have received 8,000 points!]

The light faded.

The vast Matou Household hall was now so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard. The cold, rotten stench was gone, replaced by a freshness like the air after rain.

Emiya Shirou stared blankly at Zouken, who had not even left behind ashes, then at Sakura in Rin's arms, whose breathing had steadied. His tears could no longer be held back.

"She's saved... she's really saved..."

Rin Tohsaka clutched her sister, whom she had regained after losing her, and wept uncontrollably.

Red Archer, who had been standing at the door on guard, watched Lin Xiao casually stomp once and uproot the Matou Household, one of the Three Founding Families, from its very foundations. A relieved, bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"An Adventurer who grinds the entire magecraft system beneath his feet..."

"It looks like the others in this Holy Grail War don't stand a chance."

Lin Xiao dusted off his hands, dispelled the light around himself, then turned to Rin Tohsaka and Shirou. His tone returned to its usual lazy manner.

"All right, stop crying here. Hurry up and take this girl back to your place for a hot bath. Let her get a good night's sleep afterward. Starting tomorrow, she'll have a new life."

"As for this empty house, have a demolition crew bulldoze it tomorrow. It looks filthy just standing here."

Lin Xiao rubbed his stomach. "Let's go. After all that messing around in the middle of the night, I'm really hungry."

"Shirou, as a Master, your house provides meals, right?"

Fuyuki City, Emiya Residence.

"Sizzle—"

The enticing sound of food frying in hot oil came from the kitchen, accompanied by the rich aroma of broth that filled the traditional Japanese wooden residence.

In the guest room.

Rin Tohsaka carefully tucked in Sakura Matou, who had already taken a hot bath and changed into clean pajamas.

Looking at her younger sister's sleeping face—her hair finally restored to its original black, a peaceful smile on her lips—Rin's eyes reddened once more.

She gently closed the bedroom door, wiped the corners of her eyes, took a deep breath to compose herself, and went downstairs.

In the first-floor living room, a large low table was already covered in an abundant spread of food.

Golden, crispy tempura, thick hamburger steaks sizzling with oil, steaming tamagoyaki, and a large pot of oden bubbling away.

"The Emiya Household's cooking really lives up to its reputation."

Lin Xiao sat cross-legged before the low table, picked up a piece of hamburger steak, and stuffed it into his mouth. The delicious juices burst across his tongue, making him let out a satisfied sigh.

"You're too kind, Mr. Lin Xiao. The ingredients in the refrigerator were limited, so I could only make something simple. Tomorrow, I'll go to the shopping district and buy some premium ingredients to properly treat you!"

Still wearing an apron, Emiya Shirou came out carrying the last two bowls of miso soup, a cheerful smile on his face.

"Hey, Emiya, aren't you being a little too unguarded around that monster who treats the laws of magecraft like some stray dog by the roadside?"

Rin Tohsaka sat down on the other side of the table and could not help teasing Lin Ye as he ate heartily.

However, the vigilance in her eyes had now completely become a mixture of helplessness and reverence, as though she were looking at the patriarch of her own family.

"What does it matter? Mr. Lin Xiao saved Sakura. He's the greatest benefactor of my entire life."

Shirou scratched his head, then glanced at Red Archer, who sat in the garden corridor with his eyes closed in rest. After hesitating for a moment, he still carried a plate of tempura over.

"Um... Archer, would you like some?"

Red Archer opened his eyes and looked at this "past self" holding out the dish he was best at making to treat him.

The muscles on his dark face twitched wildly. In the end, he gritted his teeth and forced out, "...Just leave it there. I'm not hungry."