Everyone who heard Daniel Davis speak instinctively glanced at Shinji Matou's lower body, where a spreading wet stain on his pants was clearly visible. Immediately, almost everyone looked at Shinji with disgust; many even stepped away quickly, as if afraid of being contaminated.
"What did you do?"
Rin Tohsaka frowned at Shinji Matou's condition and leaned closer to Daniel Davis, asking in a low voice. Despite Shinji's arrogance, he wasn't stupid—it was absolutely impossible for him to disgrace himself like this in front of everyone.
"I didn't do anything. You were watching the whole time, weren't you?"
In truth, Daniel had done it. He had released a fleeting burst of killing intent at Shinji Matou—just a flicker—and surprisingly, that alone had scared him so badly he wet himself.
"Big brother, big brother."
In fact, Shinji wasn't just frightened to the point of wetting himself; that brief moment of murderous intent had also stunned him into a daze. He stood there frozen until Sakura called out to him several times before he snapped out of it.
When he came to, he immediately felt something wrong in his lower body—a warm, wet sensation. He looked down and was stunned all over again.
"You bastard!"
Shinji's face twisted in rage as he came back to his senses, shouting as he threw a punch at Daniel Davis. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but he was sure this guy in front of him had caused it—and he guessed right.
Bang.
Facing Shinji's attack, Daniel quickly pulled Rin aside and dodged. Shinji, overexerting himself, stumbled and fell heavily to the ground. This scene immediately caused the crowd to burst into laughter.
At Homurahara Academy, Shinji Matou was a well-known figure, but he was the kind of person most people disliked. Compared to Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Matou, and Shirou Emiya, he was the complete opposite.
However, because of the Matou family's influence, most people avoided provoking him, which only fueled his arrogance. Now that someone had taken him down a peg, the onlookers were naturally entertained.
That said, because of his decent looks and his status as the heir of a wealthy family, Shinji was still quite popular among some girls.
"Big brother." Sakura tried to help Shinji up after he fell, but he pushed her away and shouted, "Get lost!"
"Sigh."
Watching Sakura get shoved away, Daniel sighed inwardly. His timing was off—if he had arrived before the Fourth Holy Grail War, he might have been able to save Sakura. Now it was a bit too late, though it didn't stop him from wanting to kill the old worm.
"What a foul smell."
As Shinji stood up again, Daniel exaggeratedly waved his hand in front of his nose, as if something stank in the air. Some others around them mimicked his gesture, making Shinji's face twist even more.
The thing Shinji hated most was being looked down upon. Without any magical talent, he was barely valued in his own family. That was why he found pleasure in bullying Sakura, and why he acted so arrogantly at school. Still, deep down, he was insecure about his lack of magical aptitude.
"You—"
Shinji had wanted to continue confronting Daniel, but seeing the mocking gazes and looking at his soaked pants, he immediately turned and ran back into the school. There were changing rooms inside.
"Rin, Sakura, what happened to Shinji?"
Just as Shinji left, a boy with short auburn hair approached with a puzzled expression. It was none other than Shirou Emiya, a well-known figure in the Moon World.
"It's nothing. He just fell and thought it looked embarrassing, so he left."
Seeing Sakura hesitate, unsure of how to respond, Daniel spoke up first, while also sizing up Shirou carefully.
"Avalon is inside him. I wonder if that Noble Phantasm can withstand Goetia's."
Goetia's Noble Phantasm was undoubtedly powerful, but Avalon was no slouch either. Its defense was absolute—even the Five Great Magics couldn't penetrate it.
"I see."
Shirou nodded without asking further. At Homurahara, Shirou was also a well-known figure—famous for being a good guy. When something broke in any of the school clubs or rooms, he was always the one people asked to fix it.
"You, come with me."
Just as Sakura was about to say something to Rin, Rin suddenly grabbed Daniel's arm and dragged him toward the school building. Soon, the two of them were alone on the rooftop.
"Don't you think you went too far?"
On the deserted rooftop, Rin looked angry. Although she disliked how Shinji bullied Sakura, she still thought Daniel had gone too far today.
Despite being from a prestigious magical lineage, Rin didn't share the typical mage mentality. Instead, she had a strong sense of justice, which was what Daniel admired most about her.
In Daniel's view, the mages of the Moon World had serious issues—most of them had no morality whatsoever. They would stop at nothing to pursue the Root. That kind of mage was one he stayed far away from. Fortunately, there were still some decent mages—Rin was one, and Olga Marie was another. If she had been the type to chase the Root at any cost, Daniel wouldn't have saved her.
"Too far? I don't think so. In fact, if you knew what he had done, you might not be able to stop yourself from killing him."
"What do you mean by that?"
"There's something I need to tell you, but this isn't the place. Take the day off—we'll talk in detail back home."
"Got it." Rin nodded and left, presumably to ask a teacher for leave.
"You head back first. I've got something to handle—I'll be back soon."
"Damn it, damn it, damn it."
Having changed clothes, Shinji immediately left school. After such public humiliation, he couldn't show his face there anymore—and probably wouldn't return for quite some time.
"It's all that guy's fault—his fault!"
In a deserted alleyway, Shinji pounded the wall, his face twisted with rage as he muttered to himself, blaming everything on someone else.
"Hey, we meet again."
"It's you—ah!"
Just as Shinji saw Daniel appear and tried to speak, a sudden sharp pain in his chest dropped him to the ground. Daniel had struck him in the heart with a blast of Yin Qi. Only after Shinji collapsed did Daniel withdraw his finger.
"Enjoy what little time you've got left," Daniel said, knocking him unconscious with a slap.
"So this is the Matou household—pretty big. Compared to it, Rin's place looks rather shabby."
After knocking out Shinji, Daniel followed the map to the Matou residence. Unlike the modern villa Rin lived in, the Matou home was a sprawling estate, much larger in size.
"I wonder what the Einzbern castle is like."
Though the Einzbern main family resided in Germany, they also had property in Fuyuki—a giant castle. Among the three families, the Einzberns were undoubtedly the wealthiest, likely due to being an alchemy family.
In the Moon World, the Einzberns represented the pinnacle of alchemy, perhaps even beyond the Twelve Lords of the Mage's Association—mainly because they were so close to the Third Magic.
At least publicly. Secretly, the Atlas Institute was also renowned for its alchemy.
"Why did you bring him here?"
Back at the Tohsaka villa, Rin had just opened her mouth to ask Daniel what he wanted to tell her when she saw him toss the unconscious Shinji onto the floor.
"It's related to him. You should know by now that I can travel between worlds, which means I know many secrets. This is about your sister, Sakura Matou."
"Do you know what kind of life she's had in the Matou family?" Before Rin could respond, Daniel continued.
"I know it wasn't great, but she's part of the Matou family now." Mage families had their own rules.
"Her life wasn't just 'not great'—it was hell, every single day. And all of it is your father Tokiomi Tohsaka's fault."
Daniel sighed as he looked at the dejected expression on Rin's face. The Tohsaka family had a history of falling short at critical moments.
Tokiomi always seemed smart on the surface, but in the end? He made two catastrophic errors: giving up his daughter and failing in two consecutive Holy Grail Wars, getting himself killed and throwing Sakura into a pit of fire.
Compared to him, Rin might also drop the ball at key moments, but she was luckier. The Fifth Holy Grail War, compared to the Fourth, felt more like child's play. Few Masters involved were truly willing to sacrifice everything for the Grail.
"It all started with your father, Tokiomi. He was the root cause."
Before Rin could defend her father, Daniel laid bare the Matou family's darkness and Sakura's suffering.
Crack.
Before Daniel could finish, Rin's hand clenched instinctively and broke a corner of the table in front of her. Her magic circuits flared visibly—she was clearly furious.
"The current head of the Matou family, Zouken Matou, is actually a monster who's lived for over five hundred years. The reason he adopted Sakura was simple—his current generation had no magical talent. He couldn't transfer his consciousness to a new body. Sakura was his chosen vessel."
In the Moon World, mage families valued lineage. When Tokiomi found both daughters had exceptional magical aptitude, he was troubled. The Tohsaka family couldn't support both—not in terms of gems or spells, but magical crests.
Just then, the Matou family needed a successor. It seemed like a golden opportunity.
"Rin, what are you doing here, you bastard—"
"Get lost."
Not far from the Matou house, in a small grove, Shinji—having woken up—was shocked to see Rin there. But the moment he saw Daniel, he charged forward in a rage, only to be kicked flying.
"Shinji, tell me—what is your family's magecraft? What have you done to Sakura?"
Rin's words made Shinji freeze momentarily, then he burst into maniacal laughter. The twisted expression on his face and the sound of his laughter were disturbing.
"Haha, so you finally know. I thought you'd never find out. You know, she dared to look down on me because of her talent, so I—"
Bang.
Before he could finish, Rin's punch landed squarely on his face. The force of her Bajiquan sent him flying several meters, his mouth spraying teeth, finally crashing into a tree.
That punch was Rin venting her fury.
"Still alive? You've got a tough life. Oh, before you die, let me tell you something. You ever wonder why your family never took you seriously? Why you had no magical talent? It's because you're not a Matou by blood. Neither you nor your father. You were both adopted."
Daniel walked up to the collapsed Shinji and said with a smile, "The current Zouken Matou—your so-called grandfather—is a five-hundred-year-old monster. To survive, he devoured his own bloodline. The Matou bloodline was wiped out long ago. Everyone after that was adopted to maintain appearances."
"Impossible. Grandpa, he—"
"Don't worry. I'll send him to see you soon. Goodbye."
Daniel raised his index finger and pressed it to Shinji's chest. Flames engulfed his body. Daniel had wanted to torture him more, but with Rin present, he restrained himself.
"Now, it's time to visit the old man. Let's give him a little scare—you play the Master, I'll play the Servant."
He drew a fake Command Seal on the back of Rin's left hand and took out a magical device made by Da Vinci that could emit a Servant's aura.
"So that's why Sakura didn't want to go home. I'm a terrible sister."
At night, under the glow of streetlights, Sakura walked slowly toward the Matou estate, her eyes completely devoid of light.
She had just left Shirou's home. Since meeting him, he had become her emotional anchor. She would wake up early to help with chores at his house, and most evenings she'd eat dinner there before returning home.
"This isn't your fault. You didn't know. If anyone's to blame, it's Tokiomi."
Rin had always thought Sakura's hard life was just due to taking Shinji's inheritance, as someone with no magical talent couldn't inherit a mage family's legacy. That was why Shinji bullied her.
"Father…"
Rin had always admired Tokiomi. But learning what happened to Sakura shattered that image. Her father wasn't perfect.
"Go to sleep. When you wake up, everything will be different."
As Sakura turned a corner, Daniel suddenly appeared behind her. She fainted instantly. Earlier, he and Rin had agreed on how to handle things.
In the end, they chose not to expose the truth to the world—but to erase it as if it had never existed.
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