Chapter 402: The Girl Named Sakura
"Do you really not understand? In this matter, even if it weren't me, someone else would still do it," Angra Mainyu said, looking down at the boy from above.
"Ah, I don't deny it," Shirou replied. In fact, in Chaldea's first mission, the Singularity F, the boss was Artoria summoned by the Black Holy Grail, and his own shadow existed there as well.
The black mud above the sky writhed like a living thing. A massive amount of black mud flowed out from the void, gradually gathering into an ocean. Above Fuyuki City, perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, it was nothing more than a mass of black clouds being blown by the wind, merely believing that heavy rain was imminent. But no one knew that what was descending was not rainwater, but a black tsunami.
At such a height, the power of the impact alone could destroy more than half of this city. Even more terrifying was that this cursed magical mud would devour and burn everything it touched. In less than a quarter of an hour, Fuyuki City would turn into ruins covered in flames.
"Then go to hell. I will treat you as part of the necessary sacrifice and kill you quickly and cleanly." Angra Mainyu looked at Shirou and waved his hand. The ocean of black mud behind him poured downward like a torrential rain. The black giant wave, like the palm of a titanic giant, slapped toward the ground centered on the church with the force of destroying everything.
At this moment, Shirou, unhurriedly, projected a sword, gripped it in his right hand, and raised it high above his head, the blade facing the sky.
This was a divine sword forged using the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi as a prototype, with the same materials, by the hands of a mortal who had reached the realm of the God of Smiths.
At this moment, the avatar created by the god was held in his hand, fighting for the humans of Fuyuki City.
This sword was not an implement forged for the pursuit of sharpness to cut through worldly things.
This sword was also not a spiritual weapon forged to uphold the righteous path and slay evil things.
This sword had only one goal: to cut through the karma of humanity and rewrite that destiny which could not be defied.
Its inscription was: ——Tsumukari Muramasa!
High in Shirou's hand, pointed towards the sky, the crimson sword burning with flames was added a layer of white light. This light soared into the sky, and the blade lengthened in the
white light by dozens of meters... no, hundreds of meters. It continued to rise, piercing through the dense clouds.
It surpassed the monstrous ocean of black mud, rising to the highest point where the brilliance could touch the entire sea of black mud.
"You damn brat! I am evil! But evil is necessary! Humanity is also evil! This world is not as simple as you think! To survive, evil is also necessary!" Angra Mainyu roared. He felt the danger of the sword of white light and knew he could no longer hesitate, so he rushed down desperately.
"Then I will let humanity, in which good and evil coexist, all survive! No one should be sacrificed! Absolutely!" Shirou shouted, and swung down the sword of the light pillar. This sword of Shirou cut through karma and was meant to break open a new future for this world.
The white radiance slashed onto the black tsunami that was lunging down, just like a gap of light opening in a black gate, finding an exit of light in a dark, lightless cave.
The black mud that touched the light all disappeared, as if evaporated, or swallowed up. Then this light grew larger and larger, eventually covering the entire tsunami.
The light finally covered all the black mud, and a fine rain fell from the sky.
Gudako caught the falling raindrops with her hands; these were merely water droplets with a slight grayish-black tint, like small gray beads with diluted color.
"Angra Mainyu, I am still here, so I do not need this compromised salvation of yours." Shirou watched silently as the desperate situation above the sky shattered, and after a while, he spoke firmly.
Angra Mainyu fell from the shining sky. Before his body, which had been split in two, disappeared, he said softly: "Hmph, if you want to stop it, then do as you please. Go to the other world, Sakura... the place where that girl is. The Holy Grail has already sent Servants there."
"I know. Thank you." Shirou nodded.
Because of Angra Mainyu's disappearance, the existences that had been summoned also began to disappear one by one.
Kirei Kotomine's body began to melt, his form returning to black mud, and after losing his connection to the inner world, he disappeared bit by bit.
The man felt no panic at all; instead, he looked at the boy and girl with a smile and said:
"Hehehe, I have died, but as long as there are existences with the same interests as me, I will not disappear. Perhaps one day soon, someone will still use my body. Let us look forward to seeing each other again then."
"A guy like you who never knows repentance—even if you come out, I will beat you back into hell!" Tohsaka said.
"Is everything... over?" Gudako looked at the sky and asked, puzzled.
This was a battle where it was unknown whether it was truly correct, but even so, people still chose the path they currently saw and struggled forward.
"Yeah." Shirou replied slowly.
The black ocean above the sky had disappeared, leaving only a patch of black-stained dark clouds, and the sky only let out a shower of rain. The black mud cut through by the sword light had mostly vanished; at most, it was just dust mixed in the fine raindrops, and at this moment, it did not cause much harm to this world.
"Let's go home first," Tohsaka said.
"Great~! I'm starving," Gudako raised her hands in agreement.
Afterward, they went to the cave at the entrance of the Greater Grail and, sure enough, found the few living corpses that had been serving as energy sources for the Servants. Tohsaka Rin was responsible for contact, and the priest of the Holy Church who had died also needed to be notified. They needed to handle it quietly before the public discovered it and blew the matter out of proportion.
As promised, Shirou was also responsible for helping Tohsaka Rin restore her villa and the ruined treasures without the civilians noticing any abnormalities, so he disguised it as having been damaged by lightning during the previous rainy day and now needing renovation.
A few days passed.
Shirou and Tohsaka entered the kitchen together to cook, and Gudako lay lazily on the sofa, playing with her phone.
Then suddenly, one day, Gudako received a summons from Chaldea and left this world.
"Forget it, we will meet again sooner or later. So... you should go too," Tohsaka Rin looked at Shirou and said.
"But, what will you do here?" Shirou asked.
"Ah, don't worry about that. As long as I am here, the Tohsaka family will not fall. Besides, both the Mage's Association and the Holy Church have to respect the master's face. I won't suffer," Tohsaka said with a smile.
"Then will you continue to practice here next?" Shirou asked in confusion. Speaking of researching and practicing magic, the conditions of the Emiya household were far inferior to the Tohsaka household.
"No! I have to work hard too. So after you leave, I will finish handling things and set off for the Clock Tower. Over the years, I've hired agents to do some business, so I have savings. And... I also know some of Luvia's dirt. When I get over there, I'll shake the rich girl down a bit, and then write a few advanced papers; there will always be a way to get resources for practice," Tohsaka said with a light chuckle, looking as if everything was under control. She had already planned out how to scam and trick the "fat sheep."
"Ahaha..." Shirou gave a helpless dry laugh.
"Go, Shirou. Sakura needs help right now. When you get to that world, take good care of her for me. Once my practice of the Second Magic is complete, I will be able to break through the world's barrier myself, and I will come to find you in person. Whether it is in the past life or this life, no matter how many worlds separate us, Sakura is my younger sister, so she will always be my family. That fact will not change."
"Ah, I think so too. Both Tohsaka and Sakura are my important family," Shirou looked at the cool-headed young girl sincerely, smiling and echoing her.
Tohsaka Rin looked at the boy in surprise, blushed, and said: "Wh... what? I was talking about Sakura! I didn't include you."
"Oh? Who was it that said they wanted to adopt me and make me change my last name to Tohsaka?" Shirou asked with amusement.
"Noisy! Baka! If you're going, go quickly!" Tohsaka Rin blushed with anger, pounded Shirou's shoulder, and shouted.
After that, the gate of light opened, and Shirou entered the next world.
The girl could only pray that everything went smoothly and that her younger sister in another world was not suffering. About the unknown world, she knew nothing at all. What kind of world was Sakura in?
Perhaps it was wrong from the beginning. When that girl had her fate decided by others without her consent, everything was destined. The girl passively accepted the arrangements of others, which brought about a tragic result.
Her father did indeed give her love, although this love brought her destructive pain. Even now, thinking back on it, her newly reborn, intact body still felt the phantom sensation of dull pain.
But as a child born into a family of mages, to watch others possess magical abilities and pursue the Root, while she could only watch and do nothing—how unfortunate would that be? Moreover, this child had excellent talent.
However, there was only one magic crest that could be passed on to future generations. Perhaps those families of mages with a thousand years of history could nurture branch families, but the Tohsaka family did not have the foundation to provide for two geniuses to exert themselves simultaneously.
The magic crest was an organ passed down from generation to generation, recording the magic studied by ancestors generation after generation. Being able to pass it on perfectly to future generations was already no easy task.
Therefore, Tohsaka Tokiomi, as a mage, had entrusted his younger daughter to another mage family that needed an heir, for the sake of her happiness.
On that night in her previous life, her father led her to the Matou residence.
The gate opened automatically.
Then the girl saw such a sight.
Bugs... on the walls, in the dark corners, came rustling sounds. Everywhere there were bugs, strange bugs, with names she couldn't call, bugs with big mouths like suckers, sticky bugs. The floor was damp, and from time to time, liquid dripped from the ceiling.
This was a nest of bugs, a hatchery for all kinds of insects.
Then, a gloomy, hunched old man whose age could not be discerned walked over at a leisurely pace, leaning on a wooden cane that was round at the top and pointed at the bottom.
"Ah, it's natural to be afraid the first time you see these, but once you inherit the magic here, you will soon get used to it. Sa, Sakura, from now on, this is your new home," her father said at the time.
The girl was not willful or of a temperament that would make adults feel embarrassed, so she just held back her tears and shivered slightly, but did not cry out. But her father turned and left; from this moment on, she no longer had any connection to the Tohsaka family and became Matou Sakura.
If she had cried and refused at the time, begged her father to take her home, and told her family that she didn't want to inherit magic and just wanted to be an ordinary person, could she have avoided the torture and suffering that followed?
A girl with such a docile personality cannot be alone; someone must be by her side. Even if she cannot be saved, it would be enough just to be by her side.
If there had been someone she could trust to stay by her side and pull her back in time, perhaps everything would have been different. But it was too late...
To say that she felt no jealousy toward that talented sister would be a lie.
Toward that talented sister, the only relative in the world, the girl both loved her and was immensely jealous. Unlike herself, who was inconspicuous, she was a star who attracted the attention of all the teachers and students at school; as soon as she entered the school, she would receive the attention of many people.
The young lady of the Tohsaka family was beautiful, intelligent, lovely, and elegant. She was admired by boys and gained the trust of girls. Even though she was a short-tempered wild girl, she was best at pretending, and a machine idiot.
Of course, the girl also loved this sister the most. But the unchangeable fact was... everything the girl had was taken away because of this sister.
Surname, family, and finally, even her most precious memories were to be taken away. That afternoon when she entered junior high, she had secretly watched that red-haired boy working hard toward an impossible height, jumping high again and again. That sight, which inspired the girl who was then broken-hearted to persevere, was the treasure of the girl's life.
Although at first, she only thought the boy was stupid, just asking for trouble.
But seeing him make challenges again and again, never giving up, suddenly, something in her heart seemed to melt. She had indeed gained salvation from that boy.
So, when her sister appeared beside her "senpai," she really felt it was an eyesore.
"Grandfather also said that sister's affinity was more suitable for the Matou family. If possible, I really want sister to experience everything I have experienced, too." Every time the girl was enduring the excruciating pain caused by the insects in her body, she couldn't help but think this way in her heart.
But now, in this world, there was no "senpai," no sister, and she felt very lonely...
In the castle under the moonlight, on the throne, a purple-haired girl was taking a nap with her head resting on her arms, having a distant dream.
The girl looked to be only about seven or eight years old. At this moment, she rested her chin on her hand, raised her head slightly, and looked out at the moonlight in the sky. And at her feet, there knelt more than a dozen Servants' bodies entangled in black mist, all covered in wounds, their hands and feet still tied by black ribbons, fixed to the ground, unable to move.
In this life, she was incomparably free. She had retained the power of her previous life, was no longer under threat, and no one could force her, but she felt more lonely than ever.
"Today is another long night..." the purple-haired loli caressed the small, fluffy purple-white beast sitting on her lap and said.
"Fou..." The small beast wagged its tail, raised its head like the girl, and looked gloomily at the moonlit sky.
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