Chapter 406: Protecting That Girl
On the street, a purple silhouette was running at full speed.
It was a purple-haired young girl dressed in Indian-style attire, with a small white beast lying on her shoulder.
The long blue handle with a golden U-shaped fork was hard to call a 'spear,' but it was undeniably magnificent; at the very least, that gold and exquisite craftsmanship were not deceptive. If it were a rather special clothes drying rod or a somewhat strange magic staff, it might pass.
The purple-haired girl, under the influence of Divine Possession summoning, had matured by a few years. From a naive elementary school student, she had turned into a budding beauty in middle school; from every glance and movement, one could foresee that she would grow up to be quite the beauty.
It was just that in this current environment, no one was there to appreciate it.
Inside the black barrier was a completely dark world. Although the ground remained the original small town, there was no sunlight; the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the plants on the ground had all lost their vitality. Everything appeared dead and gloomy.
One by one, black figures approached the girl's side. Upon closer inspection, they were clay-puppet humanoids covered in black mud, like zombies crawling in a mud pit. Their feet seemed very inflexible; they moved by sliding with their knees on the ground as support, stretching their hands toward the girl, with black saliva flowing from their wide-open mouths.
The black humanoids had hollow eyes, and the bodies of these black-mud figures were likely hollowed out inside as well. Just looking at them made one feel as if something had been scooped out of one's own body.
Emptiness, lack of spirit, lack of hope; perhaps only instinct remained. Their sticky bodies seemed to be filled with black mud, which constantly leaked out.
"..." The girl gripped the spear in her hand, feeling very hesitant.
Along the way, she hadn't seen any living people. What on earth were these black-mud-covered humanoids, monsters like clay figures, that had suddenly popped up? The girl wasn't very sure, but if it was that grandfather of hers, human lives meant nothing to him.
He was a monster who would sacrifice everything for his own immortality. No one knew this monster's true nature better than she did.
If she guessed correctly, these black humanoids, things like zombies, were in all likelihood the residents of this place.
How many survivors were left in this town, now isolated within the barrier? The girl really didn't dare to guess.
"Fou~!" The small animal lying on the girl's shoulder let out a series of calls, as if reminding the girl beside it.
A sharp light flashed in the girl's purple pupils, and she made her decision. No longer hesitating, a dazzling white light flickered.
Lightning struck these zombies. The 'spear' representing the power of the god of destruction released lightning that struck these black-mud humanoids, freezing them in place. They cried out in agonizing pain and collapsed onto the ground.
"Oowaaahhh." The black mud dripped from the bodies of the black humanoids onto the ground. The sticky mud slid off the figures, as if it were about to reveal the true face within. But... that was not the case; the humanoids stripped of the black mud looked as if they were missing a piece.
But everything was in vain. From the moment the black humanoids were struck by the lightning, their destruction was destined. The black humanoids were in a very unstable state, and the damage from the lightning seemed particularly severe to them.
The black humanoids rolled and roared in agony on the ground, finally freezing, supporting themselves with their hands, and looking up at the sky, motionless. The black mud was falling off the bodies of the humanoids, but this was not a good sight.
The girl even saw something fall to the ground with the black mud from the chest of a female humanoid. Because it was heavier than the black mud, it fell directly, trembling as it rolled upon hitting the ground. Only a bloody, mangled hole remained... She also saw pieces of flesh-colored, oval meat chunks mixed into the black mud that had fallen off.
The girl was certain: the black humanoids were human—they had once been human. Now, after being skinned, they were also hollowed out inside, leaving only red meat and bone frames, which were then filled with black mud to be used as familiars.
"I'm sorry..." The girl felt sorrow for the people here, but she resolutely ran forward; she still had important things to do.
It wasn't just black-mud humanoids; there were also black-mud creatures—black mud cats, black mud dogs, and black mud birds. They were much more agile than the humanoids, rushing toward the girl.
Lightning flickered, and the girl turned into thunder, instantly changing her position, dodging the black cat that jumped down from the roof to ambush her. The black bird spreading its wings and the black dog baring its fangs to pounce all missed their targets.
And then... lightning fell from the sky, charring these black-mud-covered animals into charcoal.
In the face of absolute power, these existences that only possessed magic power were simply vulnerable.
Eventually, Sakura finally found Matou Zouken. This terrifying old man was in a village, leaning on his cane and observing a huge hole from which black mud was continuously pouring out.
"Grandfather, stop your behavior of harming this town, and tell me the whereabouts of Senpai!" Sakura stepped forward and said to the old man.
"You've come, Sakura. Besides the magecraft of Imaginary Numbers, you've acquired new power? As expected of the successor chosen by this old man. I have already prepared an opponent for you," Matou Zouken said, smiling as he looked at Sakura.
Flames rose up, carrying an aura of black magic. A middle-aged man wearing a red suit, holding a nobleman's gemstone cane, and possessing an extraordinary bearing walked out from the black mud.
"Father... why?" Sakura was surprised to see this familiar, elegant middle-aged gentleman.
"Ah, Sakura, you've grown up. That's true, after all, so many years have passed. You are already a qualified successor of the Matou family," Tohsaka Tokiomi said gently.
The person suspected to be Tohsaka Tokiomi walked to the girl's side, suddenly revealed an evil smile, took out a dagger, and stabbed at the girl.
Sakura hurriedly raised her spear, blocked the attack, and retreated repeatedly.
"Grandfather! That's too much! Why summon him in Father's image?" Sakura asked, looking angrily at the old man.
Tohsaka Tokiomi was nothing more than a puppet, the image of a Master recorded by the black mud.
Matou Zouken said with a smile: "Heh-heh-heh, whoever longs for the Holy Grail cannot escape the curse of the black mud within it. This is the evil of the world, and also pure human evil. Then what can you escape from? If you want to change something, you must first make a sacrifice."
In the girl's memory, there were experiences of being the Lesser Grail and coming into contact with black mud; most of them were troublesome things.
Pain, roars, black bodies, a burning purgatory, and all the unpleasant sights in the world were injected into the girl's mind at once.
Kill you, kill you, kill you all!
It's all your fault!
The power of the Black Grail broke through the barrier of the parallel world, and the identical souls connected. Memories from another world appeared in her mind. In the night, she wandered the streets unconsciously, instinctively devouring nutrients as magic power.
Her runaway shadow, the humanoid Lesser Grail, the alienated magical beast.
At this moment, long, black-red, ribbon-like tentacles grew out from the shadow beneath the girl, wrapping the black-mud-humanoid Tohsaka Tokiomi inside, and then lunged from behind at Matou Zouken.
Matou Zouken, however, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, leaped lightly to dodge the attack and said with a smile: "Very good, very good. Just like when you took my main body out of your heart when I was dying in my past life, and then crushed it to death. You are indeed very like this old man."
"It's not like that. I just wanted to protect, I didn't want to hand over my body to you. My way of thinking is fundamentally different from Grandfather's."
"It's the same, Sakura. You are indeed the successor of the Matou family. Abandoning others for your own life is the optimal solution; we are the same," Matou Zouken said, his voice devoid of a smile.
"No! That's wrong! I know that what I did was wrong. If Senpai saw it, he would definitely be angry." The girl shook her head repeatedly.
"Then let this old man help you!" Matou Zouken waved his hand, and two black humans wearing armor rose from the black mud; they were Servants. A black Lancer and a black Archer.
Of course, they weren't the real thing, but fakes of the black-mud Grail, yet they were very similar; all their abilities were nearly identical to the originals.
The long spear in the black Lancer's hand pierced through the shadow generated by the girl's magic power.
The black Archer released a chain, pursuing the girl. In the end, she couldn't dodge it; the chain wrapped around the girl's hands and feet, leaving her unable to move. The black mud slid little by little toward the girl's side.
The monster generated by the shadow did not have the Grail's bonus and could not pose much of a threat to the black Servants simulated by the Grail. Instead, the black mud continuously approached the girl. The girl's state of Divine Possession came into contact with the black mud, and it was instantly dispelled; she was about to be wrapped inside by the black shadow monster.
Just as she was about to be wrapped by the black mud, light shimmered on the girl's body, and the black mud produced a repellent reaction, as if it had encountered its natural enemy.
When the girl was brought to this world, she received a blessing from the god, and she would never have anything to do with the Black Grail again in this life.
"Ho-oh, a very interesting reaction. Since the black mud doesn't work, how about this?" Matou Zouken revealed the inquisitive expression of a scholar doing an experiment, took out a Crest Worm, and said.
"Don't!" Sakura shouted loudly when she saw the worm, struggling forcefully, but unable to break free from the chains.
"Aren't you already used to it?" Matou Zouken raised the worm and forced it toward the girl, saying.
Watching the worm get closer and closer, the girl wept and cried out the name of the person she longed for.
"Senpai... Senpai... I'm sorry..."
"Sakura, accept it—the ruthlessness most important to a mage." Matou Zouken raised his hand, holding a strange little worm, intending to force it into the girl's body.
Whoosh!
A sword light, transformed into a meteor, flew past and severed the old man's hand.
"Hm?" Matou Zouken watched his upper arm fall to the ground and turned his head in surprise, but he didn't see anyone.
The black Lancer was struck in the waist by a giant flying sword and knocked away.
The black Archer had a spiraling long sword pierced through his chest, and a great force carried him up into the air, pinning him to the wall behind.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
One Noble Phantasm after another was thrown from afar, piercing into the bodies of the black Servants, and then exploding with a bang. The black Servants dissolved into dust amidst the explosions.
Only then did Shirou reveal his figure. His class was Berserker! Wearing an invisible cloak, he appeared in the posture of a dark hero.
A righteous hero sometimes becomes an avenger due to hatred, coldly sanctioning and destroying enemies who deserve their fate.
He then appeared in front of the person he wished to protect, shielding her from the wind and rain.
"Senpai! You really came back?" Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes, and she said with melancholy, yet with the joy of reunion.
"..." Shirou turned and nodded at the girl. He was restraining the impulses caused by his class, so he chose to use a vow of silence to remind himself at all times to remain calm.
With his relationship with the girl, it didn't matter even if he didn't talk to her; in his heart, he could understand her meaning.
Some things wouldn't change, even if he had become a Berserker.
If it were for this girl, Shirou felt from the bottom of his heart that he could give up everything. He yearned to be an Ally of Justice, hoped the whole world could be happy, and wanted all those he met to be far from misfortune; but in his previous life, he couldn't even protect the important people by his side.
But this time, this time, he would absolutely not let those things happen again.
Matou Zouken didn't show much surprise at this, but instead said with a smile: "You really did enter, didn't you? That waste Shinji really couldn't stop you for long. Even if he obtained the magic power bestowed by the Grail, waste is waste in the end. But you, too, are still as impulsive and reckless as before."
"..." Shirou stared silently, projected a Noble Phantasm once again, gripped it in his hand, and prepared for battle.
Matou Zouken said: "It's truly a pity. Emiya Kiritsugu refused the Grail and couldn't be summoned at all; otherwise, it would probably have been interesting to have you father and son kill each other. Heh-heh-heh, but it doesn't matter; I will make up for the lack of them."
The Assassin with black skin wearing a skull mask, and the female Caster whose face was covered by a purple cloak—these two Servants appeared even more excessive than the previous enemies; their entire bodies had traces of black mud, which had already infected their skin into different colors. Their stiffly moving bodies did not have their own will and were entirely puppets of the old man.
"The Ally of Justice is always late. And you, too—hundreds of thousands of people in this town have all turned into nutrition for the Grail. What were you doing at that time?" Matou Zouken asked with a smile.
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