After instantly killing the filthy old insect, Hansen did not stop.
He looked down toward the direction of the basement, the chill in his eyes enough to freeze souls.
In the deepest part of that heavily fortified magecraft workshop, he sensed a faint life force that was nearly extinguished.
He raised his foot and stomped down heavily.
Rumble—!
The central area of the entire Matou Family residence collapsed directly, the floor shattering into a huge deep pit that led straight to the insect storage underground.
It was a living hell.
Countless hideous Crest Worms writhed in the dark pit, making a hair-raising rustling sound.
And in the center of the swarm, a scantily clad little girl lay there with lifeless eyes.
Her short purple hair and originally pure eyes had now become dull and hollow.
Sakura Tohsaka.
Or rather, the adopted daughter sent by the Tohsaka Family to the Matou Family, Sakura Matou.
Her young body was covered in disgusting insects.
Those insects were gnawing on her Magic Circuits, forcibly remodeling her body, turning her into a vessel for depravity and pain.
Hansen leaped into the deep pit.
His divine majesty spread like a tide, and the insects that tried to approach him instantly went crazy and fled in a frenzy.
Grinding the insects along the way into dust, Hansen strode up to Sakura Matou, looking at the girl who resembled a broken doll.
Sensing the presence of a living person, the little girl's eyes moved slightly, but that was all.
"Kill... kill me..."
A voice so weak it was almost inaudible.
Hansen was silent for a moment.
He reached out and shattered all the insects crawling on and even inside the girl into dust, leaving not a trace even at the particle level.
He then took off his black trench coat and wrapped her petite body tightly.
"Having traveled to so many worlds, there are not many things that make me feel disgusted enough to want to kill, even the legendary Progenitor of Demons is the same."
(Muzan Kibutsuji, who doesn't have much screen time:???)
Hansen picked up Sakura Matou, who was already asleep under the comfort of his divine power, and looked toward a corner of the pit's shadows.
There, Matou Zouken's final true form—the brain worm that carried his soul—was huddled in a crack in the wall, shivering.
"What, do you want to beg for mercy?"
Hansen's voice was terrifyingly calm.
"Spare... spare me... I can give you everything in the Matou Family..."
"Foolish. If I kill you, all this will be mine anyway—although I don't care for it."
Hansen sneered, not listening to his nonsense.
He raised his finger, and a miniature [Gaia Thermal Cannon] condensed at his fingertip.
Even with less than one ten-thousandth of the power of the original, it was still a force sufficient to completely erase matter at the particle level.
Boom!
A white beam of light pierced through the underground.
Not only that old insect, but the entire filthy insect storage and all the Crest Worms were cleansed completely in that instant.
The dust settled.
Hansen floated in the ruins out of thin air and looked down at the girl in his arms.
Sakura Matou curled up in the oversized trench coat, feeling that heavy and warm aura, and a clear tear slid from the corner of her eye.
"The nightmare ends here."
As Hansen's gentle voice fell, a soft radiance overflowed from his palm, and a powerful yet gentle life force instantly enveloped Sakura Matou.
The hideous wounds, bruises, and all the dirty traces left by her life underground on the girl's body were disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Her dry, purple hair became smooth and shiny again.
In those hollow eyes, a glimmer of something called "life" was slowly returning.
Hansen looked around.
The Matou Family residence had completely turned into a ruin; it would probably be the biggest news in Fuyuki City tomorrow.
Carrying the sleeping girl, his figure flickered and disappeared into the night.
...
...
Einzbern Castle.
Saber was meticulously performing her duty as a guard when her ears suddenly twitched, and her gaze abruptly turned toward the direction from which the footsteps came.
Within her line of sight, Hansen's tall figure was striding down the corridor.
"You...?!"
Saber was startled; only then did she realize that Hansen was not in the room at all.
The anger in her heart had just risen when she saw what Hansen was holding in his arms.
It was a child wrapped tightly in a black trench coat.
"Who is she?!"
Hearing the commotion, Irisviel also ran in wearing a bathrobe.
She looked at the child in Hansen's arms, stunned at first, and then her ruby-like eyes were filled with maternal heartache.
"Mr. Han Sen... what is this?"
"A stray cat I picked up on the way."
Hansen walked past the two of them into his room and casually placed Sakura Matou on the soft bed.
Irisviel and Saber exchanged a glance, then quickly followed him inside.
The beautiful lady who had never experienced the hardships of the world stepped forward and gently unwrapped the trench coat covering the girl.
When she saw the girl's small face, which was clean but still looked thin and pale, she couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
"Isn't this... the second daughter of the Tohsaka Family? Why did she end up like this?"
As a member of the three founding families, Irisviel naturally recognized Sakura Tohsaka.
"The Tohsaka Family's daughter?" Artoria also came over; she could sense the immense and pure magical energy within the girl. "How is this possible? This magical energy... it's almost as if it has been reshaped."
"Now she is called Sakura Matou." Hansen sat in a chair and casually picked up a glass of red wine from the table and poured a cup. "But from now on, she has nothing to do with those two disgusting families anymore."
Hansen briefly and concisely recounted what happened in the Matou Family's underground.
After listening, the whole room fell into a deathly silence.
Artoria's hand gripping the sword hilt was trembling violently.
She had never imagined that behind these Magi who claimed to pursue the Root, such heinous crimes were hidden.
"That old thing..." Artoria gritted her teeth, flames of anger burning in her emerald eyes. "I should have cut him down myself!"
Irisviel gently stroked Sakura's forehead, her eyes moist.
"So pitiful... Is the justice that Kiritsugu has always pursued meant to allow such tragedies to happen?"
Hansen took a sip of wine and said indifferently: "Justice is a lie fabricated by the strong for the weak. If you really want to help her, don't just sit here crying; find her some decent clothes and prepare something good to eat."
"Yes, Mr. Han Sen is right."
Irisviel wiped her tears and immediately got busy.
Watching the two women busying themselves around the little girl, Hansen leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
"Big brother..."
On the bed, Sakura Matou let out a murmur in her sleep.
Her small hand was clutching the black trench coat tightly, as if it were her only reliance in this world.
The corners of Hansen's mouth lifted imperceptibly.
This journey seemed to have been given a different meaning.
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It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
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