Saber followed Hansen downstairs huffily, one after the other.
In the living room, a heartwarming scene was unfolding.
Sakura, washed clean and changed into a pink dress, was huddled together with Illya on the rug in front of the fireplace.
The two little ones were playing with a few Magic dolls in their hands, occasionally letting out crisp laughter.
Irisviel sat on the sofa nearby, holding a cup of black tea, her gaze exceptionally soft.
Seeing Hansen and Saber come down, Irisviel put down her teacup and scanned her eyes over the two of them.
Finally, her gaze fixed on Saber's radiant face, a meaningful smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
"It seems... the Mana Replenishment was very successful."
Saber's body stiffened, and the heartbeat she had just calmed almost lost its rhythm again.
She could only give a dry cough and turn her head away, pretending to admire the oil painting on the wall: "Ahem, I told you... it was just a necessary strategic preparation!"
Hansen ignored the silent exchange between the two women and walked straight to the sofa to sit down, casually picking up an apple from the fruit bowl and taking a bite.
"As everyone knows, the Holy Grail War is conducted in secret, so there's a high probability that the day will pass peacefully."
"However, starting tonight, Fuyuki City is likely to become quite lively."
He chewed the apple, his gaze shifting to the flickering shadows of the winter forest outside the window.
Those rats hiding in the gutters, or the magi who pride themselves on being noble, are already unable to sit still... Fuyuki City, Miyama Town.
Unlike the loneliness of Einzbern Castle built deep in the mountains and forests, the Tohsaka Residence, situated halfway up the mountain, exuded an air of solemnity and classical magus family prestige.
This was a typical Western-style mansion, exuding an old and rigorous style everywhere.
The heavy mahogany doors were tightly closed, and complex defensive Bounded fields rippled imperceptibly in the air, isolating the bustle of the secular world.
Inside the dim study, an old-fashioned gramophone was spinning, playing dull yet elegant classical music.
The air was filled with a faint aroma of red wine and a lingering sense of oppression.
Tohsaka Tokiomi stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, swirling the glass of blood-colored red wine in his hand, looking at his reflection in the glass—
The head of the Tohsaka family, who always maintained an elegant and calm demeanor, as if everything was under control.
Only at this moment, the brow in the reflection was slightly furrowed.
"Kirei."
Tokiomi did not look back, his voice low and steady: "Regarding the mana reaction last night, has the investigation been completed?"
In the shadows behind him stood a man dressed in a black priest's outfit.
Kirei Kotomine.
He stood there straight, like an emotionless stone statue, expressionless, his eyes empty and deep.
"Yes, Teacher."
Kirei Kotomine's voice showed no fluctuations, as if he were reading an autopsy report: "According to the feedback from the Familiars deployed throughout the city last night, the Matou Family estate... has vanished."
His voice was as steady as a pool of stagnant water; even heavy news like the destruction of an ancient magus family like the Matou Family, one of the Three Founding Families, could not cause a ripple in his heart.
"Vanished?" Tokiomi turned around, his wine glass pausing slightly.
"Yes, Teacher, vanished in the literal sense," Kirei Kotomine continued. "The entire Matou estate, along with its foundation and the underground Magus workshop, was directly erased by some extremely high-grade energy, leaving only a thirty-meter-deep crater at the scene."
Tokiomi's pupils contracted slightly.
As an "old friend" of many years, he knew all too well how disgusting the life-saving methods of that old worm, Matou Zouken, were.
Even if the house was blown up, even if the person was killed, as long as a single worm remained, that old thing could be resurrected.
"What about Matou Zouken?"
"Dead." Kirei Kotomine's answer was concise and powerful. "Assassin's clones did not detect any signs of life at the scene, and all Crest Worm reactions have dropped to zero."
"It was a complete purification."
"Complete... purification..."
Tokiomi repeated these words in a low voice, his grip on the wine glass tightening.
To be able to completely kill Matou Zouken meant that the person who acted not only possessed terrifying destructive power but also had purification attributes specifically targeting souls or filthy things.
"Is it Einzbern?" Tokiomi asked.
"Highly likely." Kirei Kotomine nodded. "This morning, two extremely high-intensity mana reactions broke out in the direction of Einzbern Castle."
"The first was a collection of black resentment, later confirmed to be Berserker."
"The second was a golden holy light, its scale... estimated to be within the range of an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm." At this point, even Kirei Kotomine's calm voice seemed to have a slight ripple.
"Berserker attacked Einzbern and was then killed in return?"
"Yes, Teacher," Kirei Kotomine nodded. "According to Assassin's investigation, the master of Berserker, Kariya Matou, was found lying at the edge of the Einzbern forest this morning, his life or death unknown."
"And Berserker's saint graph reaction has completely vanished."
"Heh," Tohsaka Tokiomi cleared his thoughts, an elegant cold smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "That useless Kariya Matou is indeed of no great use."
"Even if given a Berserker, he's just going to his death."
Tohsaka Tokiomi felt no pity for the Matou Family's exit from the stage.
This is the Holy Grail War.
The weak exit, and the strong survive.
What truly made him feel uneasy was the existence that easily wiped out the Matou Family and then blasted away Berserker with a single blow.
"Saber..."
Tohsaka Tokiomi took a sip of red wine, his brow furrowing even tighter. "Although it's the strongest Class, can an attack of that scale really be sustained by a master at this stage?"
"Just how much mana reserves did that man named Kiritsugu Emiya prepare?"
He was not afraid of strong enemies.
As the head of the Tohsaka family, he had prepared for this day for far too long.
But he hated variables.
Whether it was the sudden death of the Matou Family or the super-standard firepower displayed by the Einzberns, both exceeded the script he had originally written.
"Teacher."
Kirei Kotomine suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. "There is one more suspicious point at the scene."
"Speak."
"In the ruins of the Matou estate, the body of Sakura Matou was not found."
Hearing this name, Tohsaka Tokiomi's hand holding the wine glass shook violently.
That was his daughter.
The daughter he had personally sent to the Matou Family, who had made a sacrifice to continue the magus bloodline.
"Was she... vaporized by such an attack?" Tohsaka Tokiomi's voice was somewhat dry.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out, but considering even Matou Zouken was killed cleanly, if Sakura was also present at the time, her chance of survival is zero."
"But if she was taken away..."
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