LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Exposed
In the villa district.
The dark night was silent, save for the faint sounds of clashing blades that echoed eerily, sending a chill down anyone's spine. High above, a swarm of familiars circled, casting an ominous shadow over the nightscape of Fuyuki City.
At the Tohsaka Residence.
Tohsaka Rin stood face to face with Matou Zouken.
He wasn't dead. Though this outcome was disappointing, Rin hadn't truly expected otherwise.
Yet, knowing that her family had been deceived by him for over a decade, with her younger sister suffering unimaginable torment, filled Rin with an intense desire to kill him on the spot.
Despite her hatred and the urge to tear him apart, Rin kept her composure. She was calm to a degree that even she found unsettling.
Hearing him speak of his supposed "trump card," Rin's instincts sharpened, and she was prepared to use her Command Seal at any moment to summon Archer back for protection.
Thankfully, Roy had given her an additional Command Seal, granting her the luxury of summoning her Servant in a crisis. Without that, her life might very well be in jeopardy tonight.
"If you truly have a trump card, why not show it now? Otherwise, your Assassin might pay the price for your empty threats!" Rin narrowed her eyes, glaring coldly at Matou Zouken with a twisted smile that didn't reach her eyes.
She harbored another doubt in her heart.
Why had Matou Zouken, after a three-year disappearance, targeted her?
Admittedly, this was strange. It was Roy and Aoko Aozaki who had destroyed the Matou family three years ago, not her. Yet, Zouken hadn't sought revenge against Roy, choosing to focus on her instead. Could it be that he feared Aozaki's reputation as a true magician?
"Heh, losing my Assassin would indeed be... inconvenient," Matou Zouken said with a mock-respectful smile, his sycophantic expression nauseatingly transparent, enough to make anyone sick.
"Well then, Your Majesty, please make your appearance!"
From behind him, a black mist materialized, suffusing the air with a bone-chilling killing intent, so sharp it seemed to pierce straight to the soul.
From within the mist emerged a dark figure, the clanking of armor clear and jarring to the ear.
Fully clad in black armor, the figure stepped forward—an altered, corrupted version of Saber, none other than the legendary King Arthur, Artoria Pendragon, but now twisted into a Black Saber.
"Corrupted Saber?! What's she doing here?" Rin's face twisted in disbelief as she stared at Black Saber, caught completely off guard.
The exorcism barrier around Fuyuki City still stood, damaged but intact, and theoretically, it should prevent corrupted Servants from entering!
"Young Tohsaka girl, do you think I spent the last three years doing nothing?" Zouken's sinister, triumphant laughter echoed through the night.
"The exorcism barrier around Fuyuki City is indeed impressive, but it's far from the full potential of a true magician's work. The one who set it must have had his reasons, even going as far as using the city's ley lines as its power source. But I've lived in this city for centuries. My knowledge of its ley lines surpasses yours by far, little girl! Hahaha!"
Rin's expression soured as she anxiously called for Archer.
Meanwhile, her mind raced, piecing together Zouken's plan and intent.
She, Tohsaka Rin, was only a half-trained magus.
Her father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, had meticulously documented the family's magical heritage before his untimely death, but he'd passed too soon to teach her directly. For the past decade, she'd relied solely on herself, self-studying and gradually growing in strength.
She balanced her father's magic studies with dealing with the Mage's Association while carrying the guilt her family bore for the calamity they'd brought to the world.
Rin was a prodigy—her rapid progress in just a decade had proven that much. But the essence of magecraft lay in accumulated knowledge, and her youth, coupled with a lack of mentorship, left her with glaring weaknesses.
In a fair fight, the weakened Zouken might not stand a chance against her. But his extensive knowledge and experience had allowed him to exploit her vulnerabilities, manipulating the city's ley lines to breach the barrier and allow Black Saber's entrance.
No wonder they hadn't been able to find Black Saber after that night. Zouken had hidden her within the city's borders all along.
Now, thinking back, the first damage to the barrier had coincided with Black Saber's initial appearance. It must have been Zouken's doing, his entire plan set in motion from the very start.
His objective was clear: with her controlling the barrier, once she was eliminated, the defense would crumble, and it would be a trivial matter for Black Saber to storm the city.
At that point, no one would be able to stand against a Black Saber empowered by the Lesser Grail!
"To think the revered King of Britain would stoop to allying with a decrepit mage rotting to his very core," Rin sneered, hoping to stall for time while attempting to drive a wedge between them.
But Black Saber ignored her, silently raising her dark, twisted sword.
The mere act of lifting the blade filled the air with a chilling malice that made Rin's hair stand on end. A sense of impending doom crept from the base of her spine to the top of her head.
Without hesitation, she raised her hand.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, a fierce gust swept over her.
In the next instant, Black Saber seemed to teleport, her figure flashing directly before Rin's eyes.
With a resounding clang, two blades crossed to block the incoming strike, forming a makeshift shield. The familiar red coat flashed in front of Rin.
She let out a sigh of relief.
The Command Seal on the back of her hand had diminished by one.
Though it was painful to use another precious seal, preserving her life was worth any cost.
Bang!
Her relief was short-lived.
Red Archer suddenly staggered, his knees bending as he struggled under the force of Black Saber's blade, his arms shaking from the sheer weight of it.
"Archer, give me something here!" Rin shouted, clutching a handful of colorful gemstones, charging at Zouken without a second thought.
"You… really know how to push a guy!" Archer's face flushed as he struggled, frustration bubbling within.
How was he, a mere Archer, supposed to face off against a Saber empowered by the Lesser Grail?
This was even worse than telling him to solo Hercules six times over!
But with no other choice, he swiftly retreated, creating some distance from Black Saber while preparing to engage in evasive combat. Black Saber seemed uninterested in pursuing, but the relentless arrows forced her to divert her attention.
"Oh, little girl, did you really think Black Saber was the only corrupted Servant I had?" Zouken chuckled darkly, his voice dripping with ominous intent.
Rin's instincts flared.
The next moment, a figure cloaked entirely in darkness—a Berserker—appeared, his sword slicing through the air as he charged toward her with blinding speed.
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