Type-Moon, Path of the Magus

“What do you think? Hasn’t anyone told you? Master, you’re really not good at hiding your emotions. That sour face of yours is writing everything out, who can you fool?”

“So, what exactly happened? Would you mind telling me? No need to keep it to yourself, we’re accomplices after all.”

The Count’s golden eyes brightened slightly as he stared seriously at him.

“Alright then… Count, come with me somewhere.”

After hesitating for a moment, Xia Yuan spoke up: “I’ll explain on the way. This time, I might really need to borrow your power, Count.”

“Happy to oblige, my accomplice.”

The Count took his hand.

…

…

“Kuhahaha! I thought it was something big, seeing you hesitate like that. Is this all?”

After hearing Xia Yuan’s explanation, the Count roughly understood everything.

To put it in fairytale terms: A little girl has fallen into the hands of a dark magician, currently suffering hardships. A hero who learned of this wants to save her, but is afraid to act for fear of implicating his companion.

That’s about the gist of it.

For the Count, an innocent girl falling into the hands of a dark magician wasn’t particularly rare. After all, his era was the chaotic Middle Ages. Forget about child trafficking, even buying and selling children was commonplace.

Moreover, having crawled out of the Château d’If, he had already seen all the world’s tragedies. As an avenger, he didn’t actually feel much empathy for Sakura Tohsaka’s tragedy. There were too many tragedies in the world, he couldn’t manage them all, nor did he want to.

He was just an avenger, not some ally of justice.

What did other people’s tragedies have to do with him?

But since this was his Master’s request, that was a different story.

However, the first time you ask for my help, using my power, it’s just for something like this? My Master, I must say, you’re foolishly adorable…

Looking at the somewhat nervous Xia Yuan, the Count smiled helplessly.

“Don’t worry, Master. Leave it to me.”

…

…

“This is the place.”

Arriving near the Matou house, the Count swiftly eliminated all the detection familiars, placed Xia Yuan in a safe location, and finally turned his gaze to the gloomy old Matou mansion.

“Tch, what an ominous magical energy. This rotten, foul smell is even worse than those evil spirits in the Château d’If. It seems the magus inside is indeed scum.”

Having confirmed the location of the Matou residence, he patted Xia Yuan’s shoulder, not forgetting to instruct: “Master, wait for me at this safe distance. I can handle the rest on my own. Don’t follow me, just take care of your own safety.”

Xia Yuan nodded, accepting the suggestion.

“You too, Count. If you need Command Seal support, contact me immediately.”

He certainly understood his own weakness. If he followed the Count in, not only would he be of no help, but he would only become a burden.

“No need,” the Count laughed. “For an avenger like me, this prison that’s not even hell can’t stump me. As a Servant, I’m not so weak as to need my Master’s concern.

Wait for me here. Once I shatter this laughable cage, our journey will be to the other shore of grudges and debts, kuhahaha—”

With a wild laugh, the green cloak on his shoulders danced in the wind as the Count rose, becoming a dazzling black light, and charged into the old Matou mansion.

Chapter 9: Sin and Salvation

Whoosh—

Flames from hell descended without warning, instantly dyeing the entire night sky with orange-yellow firelight.

Accompanied by laughter as wild as a demon’s, the entire Matou house was completely destroyed in an instant.

“Kuhahaha! What’s wrong? Is this all the Three Families’ Zouken Matou is capable of?”

In the scorching sea of fire, treading on heat waves, the Count stepped on Zouken Matou’s head, repeatedly stomping on his ugly skull with the hard heel of his leather shoe. On his shoulder, he carried a small figure he had just brought out from the worm pit—Sakura Tohsaka.

As for Kariya Matou, to prevent him from interfering, that fool who didn’t know his limits was knocked unconscious at first sight and thrown aside.

His body couldn’t handle it anyway, which is why he hadn’t summoned a Servant so early. According to the old worm’s plan, he would summon on the eve of the Holy Grail War to preserve maximum combat strength.

So without a Servant’s protection, the Matou house was instantly penetrated by the Count’s teleportation, as if entering unguarded territory.

However, even if Zouken Matou had summoned a Servant, he wouldn’t have helped the old worm against the Count.

Given their “loving” father-son relationship, he would have been eager to deliver the finishing blow with a signal axe when seeing the old worm being beaten, let alone come to his rescue. How could there be any deep father-son affection in such a fake family without any genuine feelings?

“Who the hell are you? Why are you attacking the Matou family!”

Zouken Matou, pinned to the ground and being rubbed against it, was furious and bewildered in his heart. He was just drinking tea at home when this unknown Heroic Spirit directly broke through his defensive spells and barged in. That bizarre speed was so fast he couldn’t even react. In just a few breaths, he was pinned to the ground with one hand.

As for his swarms of worms and the cultivated death soldiers, they were no match at all for the Count’s flames of hatred. With just a wave of his hand, they were instantly engulfed and annihilated by the scorching heat wave, not even touching the Count’s clothes before being reduced to ashes.

The Count wasn’t some upright gentleman either. Compared to Angra Mainyu, the A·venger who polluted the Holy Grail, he was more like a true avenger. Naturally, he wouldn’t show any mercy to villains like Zouken Matou. With a chop of his hand, black flames easily burned off Zouken Matou’s limbs, and he viciously stomped on him.

“Aaaaah—”

The excruciating pain made Zouken Matou’s decaying face even more hideous.

“Hm? Be quiet, old man.”

Hearing Zouken Matou’s heart-wrenching screams beneath his foot, the Count frowned and put more force into his stomping foot, as if he could crush the old worm’s withered head in the next second.

“You bastard! Aaaaah…”

Zouken Matou wanted to curse loudly, but the black flames continued to burn him like maggots on bones, making him wish for death.

The Count of Monte Cristo, this is the name or title of the world’s most famous avenger. These flames, condensed from the resentment of hell, burn not just the body but also the soul. Even though he was no longer human, he still felt excruciating pain when subjected to these flames.

This guy is more like a demon than me!

No! I must endure. My lifelong wish hasn’t been fulfilled yet. I absolutely cannot die here!!

Although his magic was useless against him and his limbs had been destroyed, there was still hope.

For the sake of immortality, he had long since ceased to be human. As long as he could survive this catastrophe, he could just switch to another body later. As long as the crest worm was still in Sakura’s body, he still had hope for revival.

Thinking of this, a glint of desperation flashed in his eyes. He opened his mouth to chant a spell, intending to detonate the worms inside his body to escape.

But the Count, who had already been briefed by Xia Yuan, wouldn’t let him have his way. The hand covered in flames pressed directly onto his head, interrupting his self-destruction spell.

“Kill… kill me,” Zouken Matou begged in a low voice. “I can give you anything you want, please, give me release.”

Release?

“Oh? Even a non-human like you seeks release?” 

The Count leaned down and said in a low voice.

“You’re seeking death, right? I know, you must have already planted your crest worm in that girl in the basement, and what you want to do most now is to die quickly to avoid me, then revive in another body, right?”

“You!!”

Hearing the Count’s words, Zouken Matou felt a sudden sense of danger. His pupils contracted sharply as he stared at this avenger in disbelief.

This was his most important secret, even Kariya Matou didn’t know about it. How did this guy know?

At this moment, the fear of death enveloped his heart.

Looking at the Count’s sinister smile, Zouken Matou’s mutilated body couldn’t help but shudder. He fell into despair.

“No, don’t do this! You can’t… you can’t do this!!”

“Kuhahaha— That’s right, just that expression, the despair before death! Since you’re making that face, it means I’m right, you stinking worm!”

“That was just the beginning, now comes the main event!”

Seeing the Count’s devilish smile, Zouken Matou’s heart trembled violently. In his final moments, he began to curse madly.

“You bastard! You demon! Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable, you hypocritical justice captives, you only use that boring false morality to taint my ideals! I won’t forgive you, I won’t! I curse you, I curse you all… Aah!”

“Too much talk!”

With a crunch, the Count decisively crushed the old worm’s skull, then grabbed his body.

“Disgusting worm, I’m an avenger from hell. Your little curses are just daily occurrences for me.”

As he spoke, black flames burned continuously in his palm, beginning to devour Zouken Matou’s body, burning the parasitic worms inside with crackling sounds.

“But you know what? You dare to curse my Master! You lowly creature, don’t be so full of yourself!! If it weren’t for the fact that the crest on your body still had some value, I would have made sure you died without a burial place long ago!”

“Now, turn to ashes along with your rotten body and that lowly soul, kuhahaha—!”

With a mad laugh, the black flames suddenly erupted, completely engulfing what remained of Zouken Matou’s body. Only the piece of skin carrying the magic crest, which the Count had peeled off in advance, was preserved.

“Ugh…”

The man lying on the ground in the scorching flames twitched his eyes.

“Hey, you pitiful worm, you must have heard everything, right? This little girl still has that old worm’s crest worm inside her.”

Looking at the still half-unconscious Kariya Matou on the ground, the Count kicked him up.

“Ah!”

The sudden pain in his abdomen made Kariya Matou’s teeth chatter, and his foggy mind cleared up.

“Yes…”

Indeed, in his half-awake state, Kariya Matou had heard the conversation between the Count and the old worm.

Although the old worm’s dying screams were quite pleasant to hear, when he heard that there was still a crest worm left by that old bastard in Sakura’s body, his initial joy instantly vanished.

Damn it! This cursed old worm, even in death he had to leave something like this behind…

He curled up his body and looked at the man before him who seemed like a demon, lowering his head to plead with him.

“Please…”

“I refuse. This little girl’s body can’t withstand the corrosion of the flames. I could indeed kill that disgusting stinking worm, but this little girl’s life would end along with it,” the Count directly refused, knowing Kariya Matou’s intention.

“How can this be… Sakura?”

Seeing Kariya Matou kneeling on the ground, the Count snorted coldly. As he placed Sakura Tohsaka in front of him, he left with these words: “Go find a magus who specializes in this field. This little girl’s modifications aren’t too deep yet, there’s still a chance for recovery.”

“Find a magus…” Hearing this, some light gradually returned to Kariya Matou’s eyes.

…

…

Compared to the still heated scene at the Matou house, with the Holy Church busy covering up the truth and the police actively fighting the fire, the master-servant pair of Xia Yuan and the Count decisively left the scene, concealing their merits and names.

The person had been rescued, but there was nothing they could do about the crest worm. After all, the Count wasn’t an orthodox magus, and he couldn’t undo Zouken Matou’s worm magic. It was impossible to remove the crest worm without harming Sakura.

However, Xia Yuan wasn’t worried. Sakura’s modifications weren’t deep, and the crest worm hadn’t yet firmly rooted itself in Sakura’s body. For Sakura’s sake, Kariya Matou would eventually send Sakura back to Tokiomi Tohsaka, as among the magi he knew, only Tokiomi could save Sakura.

With Tokiomi Tohsaka’s connections, finding a magus specializing in treatment would be easy. After all, compared to other magi, Tokiomi Tohsaka still retained the basic sensibilities of a father.

He would probably feel guilty for pushing Sakura into this magical hell, as he, who had always despised unorthodox magi, had harmed his own daughter this time. He would regret his foolish actions.

However, considering his personality, he would probably still give Sakura away for adoption later. After all, he valued his identity as a magus too much, and Sakura’s imaginary number aptitude meant she was destined to be extraordinary. This girl would never be able to live an ordinary life.

Hopefully, Tokiomi Tohsaka would learn from this lesson and carefully check the background and character of the adopter next time, to avoid repeating this mistake.

But that was no longer his concern. He had done the most he could, and whatever happened next would be their own choice.

Allies of justice do exist, but they can’t always prevent tragedies in time.

Looking at the Count walking beside him, Xia Yuan smiled and said softly.

“Thank you, Count. Let’s go home.”

Chapter 10: Tokiomi Tohsaka’s Remorse

Time: A few months later, near the start of the Holy Grail War.

Location: Fuyuki City.

In a fairly spacious room, a few faint blue lights flickered. From his fingertips, several blurry outlines were slowly being traced in the void.