Type-Moon, Path of the Magus

“Hmm… Not bad, you’ve learned a bit of the basics of Makiri Zolgen’s butterfly magecraft in such a short time.”

Looking at the pale blue butterfly made of mana hovering in Xia Yuan’s hand, the Count nodded slightly.

Although he had agreed to his Master’s request to successfully rescue the little girl called Sakura Tohsaka, the Count also had his own ulterior motives for this operation.

Before killing Zouken Matou, he first subjected him to a series of severe torture, successfully peeling off the Matou family’s magic crest from his skin, and brought it back to give to Xia Yuan. Afterwards, he obtained some magic books related to the Matou family from Zouken Matou’s study, allowing his Master to officially step into the world of magecraft.

To become an excellent magus, three important elements are needed: magic circuits, magic crests, and magical aptitude.

Setting aside Xia Yuan’s talent, as that’s something innate that he couldn’t do anything about, the first two elements were things that could be worked on.

His magic circuits had already been opened and guided by another version of himself in the Prison Tower. Although the quality of his magic circuits was decent, being a first-generation magus meant their quantity wasn’t outstanding. But it was much better than before, at least now he had the ability to convert mana and the qualification to learn magecraft.

But to become an excellent magus, having magic circuits alone isn’t enough; an excellent magic crest is equally indispensable.

Xia Yuan was very clear about this.

As a first-generation magus, he only had eighteen opened magic circuits in his body, which at most could be considered average. Compared to Shirou Emiya, who was also a first-generation magus, he was short by a full ten circuits. Although he knew Shirou Emiya was a genius in magecraft, chosen by Alaya to be a Counter Guardian, the gap between himself and Shirou was still too large. It could be said that the vast majority of magi could overwhelm him in terms of the number of magic circuits.

Moreover, being a first-generation magus and a loner, it was even more impossible for him to obtain a precious magic crest. On the contrary, his descendants were waiting for him to leave behind a magic crest inheritance.

It’s worth noting that each magic crest is something formed by crystallizing the mysteries that a magus has spent a lifetime cultivating and stabilizing. It can also be said to be an important magical heritage that allows magi to form magical lineages.

Its value in the world of magecraft is immeasurable. The longer the inheritance of a magic crest, the more precious it becomes. A magic crest is “an inheritance that should be passed down” engraved with all the research results from the founder of a magus family lineage up to the present.

He didn’t know that the Count had originally prepared to use the wealth he had accumulated in the real world through his Golden Rule skill to help him purchase a magic crest from some declining magus families. When he heard that his Master wanted to attack the Matou family, he immediately became excited.

Compared to magic crests that had only been passed down for less than three generations, the Matou family’s magic crest could definitely be considered to have a long history. The value contained within it was a treasure that couldn’t be ignored in the entire world of magecraft. The magecraft grandmaster Tokiomi Tohsaka was even willing to have his daughter adopted into the Matou family so that she could inherit the Matou family’s magic crest. This shows the fatal attraction it held for magi, even someone like Tokiomi Tohsaka, a grandmaster of magecraft, couldn’t resist it.

The Count also smiled. With such a magic crest right in front of him, why wouldn’t he take it?

Previously, without his Master’s orders, he didn’t want to startle the snake by disturbing the grass, and out of caution, he had no reason to provoke the Matou family. Now that his Master had said to attack, what reason did he have to refuse the Matou family’s crest?

Looking at Xia Yuan who was still familiarizing himself with the butterfly magecraft, the Count smiled.

“Finally, it’s starting to take shape…”

Over these few months, he and Xia Yuan had thoroughly studied the magical assets left in the magic crest, and at the same time, witnessed the transformation process from Makiri to Zouken Matou.

From the butterfly magecraft that was originally the specialty of the righteous partner who pursued world peace, it had unknowingly begun to degenerate into the inhumane worm magecraft that parasitized human bodies.

This was the change brought about by five hundred years of obsession, and also the fall of a righteous partner.

Xia Yuan also sighed at this, looking at the pale blue crest flickering on his arm, he couldn’t help but say:

“Good night, Makiri.”

“Die well, Zouken Matou.”

…

…

Meanwhile, in Fuyuki City, at the Tohsaka residence.

At this moment, Tokiomi Tohsaka, dressed in a red suit, no longer maintained his former elegance as he sat in his tea chair with a melancholic expression.

The reason was simple: several months ago, an unexpected fire had broken out at the Matou residence in the dead of night, consuming more than half of the Matou estate.

Upon receiving the news that night, he had rushed to the scene in a hurry.

That night, Kariya Matou, who had witnessed Zouken Matou being killed, was naturally in high spirits. Fearing that the fire wasn’t fierce enough, he even specially took out a lot of gasoline from the garage and spread it around the house several times.

As for Byakuya Matou, who was out at the time, when he learned that Zouken Matou had been killed, he laughed even more happily than Kariya Matou. He rushed back home overnight, and after salvaging some of the Matou family’s property from the parts that were still intact, he laughed even more joyfully.

As for Zouken Matou’s remains? The lost magic crest and magic books? Who cared about those things? The two brothers couldn’t wait to get those ghostly things as far away as possible.

After doing all this, the two brothers looked at each other deeply, together admiring the most beautiful sight of their lives before the flames — the destruction of the Matou family.

That night, Byakuya Matou even proposed to go to a hotel in Fuyuki City with Kariya Matou and Shinji to properly celebrate this day. They had to drink until they were completely drunk, and they wanted to make this day a memorial day, to be celebrated every year.

So that night, when Tokiomi Tohsaka rushed from home to the scene, he witnessed a sight that shocked his worldview: even though it was their own family residence burning, these two brothers were laughing in the sea of fire like Lord Kars, showing no signs of sadness at all.

At that moment, Tokiomi Tohsaka even began to wonder if he was under some kind of illusion.

But none of that mattered now. He just wanted to know where Sakura was.

With an anxious heart, Tokiomi Tohsaka rushed through the sea of fire towards the two brothers laughing wildly in the flames.

But when he approached Kariya Matou and grabbed his arm, just as he was about to ask for an explanation, Kariya Matou said nothing. Instead, he suddenly pulled out a brick from behind his back and swung it hard at Tokiomi’s head, instantly knocking him unconscious.

It wasn’t until the next morning when he woke up that he found himself in the Fuyuki City police station.

When the police arrived at the scene that night, they found the unconscious Tokiomi Tohsaka, who naturally became a suspect in the arson case. He was to be detained to assist with the investigation for a few days, causing him to spend a lot of money to manage relationships in order to be released early.

Because of this, when he returned home exhausted, he saw Sakura, who had already been sent back by Kariya Matou, and his usually gentle wife now looked at him with several traces of anger in her eyes.

Last night, when Kariya Matou brought Sakura back…

Aoi Tohsaka was stunned.

Her whole body suddenly froze. Her heart, which had already been aching due to Sakura’s adoption, completely broke at this moment.

Especially when she saw the wounds and blood on Sakura’s body, and the unfamiliarity in her daughter’s eyes.

What exactly had happened?

What kind of suffering had Sakura endured during her time in the Matou family?

Although she never interfered with her husband’s decisions, and she believed that Tokiomi was a good father who did everything for the good of their daughters.

But why had it turned out like this?

Seeing Aoi Tohsaka in this state, Kariya Matou didn’t say much. He just shook his head and silently turned to leave.

The things that followed couldn’t be known to her.

So when Tokiomi Tohsaka returned home, he found that everything had changed. The entire family, including his wife and children, looked at him differently.

As a qualified father, he of course cared about Sakura, but when he returned this time, he found that Sakura had become very cold. No matter what he asked, Sakura refused to answer, and even began to avoid eye contact with him.

Originally full of anger, seeing this scene made him even angrier. He immediately wanted to go find Kariya Matou and demand an explanation.

But when he saw the notebook Aoi handed to him, he was stunned.

This was the notebook that Kariya Matou had entrusted Aoi Tohsaka to give to Tokiomi Tohsaka. It contained records of Zouken Matou’s actions and the sufferings Sakura had endured.

As he flipped through the contents, Tokiomi Tohsaka’s face suddenly stiffened, and his inner anger towards Kariya Matou instantly vanished.

The more he read through the contents of the notebook, the colder his hands and feet became.

In the end, all that was left was endless regret and guilt.

He understood now. He understood the meaning behind Kariya Matou’s brick, and why Sakura had been avoiding him since she returned.

He understood everything now.

Instantly, the elegance on his face was gone.

“—Zou! Ken! Ma! Tou!!!”

He had been deceived, and so thoroughly at that.

The Matou family’s water magecraft had long since degenerated into the heretical worm magecraft that parasitized human bodies without his knowledge. His daughter had even become the target of this parasitism. Zouken’s proposal to adopt Sakura was never about passing down the magic crest; from the very beginning, he had planned to modify Sakura into his parasitic tool.

He had pushed his most beloved daughter into hell with his own hands!

Upon learning the truth, Tokiomi Tohsaka, flushed with anger and shame, his eyes filled with rage, no longer cared about maintaining his elegance. He grabbed his mystic code and rushed to the Matou residence to demand an explanation from the old worm.

But the Matou residence had already been reduced to ashes in the fire, and the brothers Kariya Matou and Byakuya Matou had gone into hiding.

Having lost his target, he had no way to vent his pent-up anger, and in the end, could only slink back home dejectedly.

After that, his daughter Sakura never spoke another word to him after returning home, refusing to call him father anymore. Instead, she locked herself in her room and refused to see anyone, not even her sister or mother.

Although his wife didn’t say anything, it was clear that her attitude had undergone a massive change due to this incident. From her original gentleness, she had now become cold. Even his eldest daughter Rin Tohsaka, who had originally been closest to him, now began to try to distance herself from him as a father.

In a short time, his position in this family had undergone an earth-shattering change. Now, there was a pitiful barrier between him and his family members.

The more Tokiomi Tohsaka thought about it, the more irritated he became. The teacup in his hand had unknowingly shattered.

The Matou residence had been reduced to ashes, and Zouken Matou’s fate was currently unknown. Kariya Matou hadn’t told him what had happened at the Matou residence that night.

But he swore by the name of the Tohsaka family’s ancestors, if Zouken Matou was still alive and dared to show his face again, he would definitely let that old worm know what the wrath of a magecraft grandmaster was like.

Chapter 11: The Grateful One and the Killer

It was long after the night the Matou residence was destroyed by fire that he met with Kariya Matou again.

After that day, both Tokiomi Tohsaka and the church in Fuyuki City came to inquire about what exactly had happened at the Matou residence that night. To avoid implicating the benefactor who had helped him, Kariya Matou’s explanation to the outside world was that the Berserker he had summoned had destroyed the Matou residence.

Although Zouken Matou was a powerful magecraft grandmaster, that power was only in relation to other magi. Against Servants, a magus’s strength was hard to be effective, let alone against a sudden backstab attack.

So Zouken Matou’s death was not something incomprehensible to them.

…

…

Kariya Matou had somehow found out his address and called Xia Yuan’s phone one morning.

He said he wanted to invite him out for a meeting.

To avoid attracting attention, he deliberately chose a location with low foot traffic – a side hall of the Ryuudou Temple.

The time was also very considerately set at midnight.

At first, Xia Yuan was somewhat surprised to see this man who had just escaped from hell appear again.

“I didn’t expect you to still be in the Holy Grail War.”

Seeing the three bright red Command Spells still on the back of Kariya Matou’s hand, Xia Yuan’s tone carried a hint of surprise.

“Zouken Matou is already dead. As for the crest worms he planted in Sakura Tohsaka’s body, with Tokiomi Tohsaka’s connections, finding a magus to solve the problem is just a matter of time. Though this time, he should learn from his lesson and find a more reliable magus family for adoption.”

“Zouken Matou is already dead. Your ideal of allowing Sakura Tohsaka to live safely has been achieved. So why are you still dragging this broken body to continue participating in the war?”

“No particular reason,” Kariya Matou slowly removed his hood, revealing that horrifying face that had been modified by Zouken Matou. He pointed at his own broken body and said,

“My body was already modified by Zouken Matou to be neither human nor ghost a year ago. Even if I stop now, I don’t think I can live on. Rather than rotting away in some dark corner, I’d rather do something meaningful in the last days of my life.”

“Like participating in the Holy Grail War?”

“That’s right.”

Kariya Matou nodded and said, “I want to repay your kindness in this Holy Grail War. The Servant I summoned is Berserker, who has considerable advantages in terms of strength. I will help you to the greatest extent in this Holy Grail War.”

“…”

“You’re doing this to express your gratitude for rescuing Sakura Tohsaka, so you want to assist me in the Holy Grail War?”

“Yes… Although I don’t know to what extent I can help, I will do my best to follow your instructions.”

“…Not necessary.”

Contrary to Kariya Matou’s expectations, Xia Yuan shook his head slightly and decisively rejected his proposal.

Then he lifted his sleeve and simultaneously activated the magic circuits in his body, causing the magic crest he had obtained from Zouken Matou to slowly appear on his arm.

“This is…?”

“Zouken Matou’s magic crest. This was also one of my objectives in attacking the Matou family.”

“Now that I’ve received my reward, there’s no need for you to go to such lengths.”

“But…”

Kariya Matou wanted to say something more, but Xia Yuan interrupted him.

“I was wondering earlier how you managed to find me. Now I think I understand.”

Slowly walking up to him, he placed his right hand on Kariya Matou’s shoulder. His magic circuits began to operate, and a pale blue magical energy emitted a faint glow. The crest worms inside Kariya Matou’s body also began to violently react to this light.

There was a connection between the Matou family’s crest worms and the magic crest. Kariya Matou had followed this sensation to find him.

“Ugh—”

The sudden discomfort deep in his body made Kariya Matou’s face change abruptly. The unbearable pain in his stomach, like a churning sea, made him suddenly fall to his knees.

“Arrrrr—”

As a Servant, being the first to sense the discomfort in his Master’s body, the black knight suddenly rushed out from the shadows.

The Count, hiding in another shadow, was no less quick to act. Seeing the black knight rush out, he immediately sprang into action. His body carrying black lightning, he suddenly darted out at extreme speed. Taking advantage of Berserker’s momentary lack of reaction, he kicked him away with one foot.