Merlin, who was drowsy and nearly asleep, opened his eyes and looked around the room. His gaze landed on the magical familiar standing at the window. His eyes widened instantly, and he slapped his own cheek. At that moment, he bitterly regretted giving in to Aslan's threats and climbing out of his tower.
He couldn't shake the feeling that, in this Holy Grail War, he was the lowest-ranked existence in their group. No matter what happened, it seemed he was always the one sent out. After fighting through the entire night, he had just been about to collapse into bed, and now—another summons, another meeting, the contents of which he didn't even know.
Worse still, if the meeting turned out to be important, he might not have any chance to rest at all, but instead be rushed straight into the next battle.
With a weary sigh, Merlin conjured a basin of water with magic, buried his face in it, and exhaled. Bubbles rose to the surface—an odd, childish attempt to relieve his mounting stress.
The bird-shaped familiar at the window pecked the glass lightly, making a friendly sound while lifting the bamboo tube at its feet where a letter was secured.
Akuta Hinako, already annoyed, grabbed the alarm clock from her bedside table and hurled it across the room. With a sharp crack, it struck Merlin squarely on the head, ringing like a bell. A fresh lump rose instantly. Merlin lifted his head with an expression of pure despair.
For a moment, he seriously considered drowning himself in the basin. It would be an undignified way to go, but at least it would spare him further suffering.
Merlin sighed heavily and swore to himself: unless something truly catastrophic happened, he would never leave his tower again.
Dragging his exhausted body forward, he cast a small spell to mask the dark circles beneath his eyes and removed the letter from the familiar's legs. As he spread the paper open, his eyes widened. All fatigue fled from him in an instant—or rather, he shoved it to the back of his mind.
There was a problem with the Holy Grail.
Was this the very crisis he had foreseen? If the "evil of the world" continued spilling out of the void, it could deal a devastating blow. The danger wasn't merely in its emergence—it was in the possibility that someone might deliberately harness it. The malice of an entire world was more than enough to destroy one, especially if used skillfully. And given its apparent connection to the Third Magic, the threat was even greater.
Merlin stroked his chin, his expression turning grave. At last, he nodded to the familiar. He would attend the meeting on time.
Meanwhile, Sakura sat quietly in her room, reading a grimoire. She glanced briefly at Merlin as he rushed out, but said nothing. Instead, her gaze drifted toward an image in a magazine. It was of a girl clad in futuristic weapons and equipment, her calm yet lively eyes shining with vitality. Sakura stared at the picture for a long while, as if glimpsing a possible future.
Elsewhere, Kariya lay recuperating in the hospital. He struggled desperately to control the crest worms within him using the magic he had learned in recent days. At last, he accepted the truth: the old worm that had dominated the Matou family must truly be dead.
Otherwise, the crest worms wouldn't have begun rioting. Now, their power was his to command—though it came at the cost of his own life. Kariya knew, deep down, that even if he survived this Holy Grail War, he would not live beyond half a year.
The doctors urged him to undergo tests, but he refused. He knew his condition better than anyone and saw no reason to waste time. His thoughts instead lingered on his nephew. From now on, the entire Matou family would rest on the shoulders of a child. But that was fine. With the family's assets, the boy could at least carve out a new life—one untainted by the path of sorcery.
While he pondered, an Einzbern familiar appeared at his hospital window, carrying a letter. Its contents summarized the events of the previous night's battle.
Kariya's hands trembled as he read. The Tohsaka estate had been reduced to ruins. Among the wreckage, the rescue team had recovered a crushed body, identified as the head of the Tohsaka family.
Kariya's lips twisted into a savage grin. "Good. Serves him right. Pity I didn't kill him with my own hands. Tokiomi should have been buried alongside Sakura!"
Of course, the corpse wasn't Tokiomi at all. Kirei had substituted another body from the church's abundant stock. With Fuyuki's long history of Western residents and Christianity, the church had easy access to corpses awaiting burial. A little magic—and a touch of the "evil of the world"—was enough to create a convincing substitute.
But Kariya didn't know that. And his excitement was so fierce that the worms within him writhed uncontrollably, forcing him to steady his breathing and clamp down on his frenzy.
Once calm, he began organizing the Matou family's assets and dictating instructions, drafting his will. He placed all documents at the bedside of the still-unconscious Shinji.
He would be ready. If the Greater Grail proved stable, then the night after the next meeting would mark the decisive battle. Kariya doubted he would survive it—but before then, he would ensure everything was in order.
-End Chapter-
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