Chapter 40: Survival instincts

“She reunited with her sister.”

An aged voice resounded in a dark room. A hunched old man stood in an ocean of insects, leaning on a wooden stick for support. He was basking in the virescent glow coming from the single lamp on the ceiling. The worms wriggling and chirping in hundreds of chambers in the walls was a symphony to his ears.

Zouken Matou.

He once swore to eliminate all evil in the world and create a utopia for everyone. For that wish, he sought a miracle beyond the reach of his human hands. The throes of time had twisted his mind and soul to the point he forgot his real purpose.

Left with nothing but an obsession for completing the Holy Grail for immortality.

“Shinji has lost himself… Sakura is disobeying every command I send to her... Is this not the time?”

He had left one worm crest in the nerves connecting to her heart. It was for an emergency case as well as controlling her thoughts through suggestions. He could hear what happened around Sakura. Right now, he couldn't send any suggestion as though something blocked him.

“It is time,” a voice answered as Angra Mainyu emerged from the mass of insects.

A woman with long silver hair and red eyes similar to Illyasviel. She wore a skirt tainted in its curse. This form was nothing but a last ditch effort out of pure survival instinct. Having heard Medea’s plan to ‘kill’ it, the All World’s Evil could no longer stay still. It, who possessed no ‘self’, had used the remnants of Irisviel’s soul to manifest in the physical world. It naturally inherited several traits from Irisviel, thus leading it to contact Illyasviel first.

Zouken sluggishly turned to Avenger and his dark eyes widened. “Who are you…?”

He felt like he had seen the woman before. Where and when? His corroded soul could no longer remember. Yet, he had a feeling she was more than just a normal Einzbern Homunculus.

Avenger tilted its head, for it didn’t know who or what it was. All it remembered was its goal of representing everyone’s desire to become the All World’s Evil and lead humanity to its demise.

“I’m Avenger… I… need your help… in creating the Lesser Grail.”

It stuttered, feeling lightheaded from the corrosion of its ‘self.’ It could no longer contact the incomplete Lesser Grail, the one it shared exceptional compatibility with. So it searched for persons whose souls were tainted with the mud. Surprisingly, it found three people. One of them was a man whose entire heart was made out of corrupted mud of the Grail. Another was a being so powerful and radiant that Avenger shrunk in instinctive fear. The last one was the old magus standing before it. He had traces of the tainted mud all over him.

“Avenger? The servant whose soul latched onto the Grail in the Third War… So you want to complete the grail huh.”

“I will… fulfill your wish.”

Zouken pondered for a moment before he shared his wish. “I wish for immortality.”

“I’ll… give…” Avenger’s voice sounded a little desperate as it vanished from Zouken’s eyes.

Zouken closed his eyes and tilted his head back. The chirps of his companions filled him with wisdom.

“Sakura… Target her weakness. Twist her. Break her spirit…” he muttered. “I will start with him… she holds him dearly… without ‘her’ protection, he is nothing.”

He had given up on his wish this time because of that woman’s chances of participating in the Fuyuki Holy Grail. But she died a mysterious death, doing him a favor. He couldn’t wait to engage with her son and his servant. If only that Tohsaka girl didn’t guard him, he could have taken him and his servant down alone.

As an old magus, he was confident in his strength.

***

Haruki plopped down on the bed and raised his head to the ceiling. Rin had left in a fit of embarrassment, looking cuter than ever in the process.

“My Master, I found her! Bringing her back now.”

He had sent Semiramis to find Saber. After getting away from Rider, he had gone straight to the Ryuudou Temple, only to find no traces of Artoria anywhere. Medea had pointed out that Berserker and Illyasviel were present inside the temple.

‘Don’t come now.’

“My master, you want me to spend the night on the streets? There are brutes out there… I might get dragged by some shady man.”

‘As if. Just manipulate some rich person into leaving their house. Archer is here, and I don’t want to show you two to Rin. She might get super cocky.’

“Understandable. By the way, my master never told me… King Arthur was a pretty blonde!”

‘Did you ask her why she left without a fight?’

“She wants to meet you as soon as possible. She has some questions for you. From the looks of it, it’s related to Berserker’s Master.”

‘Tell her to meet me in the morning. I’m busy at the moment.’

He delayed Zouken’s demise until tomorrow. Neither he nor Artoria was in the best of their mental conditions. A simple hesitation could give Zouken a chance to escape.

“Busy? Oh. Will you be pushing down your slave witch?”

Semiramis was so bubbly as though she was a different person. She didn’t wish to maintain her all-powerful queen’s image during these conversations that never happened face to face. The difference was like Jeanne D’arc and her alter ego. Honestly, he preferred this side of Semiramis over her haughty queen side.

“You wanna join?” he teased.

In the end, it’ll depend on what Medea chose. The brazen woman might just go straight into the bed.

“Huh? My master wants me to warm your bed?” she asked in an innocent voice. “It can’t be… after you rejected me so brutally when I asked.”

‘...’

“If my master wins the war, I might...” Semiramis giggled and cut off the connection.

‘I might backstab you, huh.’

He finished her words and shook his head. Keeping up his guard around her became more crucial. He sighed and recalled Rin’s declaration.

‘Sakura is my lucky charm.’

To think the girl he was pushing back brought him two servants. He could still manipulate Illya and bring her on his side. After all, Semiramis had poisoned Shirou, and nobody in the era could make an antidote in a short time. Shirou’s antidote will just be a way to calm down her anger and invite her over to a chat. He had many things that could tempt the homunculus girl to his side—the most effective solution was none other than the power of friendship!

“Kaa-san, are you here?” He whispered, looking around with desperate eyes. “If you are, please show yourself… I can’t go on like this…”

She wasn’t the only one who knew how to act. It was only a little payback for keeping him in the dark for his entire life.

“Haru…”