Chapter 118
Hovering in the sky above the Matou family mansion, I examined the building with a frown. What I saw seemed somehow wrong, fueling my already foul mood after underestimating Assassin. How stupid that was. I clearly remembered that one of the features of Hassan of the Cursed Arm's Noble Phantasm was its ability to bypass any defense—so why did I assume that, unlike Gáe Bolg, it wouldn't be able to surpass infinity?
Damn, every time I recalled that terrible feeling when my heart was destroyed—a wave of fear washed over me involuntarily, bringing with it a desire to destroy. The fact that I couldn't see a single spell cast over the Matou mansion only irritated me further. I was absolutely confident in my ability to perceive different forms of energy thanks to my eye, but common sense dictated that magi in this world would certainly establish workshops at home. After all, a magus' workshop is their personal fortress, where they have a significant advantage over any attacker, unless, of course, the difference in power is too great.
I understood that, even if this was a trap, Zouken could do nothing to me. However, my previous mistake—which had nearly cost me my life—made me doubt myself and feel uneasy.
"What if my perception isn't as good as I think?" — That thought spun round and round in my mind like a parasite.
"To hell with it, if I keep this up, I'll turn into a complete coward," I swore, throwing aside those weak-willed thoughts as I descended to the mansion, instantly incinerating the front door with a lightning bolt from the sky. Inside, the mansion greeted me with complete silence and the absence of any signs of life. The furniture, paintings on the walls—it all gave the impression of an ordinary European-style mansion belonging to a fairly wealthy person. Still, even if Zouken might have fled in fear for his life, why, then, was there not even the slightest trace of magic here?
"What reason would he have to utterly destroy his own workshop?" — With that thought in mind, I began searching first for the basement where he implanted worms into Sakura.
I found it rather quickly and immediately went inside. The first thing I noticed was a huge pit filled with worms. The strangest part was, not a single worm was moving; as I approached, it became clear they were all dead.
"Could someone have killed him before I arrived?" I wondered aloud, sighing with mild annoyance.
"Now there's no one I can take my anger out on." In that moment, I almost wanted to destroy the mansion out of spite. But I remembered—no matter how vile Matou Zouken was, he was still a mage who had lived for centuries, so he must have had books that, though useless to me, might be of use back in my kingdom.
So I spent the next half hour wandering through the mansion, collecting anything that seemed valuable, before deciding it was time to go. Pausing in the sky one last time, I reached out to the energy accumulated in the clouds; a massive lightning column struck the Matou mansion, annihilating the building and everything below it, leaving behind a huge, dark chasm with no visible bottom.
"Hmm, even if he somehow managed to hide in the mansion, he'd definitely be dead after that," I smirked, merging back with Oz, who immediately perched on my shoulder.
"It appears you aren't very satisfied, my lady," the raven said.
"My heart was literally crushed and I was almost killed. Of course I'm not satisfied," I snapped.
"I'm sure this lesson will benefit you," Oz replied in a wise tone, further increasing my irritation.
"I'd rather do without such lessons. And by the way, what's going on between you and Shiki? Why are you hanging around her so much?"
"Miss Shiki is a very interesting young lady, and we've found great mutual understanding," the raven answered before looking slyly at me. "Ah, but if the princess is so jealous, then this humble servant will cease all close contact with Lady Shiki so as not to—"
"Keep it up, and I'll pluck you like a chicken," I shot a threatening glare at the raven who enjoyed teasing me.
"Alright, I'm quiet."
When we returned to the mansion, we were met by a group: Mordred, who was pouting cutely in indignation; Saber, who sighed in slight disappointment; Shiki, with her completely neutral face; Tohsaka, who was angry; and Archer, grinning slyly.
"Do you even know a thing about secrecy? Who do you think is going to deal with that spectacle?" Rin immediately launched into a tirade.
"Not my problem," I replied dismissively, not waiting to hear what else they had to say as I headed straight to my assigned room, planning to simply lie down and rest.
"What's up with her?" Tohsaka wondered as the powerful but actually quite approachable girl disappeared into the house.
"My lady ran into a highly dangerous ambush, and she's upset because carelessness nearly cost her her heart," Oz decided to inform everyone.
"Her heart was destroyed? What the hell?!" Tohsaka exclaimed in shock, while the others grew very thoughtful: for any of the Servants present, destruction of the heart meant guaranteed, immediate death. And remembering the attacks the so-called princess had thrown around, all of them realized one-on-one, they'd stand no chance against her.
"How did she get hurt?" Mordred, setting aside her grievances, asked seriously.
"When my lady caught up with Assassin, Lancer attacked from an ambush, unleashing his Noble Phantasm. Unfortunately, although she managed to deflect that attack, Assassin also activated his Noble Phantasm at the same time—a blow that caused her injury and subsequent anger."
"Am I right to assume there are now two fewer participants tonight?" asked Artoria.
"That's right," Oz confirmed, landing on Reggie Shiki's shoulder. But as he did, a violet beam, charged with electro energy, shot past him by mere millimeters—his feathers stood on end, and he instantly took flight. Following the beam's path, it was clear it had burned through the entire house, leaving small holes that were already beginning to close up due to magical energy.
"Something wrong?" Shiki asked, looking at the raven with curiosity.
"Ahem, please excuse me, I must return to my lady," Oz coughed awkwardly, marveling at how much the recent events had rattled his mistress for her to behave this way.
Nirvana of Night, Throne Room.
In a flash of violet, an unusually colored raven appeared in the center of the grand but empty throne room: part of its feathers were gold and white, while the primary color remained black and violet. Looking about and confirming the room was empty, the raven gave a heavy sigh and began to change, taking on human form.
Soon, in his place stood a stately, self-assured man of about thirty, his clothes echoing the same colors as the raven's plumage. His hair was black with a few striking golden strands, reminiscent of feathers.
"Much better," Oz sighed in satisfaction before heading toward a door not far from the throne. After his mistress impulsively unleashed her last warning attack, he felt clearly that she had fled to her inner world in embarrassment. Yet, even though he was part of Nirvana of Night, simply sensing her wasn't enough—every particle of this world was infused with her presence, which forced him to search for the princess the old-fashioned way.
Opening the door and entering, Oz found himself in a long corridor leading straight to the barracks of the Legion of Valor, who were always to be at the ready and respond first to Her Highness' call. No one knew more about the castle's goings-on than they did.
"OZ!"—He had barely taken a few steps towards the barracks when a pink whirlwind greeted him, instantly transforming into a cute, pink-haired girl. "What happened? Why is Her Ladyship in such a bad mood? You're not neglecting your duties, are you?"
"Hahaha, of course not!" Oz laughed, though cold sweat formed on his back. He wasn't fooled by the girl's cute appearance; he knew all too well: if she found out that her mistress had almost died, his days would become much worse. And if it also came out he'd been with another girl at that moment, instead of his mistress... No, he could not let that come to pass.
"Are you sure?" Yae Rin, Knight of Valor and owner of the deadliest weapon in Nirvana of Night, narrowed her eyes.
"Absolutely," Oz nodded seriously, silently cursing all those Lancers who, with their negative luck, managed to create problems for everyone else. "My lady was merely upset, and as her loyal familiar, I naturally must support her."
The moment the word "familiar" sounded, the girl's suspicion eased. It was an undeniable fact that Oz had the most special status among all the subjects of Nirvana of Night, although many—including Yae Rin herself—would have gladly taken his place to always be near their mistress.
"I would have comforted Her Ladyship myself, but she went into the forbidden zone," the girl grumbled her displeasure at revealing the Princess's whereabouts, for only the princess herself and her soul's companion, the Grand Chronicler, could enter that area.
"The forbidden zone?!" Oz exclaimed in shock.
"Yes. Is something wrong?" the knight looked at the suddenly worried man—now obviously concerned.
"I—I need to hurry, let's talk later," Oz stammered, and then, gathering all his power, ran toward the castle's underground. He moved so fast it was as if he'd turned into a violet lightning bolt, until at last he reached the great gates, flanked by two knights from the upper echelons of the Legion of Sincerity, both with extraordinary defensive powers.
"Is the Princess inside?" he addressed them immediately.
"Yes," they confirmed in unison.
With confirmation, he immediately pushed the gates open to enter.
The forbidden zone is called such for good reason. This is where the seal on the Princess of the End's powers is held—a seal that is slowly unraveled under the guise of a system which gives tasks and corresponding rewards. Naturally, that seal can be removed; but what will happen to the neighboring worlds when the princess's body adapts to new realities, no one can guarantee. Worse yet—the countdown to the End will start. The forbidden zone itself is divided into four sections, each separated by special gates that absorb the aura of the seal. Crystals inside each section accumulate the absorbed aura so as to deliver a devastating psychic blow to any intruder at the right moment—enough to turn even most so-called gods into vegetables. From outside, you wouldn't sense anything, but at each new gate, the sense of oppression and one's insignificance grows greater; for most mortals, just a glance at the seal would shatter their mind.
With each gate he passed, Osvaldo's heart grew heavier with worry, until finally, in the last chamber before the sealed hall, he saw a girl sitting on the floor, her head resting on her knees, lost in thought. Seeing this, he finally exhaled—it looked like nothing irreversible was going to happen today.
"Forgive me, my lady, it seems I underestimated how shocking this was for you, and I shouldn't have teased you," the Chronicler immediately apologized to the girl, who hadn't even looked at him.
Sighing heavily, Fischl shook her head, and with a hint of sadness said,
"No, forgive me. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you."
Then she tore her gaze from the floor, looked at who entered—and froze in shock.
"Oz?!"
"Yes, it's me, my lady," confirmed the very pleased raven in human form.