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Matou Zouken hadn't slept this comfortably in a long time.
Perhaps it was old age, but he suffered from selective insomnia.
Hmm... he could never fall asleep lying in bed, but he'd doze off without realizing it while doing other things.
For instance, during Matou Zouken's favorite matchmaking show, he'd just sit on the sofa, close his eyes, and when he opened them again, the TV would already be playing the next program.
Carefully stretching, Matou Zouken was surprised to find his body had improved somewhat.
His back used to ache when he bent it to this degree.
"How amazing, let me try again."
After a while, Matou Zouken finally got dressed, rose from the large white bed, and distorted open the room door.
Stepping out of the bedroom, the classically decorated hall came into view.
Illuminated by the lights, the oil paintings on both sides of the wall told the long history of the Matou Residence.
The leading oil painting was of his ancestor.
What was his name again... Makiri Zolgen?
No, my surname is Matou, why would my ancestor have a foreign name?
Matou Zouken realized something was off and decided to discard that foreign-named ancestor later.
On the table lay a warm sandwich, and beside it, Matou Zouken saw a note from his granddaughter, Sakura.
"Remember to eat, I'll be back after school..." A smile unconsciously appeared, and Matou Zouken picked up the sandwich and walked to the sofa.
With his granddaughter not home, he didn't want to eat at the dining table; turning on the TV was the best accompaniment.
Having selected a TV program, Matou Zouken sank into the soft sofa.
——
Land of Shadows.
When Scáthach returned here via her Noble Phantasm, she immediately noticed something unusual.
"The Land of Shadows... is restless?"
Scáthach said, puzzled.
Fuyuki City, where she had gone as a Servant, seemed to be quite strange.
The Land of Shadows is a divine realm located beneath the mortal world, at the end of the underworld and the sea.
Simply put, it's outside the world.
When the gate appeared, and the Land of Shadows intersected with Fuyuki City, the Land of Shadows, which she governed, was actually trying to extend its power to the other side.
"Are there many dead spirits in that world?"
After observing for a while with a frown, Scáthach came to this conclusion.
In legends, the Land of Shadows is the underworld of Celtic mythology; nothing but large-scale death could stir this realm.
Just then, the The Gate Leading to the Haunted Land, Brimming with Death began to exert suction again.
This meant that the Time Stop on the other side of the gate had ended.
After standing for a moment, Scáthach decided to postpone her investigation into this matter for now.
After all... she had been looking forward to this battle for a long time.
"I'll check it after the Holy Grail War ends."
"If a spear's strike reaches perfection, even slaying a god is but a flick of the wrist."
Scáthach's lips unconsciously curved upwards as she picked up her Demonic Spear and walked towards the gate in the sky.
Stepping out of the The Gate Leading to the Haunted Land, Brimming with Death, the lingering gunpowder smoke still filled the air.
"Master still has two Command Seals. Have the Dog convert all of them into magical energy."
"Otherwise, draining the Dog would be terrible."
As she thought this, she then saw an old man sitting on the ground.
The ground was reddish-brown rock, and the sky was filled with light pulsating like electricity.
In a scene like 1000 years after the apocalypse, a twilight old man sat there.
When Scáthach emerged from the gate, his gaze immediately focused on her.
Accompanied by the clattering of false teeth and saliva, a concept appeared in his mind: "Supernatural?"
The next moment, before Scáthach could release the Original Runes in her hand to modify his memory, the connection between Master and Servant suddenly broke, and her Servant body directly transformed into light and shadow, beginning to dissipate.
"Kisaragi-san! You're dead!"
At this moment, Scáthach, once again sent back to the Land of Shadows, finally couldn't face everything calmly.
Scáthach was utterly devastated!
Matou Zouken strangely touched his bald head. From his perspective, he was still sitting on the sofa in the living room watching TV.
A female guest in strange clothing suddenly appeared on the TV program, and many things inexplicably appeared in his mind.
For example... for example... for example what was it?
"What did I just remember?"
Matou Zouken scratched his head, realizing he had forgotten what had just happened again.
Behind him, Shinomiya Kaguya was silent for a moment, then suddenly retorted, "Should I thank you for not using such a tactic on me?"
"No need to thank me, we're acquaintances after all."
Kisaragi Rin shrugged, then reached out and sent Matou Zouken back to the Workshop.
[Rule 6: The Holy Grail War must be conducted in Concealment, meaning ordinary people must not become aware of the supernatural.]
[Note: Violate this rule, and after leaving combat, you will settle this game with an E rating, and the next game will arrive sooner, guaranteed to be in punishment mode.]
From beginning to end, the Paradise provided Kisaragi Rin with a bug that could instantly kill most Heroic Spirits.
That was to make ordinary people aware of the supernatural.
The Paradise's wording was "aware."
Specifically, it couldn't be manipulated; the event of "becoming aware of the supernatural" had to be initiated by the ordinary person themselves.
But ordinary people's thoughts are too slow, and the Heroic Spirits in this Holy Grail War are all overpowered characters.
How could an ordinary person observe the situation, go through contemplation, draw conclusions, and believe in their entire process under the perception of a Heroic Spirit?
Other players found it difficult to exploit this rule, but Kisaragi Rin had Medea on his side.
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