The main Matou estate loomed in silence.
Sakura Matou hurried through the corridors, Medusa close behind her. Her face was pale, her steps unsteady as she reached the door to her grandfather's chambers.
"Grandfather… he's dead."
Zouken Matou looked up from his seat, fingers tightening slightly around his cane.
"Dead?"
Sakura swallowed and relayed everything Medusa had witnessed.
After gaining temporary control of Medusa, Shinji Matou had allied himself with Kirei Kotomine. Together, they established a soul-draining barrier at the school. Earlier that night, Shinji had gone to support Kirei alongside Gilgamesh.
He never made it past the opening exchange.
Rowan Mercer had killed him instantly.
With Shinji's death, Medusa's contract reverted to its rightful owner.
Sakura.
Everything that followed at the church was beyond Medusa's awareness.
Zouken listened without interruption.
Then he sneered.
"Useless. Just like his father."
Not a flicker of grief appeared on his face. Shinji's death meant nothing to him.
What mattered was probability.
The Fourth Holy Grail War had been filled with monsters. After his second son, Kariya, failed, Zouken had abandoned any hope of victory.
This time was different.
He had used fragments of the shattered Lesser Grail from the previous war as a catalyst, engraving a ritual crest within Sakura's body and turning her into an incomplete vessel.
If Sakura survived to the end, he could guide Angra Mainyu from the Greater Grail into her.
Inside Sakura were worms already prepared to consume her flesh and overwrite her existence.
Through her body, Zouken would achieve a form of immortality.
Shinji's death, if anything, worked in his favor.
Others would assume the Matou family had been eliminated.
They would lower their guard.
Let the other factions slaughter each other.
And when the dust settled, Zouken would harvest the remains.
Ideally, Kirei, Gilgamesh, and Lancer would annihilate Saber, Berserker, and Archer.
After that, all he needed was to deal with the pair residing at Ryūdō Temple.
He turned his gaze to Sakura.
"From this moment on, you will represent the Matou family in the Holy Grail War."
Sakura shook her head desperately.
"Please… I don't want to participate."
Joining meant the end of her quiet life.
It meant standing against Shirou Emiya.
Against Rin Tohsaka.
Zouken's eyes hardened.
"You don't get to refuse."
His fingers twitched.
Pain exploded inside Sakura's body as the crest worms activated. She collapsed to the floor, unable to scream.
"If you disobey, I'll kill Shirou Emiya first. Then I'll make sure you beg for death."
He leaned closer, voice suddenly gentle.
"But if you win, I'll remove the worms. You'll live like a normal girl. Shirou will never know what happened to you. You can marry him. Have children. Grow old together."
Threat and promise.
The simplest leash.
Sakura's trembling eyes wavered.
If it meant a future with Shirou…
She opened her mouth to answer.
A calm voice interrupted.
"Kid, there's a better option."
Space rippled.
Rowan Mercer stood behind her.
"If you hand your Command Seals to me, I'll remove every worm inside you. I'll also extract the false Grail embedded in your body."
His eyes shifted to Zouken.
"And if you want him dead, I can handle that too."
Zouken's expression twisted.
"Who dares trespass in the Matou estate?"
With a violent gesture, he unleashed a swarm of crest worms.
Rowan inhaled.
Three-colored flames erupted from his mouth, incinerating the mass into drifting ash.
"I'm the Master of Saber," Rowan said evenly. "And I'm the one who killed your grandson."
Zouken's eyes narrowed.
"Then… Kirei Kotomine lost?"
"Correct. No prizes for guessing."
Rowan stepped forward.
Zouken instantly shouted, "Sakura, kill him!"
Nothing happened.
Sakura and Medusa stood frozen, locked in place by invisible restraints.
Zouken's face drained of color.
"You attack the head of the Matou family and expect no consequences?" he snarled. "The Church and the Mage's Association—"
"Save it."
Zouken's body began to liquefy into crawling insects, attempting to flee.
Rowan raised his hand.
"Freeze."
Ice locked Zouken in mid-transformation, suspending him like a grotesque statue.
"The Church doesn't scare me. Neither does the Association," Rowan said calmly. "And dead men don't file complaints."
He placed his palm against Zouken's head.
Memories flooded outward.
Long minutes passed.
Rowan withdrew his hand, eyes sharp.
"So that's it…"
He looked at the immobilized monster with open curiosity.
"You're the first head of the Matou family."
"And one of the original architects of the Holy Grail War."