The night of the new capital held more modern glitz than Shiki-machi, yet beneath this glitter, certain shadowy corners seemed all the deeper.
Leo and Medea's figures, like two ghosts melting into the night, silently appeared outside a sprawling Western mansion.
This was the Matou residence, another magical family of Fuyuki City, and the destination of his visit.
The mansion was shrouded in an invisible magical barrier, emanating an unpleasant aura like the viscous secretion of some enormous insect, reeking of decay and distortion.
"What a crude barrier, reeking of nauseating filth."
Medea hovered beside me, her tone dripping with unconcealed disdain. "Master, I can destroy it at your command."
"Not yet."
Leo raised his hand to stop her, his gaze calmly assessing the demon's lair before them. "First, let's confirm the situation inside... If I recall correctly, the Matou family's Servant is Rider, and the matchup isn't favorable for you."
"Also, there's a girl named Matou Sakura. I need to know if she's safe."
Leo wasn't lacking confidence in dealing with Rider, but avoiding unnecessary combat was always the best option.
His primary target was Matou Zouken. If he could launch a surprise attack when Zouken was separated from Rider, it would be twice the result with half the effort.
"Understood." Medea nodded, her composure and professionalism as a divine-age magician evident in every gesture.
She extended her delicate hand, and several night ravens composed of pure magical energy materialized—pitch-black and incorporeal, like flowing shadows. They made no sound as they beat their wings, easily penetrating the Matou family's barrier and flying toward the mansion's interior.
We waited patiently in the shadows outside the mansion.
About ten minutes later, those raven familiars returned with their reconnaissance intelligence, merging into Medea's palm.
"Master, the Rider you were concerned about is indeed not in the mansion."
Medea opened her eyes and reported the surveillance results. "There's also a young magus named Matou Shinji who seems to have gone out with her."
"Inside the mansion... aside from that old monster covered in insects, there are only ordinary servants and... a girl in the basement with very faint magical response."
"Excellent."
Leo's heart settled.
This was the perfect moment for their operation.
"Then, let's begin."
Leo gave the attack order. "Make some noise. Force that old insect out for me."
"As you command, my Master." A cold, elegant smile played at Medea's lips, violet eyes burning with the brilliance of excited magical power. "Let this old insect hiding in the sewers witness the power we possess!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she raised her staff high.
Vast magical power converged around her, forming a visible purple storm.
She didn't even perform any complex incantations, simply unleashing that terrifying magical power in its purest, most violent form, slamming it directly against the Matou family's protective barrier!
Hum—Crack!!!
Space itself seemed to twist in that moment.
The originally resilient barrier, under Medea's overwhelming magical impact, couldn't hold for even a second before shattering like glass struck by a hammer, letting out a piercing wail as it instantly collapsed into scattered points of magical light.
The barrier's destruction alarm instantly echoed throughout the entire Matou mansion.
"Go!"
Medea grabbed his arm, her powerful magic lifting them both into the air, transforming into a purple streak of light that directly crossed the courtyard and forcefully entered the mansion's core area, landing in the open space before the main building.
Almost the moment we touched down, the mansion's heavy doors were violently pushed open, and a small figure composed of countless black insects, leaning on a cane, slowly walked out.
"Hehehehe... what an unexpected guest."
"I never thought a newly summoned Caster would dare visit my humble residence with her Master in the dead of night." Matou Zouken's hoarse, grating voice came from within the insect swarm, dripping with chilling malice.
"Shut your filthy mouth, old insect."
Medea responded coldly, her staff already aimed at him. "You who desecrate life—merely seeing your existence fills me with disgust."
"Young lady, there's no need to be so angry."
Matou Zouken chuckled, his insect-composed body beginning to writhe and transform. "Since you've come, why not stay and become food for my beloved insects!"
Before his words finished, a sky-blotting black insect swarm suddenly surged from the shadows behind him!
Countless "blade-winged insects" with sharp wings emitted a scalp-tingling buzzing sound, like a black tide, sweeping toward us.
'Here they come!' Leo's heart tensed, but his face showed no fear, for he had absolute confidence in the Servant beside him.
Indeed, facing this horrifying spectacle that would make trypophobics faint on the spot, Medea's face showed only icy disgust.
"Filthy things!"
She didn't even swing her staff, merely raising her other empty hand.
The next second, dozens of ultra-condensed purple magical bullets appeared from her palm, like a deadly meteor shower, covering all the space ahead at speeds far exceeding machine gun fire!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Each bullet struck a blade-winged insect with precision, detonating with powerful purification magic upon contact.
Those seemingly hardened carapaces were fragile as paper under the onslaught of this divine-age magic.
Splat splat splat splat!
No explosions, no roars, only the faint sound of countless insects being instantly incinerated into black ash.
That menacing black insect swarm, under Medea's relentless barrage of firepower—high rate of fire, wide coverage, and purification effects—couldn't even approach within ten meters of them before being cleared away, leaving a large vacuum.
"What?!" Matou Zouken's hoarse voice carried a hint of surprise for the first time.
His prized insect swarm tactics proved utterly useless against this unreasonable, high-speed, wide-range magical artillery with purification effects.
"Is that all your petty tricks amount to?"
Medea advanced step by step, her palm's magical barrage never ceasing, incinerating any insect that dared approach into ash. "If this is all you have, then tonight is the night of your death!"
"Hmph... the Caster-class Servant certainly lives up to her reputation."
Seeing his attacks completely ineffective, Matou Zouken quickly assessed the situation.
"It won't be easy to kill this old man... We shall meet again, hehehehe..."
Accompanied by an eerie, sinister laugh, his body—composed of insects—rapidly disintegrated under Medea's barrage of magic bullets, scattering into countless writhing worms.
But his true form, the core imprint insect that carried his soul, had already slipped silently into the earth during the chaos, making its escape.
"Tch, he got away," Medea ceased her attack, clicking her tongue in displeasure.
"It doesn't matter. He'll show himself again," Leo said, walking to her side and gazing at the ash-covered insects scattered across the ground. "We've already achieved our main objective. Now, let's find that imprisoned girl."
Since they'd already stirred up trouble, they had to act quickly.
They wasted no time, heading straight into the mansion that reeked of decay.
The interior was far more sinister than its exterior suggested.
The air was thick with an indescribable stench and mildew. Ornate decorations were covered in layers of dust, and in the corners of the walls, black shadows seemed to writhe constantly.
Medea was clearly repulsed by the environment. She immediately opened a small purification barrier around them, sealing out the filthy miasma.
Based on intelligence gathered by her familiars, they quickly found the entrance to the basement.
It was a heavy iron door hidden behind a tapestry at the end of the corridor.
Twisted magical runes were carved into the door, and ominous magical power seeped from the cracks, accompanied by a bone-chilling sound of countless tiny crawling things emanating from beyond.
"This is it," Medea said, her eyes flashing coldly as she stared at the door.
She raised her hand again, and a highly compressed sphere of magical power formed in her palm. Without hesitation, she pressed it against the iron door.
Boom!!!
With a deafening explosion, the sturdy steel door and the surrounding walls were instantly blown open, leaving a massive gap.
A thick, almost tangible, nauseating stench mixed with viscous magical power gushed out from the opening.
And what lay before their eyes was a staircase descending into hell.
Beneath the stairs was a vast underground space, like a cavern.
The walls, floor, and ceiling were densely covered with countless writhing imprint insects that flickered with an eerie phosphorescent glow.
This was the Matou family's magical core—the human hell they used to torture and transform Matou Sakura—the worm pit.
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