A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

In the blink of an eye, it disappeared from sight, leaving only the roar of the motorcycle going away. Waver and the others stood there in a daze, listening to the sound of the motorcycle. Rider, who had been listening to the exhaust sound, nodded with a knowing expression.

"Motorcycles... Yeah. They are really good things."

"——You, the first sentence you said after losing was actually this?"

Suddenly losing all the strength in his body due to the aftermath of the battle, Waver, who was angrily questioning Rider, suddenly realized an important problem and became very frustrated.

"Hey, Rider... How do we get back?"

"Ah, then. We can only walk back."

"... Yes."

In the darkness. Waver looked at the Shinto with lights shining in the distance. He sighed deeply.

············

Matou, Zouken——

In front of him was the mastermind behind the Matou family, who he had only heard of but never seen. Kotomine Kirei's consciousness could not help but switch to a battle state.

A short figure who cleverly chose to stand in a dead corner where bright light could not penetrate the street at night. Although his appearance was dry and old, on the contrary, this old man was a very dangerous existence, Tokiomi repeatedly told himself so. Although he claimed to have retired from the world, he secretly used the secret arts of magic to prolong his life and ruled the Matou family for several generations. In a sense, he was much more dangerous than Kariya, the Master, and was a person who needed special attention.

"Kotomine Kirei. I heard that you are the son of that particularly stubborn and upright Risei, is that right?"

"Indeed."

Hearing this hoarse voice asking, Kirei nodded in agreement.

"Humph - how unexpected. People often say that a golden phoenix flies out of a chicken coop, and it is true. I didn't expect that man to give birth to a son as cunning as you."

"What's the matter with you, Matou Zouken."

Ignoring the provocation of the old magician, Kirei questioned.

"You should obviously be on Kariya's side, so why are you hiding here and eavesdropping?"

"What? I'm only doing this out of the painstaking efforts of a parent who is worried about his child. I want to see with my own eyes what kind of helper Kariya has found."

He deliberately pretended to smile like a good grandfather, but there was something different about his dry face that looked like a skeleton. It seemed that it was impossible for him to have such a smile based on the structure of his face.

"I heard everything you said to Kariya to please him. You seemed to be planning to get rid of the son of the Tōsaka family."

"That's true. That man killed my father--"

"Stop it. Don't tell that lie again."

The deep eye sockets buried in the wrinkles stared at Kirei with a gleaming light.

"Kotomine Kirei, you are too clever. You dared to act secretly without telling Tōsaka. You were too bold. When you said you wanted to get rid of Tokiomi, you didn't need to rely on Kariya to kill him from that moment on. You must have made all the preparations - I am not old enough to be confused. Although you can deceive Kariya, don't try to deceive me."

"..."

In his heart, he further improved his evaluation of this old magician, but Kirei still pretended to be calm.

"Your goal is not the son of the Tōsaka family, but Kariya himself. Right?"

"...If you doubt me so much, why don't you dissuade Kariya?"

A creepy sound like a swarm of insects humming rang out, and after a while, Kirei realized that it was the suppressed laughter of the old man.

"Well, how should I put it? I can say it's just out of my curiosity. I want to see what means you use to 'destroy' Kariya, and I'm very interested in this."

"...Zou Yan, is it okay to watch Kariya's chances of winning, who is fighting for the Matou family, being destroyed bit by bit?"

"Kareya's? Chance of winning? Humph, that kind of thing didn't exist from the beginning. If that kind of trash could seize the Holy Grail, the past three battles would have been farces."

"I don't quite understand. Isn't the Matou family one of the three great families that are eager to obtain the Holy Grail?"

Hearing Kirei's question, Zou Yan sneered.

"In my opinion, the son of the Tōsaka family and those guys from the Einzbern family are all idiots. If you remember the last battle clearly, you will understand that this fourth Holy Grail War is a bit strange, and you should be alert to it.

I saw through this battle from the beginning. In fact, from the beginning of the battle, look at Caster's useless appearance. It is obvious that what was summoned was not a Heroic Spirit but an evil spirit that is far from a Heroic Spirit. There is no doubt that something is wrong with the Holy Grail War system. First of all, we have to figure this out."

Perhaps this weirdo who transcends human common sense is in the middle of every Holy Grail War. Even the former supervisor Kotomine Risei did not know, but this Matou Zouken has already mastered it.

"Then why let Kariya and Berserker participate? If you just plan to stand aside and watch, why did you prepare even the Servants?"

"No, although there are some doubtful aspects, it is a big celebration held every sixty years. It is not interesting to watch the children playing around there. So I found a unique way to enjoy this event. ”

Zang Yan said in a somewhat funny tone. The corners of his mouth became more crooked, and he was full of smiles.

"Of course, if that ineffective guy really grabs the Holy Grail, there is no better outcome than this. Having said that, I really don't have the patience.

Seeing the distressed look on Kariya who betrayed me, to be honest - I really can’t get enough of it. I had the desire to hope for the victory of the Matou family, but I was also tempted by the idea of ​​seeing Kariya completely defeated and at the end of the road. It's so hard to choose. "

Zouken's hoarse laughter was really harsh to Kirei. It would be great if this encounter was on the battlefield, where the two sides fought to the death with real swords and guns instead of words. Although he clearly knew that the other party was a very dangerous old magician, he still couldn't help but think so. It seems that for Kirei, the existence of Matou Zouken has reached such an intolerable level.

"You...want to see your relatives in distress, do you want it so much?"

In response to Kirei's question, which was trying hard to hide his true inner expression, Zouken raised his eyebrows as if he was deliberately teasing him.

"Ah, what a surprise. I thought you would understand my pleasure."

"--What did you say?"

"Although I look old. Kotomine Kirei, my nose is still very sharp. You have the same smell as me. It's like the maggots that were attracted to Kariya's rotten flesh and crawled here. ”

"..."

Kirei remained silent and slowly pulled out the black key from the cassock.

Because he understood that he could no longer rely on reasoning to persuade him, and it was now a life-or-death fight with this old magician. Now Zang Yan has spotted this opportunity. That was a Jedi who had already put his life on the line. If he wanted to ensure that his vitals were not hit, he could only adopt the sure-fire move of attacking from the front without warning.

Now Matou Zouken has crossed this line. He spoke not with his feet but with his words.

But Zouken still faced Kirei's cold murderous intent with a leisurely and contented smile.

"...Oh? Did I overestimate you a little? I thought I had finally found a friend. It seems that you still feel a little ashamed of your shamelessness - haha, it's really too You’re so young. Do you think it’s like indulging in something invisible like masturbating and feeling ashamed?”

There were neither demonstrations nor warnings. At a moment when he couldn't even see the preparations, Kirei threw two black keys from the left and right directions, as if to skewer the old man's body.

However, facing the sword and Zong Yan, he still did not waver at all and seemed very calm. This was not a bluff. The moment he was about to be pierced by two blades, the outline of the old magician simply melted away like a clay sculpture, and once again returned to an unknown shadow hiding in the corner.

Kirei's whole body was on alert, and a mocking sound that sounded like joy came from somewhere.

"Ah, so scary, so scary. Although he is young, he is still a lackey of the church. If he makes fun of him, his life will definitely be in danger."

Kirei picked up another black key and stared at the squirming shadow in the darkness.

Was it an illusion that it looked like he was about to pierce Matou Zouken's body just now? In other words, Matou Zouken's body itself does not exist - anything beyond common sense can happen to this cunning old magician. If you are surprised by such a trivial matter, you will not be able to fulfill your duties as an agent.

"Really, see you next time, young man. In order to be equal to me when we meet next time, you must cultivate your own nature. Hahahaha..."

After leaving behind a creepy roar of laughter, the breath of Zongyan melted into the darkness and disappeared. The only thing left was Kirei's figure, standing like a scarecrow with a knife.

"..."

Kirei was very anxious and threw the black key that had lost its target on the roof.

Unexpectedly, this old man turned out to be a monster with no use value. There was no reason for him to continue to live.

An enemy that must be eliminated sooner or later. He had this confidence in Matou Zōyan.

············

In order not to pay attention to the gradually darkening night, Matou Tsuruno continued to immerse himself in alcohol tonight.

Nothing happened last night, it passed smoothly, but now I feel very hateful. When the sea becomes calm, there will definitely be waves coming from behind. Nothing dangerous happened last night, and it passed uneventfully, which meant that there would definitely be a dangerous commotion tonight.

Of course, Tsuruno knew the true nature of the strange things that had been threatening Fuyuki City at night for days. He is the eldest son of the famous Matou family, and the last descendant of a great bloodline that once embarked on an expedition in the distant past to find traces of the Holy Grail. In fact, he should have participated in this horrific war as one of the parties involved.

However, he abandoned this responsibility that belonged to him and indulged in alcohol all day long. He Ye had no sense of shame about himself like this. On the contrary, he believed that compared with his younger brother Kariya, this was the attitude that he should adopt as a matter of course. Tsuruno could assert this openly with his chest raised.

Tsuruno has never been able to understand why Kariya, who has been expelled from the Matou family for a long time, now returns to his hometown and participates in the Holy Grail War. He didn't even want to figure it out. No matter what, it was because my brother had changed his mind that I couldn't thank him enough. Otherwise, it was not Kariya but himself who was forced to participate in the Holy Grail War.

Recalling the black spirit-like figure who was summoned by Kariya through the summoning circle and signed a contract with him - in order to stay away from the horror at that time, he could only use alcohol to anesthetize himself.

Once you think about the fact that there are six more things like that, eating flesh and blood while killing each other at night like this, how can you stay awake? Today's Fuyuki City is simply a demonic world. If you want to maintain a calm spirit and survive in such a place, the only thing you can rely on is alcohol.

The only son Shinji went abroad in the name of study tour, and Tsuruno really didn't want to stay in the current Fuyuki City. But. He had no reason to leave the Matou residence. In the underground worm bank, he trained the little girl adopted by the Tohsaka family into his own family and trained her into a person who could become the next head of the Wentong family. This was the task given to him by Zang Yan.

Yes, as the contemporary head of the Matou family, Tsuruno has completed his task perfectly. Originally, Zang Yan's original policy in this Holy Grail War was to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. Anyway, Kariya is just a toy in the hands of the old magician. Now the only person in the Matou family who is walking the right path is Tsuruno. It's not about the number of magic circuits. Even though his ability can only defeat a child, Tsuruno still firmly believes that he is taking the path that truly connects the future of the Matou family...

He told himself this, and then poured wine into his stomach while despising his brother.

Becoming a magician of the Matou family means becoming the puppet of Zōyan, the mastermind behind it. Precisely because he understood this, he had no sympathy at all for Kariya, who had once left home, but now foolishly came back on his own initiative to become a seedbed for engraved insects. He had no physical affection for his younger brother. He obviously has much better talents than his brother, but he imposed the cursed fate that the Matou family has carried on all generations on Tsuruno alone and left the house. How can I repay such a man until now? What about compassion. ()