The Matou household.
"What a filthy, stupid dog. You can't even wash a bowl properly? Isn't that right, 'Brother'?"
Shedding her human (ordinary person) facade, Sakura Matou, the head of the Matou Family, sat at the dining table. Looking at the tableware laid out, her eyes were filled with cold amusement.
Hearing his name, Shinji Matou shuddered violently, his gaze toward Sakura Matou gradually becoming consumed by fear.
"H-how can this be! I washed them no less than three times!"
"..."
"Besides! Making me, the eldest son of the Matou Family, wash dishes is just nonsensical! I'm supposed to be the heir to the Matou Family, right?!"
"'Brother,' you really are being naughty."
Under her icy gaze, Imaginary Number Worms began to crawl beneath Shinji Matou's skin. Sakura Matou only activated two of the eggs buried within his body, yet even with just two, this man who had just claimed he would inherit the Matou Family's magecraft was already howling in agony.
"Aaaagh! My skin! There are bugs under my skin!"
Listening to Shinji Matou's wailing, a look of disgust soon appeared in Sakura Matou's eyes. Although she was the one who had hatched the Imaginary Number eggs buried in his body, his unmanly crying was truly unbearable. Even though she had been back at the Matou household for nearly a month, he still hadn't learned how to read the room.
"Mutt, quiet down a bit. Go call 'Grandfather' over; it's time for dinner."
Hearing Sakura Matou's cold voice, the Imaginary Number Worms inside Shinji Matou returned to their egg form. Shinji himself scrambled on all fours toward the room where Matou Zouken was.
On the first night of Akatsuki's return, Sakura Matou requested that Matou Zouken be released from the cage Akatsuki had woven. Perhaps because Akatsuki had been away for so long, Sakura realized that her inner fears could only be overcome by herself. Thus, facing this old man she once feared and who had persecuted her, Sakura Matou wanted to surpass him with her own strength.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Sitting at the head of the Matou Family's dining table, Sakura Matou turned her gaze toward the source of the coughing. That rotting, damp sound had once been her nightmare during childhood, but now he was nothing more than her plaything. His only value was to provide her with emotional satisfaction.
"How is 'Grandfather' feeling today?"
Ignoring his 'granddaughter's' concern, Matou Zouken allowed Shinji Matou to support him into his seat without a word. He knew Sakura Matou was amusing herself at his expense, but the fear of death continued to torment him. At least now, as her nourishment, he didn't have to worry about his lifespan running out.
He only needed to wait for the right moment. When Sakura Matou let her guard down, he would directly possess her body. At that point, he would still be the master of the Matou Family, and reviving the Holy Grail War would just be a matter of planning for a few more years.
Sakura Matou naturally knew what Matou Zouken was plotting, but who cared? She certainly didn't. After all, from the day Matou Zouken lost to her in a magecraft battle, he would never have a chance to turn the tables.
After the Imaginary Number Butterfly Eggs were implanted in Matou Zouken's body, his experience, magecraft attainments, and everything else—except for his memories—were being assimilated into Sakura Matou, the host. Before long, this former master of the Matou Family, one of the Three Founding Families of the Holy Grail War and the worm user of kiev, would fall from being a Magician to a commoner with no magical talent.
"Sakura..."
Just as Sakura Matou was planning to watch some pre-dinner entertainment, Rider grabbed her hand. "The world of magecraft does not suit you."
"Rider..."
"So, leave everything you want to do to me. After all, I am the Servant, and you are my Master."
"No, revenge is only interesting if you do it yourself. Besides, don't you have a physical body now, Rider? Lord Akatsuki is responsible for your mana supply, and that nearly infinite mana has made you almost the same as when you were alive. So, there's no need for you to call yourself a Servant anymore."
Sakura Matou patted Rider's hand, then stood up from her seat as the head of the Matou Family, walking step by step toward the stooped, mummy-like old man.
"Sakura..."
This was the first time he had spoken since Akatsuki gave Matou Zouken his prime power, only for him to lose to Sakura Matou, who had walked the path of magecraft for less than ten years.
"It's 'Grandfather'."
A smile appeared on the corner of Sakura Matou's mouth, but her footsteps did not stop. She walked up to Matou Zouken, leaned down slightly, and looked directly into his cloudy eyes. "'Grandfather,' are you feeling very resentful? You, who were once high and mighty, are now like a pathetic worm."
"Hmph. Sakura, very good, excellent. However, are you really yourself right now? Are you still that little girl who could only cry?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Heh heh heh..."
The rotting, damp sound felt a bit grating to Sakura Matou's ears, but Matou Zouken didn't think so. Looking at Sakura's current state, for some reason, he felt joy from the bottom of his heart.
"Is that so... Then please die for a moment."
"Hahahaha! Sakura Matou, the essence of a human cannot be changed so easily. Although that Dead Apostle influenced your growth, she cannot truly change you at the level of the Root..."
Matou Zouken's head was cleanly sliced off. The sudden turn of events terrified Shinji Matou so much that he fell from his seat, squirming to get away from Sakura Matou as quickly as possible.
"Hmm... That Dead Apostle really has some skill... Most of you have actually turned into a true Magician now... Heh heh heh, the Witch of Imaginary Numbers? Not bad! Hahahaha!"
...Night. A non-human demonic nature gradually filled Fuyuki City. Things that shouldn't have existed appeared at this moment.
"Is this... something like a pocket dimension?"
Saber stood near the Fuyuki Bridge, carefully examining the empty space before her. Her intuition told her it wasn't empty, but for some reason, she didn't want to delve too deeply into it.
"Ah, speaking of which, tonight is the Caster class card's turn. Should we wait for Illya and the others to come out?"
Akatsuki said, looking at Saber's slightly bulging belly. That's right, she did it—from noon until now, she finally filled her up!
If she ate any more, the restaurant owner would probably slaughter Saber as tomorrow's ingredients.
"Caster? Is it the Caster from the 'Fifth Holy Grail War' in that other timeline Rin mentioned?"
"Exactly. Caster Medea."
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