Those time travelers that year

66. The lunch boxes have been served.

Kariya Matou didn't know what hell was like, but he knew that for the past year, he had been struggling painfully in this living hell before him. All for a girl—the girl he had promised to protect—though a large part of the reason was that he had never forgotten the little girl's mother. So even knowing that continuing down this path would inevitably lead to certain death, he entered this hell without hesitation.

However, the sight of the girl trapped inside a swarm of insects, her eyes lifeless and filled with despair, ignited a surge of anger in him, who should have been resigned to death.

"cherry!"

Matou Kariya rushed anxiously into the insect nest and ran towards Matou Sakura, who was trapped by the insects.

"Get out of my way!" Matou Kariya stomped on the insects beneath his feet and struggled toward the trapped Matou Sakura. However, sensing the intruder, the writhing swarm of insects hissed eerily and attacked him. "Damn it, Berserker!"

The black berserker shed its spirit form and roared as it charged forward. Wielding the Crimson Rose Spear, which it had seized from the already eliminated Lancer, it unleashed a powerful sweeping attack, creating a gust of wind that tore apart a large swarm of insects. However, this was utterly insignificant compared to the sheer number of insects present; even more insects surged towards Matou Kariya.

roar!!

The berserker roared, gripping his demonic spear and sweeping left and right. Each attack unleashed a storm powerful enough to tear apart steel, pulverizing the insects in front of him. However, thanks to his skill of Infinite Martial Arts, each sweep of his vacuum wind blades shredded countless insects without harming Matou Sakura, who was at the center of the swarm.

Using the berserker's ferocious martial arts to clear a path, Matou Kariya charged into the swarm of insects and managed to pull the lifeless-eyed Matou Sakura into his arms.

"Sakura, are you alright! Uncle is late, I'm so sorry, so sorry..." Matou Kariya, holding Matou Sakura, burst into tears. "I'm sorry, it's Uncle's fault. It's Uncle's fault..."

"Uncle Kariya?" Sakura Matou, who was being held, looked at Kariya Matou, who was crying bitterly, with lifeless eyes. "You're back!"

"Yes, I'm back. I'll never leave you again, Sakura!"

"Ha! You piece of trash, why did you suddenly barge into this place?" Just then, a deep voice rang out. The head of the Matou family, Zouken Matou, stomped his cane and stepped out from the side. The swarm of insects surrounding the room automatically made way, allowing Zouken to stand before Kariya Matou. "Who allowed you to come in here!"

"Damn it! Didn't you promise me that you'd let Sakura go if I won the Holy Grail War?!" Matou Kariya roared at Matou Zouken while holding Matou Sakura in his arms. He glared angrily at the monster before him. "What have you done! Monster!"

"Hmph! That would only be after you obtained the Holy Grail, but now..." Zouken Matou said, "That girl belongs to me! Also, watch your tone... If it weren't for me, you would still be a stray dog ​​who has betrayed the path of magic."

“Zoken Matou… no, Machiri Zorgen!”

"what?"

"Die! Monster!" Matou Kariya shouted. "Berserker, kill... cough cough cough cough..." Matou Kariya suddenly collapsed. The Crest Worms within his body began to tear at his flesh, causing him to lose control of his body and suffer excruciating pain. "Aaaaaah..."

"Hmph, you're still too green, brat!" Zouken Matou stepped forward and stomped on Kariya Matou's head, watching Kariya's pain with a look of admiration. "You think I don't know what that brat magician was saying to you? You think you can take me on? You're overestimating yourself!"

"If you behave and obey, then you'll still have some use. But if you don't obey... I can take your life at any time!"

“…Cough cough, ptooey! Monster…” Matou Kariya endured the intense pain in his body, his eyes sweeping over this nominal grandfather, who was in reality a true monster who had plagued generations of his Matou family. “…You…will…die a horrible death…Machi, Ri Zorgen…”

"Looks like you know a lot! When did you realize it?" Zouken Matou pressed his cane against Kariya Matou's heart. "...Well, whatever, you've already figured it out, so you're useless now. Anyway, I've never counted on a piece of trash like you in this Holy Grail War."

"You will become insect food and die screaming in agony!"

"No, you old monster!" Matou Kariya glared at Matou Zouken with resentment. "The one who will die... is you!" With that, Matou Kariya struggled and leaped to his feet.

"What?" In an instant, Zouken Matou discovered that he couldn't control the Crest Worms lurking in Kariya Matou's body anymore; it seemed as if something had suddenly blocked them. "No, it's Caster!" But only a moment later, Zouken Matou immediately realized. But at this moment, Kariya Matou, temporarily freed from the torment and control, shouted loudly.

"In the name of the Command Seals, Berserker killed him!" On the back of his hand, one of the Command Seals vanished in a red glow, and the berserker, who had been standing to the side, suddenly let out a ferocious roar. The magical amplification brought by the Command Seals caused the berserker to unleash a gust of magical wind.

Roar! !

The demonic spear in the berserker's hand, brimming with violent magic and intense killing intent, swept towards Zouken Matou. With a deafening boom, Zouken Matou was shattered to pieces by the sweeping blow of the demonic spear, and then the outward-flowing magic power emanating from the spear shredded Zouken Matou's remains.

However, this had no effect. As a monster who had abandoned his human form, the magician Zouken Matou, who had lived for five hundred years, did not die. Instead, a large swarm of insects gathered nearby and reformed Zouken Matou's body.

"You think you can kill me like this?" Zouken Matou sneered. "Even if you have a Servant, how long can you protect yourself?" A buzzing sound rang out, and many insects were created by the magic. Suddenly, hundreds of flying insects with sharp pincers, resembling wasps, appeared behind Zouken Matou. Then, they pounced on Kariya Matou.

Roar! The berserker roared, his demonic spear transforming into countless red and black spear shadows, unleashing a series of sonic booms that annihilated all the swarming insects. However, more and more insects appeared, coalescing into a dark storm that surged forward.

"Let's see who you can save!?" Zouken Matou sneered at the scene before him, but his smile froze on his face the next moment.

Ahead, a woman clad in a long robe, her face hidden in a hood, appeared out of thin air beside Matou Kariya. Without any apparent movement, countless purple specks of light floated in mid-air, filling the surrounding area. Then, these purple specks shot out wildly, annihilating the swarming insects…

"Caster!" Zouken Matou looked at the woman who had appeared before him and immediately realized, "Even if you are a Servant, don't think you can kill me so easily..."

"Don't you know that villains die from talking too much?" At that moment, another voice rang out from behind Zouken Matou. Meanwhile, Ciel, who had come with Caster, looked at Zouken Matou with disgust.

"Who are you? Caster's Master?"

Ciel ignored Zouken Matou's question and instead unleashed a destructive flame that completely engulfed him.

"It's no use, I'm immortal!" said Zouken Matou, who was burned to ashes by the flames.

"Thanks to the inferior version of immortality granted by the ley lines here!" Charles said sarcastically, "Caster!"

“Yes, my master!” Caster’s seductive voice rang out, and then the surrounding air vibrated.

"What have you done?" At this moment, Zouken Matou suddenly screamed in fear.

"Nothing much! Old bug! I just instructed Caster to control this ley line," Ciel replied. "You can control so many bugs and prolong your pathetic life only because of this ley line. Without the ley line, where would you get your magic power? Without magic power, you wouldn't even have the power to transfer your soul." A ball of fel flame appeared in Ciel's hand, and then the fel flame spread out, engulfing the surrounding bugs and Zouken Matou, whose body had just been reconstructed.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh..." Zouken Matou screamed in agony amidst the fiery energy. "No, no, spare me... Aaaaaaahhhhhh..."

“I originally intended to keep your soul, but I changed my mind after coming here.”

"Burning your filthy soul and these disgusting insects into charcoal wouldn't be a bad option either!"

67. Malice from the bullet comments

Amidst screams, the fel fire devoured Zouken Matou, one of the founders of the Holy Grail War, a great mage who had lived for five hundred years by discarding his physical body and devouring his descendants, leaving only a wisp of black ash scattered in all directions. After Zouken's death, the remaining insects in the room all froze, then, faced with the berserker's murderous aura, these magically modified insects, having lost their controller, scattered and fled.

"Caster, seal off this room and clear out all the bugs!" Charles ordered Caster beside him. "I don't like it when our new base is full of bugs!"

"Yes, my master!"

“And then…” Ciel walked up to Kariya Matou, who was holding Sakura Matou, “I have completed half of the covenant…”

"Can you save Sakura?" Kariya Matou suddenly asked.

“Yes, Caster is a magician from the Age of Gods, and is fully capable of helping you remove the traces of modification on this little girl.” Ciel glanced at Matou Sakura, who was being held by Matou Kariya, and understood Kariya's meaning. Like him, Matou Sakura was also infested with Crest Worms, but after Matou Zouken's death, these Crest Worms had become uncontrollable. If left unchecked, it would undoubtedly be a disaster. So far, both Kariya and Sakura in his arms were only temporarily having their Crest Worms suppressed by Caster's magic. However, once Caster's magic lost its effect, the Crest Worms within them would be their death warrant. “I could even help you prolong your remaining life… but that's not part of our covenant.”

"Hoo... I'll trade my Command Seals and my Servant for you!" Matou Kariya said, holding the little girl tightly in his arms and taking a deep breath. "Please, bring Sakura's smile back, please!"

“That eliminates you.” Ciel looked at Matou Kariya (who was actually Matou Sakura), then snapped his fingers, hypnotizing her, before turning back to Matou Kariya. “Don’t you want to take revenge yourself?”

Upon hearing this, Matou Kariya trembled slightly, but looking at the sleeping Matou Sakura in his arms, he gritted his teeth and said in a trembling voice, "I...I, I...I can't give up on Sakura. It was my fault before. If it weren't for me, Sakura wouldn't have been tortured by that old monster...I, I give up my Command Seals and my Servant."

"Alright! Then the Berserker is mine, and the same goes for... Caster!"

"Yes!"

"Use your Noble Phantasm to break the contract between the Berserker and Matou Kariya. Then prepare the healing ritual..." With that, Ciel turned around. "This house will belong to me before the Holy Grail War ends. Also, since you have lost your qualification, after the healing is over, leave this city and do not return before the Holy Grail War concludes."

…………

.........

……

...

.

“Master, you’ve softened your heart, haven’t you? I thought you had no compassion at all,” Caster said with a smile. “I didn’t expect you to have already used hints before that.”

"Don't joke around! I define myself as a bad guy. Didn't you see how I took down that high-achieving student from the Clock Tower without hesitation?" Charles waved his hand. "The main reason I did that was because of the comments!"

"what?"

"Ahhh! When I used to watch it on Bilibili, the screen was filled with bullet comments, and there were rows and rows of declarations from various terrorist organizations, each one more powerful than the last, some even mentioning the Xiling Empire." Xia Er said casually, "If they knew that I came but didn't take down that old bug, I guess the ones coming to cause trouble would be even more powerful than the last, maybe... the Holy Father would actually come with two 1.2-meter-tall ones."

"...I don't quite understand what Master means!"

"Ah! Ignore these filler words. By the way, Caster, how's your analysis of the Holy Grail system coming along?"

"Everything is progressing smoothly so far. With the addition of the soul of one of the founders that you intercepted, the speed of deciphering will be even faster. However, it seems that we cannot fully grasp the entire Holy Grail system at present."

"We don't need that! Speaking of which, with this, we've got a good grasp of most of the city's ley lines, right...? Could you try binding the magic power that powers our Servants to the city's ley lines?"

"What does Master intend to do?"

"Providing mana for two Servants at once is a burden for me, even though Caster, you can recover mana through the battlefield. However, we can't stay behind the scenes forever in the upcoming battles."

"I'm thinking! If we could bind the Servant to the ley lines of the entire city, would it mean that the Servant could have an uninterrupted supply of mana within the city? In that case, would the Servant's Noble Phantasm be able to be unleashed, especially the sword that the Berserker has hidden? And Caster, would your even more powerful Age of Gods magic be able to be used without restriction?!"

"Theoretically speaking, this is possible, Master! But, in this way..."

"Don't worry, Caster. Berserkers are almost irrational and will only obey the Command Seal holder. As for you, I think you wouldn't betray me even without Command Seals."

"certainly……"

——————————Divider Line——————————

This ridiculous event, where seven thugs from different histories fight over a broken cup, continues. Although Lucky E and his Master, who was implicated by E, both met their demise earlier, it doesn't stop this ridiculous event from continuing.

Similarly, for the dog's father, although the process was somewhat bizarre, and he even briefly met the future priest, Kasyapa, while trying to save his mistress whom he had secretly met behind his wife's back, at least the goal of healing Saber's wounds had been achieved. As for how the other participants viewed the battle that night—whether the Berserkers and Saber's side suddenly put aside their conflict and formed a temporary alliance to defeat Lancer, or whether the Berserkers simply benefited—that's a matter of opinion.

After that, without the disruptive behavior of that certain eccentric group, at least, no lunatics came knocking on the door of the castle called Einbelen, and none of the current brats, one of the future harem members of that idiot, encountered any great adventures.

However, the Three Kings Banquet was indeed still being held.

Then, something truly baffling happened: the Assassins, acting as assassins, simply surrounded them. ...Seriously, even though you're all under the Assassin banner, you're not some bunch of hawk-eyed berserkers! Instead of stabbing them in the back, you just went for it head-on? Numbers aren't always an advantage! Okay, in his opinion, it's all his fault. Compared to the weak Assassins who couldn't find an opportunity to attack their lone Master, Gilgamesh, whom he knew well, was much more reliable. He probably thought the biggest benefit was using the Assassins to test out the King of Conquerors' trump cards.

But doesn't he understand why Assassin is allowed to stab someone in the back while the Heroic Spirits are fighting?

Damn, you're mentally challenged...

68. The Holy Grail War Heading Towards Its End (Part 1)

This idiotic game continued, and after showing off, the Conqueror King swaggered away. Immediately afterward, Gilgamesh verbally teased the Saber King—oh no, the Knight King's successor, Night Flash. Leaving a bewildered Knight King standing there dumbfounded.

Following Lancer's elimination, the second Servant to be eliminated is Assassin. With both Servants returning to the Lesser Grail, Irisviel's physical condition, as the Lesser Grail, has begun to deteriorate. The elimination of these two Servants has already started to cause Irisviel's bodily functions to decline; if one more is eliminated, then Irisviel's human bodily functions will likely be completely lost.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Ciel. Ciel is quite disdainful of Irisviel's unrealistic daydreams. As a homunculus, Irisviel's fate is sealed, and even if Ciel wanted to change it, he wouldn't have the ability to alter that fact. Not to mention him, even Medea, as a mage from the Age of Gods, didn't have that ability.

After consulting with Medea, the magus of the Age of Gods, she regretfully told Ciel that the Holy Grail War system was simply too vast. Even with the aid of two main ley lines and the remaining knowledge within Zouken Matou's soul, Medea's abilities were limited. For over a hundred years, the Holy Grail War's ritual system had become inextricably linked to the entire city of Fuyuki. Unless one intended to completely destroy the entire ritual system, no one could gain control of it without interfering with it.

So Charles really had no other choice. Besides, he wasn't some saintly figure from Europe; killing the old bug was already his best plan. As for the other tragedies, he wasn't a coffee table, so why should he continue to interfere? Rather than worrying about things he couldn't control, he should focus on other things, such as extracting knowledge from Director Ken and the old bug's souls through soul stripping.

The old bug's soul fragment was directly given to Medea to handle, while Ciel was more concerned with Director Ken's fragment. Although, in both the original timeline and the timeline Ciel intervened in, Director Ken couldn't escape the tragic undertones. Was it truly a curse brought by E-level luck? Aside from the curse of E-level luck and the reality of being cuckolded, Director Ken truly deserved his title of 'prodigy,' as Ciel discovered when examining the memories within Director Ken's soul fragment.

In Ciel's view, in terms of sheer magical power, Master Ken was absolutely superior to all the other Masters who participated in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Even Tokiomi Tohsaka was no match for Master Ken. To be honest, in the original timeline, if it weren't for the Origin Bullet created by Tokiomi's father, which was a devastating blow to mages, then... After Ciel intervened, the Fel Flame simply burned Master Ken's Mystic Code to ashes.

However, during the soul search, Ciel discovered that Director Ken's knowledge of magic was truly exceptionally broad. The so-called Magic Crests of magicians were indeed valuable, which explained Director Ken's unwavering adherence to the bloodline theory. Having inherited a Magic Crest, Director Ken was already far ahead of many others from the start, as the magical knowledge and research of his predecessors were stored and passed down within the Magic Crest. Director Ken only needed to continue his research after taking over. Furthermore, if the inheritor was a genius, it's no wonder that Director Ken was so naive as to come and die.

However, magical crests were completely useless against Ciel. After all, their systems were fundamentally different, so after eliminating Chief Ken, he stopped bothering with him. He considered it a favor to the Queen. Speaking of which, Ciel was actually quite interested in El-Melloi II.

In short, Ciel simply extracted the knowledge that Director Ken possessed. In his view, aside from some basic magic knowledge and spells from the Type-Moon world that were relatively useful to Ciel, the only other useful magical knowledge he gained from Director Ken was the creation of the Moon Spirit Essence Mystic Code. Although Director Ken used mercury, a liquid metal, Ciel didn't consider mercury a particularly good material. However, the Type-Moon world wasn't a high-magic world, and the treasures from the mythical era were nowhere to be found. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that he was destroyed by the Origin Bullet in the original timeline.