It's normal for an evil god to raise an Abyss.

"Matou Sakura."

"Impossible." Matou Kariya immediately refused. One of the reasons why he participated in the Holy Grail War was to protect Matou Sakura. If he pushed Matou Sakura into the hands of someone else, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

"Hey, don't be so quick to refuse." Xueyue still kept smiling at the expected refusal, "I know you want to protect Xiaoying, but do you have the ability? How long can you protect her?"

"..." This question really hit Matou Kariya's soft spot. He joined this war with some self-destructive thoughts, and he had no way to truly protect Sakura. Just like when Sakura was tortured by the crested worms, he could only be at a loss, hoping that after obtaining the Holy Grail, Matou Zouken would show leniency to Sakura. Now that Matou Zouken has disappeared, he is naturally happy, but how can he bring happiness to Sakura, relying on this broken body that will not survive for a few days?

Unable to answer, unable to make any promises, Matou Kariya fell silent once again.

"If Sakura follows me, she can not only recover her normal body, but also have the right to choose her own life. If she wants to live as an ordinary person, I will give her a happy life; if she also wants to embark on the path of a magician, I will teach her not to fall into evil ways. Think about it carefully, which one is good for Sakura... Of course, you can not trust me, but can you bring happiness to Sakura?"

"Sakura, do you want to go with Caster?" Matou Kirei stretched out his trembling hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally did not touch Matou Sakura, and retracted it.

"Sister is a good person..." Sakura Matou just said this, and the expectation in her eyes was self-evident.

“I see. I understand…” Matou Kariya looked at Xueyue, “Since Xiaoying thinks so, I naturally have no objection. Let her go with you…”

"In addition, there is one more condition. You need to withdraw from the Holy Grail War."

Xueyue continued,

“I know you have hatred towards Tokiomi, but think carefully, is that really something you have to do? Don’t let hatred make you lose your mind. The Holy Grail War is a fight between twisted magi, and a normal person like you shouldn’t be involved in it. If you continue to fight, you will die.”

In the Fourth Holy Grail War, Matou Kariya was already a relatively normal Master, but precisely because he was too normal, he should not have forced his way into the Holy Grail War. This was why he was destined to be a tragedy. Xueyue had a little sympathy for him, so she communicated with him through negotiation instead of directly using force.

“Heh… Caster, you are indeed right…” Matou Kariya laughed bitterly, pointed at himself and said self-deprecatingly, “But look at me like this, can I still turn back?”

"Of course," Xueyue answered immediately, to the surprise of Jiantong Yanye, and threw out a dark green pill, which landed steadily in Jiantong Yanye's hand.

"Eat it, Sakura is eating too."

Matou Kariya swallowed the pill without any suspicion.

With the next breath, the body reacted. The "foreign objects" that did not belong to the body - those engraved insects, scrambled to break through the flesh and blood and escape. In a short time, Matou Kirei became a "blood man".

"Hiss...it looks like the situation is more serious than I thought..."

Xueyue frowned and took out a golden pill from the light golden ripples.

"Queen Mother of the West's elixir, in this case, a quarter of the amount should be enough..."

Xueyue muttered to herself as she neatly divided the elixir into four equal parts. She picked up one of the pieces and threw it accurately into Jiantong Yanye's half-open mouth from a distance.

Chapter 15: Berserker Exits

The wounds on Matou Kariya's body healed within a few seconds as if time had gone backwards, and fresh flesh and blood grew. Unlike before when he was tortured by the marking worms and was on the verge of death, his appearance now was not much different from that of a normal person.

If the whole pill of the Queen Mother of the West's elixir is swallowed, one can float away from the world and attain immortality; if half of it is taken, one can also achieve immortality and be immune to all poisons; if one quarter of it is taken, it can be a panacea for all diseases, but it can retain humanity and its efficacy is most friendly to mortals.

“Cough… cough, thank… thank you.” Matou Kariya was naturally aware of the condition of his body. After expelling all the Marking Bugs, he had basically lost the power to drive his Servants. The so-called Command Seals were no longer of much use to him.

"Next, it's time to take the final step. Hand over your Command Seal, and then you can leave here. Stretch out your hand." Xueyue walked forward.

The shadow condensed into a delicate scalpel in Xueyue's hand, and with a wave of the knife, the Command Seal on the back of Matou Kariya's right hand was cut off along with the skin and flesh.

“……” The severe pain caused Matou Kariya to cover the back of his hand and clench his teeth.

"The subsequent effect of the elixir is enough to make this wound heal as before in a few days. Maybe it will leave a little scar... But it can also be used as a souvenir... Anyway, leave here and don't come back, if you still want to live as an ordinary person."

Xueyue finally reminded.

Matou Kariya nodded and turned to leave. Now that Sakura had a place to go, he had no reason to stay here anymore. Perhaps this was the best outcome...

Xueyue looked at the Command Seals left behind by Matou Kariya, and then looked at the abandoned Berserker. What should she do...

Soon, Xueyue had an idea.

"Command it with the Command Seal, and remember your glory. Restore it with the Command Seal, and break free from the shackles of violence."

After two Command Seals were cast, the black energy around Berserker receded, revealing a suit of silver-white armor.

"It seems that you have briefly regained your sanity, Lancelot."

"Yes, Master." The knight took off his helmet, revealing his true appearance with purple hair and purple eyes.

"Well... I don't need your help in my [Plan]. You can act freely from now on. For example, go meet your king."

"The king... huh..." The tall knight turned his head to look at the distant sky, his eyes full of complicated emotions. After a moment, he shook his head: "I think I am no longer qualified to see the king. Master, if you see her, please tell her a message for me..."

The words, like parting words, flowed into the girl's ears along with the wind.

"I'll bring your words to you. Well, since you have nothing else to do, why not have a hearty duel at the end."

Xueyue raised the Longyuan Sword again.

"Wanting to compete with a Servant? What a strange Master..." Lancelot's smile was slightly helpless.

"I think that as the strongest knight among the Knights of the Round Table, you should not be afraid of the challenge of a small figure." Xueyue's tone was slightly provocative.

“Of course not,” Lancelot slowly drew out the indestructible lake light and gradually adjusted to the state of battle. “I am not flexible enough to let you go. Be careful, Master!”

…………

In the news reports of the next day, the strange traces that affected nearly one-third of the mountains in the city that night were attributed to the use of explosives to blast the mountains.

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"Phew, so refreshing. It's so cool to fight with the legendary hero~" Xueyue looked very satisfied.

"The commotion you made tonight is quite different from your previous plan to hide your shortcomings." Bubble, who was following half a step behind and holding Sakura Matou's hand, complained.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, we have already cleared out the surrounding familiars."

"As long as they are not blind or deaf, they will probably be able to discover what you have done. This is much more exciting than the noise of Emiya Kiritsugu blowing up a building on the other side."

"That's perfect. Anyway, the only news they can get is Caster's visit to the Matou family, the disappearance of the Matou family, and the withdrawal of Berserker. Suspicion is the best catalyst."

"No, that's not my biggest concern..." Bubble raised the hand holding Sakura's, "Don't leave the child to me when you're fighting. Do I look like a childcare robot?"

"Well, hehe, I can't care about the fun of fighting..." Xueyue knew she was in the wrong, so she scratched her head with an awkward smile.

"Heh...it looks like there's another person you want to appease..."

While they were talking, the three of them had already arrived home. When they opened the door, they saw a blonde girl in cute pajamas running out to greet them.

"Abigail? Have you been waiting for us?" Xueyue was a little surprised when she saw Abigail, who should have fallen asleep, rushing towards her.

"I'm worried...that's why I can't sleep." Abigail buried her face in Xueyue's arms and rubbed it, responding in a somewhat coquettish manner.

"Okay, okay, I'm back. Go to bed now. If you stay up too late, you'll get wrinkles~" Xueyue threatened.

"Xiaoxue." Paopao silently closed the door behind him and called Xueyue.

"..." Xueyue turned around and exchanged a glance with Paopao, then pulled Abigail back half a step.

Almost at the same time,

puff-

It was like the sound of a stick piercing through flesh.

Bubble clamped Sakura Matou's shoulder with his left hand, and his right hand easily tore through her flesh and reached into her left chest. Bright red blood gushed out like a flood, staining the entrance with scarlet.

Abigail was so shocked that she covered her mouth with her hands involuntarily. Bubble's cold eyes finally reminded her that no matter how similar he was to humans, he was ultimately a god who regarded all living beings as ants.

Abigail felt a gentle touch from behind. She tilted her head and met Xueyue's reassuring eyes, which seemed to say "don't worry".

Matou Sakura didn't show much expression. Just like when she was invaded by insects before, in her opinion, this was just another acceptance of fate.

Chapter 16 The End of Night

"It's time to close the curtain, you stinky bug. I'm not interested in playing this clumsy trick any more."

Bubble's indifferent voice struck a carved insect pinched in his right hand.

"Ha, ha ha, I didn't expect to be discovered after all," the bug made a cold voice like Matou Zouken, "But do you still have the heart to consider me? That little girl is almost dead~"

Just as the old bug said, Sakura Matou's face gradually lost its color and her pupils gradually dilated.

"Oh~" Bubble raised his indifferent tone a little, and calmly snapped his fingers with his free left hand.

A strange thing happened. The blood that was originally splattered everywhere flowed back into Sakura Matou's body, and the big hole in her chest recovered in a short time, as if the serious injury had never existed.

"Bug, what did you say would happen to that little girl?" Bubble's tone was a little sarcastic.

"This is... this is the reversal of time. How is it possible? Are you..." There was a rare hint of fear in Matou Zouken's tone.

"I'm not interested in listening to your guesses, go to hell." Bubble didn't intend to listen to the noisy voice, and closed his hands to kill the insect.

"Done?" Xueyue asked.

"Well, at least that's the case in this world. As for other worlds, that's another matter." Bubble replied.

"Forget it, let's not get involved in other world lines for now."

"Turns out, it's not what I thought..." Abigail said softly.

"It's just a trick of closing the door to kill the insects. It's all Megas' fault. She scared the child..." Xueyue decisively passed the buck.

"Ouch!" However, before she could throw the pot away, Xueyue's waist was hit hard by a flying kick from Paopao, and she rolled twice on the tatami and fell face down.

"Xiaoxue, you are learning how to make a non-stick pan now. You made the plan and asked me for help, but now you are throwing it all away."

Paopao took a few steps ahead and stepped directly on Xueyue's back with her little feet wrapped in white tights.

"Oh~ Wrong, wrong..." Xueyue turned her head and looked in the direction of Abigail, "Well, Sakura will sleep in your room tonight, Abi. We will go shopping tomorrow morning. Go to bed early, kids."

"..." Abigail looked at Xueyue and Paopao with a speechless look, nodded, and then took Sakura Matou's hand, and Sakura Matou just let Abigail hold her hand and walked into the room together.

After playing with each other for a while.

"thanks for treatment!"

"Hiss, why does it feel like I'm rewarding you? Xiaoxue, you're becoming more and more like Naya~" Bubble covered his forehead and pretended to have a headache.

"Because Megs is cute~"

"Don't take this kind of compliment for granted to me..." Paopao poked Xueyue's waist with his toes, "Go make me the midnight snack we agreed on!"

"Yes, yes, right away..."

Thanks to Xueyue's efforts, the midnight snack was quickly prepared, and the two of them sat down casually to eat and chat.

"Megs, what do you think of Sakura's qualifications?"

"Based on the standards of this world, it is a relatively rare attribute, but in terms of qualifications... it is average."

Xueyue nodded in agreement. Matou Sakura's magic attribute is "imaginary number", which is not among the five elements. However, her qualification can be evaluated as "average" by Bubble, which is quite rare by human standards.

"Sakura has a good affinity with Shadow. Perhaps, I can give her some guidance in this regard."

This is also what Xueyue deliberately concealed from Matou Yanye. Given Matou Sakura's special nature, there is actually no way for her to survive as an ordinary person. Even if she deliberately avoids it, the mysterious related things will eventually find her. In that case, it is better to actively embrace the mystery and master her own power. This is always the best way to solve the problem, rather than just avoiding it.

-------------------------------------

The night gradually faded away and the sky turned pale.

"Is that so? The Matou family was attacked by Caster, and Berserker was defeated..."

Tōsaka Tokiomi received the information passed on by Kotomine Kirei, and began to think while stroking the armrest of the sofa.

As one of the three great magicians of Fuyuki, although Tousaka Tokiomi is not clear about the magic of the Matou family, it is obvious that the Matou family is not someone who can be easily defeated.

So Sakura... No, now is not the time to think about these unimportant things, the Holy Grail War is the top priority.

Tōsaka Tokiomi rubbed his brows, thinking about Caster's doubts.

Caster is not the type to take the initiative, so why did she choose the Matou family? Moreover, all the reconnaissance methods that were arranged in advance were blocked, and the only information that could be obtained was the "results". It was completely unclear what Caster did... No matter which angle you think about it from, Caster is not the kind of weak Servant that she showed at the beginning.

Thinking of this, Tōsaka Tokiomi couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had stopped Archer's actions in time, otherwise he might be the one suffering now. Next, he should intensify the investigation of Caster's group, and should not let Archer go until he has obtained absolutely accurate intelligence.

After deciding on a rough action plan in his mind, Tokiomi remembered another small thing:

"——By the way, Kirei, I heard that you seemed to have left the church last night to take some action."

Kotomine Kirei had long expected that Tōsaka Tokiomi would ask him such a question. According to the original plan, as a Master who had already been defeated in the Holy Grail War and sought the protection of the Church, he naturally should not take any additional actions.

"I'm very sorry. Although I know it's dangerous to do this, I found spies around the church, so I have to deal with it."

Kotomine Kirei concealed the fact that he went to look for Emiya Kiritsugu, but only found Maiya and let her escape on his own, and lied so neatly.