Type-Moon: Root Seiko

After confirming that his wife and daughters were asleep, Tokiomi Tohsaka left the mansion, intending to go to the Matou residence as promised.

After walking out the gate, he suddenly turned back as if he remembered something and checked the mansion's defensive barrier one last time.

To be on the safe side, he added several extra security measures as much as he could, ensuring that even an assassin like Assassin from the Holy Grail War would have to do a set of calisthenics to infiltrate the area.

"Don't bother, let's go." Luo Zhen urged impatiently.

This made Tokiomi Tohsaka's knees buckle, and he almost knelt down!

At some point, Luo Zhen once again controlled the mechanical cat body made of oranges and appeared on the wall next to the Tohsaka family's residence.

He glanced at the mustachioed man, then walked ahead, gesturing for him to follow.

This filled Tokiomi Tohsaka with a sense of frustration: "What exactly are you?"

"I clearly hid your body in the deepest part of the workshop, even locking it inside the magic box made by the Gemstone Mage, a mage who practices the Second Magic of Byin Augu. That should be a twisted, folded space that can't be opened from the inside no matter what, so why can you still..."

"Ah, right, right. The mystery of interfering with parallel worlds is very useful, isn't it? Making a space treasure chest with unlimited capacity is even easier."

Luo Zhen scoffed, and the cat's ears twitched.

He continued, "But that eccentric old man didn't anticipate the technological advancements of the times. The suitcase couldn't pass airport security, and shipping it by sea was too dangerous, so it was basically impossible to take it on a long trip, right?"

"If only he had listened to me, he would have made a spatial ring. Instead, he insisted that 'storage items should look like containers,' and even said I had no taste. What a tasteless old man."

“……(€€€€€€)”

Tokiomi Tohsaka, who was not yet 30 years old but already looked much older, now truly felt that he was old.

Otherwise, how could I have such a severe hallucination, listening to a cat casually talking about its own ancestor, and even complaining in a tone that seemed to be very familiar with him?

This made Tokiomi's mouth dry, and for a moment he just walked silently, not daring to speak.

Luo Zhen found his stiff and nervous appearance amusing and took the initiative to speak:

"The one who created this body is the world's number one Grand Puppeteer, Aozaki Touko."

“I am her assistant, responsible for negotiating on her behalf since she was sealed and designated as a wanted person. That’s all you need to know for now.”

Tokiomi didn't dare to reply casually, and only nodded stiffly.

In reality, he wasn't that incompetent.

When he discovered that the cat's body was a mechanical structure, he had already guessed the identity of the maker.

Grand Doll Maker, Aozaki Touko.

She is arguably one of the most outstanding magicians of our time, and also the older sister of the current Fifth Magician.

Although I've heard that she's always been at odds with her sister and has already left the Aozaki family, it doesn't diminish her own excellence.

The fact that she was issued a "sealing order" by the Magic Association proves that her magical talent is recognized as being at a level that is unique in the contemporary era, and that she deserves to be used as a model and preserved in formalin for posterity.

Although this is essentially an arrogant and selfish arrest warrant from the Mage's Association, it is also the best medal for a magician's achievements, an achievement that a mediocre magician like Tokiomi Tohsaka could never attain in his entire life.

...But why would such an extraordinary person send an agent to Fuyuki City? And why would they want to contact me in this way?

Could it be that Aozaki Touko also has her eye on the Holy Grail and wants to compete with him for it...? Tohsaka Tokiomi immediately thought of this possibility.

But before he could think further...

A sudden burst of intense magical energy surged from ahead, causing Tokiomi Tohsaka to feel a momentary sense of suffocation in the otherwise calm air.

"Speed ​​up," Luo Zhen urged him.

The Tohsaka family and the Matou family are not far apart; they are located on the same hilltop and halfway up the same hill.

As he got closer to the Matou family, Tokiomi Tohsaka could feel a murky, heretical magical power, which made him frown and cover his mouth and nose.

Spying on the magical secrets of other families, especially those that are allies to some extent, has always been considered despicable by Tokiomi Tohsaka, who has a strong sense of aristocracy.

Therefore, he was unaware of the details of the Matou family's magic beforehand.

I only know that the Matou family is skilled in binding and coercive magic concepts, which is why they were able to create the Command Seals system in the Holy Grail War.

Even so, this vile and murky magic, with an even more sinister aura than necromancy, why...?

"Here, come here."

Without wasting words with Tokiomi Tohsaka, Luo Zhen went straight into the Matou family's gate, which had already been smashed.

Tokiomi Tohsaka had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

He knew that his unauthorized trespassing at the Matou residence had violated the family rules.

But faced with the legendary Grand Puppeteer and the equally unfathomable agent before him, Tokiomi knew he had no choice but to comply.

If they truly harbored malicious intent, they could have silenced the entire Tohsaka family of four the moment they silently broke into their residence.

But this cat (?) who claimed to be the agent of the Grand Doll Master still invited me, so I had no choice but to comply.

Luo Zhen entered the Matou house and jumped directly into the large hole smashed in the floor, entering the previously hidden underground area.

Tokiomi Tohsaka followed closely behind.

A cat and a person descended the stone steps, surrounded by damp, sticky moisture.

The further down you go, the more disgusting, sticky liquid you see splattered all around, along with the remains of various insects.

"The Matou family's insect manipulation magic... Was it you who attacked the Matou family?"

Tokiomi covered his mouth and nose, using a magical barrier to protect himself from the foul air.

He tried to characterize the bad guys as intruders, but Luo Zhen completely ignored him.

On the next level down, the surroundings are not only the remains of insects, but also damaged mechanical structures.

Several half-meter-tall mechanical spiders collapsed in all directions, their bodies bearing many marks from corrosion.

But there were far more worm remains that could drown them; the filth was so abundant that there was nowhere left to even step.

Luo Zhen spat, "Disgusting."

Even if it were a mechanical cat's body, he didn't want to touch this disgusting slime.

Therefore, he turned around and leaped onto Tokiomi Tohsaka's head, once again breaking through all the defensive barriers he had set up as if no one else was there.

By this time, Tokiomi Tohsaka had even gotten used to it, and he simply opened his mouth but said nothing.

He waved his staff, chanting a two-syllable magic spell, and flames poured from the ruby ​​at the top of the staff.

The high-temperature flames immediately scorched the surrounding slime.

Although it made the smell even worse, it was at least tolerable under the protection of magic.

Descending to the next level, passing through the already damaged concealment barrier, Tokiomi Tohsaka finally heard a desperate cry:

"Why! What are you?! Why did you destroy my old workshop?!"

"My name is Matou Zouken, and I am also Machiri Zorgen! You trespassing thief, state your name!!!"

Chapter 5 The Destruction of Zouken Matou

“—Zangen-kun!” Tokiomi Tohsaka blurted out instinctively.

In his mind, Matou Zouken was the head of the Matou family in this generation, a figure of his grandfather's generation.

Because the Matou family's bloodline was constantly weakening, none of his children or descendants were capable of inheriting the family seal, and it seemed that the bloodline was about to be extinct.

Therefore, when he proposed that Tokiomi Tohsaka adopt one of his daughters as his granddaughter, Tokiomi Tohsaka was truly grateful.

Although the Matou family's bloodline has weakened, their magic crest is still over five hundred years old.

It would be a great thing if his daughter could inherit this treasure, which would undoubtedly benefit her future research in the magical arts.

Therefore, Tokiomi Tohsaka prefers to maintain a good relationship with the Matou family.

Even if they are destined to be enemies during the Holy Grail War, it should be a battle of magic based on the pride and self-esteem of magi...

...But what is this now presented before me?

“Children of the Tohsaka family! Tokiomi, come quickly and help this old man! Drive out these vicious invaders!”

Zouken Matou was overjoyed and immediately shouted to Tokiomi Tohsaka:

"These mechanical familiars are about to destroy my Matou family's workshop and plunder our family's secrets! If this place is destroyed, Sakura will never be able to inherit our family's magic crest! Now is the time for you to fulfill your oath!!"

"...Master Zangyan, what is that thing behind you?"

Tokiomi frowned in disbelief.

He did not see the horrific battle.

Even when Zouken Matou's head was split in half by the constantly moving mechanical spiders, he didn't seem to be surprised.

Magicians have countless ways to prolong life. A magic crest is essentially a transplantable living organ that will do everything in its power to keep the host alive.

Tokiomi Tohsaka's attention was completely drawn to what Zouken Matou was risking his life to protect... the wall of fleshy growths behind him.

It was a whole living structure, or rather, a cyst.

Countless insect-like creatures clung together, their bodies tightly intertwined, forming a dense, unified whole.

Occasionally, structures resembling human faces would emerge from that distorted surface, as if a drowning person were desperately calling for help.