That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Kotomine Risei is too old; he can't wait any longer.

呲味~

The priest's Command Seal on the back of his hand vanished in a flash of red light. Almost simultaneously, all the Assassins in the church conjured weapons in their hands—knives, swords, bows, crossbows, or poison. They picked up their weapons and stabbed at the nearest personality clone. The clone neither dodged nor avoided, but was determined to die under the constraint of the Command Seal.

For every blood flower that blooms, a shadow disappears.

"Damn it! How utterly despicable! The long-cherished wish of all eighty-eight of us has been thwarted..."

"You Master who betrayed us, we curse you! We will devour your flesh and blood!"

"Damn it! I can't break free from the Command Spells!"

Swish~ Swish~ Swish~

The holy church echoed with wails as Assassin's clones all died within seconds. One Assassin clone collapsed at Matou Shinji's feet, grabbing his right foot. His eyes, hidden behind the skull mask, blared with resentment and rage, and he cursed in a hoarse voice: "Caster, you'd go to such lengths to obtain the Holy Grail."

"Hassan of a Hundred Faces, what did you accomplish with your countless wisdom? Hundreds of selves vying for the desire of a single belief? You know the answer yourself." Shinji Matou shrugged. This is the Holy Grail War, do you think this is child's play? Do you think I, a Caster, should preach chivalry to an Assassin like you? You, a spy Servant, have the nerve to call others despicable.

"I'm not reconciled... My dream of unification... has been destroyed here..." Assassin murmured as he lay on the ground, his body turning into a hazy shadow and fading away.

In fact, both Hassan of the Hundred Faces from the Fourth Holy Grail War and Hassan of the Cursed Arm from the Fifth Holy Grail War had a Luck rating of E. They were both tools, destined to be used and then discarded.

Shinji Matou suddenly felt a little sorry for Assassin; their mistake was that they were both on the side of enemies.

The elderly priest stood up, slightly hunched over, and faced Shinji Matou with his hands behind his back, exuding a strong sense of oppression. He questioned, "Now, can you tell me where Kirei Kotomine is?"

"Yes, I've already taken care of him."

"you!"

In the moment of Kotomine Risa's astonishment, he lost his best opportunity to react. The Void Elemental Spirit appeared behind Matou Shinji, and its materialized fist swept a deathly wind and slammed into his chest.

boom!

Like the thunderous roar of a great bell, Kotomine Ritsu, caught off guard, was struck squarely by an elemental spirit's punch. He coughed up blood, his body flying backward and crashing into a church bench, leaving him unconscious.

"Don't blame me for being despicable, Father, otherwise I can't guarantee that I can take the Command Seals without killing you."

Shinji Matou may look down on Kirei Kotomine, but he would never dare to underestimate this elderly priest. When Kirei Kotomine was young, his strength was no less than that of his son, Kirei Kotomine. He was skilled in Bajiquan and had the added advantage of Command Seals. Shinji Matou might not be able to defeat him in a short time.

More importantly, he didn't want Kotomine Risuke to waste his precious Command Seals.

With this, Assassin, the third Servant in the Holy Grail War, has left the stage. If two more Servants were to leave, the Grand Grail system located in the Great Hollow would be fully activated.

Shinji Matou came to Risei Kotomine's side, squatted down and unbuttoned his sleeve, and saw that his arm was covered with dense, bright red Command Seals, a total of eleven. He had used one of the Command Seals to order Assassin to commit suicide, leaving a faint red mark.

Shinji Matou didn't take Kotomine Risei's life; his injuries will allow him to get out of bed after a few months of recuperation in the hospital.

Although Kirei Kotomine is an enemy, he is also an upright priest in terms of his stance, so there is no need to take his life. However, killing Kirei Kotomine is, in some ways, more cruel than killing him.

"What's the difference between this hypocritical kindness and human evil?" Shinji Matou shook his head self-deprecatingly, feeling quite unhappy, just like when he killed Zouken Matou.

Despite saying this and thinking this, Matou Shinji honestly examined the Command Seals on Kotomine Ryouji's hands, testing them with magical energy, but they were neutralized by a strange force.

"As expected, it's not impossible to forcibly seize the Overseer's Command Seals, but even with my level of magic, I would need to make considerable preparations."

The Overseer's command is protected by the Word of the Church, because the foundation of the Church is completely different from that of magic. It is impossible to forcibly take it away by magic without the person's permission.

But knowing the secret sacred words is a different matter.

"God is the Holy Spirit, therefore we who worship God must worship with our souls and the truth."

Shinji Matou read aloud the contents of chapter 24 of the Gospel of John, a sacred text of the Holy Church, without missing a single word.

Kotomine Risei's Command Seals and Secret Holy Words resonated with each other, radiating red light and transferring one by one to Matou Shinji's arm.

Shinji Matou stared at the densely packed Command Seals on his arm, frowning as he muttered to himself, "The number is wrong. Kotomine Risei's Overseer Command Seals should have thirteen strokes in total, which means two of them have already been given away as rewards. Is it Rider?"

Although the original work does not explicitly state how many Command Seals Kotomine Risho has, Kirei Kotomine used two in his battle against Kiritsugu Emiya and once said that he had eight Command Seals left, plus the one Kotomine Risho gave to Kenneth, and the two Kotomine Kirei gave to Kariya Matou.

There are a total of thirteen Command Seals for all Overseers.

"Ten Command Seals should be enough."

Shinji Matou didn't rush to leave the church. Instead, he went to a room at the back of the church where miscellaneous items were stored. He touched the ground with both hands and released his magic to trigger the magic barrier there.

呲味味~

Blue arcs of electricity flickered, and Shinji Matou's Mystic Eyes simultaneously lit up with silver light. His Spiritual Calculation function quickly analyzed the composition of the magic barrier and reversed its destruction.

The barrier that suppresses the vital stone, one of the four great spiritual veins, was set up by the ancestors of the Tohsaka family. In terms of quality, it is even better than the workshop temporarily set up by the color-rank magician Kenneth.

However, due to the lack of a magic furnace to provide magic power, the defensive capabilities of this barrier are limited, and it is more like a warning device.

"This kind of magical barrier can effectively prevent outsiders from tampering with the spiritual veins, but it cannot prevent damage to the barrier itself."

Shinji Matou quickly dispelled the magic barrier, lifted the stone slab, and revealed a staircase leading underground.

The Void Elemental Spirit appeared behind Shinji Matou and went down to explore first, deliberately releasing magic to test the waters, but did not trigger any traps.

Shinji Matou then followed him downstairs, using magic to illuminate the basement. What he saw was an ordinary basement, about the size of a normal room. The floor was carved with complex magic ritual circles, and in the center stood a stone pillar with a red gem on it.

Shinji Matou extended a finger, its tip condensing light to simulate and materialize True Aether. He pointed it toward the gem, and a small torrent of True Aether easily pierced the magic barrier, destroying the gem.

"The key stone that suppressed the spiritual veins has been destroyed, and we can finally begin to dismantle the Holy Grail." Shinji Matou's face lit up with joy. He squatted down and touched the patterns of the magic circle on the ground with both hands. He clapped his hands suddenly, activating the transmutation circle to erode the barrier and modify the spell of the magic barrier that suppressed the meridians, connecting it to himself.

About half an hour later, Shinji Matou came out of the basement and returned to the church. The unconscious Risei Kotomine was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a middle-aged man in a burgundy suit, leaning on a jeweled cane, stood in the middle of the corridor with a stern expression, as if he were guarding someone.

Shinji Matou grinned, recognizing him as Tokiomi Tohsaka, the head of the Tohsaka family and the master of the Fuyuki City spiritual vein. He wasn't surprised by his appearance; the Tohsaka family would surely sense the destruction of the key stone that suppressed the spiritual vein.

Chapter 76 Perfect Ending (Bonus Chapter)

In the main hall of the church, Tokitomi Tohsaka stared at Shinji Matou, who entered through a side door, his eyes indifferent and cold, his magnetic voice questioning, "So, Caster, or should I call you Shinji Matou, could you clear up my doubts?"

He had far too many doubts and concerns about the Master in front of him who looked only seven years old.

“Since the head of the Tohsaka family is here in person, why not?” Shinji Matou smiled as he sat on a church bench, waiting for his question.

In the Holy Grail War, the Kiri family and the Einzbern family, two of the three founding families, basically achieved perfect endings. After killing Kirei Kotomine, there is no need to worry about the Tohsaka family being betrayed.

Tokiomi Tohsaka sat down on the other side of the bench, rubbing the gem at the top of his cane with both hands. He could activate the magic stored in the gem by rubbing it if there was any change in his expression.

Tokiomi Tohsaka appeared calm on the surface, but was actually in a panic.

However, facing a Servant capable of killing Archer, Tokiomi Tohsaka didn't think he could survive to the next second.

He had reasons for having to stand here.

There were just too many questions to ask. Tokitomi Tohsaka's mind was filled with the image of his daughter, Sakura Matou. It had been a year since they last met, and he still missed her dearly. However, asking the Matou family this question was a major taboo.

Since Matou Sakura has been adopted into the Matou family, all ties must be severed.

Tokiomi Tohsaka asked in an official tone, "Did you attack the overseer of the Holy Grail War and steal the Command Seals?"

"Yes," Shinji Matou readily replied.

"Since you stole the Command Seals, why didn't you kill the Overseer?"

"There's no need for that, and I don't want to kill him."

"Why did you break the agreement between the three starter families?"

"The agreement has lost its meaning."

"Why did you steal the spiritual vein managed by the Tohsaka family?"

"This is a necessary step in dismantling the Greater Grail."

In the ensuing exchange, Tokitomi Tohsaka's pupils contracted sharply, and he questioned whether he had misheard. He demanded in a deep voice, "Dismantle the Greater Grail! Are you insane? What are you thinking? It's not about obtaining the Grail, it's about dismantling the Greater Grail! That's a miracle created by the three founding families over hundreds of years! You're from the Matou family, you can't possibly not understand the significance of the Grail!"

"The Holy Grail is no longer something that the three starter families pursue."

"What do you mean?"

“Angola Mainyu, do you remember this name? To be more specific, he is a Servant of the Avenger class.”

Tokiomi Tohsaka stroked his chin, lost in thought: "Avenger... I remember that the Einzbern family violated the rules by summoning a Servant of this class during the Third Holy Grail War. Impossible, the Holy Grail cannot summon anything other than a Heroic Spirit. Angra Mainyu is an evil god of the Zoroastrian sect, and the Holy Grail cannot provide a divine spirit origin."

“Yes, he was just an ordinary person who was forced to accept the concept of ‘evil in this world’ by the Zoroastrian village. If he were a member of the church, he would be a saint who sacrificed himself.” Shinji Matou squatted down, touched the ground with both hands, and used a transmutation circle to create a transparent crystal from the ground. He then used the crystal as a medium to play the images recorded by the Great Hollow.

"The Holy Grail has been corrupted by Angra Mainyu. I confirmed this with the homunculi of the Einzbern family when we went to the location where the Greater Grail was constructed. It is no longer a wish-granting device or a path for magicians to reach the Root. It is just a cursed device that kills humans."

"How..." Tokiomi Tohsaka was shaken violently, staring blankly at the image presented by the crystal, unable to maintain her composure and elegance. Through the crystal sphere, she could also feel the evil thing born from that black sun.

This thing is the Holy Grail? How absurd! Has the centuries-long pursuit of the three starter families been nothing but a nightmare?

Tokitomi Tohsaka was momentarily lost. All his life goals and directions had vanished in that instant, and a sense of unreality accompanied the emptiness. He gritted his teeth and said unwillingly, "I need to personally confirm such an important matter."

The silver-haired doll walked into the church with her back to the moonlight, her long, smooth hair shimmering in the moonlight. Irisviel said with a heavy expression, "Head of the Tohsaka family, it is regrettable that the Greater Grail has been corrupted, and it is an undeniable responsibility of our Einzbern family. It was only after seeing that thing that we, the Einzbern family, joined forces with our former nemesis, the Matou family. As long as we can dismantle the Greater Grail, the Einzbern family will spare no expense."

"Einzbern..."

Irisviel's expression of her determination made Tokiomi Tohsaka waver even more.

Neither Shinji Matou nor Irisviel had any reason to lie to a Master who had lost his eligibility to participate in the Holy Grail War. At this point, it would be no more difficult for any family to take action against the Tohsaka family than to crush an insect.

Shinji Matou slowly replied, "In the past, the Matou family, the Tohsaka family, and the Einzbern family built the Greater Grail system here in order to find their own different answers. Now, this journey has no end, the meaning of the Holy Grail's existence is no longer there, and there is only one reason for us to gather here again: how to dismantle this Holy Grail that has become a bomb."

"impossible···"

"So the Holy Grail is something like this. What has the Tohsaka family been pursuing for generations, for hundreds of years?"

Tokitomi Tohsaka was deeply shocked. The jeweled scepter in his hand fell to the wooden floor. He held his head in his hands and asked bitterly, "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Shinji Matou glanced at him: "I don't think Archer is a Servant that can be communicated with, Head of the Tohsaka Clan. If you hadn't lost Archer and were still on the enemy's side, would you believe what I'm saying?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka is so arrogant and confident that he can't see things that many others can, such as failing to discover Kirei Kotomine's true nature. Would he have given up so easily if Archer hadn't told him about the Holy Grail's corruption before Archer's departure? If he had begged Archer to purify the Holy Grail, Archer's personality would have only made things worse.

The middle-aged man had lost his elegance, leaving only a disheveled and confused expression: "I'm not sure."

"The Tohsaka family provided land support for the Holy Grail War, and I don't expect them to provide any more help in dismantling the Holy Grail. I'm only telling you this because the Tohsaka family is one of the three founding families. If you intend to obstruct me, I won't show any mercy, even if you are Sakura's father." Shinji Matou turned and left the church, with Irisviel following behind.

In front of the church, Shinji Matou heard Tokiomi Tohsaka's voice again: "Wait, I have another question. How is Sakura doing these days?"

“I promised I would take care of her, so you don’t need to distance yourselves from her. Sakura and Rin can go to the same school as before. I will educate her to become an excellent magician.”

"..."

"Thank you."

Having lost the pursuit of a magician, Tokiomi Tohsaka at least still wanted to reclaim some of his identity as a father.

Chapter 77 Exchange of Bodily Fluids (Bonus Chapter)