Zongman, the journey begins from the wrong place

What really impressed him about Ryougi Shiki was that

That was the first time that Noah was able to discover the beauty of enlightenment of "I am a man, she is a woman" beyond the standard of judging people such as "this one can be chopped, that one cannot be chopped, this one can be chopped to death, that one cannot be killed for the time being".

Seeing Noah's dilemma, a hint of joy flashed across Ryougi Shiki's eyes.

Moreover, she herself did not even notice this joy at first, but she could not help but look at Noah for a little longer.

After realizing this, Ryougi Shiki came to her senses.

During the time I was ‘observing’ Noah, my consciousness and personality seemed to have become more complete.

Not bad.

Without shyness, hesitation or concealment, 'Ryougi Shiki' just quietly changed her face to that of a black-haired girl wearing a snow-white kimono.

At the same time, within the boundless, lightless and darkless root, the world changed in a moment of trance.

Endless fine winter snow slowly falls from the night sky, not only dyeing the earth white, but also seeming to absorb all the sounds and noises, making the world peaceful and tranquil, endless and remote.

Then, in this pure world constructed of black and white, Ryougi Shiki raised her little face, opened her clear black eyes beneath her long eyelashes, and her moist and soft gaze passed through her gently fluttering crystal black hair as she silently gazed at Noah.

Gentle and tranquil, profound and lonely, yet indifferently beautiful, it seems as if all the feminine beauty in the world is integrated into it.

Looking at the girl in kimono shrouded in dim light, who looked exactly the same as in his memory, Noah stared blankly for a few seconds, then walked up to her without hesitation and hugged her in his arms.

The so-called preparation, communication, exchange, testing, inquiry and all other necessary means of interpersonal relationships are unnecessary between two people.

Although they had only met once, although they had never expressed their feelings, and although they had only chatted for a few short sentences, they both understood each other's feelings.

This person understands me, and understands that I understand him, and understands that I understand that he understands me...

So, Ryougi Shiki simply closed her eyes and accepted Noah's embrace without any resistance.

Holding the light and soft body in his arms, Noah breathed in the refreshing fragrance of Ryougi Shiki, and a throbbing sensation arose in his heart that he had never felt before when holding any other woman.

Although the cold wind blowing in the winter night was meaningless to both of them, it allowed them to feel each other's body temperature more clearly, slowly blending together.

In the boundless and silent world of the snowy night, there were only the sounds of each other's breathing and heartbeats, which gradually tuned the two souls, who were immersed in the long loneliness and almost forgot their sorrow, to the same frequency.

It was a kind of tranquility that made them throw away all their sorrows and loneliness, almost forget themselves, as if they were back in their mother's womb.

Maybe only a few minutes passed, or maybe a few years had passed before the two of them opened their eyes at the same time, trembling slightly.

Their eyes met, and they saw the smiles on each other's faces.

This soft and unrestrained smile, both of them knew that only the other person could see it.

Because no matter how hard they try, they can't smile like this in front of others.

"'Mode'?"

After completing the hug, Noah felt that it was time for him to end this journey to another world and return to Orario to continue his campaign.

If you are facing other women, leaving in a hurry after just hugging them would seem a bit heartless.

But Noah believed that Ryougi Shiki would not think so.

She understands her own thoughts and will definitely support her.

Noah's confidence in Ryougi Shiki even exceeds his confidence in himself.

Ryougi Shiki also understood what Noah meant, so she smiled gently, raised her slender white hands from under the wide sleeves of her kimono, and gently brushed them across his body.

At that moment, Noah felt as if his soul was being flowed through by a clear hot spring in the ice and snow, which was both cold and warm.

Although the spring water left quickly, he felt that something in his soul was washed away, making him feel much lighter.

Noah knew without Ryougi Shiki saying anything more that it was the darkness left in his soul after the battle at the inherent barrier of Light Elegy.

The darkness that can devour all attacks and use them for its own benefit naturally cannot come without a price, and this price is unavoidable for Noah.

Because that primordial darkness is his essence, just like how the black mud cannot harm Angra Mainyu.

Every time Noah used the inherent barrier, it was like a clay doll walking through water, and his personality and soul would trace back to the origin.

In the past, Noah was still a little confused, but after using the scarlet fire, he understood everything.

Ultimately, Noah's mission was to destroy the broken world on the verge of destruction.

Use the world-destroying fire to burn all visible and invisible things, returning them to their original nothingness, and then integrate them into the original darkness, waiting for the next reincarnation.

He is both the devil who destroys the world and the brave savior, he represents despair and hope.

This cycle may have happened many times.

But this time, some unknown accident occurred and Noah was able to escape his fate.

However, if he hadn't encountered that useless and useless system that allowed him to come to other worlds, perhaps he would have eventually returned to his original track after death.

But, if Ryougi Shiki can help me remove the darkness from my soul...

Realizing a possibility, Noah's eyes suddenly sparkled when he looked at Ryougi Shiki again.

Looking at Noah, Ryougi Shiki raised her hands and gently cupped his face.

There is endless emptiness and endless satisfaction in the dark eyes.

"...Sometimes, I wonder if there is an origin greater than the root, more thorough, and more unified? Otherwise, how could we have met?"

If she hadn't met Noah, Ryougi Shiki would probably have returned to the vortex of origin and fallen into eternal sleep in this boring world.

Although it is not the same as Noah's return to the original darkness, there does not seem to be much difference between the two.

The existence of these two people just happens to be the reason for keeping each other in this world, just like two small boats that are about to be caught in different whirlpools, but happen to be connected to each other.

"...Who knows? If I get the chance, I'll definitely find out the reason."

Noah felt joy in his heart, but he also felt that this joy was so natural, because the other person was not someone else, but 'Ryougi Shiki'.

So, he just embraced the girl in front of him again.

*

In Fuyuki City, after a short vacation, Sakura Matou returned to school.

After Noah jumped into the gate in the sky, Medea was also illuminated by the light of the Third Law before the gate closed, and became a servant who remained in the world like Artoria.

Moreover, after the world hole was closed, Medea had an idea and condensed the huge magic power of the Holy Grail system into a philosopher's stone by making a wish.

With the great magic power of the Philosopher's Stone, Medea repaired Irisviel's body and reshaped Kenneth's magic circuits.

Einzbern and El-Melloi both left Fuyuki City.

Also leaving with him was Matou Kariya, because he wanted to explore more unknown worlds.

Now that Tohsaka Tokiomi is dead, Matou Kariya has left, and both the Matou and Tohsaka houses have been razed to the ground, it seems a very reasonable choice for Matou Sakura and the reconciled Tohsaka Aoi to live together again.

But Sakura Matou did not do so. Instead, she moved back to Ryudo Temple and lived with Fujino Asagami to receive instruction from Medea and Altria.

Although she doesn't know what the future holds, Sakura Matou believes that she will definitely meet the figure who saved her from hell again.

If the color magician doesn’t work, then I’ll become the crown magician!

If becoming a Grand Magician doesn't work, then reach the legendary source that allows magicians to be omniscient and omnipotent!

In short, Sakura Matou doesn't need Noah to stop and wait for her, she decides to take the initiative to catch up with him!

Therefore, Sakura Matou must study hard, eat well, and seriously learn Medea's magic and the swordsmanship taught by Altria!

On the way home from school, Sakura Matou suddenly saw a figure on the side of the road.

Silver hair.

The first thing she noticed was that the other person's hair color was the same as Noah's.

Then comes the other party’s identity.

It was a girl, about the same age as her, but because of her special temperament, her size could not be more accurately determined.

Under her slightly curly silver hair, her regular facial features have a somewhat pitiful look, and she is dressed in a nun-like outfit.

However, the emotion in her pupils, which were between amber and gold, was so thin that even indifference did not exist, making her exude an illusory beauty.

I don't know why, but the moment I saw the other person, Sakura Matou felt like she couldn't let go of him.

In her figure standing alone on the winter street, Matou Sakura seemed to see her former self.

After hesitating for a long time, Sakura Matou bit her lips and mustered up the courage to take a step towards the other person.

I am weak and dead!

I want to be a brave man like brother Noah!

Standing on the streets of a foreign country, the girl was so hungry that she could hardly move her feet. She couldn't help but wonder if this was the punishment she deserved.

Otherwise, why would the grandfather whom she had never met bring her here from a foreign country and then abandon her in the church?

So many days passed that she had to go out to look for a way to survive after eating all the food she could find in the church.

After all, her mother committed suicide, betrayed God's love, and was a sinner.

Born as the daughter of a sinner, she was naturally not qualified to be baptized or to attend school.

The priest who provided her with a generous allowance for her upbringing simply continued to pray and work for her as a young girl.

Despite this, she felt no resentment in her heart, because there was only emptiness.

From her smile, a girl knows her true nature.

She didn't know whether it was inherited from her parents, or caused by a sudden mutation in herself, but ever since she could remember, she had felt a sense of emptiness as if everything had been destroyed, isolating her from the entire world.

Compared to normal people, she is extremely abnormal.

Not to mention happiness and joy, she couldn't even feel pain, fear, sadness and other negative emotions that all living things should have and are closely related to survival.

Therefore, she always faces everything with an indifferent attitude, using the mask of a well-behaved nun to cover up her inhuman nature.

Only occasionally, she would uncontrollably make some extremely sharp sarcasm.

This made her deeply disliked by adults, and it was naturally even more unlikely that her peers would hang out with her.

However, after being hungry for so long, she even lost the ability to mock others and could only sit blankly on the street.

Until a sudden stinging sensation woke her up.

My heart beat faster, my skin stung, my breathing became rapid, and a few drops of sweat appeared on my forehead.

…In an instant she understood the reason for her reaction.

Since she was a child, she has had a strange physique that makes her very vulnerable to injury, and scars often appear on her body for no reason.

Later, she finally understood what her physical condition was - similar to a psychic, in short, it was very easy to attract demons and be harmed by demons, which made it perfect as a demon detector.

In addition, strange reactions may occasionally occur when exposed to abnormal demonic properties.

This made her subconsciously raise her eyes and see the black-haired girl standing in front of her.

No, not this little girl.

She made an instant judgment.

Although she can hardly see with her right eye and has a very weak sense of taste, her perception of the world is much duller than that of ordinary people, but this also gives her a keenness that ordinary people do not have, and she is very observant of the existence of certain things.

She could now confirm that it was not the little girl herself who caused her body to react, but someone who had been with her for a long time.

That person's presence was so real that even after he left, he left a deep mark on the black-haired girl.

To her, that mark was like a bright color in a pure gray and white world.

Even just being close to that color made her skin feel like it was being cut into pieces, and it felt like something was tightening and curling in her chest, making the feeling of suffocation worse and worse.

But she still didn't want to escape.

Although she had been asked countless times to follow the priest and pray to the gods in the church, it was the first time that the girl felt proof of the real existence of gods.

Oh, God, are you finally willing to grant me, a sinner, mercy?

Even if I have to fall into hell, please let me feel more existence in that great and unknown being!

Staring at her with such radiant eyes, Matou Sakura felt as if ants were crawling all over her body.

But she could feel that the silver-haired girl's fiery gaze was not directed at her.

It seems like it is something or someone around me.

Strange, is there anyone else around me?

Although she has entered the world of magic and witnessed quite brutal fighting, Sakura Matou is still very afraid of ghosts due to her childish nature. She can't help but look around subconsciously and quietly use observation magic to spy on her surroundings.