How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

"It's been almost a day. Even if she's a heavy sleeper, she should be waking up soon, right?"

Just as he was pondering this, You Du heard very urgent footsteps coming from upstairs.

Okay, it seems Rin Tohsaka has woken up.

Setting down his teacup, Yuuto turned to look at the stairs and saw Rin Tohsaka, who had changed into her usual red dress and black skirt, rushing down the stairs in a fluster.

"Archer! What's the deal with your master, whom you mentioned before, and this bag of gems?"

"It means literally. Your master, who is also Tohsaka Eito's master, the second magician, the jewel lord, and the magic marshal—Kishia Zelrich Schbeinorg."

Yuuto calmly and slowly uttered the words that he should have said to Rin Tohsaka that morning.

"That bag of gems was left on the ground after he left. I think it was probably a gift he left for you when we first met?"

Without mentioning that the pile of gems had once been part of Zelrich's body, Yuuto recounted how the other man had watched him undergo transmutation in the basement.

Rin Tohsaka, who was standing to the side, almost dropped her jaw when she heard this.

The Second Magician... her ancestor's master... could be considered the originator of the Tohsaka family's Jewel Magic...

That legendary figure actually came to her house?

Was she still asleep at that time?

After watching Rin Tohsaka kneeling on the ground, wailing in frustration, for a while, Yuuto smiled and was about to continue drinking his cup of black tea when he suddenly felt the magical power that had been maintaining the materialization of Winged Kuriboh within his body suddenly stop transmitting, and the card of [Winged Kuriboh] appeared in his hand.

This means that the other party voluntarily canceled the summon, rather than being attacked.

Yuuto knew what this meant, and he quickly stood up and said to Rin Tohsaka, who was squatting on the ground:

"I'm sorry, Master, there's no time left for you to continue regretting it."

"What happened?"

Seeing that Yuu Watari looked very anxious, Rin Tohsaka didn't linger and asked her questions while changing her shoes in the entryway.

"Ah, an insect has been caught in the net..."

You Du nodded and said to her with a smile.

"Furthermore... it's time to let you, Master, witness my Noble Phantasm!"

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen

Yuanzang Mountain, Liudong Temple.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, its pure white light spilling onto the only stone path leading to the mountain gate. The tranquil scene was shattered by a sound that seemed to explode.

At the gate of Ryudou Temple, Sasaki Kojiro, who was originally the gatekeeper, now had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his lifeless eyes staring into the darkness beyond the mountain path.

In the darkness, Zouken Matou made no move, but used the insects and the dead body of the other party as a medium to prepare to summon Hassan-Sabbah, who should descend as an Assassin class during a proper summoning, and thus secretly participate in the Holy Grail War.

However, since he summoned the Heroic Spirit using the body of an Assassin who was illegally summoned by Caster, the summoned Heroic Spirit would still be under the control of Caster's Command Seals.

Therefore, whether it's to hide himself or to free his servant from the enemy's grasp, he must now eliminate Caster.

However, just as Zouken Matou was about to mobilize his magic to summon the insects, he suddenly realized that he could no longer sense their presence, not even the insects that made up his body.

Even the magic he intended to mobilize remained as still as a solid rock.

"Who is it? Caster?"

Zouken Matou knew that he had been discovered without a doubt, but since this body was only made of insects and not his true form, he simply stepped out of the darkness, intending to use it as bait to confirm the enemy's identity.

But when he looked toward the gate of Liudong Temple, he heard footsteps coming from down the mountain.

"I'm sorry, you guessed wrong, Zouken Matou, but none of that matters..."

You Du slowly walked up the mountain path, his clothes fluttering in the night wind. The Duel Disk in his left hand had been unfolded at some point, and the blue sphere at its center emitted a faint blue light under the moonlight.

Rin Tohsaka was beside him, and she was clearly surprised when she saw Zouken Matou.

"You are……"

Zouken Matou narrowed his eyes, already guessing that the other party was the Servant who had unleashed lightning and killed Shinji Matou at Homurahara Academy that day.

Did the other party somehow find out about my information when I went to the academy to gather intelligence on them?

Familiar? Or surveillance magic?

Is the current situation caused by the effect of the opponent's Noble Phantasm?

But how did he know I was here?

Zouken Matou frowned, his doubts growing stronger with each passing thought.

"You seem to have a lot of questions?"

Yuuto stopped at the platform on the mountain path and stood facing Zouken Matou, asking in a calm tone.

He has already activated his Noble Phantasm, so he is not worried at all about Zouken Matou, who is under the spell ban, making any underhanded moves or trying to escape.

This worm can't escape.

"Hehe, I do have many questions. Will you answer them for me?"

Zouken Matou did indeed want to try to abandon this body and escape. In any case, as long as his main body was not harmed, he could reassemble any number of bodies he had using insects.

Unfortunately, his attempts were to no avail. His soul seemed to be imprisoned in this body, and no matter how he tried, he could not break free. He had no choice but to prepare to see what You Du was going to do.

"Of course not. As for why I'm looking for you... well, it's to grind you, you disgusting worm, to dust!"

Yuto shook his head and simply raised the Duel Disk in his left hand.

"Here it is! The duel begins!"

"DUEL!"

As Yuuto's voice, which seemed to announce something, fell, the cane in Zouken Matou's hand immediately scattered into a swarm of insects, and then reformed into a Duel Disk similar to the one on Yuuto's arm, with a deck of cards in its color like rotten wood.

Rin Tohsaka, who was standing to the side, felt as if some unseen force swept over her. Then she saw two screens floating and appearing next to Yuu Watari and Zouken Matou in the arena.

【Yoto LP: 4000】

【Matou Zouken LP: 4000】

At the same time, the rules related to the duel seemed to have always been in Rin Tohsaka's and Zouken Matou's minds, and they naturally recalled them.

Monster cards, spell cards, trap cards...

This is... Archer's Noble Phantasm?

His cards, including that terrifying [Super Fusion], are only part of this Noble Phantasm?

Rin Tohsaka stared wide-eyed at Yuuto's retreating figure.

Zouken Matou had received more knowledge than Rin Tohsaka; he knew what cards were in his deck and the effects of each card.

"So that's how it is. Is this the effect of your Noble Phantasm?"

After digesting the knowledge in his mind for a while, Zouken Matou stroked the Duel Disk on his arm, which looked like wood but was actually made of his insects, and pondered.

Is this some kind of barrier-type Noble Phantasm?

However, it seems that no magic can be used or spells can be cast within this barrier, and even the party that activated the barrier is restricted in this way...

Fine, then I'll just consider this body a gift to you.

Zouken Matou glanced at the order of attack determined on the duel disk.

Should I make the first move?

He drew five cards from the top of his deck based on the knowledge in his mind.

[Split Planarian], [Super Evolution Cocoon], [Parasitic Paranoid], [Mirror Ladybug], [Hatching].

A perfect hand!

"Hehe, kid, if I'm not mistaken, if you lose this duel, it won't be without consequences, will it?"

Judging from his tone, does he have some very strong cards in his deck?

Yuuto took it to heart, but then nodded nonchalantly, confirming Zouken Matou's guess.

"Of course, the winner takes everything, and the loser loses everything; that's the rule of a duel!"

"I see. Then I can rest assured..."

Having obtained the answer he wanted, Zouken Matou placed a card from his hand onto the Duel Disk.

"Then I Normal Summon 'Split Planarian' from my hand, activate its effect, banish this card from the field, and Summon two Level 3 Insect-Type monsters with the same name from my Deck!"

"However, the effects of monsters summoned with this effect will be negated, and they will be banished during the End Phase..."

"I'm summoning a 3-star [Puppet Insect]!"

As Zouken Matou made his choice, Rin Tohsaka saw two blue insects, resembling rag dolls, appear on his field, wielding three pairs of scythe-like limbs.

【Puppet Bug】

【3 stars】

[Insectoid/Dark]

[Attack power: 1000]

[Defense: 1000]

Two 3-star monsters have been assembled on the field. Is it coming?

However, contrary to Yuwatari's expectations of an Xyz Summon, Zouken Matou drew another card from his hand.

"If I control one or more face-up monsters and have no monsters in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"

"Special Summon [Mirror Ladybug]!"

A flash of light appeared, and a ladybug with wings on its back made entirely of smooth, mirror-like surfaces appeared on Zouken Matou's field.

"After Special Summoning [Mirror Lady Bug] through this effect, this card's Level becomes the sum of the Levels of all monsters on my field except [Mirror Lady Bug]. Since I have two Level 3 [Puppet Bugs] on my field, [Mirror Lady Bug]'s Level will become Level 6!"

Zouken Matou waved his hand, and three star-level spheres appeared on each of the two [Puppet Insects], their reflections appearing on the wings of the [Mirror Lady Insect] in the center of the field.

Ladybug

[1 stars → 6 stars]

[Insects/Light]

[Attack power: 100]

[Defense: 100]

"Two 3-stars and one 6-star, could he be planning to do... Synchro Summon?"

Seeing Zouken Matou's actions, Rin Tohsaka quickly recalled the summoning method called 'Synchro Summoning' from her newly acquired knowledge.

But she soon discovered the loophole.

Wait, isn't Synchro Summoning supposed to require a Tuner monster? I don't see any Tuner monsters on his field.

"Hehe, let me tell you something..."

Without keeping Rin Tohsaka waiting any longer, Zouken Matou picked out a card from his hand and inserted it into the Duel Disk, speaking in his decaying voice.

"Insects, you know, they have their own kings!"

"I activate the Spell Card [Hatch]. This card can Tribute 1 monster on the field and Special Summon 1 Insect-Type monster from my Deck that is one Level higher than the Tributed monster!"

I Tribute my Level 6 Ladybug on the field! Special Summon my Level 7 Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen from my deck!

Under the watchful eyes of several people, the ladybug on the field was gradually wrapped into a white cocoon by strands of silk.

Then came the [Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen], with a female face, a body covered in sharp spikes, and a lower abdomen swollen like a winter melon. She tore open the cocoon with her sharp limbs and flew out.

The Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen

【7 stars】

[Insects/Ground]

[Attack power: 2800]

[Defense: 2400]

"I can't attack on the first turn, so I set another card face down, and that's how the turn ends. The two [Puppet Bugs] on the field are banished from the game."

"At the very moment of the end of this turn, I activate the effect of [Ultimate Mutant Insect Queen], Special Summoning one [Insect Monster Token] to my field in Defense Position!"