LRAB Page 65
Page 65
In the main hall, Tokiomi Tohsaka sat opposite a gaunt old man dressed in a kimono, holding a cane, and exuding an aura of decay and misfortune. He was none other than Zouken Matou, the head of the Matou family.
On the low table in front of the two, a magic contract symbolizing "adoption" has been signed.
"Then, Lord Zouken." Tokiomi Tohsaka picked up his teacup and spoke to the air in a tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather, "From this moment on, that child is no longer a member of the Tohsaka family. Her past, her surname, have nothing to do with me, Tokiomi Tohsaka."
He paused, then turned his gaze to his youngest daughter, who was standing behind him, trembling slightly.
“Sakura,” his voice was icy and devoid of any emotion, “from this day forward, you must forget everything about the Tohsaka family, forget that you have an older sister named Rin. Your master, your father, your future—all belong to the Matou family. Go, go to your new family.”
Her father's words, as cruel as knives, turned Sakura's face deathly pale. Her heart felt as if it had fallen into an endless ice cave, slowly being frozen by the ice of despair.
"Father!" Rin, who was standing to the side, could no longer bear it. She retorted angrily, "Sakura is not an object! She is your daughter! How can you say such cruel things?!"
However, no one present could hear her protest.
She could only watch helplessly as her younger sister's small body, under her father's cold command, moved like a soulless puppet, step by step, slowly towards the old man who exuded an aura of death.
Just as Sakura was about to reach Zouken, Rin rushed over and, in a corner where no one could "see" her, tightly grasped her sister's cold little hand.
The two sisters held hands tightly at that moment.
This is their silent support, and also their silent farewell.
"Hehehe..."
Zouken Matou let out a chilling, sinister laugh, like that of a night owl. He reached out his withered hand, as thin as a twig, to stroke Sakura's head, but Sakura instinctively dodged away.
He wasn't angry; he just looked the girl, who was about to become his "new toy," up and down with a gaze full of malice and amusement.
“She’s a really good prospect… Don’t worry, Tokiomi. Once she’s in my Matou family, I will definitely… take good care of her.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around, leaning on his cane, and walked confidently and arrogantly toward the door.
Sakura's small body trembled violently. As she watched the departing figure, she seemed to be drawn by some invisible force, and instinctively wanted to follow.
"Idiot! You're really that obedient!"
Rin, both anxious and angry, pulled her younger sister back.
At the same moment, a warm, large hand gently pressed down on Sakura's shoulder, stopping her instinctive, obedient steps.
It's Gu Chuan.
"What's the rush?" He looked at Sakura, who had a blank expression, and explained with a smile, "I just used a little bit of magic."
He opened his hand, and there in his palm was a small figure woven from straw, with a piece of paper bearing the birth date and time of "Matou Sakura" pasted on it, exuding an eerie aura.
"This is the substitution technique for the [Ugly Hour Worship]. The one following behind that old monster just now was just this scarecrow. Everyone's senses have been deceived by it."
Gu Chuan explained, "The real you has been standing here safely from beginning to end. There's absolutely no need for you to take that risk yourself."
Sakura stared blankly at the scarecrow, then looked at herself, completely unharmed. For the first time, she truly understood how wondrous and powerful this "mystical" force was!
Outside the door, Zouken Matou, carrying "Sakura" who had been transformed from a scarecrow, boarded the carriage returning to the Matou family home.
Behind them, Gu Chuan, along with the real Rin and Sakura, used a cognitive barrier technique, like three invisible ghosts, to silently follow.
On the way, Rin looked at her younger sister, who was still somewhat shaken, and couldn't help but gently comfort her:
“Sakura, don’t be afraid… Dad… he’s not really that bad. He’s just… just an overly competent magician. Let’s… let’s go see… if… if the Matou family really is a good place, as he said…”
While she tried her best to "clear her name" for her cold-hearted father, she also laid a heavy foundation for the unknown "observation" that was about to unfold between them.
117 Underground Insect Warehouse and Collapsing Fantasy
As night deepened, the Matou family's carriage slowly made its way through the quiet streets toward the enormous mansion, a blend of Japanese and Western styles that exuded an ominous aura.
Following behind like a ghost, Rin looked at her younger sister's still pale face beside her, and felt a pang of pain in her heart. She couldn't help but speak up, trying to make a final "defense" for her cold father.
“Sakura, don’t be afraid… Dad… he’s not really that bad.” She organized her thoughts, trying to make her words sound more convincing. “Think about it, the Matou family is a renowned magic family on par with ours, they must be very wealthy! And their house is very close to ours. This shows that Dad actually… cares about you a lot, and wants you to be closer to us.”
Her words were less about "whitewashing" her father and more about speaking to herself, to prevent her younger sister from developing psychological trauma from utter despair after witnessing the truth, and from refusing to return to the Tohsaka family who had "abandoned her."
She must first plant a seed in Sakura's heart that "Dad is also doing this for my own good, but he's using the wrong methods," laying the foundation for the smooth progress of her future plans.
Sakura nodded as if she understood, her unwavering trust in her sister temporarily suppressing her fear and resistance.
Soon, the three of them silently followed Zouken Matou through the gloomy courtyard and arrived at the entrance to the underground at the deepest part of the mansion.
A nauseating stench, a mixture of dampness, decay, and the stench of some kind of creature, wafted from the dark entrance.
In the live stream, many group members with weaker mental fortitude felt intense discomfort upon seeing this scene, which resembled the entrance to hell.
When the three of them followed Zouken and actually stepped into the so-called "basement", the scene before their eyes made Rin, Sakura, and all the group members who were still watching the live broadcast instantly feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave!
This is not a magic workshop at all!
It was a gigantic, boundless living hell composed of countless writhing, maddening "insects"!
Hundreds of thousands, millions... all sorts of distorted shapes and colors of marking insects piled together, forming a slowly writhing, surging "sea of insects"! They gnawed at each other, mated, and reproduced, emitting a dense, rustling sound that made one's scalp crawl. The air was filled with an intense, pungent stench that was enough to make any normal person vomit on the spot!
[March 7th]: (Vomiting expression) ...I, I can't take it anymore... What, what are all these things?!
【Alice】: ...That's disgusting.
[The Gem Magician]: ...
Rin's brain had completely shut down. She stared blankly at the sea of insects before her, a sight that could kill anyone with trypophobia on the spot. Her stomach churned, and a chill ran from her feet to the top of her head!
This is... the "noble," "trustworthy," and "capable of maximizing Sakura's talents" that her father spoke of... a prestigious magic family?!
"Hehehe..."
Zouken Matou looked at his proud "insect warehouse" and let out a satisfied laugh, like that of a night owl.
He turned around, looked at the expressionless "Sakura" behind him, who had been transformed from a scarecrow, and said slowly and deliberately in a tone full of malice, as if admiring a work of art:
"Although your imaginary element attribute does not match the water magic inherited by my Matou family, it doesn't matter."
"All you need to do is use these adorable Marking Bugs to properly transform your body, inside and out, and that will be enough."
As he spoke, he stretched out his cane and gently tapped "Sakura's" back!
"Go, my future Holy Grail."
Puff-!
The scarecrow stand-in fell straight into the churning, nauseating sea of insects without any resistance!
The next second, the hundreds of thousands of hungry Crest Worms, like sharks smelling blood, swarmed forward in an instant! In just one breath, they devoured and swallowed the scarecrow, along with its beautiful dress, leaving not a trace behind!
“——!!!!!”
Having witnessed this horrific scene firsthand, Rin and Sakura finally understood.
If Gu Chuan hadn't appeared today, if what had come was the real Sakura 1 Abandoned Seal 8 - ~Moon Chair$...
So what she was about to face was a living hell that was ten thousand times more terrifying than death, an endless hell!
"Liar...liar!!!!"
An unprecedented, overwhelming rage instantly overwhelmed Rin's reason! She could no longer suppress her anger and regret, and let out a hysterical roar at the old monster who was admiring her "masterpiece"!
She took out all the gems she treasured and that had accumulated magical power over the years from her pocket, and with all her might, hurled them at Zouken Matou!
"Gandr (Yin Qi Bullet)!"
Boom—! (A series of seemingly random characters and symbols follow, likely representing a random string of characters or symbols.)
Several gems containing powerful magic exploded the moment they touched Zouken Matou! The violent explosion instantly shattered his emaciated body into pieces!
However, before Rin could even show a hint of joy, an even more terrifying scene unfolded.
Within the surging sea of insects, countless marking insects, like a tide, rushed towards Zouken's shattered remains, rapidly filling, repairing, and reconstructing his body! In just a few breaths, a perfectly intact Zouken Matou reappeared in the same spot!
He's not even human!
The violent explosion of magic finally broke through the thin layer of "cognitive barrier" spell set up by Gu Chuan.
For the first time, Zouken Matou's murky and sinister triangular eyes clearly saw Rin, who was standing not far away with a face full of anger, and... Sakura, who should have been eaten by insects but was standing unharmed next to Rin!
"……two?"
He was stunned.
But in just a moment, this five-hundred-year-old monster reacted immediately! A terrifying glint flashed in his turbid eyes!
"I see... Hehehe... You guys really... made a fool of me."
He glanced at Sakura, who was unharmed, and then turned his gaze to the black-haired, golden-eyed boy who had stood calmly beside the two sisters the whole time.
"Sir, who are you, a highly accomplished individual?"
Leaning on his cane, he forced himself to remain calm, attempting to use his status as the "workshop owner" to subdue the unfathomable and mysterious visitor, Ji.
"You've trespassed into my Matou family's workshop and even injured my body... Aren't you afraid you won't be able to leave here?"
The prologue to the trial and ritual of the 118 rulers
Faced with Zouken Matou's blustering yet cowardly threat, Gu Chuan didn't even lift an eyelid.
He merely glanced casually at the "avatar" made up of countless insects with his pure golden eyes that shimmered with divine radiance.
No words, no actions.
With just that one glance, an absolute pressure of "domination" that could not be understood by any magic theory, originating from a higher dimension and a higher status, descended like an invisible collapse of the sky!
“——!!!!!”
Zouken Matou's once arrogant insect clone seemed to have all its bones and will ripped out in an instant! Every Crest Insect that made up his body lost all command under that one glance, falling into the deepest fear and submission that originated from the very soul!
They frantically and uncontrollably detached and separated from that "body," lying on the ground in agony, convulsing and spasming like rotten mud. In the end, they completely disintegrated, becoming a meaningless, writhing mass of rotten flesh in the insect chamber!
"It's now!"
Seeing this, a fierce glint flashed in Rin's eyes! She would never let go of this opportunity to kick a man when he's down!
She took out several more precious rubies and chanted the incantation at top speed. This time, it was no longer a simple "Yin Qi Bullet," but an explosion with even greater power, condensed with fire magic!
"Feu (Flame)!"
boom--! ! !
A blazing fireball, like a meteor falling from the sky, slammed into the pile of rotting flesh! The violent explosion and intense heat instantly incinerated thousands upon thousands of Mark Insects into charred remains! The pungent stench of burning flesh filled the entire basement!
However, even after suffering such a severe blow, the pile of rotten flesh continued to slowly and steadily wriggle and recombine under the constant replenishment from the swarm of insects!
"It's useless...hehehe...useless, little girl of the Tohsaka family..."
Zouken Matou's voice, filled with resentment and smugness, came from all directions.
"This body is merely an avatar I created using insects! As long as this insect reservoir remains, I am immortal!"
"As for my true form... hehehe, the moment you stepped into this place, I had already taken my lovely new granddaughter and fled far away from Fuyuki City! You can stay here and play with these adorable insects of mine!"
"is it?"
Just as Lin was gritting her teeth in anger at the other party's cunning, Gu Chuan's calm and unwavering voice slowly rang out.
He looked at the pile of rotting flesh trying to reassemble, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips, as if he were looking at a dead man.
"Do you have some misunderstanding about my substitution technique?"
"Do you really think that the [Ushi-shiki shrine visit] is just a simple substitute used to deceive our senses?"
Gu Chuan's voice, through the resonance of magic, clearly reached the ears of Matou Zouken, who had already fled dozens of kilometers away!
"—That is the most vicious curse that can transcend space, ignore distance, and directly target the soul itself."
As soon as the words were spoken, deep within the underground insect silo, the straw doll "stand-in" with "Matou Sakura's" birth date and time written on it, which had been overlooked by everyone, was finally completely swallowed up by the surging insect tide!
The curse has been triggered!
Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away, inside a speeding carriage.
Zouken Matou's "true form insect," which was hidden inside a certain child's body, suddenly trembled without warning!
Immediately afterwards, an indescribable, soul-deep, excruciating pain erupted!
"Aaaaaaahh ...
He let out his last, heart-wrenching scream, so shrill it was inhuman!
The Imprint Insects, which he had controlled for five hundred years and which were the foundation of his life, all went out of control at this moment! They turned around and regarded his true body, which was the "core," as the most delicious food, frantically and greedily gnawing, tearing, and devouring it from the inside!