Day 3 of the Holy Grail War.
Even Ryou himself couldn't have anticipated that after defeating Cu Chulainn, who had shown up at his doorstep, Sakura Matou would storm the Fuyuki Church and forcibly abduct the Church's overseer for the Holy Grail War.
At this moment, he was practicing how to use his newly upgraded [Primordial Rune] at B- Rank under Medea's guidance.
There was an old saying: after Odin hung himself upside down from a tree and blood rushed to his brain, he was struck by inspiration and created the [Primordial Runes]. Over time, people added their interpretations, forming the Rune Magic system that spread across Europe.
Eventually, this evolved into the modern alphabet used by many European countries today.
Why are the alphabets of English, German, French, and other European languages so similar? Perhaps because they share a common origin in Rune Magic. If you compare these alphabets to Rune symbols, you'll find many similarities.
In other words, the [Primordial Rune] is the origin of European writing systems.
According to the rules of the Nasuverse, the older something is, the greater its level of mystery.
The immense power of the [Primordial Rune] is proof of this rule.
However, the more mysterious something is, the harder it is to understand.
Being able to use the [Primordial Rune] and mastering its use are two entirely different concepts.
The deeper one studies it, the more they uncover the terrifying potential and limitless possibilities hidden within the [Primordial Rune].
Even Cú Chulainn could pull off impressive magic tricks using only an incomplete mastery of the ["Primordial Rune], despite being a Lancer, which shows just how powerful it could be.
Although Medea's main field of study was Ancient Greek Magecraft, as taught by the goddess Hecate, the principles were similar. Moreover, her insights as a magus from the Age of Gods were invaluable to him.
"...So, the key to using the [Primordial Rune] lies in thoroughly understanding the specific meanings of each symbol. Then, combine them based on your interpretation. With your current level, you should be able to form a complete magical word."
Medea, who had somehow pulled out a pair of plain glasses from nowhere, was explaining this to him while holding a pointer.
"I see. The foundation is understanding, and then you use your imagination to combine them... Got it."
Ryou nodded thoughtfully.
It's just like writing web novels. The pattern is the foundation, and then you use creativity to reorganize it, resulting in either a bestseller or a flop.
"Uh... well, if you want to think of it like that, I guess that's not wrong~"
Medea couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
"Anyway, let's give it a try."
A large combination instantly popped into his mind.
He immediately raised his hand and began drawing in the air, infusing his mana into each stroke.
As his finger moved, traces of blue mana were left hanging in the air.
When he finished the last stroke, a strange runic word had formed.
As mana poured into the word, it began to glow brighter and brighter.
Then, with a soft poof, a small puff of black smoke emerged from the runic word... and nothing else happened.
Ryou stiffly turned his neck to look at Medea, who had an awkward expression on her face.
"Ahem, could you tell me what runic word you just drew?"
Medea asked.
Ryou nodded stiffly.
After carefully examining it, Medea quickly found the problem.
"Master, the rune for 'fire' and the rune for 'ice' clashed, so the magic was canceled out."
"I see."
"But, Master, why did you try to combine 'fire' and 'ice'?"
Medea asked casually.
"Of course, it was for the ultimate fire-and-ice combo!"
Ryou replied quickly. He learned it from Soul Land IV best girl, Gu Yuena.
Pure-hearted Medea didn't grasp the hidden meaning behind the words of this experienced veteran.
She nodded slightly and then earnestly explained.
"If you want to combine 'fire' and 'ice,' you need to form a sentence with the runes that describes their relationship, balancing the conflict between the two concepts.
If you wanted to create a complementary effect, like using 'ice' as 'fuel' for 'fire,' you'd have to alter the fundamental rules. You'd need to form a full sentence to describe the cause-and-effect relationship between them. Once completed, the result would be comparable to high-level magic."
"So, what you're saying is, with my current skill level, I'm still far from being able to pull it off, right?"
Seeing Medea's serious expression as she earnestly explained, Ryou's playful attitude faded away.
"Yes. Based on my estimates, to achieve the former, you'd need to raise your [Primordial Rune] to A Rank. For the latter, you'd need to reach EX-Rank."
"That's a long road ahead, huh."
Ryou couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Scathach's level was probably around that range as well. Although the [Primordial Rune] could ultimately allow one to rewrite fundamental rules—a god-like ability so tempting—his main focus was still close-quarters combat.
Improving just one aspect of his abilities already consumed a lot of time and resources. If he also tried to focus on the [Primordial Rune], his attention would be scattered.
Ryou made up his mind on the spot: his priority would remain improving his close-combat skills. As for the [Primordial Rune], he'd leave it to fate.
Who knows, maybe another generous benefactor like the wild dog would come along and offer a helping hand?
Anything is possible.
After all, if something as bizarre as time travel could happen, what couldn't?
"Alright, let's continue!"
Ryou pushed aside his stray thoughts and resumed his studies under Medea's guidance.
After a full day of effort, he had mastered a few practical runic words.
First up, of course, was fire magic, the most powerful.
Thanks to Medea's systematic teaching and Ryou's diligence, he quickly grasped the method.
By using one rune as the base and reinforcing it with others, he could form potent combinations.
With a clear concept in mind, things became easier.
For example, with "fire," he could "bind, compress, and enhance its power," then add "wind" as fuel.
And voila—a compressed, enhanced fireball spell was born.
He used a similar approach for ice bullets and wind blades, following the same principle of combining runes.
This wasn't just a simple fireball spell anymore. It should probably be called something like the [Ultimate Enhanced Fireball].
In addition, Ryou created several powerful support runes to enhance basic attributes or provide various resistances.
No wonder some people described ancient scripts like the [Primordial Rune] as the foundation of an entire magical system.
First, you master the basic individual runes. Then, you combine multiple runes into runic words, sentences, and eventually paragraphs.
The more runes used, the more complex the magic becomes, and its power increases exponentially—just like writing a novel.
However, as Ryou secluded himself in Ryuudou Temple to study the "[Primordial Rune], dramatic changes were unfolding in the Holy Grail War outside.
...
Tohsaka Residence, Underground Workshop.
Just like the Matou family's workshop, which exuded an insect-pit aesthetic, the Tohsaka family's workshop had its unique characteristics.
The ground was strewn with numerous unpolished, cheap crystals. Various tools for polishing gems lay scattered around the corners of the workshop, and the lone wooden workbench was piled high with both polished and unpolished gems.
The entire basement resembled a small gemstone processing workshop.
At this moment...
The head of the Tohsaka family, Tohsaka Rin, was holding a magic tome, continuously chanting an incantation.
In front of her, a magic circle glowed with blue light, and within it, Archer knelt on one knee, his expression peaceful.
As Rin chanted, large amounts of magic from the Tohsaka family's ancestral leyline were drawn into the circle. An overwhelming life force began to emanate from it, with most of it being absorbed by Archer, while a small portion dispersed into the air.
After a long while, the glow from the magic circle gradually dimmed.
Rin let out a sigh of relief. Performing such a large-scale magical ritual was exhausting, even for someone as talented as her.
With the ritual complete, Rin felt her energy drain away, and an unprecedented weakness washed over her.
Her legs wobbled, and she instinctively began to fall to the side.
Right beside her was a pile of unpolished crystals. If she fell onto them, she could either disfigure herself or suffer serious injury.
Crap...
Rin instinctively closed her eyes.
But at that moment, she felt herself being caught in a warm embrace.
"You're always pushing yourself too hard."
A voice, half reproachful and half concerned, sounded in her ears.
Rin instinctively looked up, and the face of the person she found somewhat annoying—a tanned face—came into view.
But now, that face no longer bore the slightly sarcastic, mocking smile she disliked. Instead, he gazed at her with incredible gentleness, as if he were staring at a lover...
"W-What are you doing?!"
Rin's face instantly flushed bright red, and she reflexively pushed against his chest, trying to distance herself.
Archer sighed helplessly and helped her into the chair by the workbench.
To cover her embarrassment, Rin cleared her throat.
"Ahem! Archer, how's your recovery?"
Archer checked his body.
"I've recovered about 80 to 90%. I shouldn't have any problems fighting now."
A confident smile immediately appeared on Rin's face.
"Great! In that case..."
Before she could finish her sentence, her expression suddenly changed.
The slightly relaxed look on Archer's face also shifted to one of cold seriousness.
"Master, it seems we have visitors."
"Hmph! How bold of them, daring to storm into Tohsaka territory. Has no one ever told them that a magus workshop is sacred ground, not to be trespassed upon?"
Rin raised an eyebrow, her face clearly showing anger.
This was a blatant act of disrespect.
A magus workshop was not only filled with various traps but for an ancient magus family like the Tohsakas, the house's bounded fields had been refined over generations, greatly increasing their power. They could even enhance the magi's abilities while weakening the enemy, much like a temple.
To directly storm a magus workshop was reckless behavior.
This was beyond mere arrogance; it was outright contempt for the Tohsaka family.
"Archer! Let's go! I want to see who dares to be so bold!"
However, when Rin saw who had come, her entire body began to tremble.
"Sakura..."
Rin almost moaned as she uttered the name that carried so much meaning for her.
Behind her, Archer's face was also filled with complex emotions as he looked at the silver-haired girl before them.
Whether in life or as a Heroic Spirit, the fates of these two sisters had been deeply intertwined, bound by countless ties of karma.
Even though Rin knew her younger sister hadn't come with good intentions, she still held a sliver of hope in her heart.
"Sakura, it's late. What brings you here? Why don't you come inside and sit for a while..."
But her hope was quickly shattered by Sakura's own words.
"Good evening, Tohsaka-senpai."
Sakura, dressed in a black evening gown and standing as elegantly as a night-blooming lotus, gracefully lifted the hem of her dress and performed a lady's curtsy.
"There's no need to sit. I've come to ask you to withdraw from the war."
With those words, the atmosphere in the room instantly grew colder.
Rin seemed to want to resist, to say something comforting.
"What are you talking about, Sakura? We're not—"
Before Rin could finish, Sakura cut her off with cold, unyielding force.
"You know, senpai, the Matou family's magecraft isn't just water magecraft. The Matou family's specialty is insect magecraft."
"Wha... How is that possible?! But Father said..."
Rin's eyes widened in shock. In her mind, the Matou family's magecraft had always been purely water-based, much like the Tohsaka family's focus on fire and jewel magecraft.
But she had never heard that the Matou family specialized in such disgusting insect magecraft.
"Are you talking about that foolish man? He's completely lost in his delusions. He believed his daughter could inherit both the Tohsaka and Matou family legacies, making the Tohsaka family one of the Three Founding Families, greatly increasing the chances of obtaining the Holy Grail. In his mind, the Tohsaka family would then reach the Root and achieve unprecedented glory.
So, how could he have known he'd been played by Zouken Matou, that old worm, from the very beginning?"
When speaking of her father, Sakura's eyes revealed an undisguised disgust.
"Sakura, you!"
Rin had always admired her father and aspired to become a magus as elegant as he was. Hearing her younger sister speak so derisively made her furious, but her feelings of guilt and regret toward Sakura left her speechless.
Seeing her older sister at a loss for words, Sakura's eyes gleamed with malice.
"Senpai, have you ever experienced being thrown into a sea of insects, with disgusting bugs crawling all over your body, to the point where you almost lost your purity?
Have you ever felt the despair of screaming for help, only to be ignored by your father, your mother, and the sister you once loved so dearly?
You haven't, and you never will. So, of course, you'll never understand the pain I've endured. Isn't that right, senpai?"
Sakura's use of the word senpai was dripping with endless sarcasm.
And as she recounted her experiences, her tone remained emotionless, as if she were talking about someone else entirely.
Archer, standing to the side, looked at Sakura with pity in his eyes.
He had only learned of these tragic events later.
As for Rin, her face was already streaked with tears.
"How... how could this have happened? Father said... he said that Sakura was adopted by the Matou family to inherit their legacy. Why would the Matou family do such a thing?"
"But, in a way, I do have to thank my foolish father. If it weren't for him, I never would have met that person..."