Matou Kariya stretched out his hand, crawled out of the cold and wet insect nest, and numbly poured out the insects that had drilled into his ears.
Using only his hands for support, he easily climbed onto the platform and silently put on the clothes placed on it.
When he reached the top of the stairs and opened the door of the brightly decorated living room, Matou Kariya saw the shadow as expected.
Or rather, the short old man hidden in the shadows.
In the large meeting room, due to the owner's preference, there is no extra furniture except the necessary decorations, making the empty space look very deserted.
There was no light in the living room. Apart from the moonlight, there was no other light source. In such a dim environment, it was almost impossible to see anything.
But for Matou Kariya, who has replaced his eyes with visual bugs, this is not a problem.
"How are you feeling today?"
A hoarse voice that was totally inhuman came out of the old man's mouth.
"As usual, the replacement of the worms in my body has been completed, and the engraved worms are in very good condition."
One year ago, Matou Kariya returned to the Matou residence and began to prepare for the Holy Grail War. He thought that with the old bug's evil personality, he would definitely torture himself more in the process of improving his quality, but to his surprise, except for the necessary pain, he didn't get anything.
It can even be said that he is much stronger than before, both in terms of combat ability and magic. Although at first he was so frightened that he vomited when he thought about the plan of replacing the body with insects and leaving only necessary organs such as the brain and the heart, but judging from the result, it was very successful.
The Marking Bugs replenished his inferior magic circuits, and the act of transforming his body into a bug nest not only improved his ability to survive, but also allowed him to switch his familiars at any time according to the situation. In this case, it was no longer a dream to maintain a high-cost Heroic Spirit battle and engage in a magic battle at the same time.
According to the old bug, this was part of his secret of longevity. If it wasn't for achieving his goal, he would never waste such precious materials on himself.
Although he still paid the price of only one month of life left, during this month, Matou Kariya's fighting ability will surprise all the magicians who looked down on him.
Under this premise, putting aside secular concepts, it is not unacceptable for the insect nest to be part of the workshop.
"Could it be that this is the true inheritance of the Matou family?"
Thinking of the tragic scene of flesh and blood being devoured by insects that he had seen when he was a child, Matou Kariya felt a little confused.
"Of course not. How can a core inheritance known as the Law of Water be understood by someone like you? Using flesh and blood to feed insects is just a degraded version of magic that was created because of your lack of talent."
Mentioning this, Matou Zouken snorted coldly, "If it weren't for you unworthy descendants, I wouldn't have to adopt the children of the Tohsaka family."
"Even the heir who I didn't care about originally has problems. If I don't think of a solution, the bloodline of the Matou family will be cut off."
He didn't pay attention to Matou Zouken's gossip. Even though his emotions had become dull due to the replacement of his organs, his obsession still burned in his heart.
"Where's Sakura? My transformation is complete. You didn't break your promise, did you?"
"Of course. How could I possibly deceive my dear child?" Matou Zouken's gaze fell on Kariya, as if he was looking at a piece of art that deserved others' praise.
Matou Zouken clapped his hands gently, and a girl in a purple dress walked in quietly. She was so cute that it didn't match her age, like a doll.
The only thing that makes people regretful is that pair of lifeless eyes that look numb and empty, as if they have no soul.
"Sakura!"
Matou Kariya walked over quickly, his palm cracked slightly, and a flying insect crawled out of it, gently circling around Matou Sakura.
"Uncle Kariya…"
The girl named Matou Sakura raised her head, and when she saw the bug, her eyes shrank slightly, but she still answered.
"Sorry, Sakura, I scared you."
Matou Kiriya wanted to touch Sakura, but thinking of his current state, he silently put his hand down, letting the insect drill back into his body and feeling the information coming from it.
Looking at the ugly struggling and twisted appearance of Matou Kariya, Matou Zouken's mouth curled up in a strange arc and made a creepy sound.
"How is it, Kariya? Do you think it was worthwhile to come back a year ago? I saved the daughter of the Tōsaka family before she was thrown into the worm cave. Now she is in exactly the same state as she was a year ago, and she has not entered the worm cave once. Doesn't this prove my sincerity?"
"Then what's going on with her current condition!"
"Really, kid, have you forgotten our agreement?"
Although Matou Zouken used a friendly name for him, there was no warmth in his tone, only distortion and abnormality.
"I will not touch the daughter of the Tohsaka family, but she is still surnamed Matou after all, and she came here as the heir of the Matou family, so I still did some necessary education on her knowledge and current situation."
"However, it seems that the deep terror has had some impact on her spirit. She has shut herself off and doesn't say a word."
"You bastard!"
"You are the bastard. If you were more useful, Matou wouldn't be so embarrassed. Even if I really threw the girl into the worm hole, wouldn't you still join the war obediently? So, you know what you should do, right?"
As if in protest, Matou Zouken squeezed out a voice full of disgust from his throat. After hearing this voice, Matou Kariya's body began to make creaking and wriggling sounds, which made him kneel on the ground in pain.
"I know. I will kill that guy named Danik as soon as possible."
Matou Kariya gritted his teeth, a look of determination appearing on his face.
"You'd better know, because the moment you fail, this child will be thrown into the hive to complete the transformation that should have started a year ago."
"And before that, you won't do anything to her, and after I kill that guy, I will let Sakura leave the Matou family, right?"
"I promise."
"Well, hurry up, the berserker's relic should be ready."
In order to avoid being disturbed by unnecessary emotions, Matou Kariya hardened his heart, ignored Sakura, and walked back towards the basement workshop.
"Kareya has grown up too."
Matou Zouken raised his head with a smile and looked at the little girl next to him who looked like a doll.
"Sakura, you have learned the self-suggestion, right? Can you activate the magic circuit normally?"
"Yes, Grandpa."
Matou Sakura replied indifferently.
"Well, although the magic power generated is not strong, considering that it is an imaginary number, it is enough to supply Caster."
He instantly formulated a vicious idea in his mind, and when he thought of Matou Kariya's expression when he arrived, Matou Zouken couldn't help but let out a wet laugh.
He was a man who kept his promise. He said he would let Sakura Matou leave Matou, and he left, and even fulfilled this condition in advance.
However, he never said that he would give Matou Sakura to Tohsaka after he left, right?
Although he needed Matou Kariya's power, Matou Zouken believed that he had the responsibility to punish his descendants who held such childish ideas and thought they were kind.
"Come with grandpa for a walk in a couple of days," Matou Zouken pretended to be a kind grandfather and said kindly, "Take Sakura to meet a new friend, and from now on, he will be responsible for everything for you."
Having said that, Matou Zouken looked at Matou Sakura's white and lovely hands and sneered.
"Grandpa can guarantee that the creature will like you very much. But when the time comes, you may regret why you didn't take the initiative to jump into the insect nest."