"Kirei... Caster..." Black said, coughing out black blood. "... Let it — begin!"
The entire world hummed around them. Red Mana overwhelmed the surroundings, becoming blurry walls as Medea contained everything within a Bounded Field.
At the same time, Kirei landed in front of a stunned Zouken.
"Kotomine?!" Zouken Matou said, stepping back. "... It’s you! You planned this?!"
Kirei Kotomine blurred and grabbed Zouken by the head, planting him into the ground.
With a boom, dense magical energy surged around the Overseer as he eyed the Elder of the Matou Family.
Never. Kirei had never liked this man.
So, at this moment, as Kirei finally decided to kill him, joy from the pits of his heart oozed out, becoming a smile on his face.
"Ass... assin..." Zouken let out a stutter, consuming all his Command Seals.
Hassan of the Cursed Arm, standing only a few feet away from the Zouken, took out black daggers along with activating his Noble Phantasm.
A massive red, demonic arm rushed toward Kirei.
It was so fast that the moment Assassin unleashed it, its fingers landed on Kirei’s chest.
Bringing the cursed arm back, Assassin lifted the palm of his red-glowing arm as if he were holding Kirei’s heart within it.
This was how Assassin’s Noble Phantasm— Zabaniya: Delusional Heartbeat — worked.
Using Ether as a substitute, a replica of the heart would appear in Assassin’s hand. Then, crushing the fake heart would also crush Kirei’s heart.
So, when no heart appeared in Assassin’s hand, even the Heroic Spirit looked at the empty palm in utter shock.
Kirei’s heart was made of Grail’s Corruption and wasn’t an actual heart, to begin with.
There were no second chances in a high-stakes battle one.
The moment Assassin rushed to finish the job himself, an enchanting giggle entered everyone’s ears.
Medea materialized in the sky, dozens of purple spell circles appearing on either side.
With a terrifying hum, all the spell circles fired purple lasers fueled by pure magical energy, homing onto Assassin.
And, because of the Command Seals forcing him to rescue Zouken, Assassin couldn’t even dodge, blindly rushing toward his Master.
Massive, successive booms rang within the Bounded Field as Medea’s first attack obliterated Assassin’s existence.
Of course, these two events weren’t the only ones that were taking place on these hellish grounds.
Just as Kirei had arrived and grabbed Zouken’s head, Black had pounced toward Sakura before The Shadow could fully descend upon her.
If he wanted to avoid Backlash and meet his goal in this timeline, then not only did he need to transfer the Angra Mainyu’s entire Will to Sakura, but he also needed to eradicate it right after its materialization.
This was the route Justeaze had advised him to take.
But, before transferring the sealed Corruption within him, Black needed to take out the Crest Worms infesting Sakura’s body.
Among those Crest Worms, the one right next to Sakura’s heart was Zouken’s true body, housing his soul.
Normally, the procedure itself would push Sakura to the brink of death, as the Crest Worms had become an inherent part of her flesh.
Quite luckily, though, Black had something that could keep her alive as he operated on her.
Hundreds of flesh tendrils shot out of Black’s body using Biokinesis, entering Sakura’s body. With Ad Infinitum, Black didn’t need to think a lot, all tendrils precisely entering her flesh like surgical knives.
"Cough!" Sakura coughed out a mouthful of blood, The Shadow falling an inch lower toward her head.
Gritting his teeth, Black tore out the Philosopher’s Stone from the Grail Heart and planted it deep inside Sakura.
Pain, from the depths of hell, overwhelmed Black instantly.
The Philosopher’s Stone had been actively healing him and preventing the Corruption from taking over his body.
The moment it left Black, dense blackness oozed from his heart and began crawling over his body.
The Shadow, descending over Sakura, suddenly inflated as if it wanted to devour both her and Black.
"Ahhhhhhhh..." Black let out a grunt, overloading the AI as black liquid flooded his mouth.
Blackness replaced his eyes and even his skin began gaining a black color, red-black bolts of lightning snaking around him.
Any distraction at this moment could result in everything going down the drain.
Distraction like — Rider finally gaining her full power as her Command returned to Sakura.
A chill ran down everyone’s spines as they sensed the terrifying power that Rider held now.
Even Lancer, who had defeated her a few moments before, looked at her with shock as she appeared behind Black.
Then, under the shocked gazes of Lancer and Medea, Rider took off the eye cover.
And the true Mystic Eyes of Petrification turned everything under its gaze to stone.
Surprisingly, someone appeared between Rider’s petrifying gaze and Black’s shaking back.
Medea didn’t know why she let herself die for this man, as she saw herself turning to stone. But when she looked over her shoulder and saw him, a small smile surfaced on her lips, her heart skipping a beat.
"Ha!Gae..." Lancer focused his entire Mana into the red spear. "... Bolg!"
Booooooooooooooooooooooom!
If she wanted to save and serve Sakura, then Rider needed to remain alive. So, as the spear came for her, she blurred out of existence.
On the other side, Black couldn’t have cared less about the Resonance of Sacrifice. He didn’t even know what was happening in his surroundings.
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"HAAAAAAAA!!!" Pouring his everything, all his knowledge and experience, into the moment, before he could succumb to Grail’s Corruption, Black took out the final Crest Worm — Zouken’s screaming body.
Right at that moment, Kirei began his exorcism, and Magic burned blue around him, gaining a holy aura.
"Know this," Kirei said, squeezing Zouken’s shell holding his consciousness, "I will kill. I will let live. I will harm, and I will heal.
"None shall ever be escape my grasp. None shall ever be escape my sight. Be crushed.
"I welcome all who have grown or been defeated. Devote yourself to me, learn from me, obey me, and rest."
The holy aura magnified, almost taking over the entire Bounded Field.
Flakes of Zouken’s body made of worms began coming off as if he were getting burned alive.
"Do not forget song," Kirei continued, lifting Zouken’s torso as his legs burned away, "Do not forget prayer, and most of all, do not forget me. I am light, and I shall relieve all your burdens.
"Your solace is in my hands. I shall pour oil unto your sins, and I shall mark you.
"For it is only through death that one can be granted the gift of eternal life."
Only Zouken’s head remained as he looked at Kirei, his eyes widening in shock.
On the other side, the squirming worm, getting squeezed by Black’s tendril, also calmed down, sensing its coming — death.
"Beg forgiveness now," Kirei said. "I, the reincarnation, shall absolve you."
"HAHAHA!" Zouken laughed, the Crest Worm in Black’s grasp laughing as well. "There’s no salvation in any of you... You all are worms!!! Haha!!!"
Kirei Kotomine crushed the burning head, finishing the exorcism. "Kirei Eleison!"
Finishing the procedure on Sakura, Black also squeezed Zouken’s true body to death, the Exorcism finding its way to the soul hiding within.
At last, Zouken Matou was dead.
And his death heralded the beginning of his Inheritance!
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