Chapter 361

Chapter 361: Chapter 361

"What?"

The sound of the front entrance being blown apart did not make Zouken Matou angry.

His first reaction was suspicion.

Who had come?

Another Master?

Not all seven Servants had even manifested yet, which meant the Holy Grail War had not formally begun.

Were this generation’s participants really so impatient that they were already attacking one another?

"The quality of this war’s Masters seems particularly poor."

Zouken sneered, showing not the slightest concern about the uninvited guests.

"To choose the Matou residence as the site of their first battle... they can only blame themselves for picking the wrong opponent."

"Hey, Grandpa, what are you suddenly muttering about?"

Zouken ignored his foolish grandson and continued thinking.

The intruders had managed to break through the outermost defensive bounded field, so they clearly possessed some ability.

But if they believed that alone was enough to let them run wild inside his territory, they were far too naive.

Zouken had lived for five hundred years.

There were few things in the world of Magecraft he had not seen, and the number of methods at his disposal was equally vast.

His insect Magecraft alone was enough to overwhelm most modern Magi, break down their resistance, and reduce them to helpless puppets.

Images from the insects stationed throughout the mansion began flowing into his mind.

A young man and three women were walking openly through the corridors as though they owned the place.

The smile on Zouken’s skeletal face grew increasingly sinister.

"Oh? These youngsters possess surprisingly excellent material."

His vulture-like gaze moved between Kiriya, Jeanne, Ryuu, and Esdeath, lingering appreciatively on each of them.

Ryuu in particular caught his attention. Her pointed ears and beautiful features strongly resembled the elves of legend.

Zouken found himself wondering what would happen if Crest Worms were implanted into a creature like her.

Would that cold, composed expression eventually collapse?

He quickly pushed such idle thoughts aside.

The important thing was their magical energy.

Even through his familiars, Zouken could clearly sense the vigorous life force and tremendous energy contained within the four intruders.

Whether used as bodies for parasitism or simply as raw material from which to extract magical energy, every one of them would be an exceptional prize.

"Since you’ve come all this way, there’s no need to leave."

Having made his decision, Zouken ordered the insect swarm to attack.

Nearby, Rider silently observed him.

A cold light flickered behind her blindfold, though no one could tell what she was thinking.

...

Bzzzzzz—!

Skrrr... skrrr...!

Countless insects flooded into the outer corridors of the Matou mansion.

The scraping of innumerable bodies against the walls and floor blended with their shrill cries, building into a disgusting cacophony that made all four intruders visibly recoil.

"Revolting."

Esdeath made no attempt to conceal her disgust.

Jeanne and Ryuu said nothing, but both women’s brows had drawn tightly together.

Such obvious expressions of revulsion were rare from either of them, which spoke volumes about just how unpleasant the sight was.

"Freeze."

Esdeath casually raised one hand.

A tremendous wave of freezing air surged down the corridor.

Every insect caught in its path froze instantly, turning into tiny sculptures of ice before shattering into powder and disappearing.

"What?"

Watching through his familiars from below, Zouken froze.

He had imagined many possible reactions.

Perhaps the sheer number of insects would trigger panic and overwhelm the intruders psychologically.

Perhaps fear would force them to fight desperately, only for the swarm to crawl through every opening until they collapsed in despair.

Perhaps they would realize the danger and retreat.

What he had never imagined was that a girl barely older than Sakura would simply wave her hand and freeze the entire swarm.

"No chant... What was that? A Noble Phantasm? Some new form of Magecraft?"

Zouken’s thoughts accelerated as he tried to identify what he had witnessed.

Then the next image transmitted through his insects made his pupils contract.

The blonde girl among the four had suddenly turned her gaze downward.

For one unsettling instant, Zouken had the illusion that those eyes had crossed the vast distance between them, pierced through layer after layer of walls and flooring, and settled directly upon him.

Then the girl moved.

She began smashing through walls and floors in a straight line toward his location.

’They found me?’

A heart that had remained almost completely unmoved for centuries suddenly began pounding.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

"Go! Tear them apart!"

Zouken issued another command, ordering every insect above to destroy the intruders regardless of the cost.

At the same time, he activated the defensive bounded fields woven throughout the Matou residence, attempting to confuse, trap, and attack them.

Nothing worked.

The roaring insect swarms were swept away as casually as dust.

The supposedly formidable bounded fields shattered beneath the young man’s sword as though they were made of butter.

Within only a breath or two, the four intruders had torn through more than a dozen layers of the mansion and were rapidly approaching the deeply buried basement.

The whole scene felt unreal.

Zouken’s skill in establishing magical territory was equivalent to A-rank, and he had spent centuries continually modifying and strengthening the Matou residence.

By now, the mansion was effectively a magical fortress comparable to a temple.

Yet before these four people, all those preparations seemed pitifully fragile.

Those youthful faces belonged to monsters.

"Rider! Kill them!"

Zouken no longer hesitated and issued the order.

At this point, only one monster could stop another.

Rider glanced once toward Sakura in the worm pit before giving a slight nod and disappearing from the basement.

As for Shinji, who was still standing there in a daze, nobody cared about him.

Rider still did not know exactly why the intruders had come, but their hostility toward the Matou family was obvious.

If they were people as vile and depraved as Zouken... no, even if they were merely ordinary Magi, Sakura could still be placed in terrible danger.

’I won’t let Sakura get hurt again.’

That was the only thought occupying Rider’s mind.

She immediately entered combat mode.

...

In the vast underground complex beneath the Matou residence, Kiriya and the others were advancing downward with overwhelming momentum, intending to find whoever controlled those disgusting insects and cut him down.

Just as they were approaching their target, a purple figure suddenly shot toward them.

She was a tall, striking woman with long purple hair, dressed entirely in black with thigh-high boots.

Her cold, dangerous presence contrasted sharply with her graceful figure, giving her an alluring yet forbidding air.

Rider had no idea what was passing through Kiriya’s mind.

Nor did she care.

She pushed her speed to its absolute limit and crossed the remaining distance in an instant, thrusting her weapon straight toward him.

"Too slow."

Kiriya calmly caught her wrist with his right hand.

His left fist struck her abdomen a heartbeat later with explosive force.

At the same instant, he placed a Flying Thunder God mark on her before sending her hurtling backward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!

Rider crashed through more than a dozen walls before finally stopping, her body embedded deep inside a stone surface.

’What an incredible strength... What class is this man supposed to be?’

Shock surged through Rider.

At the same time, she cursed that damned old worm, Zouken.

If he had not insisted on forcing her to change Masters and accept that useless blue-haired seaweed head, her parameters would never have fallen this far.

She certainly would not have been completely overwhelmed in their very first exchange.