Chapter 324: Kirei!

Chapter 324: Chapter 324: Kirei!

In the gloomy side corridor of the Tohsaka Residence, time seemed infinitely stretched yet compressed by despair.

Tohsaka Tokiomi could clearly feel that the wriggling "thing" inside his chest cavity had expanded to its limit, and beneath the thin layer of skin and muscle was a hard, shell-breaking sensation.

The cold breath of death coiled around his throat.

(Is this... the end?)

(Rin... Sakura... I’m sorry...)

His pale eyelids closed heavily, awaiting the final tearing pain and the arrival of eternal darkness.

However, the anticipated explosion and intense pain did not arrive.

Instead, there was a strange... feeling of stalemate.

The frantic surge inside his body, the impulse to burst forth, seemed to have hit an invisible wall, forcibly delaying its emergence.

Although the gnawing pain and the feeling of life draining away had not stopped, at least the most terrifying moment had been postponed.

Tokiomi dazedly reopened his eyes slightly.

Then, he saw the face of his youngest daughter, Sakura Matou, right before him.

Sakura was biting her lower lip so hard it was almost bleeding. Her small body trembled violently from the excessive exertion, and her forehead was covered in fine cold sweat.

But what was most striking were her eyes—those purple-indigo eyes, usually shrouded in timidity, were now emitting a faint, pale purple halo.

The halo seemed to converge inward, locked tightly onto Tokiomi, especially the area around his chest.

She was trying to suppress it, to delay it, even if only for a moment!

"Sakura... you..."

Shock and disbelief filled Tokiomi’s eyes.

This power... was definitely neither the Insect Magic taught by the Matou Family nor the Magecraft System of the Tohsaka Family!

"Sakura! Your eyes!"

Rin also noticed her sister’s abnormality, but at this moment, her heart was filled only with ecstasy and lingering fear. "Dad! Look! Sakura is helping you! She can do it! Hold on, Dad!"

Sakura couldn’t spare the attention to speak; her entire will was focused on fighting the terrifying Parasite.

Her face rapidly turned pale, and her body was swaying, but the purple light in her eyes refused to extinguish.

Just then, a steady set of footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, breaking the dangerous stalemate.

The hem of a black Priest’s Robe came into view, and Kirei Kotomine’s expressionless face appeared in the dim light.

"Master."

He stopped a few steps away, his gaze calmly sweeping over the dying Tokiomi, the desperately maintaining Sakura, and the Rin who was overwhelmed with surprise and joy. "It seems the situation is very bad."

"Kirei!"

Tokiomi spoke in a struggling whisper, as if he had seen a savior. "Quickly... help me... command spells... use a command spells to order Archer... perhaps with his Noble Phantasm..."

He thought of Gilgamesh’s Gate of Babylon; it was the last straw he could grasp in his despair.

Kirei Kotomine’s face remained unmoved upon hearing this. He merely said flatly, "I see. Utilizing the coercive power of a command spells to order Archer to use his Noble Phantasm for clearance? Theoretically, it is feasible. But, Master—"

He took a step forward, his tone matter-of-fact, yet it caused Tokiomi’s heart to sink into an ice cellar:

"—Why don’t you use it yourself?"

Tokiomi suddenly choked.

That’s right, he still had command spellss!

Why hadn’t he thought of using a command spells to ask Archer for help before?

Did the pain and fear cause him to lose his judgment?

Or... a cold and terrifying thought flashed through his mind—could it be that ever since the abdominal pain started, his mind had been invisibly influenced?

By that Fox Demon? By this worm?

"It seems you’ve realized."

Kirei Kotomine nodded and took another step forward. "I regret to inform you that you seem... unable to do so."

"Don’t come closer!"

Sakura, who had been struggling desperately against the worm inside her, suddenly turned her head, fixing her purple-glowing eyes on Kirei Kotomine. Her voice was weak but filled with extreme alertness and repulsion. "You... are wrong!"

Kirei Kotomine’s footsteps halted.

He tilted his head slightly, seemingly surprised by Sakura’s reaction, and an inexplicable ripple crossed his hollow gaze.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred!

In the shadow behind Sakura, the air twisted like ripples on water, and a shadowy figure, holding a strange curved dagger, silently materialized, stabbing forcefully toward the back of Sakura’s heart!

It was Assassin!

"Sakura! Watch out!" Rin screamed!

In the nick of time, Tokiomi, who had been on the verge of death, erupted with a final burst of strength from somewhere, violently pulling the Sakura in front of him into his embrace!

*Puchi!*

The dagger grazed Sakura’s shoulder, drawing a trail of blood, and plunged deeply into the arm Tokiomi had raised in time to shield his daughter!

Blood immediately gushed out!

"Ugh—!"

Tokiomi let out a pained grunt, but his other unharmed hand, relying on muscle memory, flung out several Magecraft Jewels that had been clasped in his palm.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The jewels struck the Assassin Clone and the nearby walls and floor, erupting in intense flames and shockwaves!

The attacking Assassin Clone was blasted to smithereens. Smoke and dust filled the corridor, and cracks appeared in the walls.

But this violent action and burst of Magical Energy completely depleted his last bit of mental strength, and even worse, it seemed to have agitated the worm inside him that Sakura had barely managed to suppress!

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of foul blood with a strange luster, his vision swam, and the purple light suppressing the worm began to fluctuate violently.

The smoke and dust partially cleared.

Kirei Kotomine still stood in place, not even a corner of his robe ruffled.

Around him, seven or eight Assassin Clones, identically dressed and holding various Strange Weapons, silently materialized like ghosts, guarding him in the center. Their hollow white skull masks stared uniformly at Tokiomi and his two daughters.

"Master, you are still so... irrational."

Kirei Kotomine looked at the dying Tokiomi who had just counterattacked, his tone suggesting neither praise nor regret. "But you were actually able to achieve this much?"

Tokiomi leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. The wound on his arm bled profusely. In his arms was Sakura, pale with fright and bleeding from her shoulder wound, and beside him was Rin, supporting him.

He looked at his disciple, Kirei Kotomine, who was surrounded by the Assassins—the man he had once trusted implicitly and regarded as his right-hand man. For the first time, Tokiomi clearly saw the void and... malice that chilled his soul, deep within those hollow eyes.

"Kirei... what... what on earth..." Tokiomi’s voice was hoarse and fractured.

Kirei Kotomine did not reply, simply watching them quietly, as if observing insects struggling in a Petri Dish.

The storm of destruction in the main hall continued, but the balance was being broken.

*Boom!!!*

March 7th roared, slamming a newly condensed Ice Hammer fiercely onto Lancer’s crossed, blocking spears!

The Ice Hammer shattered into a storm of ice crystals, and Lancer was slammed off his feet by the brute force, sliding backward and plowing two deep furrows into the floor, his carapace cracking further.

The Berserk March 7th knew no fatigue, her attacks coming in relentless waves.

When an ice weapon broke, she casually discarded it, and amidst the surging magical energy, she immediately condensed new, often larger and more ferocious replacements—Greatswords, Battle Axes, Heavy Hammers, and even Spiked Frost Meteor Hammers!

She was like a Humanoid Blizzard; only ice remained in her wake.

Lancer’s exquisite Spearmanship became increasingly difficult to parry against the chaotic, frenzied attacks. He could only barely maneuver, relying on the strange resilience and regenerative abilities provided by his Insect Transformation, constantly accumulating new frostbite and lacerations.

"Roar!!"

March 7th seemed to be enjoying the fight. With another roar, she cupped her hands, and two Ice Wheel Blades with edges sharp as saws whizzed into shape. She flung them out like throwing boomerangs, carving two intersecting arcs of death in the air, sealing off Lancer’s space to dodge left or right, while she herself charged forward again!

"This is getting more and more interesting."

Phantylia stood at the edge of the Battle Circle, watching with keen interest Lancer’s increasingly distressed state and March 7th’s fully unleashed destructive power.

She gently fanned herself, a mischievous glint flickering in her Fox Eyes.

"However, a one-sided crushing defeat gets boring after a while."

She murmured to herself, subtly pointing the tip of her fan toward Lancer.

A wisp of faint light, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, drilled into Lancer’s body like a living thing.

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