The name Tōsaka Rin once again tugged at Roland's heartstrings. The little girl he had once met should have been living with the Zenjō family by now, though her temperament was never exactly "peaceful" to begin with to stay quietly at one place.
But Uryū Ryūnosuke, the murderer, had long since perished, and thanks to Tōsaka Tokiomi's efforts, Fuyuki City had been kept in a superficial state of calm, at least enough that ordinary life wasn't disturbed. Rin had no reason to take action anymore.
A string of clues connected together in Roland's mind:
—An eighth Servant.
—The fall of the Matō family.
—Seven Masters all remaining quiet.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Does Enkidu's and Gilgamesh's chain summoning… still work?"
If she reall turned into the goddess of Venus, Ishtar. then it made perfect sense for her to manifest using Tōsaka Rin's body.
"What rotten luck… I get the feeling the Counter Force is deliberately singling me out," Roland muttered.
This Holy Grail War was already far from normal. It had taken a great deal of effort to get things under control, and now an "external" factor had entered the field.
"I'll have to make time to deal with this next… But if it's Tōsaka Rin, at least Ishtar's personality will be easier to handle through her."
As Roland was lost in thoughts.
"Master?"
Medea's voice brought him back to the present. She gently poked the kneeling Matō Kariya with the end of her staff.
"What are we doing with this one?"
Roland stroked Sakura's soft hair as he studied Kariya.
The man's life force was already critically low, one more high-intensity fight, and he'd be dead in days. Even left alone, he probably wouldn't survive the month.
"Matō Kariya, I'd like to hear your thoughts."
"My thoughts? Do I have any choice other than death?"
Kariya's words were followed by another wet, hacking cough, vomiting up a pool of dead crest worms. The shadow khans had shown him no mercy, and each attempt at bodily repair drained his life that much more.
"Self-awareness is a fine quality. Seems you've learned something since last time."
Roland smiled faintly, crouching to meet his gaze.
"Death is your destined end. But how you die—that's what gives meaning to your life."
"What....do...You mean…?"
"I have a friend," Roland said after a pause, "who's in need of a little change right now. Just like how a carefully plated meal brings more satisfaction than simply tossing food on a plate,
So too is a betrayal far sweeter when preceded by the illusion of hope. I'm wondering if you've let go of your self-deceptions… and are ready for real killing intent."
"You mean… kill Tōsaka Tokiomi?"
Kariya's voice trembled at the name, but it wasn't pain this time it was fanatic heat, a thrill that shot straight through his nervous system.
"Yes. Do you want to drop all those excuses, live just once on your own terms… and meet the grave with no regrets?"
"Of course I do!"
The words tore from him like a beast's roar.
"But my body's already ruined! Without my Servant, there's no way I could take him down!"
"I'm aware," Roland said mildly. "But since I'm a generous man, think of this as my reward for saving Sakura back then."
He extended his hand, the remaining flames in the area twisting toward his palm in a slow spiral. When he clenched his fist, they vanished.
When he opened it again, a wisp of dark purple, flame-like vapor floated above his skin.
"It's only a scrap of wrath left over from my battle earlier, but it's more than enough for what you need. After all, this is your final push."
A flick of his fingers, and the vapor shot into Kariya's forehead.
The searing magic and raw vitality hit like molten lead, making Kariya collapse onto all fours, wracked by screams. Every breath sent gouts of black smoke from his mouth.
Though most of his flesh was already gone, the worms comprising his body writhed wildly, infected by the burning power. Charred husks fell away, while others adapted, their slick bodies sprouting rough black scales; his fingers twisted into clawed talons.
If Kariya had been only a pitiful magus before, he was now a bona fide monster.
"My… my magical energy… my body…"
"A world apart from what your pathetic self, isn't it?" Roland's tone carried curiosity. "Fascinating… so this is what it's like to create a familiar from scratch. That bit of wrath went further than I'd expected."
"If you can master it," he added, "you'll be able to unleash a storm of fire."
Kariya swallowed hard.
"And if I can't control it…?"
Roland smiled.
"Then you will become that storm."
"…Hah. How stupid of me." Kariya gave a thin, self-mocking grin. "So… I can leave now?"
"Please do. I look forward to watching you burn."
"I'll remember that, Lord Roland."
Pulling his claws back under his sleeves, Kariya turned and walked away without a backward glance, even sparing no goodbye for Sakura.
---
"Now then… Gilgamesh will probably enjoy this turn of events. And Kotomine Kirei's been dealt with as well," Roland murmured.
A tug at his trouser leg drew his gaze downward.
Sakura stood there, head bowed, her face carrying the guilty look of someone caught in a mistake.
"I'm sorry… because of Uncle Kariya, I caused trouble for Lord Roland…"
"No, you did wonderfully, Sakura. In fact, you've done me a favor."
She blinked in surprise.
"I gained Berserker, smoothed progress with Archer's team, and got information about the eighth Servant. Even if it was luck, you helped me."
Roland smiled warmly. He obtained Berserker, and the progress of the Archer team went smoothly. He also obtained information about the eighth servant. Although it might be luck, Sakura Matou helped him indirectly.
"But…" she hesitated, "you spent all morning making that Mystic code… and because of me, it was interrupted…"
"That's already finished," Roland said, pulling out the object to show her, making sure her guilt didn't take root.
It was a square, handled device, simple yet elegant, with a dragon head carved on each side.
"There's only one step left, activating it."
If he'd used his own flesh and blood, the crafting would've been more refined, but as the Holy Lord's soul within Roland's own body, he could shift the conceptual requirements and finish the work far more easily than expected.
"Master? What is that? Looks like some kind of tracking mystic code," Medea asked.
"That's right. It's for locating the divine power that once belonged to me. As they seemed to be sealed, my senses have become dulls, so I need this to amplify the signal."
Roland began feeding mana into the device.
"Normally, in this world, the structure of Servants compared to spirits, it would naturally be imposs--"
His words cut off.
Three of the four dragon heads' eyes lit with deep red light.
One pointed toward the city.
One toward Mount Enzō.
And the last… directly in front of Roland.
The glow from that last head overflowed, painting the air around them crimson.
There was only one explanation
At least one divine relic was right here.