Before the fire department arrived, Aslan had already left the area. In the process, he even grabbed the little girl who was following him, and with a burst of his own speed, arrived directly in a mountain forest not far from the old city district, watching the burning flames from afar.
It seemed that with the burning, the suppression that had been in the girl's heart for this period of time also gradually dissipated with the flames.
"You have no need to feel guilty. I have already sent the person who should be saved a chance at life. From now on, you have nothing to do with the Matou family. From now on, you will live as my disciple. Your name is Sakura Pendragon. You must remember that this surname is extremely noble in Great Britain. The people who once abandoned you will, in the end, have to look up to you."
The young girl looked at the burning flames from afar, then nodded. From now on, she had no relationship with either the Tohsaka or the Matou families.
Aslan rubbed the girl's hair. His train of thought came to a screeching halt, then took a turn into an unknown alley. Come to think of it, if in the future, an enemy of Sakura's were to investigate her past, would they not curse at her as a "house slave of three surnames"?
---
When Tohsaka Tokiomi, hiding in his basement, received the news from his disciple and confirmed that the place on fire was the Matou residence, he rushed out of the basement directly, constantly asking people for the specific situation of the Matou family. Upon learning that only one boy had been rescued from the burning house, the expression on the face of this always-elegant magus changed again and again. That expression was one of pain, regret, and a bit of disbelief. Gilgamesh, looking at his Master's expression, actually showed a hint of interest. But in Tokiomi's eyes, this expression had a bit of schadenfreude.
The King of Heroes does not understand the hearts of men. Tokiomi subconsciously made such a judgment.
My daughter... If he had known earlier, he would have sent her to Northern Europe. But how could the old man of the Matou family not have the ability to stop the spread of the flames? And that holy light that shot up into the sky... if this was a premeditated attack, then he, Tohsaka Tokiomi, must have his revenge.
---
The next day, when the sky was turning a fish-belly white, Tokiomi had adjusted his mentality. Holding a staff in his hand, he came to the ruins after the fire had burned out. Except for the police tape that had been put up, the crowd of onlookers had long since gone home to catch up on sleep. However, in these ruins, there was still one person who was constantly pushing aside the charred wood and stones.
Blood had already dripped from his hands into the ruins. The necrotic half of his body made it impossible for his movements to be as agile and free as a normal person's. But even so, this person was still digging, coughing up a mouthful of blood from time to time.
"Sakura! Sakura!!"
The person digging through the wreckage here was, naturally, Kariya. He had learned of the fire at the mansion as soon as he had rushed back from the port. Upon seeing that one person from this family had survived, the fire chief's face also had a hint of relief and joy. But no matter what, the rest of the people were in the mansion. The death of his relatives was, to the person before him, indeed a blow.
However, after the fire was extinguished, strangely, only one skeleton was found in the entire ruins. It looked to be that of an adult, that is, the eldest son of this family, the brother of the man who had rushed back in the middle of the night. The two children and the old man's bones were nowhere to be found. But this was also normal. This fire was far more terrifying than they had imagined. The old man's bones had already started to become brittle, and the children's bones had not yet grown to that sturdy stage. In this environment, which was hotter than a crematorium, it was possible for them to have been burned to dust. After all, the skeleton that was found only had some of the stronger parts remaining.
Kariya found it somewhat difficult to accept that Sakura had died in the fire just like that. Especially that old bastard, how could he have died so easily? And so, Kariya, relying on his own memory, was searching for the entrance to the basement in the ruins. If they were still alive, they could only be in the underground insect pit.
Kariya looked at the constantly moving protrusions on his arm. Since the evening, these Crest Worms living in his body had begun to riot. But fortunately, as their host, he could still barely suppress them. But this was a situation that would have never occurred before. So Kariya also had a guess in his heart. That old geezer might really be... After all, that old geezer had made him use a Command Spell to send Berserker to his side.
He still had a connection with Berserker, but Kariya couldn't help but feel a little troubled. Berserker couldn't communicate with him. Even if he spoke to Berserker now, he could only hear Berserker's strange mumbling. It seemed he was constantly saying, "Daughter, my adorable daughter, hehehe, daughter!"
"Kariya..."
Tokiomi, upon seeing this old friend—an old friend he looked down upon—who was constantly rummaging for something even with injured hands, couldn't help but call out his name. However, what he got in return was Kariya turning his head, his eyes filled with anger and resentment.
"Tokiomi... It's all your fault! This is all your fault, Tohsaka Tokiomi!!"
Watching his old friend stand up unsteadily and run towards him, looking as if he were about to punch him, Tokiomi took a slight step back, frowning. He then slapped him across the face. The sadness that was originally in his heart was all hidden in the deepest part of his heart at this moment. It was precisely because he saw the crazed and loss of composure of his old friend that he decided to continue to maintain his elegance and restraint at this moment. It was just that he didn't know that this appearance of his, in Kariya's eyes, was a sign of being unrepentant and cold.
Kariya covered his face, and after giving Tokiomi a resentful glance, he turned his head away. Although he really wanted to cause trouble for Tokiomi, right now, he was more concerned about whether Sakura was dead or alive. If the old insect and Sakura were both in trouble, then his goal would be to get revenge on Tokiomi and then obtain the Holy Grail, using its power to resurrect Sakura.
"Hehe... Tokiomi... Tokiomi!"
---
On the other side, Gilgamesh had arrived at Kotomine Risei's wine cellar. After pouring himself a glass of red wine, he looked at the young priest before him, who seemed to be interested in nothing, and smiled lightly.
"Kirei, if I'm not mistaken, when you were reporting the situation of the Matou family to your teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi, the corners of your mouth unconsciously curled up slightly. Does a person like you also feel pleasure? No... any person will have their own desires and things that bring them pleasure. I shouldn't ask you this..."
Gilgamesh took a sip of wine. With his red eyes, he stared deadly at the young priest before him. "Kirei, have you discovered the ugliness within your own heart?"