After the massive explosion, Akatsuki's consciousness blurred for a few seconds before she found herself standing in the courtyard of the Matou Family estate.
The Matou Family home had been personally demolished by Akatsuki, and Matou Zouken had been killed by her own hands. There was absolutely no possibility of survival; of this, she was certain and positive!
So, without even thinking, she knew this was an illusion created by Angra Mainyu, also known as Little Angra. Taking Saber's Excalibur to the face had caused a brief lapse in her consciousness, giving Little Angra this opportunity.
"So, what do you want to show me?"
There was no answer.
It was as if Akatsuki were talking to herself.
She checked her body and found that all her True Ancestor abilities and physical attributes had been cleared, leaving only the physical stats of her human period.
"In other words, in my subconscious, I don't actually consider myself a True Ancestor? Well, that's fine. Even as a human, I can't possibly lose to a ghost without a physical body."
This wasn't blind confidence. After all, in the world Akatsuki lived in before her transmigration, humanity had already successfully achieved technological milestones like digitalizing consciousness, consciousness possession, and consciousness enhancement. Akatsuki's work was closely related to these, and consciousness enhancement was a regular part of her life.
However, compared to consciousness residing in a brain, she still trusted the power of the flesh more.
After waiting for a long time without any movement, just as Akatsuki was about to lose patience and forcibly drag Little Angra out, a black shadow suddenly appeared before her.
"Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible..."
"Sin, guilt, prayers, wishes, all are nothingness..."
"Murder, slaughter, parricide, betrayal, robbery, theft, rebellion, looting, intimidation, destruction, coercion, escape, false accusation, arson, insult, disrespect, lynching, kidnapping, madness, bribery, suicide, gambling, corpse abandonment, public disturbance, desertion, perjury, abduction, injury..."
"Sins so heavy, all are capital offenses, deserving of the ultimate punishment! Why no resentment? Why no resistance? Why no rebuttal! The source of all evil, the beginning of all misfortune and death—why do you feel no fear, no regret!!!!"
A cursed voice mixed with fear and madness surged from the black shadow's body. Upon hearing these hysterical sounds, a faint smile played on Akatsuki's lips.
"This won't do, peeking into my memories like that. You are a Heroic Spirit, after all."
Words that would make anyone else's hair stand on end and cause them to instinctively retreat felt like an award citation praising her great achievements to Akatsuki. No matter how many times she heard them, she would never grow tired of it.
These were all the sins she had once committed. Whether intentional or unintentional no longer mattered, because even if her entire being was carved with sin, no one could judge her!
Her job was merely to be a blade; as for how to use it, that was for the wielder to consider.
After all, she only needed to be a good blade, while the wielder had much more to worry about.
Could it be that a blade used for murder must also be sent to the witness stand?
The answer was no.
To become the blade in the hands of the powerful, striking at the lives of other powerful men.
Wealth, power, prestige, sinners, beasts... these are useless before death.
Perhaps her merits were even greater than her karmic hindrances. However, for some reason, even her soul after death was pitch black, with every inch carved with sin.
"Interesting, but only just interesting," Akatsuki said softly, a flash of indifference in her eyes. "I won't let my women get hurt just for the sake of my own interests."
Akatsuki grabbed the black shadow and refined it in an instant!
The surrounding environment collapsed along with it.
"Wait? Who turned off the lights?"
The pitch-black environment and the massive rocks on her body reminded Akatsuki.
"Oh, so I was buried alive..."
Boom!
Relying on the powerful strength of a True Ancestor, she directly blasted the rocks off her body and crawled out from the collapse site in the Great Cavern beneath Mount Enzou.
Using Marble Phantasm, she recreated a set of clothes. Akatsuki snapped her fingers to dispel all the dust from her body, then stretched and said, "Time to head back and eat."
Clang!
"Oh?" A hint of interest flashed in his ruby-like eyes. Gilgamesh looked at the two Servants before him with some surprise and said, "For a fake and a monster, you've actually managed to pique this King's interest slightly. In the words of this era, this feeling is called 'getting fired up', right?"
As the Gate of Babylon unfolded, Archer and Rider were clearly reaching their limits. After all, they had already suffered heavy injuries from the attacks of Caster and Assassin, and had only recovered enough to materialize a few hours ago.
"..."
Archer and Rider looked at Gilgamesh without a word. Several minutes had passed since the explosion in the Mount Enzou area. As Servants, the fact that they hadn't suffered from a lack of mana meant their Master was perfectly fine.
However, that massive explosion still left Archer and Rider somewhat worried.
"Hahahaha! So this is Tohsaka's Archer and Sakura's Rider? They're no match for my Servant at all! Rider, if you come back now, I can have my Servant spare you! If you perform well, I might even share the Holy Grail with you!"
"I respectfully decline."
"What?! You dare refuse me! Kill them!!!"
Shinji Matou pointed angrily at Archer and Rider. Now that the Matou Family home was destroyed and Matou Zouken was killed, and Shinji himself hadn't received much of the Matou Family's magecraft inheritance and had poor talent, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Matou Family was now completely erased from the world of Magicians.
And as long as he, Shinji Matou, obtained the Holy Grail, he could revive the Matou Family and even become a first-rate Magician!
At that time, whether it was Tohsaka or Sakura, they would all come running to lick his boots!
Shinji Matou was immersed in his own mental fantasies, completely unaware of the playful look in Gilgamesh's eyes.
"Though I'm not sure why Kirei wanted to help treat that mongrel, things are looking more and more interesting!"
Gilgamesh thought to himself, a hint of expectation growing in his gaze toward Shinji Matou. He wanted to see what kind of amusement this fellow before him could bring.
After all, he was the king of clowns.
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