Speaking of Dead Apostles, Matou Zouken was very familiar with them. After all, among the many ways to extend his life, he had considered turning into a Dead Apostle. However, that would draw the agents of the Church, which would greatly interfere with his plan to seize the Holy Grail. Thus, he had no choice but to abandon that option.
"What business does a high-ranking Dead Apostle have with the Matou Family?"
Facing the leisurely Akatsuki, his intuition from the Demon God Pillars lineage told him that the Dead Apostle before him was no ordinary one. She likely belonged to the VIII Rank'Successor,' or perhaps even the IX Rank 'Ancestor'!
This Old Maggot, who had lived for five hundred years, always followed a pattern when facing an existence that could threaten him: first submit, then propose cooperation to turn an enemy into a friend, and finally use them as a tool. This was his usual trick.
Akatsuki did not answer Matou Zouken's question. Instead, she was pondering what kind of end to give him. After all, a simple death would be far too merciful for him.
Makiri Zolgen, who once wanted to be a hero of justice and eradicate human evil to achieve the salvation of all humanity, had gradually turned into the current Matou Zouken, who only cared about using the Holy Grail to extend his life under the erosion of time.
"As expected, only this method can make me feel a bit more refreshed."
Akatsuki took a wine bottle and smashed it directly onto Matou Zouken's head. The originally bald crown was instantly smashed into mush by Akatsuki's bottle. Fine vintage wine dripped down Matou Zouken's kimono onto the floor of the Matou house. However, inside the brain smashed into mush, there was no brain matter; instead, there were strange-looking insects.
"Heh."
Before Matou Zouken could speak, a burst of flame suddenly surged from beneath his feet. Without giving him time to react, the searing pain of the fire instantly sent a piercing ache through Matou Zouken's decaying soul.
Astonished that Akatsuki would strike without a word, Matou Zouken's body rapidly collapsed. The dense swarm of insects quickly scattered. The flames only managed to burn the outer insects to death, while the core insect immediately tunneled into the walls of the Matou house after breaking away from the swarm.
"Vampire! Do you have no pride as a high-ranking Dead Apostle?!"
Having turned into an insect, Matou Zouken let out a voice even more hair-raising than usual.
"Heh, what right do you have to judge me? You, who abandoned your ideals and used any means necessary to escape death, even reaching your demonic claws toward your own descendants and children?"
Akatsuki's voice carried a hint of mysterious power, causing Matou Zouken to stifle. Hearing her words, he paused, and the gaze of the insect that had tunneled into the wall held a trace of daze.
Suddenly, a thought surged uncontrollably from the depths of his decaying soul—to purge all evil in the world, to annihilate all wicked deeds in the mortal realm, to sever all evil karma among humanity.
"A witch who bewitches hearts!"
The moment he touched that thought, Matou Zouken, in his insect form, broke into a cold sweat. As a Magician of the underworld, he knew very well that the brief moment of daze just now would have been enough for the Dead Apostle before him to kill him dozens or even hundreds of times.
"Calling me a witch is a bit much, isn't it?"
Akatsuki shrugged innocently, then revealed a kind smile. "I'm just helping a centenarian recall his former ideals and memories. Although I'm using a bit of a technique like mental interference, if your heart is firm enough, old man, such a method is actually quite unnecessary."
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Matou Zouken understood Akatsuki's meaning, but he didn't understand why she was doing this. Of course, Akatsuki had no intention of explaining anything to this Old Maggot. Hearing the angry sounds from the depths of Matou Zouken's throat, Akatsuki continued.
"Using the torture and suffering of others as spiritual nourishment to live on, maintaining the vitality of your decaying soul... Can someone like you still remember your original ideal?"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
As Akatsuki performed mental interference on Matou Zouken, his temper grew more and more violent. Decaying memories were pulled from his soul once again, and his former self was exposed before him. His mind uncontrollably reflected on everything he had done.
How do you make a fallen person suffer?
Force him to look directly at his past, force him to remember the supreme and most benevolent justice he once wanted to achieve, and force him to view his current self through the eyes of who he used to be.
"Aaaah! Die! You Vampire!!"
Countless strange insects rushed toward Akatsuki as if they had gone mad. However, as they approached her, they all fell powerlessly to the ground, as if the area around Akatsuki was an absolute zone forbidden to life.
"It's useless. To me, you Magicians are like infants sentenced to death at birth, completely powerless. Even so-called Magic-users might not be a match for the current me, let alone mere insects."
Realizing he could not harm Akatsuki, Matou Zouken decisively abandoned the entire Matou house. After all, he had spiritual pulses all over the world. Even if he fled abroad, he could just return in sixty years for the next Holy Grail War.
However, after the insects that blotted out the sky reached the courtyard of the Matou house, they were completely stunned. Exorcism metal, which could cause immense damage just by looking at it, had turned into high walls surrounding the entire Matou house.
"It's no use, Matou Zouken. Count your sins."
Meeting Akatsuki's one red and one gold eye, Matou Zouken saw something deep within Akatsuki's soul through the True Ancestor's body. A mass of unimaginable evil filled every inch of Akatsuki's soul, and within that soul, a golden light shone particularly bright.
"The greater grail?!"
Matou Zouken knew very well that there was no hope in that wicked soul. Through that evil soul, he could see a righteous executioner who had fallen into a serial killer, and a wise monarch who had turned into a tyrant.
Why would the greater grail, which should be beneath Fuyuki City, appear in a place like this?!
Matou Zouken would never understand this question.
Akatsuki had specially woven a cage for Matou Zouken's utterly decaying soul. There, he would constantly face his original ideals and justice. Even if he was numb to them, the mental interference from Akatsuki would grant him no peace.
That feeling was indescribable. If one had to make an analogy... it would be like Kiritsugu Emiya personally killing all of humanity.
For a hero of justice, this was a torture more painful than death.
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