Chapter 163: Magecraft of the Matou Family

**The Holy Grail War.** 

A life-and-death battle between seven magi. A brutal conflict between humans, all for the sake of the omnipotent wish-granting device—the **Greater Holy Grail**. 

Whether it's to reach the Root or to uphold justice, the participants' goals all rely on the Greater Holy Grail remaining intact. But now, someone is saying that the most crucial function of the Greater Holy Grail has been lost? 

How could anyone accept that? It's impossible to accept. 

Rin Tohsaka's expression turned serious. "How is that possible? How could the Greater Holy Grail just lose its function like that?" 

"If the Greater Holy Grail's wish-granting function were still intact, the Lord of the Astrology Department would have participated in this war. Are you doubting the judgment of a Lord?" Li Mo said. 

Rin, still too inexperienced, was intimidated by the title of "Lord." 

Lords were powerful, but at their core, they were still magi. Ten years ago in Fuyuki City, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, the Lord of the Mineralogy Department, had met his end here, hadn't he? Magi were, fundamentally, researchers, and they had their weaknesses in combat. 

"This topic is a long story. I initially wanted to talk about the Matou family. How did we end up discussing the Greater Holy Grail? Humans always tend to jump topics during conversations." 

Eating his breakfast, Li Mo spoke calmly. In his original plan, he had indeed intended to discuss the Matou family first. 

After all, the Matou family was likely left with only Sakura Matou and Shinji Matou as its last descendants. With the Matou residence destroyed yesterday, there were a series of issues, such as inheritance and property, that needed to be addressed. 

"Let's set aside the topic of the Greater Holy Grail for now. First, let's resolve the issues with the Matou family." 

Li Mo continued, "First, let's talk about the Matou family's Magic Crest. I'm sorry to say, but it's completely destroyed. How should I put it? Zouken Matou's existence had already transformed into something else, and extracting the Magic Crest from him would have been too troublesome. After all, you can't expect me to extract a Magic Crest from a pile of dead worms, can you?" 

"Of course, this might also be due to a flaw in my strategy. When I saw the Matou family's magical workshop, I was a bit overwhelmed. I ended up having Assassin use her Noble Phantasm directly. Originally, I had planned to seize the Matou family's magical texts to study." 

The thoughts he had at the time were now completely forgotten. In any case, the Matou family was already destroyed, and their magical lineage had died along with Zouken Matou. 

Hearing this, Rin immediately realized the gravity of the situation. "Does that mean the Matou family's magical lineage has been severed?" 

What was the point of Father giving Sakura to the Matou family, then?! 

Rin screamed internally. She still remembered the decision her father had faced over a decade ago. Both of his daughters had exceptional talent, but the Tohsaka family's magical lineage could only be passed down to one. In that situation, the Matou family, lacking a suitable heir, had approached them to adopt one of the daughters. 

And so, Sakura Tohsaka became Sakura Matou. 

And now you're telling me the Matou family's magical lineage has been severed?! 

"Rin-senpai, please don't get so worked up. Neither Sakura-senpai nor Shinji-san have voiced their opinions yet, have they? Well... regarding the Magic Crest, I have an alternative, albeit incomplete, solution. I have a barely functional Magic Crest on hand. With Medea's help, we can use it as material to create a first-generation Magic Crest tailored specifically for you. This could allow the Matou family's magical lineage to start anew," Li Mo explained. 

In truth, he didn't have to compensate for anything. In the Holy Grail War, if you were outmatched, your Magic Crest being destroyed was just part of the game. But considering that the Magic Crest he had obtained from the Oil King was essentially useless, he might as well repurpose it. 

A Magic Crest, at its core, was "crystallized mystery." After the Age of Gods ended, the mystery of the world began to fade. No matter what magi did, they couldn't reverse this trend. The rules of the world had changed, and so magi created Magic Crests, using bloodline inheritance as a link to pass down their knowledge through generations. They used time as an accumulation, allowing descendants to carry the family's mission forward, step by step, toward the Root. 

"As for rejection effects, there's no need to worry. We have Caster, who can minimize the rejection effects. The same goes for modifying the Magic Crest. The only regret is that centuries of accumulated mystery have been lost. 

Oh, there's one more issue. Who should the Magic Crest be given to? Sakura Matou or Shinji Matou?" 

For a long time, Li Mo dominated the conversation with his lengthy explanations. In the wake of Zouken Matou's death and the destruction of the Matou family's Magic Crest, his alternative solution was undoubtedly the best option. 

Rin frowned and said, "Of course, it should be given to Sakura. Shinji Matou has no talent for magecraft." 

"Rin! You—!" Shinji's eyebrows twitched. 

For Shinji Matou, his lack of magical talent was a constant source of pain. It wasn't that he lacked Magic Circuits; they were simply all blocked. In other words, he was missing the "engine" needed to activate them. 

"Shinji Matou, calm down." 

"Understood." 

At Li Mo's words, Shinji shuddered and quickly calmed down, shrinking back into his seat and continuing to eat his breakfast in silence. It seemed that, in his mind, the person speaking was not a human but a demon. 

"What did you do to my brother?" Sakura asked. The brother in her memories wasn't this timid. 

"Probably just let him experience the cruelty of magecraft." 

Earlier that morning, the sleep spell Medea had cast on Shinji had worn off. When he woke up, he had been quite bold in front of Li Mo. Of course, after Li Mo demonstrated his ability to crush a rock with his bare hands, Shinji had been thoroughly cowed. From then on, he had obediently followed Li Mo's lead. 

Of course, Li Mo had also given Shinji a taste of near-death. Who knew if the now-subdued Shinji might try something reckless later? Li Mo didn't like to punish people for things they hadn't done yet, so he had used magecraft to let Shinji experience what it felt like to teeter on the edge of death. 

"If Sakura-senpai has no objections, the Magic Crest can, of course, be given to her. However, Caster will need to make adjustments for Sakura-senpai. As for the inheritance of the Matou family's assets, that's none of my concern. Let's return to the earlier topic—the **Greater Holy Grail** and this Holy Grail War." 

Li Mo said, "Now that you know the Greater Holy Grail has been corrupted and lost its wish-granting function, are you still prepared to fight to the death in this Holy Grail War? Will it end like the last one, where no one emerged as the true winner?"