12 The Benefactor and the Killer

Since the night the Matou family was destroyed by flames, his meeting with Matou Kariya happened much later.

After that day, Tokiomi Tohsaka and the church in Fuyuki City both came to inquire about what exactly happened that night at the Matou household. To avoid implicating the benefactor who had helped him, Matou Kariya explained to the outside world that it was the Berserker he summoned that had annihilated the Matou family.

Although Matou Zouken was a powerful master of magecraft, that power was only significant in relation to other magus. When it came to Servants, even a magus's strength could be hard to exert, let alone initiate a direct betrayal.

Thus, Matou Zouken's death was not something they found difficult to understand.

...

Roy did not know how he found out his address, but one morning, he got called by Matou Kariya.

He said he wanted to invite him out to meet.

To avoid attracting attention, he specifically chose a location at the less frequented side hall of the Ryudo Temple.

The time was also very considerate, scheduled for midnight.

At first, Roy was a bit surprised when he saw this man who had just escaped from hell appear again.

"I didn't expect you to still be in the Holy Grail War."

Looking at the deep red marks on Matou Kariya's hand, Roy's tone carried a hint of surprise.

"Matou Zouken is dead. With Tokiomi Tohsaka's connections, finding a magus to solve the parasite he planted in Sakura is just a matter of time. However, he should learn from this and find a more reliable magical family to adopt from."

"With Matou Zouken dead, your ideal of letting Sakura Tohsaka live safely has been fulfilled, so why are you still dragging this broken body into battle?"

"I don't have any special reason." Matou Kariya said slowly as he removed his hood, revealing the horrific face altered by Matou Zouken. He pointed at his damaged body.

"My body was transformed into something neither human nor beast by Matou Zouken over a year ago. Even if I stop now, I won't be able to live on. Rather than rot away in a dark corner until death, I want to do something meaningful at the end of my life."

"Like participating in the Holy Grail War?"

"Exactly."

Matou Kariya nodded and said, "I want to repay your kindness in this Holy Grail War. The Servant I summoned is Berserker, who has a decent advantage in strength. I will do my utmost to help you in this Holy Grail War."

"..."

"So you're expressing your gratitude for saving Sakura Tohsaka by wanting to assist me in the Holy Grail War?"

"Yes... although I don't know how much I can do, I will do my best to follow your instructions."

"... No need."

Contrary to Matou Kariya's expectations, Roy shook his head slightly and decisively rejected his proposal.

He then rolled up his sleeve and activated the magic circuits within his body, causing the magic crest obtained from Matou Zouken to slowly emerge on his arm.

"What is this?"

"Matou Zouken's magic crest. This was one of my targets when I attacked the Matou family."

"Now that I've received my reward, there's no need for you to go this far."

"But..."

Matou Kariya wanted to say something else, but Roy interrupted him.

"I was wondering how you managed to find me, but I think I understand now."

He slowly walked in front of him, placing his right hand on Matou Kariya's shoulder. As the magic circuits began to operate, a faint blue magic power radiated, and the crest worms within Matou Kariya began to react intensely to the light.

The crest worms of the Matou family were linked to the magic crests, and Matou Kariya followed that sensation to find him.

"Ugh..."

An unexpected discomfort deep within his body caused Matou Kariya's complexion to change dramatically. The intense pain in his stomach made it unbearable, and he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Arrrrr!"

As a Servant, the dark knight was the first to sense the discomfort in his Master's body and rushed out from the shadows.

Meanwhile, the Count, hiding in another shadow, acted with equal swiftness. Seeing the dark knight rush out, he moved immediately, bursting forth with black electricity coursing through his body. Taking advantage of Berserker's moment of inattention, he kicked him aside.

"Arrr!!!!"

With the Count's interruption, Berserker, already volatile, could not hold back. With a roar, he charged at the Count.

"Krahahahaha! Is this your anger? The Black Knight, burdened with countless grudges and curses! I can indeed feel your anger and sorrow, but against me, the vengeful spirit, that's still far from enough! Let me see your strength!!"

"Berserker, stop!"

"Caster, come back."

Seeing the two men poised for confrontation, Matou Kariya, kneeling on the ground, quickly raised his hand and shouted towards the dark knight, while Roy also called to the Count, halting the situation from escalating further.

"Arrrrr!"

The Berserker responded but obeyed the command, silently retreating into the shadows.

"Hmph, you run fast." the Count sneered, rising to stand next to Roy, remaining vigilant of their surroundings.

"Ugh..."

Accompanied by the turmoil within his body, the crest worms inside Matou Kariya began to act violently under Roy's guidance, ultimately forcing him to expel them in large quantities from his mouth.

Seeing Matou Kariya collapsed on the ground, vomiting out clusters of white crest worms, Roy initially managed to hold it together, but the sight of so much disgusting material made him feel queasy, triggering his own fear of dense clusters!

After an unknown duration of retching, apart from the worms occupying the main organs, most of the crest worms implanted in Matou Kariya's body were finally expelled under Roy's guidance.

Although not completely resolved, the transformation that had taken nearly a year had already turned Matou Kariya into something neither human nor beast. Now, the crest worms were tied to his life.

Even though Roy gained control over the crest worms in Matou Kariya's body after obtaining his magic crest, there was no way to resolve the crest worms while simultaneously ensuring Matou Kariya's survival.

Killing someone is easy, but saving someone is difficult as hell. However, he had helped Matou Kariya clear a portion of the crest worms to alleviate the burden on his body.

At the very least, if Matou Kariya withdrew now, he could still live for another twenty years, but if he insisted on fighting, whether he could survive through the Fourth War remained uncertain.

He had done all he could; the rest depended on their choices.

"I've helped you clear out most of the worms in your body. If you want to live, then obediently withdraw from the Holy Grail War and find a quiet city to spend the rest of your life."

"You…"

"Don't rush; let me finish." Roy looks at the barely conscious Matou Kariya on the ground.

"You might think I'm hypocritical, believing that I killed Matou Zouken for your family's magic crest yet refuse to accept your gratitude. If that's how you want to think, then go ahead; although I'm not a good person, I can't let someone who's barely hanging on fight for me. Your body doesn't allow you to recklessly push yourself."

"Are you… pitying me?"

Matou Kariya revealed a look of surprise.

"This isn't pity; it's respect. It's respect for the choices you make."

"Whether you choose to leave now or continue participating in the Holy Grail War, how you proceed is entirely up to you. I hope you won't make a choice that you'll regret later."

"Really… respect, huh? I haven't heard that word in a long time…"

Turning to the side, Matou Kariya relaxed on the ground, a rare look of ease crossing his face.

"Someone like me actually deserves respect? But this feeling isn't bad at all…"

"However, I…"

After a moment of wistfulness, Matou Kariya snapped back to reality, wanting to say something else, only to find that Roy had already left.

Where did he go?

"Berserker, when did they leave?"

"Arrrr!"

"…"

"Forget it, let's pretend I didn't ask."

...

A few days later.

"The Holy Grail War, huh..."

Walking through Fuyuki City, several pale blue butterflies completed their reconnaissance of the area and slowly landed back in Roy's hand.

Gently touching the butterflies with his fingertips, Roy received the feedback from the scouting familiars in his mind and shook his head slightly.

"Nothing here either…"

Roy had been feeling restless these past few days.

The reason was simple, the Holy Grail War was about to start, and while Kiritsugu Emiya and Kayneth should have already arrived in Fuyuki and summoned their Servants, he was stuck on the most critical step.

If he didn't eliminate Ryuunosuke Uryuu soon, he would definitely be in deep trouble once the Holy Grail War began.

Currently, the Church regarded him as the seventh Master, and his Servant would be considered Caster. However, if Ryuunosuke also appeared, it would lead to the existence of two Casters, creating a situation of genuine and false Casters.

Yet, he was in plain sight while Ryuunosuke lurked in the shadows. By that time, when the Gilles de Rais unleashed the sea demon to kill indiscriminately, the other Masters wouldn't think of the hidden Caster but would instinctively place all blame on him and the Count.

Even if he managed to drag Gilles de Rais out then, his identity would be exposed, and they would fall into a truly passive position.

Thus, both Ryuunosuke and Gilles de Rais had to be dealt with before the Holy Grail War started!

However, that kid was indeed a habitual criminal with thirty-seven incidents of indiscriminate murder in Japan, and his methods of concealment were quite impressive. Moreover, with his familiars not producing much information, it wouldn't be easy to track him down in Fuyuki City within a short period.

But what he possessed was not just magecraft.

The Count had been out gathering information for a while, so he should have some intel by now.

…

Soon, Roy walked into a café, found a quiet spot, casually ordered two cups of coffee, and dismissed the waiter. Then, he took out a phone from his pocket and ripped off a piece of paper.

After a moment, the table shook slightly, and the Count's figure slowly materialized on the chair in front of him.

Seeing that the Count had returned, Roy nodded at him and asked, "Did you find his whereabouts?"

"Of course, this is a piece of cake for me. Just a despicable killer, how could he possibly evade my pursuit from the depths of hell! Krahahahaha..."

"Alright, alright, I know you're the best, but there are a lot of people around. Can you please keep it down?"

The sudden burst of laughter caught Roy off guard, and he felt the strange gazes of those around him, prompting him to call a halt to the Count.

He noticed the waiter eyeing them and suspected that if the Count hadn't looked so intimidating, the waiter would have already come over to intervene.

"Hmph, Master, you really are as boring as ever." 

As he spoke, the Count handed over a piece of paper containing the address of a residential area he had investigated.

"His real name is Ryuunosuke Uryuu, he has orange hair, enjoys horror and slasher films, and his favorite animal is the leopard. He has no residency in Fuyuki City and is an outsider. Based on the information you provided, I infiltrated the Fuyuki City police station and checked the recent surveillance footage. I can roughly determine that he is hiding near this residential area."

"Your familiar can't cover the entire Fuyuki City, but narrowing it down to this area shouldn't be a problem, right, Master?"

"Of course, I'll send my familiar over shortly."

Hearing this, Roy smiled, stood up, and nodded at the Count.

"Let's go, Count. We need to have a nice chat with our killer friend."

"As you wish, my Master. I'm already looking forward to the killer's panicked expression when the truth is revealed. Krahahahaha!"

With demonic laughter accompanying them, the two quickly left the café.