Chapter 98: The Sky Clears, the Rain Stops, and Matou Zouken Thinks He's Back in the Game
As mentioned before, the strength of Matou Zouken did not lie in his magecraft being comparable to an average Servant. In fact, some modern Servants were once personal friends of his.
The truly troublesome part of Matou Zouken was his Worm Magecraft and the modifications he had performed on his own body.
He alone was equivalent to a swarm. As long as the Brain Worm housing his soul was not killed, he could reassemble or repair his body at any time using new insect familiars.
Furthermore, he could command these familiars to launch attacks on targets in a manner that was nearly impossible for others to detect. After all, mosquitoes are insects too, and they can be controlled by Matou Zouken to deliver curses through a single bite...
"Souichirou-sama?!"
Caster, who had been watching Lancer's group with a triumphant expression, suddenly underwent a drastic change in complexion as she looked toward Kuzuki Souichirou. Amidst the blaring alarm of the protective Mystic Code she had pre-placed on him, the sight that met Caster's eyes was undoubtedly Kuzuki Souichirou collapsing heavily to the ground!
In an instant, Caster lost all interest in the standoff with Lancer's group. She didn't even have the heart to look for an opening to snatch Lancer away to bolster their combat power; right now, she only wanted to hurry and bring Kuzuki Souichirou back into the Temple for treatment.
But would Lancer and the others just stand by and watch her leave?
"—That damnable bug!"
In the process of rushing over to check on Kuzuki Souichirou's condition, Caster recognized what was on his palm. It seemed that after he felt himself being bitten, he had instinctively and swiftly swatted the thing, leaving its carcass behind.
She scanned the woods surrounding Ryudou Temple with hatred, trying to find the hidden Matou Zouken. Clenching the mosquito's remains in her hand, she swore in her heart:
"Do you think that just because you have an undying body constructed from such trash magecraft, you can do whatever you want? —Then I shall show you what true Age of Gods magecraft is; it is something your garbage magecraft can never hope to compare to!"
How dare he repeatedly use curses to harm the Master of her, the Witch of Betrayal?
Did Matou Zouken think she didn't know how to cast or counter-curses?
Even if Zouken's curse magecraft was sophisticated—knowing how to share the caster's burden by transferring the source of the curse from himself to his insect clones or to Matou
Sakura, whose mystery level was even higher as she was part of the Holy Grail and the Third Magic—it wouldn't matter.
He made it so that even if others obtained the medium used for his curse, they could never truly locate his original body. Even if they did locate it, they couldn't bypass the protection of the Holy Grail to affect his true self. Otherwise, why would the death-fearing Matou Zouken dare to curse Caster's Master right in front of her?
Matou Zouken was acting out of total lack of fear.
In reality, this was true.
Caster's level of magecraft approached the realm of True Magic, but it was still only an approach. However, the difference between an Age of Gods magus and a modern magus is that an Age of Gods magus can call for outside help at any time!
Just because Caster couldn't do something didn't mean Hecate couldn't; the title of "Goddess of Magic" prefixed to Hecate's name was never for show. Moreover, in this modern era where Age of Gods magi have vanished, Caster is the only priestess of Hecate left. As a modern-day Age of Gods magus, she doesn't need to wait in line to file a report.
But Matou Zouken's insurance was more than just Matou Sakura and the Holy Grail shards within her.
He also had Lancer. Facing the Witch of Betrayal, who had just broken their pact, Lancer's group had finally found an opportunity to heavily damage Caster. How could they miss it?
And even if Lancer were truly a moral hero, it wouldn't matter. Having been betrayed once by Caster and nearly trapped here, Lancer's group wouldn't be so foolish as to stay behind at this time, right?
Once Lancer and his side were gone, and Caster was forced to return to the Temple to care for Kuzuki Souichirou, wouldn't it return to a one-on-one duel between him and Assassin?
"Heh heh heh... although this isn't a very profound plot, and you might even have guessed my goal, what does that matter?
I simply want to see you in this state—knowing full well this was my doing, yet being forced to act according to my designs!"
Matou Zouken made no attempt to hide, carefreely projecting his voice. He watched this interesting scene with great relish. How could toy with ordinary people be half as interesting as toying with Servants?
Of course, since many of the insect familiars he prepared earlier were burned by Lancer's fire runes, his supply of familiars was somewhat insufficient.
Furthermore, the battle with Assassin forced Matou Zouken to admit that while his Worm Magecraft did counter Assassin, the later the battle went, the faster Assassin's sword swings became.
Despite manifesting as an Assassin, the man showed little "Presence Concealment" skill, but his mastery of the sword seemed to have no upper limit. Once he encountered something interesting and challenging, Assassin's swordsmanship would spike unnaturally.
Consequently, Matou Zouken didn't dare to squander the insect familiars he had brought to the vicinity of Ryudou Temple. He only projected his voice to make Lancer's group even more conflicted, without truly making himself a part of the spectacle or concealing the source of his voice.
"Lancer, and Lancer's Master, the reason you are still hesitating about whether to abandon Caster is because of what she said about the Holy Grail being corrupted and her being the only one who can clean it, isn't it?
But have you considered this: if the Holy Grail were truly corrupted, then as a member of the Three Founding Families who established the Holy Grail War ritual, why haven't I given up on it?
And why haven't I left, choosing instead to spare Caster for now?"
Watching Lancer's group still standing in a standoff, Matou Zouken spoke slowly and without haste.
After all, time was on his side!
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