Chapter 30: Acceptance (Patreon)

"Admittedly, anyone would fear death. But I cannot agree with a twisted evil like yours, which drags countless others down because of your own fear of death."

"Answer me, where did you obtain such power?"

Zōken paid no mind to Shinji's words; his urgent tone stemmed solely from his desire to survive.

"And what is the price for such power?"

Shinji replied, "As I said before, this is just power accumulated bit by bit in secret over ten years, distinct from magecraft.

As for the price... I probably paid it the moment I was born into this world.

By the way, Grandfather, you might not know this? In a sense, I am a uniquely special existence in this world, an eternal dreamless one, one who never dreams.

Having been stripped of a fundamental human function—dreams—perhaps the power I wield is related to that."

"An eternal dreamless one..." Sakura's eyes widened, her pupils trembling slightly.

"Actually, in other words, it might be more appropriate to call me someone who forever gazes upon reality," Shinji turned his head and gave Sakura a nonchalant smile. "Because my world contains no dreams."

Rider chose this moment to ask, "But you don't seem like someone who has never slept."

You talk too much! Can't you let me show off a bit? And aren't you supposed to be the quiet type? Shinji complained inwardly.

"Ah, that's right. My situation is a bit special. My body and soul... no, my spirit can rest. But there's just one thing: I lack the human instinct to dream."

"Continuing like this, your mind will eventually break, my grandson."

"No, it won't."

Shinji shook his head, his expression serious. "No matter the reality, my mind will not break. Ten years, twenty years, a hundred years, even longer—I will live on, gazing at reality. Unlike you, I will never pursue illusory things, you pitiable, laughable, disgusting magi who drive in reverse."

"You!"

"Wait, don't speak just yet. It's the final moment. I still have a question for you. My father died because of you too, right? I knew him. He despised the path of magecraft and had low stress tolerance. He might have indulged at times, but he had no reason to act that way. You... used the Aphrodias on him, didn't you? What was your goal? What was the purpose of killing Father?"

"Hehe, you even noticed that? Truly a genius."

Zōken chuckled, answering unhurriedly, "Of course, it was because you weren't developing as I anticipated. Although in some aspects you were as I expected—showing a very strong obsession with the path of magecraft, possessing an abnormally twisted self-esteem—your attitude towards Sakura was always unsatisfactory. In my original plan, your jealousy and abuse were also meant to be a crucial part of activating Sakura's function as the Grail. But... you never reached that extent."

Shinji pinched his chin and took over, "So you killed Father, wanting to make me completely and passively become a dispensable existence in this family, to play with my displayed twisted self-esteem. And the victim beneath that twisted self-esteem would be Sakura, who replaced me as the Matou heir?"

Zōken praised, "Very clever. But in the end, I miscalculated one step. I never imagined that for ten years, you were just acting for me. Your jealousy towards Sakura, your obsession with the path of magecraft, that twisted self-esteem... it was all an act. In a sense, you are truly worthy of being my grandson."

"It's the first time I've heard praise that doesn't make me happy." Shinji let out a soft sigh, his tone flat. "You know, Grandfather? Although I truly despise the path of magecraft from the bottom of my heart, there is one thing about magi I do agree with. And that is the thing called the Magic Crest."

"Parents leave it to their children, and children leave it to the next generation. It's almost like the continuation of a certain dream, passed down forever from generation to generation. I don't dislike this method very much.

I even feel it's the only thing in the path of magecraft that I can acknowledge as having warmth. But you completely discarded those things. Dreams, wishes... you selfishly kept them all to yourself, unwilling to reveal or pass them on.

Perhaps this mindset is the key to your gradual corrosion. Corrupting your descendants, corrupting the world, letting them rot along with you. Be a little more generous! Pass on your ideals like a true magus! Aren't you a magus? Then do something a magus ought to do!"

"Quite the eloquent tongue." Zōken snorted lightly.

"Ah, I give up. I've given up on making you recall your former ideals in this state."

As he spoke, Shinji released his right hand. Simultaneously, a miniature soul-locking array filled with cyan runes to Zōken's main body in mid-air.

"Shinji! What are you doing?" Zōken's voice, unable to move, carried a note of panic.

"I too had hoped for the possibility of you remembering your forgotten ideals and taking your own life without me having to stain my hands with your blood. But it seems it really is impossible.

In that case, I, the true bloodline of the Makiri family, will put an end to your sins. I hope that at the final moment, you can recall your true wish."

As he spoke, Shinji's right hand began to slowly clench. A trace of reluctance flashed across his face. After all, he did indeed carry the Makiri genes.

Also... My 60,000 points are gone just like that!

"St-stop..."

Zōken's voice grew increasingly panicked. The next moment, Zōken's main body began to turn into points of light from the tail up, disappearing into the air.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die." Zōken's voice became more and more frantic.

However, Shinji did not show mercy because of this. He continued to control his spiritual power, slowly crushing Zōken's main body.

"Remember, Grandfather. Where did the desire to reach a miracle through the Holy Grail come from? For what purpose did you, as an human, strive to reach a place no one else could?"

"Still don't want to die, still don't want to die, still don't want to die..."

"Where does this obsession with not wanting to die come from?"

As he spoke, a rolled-up painting appeared in Shinji's left hand out of thin air. When the scroll unfurled, a woman of peerless beauty, wearing the "Heaven's Dress" with white hair and red eyes, was vividly depicted on the aged canvas!

"Grandfather, I found this too, in a dusty corner of the study."

Looking at the woman on the painting—the Winter Saint, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern—Zōken's long-forgotten, or rather, sealed memories began to resurface.

A certain Kaleidoscope: "To eradicate all evil, you need a miracle."

A certain Tohsaka ancestor: "If this world is beyond saving, as humans, we cannot sever ourselves from evil."

Makiri: "If the Utopia lies in a place human intellect cannot reach."

Justeaze: "Then we must pursue a new form beyond humanity."

The Three Melons: "Yes! To suppress all the world's evils, we are willing to stake our lives on this wish!"

The recollection ended. With only half of the insect's head remaining, Zōken spoke again, with a hint of relief: "Over five hundred years have passed... looking back, that wish was but a blink of an eye..."

As he spoke, Zōken recalled Shinji's earlier words—"Be a little more generous! Pass on your ideals like a true magus!"—and let out a wry, silent laugh.

"Heh, you're right. It seems this old man was somewhat too selfish. Shinji, I leave the matters that follow to you, just as you said about inheritance. I entrust it to you. My unbelievably outstanding grandson, who perceived everything relying solely on himself. And... I'm sorry. Sakura too..."

With these words, Zōken completely vanished into the air, his already decayed soul disappearing along with him...