The epic battle Nao Tomori had imagined never happened.
She stared blankly at the empty "ruins" before her.
The ground was scorched black, with residual arcs of electricity hinting at what had just transpired. Matou Zouken's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Was it...
Over?
That terrifying old man...
Was he really defeated in an instant?
While Nao Tomori was still in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing, she suddenly noticed the rain had stopped.
Wait, no.
She looked up.
Kaito Sora stood beside her, holding an umbrella.
"Are you planning to just lie there forever?"
"Is he... dead?" Nao Tomori scrambled to her feet, her voice filled with disbelief.
"No."
"What?!"
Nao Tomori jumped in fright, immediately clinging to Kaito Sora's arm.
"Y-you didn't kill him?!"
"Not yet. There's something I need to do first."
Kaito Sora walked toward the ruins.
Nao Tomori, still holding onto his arm, followed closely behind.
They soon arrived at the spot where the basement had been. Looking down at the people lying in the deep pit, their eyes vacant as if their souls had been stripped away, Nao Tomori asked,
"Can they be saved?"
Kaito Sora didn't answer. Instead, he raised his hand, and electricity surged.
The lightning formed a net that spread over the people.
They trembled violently, then began coughing up blackish-gray fluid. Nao Tomori could vaguely make out the broken remains of insects in the fluid.
At that moment,
Kaito Sora suddenly pulled his arm out of Nao Tomori's grasp.
She instinctively reached out to grab it again, feeling incredibly insecure.
"Hold onto my waist instead. I need to make a call."
"Huh? Oh."
Nao Tomori finally realized what she was doing. After a moment of hesitation, she obediently wrapped her arms around Kaito Sora's waist.
Wait, are you seriously hugging me?
Kaito Sora gave her a strange look but didn't say anything. He aimed his phone at the women in the basement.
The flash went off.
Kaito Sora sent the photos to Rin Tohsaka, and soon, the phone rang.
"Did you handle the Matou situation?"
"Pretty much. What should we do with these people?"
"I'll call the relevant authorities. They'll be there soon."
"Alright. If you can't reach me later, just come directly."
After hanging up, Kaito Sora handed the umbrella to Nao Tomori.
"Here, hold this."
Nao Tomori took the umbrella.
Due to their height difference,
She had to stand on her tiptoes to keep the umbrella steady over Kaito Sora.
"You don't need to hold it for me."
Kaito Sora stepped out into the rain.
Nao Tomori watched his back curiously.
"What are you doing?"
No answer.
Instead, Kaito Sora raised his right hand.
Nao Tomori's gaze fixed on his hand, where faint sparks of lightning flickered.
Soon,
The electricity spread from his palm to his entire body,
And then to the surrounding area.
The dark night was illuminated by a blue glow from the lightning. Just as Nao Tomori was mesmerized by the beauty of the electric currents, she suddenly felt a pang of unease.
She looked up.
And froze.
The clouds above churned with terrifying bolts of lightning,
As if the world was ending.
Time seemed to slow.
Nao Tomori's umbrella fell to the ground, and the pouring rain drenched her once more. But she just stood there, staring dumbfounded at the lightning-filled clouds above.
More and more electric serpents danced within the clouds, as if brewing something immense.
Gradually,
The thunderclouds covering the entire mountain were filled with these electric serpents.
And then...
Run!
A lone insect scurried across the ground.
Matou Zouken had only one thought:
Run!
That Servant was a monster!
With a single strike,
He had obliterated Matou Zouken's sea of insects, his body, and the Matou estate—a fortress he had spent centuries fortifying!
Even the insects he had planted inside the "batteries" had been completely eradicated.
But.
It didn't matter.
No matter how strong that Servant was,
As long as he escaped, he could start over...
A overwhelming sense of death suddenly enveloped him.
Matou Zouken stopped and looked up at the sky.
The thunderclouds churned, and the electric serpents in the sky intertwined, creating a scene of apocalyptic destruction.
Matou Zouken lay motionless on the ground.
Then,
The lightning descended.
A blinding white light consumed everything on the mountain.
When Kaito Sora woke up again,
The rain was still falling outside the window.
Groggily, he reached out to the side of the bed, but no one was there.
Memories of the previous night flooded his mind.
After killing the old worm, Rin Tohsaka and the relevant authorities had arrived shortly after. Nao Tomori had left with them, while Kaito Sora and Rin returned to the Tohsaka residence.
Using his ultimate ability had drained a significant amount of magical energy, so he had gone straight to bed to recover.
"Speaking of which, what was Nao Tomori's reward...?"
Kaito Sora checked the system panel.
[Conditions met, triggering a new trait!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have acquired the trait: Contract Kiss!]
[Contract Kiss]: You can establish a master-servant bond through a "kiss" and gain access to some of the contracted individual's abilities. As the bond deepens, you can borrow more of their abilities.
[Conditions met, triggering a new trait!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have acquired the trait: Genius Mind!]
[Genius Mind]: You are naturally brilliant, with a learning and comprehension speed far surpassing that of ordinary people.
The first reward was from Nao Tomori last night.
But when did the second reward come from...?
Just as Kaito Sora was pondering this, his body began to wake up fully.
He felt something unusual and looked down.
Seeing the lump under the blanket, Kaito Sora pulled it back to reveal Suou Yuuki, diligently working with her head lowered.
Exposed, Suou Yuuki raised her beautiful eyes to meet Kaito Sora's silent gaze, flashing him a bright smile.
Muffled, she said,
"Mmm, Onii-chan, good morning~!"