"Another one from Britain... Why do you say 'another' huh?"
In the backyard of the Matou residence, when she heard the annoyed mutter from "Matou Sakura," the Ruler from Britain slightly tilted her head as a spark of interest flashed in her clear eyes and she quickly spoke up,
"From what you're saying... it seems more than one Servant from Britain has already been summoned?"
"Even though I'm the Ruler, I can't use 'True Name Discernment' until I meet them in person... Could you just tell me directly?"
Matou Sakura replied coldly,
"Before asking someone else's question, shouldn't you introduce yourself first... Ruler?"
"You should know me, right?
After all, we met once during the last Holy Grail War."
As she spoke, the woman casually removed the black robe draped over her shoulders.
Beneath the black robe was an exquisitely beautiful face of unparalleled allure.
She was wearing an incomparably magnificent court gown, her silver hair cascading like a waterfall.
The cold wind blew through her strands, adding a touch of lazy allure to her icy demeanor.
The woman stepped forward toward Matou Sakura's room, her tone filled with arrogance and disdain.
"If I'm not mistaken, there should be a young Beast hiding inside your body..."
The latter said nothing.
The woman's manner and bearing were filled with elegance and composure as she continued speaking on her own, "No... I should say that what's controlling this body right now is the Beast itself, correct?"
"How did you find me?"
Matou Sakura finally spoke.
Compared to her usual softness, her tone now was filled with coldness, colder even than the ice and snow of the night.
At the same time, from the darkness behind Matou Sakura, the faint buzzing of countless insects could be heard...dense and numerous, sending chills down one's spine.
"Then you should ask yourself that."
The silver-haired woman's lips curved into a contemptuous smile.
"Rushing to show your tail... It's only natural you'd be noticed."
If "Matou Sakura" hadn't used the Lust Worms to spread a bounded field across all of Fuyuki using human emotions as the medium, she might not have detected Sakura's abnormality so quickly, nor come to the Matou house of her own accord.
From the moment Sakura's "crystal of desire" appeared throughout Fuyuki, the woman had already sensed her existence.
Then, through index magecraft, she could reverse-trace the location.
Hearing her words, "Matou Sakura" froze for a moment, then quickly seemed to understand as she murmured, "I see... Age of Gods magi really are powerful. No wonder everyone is so curious about and eager for 'Age of Gods magecraft'."
The girl clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, her gaze softened as she looked at the mysterious Ruler before her and said softly, "If I remember correctly... you should be Alvin's lover, right?"
"Lover...? That's quite an outdated word."
The woman gazed up at the falling snow. "Do you like Alvin?"
She seemed completely unaware of the magical formation already taking shape beneath Matou Sakura's feet and spoke as casually as if chatting with an old friend, her expression always aloof and arrogant.
And she did have the right to be arrogant.
Back then, even when facing that legendary figure Merlin, in the long years after Alvin's "death," she had hunted him more than once—even imprisoning him in the "Tower" for a time.
Originally...when she felt the "World's" summoning this time, she hadn't intended to accept, after all, she didn't need to be anyone's tool.
But at that moment, a voice from the void told her a name.
—Alvin.
Only after confirming that the location was the Fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki did she reluctantly accept the summoning.
And thus she descended upon Fuyuki under the Ruler class, maintaining the order of the Holy Grail War.
— Morgan le Fay.
Matou Sakura's gaze remained gentle, but crimson, beast-like patterns had already begun to crawl across her skin.
"My feelings for Senpai are quite complicated... If you insist on calling it love, that would not be wrong, but I simply feel at ease when he is by my side. That is all."
At this moment, traces of magical energy had already formed beneath their feet, and the accumulated snow was gradually melting away.
Although it looked like casual conversation, in reality both sides were carefully observing the other.
Whoever made the first move at this point would likely reveal an opening.
"Morgan... when it comes to liking Senpai, you and I are not the same."
Matou Sakura said softly.
Translated roughly, what she meant was: "Alvin and I are pure love. You are N.T.R. You are disgusting."
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have already broken down at this point.
But upon hearing this, Morgan's breathtakingly beautiful face suddenly bloomed with a smile, dazzling even in the dim light.
"We are indeed different... After all, even if Miss Matou likes him, she is afraid of being rejected, so you beat around the bush and say that your feelings for him are something special."
"And as for me—"
Morgan raised her right hand, watching as a snowflake drifted lightly down and landed in the center of her pale, delicate palm.
She stared directly into Matou Sakura's eyes. "When I was fucking him in bed, you probably could not even walk yet... Miss Matou."
Matou Sakura's pupils abruptly shrank.
In that instant, countless fragments flashed through her mind.
A scene of a young man buried in Morgan le Fay's embrace, immersed in the warmth of her arms... scenes of her kissing him, and even more intimate moments..mlike a slideshow—flashed directly through Matou Sakura's consciousness.
Thump! Thump!
In that moment, the girl's soul trembled uncontrollably, and her beautiful eyes instantly darkened by several degrees.
"This bitch—"
"Matou Sakura", or rather, the "Beast" currently controlling her body, ground its teeth in fury and said coldly,
"Do not fall for it. She is deliberately provoking you!"
The corners of Morgan's lips curved into a pleased smile.
In the past, she always came out on the losing end when facing Artoria—after all, her younger sister had become lovers with Alvin much earlier than she had.
But now... Artoria was not here.
She was the rightful one!
Although bullying a little girl was not very nice, this feeling was unexpectedly pleasant...
Humm...
At that moment, behind Matou Sakura, an overwhelming swarm of "desire worms" surged toward Morgan in the backyard!
A torrent of magical energy surpassing that of ordinary magi filled every single worm's body, their abdomens rapidly swelling!
"Self-destruction?"
Morgan watched the scene with an indifferent expression, slowly raising both hands and forming an "inverted triangle" gesture.
"I really did not expect that in just ten short years, you would turn into such a pitiful insect... If he knew, he would probably be very disappointed."
"Let me deal with you here before that happens—"
"Water Mirror Tower!"
Unlike the "Water Mirror" that Tohsaka Rin had used in the past, the magecraft released by Morgan was clearly far more powerful.
At the instant magical energy surged forth, within the imaginary-number space, the all-imprisoning "Tower of Secluded Companions" descended from the heavens!
...