BAMN: Chapter 89/90

Chapter 89: I Want Your Command Spells

"What exactly happened?"

However, at this moment, Kariya was utterly bewildered.

He didn't know what had happened here.

And where his nominal father, who was actually a zombie old man who had lived for countless years, had taken Sakura.

As for the possibility that Zouken was already dead, Kariya didn't even consider it.

How could such a person die so easily?

"Damn it!"

"Did I still come too late?"

Kicking a nearby streetlamp, Kariya murmured, "Sakura, where exactly are you?"

Thinking of the torment that innocent and pure girl might have suffered, Kariya felt immense guilt and self-reproach.

"No, I still have a chance."

"If I can summon a powerful Heroic Spirit, I will definitely be able to find Sakura!"

Looking at the blood-red mark on the back of his hand, this was the proof of being chosen by the Holy Grail.

If it had been before, Kariya, who disliked magecraft, wouldn't have cared about such a boring thing.

But now, it had clearly become his last straw.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Kariya?"

Just as Kariya was pondering how to extract enough magical energy from the Matou Family's heritage to participate in the Holy Grail War, a figure appeared behind the young man.

"Who?!"

Kariya turned around in a panic, and then his pupils constricted.

"You..."

Appearing before Kariya was none other than the Oni girl in miko attire, Shuna.

"Horns?"

"You're not human?"

Kariya naturally knew about the legends of Japanese Oni, and considering the upcoming Holy Grail War, he asked, "Is it you? The Heroic Spirit who destroyed the Matou residence?"

Not human, appearing here, and giving him an incredibly dangerous aura.

With these three factors combined, the only thing Kariya could think of was the reason given by the Holy Grail System for the early start, the Heroic Spirit who had arrived early.

And now, she appeared before him.

Kariya thought of a possibility, she was here to silence him.

"A Heroic Spirit?"

"You could say that."

"Also, please don't misunderstand, I have no ill will towards Mr. Kariya."

Shuna smiled slightly, then made a gesture of invitation. "The reason I appeared here is by my master's command, to invite Mr. Kariya for a meeting with him."

"Your master?"

"Who is he?"

Kariya originally wanted to refuse, but Shuna's next words made him unable to remain calm.

"If you wish to see Sakura, please come with me."

"Sakura?!"

Kariya said, "Where is Sakura? What have you done to her?"

"Don't worry, the child is very safe now."

"Take me there!"

As long as he could save Sakura, Kariya was willing to do anything.

"Please do not resist."

After Shuna finished speaking, she cast spatial magic and directly took Kariya to the villa where Rin currently resided.

Yes, a villa.

To provide Sakura with a better living environment, Rin moved out of the hotel the day after checking in.

Using magical energy, he easily obtained ownership of this villa.

And yes, Rin paid for it.

Moreover, he bought the entire villa at three times the market price.

"This is...?"

"My Master and Sakura are waiting in the study."

So, led by Shuna, Kariya passed through the courtyard and arrived at a study in the villa.

"Come in."

The large door opened automatically, revealing a spacious study spanning over a hundred square meters.

Inside the study, Rin was sitting there, playing a game of Shogi with a beautiful girl with snow-like, long hair.

On the other side, Sakura was hugging a doll, surrounded by various toys.

The girl was not alone.

Beside her, there was a cute girl of about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a hooded kimono, playing.

"Sakura!!"

Seeing Sakura safe and sound, Kariya breathed a sigh of relief and cried out in excitement.

Sakura, noticing an outsider, instinctively hid behind Ogerpon.

She naturally recognized the man in front of her, it was Uncle Kariya, whom she used to like very much.

"Sakura..."

Seeing Sakura's reaction, Kariya's steps, which had been about to move forward, suddenly paused.

Clearly, she must have suffered inhuman torment at the Matou Family.

If only I had come back sooner, Sakura might not have...

Thinking that Sakura might have been tormented by disgusting bugs, Kariya felt immense heartache.

He wanted to take Sakura home.

However, before Kariya could speak, Sakura, who had already anticipated what he was going to say, quickly ran to Rin's side, gripping his sleeve tightly.

"I don't want to go back!"

"Brother Rin, please don't abandon Sakura..."

In these past few days, Sakura had recovered quite well under Rin's care.

As for the psychological trauma from the Crest Worms.

That was not something that could be changed overnight.

Furthermore, Rin had already promised Sakura that he would not abandon her.

If my plan succeeds, I can break the restriction that only dependents can travel between worlds.

Even if it failed, Rin would leave Sakura enough fallback options.

For example, this villa, and the bank savings Rin had prepared in advance, would be enough to ensure Sakura's well-being when he left.

"Please sit, Mr. Kariya."

Rin stood up and sat down face-to-face with Kariya, then spoke, "You should have already seen the situation at the Matou residence. Yes, I did that."

"As for the reason, you can just assume I couldn't stand that Zouken bullying an innocent little girl like that."

After speaking, Rin gently stroked Sakura's head, letting her sit beside him.

"Um, thank you for saving Sakura."

Seeing Sakura so dependent on Rin, Kariya was already seventy to eighty percent convinced. "So, are you also a participant in the Holy Grail War?"

"That's right."

Heroic Spirits are, of course, also participants.

"Thank you again for saving Sakura!"

Kariya asked, "So why did you ask me to come here?"

"I want your Command Spells."

Rin didn't beat around the bush, directly stating his objective.

"Command Spells?"

Kariya glanced at the red mark on the back of his hand. He thought for a moment and said, "Alright, as compensation for helping me save Sakura, you can have my Command Spells."

His original purpose for wanting to participate in the Holy Grail War was to save Sakura.

But now, Zouken had been "defeated" by Rin (Kariya didn't believe Zouken was dead), and Sakura had also been saved.

Therefore, these Command Spells were meaningless to him.

It was reasonable to give them to Rin as a reward.

"No."

Rin shook his head and said, "You should indeed give me a reward, but not because of Sakura, but because I helped you kill that Zouken."

"What?!"

Hearing Rin's words, Kariya instinctively stood up. "How is that possible! That guy, how could you possibly kill him?!"

If he could, Kariya would also want to kill Zouken.

However, having grown up in the Matou Family since childhood, he was well aware of how terrifying Zouken was.

"Is it because of the Crest Worms?"

Rin directly revealed the secret of Zouken's immortality. "Don't worry, I locked onto that guy's soul and destroyed all of his substitutes."

"..."

How to kill Zouken, even Kariya didn't know such a thing.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 90: Summoning a New Heroic Spirit

"Even if you still harbor doubts."

Rin said, "In the future, whenever Zouken appears, I will eradicate him."

This way, Kariya would be completely free of worries.

"Transferring Command Spells requires specific spiritual medium surgery..."

"No need for such trouble."

Rin raised his hand, and the Command Spells that originally belonged to Kariya glowed with a dazzling red light.

And when the light dissipated, Kariya's Command Spells began to disappear.

In their place, a red tattoo appeared on the back of Rin's hand, precisely the three Command Spells he had just obtained from Kariya.

"This!"

Although Kariya had been out of the magic world for a while, he still understood basic magical knowledge.

Command Spells are bound to a magus's Magic Circuits.

To strip them away, the process is no different from a general medical surgery.

But what about Rin?

In just an instant, he took his Command Spells.

Yes, took, not transferred.

This meant that Rin didn't need to waste words with him at all, he could have obtained the Command Spells from him the moment they met.

"Why?"

Kariya said, "Since you have a way to forcibly take Command Spells, why did you say so much to me?"

"That's because I'm a person who plays by the rules, of course."

Rin shook his head, offering no further explanation.

Kariya, by nature, was not bad, but his entire life was a tragedy.

A disgusting family, his childhood sweetheart married someone else, and the daughter of the person he liked was pushed into a fiery pit.

He chose to sacrifice himself to save Sakura.

But in the end, under Kirei's scheme, he was misunderstood by Aoi.

'You've never truly loved anyone, have you?'

When Aoi said these words to him, Kariya's entire life was negated.

With only three months left to live for the Holy Grail War, the woman he sacrificed everything to protect didn't even realize why he was doing it.

Rin patted Kariya's shoulder, sighing inwardly. 'Is this what they call a simp ending up with nothing?'

Kariya was actually not wrong, everything was Tokiomi's fault.

"Just think of it as me not liking tragedies."

Rin took Kariya's Command Spells, and the latter lost his chance to participate in the Holy Grail War. "Since you've already left the world of magi, don't look back."

"You don't have to worry about Sakura, I'll take good care of her."

"Of course, whenever Sakura wants to go home, I'll send her back too."

Despite being unassured words, Kariya felt Rin's sincerity.

This feeling was strange.

But Kariya just felt that the man in front of him wasn't lying.

"Shuna, please see Mr. Kariya out."

"Yes."

After learning that Sakura was fine and that she was so dependent on Rin, Kariya left.

No matter what, Sakura being with Rin was better than staying in the Matou Family.

As for Tokiomi...

That guy, how could he care about his daughter's life or death?

In his eyes, there was only magic and the Root.

With such thoughts, Kariya took one last look at the villa, then turned and left.

"Brother Rin, do you know Uncle Kariya?"

"No, this is our first meeting."

Rin smiled and stroked Sakura's head, saying, "He is not suitable to be a magus, staying away from the mysterious side is best for him."

At the last moment, Rin used mental suggestion on Kariya.

This could allow him to stay away from the troubles of the magic world and live a peaceful life.

"Alright, Big Brother won't abandon Sakura."

"Mm!"

Indeed, Sakura seemed to be asking about Kariya, but she actually wanted to know if Rin would send her back.

Now it was fine, with Rin's renewed assurance, Sakura finally felt relieved.

"Well then, Sakura, would you like to see a Heroic Spirit Summoning?"

"Heroic Spirit Summoning?"

Sakura looked at Rin curiously. As far as she knew, Rin was a Heroic Spirit, and he had even made a contract with her.

"Is Sakura going to summon another Heroic Spirit?"

"No, that would be too much of a burden for you."

Bearing one Rin was already the limit for young Sakura.

With another one, Sakura definitely wouldn't be able to bear it.

Moreover, to unleash Rin's full strength, Sakura alone was not enough.

His true target was Ryuudou Temple, where the Fuyuki City Leyline was located.

By occupying that place, Rin would be able to set up a massive magical energy absorption array, thereby giving him enough magical energy for the upcoming Holy Grail War.

Soon, the time came to the day after Rin obtained the Command Spells from Kariya.

It was night, and the bright moon hung high.

Rin held Sakura and walked up the last flight of stairs leading to Ryuudou Temple.

*Swish!*

Souei appeared in front of Rin. He knelt on one knee and reported to his master, "As per your request, everyone in the temple has been moved to a safe location."

"They fell under Shuna's sleep magic and will not awaken during the Holy Grail War."

Using a special demonic art, the people in Ryuudou Temple would be transferred.

They would fall into a deep sleep.

This sleep would not cause any harm to their bodies, and they would quickly recover as new upon waking.

"Mm, you all did very well."

Rin praised them, then opened his attribute panel.

[Itoshi Rin]

[Magical Energy Reserve: 20177 / 1000]

[Replenishment Rate: 100 / hour]

A recovery speed of 100 magical energy per hour.

And in a full 3 days, 72 hours, Rin recovered a total of 7200 magical energy.

This was why he could summon Snow Empress, Ogerpon, and others.

First, materialize the strongest units, then gradually complete the army.

"Rin-sama."

Shuna walked gracefully. "The ritual array for Heroic Spirit Summoning has been set up. You can summon at any time."

"Sakura, will you go stay with Sister Shuna for a while?"

"Mm!"

Sakura nodded obediently, and as soon as she landed, she scurried to Shuna's side, then quietly watched Rin walk towards the array inscribed in the temple courtyard.

"Heroic Spirit Summoning, interesting."

Rin sketched the array, while also thinking about his own summoning rituals.

Heroic Spirits also exist in the Cardinal World.

But the Heroic Spirits there are definitely different from those in the Type-Moon World.

Rin wanted to use this opportunity of Heroic Spirit Summoning to analyze the basic rules of the Holy Grail System, and then, with Violet's power, make it his own.

(To be continued.)