"Tohsaka Tokiomi, as of today, Sakura is no longer your daughter. She is my sister."
"As for why, take a good look at the kind of hell you were planning to send Sakura into."
With a wave of his hand, Guixu released a divine projection, broadcasting the Matō family's worm pit and Matō Zouken's insect magecraft directly into Tohsaka Tokiomi's mind.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
With his mouth sealed, Tohsaka Tokiomi stared at the screen in disbelief. Even Gilgamesh's expression shifted slightly at the sight of such a foul pit of worms.
Then, a thought occurring to him, Gilgamesh looked at Tokiomi's state with a look of pure amusement.
Guixu waved his hand to dismiss the projection, looking down at Tohsaka Tokiomi, who sat slumped on the floor in a disheveled and dazed heap.
"You saw it. This is what would have happened to Sakura if I hadn't stepped in—and the one who orchestrated all of it is you, Tohsaka Tokiomi."
Guixu casually lifted the divine seal over Tohsaka Tokiomi's mouth and said flatly:
"I have no interest in reasoning with you. You aren't worthy."
"Since you were so eager to send Sakura away, I won't stand on ceremony. From now on, Sakura lives with me. You can hold tight to your so-called magecraft crests and keep dreaming your little dreams!"
Watching Guixu forcefully take Sakura away, Zhuge Tiantian's attention was instead hooked on Guixu's parting line about not being worthy of reason.
[Group Leader - Beautiful Girl Tiantian: Oh? The big shot has also watched General Duanmu? "One is one, two is two, you aren't worthy of reason"?]
[Fluorescence: Who is General Duanmu?]
[Group Leader - Beautiful Girl Tiantian: Well... a man of unwavering willpower, known as the Ouxer-slaying machine. He once dropped this hardcore line on his wife: "Once an Ouxer, always an Ouxer." And he also famously told a villain trying to talk him to death, "I can't be bothered to reason with you; you aren't worthy."]
[In short, total badass.]
[Fluorescence: ....]
[Star: ....]
Guixu stepped past the two of them and walked out of Sakura's room.
His figure gradually disappeared down the corridor.
At the very end, a voice drifted back to their ears:
"Besides, since you want the Holy Grail so badly, I'll play along with you in this Holy Grail War. Consider it avenging Sakura..."
At these words,
Tohsaka Tokiomi, sitting on the floor, raised his head to look at Gilgamesh, a look of terror on his face.
"King, he..."
Gilgamesh cast a contemptuous glance at the utterly pathetic Tohsaka Tokiomi, entirely stripped of the elegance he had shown at the beginning.
He let out a cold snort.
"Hmph, that fellow is no ordinary mortal. Even this King finds it hard to look directly at that extreme divinity."
"If my friend's true body were still around, perhaps my main body could put up a fight. As for this Heroic Spirit vessel—don't even dream about it."
"Still, Tokiomi, you certainly put on a good show for this King!"
"Hahaha..."
Gilgamesh broke into an amused smile, paying no heed to Tohsaka Tokiomi's pale face. To him, Tohsaka Tokiomi was nothing more than a disposable tool.
Were it not for the Command Spells, the man wouldn't even qualify to be his subject.
As for the artificial Holy Grail—something inferior even to his own wine cup—he had no strong feelings about it. If he could take it, fine; if not, so be it.
A cup filled with mud wasn't worth offending that monster over.
What did the outcome of the Holy Grail War have to do with him anyway?
Besides, he still had matters back in Uruk that required his attention...
Gilgamesh turned and dissolved into spirit form, vanishing from sight, leaving Tohsaka Tokiomi sitting alone on the floor, lost in dark thoughts.
...
Inside the main hall of the Tohsaka residence,
Sakura's live stream had long since been cut off.
Guixu was holding Sakura in his arms, conversing with Tohsaka Tokiomi's wife, Matō Aoi, and the other little girl, Tohsaka Rin.
Seeing a stranger carrying her daughter down from upstairs, Matō Aoi felt a wave of confusion.
And what Guixu said next left her entirely baffled.
Because Guixu claimed that her husband, Tohsaka Tokiomi, intended to have Sakura adopted by Guixu, and that they had already discussed it.
Yet she *did* know her husband wanted to adopt Sakura out—only wasn't it supposed to be to the Matō family?
How had it turned into this young man?
Matō Aoi looked with lingering doubt at the handsome young man before her. Little Sakura was nestled quietly in his arms, showing no sign of wanting to break away; she didn't look like she was being coerced at all.
Tohsaka Rin hid behind her mother, stealthily poking her head out to glare at the scoundrel trying to steal her little sister. Her cheeks were puffed out in an angry pout.
"Madam, I will be taking Sakura with me. When I have time, I'll bring her back to visit you."
Guixu smiled and gently patted Sakura's little head.
After a moment of hesitation, Matō Aoi nodded.
"I understand. I'll have to trouble you with Sakura, sir. I hope you will treat her well."
"Naturally. I will treat Sakura as my own little sister."
Guixu lowered his head to look at Tohsaka Rin, who was still glaring at him, and produced two small blue-and-white spheres, handing them to Matō Aoi.
Without warning, Guixu pressed one of the spheres directly into Matō Aoi's body.
Startled, she gasped in alarm.
"Y-you... what did you do?"
Panicked, Matō Aoi patted her body, pulling Rin back a few steps as she looked at Guixu with heightened vigilance.
Guixu smiled and said:
"Nothing much, just a little trinket to keep you safe. The reason I put it directly into your body is because, given your personality, you would undoubtedly hand it over to Tohsaka Tokiomi—and I refuse to give him anything, because this was meant to protect *you*."
"As far as Sakura is concerned, your safety matters infinitely more than that of Tohsaka Tokiomi, a man who only has magecraft in his eyes."
Guixu stepped forward and handed the other small sphere to Tohsaka Rin.
"Little one, this is for you. Make sure you keep it on you at all times—this is something that will save your life."
"Hmph... Don't think a gift can buy me off! I haven't forgotten how you slandered my father!"
Tohsaka Rin gave a haughty huff. She originally intended to swat Guixu's hand away, but when she caught sight of her little sister's pleading eyes, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
Reluctantly, she took the small sphere, turned her head away with a proud sniff, and refused to look at Guixu.
Seeing that the little girl had accepted the item, Guixu lingered no longer.
With a polite farewell, he left the Tohsaka residence.
Matō Aoi cast a perplexed look up toward the stairs before heading up to find Tohsaka Tokiomi.
Meanwhile, Tohsaka Rin climbed onto the sofa, staring with intense curiosity at the blue-and-white sphere in her hand.
...
Guixu walked down the street carrying Sakura in his arms. Having left the Tohsaka residence behind, Sakura was no longer so gloomy, happily chatting away with Guixu as she snuggled against him.
"Guixu-gege, where are we going?"
"We're going to find a place to stay, and then we'll take Sakura out for something good to eat. Sakura must be hungry, right?"
Guixu gently pinched Sakura's little nose and smiled.
Sakura touched her flat little belly, her cheeks flushing as she softly protested:
"Actually... Sakura's not that hungry..."
"And Sakura doesn't eat much, I'm really easy to take care of..."
Hearing this, Guixu laughed out loud and ruffled Sakura's little head.
"Haha, don't you worry. Your Guixu-gege has plenty of money; I could afford to feed a hundred of you. You don't need to worry about any of that—Sakura's only job is to stay healthy and plump."
Sakura shook her head frantically at that.
"No, I don't want that! If I get fat, I won't look pretty anymore, and when I grow up I won't be able to be Guixu-gege's warm... little girl."
"Haha, you're quite something, so small yet full of big ideas."
Guixu chuckled and tapped Sakura lightly on the forehead.
"Hehe..."
Guixu took Sakura around Fuyuki City, treated her to some delicious food, and then purchased a villa in the suburbs using a piece of solid gold. Once the property was his, he settled in there with Sakura.
Since he planned to participate in the Holy Grail War for fun, he naturally needed a proper place to stay—he wasn't about to let Sakura suffer.
That evening, while Sakura was busy tidying up the rooms, Guixu slipped out into Fuyuki City, hunted down Uryu Ryunosuke, and decided to simply snatch a set of Command Spells.
The man was nothing more than a serial killer; killing him came with zero moral burden.
With Guixu's level of strength, few people could ever evade his perception.
Finding a specific target was effortless.
In a mere two minutes, he had settled everything and returned to the villa with a set of three Command Spells.
Just at that moment, Sakura emerged from finishing the chores.
"Guixu-gege, I've finished cleaning the rooms."
"Well done, Sakura. You really are a natural at keeping house."
Guixu pulled Sakura onto his lap and offered a warm word of praise.
Sakura beamed with joy. Tidying up was a task she had badgered and begged Guixu to let her do.
"This is just what Sakura should do."
Guixu affectionately stroked Sakura's head, then gently set her down on the sofa before walking over to the open space in the center of the hall.
"All right, Sakura, rest for a bit and watch how Gege summons a Heroic Spirit, okay?"
"Mm-hm! Has Gege decided what kind of Heroic Spirit to summon?"
Sakura sat obediently on the sofa, watching Guixu with wide, curious eyes.
She had overheard Tohsaka Tokiomi talking about the Holy Grail War before—that was how Tohsaka Tokiomi had summoned that golden-flashing fellow.
She wondered what kind of hero her Gege would bring forth.
Hearing Sakura's question, Guixu smiled nonchalantly.
"Who knows? Let's just leave it to random chance; I didn't prepare any catalysts anyway."
Guixu reached out, channeling his divine power to trace a Heroic Spirit summoning circle directly onto the floor. As for the magical materials and blood normally required for such a ritual, he had prepared none at all.
Nor did he need to.
There was no medium in existence more powerful or suitable than his Terminal divine power.
He wondered if a Heroic Spirit summoned with Terminal divine power would end up connected to Terminality and divinity itself.
Well, there was only one way to find out.
Guixu began reciting the incantation with grave concentration. Although his power was immense, he had no idea if foreign-world rituals allowed him to skip lines, so he figured he might as well recite the whole thing.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill—repeat every five times, simply destroy in the turn."
"However, set aside. Declare, the time is full."
"You are under my command, my fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the summoning of the Holy Grail, answer if you will submit to this will and this truth."
"An oath shall be sworn here. I shall attain all the virtues of all the worlds, I shall vanquish all the evils of all the worlds. I am the one who holds the chains. You are the seven heavens bound by the three great words of power, coming from the ring of restraint, guardian of the scales!"
As the lengthy incantation concluded, the summoning circle on the floor burst into dazzling golden light.
Guixu teleported to Sakura's side and gently covered her eyes with his hand.
Sakura sat quietly, basking in Guixu's pampering, her heart filled with a sweet, moving warmth.
Because this proved just how much Guixu-gege cared about her.
Guixu's gaze pierced through the blinding light to focus on the center of the summoning array.
A soft, childish girl's voice rang out, leaving Guixu's expression frozen in utter astonishment:
"H-hello! I am Abigail—Abigail Williams, I am a Foreigner..."
"Are you my Master? If you don't mind... call me Abby. Can we... be friends?"