True Magician's Travels

Chapter 10

Warping makes airline travel a thing of the past, and we easily created a fake identity and bought a house for our time in Fuyuki. When we arrived, the Grail tried to select us as a Master, but we rejected it. We didn't need the grail for anything. I was just going to observe, but Artoria being the kind self she's always been, asked if perhaps we could change events for the better.

I figured, why not. I don't want Sakura to go through her miserable experience of being implanted with crest worms. I decided we wouldn't interfere except to separate Sakura and Kariya from the war. Everyone else mostly chose to be here and wanted to be. Only Kariya loathed being a master and only did it to save Sakura.

We warped into the Matou Household. I set up a bounded field to make sure that he couldn't escape our hunt. Soon after, Zouken, Kariya, and Sakura Matou appeared. Kariya looked like he was in immense pain, and Sakura's eyes just looked like a dead person's. You see, in this family, they have a very disturbing practice. They use special worms, known as Crest Worms, to grant the Matou household their magic. The crest worms cannibalize the nerves of their hosts to generate pseudo-magic circuits. It's really messed up. Kariya underwent the procedure, so that he could gain the strength needed to fight in the Grail War. To him, that was the best chance he had of saving the young Sakura, who was also infested by the worms.

Artoria traced Excalibur, and focused on killing Zouken. Meanwhile, I gathered up Kariya and Sakura, and began removing all of the Crest Worms from them. There was no heartworm in them yet, so their lives were not dependent on Zouken's. I used my healing magecraft to seal up their wounds after I removed the worms. Zouken was a slimy bastard. His worms were all over the place, even if you killed him, he wouldn't really die. You had to either find the worm that was his core, or kill every single worm there is. Artoria and I devised our plan and executed it. I reinforced the bounded field surrounding the mansion to be able to withstand extremely powerful attacks. Then, I wrapped Sakura, Kariya, and I into Avalon's defensive ability. Afterwards, with Artoria having the all-clear, she just vaporized the entire mansion area by unleashing a larger portion of Excalibur's powers. If we couldn't find Zouken, we'd just vaporize everything. We searched around, and concluded he was dead for good this time.

Altera: Hello, you two. We are simply spectators of the upcoming war, and saw the horrible situation you were in. If you wish, you no longer have to participate, or fear Zouken any longer.

Kariya: I didn't think this day would come, where I could be free from Zouken. Thank you very much, random magi.

Artoria: It was convenient, and he was disgusting. Don't worry about any debt. Just take care of her okay?

Kariya: Yes, I will. I'll stake my life on it.

Altera: I know you will. After all, you already were.

Sakura: Thank you for saving me!

Artoria: Why you're very welcome little miss.

Since they'd likely face some struggles, I implanted a bunch of basic life skills, and knowledge of various magecrafts into their minds with my mental manipulation magic. Afterwards, I altered Kariya's circuits to be of high quality. With that in mind, they should be able to protect themselves and carve out a peaceful life if they so wish. I guess I'm a sucker for those who just want to be free and live in peace. It reminds me of those days back when we were with Kay.

With my good deed of the war done, we just decided to sit back and spectate. The war seemed quite different from how I remember it. Berserker was summoned by a civilian, and it was Heracles instead of Lancelot. I intended to do no more interference, but I couldn't help myself. The Saber summoned was our brother Kay. He'd become a Heroic Spirit on his death, instead of Artoria or I.