Chapter 11: A world without heroes

Disclaimer, full of disclaimery things.

Matou Manor

Dreamscape

In the midst of a fitful sleep Kariya was assaulted by images not of his own making. He saw a young boy with a red and white emblem emblazoned on his back. The boy had grey skin and wing like protrusions jutting from his back. His hand crackled with lightning a war cry of one thousand birds engulfed the arena. His opponent a blond haired boy in an orange jumpsuits clad in a crimson cloak of energy, a red swirling ball coalescing in his hand.

The two boys faced each other over a wide ravine the statues of two older men watching over them. The winged boys face was contorted in rage whilst the blond child looked on in sadness with a heartbroken expression displayed on his face. With a flash their attacks collided. Kariya was impressed with the power such young children wielded. He did not understand why the pair were fighting and why the blond one was so disheartened. For the next while Kariya was privy to many more memories, he soon realised that the young boy was assassin. He relived the uchiha clan massacre, the forming of Hebi and the eventual defeat of Assassins brother. All the emotions Assassin felt at those moments flooded into his brain, it was overwhelming. The overriding feeling was rage, such unbridled fury coursed through his body. The worst thing is that it was wild and unfocused, not channelled in any particular direction.

Even after the death of his brother Assassin was not satisfied, in fact once he learnt of the true cause for the massacre the uchiha clan revolt he was sent into a spiral of depression. For a while he just wandered the land, his ties to his village broken his ties to his team destroyed, and his ties to the one that treated him like a brother in ruins. His previous attack on the Kage summit did nothing to ingratiate himself with the other nations. A man without cause a Ronin in every sense of the word.

Eventually the next great ninja war broke out and he found himself once more at the centre of the conflict. The man Uchiha Madara who was thought dead looked to control the world with his moons eye plan. Assassin had been hired by his last remaining family member under the pretence that they would be restoring the Uchiha clan to its former glory. Unfortunately for Assassin this man had no such machinations.

On that field of battle Assassin killed and killed his comrades from Hebi that stood by his side all these years fell one after another, but assassin shed no tears, they were tools to be used and they had outlived their usefulness. The only thing that mattered was the restoration of his clan, his family.

"He doesn't realise it but the thing he has wanted all this time is right in front of him, family; they may not have been his blood but his team loved him like a family and he threw that all away" Kariya though sadly to himself.

Eventually after all others laid dead or retired from injury the only ones left were assassin, madara and Naruto. Madara berated him for his foolishness, criticising the Uchiha clan of old as being weak and pathetic clearly still feeling the burn of their betrayal. He revealed the only way the world would have peace was through the enactment of the moons eye plan.

Knowing he had been betrayed Assassin charged the older more powerful Uchiha too little effect. He was knocked away as one would an unruly child.

Just as Madara was to land a lethal blow sending a jet of flame to engulf the young man, his blond haired compatriot stood in the way taking the brunt of the hit. The young man staggered falling to one knee coughing up blood.

"Why?" he said quietly as if afraid to hear the answer "Why do you keep saving me!" strength returning to his voice. "Are you stupid dobe, no matter how hard you try things can never be like they were before, I've come too far!" he had promised to himself all those years ago never to look back, never to relent.

The Blond teen just turned his head and grinned at him with blood dripping from his mouth. "I don't get you why do you go so far" Assassins voice was wavering the bond that he had tried so hard to sever, tried so hard to break why would Naruto not let it die?

The other teen finally spoke "It's because were family Sasuke".

Kariya saw the shocked look on Assassins face, after everything he had put him through Naruto still considered him family.

"There's nothing I can do to bring back the Uchiha clan, but I can promise you one thing…. You won't be alone!" Naruto said with conviction in his voice.

Suddenly Naruto stood up and a fierce crimson cloak enveloped him; nine red tails formed at his back. "First things first though we have to take this guy down! This is our era relics of the past should just fade away with dignity!"

Sasuke stood up encouraged by his friend, no his brothers will. He felt so ashamed his vengeance had been for nothing and he had been on his own for so long, he almost didn't want to let himself believe that he could come home. He pushed these thoughts from his mind, right now in this moment he had a job to do summoning up his chakra his own body became enveloped in a purple skeletal armour.

The battle carried on for hours the opposing forces were of such strength that they literally changed the face of the landscape. Rising mountains and flowing valleys were reduced to rubble in the wake of their conflict.

Eventually the trio stood with Sasuke and Naruto on either sides of Madara. They charged at each other a rasengan and chidori in hand mimicking the scene from so many years before. However this time the energies clashed not as enemies but as allies Madra's battered form caught between the two attacks.

As the dust settled the pair realised it was finally over, Naruto gave out a sigh of relief it had been a hard fought battle.

"Incredible" Kariya was in awe of the spectacle that had just happened. Yes he knew heroic spirits were beings of immense power but this was verging on ridiculous. Suddenly Kariya's attention was diverted away back to Assassin "No he wouldn't".

Sasuke picked up his sword that had been discarded during the battle "Naruto thanks for not giving up on me" Sasuke said with a rare true smile on his face. He knew that he had sinned too much to continue, he would always be eternally grateful to Naruto for standing by him up till the bitter end but things would be better this way. He slowly brought the blade up to his neck gathering his nerve before preparing to plunge it into his flesh.

A look of horror could be seen on Naruto's face as he summoned what little energy he had left and hurled himself at the Uchiha smacking the blade from his hand only letting it pierce a few centimetres in to his throat.

The force of Naruto's blow knocked him to the ground, and while he may not have succeeded he could already feel himself beginning to chock on his own blood. The sensation was horrible it felt like drowning every gasp more pained and laboured than the last.

Naruto sank to his knees and furiously pressed his hand against his friend's throat to stem the bleeding, blood seeping between his fingers.

"You Idiot, what the hell are you doing!" Naruto raged.

Between laboured breaths Sasuke replied "This… was... the only way… I could atone for what I have done…. The people I have hurt…. The lives I have ended"

Tears were streaming down Naruto's face.

"You Idiot!"

"Is your death going to bring them back, Is your death going to make everything better! No that's the coward's way out. If you want to make amends you need to live with the consequences, live with the guilt. Use every waking moment, dedicate your entire being to making the world a better place, that's how you make amends, that's how you seek forgiveness!" Naruto yelled with anger and sadness painting his face.

Sasuke could only stare in awe at his friend, he felt ashamed and pathetic. It was true death would just be the easy way out. Changing was hard, the hardest thing a person could do. Sure people always talk about making a change but to actually follow through, that takes a rare force of will. Looking at the tired and pained expression on his friends face Sasuke made a vow at moment, from now on he would protect the weak, the innocent and prevent others from following him on his blood stained path.

"I see, that's why he was so angry at me, he saw himself in my actions. He was right I never should have let my lust for revenge endanger Sakura" It was a sobering thought Kariya had always believed everything he had done had been for her but he let his rage consume him.

"I no longer have the right to protect her. God what have I done…what have I done"

Kariya continued to watch True to his word Sasuke dedicated himself to people for the rest of his life. Of course it was not easy the other kage's wanted him executed for his crimes against their nations. However as Naruto was made interim Kage due to tsunade's poor health at the end of the war he was able to stave off the others.

He 'kindly' reminded them that without him they would have lost the war and they owed him and these were his terms, sasuke lived. This went down about as well as you would expect but after a lengthy meeting when it was revealed that he would not budge the other kage's eventually relented. However they made it clear that if he ever stepped out of line Kohnoha would pay the price for it.

Thankfully he never did. Things were hard for him he was no longer konoha's prized Uchiha, he was hated and reviled for a long time. It was a hard road but eventually the people began to come around. Kariya watched the remainder of his servant's memories he could not help but feel completely ashamed at his actions. In truth he did not know what to do, how to cope with the result of his actions. The weight of the guilt he felt seemed to swallow him and he could not find an escape in sight.

Einzburn mansion

Kiritsugu sat at his desk with a pensive expression on his face; if one was to look closely they would see the faint blemishes of dark rings around his eyes. The magus killer was not one to show weakness but in truth he was growing weary of this conflict. He drummed his fingers up against his oak desk, the sounds reverberating around the room. This was a mantra of sorts for him; it relaxed the mind and helped him think. Ilya would often complain that the rhythmic drumming was irritating but for Kiritsugu it was a welcome distraction.

What had him so concerned was how to proceed with the war. He realised the next few days would be a golden opportunity. While most of the other masters were recovering he could strike hard and fast. The others were too reliant on their magecraft and as such needed time to recharge their prana reserves. He had no such limitations.

While it is true that time alter was very exhausting it was more physically taxing than spiritually, that was if he was even forced to use it. No Kiritsugu's weapon of choice was technology. The endless pursuit of human curiosity and achievement. Technology had come far; it was staggering how ignorant most mages were in their dismissal of technology. Hell why did they think there were so few true sorceries left. Technology could do almost everything magecraft could do with the exception of sorceries like heavens feel or the kaleidoscope.

Still Mages being stuck in their ways provided him a unique advantage, it was precisely the reason he was so effective at his job. But this war, it was unlike any other job he had ever taken for one simple reason... Heroic Spirits.

I mean really calling back the souls of heroes to fight in a war wielding weapons of mythical proportions, As good as he was he knew that was above his pay grade. Yes he had a servant of his own but when two forces of equal proportions clashed that only left him with a fifty percent success rate, those were not favourable odds.

In which case if the weapons wielded were the same where was the advantage gained? The answer of course was simple; the advantage lies in the one who wields them. Case in point Lord El Melloi, Kiritsugu defeated him without his servant even being a factor because he himself was the superior master. Here lies the fault in the master servant paradigm. The team can only be as strong as its weakest member; if the master is a fool then their endeavour is doomed to failure.

This is where the truth of this war lies, why do battle with two equally matched individuals for a slim chance of victory when you can take out the weakest link and achieve the same result for much less hardship. Most of the masters in this war sit in the open gawking as their servants do battle not mindful of their surroundings. This is an opportunity that is too good to pass up.

It may not be glamorous, the bards won't write sonnets to regale people of for centuries to come, it's dirty but it's effective.

Having come to a decision about how to precede Kiritsugu ceased his tapping and turned to face his servant. Truthfully he did not know what to make of the boy. Honestly he had not taken the time to get to know him and had not seen the point in doing so. He was a tool that could be used to accomplish his mission, nothing more. His daughter seemed to like him, but then again Ilya was starved for anyone that would treat her with some semblance of normality so he could not put too much stock in her reaction.

Kiritsugu looked more closely at the boy and realised he had an impatient look on his face and his body was restless. It seemed he was very eager to bring the war to a close. Whatever his wish was it clearly held great significance for him.

Kiritsugu proceeded to explain his plan; Saber would engage the enemy servant and draw them away from their master whilst Kiritsugu would set up in a sniping position and as soon as an opportunity made itself available he would eliminate the target.

During his explanation Sabers face contorted into a scowl. "Is that really how you intend to win this?" Saber said with contempt lacing his voice. "This war is a conflict between Heroic Spirits not a chance to eliminate masters from the shadows, I thought you magi were all about pride not cowardly actions" Kiritsugu raised his eyebrow at this.

"If you had not noticed Saber I am not a magus I am a 'Magus Killer', and as such am not bound by their foolish idea of fair play, this is a war if you have forgotten" Kiritsugu said in a composed and perfectly even tone of voice.

Getting slightly flustered "War or not this is not the way we should be acting, especially you. Did you know your daughter always talks about how you said you wanted to be a hero? To right wrongs of the world and become a symbol, a beacon that everyone can aspire towards. How do you think your actions would make her feel?"

Kiritsugu waited for him to finish his spiel before responding "Ilya is a child, as such she is prone to believe in such fantasies. Yes there was a time when I wanted to be a hero; I wanted that more than anything. My every waking moment was in pursuit of that goal, but life is not kind to those that pursue such childish notions" he stated grimly.

"For every person I saved anther died, for every life I rescued another was lost to the abyss. Eventually I realised it was impossible to save everyone. If I can save ten thousand by sacrificing a hundred then that is what I will do. If I can save the world by sacrificing a few masters then that is what I will do!"

Kiritsugu paused for a moment before he spoke again with steel in his voice "Listen to me closely Ouma Shu, there is no such thing as a hero in this world, rid yourself of such a foolish notion as all it will do is bring you pain and suffering." Staring Saber right in the eyes he paused to let the severity of his words sink in.

"If staining my hands is the price that needs to be paid to give the world a future I will do it gladly. Make no mistake I will walk into the pit and become the devil himself if that is what it will take. The cost that will force this world to change must be paid in blood. No soft hearted sentimentality will fix this world."

Saber visibly flinched and took a step back Kiritsugu had not raised his voice throughout the entire speech but the force of his words and the weight of his convictions were enough to force Saber back a little.

This speech made him think back to when he tried to rule with an iron fist, he had given up trying to be a hero, funeral parlour had failed him, had cost him the life of a dear friend. He though if he had been stronger, if he had been more willing to instil discipline Hare would not have died. Even though his new Totalitarian rule was producing results his people still turned on him. He learnt then that even if you are showing results you can't lead people without compassion. You have to be an example of what the best humanity can be, that's how you can save people by inspiring them, that's what it means to be a hero... that's what it means to be a king.

"You're wrong" Saber said in a quiet voice barely more than a whisper.

"I speak from experience, yes you may save some people your way but there is more to being a hero than saving lives. You need to give people hope, without hope people will slip back into bad habits, they will make the same mistakes. If you force the world to change using an iron fist people will rebel even if the results are acceptable. In order to make a change you need to lead by example. Only then will people follow your lead."

Sabers voice was heavy with sadness and regret as he spoke; he truly hoped he could make Kirisugu see his point of view.

Kiritsugu sighed "the world is not such an idealistic place that such notions could succeed, and even if it was I am unwilling to take the risk."

"Tell me, what is it you are fighting for? Surely this wish which was so great as to stretch through the void to answer the grails call is too important to be left to chance. My plan will guarantee us victory; can you say the same of yours? Think long and hard about what it is you are fighting for." With this last remark Kiritsugu left, leaving a disheartened Saber to ponder the lengths he would go to make his wish a reality.

"Inori"

With Sola

To say Sola-Ui was not happy would have been a gross understatement, she was livid. In all her time with Kayneth the thing she hated the most was being made to feel a fool. If not for the prestige her family gained from her marriage she would have divorced the bastard ages ago.

But now it looked like nothing had changed except it was a different man making her feel like a fool. Honestly things were hard for women in a magus society, they had to be three times as good as their peers to get any notice whatsoever.

Honestly she felt she was every bit as good as her late husband and this was her chance to prove it. Now those dreams seemed to be in tatters. Of all the servants that she could have encountered she had to face the devious one. She was sure that Archer still had tricks up his sleeve and would not go down easily but there was something about rider that unsettled her.

He acted like he had already won. With most she would have dismissed it as arrogance but for some reason she felt he could actually follow through with his threat. When he said they were in checkmate it sent chills down her spine. She still did not really understand what he meant. Now that she thought about it, it did not feel like he was talking about that encounter, and this worried her.

The only thing she did now was for her to have peace of mind Rider needed to be eliminated now!

With Waver

As Lancer continued to sleep Waver was diligently working, honestly his library of offensive spells were minimal. If he had to classify himself he would be a support mage, minor healing sensory spells and runic traps were his specialty. While it would never win a war it was still useful especially his traps. In the whole junior division of Clocktower Waver could make and set up a trap in record time.

It was a feat he was quite proud of. Another field of study that was seeing increasing attention was Shikigami. Shikigami were constructs almost like a golem that were often employed by Onmyoji to help banish spirits. Waver had theorised he could create a hybrid that functioned like and had the strength of a golem, but was flexible in creation like a Shikigami and could strike spirits like one too. He theorised that this paper hybrid would be easy to make in comparison to the rituals involved to create a golem and may even be able to harm heroic spirits as essentially they were still basic spirits just… supercharged.

Frankly this was his best bet, and whatever happened from now on he was not going to let Lancer fight alone. He turned his head to look at the girl who was sleeping so serenely and let a smile grace his face. He would be on the front lines right by her side, he may not be much help but he wold not back down.

As the hours continued to tick by he swore he would be ready, the war was approaching its climax he just hoped he would be around to see it.

Matou Manor

Kariya was restless, he was in the midst of a fitful sleep. Assassin as was his duty stood guard over his incapacitated master. Frankly this posed a rather large issue, how was he supposed to fulfil his function as a servant, how was he supposed to win this war when his master had such a pitifully small prana reserve?

"Troublesome" Sasuke thought, mimicking a certain raven haired Nara slacker. As things stood most of his upper tier justsu were out, the chidori was out, his sharingan hell that one was not even worth considering at the moment. As things stood he would have to make do with stealth and infiltration in order to eliminate the other masters directly rather than risk conflict with another servant.

The only comfort he felt at this time was that if Naruto were in this situation instead of him he would be screwed. The dobe had as much subtlety as a freight train to the face and he would swear all of his jutsu's were at least upper B rank so those would be out the window.

Getting lost in nostalgia an almost imperceptible smile graced Sasuke's face, it had taken a very long time but he was glad he had been able to mend his relationship with his friend.

Thinking further into his situation he wondered how each of his friends would handle his current predicament. Naruto would be loud and annoying and attempt to fight the other servants with just taijutsu and would probably end up causing his master to have a heart attack from the magical strain.

Sakura would probably set traps and attempt to separate master and servants from each other before using her monstrous strength to land a finishing blow.

None of these strategies were particularly helpful and nothing he thought his other friends would do helped either, including lee…. Especially Lee. He would just state that if he could not win the Holy Grail war he would do a thousand laps round japan all the while his sensei would be cheering him on spouting how fierce and beautiful his youth was before they hugged. Sasuke visibly shuddered at this, it was not the fact that two grown men often hugged but the fact that when they did there was always the sound of crashing waves and a blinding light enveloping them despite the fact that Konoha was in a forest. He was convinced to this day that it was some type of super powerful genjutsu one so powerful even his sharingan could not or perhaps would not see through. When he brought his concerns to Naruto as acting Hokage all the blond would do was shudder and say that in this world there were some things man was not meant to understand.

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening. In stepped the decrepit figure of Matou Zouken. Zouken was wearing a traditional black Japanese robe with dark green trimmings that seemed to hang of his skeletal frame. His skin was sagging and his bones seemed to protrude underneath the flesh. The man looked like he should have been in the ground decades ago. As he stepped into the room the hair on the back of Sasuke's neck stood on end, while in appearance the man did not seem threatening, Sasuke knew better than most not to judge a book by its cover.

Zouken gave of the same uneasy feeling he had around Danzo, and that feeling had been entirely justified as it turned out the depraved man had grafted the entire Uchiha clans remaining eyes onto his arm. And while Danzo made him feel uncomfortable Zouken made him feel like he was about to spill the contents of his stomach all over the floor.

Seeing Sasuke's discomfort Zouken finally spoke "Come now servant surely there is no need to be alarmed around a helpless old man now is there" the man spoke in a placating tone.

Sasuke grunted "If you're a helpless old man then I'm the president of America".

Sasuke eyed the old man carefully "State your business, I doubt my master will be happy to find you at his bedside when he awakens"

Zouken gave of a feral grin that look very much out of place on his ancient feature, "Come now can't an old man be concerned for his ancestral son? Kariya is very important to me and too this family, it's only natural that I would come to visit him in his time of need." Zouken said his grin widening "You would not deny me that would you Assassin?" a faint glimmer could be seen in the old man's eyes, all Sasuke could think was that this man is dangerous and they may well need to step up their timetable for eliminating him.

Regaining his composure Sasuke responded "As much as I'm sure my master would appreciate you're….. Care and attention" Sasuke said as he felt the bile build up in his mouth "I think it best if you leave so he can rest undisturbed as unless you have a method of relieving his Prana exhaustion I fell any prolonged interaction could only be detrimental."

At this zouken seemed to be most pleased "Ahh, I see. Well it looks like it was fortunate I decided to visit after all." Pulling back the fabric on his sleeve to reveal an emaciated arm almost devoid of any muscle or fat the skin began to writhe and shudder as a worm forced its way to the surface.

Sasuke looked on in horror even if it did not reach his face as the worm slowly inched its way out of the arm. It was 1 or 2 inches thick and roughly 5 inches long and reminded him far too much of Orochimaru.

Taking the worm in his hand Zouken held it forward. "This crest worm holds a significant amount of prana, far more than Kariya could ever hope to produce himself. It will allow you to fight at maximum capacity for the duration of the war."

On the face of it, it was everything they needed and more he could feel the prana exuding from the worm. However like with the cursed seal Sasuke knew that such gifts always came with a price.

Narrowing his eyes "What's the catch?"

Zouken proceeded to chuckle darkly "Such a mistrustful young man, I am just an old man who wishes to see his son succeed in this war and bring honour back to this house. His success is my success after all"

Not satisfied by this answer Sasuke scowled, really he had no choice but to accept this offer the fact remained his master was too weak and he knew the man would do whatever it took to protect Sakura, even drink from this poisoned chalice.

Resigning himself to this act Sasuke relented "Do what you must". Zouken gave him another glance as the corners of his mouth upturned.

Standing next to the unconscious Kariya Zouken proceeded to remove Kariya's shirt and then placed the worm on his chest. The worm slowly wriggled up Kariya's chest stopping every now and then as if accessing the suitability of the spot and then deciding against it. Slowly it crept forward until finally it came to just below Kariya's head.

The Worm let out low pitched shrill before it dived forward and lodged itself up Kariya's nasal cavity. The worms tail swished back and forth as it struggled to enter the hole that was simply too small to accommodate it.

Zouken was laughing at this stating for some reason that it was a familiar sight for this worm to choose to invade holes that were too small to accommodate it.

Eventually the sound of flesh ripping filled the room as blood poured down Kariya's face, his left nostril had been busted open as the worm invaded his body.

He let out a scream of pain as he raised his hands to his bleeding face. Having been rudely shocked into consciousness kariya writhed on the bed in absolute agony.

"What's happening?!" Sasuke demanded of Zouken.

Chuckling grimly Zouken answered "The worm is integrating itself with his nervous system, latching onto and bonding with every nerve in his body…. From what I understand it is an extremely painful process"

This continued for quite some time, Kariya continued to writhe and scream until the screaming stopped. Not because the pain had subsided but because the man had worn his own voice out, his throat was raw and incapable of producing anymore sound.

Eventually his body stilled and gingerly he opened his eyes. At first he was stunned as the brightness of the room assaulted his senses, eventually though his eyes adjusted and then narrowed as they caught sight of Zouken.

"Come now Kariya is that any way to treat the one whom you owe your new found vitality too?"

If he could speak at the moment he would have told the old man to crawl back into whatever hole he slithered out of, sadly that was not an option.

At this moment assassin chose to speak "We thank you for your services but I believe my master needs to rest"

"Very well young one, though I am disappointed." Zouken took on a thoughtful look "I would have imagined you would want to know where I gathered the excess prana to give you".

Sensing the old man would not leave until they had taken the bait Sasuke relented. "Very well old man where did the prana come from?"

Zouken stared at Kariya his gaze burning right through him. "Why our dear sakura of course. What other sources of prana would we have at our disposal?"

Kariya looked as if someone had just slapped him, not only had he failed the girl but he owed his continued health to her as well. He was supposed to protect her not use her like a leech.

"Oh yes, that crest worm within you is quite special" Zouken sneered "In fact that worm was the very first one to violate her. That worm was the one who surged forth and tore open her hymen and gorged itself on her magic"

All the colour drained from Kariya's face, he wanted to scream, he wanted to shout, he wanted to get up and wring the life out of that old man but his body would not permit it, he was too weak. Too battered and broken.

Seeing the look on his face zouken continued "Oh yes at first she screamed and cried, did you know she cried out for her uncle Kariya to come and save her she cried for days on end. For the first month she was here she was never allowed to leave the pit she ate, slept and shit in that pit all the while crying for you to save her. After a month I think she realised no one was coming for her" Zouken leered as he spoke.

"It's a shame really while she resisted the worms were able to feed on a much higher quality of prana. Now she barely makes a sound. Did you know she does not even resist anymore? After you go to sleep she takes herself down to the pit and gives herself to the worms. She is such a good child, does an old man proud."

"Between you and me I think she is even beginning to enjoy it" Zouken laughed his sickening voice echoing around the room.

At this the last vestiges of restraint left Kariya, he willed his broken body up and took a swing at Zouken. The blow was easily dodged making Kariya fall with the momentum of his strike, landing on the floor.

As he hit the floor he descended into a coughing fit, the price of overexerting his body. However he levelled his gaze at Zouken and gave him a look of pure unadulterated hatred. He hated the man with every fibre of his being, in this moment every cell in his body wished for the old man's destruction. Felling that urge his magic complied.

Unbeknownst to all in the room the command seals on Kariya's hand flashed and two of them faded from view.

In that moment Sasuke felt a rush of prana saturate his core, it was incredible he had never felt so powerful before.

As if on instinct his sharingan activated three spiralling tomoe circled his eye before they fused together revealing his mangekyō sharingan.

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke bellowed covering Zouken in a black flame.

The old man Screamed, his anguish was palpable. If not for the bounded field around the house the entirety of fuyuki would have heard his cries.

Zouken fell to the floor rolling to try and extinguish the blaze to no avail. He raised his head and glared at Assassin, it was a hateful glare but it also spoke volumes about the old man, he truly believed that he would come to no harm here. His taunting and vicious remarks cut to the bone, yet it did not even enter his contemplation that others might do the same to him, literally. Assassin could only assume that after living for so long the man thought himself immortal that there were no threats left to him in this world….. He was wrong!

The Black flames of Amaterasu are so potent that the will burn indefinitely until the one who cast them desires them to cease. Not knowing this Zouken proceeded to break his body up in to a mass of individual worms hoping at least one of them could escape the onslaught, giving him time to reshape and restructure his body.

However these flames do not give up their target so easily. After splitting his body each individual worm burst into a black flame searing their flesh, the putrid smell filling the room. As they burned the worms let out a hissing wail, whether this was the worms themselves or merely the air leaving their bodies as they roasted Assassin would never know.

As the last vestiges of life left the worms the remaining few flopped helplessly in the final stages of their death throes. Until finally the only sound remaining was the slow smouldering of Amaterasu's might.

That black hearted magus that had been around for thousands of years was finally dead, no one would mourn his passing.

Kariya looked at the burnt remains tears rolling down his face in an endless torrent. It was over…. It was finally over.

Author's Notes

Hi guys, sorry this one took so long. Super busy at work as I have to study for this diploma in my free time which does not leave me much writing time. Hopefully my schedule will stabilise in a month or two.

Anyway that old Bastard Zouken is finally dead, while he is an interesting antagonist with the way the plot is developing sakura is going to be fucked up enough as is so we don't need him around for the 5th war. I hope I handled his death scene well as what He does to sakura is really disgusting, so I hope I handled it with respect and maturity. Let me know what you guys think of his demise and what you would like to see in the future.

Anyway kariya is not in a good place emotionally right now and the slightest mishap might send him over the edge. Kirtsugu is planning to escalate this war and waver and Sola-Ui may be caught in the crossfire. And god knows what Kirei is doing (well I do but secret for now).

Thanks for all the support so far in the story, over 6000 views and at the time of writing 48 reviews, almost at that elusive 50 mark.

Anyway I'm rambling so as always review, fave, follow and there is the forum on my profile if people want, another user created a topic for what servants you guys want to see and its seeing a bit of traction. I also made a space for general story discussion or if you have any other thoughts. Also if you're looking for other stuff to read check out my profile page under my own faves as I have found some really good stories by authors better than myself so give their stuff a shot.

See you next time on Fate/another.