Chapter 72
Each and every Holy Grail participant had already been informed of Rulers arrival and her announcement, and Matou Zouken was no exception. Even in his weakened state, he still had familiars that he could use to monitor the other Masters and Servants, allowing him to spectate the battles and places they were staying at through the gleaming eyes of his insects. Though admittedly after Rider's actions, they were spread quite thin across the entire city. He only had enough to watch Assassin's base, Tohsaka's mansion, the Einzbern mansion and his own former house. The Bounded Field of Ryuudou Temple was difficult to penetrate, and with Caster's defenses it became even more impossible. The rest were in reserve, following him around wherever he went.
"For Avenger to appear, what fortuitous timing…"
He was originally quite worried when Ruler appeared, but if Avenger was also present, then perhaps something could be done about Ruler. While Rider had flushed out many of his worms, the core was still safe and wrapped around Sakura's heart. It could be possible to make her order Rider to fight Ruler when the opportunity arose. If Ruler was weakened enough, he could usurp control over her and claim as his own Servant, granting him a means through which he could influence the war, and providing him with a powerful puppet.
His familiar, the Lust Worms, provided him with the means to take control of people, and even Servants, which were spirit based familiars. However, in order to do so, he had to rip out the target's vertebrae and replace it with one of his worms to replace their spinal cord, effectively letting him control their spinal cord and manipulate their body. It didn't matter if the body was dead or alive, as long as it was mostly intact, he could use it.
He was quite sure that Rider couldn't fight Ruler in a one on one duel though. The Command Seals were quite troublesome to deal with, and in the first place the Holy Grail was directly supplying them with energy, so it was no problem for them to release Noble Phantasms, to the point that continuously using it in combat was possible. Still, it seems that Avenger was the enemy of Ruler, and would likely clash with her at some point. As long as Rider was in position to snipe Ruler with that ridiculous rifle of hers, Ruler could be defeated.
"?"
It seemed like the familiars stationed at the Edelfelt mansions had detected something interesting. Focusing his mind, he transferred their sense of sight and hearing to himself, hijacking their eyes and ears for his own use. It was like traveling through a dark tunnel, with purple light in a pattern vaguely twisting and intersecting around the walls of the tunnel, with patterns similar to how his Magic Crest used to look like. It was over in an instant, as he peered through the beady eyes of his familiar, silently crouching in the grass of the lawn, half buried in the dirt to reduce exposure. While El-Melloi had set up Bounded Field to check the mansion and it's vicinity for familiars, Zouken's familiar were developed to escape these detections by emulating the signature of a regular insect as closely as possible. After all, they couldn't undergo full scans that analyzed even all the worms, beetles, butterflies and other insects that inhabited the mansion and the nearby area. It was for this reason that his familiars were difficult to detect by other magi, though if they got close enough, they would still be exposed.
From the corner of the garden, he could see Ruler standing at the door, lightly knocking on it, with her saying a few words. The door opened, and she stepped in. The door shut behind her, losing the Bounded Field. He strained his familiars ears, using it's impressive hearing to try and detect sound, but it was unable to. Most likely, there were Bounded Fields preventing eavesdropping and scrying surrounding the mansion.
After waiting for a while, she left the mansion, hopping off with great force and deepening the crater she had made when she arrived. The tremors traveled through the ground to jostle the familiar, shaking the dirt around it, but it managed to stay anchored in the ground.
He had to say, after seeing her again, her outfit was quite amazing, in various ways. Even as wraith tied to the world only through his worm familiars, he still had a healthy appreciation for beauty.
What business could she have with Assassin and the mages though? He knew that the Ruler class was supposed to be impartial, and couldn't favour any sides. She could be checking up on each Master individually. If that was so, perhaps he could find a chance to test Ruler when she visited one of them. If he was lucky, perhaps one of the Master's would attack her. Lancer's Master still remained a mystery after all, and he wouldn't be surprised if Lancer attacked Ruler. For now, he would remain observant of what happened in the city with his familiars.
"Moouuu, I was so bored! I can't believe onii-chan and onee-chan were so weak! At this rate, I might actually win the Holy Grail War you know, Ecchan?"
Illya kicked her feet under the kotatsu, childishly complaining with puffed cheeks as she rested her chin on the table, Berserker tucked in opposite her under the blankets, stuffing her face with conbini (convenience store) breads.
"I agree, Illya. It seems they truly are no match for you. Also, I seem to be able to counter even the original Saber. As expected of me." For some reason, Berserker had been acting weirdly ever since she had fought Saber, with a self-satisfied air, even though she should have been down from letting Illya get kidnapped. Well, she had been, but only for a brief moment. After visiting the nearest conbini, she had regained her spirits and cleanly forgotten the fight.
"Why are you so happy about beating Saber? It's not like she was particularly strong anyways. Though, to think it's her again…" She could clearly remember that face, even though she had only seen it a few times in her childhood. It was after all, a face that had appeared along with the last few times she had seen her father and mother in person.
Ecchan saw the melancholy on her face, and quickly slid over a plastic wrapped bread to her.
"Try this one. The chocolate cream filling really mixes well with the chewy white bread, and the chocolate chips give it an added texture that makes every bite enjoyable."
"But I've already had-"
"Try it, you won't regret it."
Under Ecchan's watchful gaze, Illya opened up the plastic wrapping and gently nibbled a bite of the white bread with the rich, brown chocolate cream filling that stained the edges of her mouth, the cream expanding in her mouth as she bit down on the bread.
"Mmmm! Delishush!"
Illya's cream stained mouth as she smiled was recorded with the hidden camera Leysritt had placed in the room.
*Click*
"Another one."
*Click*
"Another one."
*Click*
After several more, she finally stopped, adding them to the file titled "Cute Illya on the computer.
Before leaving the mansion, she had known almost nothing about technology, and was clueless about phones, television and the like. But after coming into contact with movies during her stay in Fuyuki while out shopping for groceries, she had made an effort to learn more about them, and as a result had managed to gain a working grasp of most modern-day technologies, including cameras and computers. In the end, she had decided to use her newfound knowledge to make a folder of Illya photos to calm down Sella when she was stressed, and to that end she had placed cameras hidden all over the place while Illya was away with Berserker in the city. This was after all, the best way to use such advanced technology. To record cute girls doing cute things.
*Clang!*
Like a hammer crashing against an anvil, the sound rang through the rooms and hallways of the castle. Leysritt shut down the computer and hurried to meet with Sella, who was currently preparing dinner for Illya.
"Sounds like there is another intruder, Illya."
"Un. Let's go greet them properly Ecchan."
Illya pulled on her thick coat as Ecchan dematerialized her casual school clothes and dressed in her battle wear.
High in the sky above the Einzbern forest, a bunny, no, a woman in a bunny suit, floated through the air like a fairy, before rapidly dropping in an arc to land on the ground and then bounce straight back up like a rabbit hopping, if a rabbit could hop hundreds of meters into the air. In only a few more hops, Ruler would arrive at the mansion.