Dressed in white, Meruem in human form made a dazzling entrance.
This feeling is pretty peculiar. But my current state is weaker than ever before.
The first thing Meruem did after appearing was sense the little bit of power within his body. In the TYPE-MOON world, this power is called mana. Although Meruem didn't originally have mana, the "Source" in his body automatically converted into mana after arriving in this world.
This body is even weaker than in the Hunter world. More precisely, it's weak to a shocking degree. Looks like I'm starting on hard mode.
"Who summoned me... wait, you are?" Since he'd been summoned, Meruem naturally intended to begin with a flashy opening line, but after sweeping his gaze around, he only found a seaweed-head-looking presence.
The Master who summoned him is actually Shinji Matou? Even though Meruem had only watched FATE movies and anime and never played the games, he at least knew that Shinji, who lacked talent as a magus, shouldn't be capable of summoning him.
What is going on here?
"It worked." Shinji, barely holding on through sheer willpower, seemed about to pass out the moment he sensed a figure.
But having already sacrificed both eyes, he couldn't see what Meruem looked like. Still, he could be sure he'd succeeded.
"Save Sakura!" The moment Shinji said that, an enormous amount of information suddenly surged into Meruem's mind.
The sheer volume nearly made Meruem lose consciousness for a moment.
"Sakura? Shinji? Mana? Matou?" This is one of a Heroic Spirit's perks: after being summoned, you automatically obtain this world's knowledge.
Meruem instantly grasped the situation, as well as Shinji's condition. "Endless loops, huh? Like Rika Furude in Higurashi: When They Cry. Only you're even more tragic than she is."
"You're about to die. I'll call you Master for now." Meruem calmly looked at the seaweed-head who was basically a human stump.
"Heh... I don't care what happens to me, as long as you can save Sakura. In the name of the Master, I order you—save Sakura!" Shinji's condition was extremely bad, or rather, even if someone used healing magecraft on him right now, it still wouldn't save him.
Shinji, who originally had no talent as a magus, used that forbidden book and himself as the sacrifice to summon Meruem. But the mana cost of summoning a Heroic Spirit is enormous—especially when someone like Shinji summons Meruem a full year before the Holy Grail War.
Most importantly, Meruem doesn't belong to any of the seven standard classes in the Holy Grail War. He's an illegal Servant.
What Shinji paid wasn't just his eyes and limbs. More accurately, he paid everything—his body was about to collapse.
But Shinji didn't care! He succeeded—he could save Sakura once!
"Heh. So that's the wish of a MASTER? The first time and the last time! But as you wish." Meruem rarely wore a serious expression.
Though he despised Shinji in other worlds, at least the Shinji standing before Meruem now had earned his respect.
"First Command Seal: Save Sakura! Second Command Seal: Save Sakura! Third Command Seal: Save Sakura! Let her live well!"
In an instant, Shinji used all three Command Seals, and as he finished speaking, his body began to crumble apart.
Yes—part of the reason Shinji could still maintain his form just now was the mana contained within the Command Seals.
But once the Command Seals were exhausted, Shinji would immediately turn to ash.
He didn't regret it.
"So this is the binding force of Command Seals? Still, as thanks for summoning me into this world, even if you hadn't said it, I would've helped you complete it." Meruem's figure vanished from the room in an instant.
Only scattered books remained on the floor. The candle flame on the table went out. "Thank you." A faint whisper sounded. Then the room returned to endless darkness.
"This disgusting feeling—like a beacon in the darkness, dazzlingly bright?" The moment Meruem left the room, he sensed Zouken Matou's location.
"Heh heh heh, I'll be taking that excellent magus constitution from the Tohsaka family."
Countless crest worms had already crawled onto Sakura. She struggled desperately, but all resistance was futile.
The slime and the crest worms' distinctive stench nearly made Sakura so nauseated she was about to vomit.
A huge crest worm tried to crawl into Sakura's mouth. She clamped her lips shut with all her strength and didn't let it succeed, but if Zouken Matou wanted, the worms could pry her mouth open at any time.
But he didn't do that. He was only savoring the little girl's despair.
The more despair others felt, the happier he became.
"Hahaha, I've had my fun for the first time." Seeing he'd had enough, Zouken Matou stopped dragging it out.
"N-no..." Sakura screamed in despair, because a crest worm was about to crawl onto her NEINEI.
Along with her scream, only Zouken Matou's triumphant laughter remained.
"Lightning Ion*Rapid!"
At this critical moment, just as Zouken Matou was about to succeed, a brilliant golden flash streaked past.
Under that golden light, all the crest worms instantly turned to powder. But before the filthy fragments and slime from the worms could reach Sakura's body, they were blocked by a golden wall.
"That was close, that was close—just an instant late." Patting his chest, like a prince on a white horse from a fairy tale, Meruem appeared in front of Sakura at the last possible moment.
"Who are you?!" Zouken Matou was shocked. His face turned as dark as ink. Someone had managed to approach him without even a single crest worm noticing—Zouken Matou could only feel deep wariness toward this newly appeared Meruem.
Though he was furious at what Meruem had done, he was still a monster who had lived for centuries. Compared to anger, he cared more about his own safety, so he didn't let rage go to his head and attack Meruem recklessly right away.
But Meruem didn't care what Zouken Matou was thinking. He simply pulled the still-injured Sakura—trembling like a wounded little animal—into his arms and gently patted her back to comfort her.
Zouken Matou's face grew even darker.
"Old worm, you really have disgusting tastes. No, no, to be precise, it's so nauseating it makes people sick."
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