When it came to marrying a pair of sisters, Zenith raised twelve hands in disapproval. For no other reason than the fact that he didn't actually have twelve hands.
Shirou Emiya chatted and laughed with the two sisters. Zenith's hellish training regimen had yielded excellent results; in just two short days, he had beaten Shirou to the brink of death over a dozen times. Supported by an ample supply of potions, Shirou had completed a warrior's most vital transformation: conquering the fear of death.
Once you died enough times, you naturally stopped being afraid. In contrast, Zenith's initial struggle to overcome death had been far more brutal.
Back when he first crossed over into the Minecraft world, he hadn't known if his respawn mechanic would actually work. Every time he stepped outside, he walked on thin ice. The sheer despair he felt the first time he was swarmed and bitten to death by zombies remained fresh in his memory.
Of course, after dying enough times, it didn't matter anymore. Playing a game and experiencing it in real life were two completely different things. Back when he played Minecraft, he could boot up Hardcore mode and solo the Ender Dragon with a single life. But in reality, with only one life, it wasn't even guaranteed he could beat a zombie.
Digging a three-block hole to hide in, pillaring up to hit mobs from above—when the time came, his mind went completely blank, and he couldn't remember any of those tactics.
Fortunately, the hardest times were behind him. While Zenith's mental state might not be the most stable right now, his physical body was an absolute tank.
"Stop chatting," Zenith interrupted. "Once we finish the Holy Grail War and dismantle the Greater Grail system buried beneath Mount Enzou at Ryuudou Temple, you'll have all the time in the world to talk."
If one were to genuinely ask what Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou wished for, it seemed neither of them actually had a desire that absolutely required the Holy Grail to fulfill.
Rin was only participating in the Holy Grail War to prove herself, and Sakura had absolutely no desire to fight. Therefore, there was no real conflict of interest between them.
Shirou was sent off to continue his training, while Zenith quietly approached Rin. "Rin, what do you think about having Shirou be the one to put an end to the Matou family?"
"Why would we put an end to the Matou family?" Rin asked, completely baffled by the suggestion.
"It seems you aren't very clear on what kind of life Sakura has been living at the Matou household. I suppose I'll reluctantly explain it to you—including how Sakura has been abused, violated, modified, and even had a massive swarm of disgusting crest worms implanted into her body."
Rin had never once considered "saving" Sakura, simply because she had been completely in the dark.
So, upon learning everything Sakura had suffered at the hands of the Matou family over the years, she was consumed by an unprecedented fury. "Unforgivable! Those bastards from the Matou family... She was only adopted by them to continue their family's magical lineage!"
But even so, Rin didn't want Shirou to be the one to save Sakura from that hell. Everyone had their own selfish desires.
Sisters shared a bond, and Rin could naturally sense her younger sister's affection for Shirou. If Shirou became the one to pull Sakura out of hell, that affection would undoubtedly blossom into an undying love.
"I will save Sakura. This was a mistake made by the Tohsaka family, so naturally, it must be borne by a Tohsaka!"
*'You're just jealous and afraid your sister is going to steal your man,'* Zenith thought to himself. He had completely seen through this girl. Didn't she know that tsunderes were out of the meta these days?
Dealing with an old-blooded magus family like the Matou required a level head; there was no telling what kind of trump cards they had accumulated over the centuries. The estates of major families were essentially massive magical workshops, or outright fortresses of war.
"We'll find a chance to have Saber unleash Excalibur on it and see what happens. If that doesn't break through, we'll figure out a way to make Gilgamesh blast it with Ea."
The full name of that thing was Enuma Elish: The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth. It was an Anti-World Noble Phantasm, said to possess the power to tear the world itself apart. Shattering the Matou family's Bounded Field would be a piece of cake for it.
Rin needed special training too. The revelation about Sakura had given her a sense of urgency. At the end of the day, she was still just a high schooler without much cunning; whatever she was thinking was written plainly on her face.
*Boom—*
The manor trembled. The Minecraft magic mod also included methods for setting up barriers. While their defensive performance was mediocre, they worked perfectly fine as early warning systems.
"Someone is attacking the manor."
Zenith frowned. He was always the one scheming against others; who was bold enough to attack his home? Did they have no respect for the premier entrepreneur of Fuyuki City?
Activating his Flight Amulet, Zenith flew outside the manor and looked down at the massive brute currently bombarding the front gates with a giant cleaver.
"That wild hair, those bulging muscles, that dark skin... Even though I know this is definitely the Berserker-class Servant, Heracles, why does he look like a professional bodybuilder who spent way too much time in a tanning bed...?"
Standing behind Berserker was a white-haired loli in a purple nun's habit. Despite her angelic appearance, the words coming out of her mouth were ice-cold. "Big brother is here, isn't he? If you hand him over, I might just let you live."
"Little kids shouldn't say such scary things. It completely ruins your cute factor."
Zenith dropped down from the sky. In that instant, Berserker's wild cleaver shifted targets and smashed directly into Zenith's body.
Because he was hit in mid-air, his Netherite Armor's Knockback Resistance failed to trigger. He was sent flying, crashing heavily into the manor's iron gates.
Rather than a cleaver, a more accurate description would be an "axe-sword." It looked like a massive slab of rock with a hilt and an edge—crude and barbaric.
He had to admit, that was the heaviest blow Zenith had taken since arriving in the Fate universe. That unpretentious, heavy strike had instantly shaved off three hearts of health. For context, back when time was stopped, Dio's entire barrage had only managed to deal that much damage.
"Fighting like a reckless brute is a quick way to get yourself killed. Since that's how it is, I have no choice but to whip out my shield."
A Minecraft shield provided absolute defense. Unless it was disabled by a shield-breaking attack, even a Kamehameha wouldn't leave a scratch.
Soon enough, it became clear that purely in terms of raw stats, Berserker was a practically invincible Servant. His attacks destroyed everything in the vicinity like a torrential storm, and these were just his basic attacks.
The shield clanged wildly under the barrage. As expected of the God of Strength from Greek mythology, the hero who had conquered the Twelve Labors. Epic-tier combat skills were completely useless in the face of such overwhelming might.
Unfortunately, he had picked the wrong opponent. Zenith only resorted to this kind of thankless, head-on brawling when he knew he could win. If he actually couldn't win in a fair fight, he was just going to cheat.
Zenith's time began to accelerate, while the time around him froze at the exact second before his acceleration. This was a tributary outside the river of time—a world of stopped time that belonged exclusively to Zenith.
"I'll just use 30 seconds; it won't be a waste. Berserker's most famous Noble Phantasm is his Twelve Labors, which grants him twelve lives. With that many lives, it shouldn't matter if I take one away, right? This brat is way too impolite; she needs to be taught a lesson."
His Netherite Sword pierced straight through Berserker's heart. If he used his magic wand, it would be too hard to control the blast radius and he might accidentally blow up his own house. It was better to use the simplest method.
"Behold, my Sheer Heart Attack!" Zenith shamelessly plagiarized someone else's move name. The Fire Aspect II enchantment on the blade caused Berserker's body to instantly burst into flames.
The 30 seconds of stopped time passed in a flash. In the eyes of the white-haired loli, it was as if the world had glitched. Berserker, who had just been completely suppressing Zenith, had suddenly and inexplicably died once.
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