The white-haired girl's name was Illyasviel von Einzbern, a homunculus whose appearance was forever frozen at the age of nine, and also Shirou Emiya's sister in name.
Illya was a year older than Shirou, and Shirou was seventeen this year. *Did that mean this 1.3-meter-tall white-haired girl was actually a legal adult loli?* Zenith mused pointlessly.
Shirou was Kiritsugu Emiya's adopted son, while Illya was his biological daughter. Just like Sakura Matou, she was a vessel for the Lesser Grail in this Holy Grail War.
At this point, Zenith had met all three major magus families of Fuyuki City: the Matous, the Tohsakas, and the Einzberns. He had to admit, the fact that all three families had pushed young girls to the front lines of the war made him sigh in inexplicable lament.
"If you're looking for Shirou, I can take you inside, but I wouldn't recommend making any aggressive moves."
Zenith stood in front of Illya, looking at the girl who still hadn't grasped the situation. "Otherwise, something like this will happen."
Time-based abilities were truly convenient. Zenith stood right where he was. This time, he simply had The Hand erase Berserker's heart with its palm. Quick and easy.
Another life was consumed. The effects of God Hand had inexplicably been depleted by a sixth. Although the Noble Phantasm's lives could slowly regenerate over time, doing so required mana.
Illya was panicking a little. This guy named Zenith was incredibly strong—strong enough to erase Berserker's life in an instant. *Should I run? If I don't run, I'll be killed, and Berserker will be killed too.*
While Illya was dazed, Zenith had already opened the manor's gates. This child wasn't inherently bad; it was just that as she grew up, no one had ever taught her right from wrong.
Simply put, she was a brat who lacked discipline. A good beating would sort her right out.
Mechanically following Zenith into the manor, Illya didn't even know why she was being so obedient. If Berserker had lost a life to a Noble Phantasm or been killed in close-quarters combat by Saber, she wouldn't be this terrified.
But this sudden, incomprehensible method of death completely exceeded her understanding. Sure enough, even homunculi feared the unknown.
"..."
"?"
Illya fell silent. The moment she stepped into the manor, she saw Saber and Archer absolutely brutalizing Shirou Emiya, Sakura Matou using Shinji Matou for close-quarters combat practice, and Rin Tohsaka inhumanely spamming Jewel Magecraft at an empty patch of ground like money was no object.
"This is targeted special training. As you know, Shirou is still a bit of a noob right now, and the others more or less lack combat experience too."
Zenith shrugged, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Shirou! Fight properly! I brought your sister over; it's going to be embarrassing if you can't win!"
Shirou Emiya spaced out for a second and was immediately sent flying. He patted the dust off his clothes and stood back up. "Wait, how do I have another relative? Is she from China too?"
"This is Kiritsugu's daughter. Uh, I guess she's your older cousin? In this situation, does she count as a cousin or a biological sister?"
Saber, who had just swatted Shirou away, stopped and looked at Berserker. This mythological hero had a terrifyingly massive build. Coupled with the enhancements of the Berserker class, his entire being exuded a primal, savage aura that carried immense deterrence.
Both Saber and EMIYA had wariness in their eyes.
"Master, are you planning to turn all the Servants into our allies?"
In a standard Holy Grail War, there were only seven participants corresponding to seven Servants. Yet right now, Zenith's manor already housed four: Saber, Archer, Rider, and Berserker. The magus-class Caster likely wasn't an enemy either, which made five.
How were the remaining Lancer, Cu Chulainn, and the yet-to-appear Assassin supposed to play this game? They might as well just surrender and end the war right now.
Illya had come to Fuyuki City to participate in the Holy Grail War on behalf of the Einzbern family with a mix of apprehension and longing.
She had always felt that Kiritsugu Emiya chose to abandon her and her mother in order to save more people. Toward Shirou, who had inherited Kiritsugu's ideals, her feelings were already incredibly complicated.
But how should she put it? After coming to Zenith's place and seeing this, her feelings became even more complicated...
Illya certainly wasn't going to stay. Her two maids, realizing their young miss was missing, chased her all the way from their castle, only for Zenith to make them all stay for dinner.
It was the first time so many people had gathered around the dining table; it was as lively as the New Year. Some were happy, while others were troubled—for example, Kirei Kotomine, who knew that both Lesser Grails were currently sitting in Zenith's house, was not in a beautiful mood at all.
However, facing the luxurious lineup at Zenith's house, sending Lancer in would be pure suicide. And Gilgamesh, who actually had the ability to handle such a scenario, didn't want to wade into these muddy waters just yet.
So, he could only sit in the church and stare blankly in frustration.
Speaking of which, Zenith glanced at Sakura Matou. This girl had a massive amount of Crest Worms implanted inside her body—the handiwork of that old, undying head of the Matou family.
*Does this kind of implantation count as a status effect?* Zenith wondered. *If it counts as a status effect, can Minecraft milk cure it?*
He wasn't sure, but he wanted to try.
"Sakura, do you want to drink some milk?"
Sakura Matou really wanted to say she was already full, but her inability to refuse others made her nod. "Okay, Uncle Zenith."
As everyone knows, milk in Minecraft comes in buckets—the kind of iron bucket you'd use to pack up and run away.
"Do... do I have to drink it all?"
Rider, Medusa, instantly glared at Zenith. Her expression seemed to say: *If you say yes, I'll kill you right now.*
"Yeah, you do. Don't misunderstand, this is milk blessed by the world. Drinking it all in one breath has a special effect. Give it a try."
Zenith didn't mention anything about removing the Crest Worms, since he wasn't entirely sure it would work. If he brought it up beforehand and it worked, great, but if it didn't, it would only give her false hope.
*Glug, glug, glug.* Zenith pulled out a camera to record the moment. Sakura Matou lifting an entire iron bucket to chug milk—he would never see a scene like this again in his life. It was practically a world-famous painting.
*My body feels lighter?* Sakura Matou found it unbelievable. It was as if the foreign objects that had always existed inside her had vanished all at once.
"The Crest Worms inside my body have been eliminated! My body feels completely clean, just like when I was little!"
Tears streamed down Sakura's face. She had lived in an inferiority complex for so long, feeling incredibly filthy because of the worms inside her. It was exactly because of this that she had silently endured Shinji Matou's abuse all this time.
This was definitely something worth raising a glass to. However, since minors and adult lolis weren't suited for drinking alcohol, Zenith could only toast with the Servants.
Medusa's entire aura shifted. With the Crest Worms gone from Sakura's body, she would no longer be under the Matou family's control. Now, there was nothing holding her back from completely destroying that old worm of the Matou family.
Far away at the Matou residence, Zouken Matou's stern, decaying old face finally changed its expression. "I can't feel Sakura's presence. Every last Crest Worm inside her has been rooted out. Who did this?!"
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