The Ultimate Lich King of the Multiverse

For a mage, detecting another mage is a simple matter—especially when that person makes no effort to hide his power, like Yoru.

As he approached, the surging magical energy radiating from him was immediately sensed by both Matou Zouken and Tohsaka Tokiomi.

Yoru also made no attempt to conceal the Command Seals on the back of his hand. He walked up openly and confidently, immediately drawing their attention.

A powerful mage, and a bearer of Command Seals—he was a confirmed participant in the Holy Grail War.

The moment they saw the seals, both Zouken and Tokiomi became cautious. This man would soon become their enemy in the upcoming war.

But who was he? With such an immense magical presence, why had they never heard of him?

Tohsaka Tokiomi was confident he knew every gifted and powerful mage of note, but he had no memory of this man whatsoever.

"And you are...?"

Tohsaka was the first to react, stepping forward with elegance and speaking courteously.

"I'm from the Einzbern family. My surname is Yoru, and my given name is simply '御' (Yoru)," he replied with a light smile. He was aware that, in a sense, the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou families were supposed to be allies in the Holy Grail War.

Therefore, he had no intention of hiding his identity.

"Oh? So you're the Einzbern representative. Judging from your name, you seem to come from the mysterious East?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi had heard of the legends surrounding the mysterious lands across the sea from Japan—lands said to harbor incredibly powerful mages. And the magical energy radiating from the man before him certainly confirmed those tales.

Still, he wondered—why had this man shown up so suddenly and unleashed his magic like that? Was it some sort of intimidation?

Tokiomi couldn't quite figure out Yoru's intentions.

Yoru, however, didn't bother to explain himself. In fact, this misunderstanding served as a perfect cover. The identity documents Heid had prepared for him also stated that he was a native of that eastern land.

"That's right. As the Einzbern representative, I came to familiarize myself with the battlefield a year before the Holy Grail War begins," Yoru replied with a calm smile.

Then his gaze fell upon Rin and Sakura Tohsaka.

"I overheard a bit of your conversation just now. Forgive me if I'm being forward, but may I ask—why are you handing over your own child to another family?"

"You may not know this, Yoru," Tokiomi said, "but this is an unavoidable situation. You see, in magecraft, a Magic Crest can only be passed down to one heir. That means only one of my daughters can inherit the Tohsaka family's magecraft. The other—no matter how talented—would end up wasting her potential, living as an ordinary person. At that point, the head of the Matou family, Matou Zouken, came to me and asked to adopt one of my daughters to inherit their magecraft instead."

"That's... the only reason?"

Yoru was visibly taken aback and asked without thinking.

Tokiomi, however, didn't notice the shock in Yoru's tone. He proudly continued his explanation.

"Think about it! Perhaps, in the next generation of the Holy Grail War, my two daughters will stand on opposite sides—Tohsaka and Matou—fighting to the death. Isn't that a glorious thing?"

"That's... something to be proud of?!"

Yoru stared at Tokiomi, his gaze growing colder. But completely unaware of it, Tokiomi continued, intoxicated by his own vision.

"Indeed! For a mage who pursues the Root, what could be more thrilling than seeing both your daughters walk separate magical paths, competing for the ultimate truth?"

So that's what this man saw in his wife and daughters—nothing more than tools for continuing his magical lineage. And he could even smile at the thought of his daughters potentially killing each other.

This man was human, yes—but he lacked humanity.

Yoru suddenly understood what Heid had once told him: that true mages had no humanity. Their sole purpose in life was the pursuit of the Root.

And now, Yoru couldn't help but feel pity for the woman sitting under the tree, holding her daughters tightly. How tragic that she had married a man like Tokiomi.

At the same time, Yoru found peace within himself. He no longer felt guilty toward Riveria. Because now, he knew his heart: he loved Riveria, and he loved Irisviel just as much. If he loved them, then he would fight for them—even if it meant using force.

That kind of thinking might seem overly masculine or even selfish—but at least it was far better than treating women like breeding tools.

Yoru felt he had to do something. At the very least, he couldn't let that poor child be handed over as a tool to the Matou family.

With that resolve, Yoru stepped forward.

"Then, what about me?"

"...What do you mean?"

Tokiomi blinked in confusion, not quite following.

"To be honest, I'm a son-in-law of the Einzbern family—you probably know that. Although I already have a child with my wife, she'll surely inherit the Einzbern family's magecraft. That means the Yoru family's magic will end with me."

Yoru said this with a soft smile.

"Since you said you're doing this for the sake of your daughters, how about giving one of them to my Yoru family—so she can carry on our bloodline and magecraft?"

"I... I see..."

Tokiomi was caught off guard and began to seriously consider it. Meanwhile, a flash of hatred passed through Matou Zouken's eyes.

The Tohsaka bloodline was extremely valuable to him. Even though the Matou family already had a pawn—Emiya Kiritsugu—for the fourth Holy Grail War, Zouken didn't trust him. Kiritsugu was the kind of man who could never be controlled by anyone.

Zouken had to think long-term. But now, this man Yoru had appeared and was threatening to unravel all of his plans.

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