Sakura Matou opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, and a ghostly pain that wracked her body.
The latter part, as she'd long come to accept, was not so new. Be it the anger Shinji took out on her for wrongly taking his place as heir, or the torment her adoptive grandfather put her through in the basement in the name of training to take his place.
It was her truth, day in, day out.
"Where...?"
Sakura slowly sat up.
While the Matou were by no means poor, her own room in the mansion was a simple one, perhaps the only bit of normality in that house of suffering. Here, even the bed she was lying on was canopied. The walls were of a rich, dustless, dark wood. Pale golden curtains were drawn over the windows, leaving only the one by her bedside open.
Her gaze wandered to the small, round table set up across the room. The two chairs by it were empty, but she could distinctly make out a shadowy figure leaning against the tall dresser nearby.
Sakura held her breath.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips when the shadow revealed itself to be Medusa.
"Rider?"
"I am here, master."
...Master?
But she'd given the command to Shinji-
The memories of last night's events came rushing forth all at once. The sudden grating buzz she couldn't place, then the explosions outside from all the fighting and even her grandfather's decision to go outside himself. The act that gave Shinji the ease of mind, and the confidence, to have his way with her even in that situation-... and... the Devil?
Sakura gripped her head with her hands.
She remembered that dreadful presence, and what became of Shinji.
Her lips trembled.
She looked up.
"S... Shinji is dead?"
"Yes." Rider said flatly.
Why... Why were those words relieving to hear?
Why was she so selfish?
"A-And grandfather?"
"Yes. You are now the only living member of the Matou line, master. But I am sorry, you are no longer capable of using your family's magecraft."
That was... She hated herself for the bit of joy she felt. She didn't deserve it. Her happiness was only proof of just how ungrateful and hateful she was as a person.
Her vision grew blurry.
Shinji was right to hate her. She took his dreams away.
She should have been the one to resist-
"W-Who was it?" Sakura wiped her eyes.
For a long while, Rider simply continued to look her way. She sat down beside Sakura.
"The being you know as Satan."
What?
She remembered that. The dark-robed priest who killed Shinji had called himself as such. But... that was actually the Devil? She forced aside her instinctive disbelief.
"T...Then why did he leave me? I should also-"
"Perhaps, his decision to do so should tell you who shoulders the blame for your suffering."
If that was the case, then even Rin should have-
"Your sister was the one to summon him. I do not think such a creature can be called into the world without paying a price." Medusa seemed to read her thoughts, "He asked for my very being as price for his help."
"Why did you-"
At that, the Rider gave a slight smile. She reached for Sakura's face with a pale hand, and gently tucked her hair behind her ears.
"It is alright, master. He is not what you expect."
Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but something in the distance caught her eyes. Past the window, where the city blinked with a million lights and skyscrapers reaching for the skies mere moments ago, a wave of darkness began to sprawl out over all the buildings, drowning out any sign of life.
"What... is that?"
A blackout?
No, it didn't feel that way.
Something was wrong. She knew in her heart.
Medusa turned.
"Likely, Lord Beelzebub. We should remain here until the both of them return."
Had Rin actually summoned Satan?
-
Any magus was the strongest within their workshop, where the air and soil could have perhaps dozens of spells and magicks weaved into them. It was the ultimate fortress for any practitioner, and the place they must needs reside in during any and all conflict if they possessed a working mind.
That plain truth did not change through any of the ages.
It was no different for Medea, the Witch of Colchis.
The Ryuudou Temple was her workshop.
Inside, she would remain unchallenged by most.
Drawing from the leyline running underneath the temple ensured that she wouldn't even run out of mana to cast her spells... as long as she fought there. That was why she had no intention of ever leaving without a plan, and a back-up plan, then another two or three plans on top to minimize her chances of an early end.
That was why she even made sure to summon a servant for herself, despite being a servant herself. Her skill as a magus let her go far enough to give some random person the identity of one of Japan's greatest swordsmen.
Entering the war without a proper measure of the opponent's strength was the very height of stupidity.
"Why are they..."
"My, now that's one flashy servant." Her assassin servant, Sasaki Kojiro, remarked from below, resting his katana against his shoulder. "I don't think that's a swallow, master."
Zeus, his temperament was so infuriating sometimes.
Medea grit her teeth under her hood, and looked at the man standing at the base of the stone steps leading up to the temple compound.
"How do you figure? Is it the presence massive enough to be felt across the city? Did that give it away?"
He gave an easy shrug.
"I just wanted to be sure you were aware."
Medea's lips thinned into a line, "That it isn't a swallow?"
"It could be a very big one. Or perhaps-"
What? Did someone else have the same idea as her?
"-It might be a big swarm of those infernal creatures. See the way it has begun to rise instead of fall."
...
Medea raised a hand.
"My apologies. I was simply trying to lighten the dreadful atmosphere."
He put a hand inside his purple kimono, and let out a good-natured laugh.
"Master, might be that the servant responsible for that will take insult to an absence after such a grand display."
There was an unexpected logic to that.
If she ignored the flagrant violation of the rules, and assumed that the one responsible was a rogue servant, then someone willing to go so far to announce themselves to every single servant and master present in the city could just be manic enough to...
"I'll go. You guard the temple."
Sasaki shook his head, "Because I'm allowed such immense freedom."
Glaring at the Assassin, she faded away with the wind.
-
Rin realised very quickly that she wasn't bearing even a fraction of the corrupt miasma spilling in waves from her servant. All it took was a glance at the unconscious people in the floors below. As an accomplished magus, she'd barely powered through his attention when it was restrained, they were only regular people, with no fortitude or resistance whatsoever.
Her gaze was drawn to the command seals on the back of her palm.
"Beelzebub-" Rin called out with clenched fists, "-Stop this. Are you trying to get the overseer after us?! And, all the people-"
Considering his nature, he probably didn't even realise the danger.
"I am wounded, my master." Satan answered calmly, "I merely set out to alleviate you of your financial difficulties. This would not transpire if you were not bankrupt."
"How does this even help that? And, at least I'm not morally bankrupt while at it. Dial it down."
"Perhaps you're right..."
He brought a hand to his chin. The darkness receded until it was contained solely to the rooftop, then it simply began to swell towards the skies and the skies alone.
"We're still breaking the rules..."
Better than nothing.
There was really only so much she could realistically order him to do. She was only dealing with the most prideful being in existence, after all. No biggie. No biggie at all!
"Because you follow the rules so well, don't you?"
"Hey uh, what's that supposed to mean, Archer?"
"No matter, my purpose is complete."
He turned his head, not to her, but to another person Rin never even noticed arrive. A woman in an ornate dark hood parted at the waist to reveal a purple dress below. She studied both of them in complete silence.
"So you would be the first, Medea of Colchis."
"How do you-"
"In this world, there is no misdeed that I do not know."
-
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