Part 372: Country of the dark queen

Music: Wandering Shadow













I will not make a penis joke.
I will not make a penis joke.
I will not make a penis joke.

The impossibly high canopy and black sun.
The huge cavern isn't a cave, but a desolate land.
There should be two, no, three kilometers across.
In the distance stands a monolithic wall.
…This is the start and the end of this war.
There should be a giant crater above the cliff.
Up there is the system that has been activated for two hundred years.

The massive rock that holds a large magic circle, the Great Holy Grail, belches black fire from its mortar-shaped center.



The embryonic movements of the black shadow.
The light illuminating the desert is a wave of magical energy.
…According to Tohsaka's records, this is what you'd call the altar of the beginning.
The middle that leads to the middle.
The circular circuit, the world of heart, Heavens Feel.
It has immeasurable magical energy, creating an alien world that lives up to its name.

"That's Angra Manyu… So the name 'all evils of this world' isn't just for show, huh?"
Rin talks lightly as she makes her way to the altar.
…She's worried about Shirou and Rider, but her situation isn't too good either.
The magical energy in the Great Holy Grail isn't something a human can handle.

The vortex of magical energy can be called infinite.
There's so much that it won't run out, not even if all the magi in the world come here and use whatever magic they wish.
It's more than anyone can use in a lifetime, and therefore can be called infinite.

"…Nothing is impossible, huh? That Holy Grail really can make any wish come true."
Her determination almost breaks, faced with the numbing premonition of death.
Keeping her spirits up with idle talk, she walks on.



"……Strange. I can make it to the altar."
Zouken shouldn't allow an intruder to trespass this far.
If he's planning to attack her, it'll be on the way to the altar.
But it's not happening, and Rin's about to reach her destination.

""
She thinks.
Why is there no interference from Zouken? Why can't she feel his or Assassin's presence?
She makes a guess.
She denies the possibility, but easily accepts it.
No, she's forced to accept it.
Because…

Music: Stop

Video: Angra Manyu (mirror)

"I'm glad, Nee-san. You came here instead of running away."



Now it looks even more like a penis.

_{…fuck, I made a penis joke.}

…Her guess turns out to be true.



Music: All Evil of the World

















She looks up.
On top of the cliff.
With the black sun behind her, Matou Sakura welcomes her older sister.



"!"
Rin retreats a little, overwhelmed by the pressure.
…The girl has been transfigured further than Rin expected.
Angra Manyu is a Servant without form.
It's only a shadow that takes form using people's wishes.
Therefore, its powers depend on its Master.

Matou Sakura is now Angra Manyu.
"All evils of this world", the function to emit the curse is the girl called Matou Sakura.

"…Crap. If Kirei were here, I bet he'd call it a messenger from God."
Rin looks up at Sakura, who has turned into a bottomless well of magical energy, and releases her gem sword.
But is it something that can match the being above her?



There are two functions for weapons that support magic and ceremonial equipment that assist in rituals.
One function is to amplify.
It's a backup, increasing and supplementing one's magical energy and strengthening the spell itself.
These items are considered orthodox support equipment, and magi carry at least one. Rin's jewels are classified in this group.

Another is a limited function.
It's a special magical item where the weapon itself becomes magic.
It's activated using the magical energy of the magus and performs a predetermined divine mystery.
Its greatest advantage is that it enables the magus to use magic she's not capable of ordinarily.

It only has one application and thus lacks versatility, but for that reason, its power is immense.
A lance that always pierces the heart,
a bridle that enslaves holy beasts,
a dagger that cancels any magical effect.
Noble Phantasms of Servants are usually classified in this group.

""
So, which is the gem sword?
Is it support equipment that gives magical energy to the user,
or is it a limited weapon that defeats the enemy with its unique ability?
…But.
No matter which it may be, nothing should be able to match Matou Sakura.

The difference in their magical energy is too vast.
No matter what kind of a magic it may be, Matou Sakura should be able to drive it back in one breath.



"What's wrong, why are you trembling, Nee-san? …Fufu, don't tell me you've suddenly lost your nerve."
"…Well said. Where's your guardian? You're a coward, so doesn't it bother you that he's not by your side?"



""
…The air freezes.
Hostile tension mixes into the warm air in the cavern.

""
The black girl bites her lip and sighs.



"Grandfather's gone. He was a bother, so I crushed him along with Assassin."
She smiles gracefully.



"……"
She doesn't need to ask.
Matou Zouken was killed by Matou Sakura.
…It's natural that he hasn't shown himself.
The old magus was eaten by his own pet dog.

"I see, so you're completely free. Zouken bound you in a good way and a bad way.
You don't have anything to fear now that you killed him."
"Not quite. Not yet, Nee-san.
Killing my grandfather isn't enough. I'm this strong and I can do anything, but I'm still bound."

"…Geez. Nee-san, you're so insignificant, but you won't disappear from within me. You still torment me in my mind.
Soas long as you live, I can't be free."

Her voice is a light singsong, but the words are heavy as slime.
The contradiction proves her madness.
The hostility in the cavern is a rhapsody of superiority and awe.

"…Oh. But you seem happy in spite of that. You killed Zouken and Assassin, so I should assume you killed Kirei as well.
What a performance for someone who hated killing… are you getting used to murder now?"

"Yes. Crushing people and eating them are no different.
For people, it's boring and meaningless if you don't have fun, and it's painful if you don't eat, right?
It's just the same. I'm the same as you. I'm just doing what everyone else's doing."

"Wait. Do you really mean that twisted logic?"
"It's not twisted logic. I'm not wrong.
It's different because I've gotten strong. I'm strong, so I'm different now."

"II'm strong. Everything's forgiven if you're strong.
…Yes. If I'm strong and no one can beat me, everything I've done will be forgiven. If I'm not myself, everything I've done couldn't be helped…!"

A scream of rage.
It's the complaint of a petulant child who can't escape unless she believes in it.

"Do you understand, Nee-san? That's what I'm going to become. That's why I can kill anyone. It's natural for me."
"……I see. So you're going to take it out on everything you see? But what about Shirou? He still believes he can save you. Are you going to kill him too?"



A serene smile crosses her face.
"Yes. Senpai's no exception.
Nohe's the only one I want to kill, Nee-san.
…Yes. I quickly"





"…Hmph. What about taking Angra Manyu with you?
I knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you were this stupid. You let yourself be swallowed, and you've already stopped being human."
A voice filled with clear hostility.
As the supervisor of this land, Tohsaka Rin acknowledges her own sister as "evil".



You're envious of this great power, right? You're jealous, right? That's why you came to kill me even though you can't.
……Yes. You're going to take him away from me so you can keep the happiness to yourself."

Video: Towering Shadows (mirror)









The shadows stand up.
A magic of absorption, a bundle of magical energy that matches a Servant's Noble Phantasm.
Not one, but many rise up to attack.



"I won't give it to you. This is my power. All I'm going to give you is regret and despair.
I'll slowly show you what I mean."





There are four figures.
They reach out for the small person beneath them like giants protecting the girl.



"I'll show you the difference in our powers, Nee-san.
Nobody's going to come help you this time. You can drown in me like a bug in a lake."





The towering shadows attack her.
A titanic power that can neither be blocked nor dodged swallows Tohsaka Rin.

Music: Stop