Thump! Thump!
The dull thumping of her heart echoed in Sakura Matou's mind like the whispers of a demon.
Her once-smiling face instantly became incomparably despairing, her purple pupils turning empty and lifeless, like a doll devoid of any emotion.
Why...
Why... Why... Why?
Why, Grandpa, do you still have to be alive?
Why did you have to choose this moment to let me know you're still alive?
Am I not allowed to have happiness, the right to live as an ordinary girl?
Endless despair filled Sakura Matou's heart.
If it were before she had tasted happiness, she would have simply accepted everything without resistance, believing it to be her destiny, a fate destined to live in pain and despair.
However, she had finally seen hope.
Senpai said that after everything was over, he would marry her, and they would be together forever.
Sakura Matou had even begun to imagine the happy life she and Senpai would have after their marriage, bearing children that belonged to them, a family living a happy, peaceful, and beautiful life.
Now, the hope she had just seen was shattered, and the happiness she was about to have was slowly drifting away from her.
'No! Absolutely not, no one can take what belongs to me!'
A crazy idea appeared in Sakura Matou's mind.
She would personally kill the grandfather hiding inside her heart, completely and utterly kill him, leaving not even a trace of residue.
For the sake of her and Senpai's happiness, no matter who stood in her way, no matter what she had to do, she was willing!
"Sakura! Sakura... what's wrong?"
At this moment, a series of calls awakened Sakura Matou from her thoughts.
When she looked up, she saw a worried Shirou Emiya looking at her anxiously, and even Artoria, who had been sitting opposite her, was standing by her side.
"It's nothing, Senpai.
I'm just too happy, I couldn't control myself for a moment."
Looking at Shirou Emiya's worried face, Sakura Matou raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, a happy smile on her face, but this time Sakura Matou's smile seemed to have something more chilling than before.
"Really, Sakura?"
"Yes, really Senpai, I'm just too happy, after all, you said that we will get married and be together forever after everything is over."
Sakura Matou gently leaned on Shirou Emiya's shoulder, still smiling calmly on her face.
Seeing this, Shirou Emiya was slightly relieved, but still planned to care more about her recently.
The expression Sakura Matou showed just now was somewhat different from what she said.
"By the way, Senpai, I plan to go out to buy something today, is that okay?"
"Go out to buy something, Sakura, what do you want to buy?"
"Some girls' things."
After saying that, Sakura Matou lowered her head with a blushing face, and gently hammered Shirou Emiya's chest with her small fist.
Seeing this, how could Shirou Emiya not understand what Sakura Matou wanted to buy?
He quickly nodded and agreed to this matter, and did not say anything about accompanying her, after all, he, a man, would not be convenient to enter many girls' specialty stores.
In addition, during the day, the Heroic Spirits would also restrain each other and would not fight, preventing large-scale attention from ordinary people, so going out during the day was still considered safe.
"Then, Senpai, I'm going out."
A few minutes later, Sakura Matou, who had changed into clothes suitable for action, waved goodbye to Shirou Emiya at the door, and directly opened the door and walked out.
At the moment when the door behind her closed, the gentle smile on Sakura Matou's face instantly became indifferent and lifeless.
A pair of empty eyes stared at the position of her heart, with a twisted and crazy smile on the corner of her mouth... No one can stop her from being with Senpai forever.
"What do you think, Grandpa?"
Sakura Matou raised her hand and stroked her heart, feeling the Crest Worms wriggling their bodies little by little inside.
"The most top-notch darkness and twisted flavor, it's really the best!"
Not far from the Emiya's house, on a tall building, Lu Minghao looked at the girl below with a smile on his lips, his nose twitching slightly.
A faint, but incomparably pure and dark aura was constantly flowing from Sakura Matou's body.
As a slime that feeds on 'evil', Sakura Matou at this moment was like a top-notch dish that had been cooked by a top chef for sixteen years and was about to be completed, full of tempting aroma.
"Also, young boy, you must enjoy your last happy time to the fullest."
In the next second, Lu Minghao looked in the direction of the Emiya's house, looking at Shirou Emiya who was practicing projection magic in the courtyard, the smile on Lu Minghao's face became more and more wanton, and a strong malice surrounded him.
His Master's creation plan was about to be completed.
..........
.........
On the other side, Sakura Matou, who had left the Emiya's house, was wandering aimlessly on the streets of Fuyuki, but a pair of empty eyes were constantly paying attention to the people passing by.
"Yo, girl, are you looking for someone? Do you need my help?"
At this moment, a voice that sounded instinctively close to people suddenly rang in Sakura Matou's ear.
When she turned her head, she found that Lu Minghao was sitting on a chair across the street, holding an ice cream in his hand, greeting her while eating.
"Caster, why are you here?"
Looking at Lu Minghao opposite, Sakura Matou hesitated for a few seconds before walking over and asking with a cold face.
"It's very simple, your sister, that is, my Master, Rin Tohsaka, asked me to protect you in secret, and by the way, see how Shirou Emiya is treating you."
Shrugging his hands, looking at Sakura Matou in front of him, Lu Minghao put on a helpless expression, but in fact, Rin Tohsaka had vaguely noticed Lu Minghao's abnormality.
As for him leaving privately during the day, she would at most take a look and wouldn't say much.
In Rin Tohsaka's view, Lu Minghao could not harm herself with the limitations of the Command Seals.
In addition, she had used a Command Seal to save Ying before, leaving only the last Command Seal.
Even Rin Tohsaka did not dare to use it casually anymore.
Therefore, as long as Lu Minghao returned home on time at night and participated in the Holy Grail War with her, she no longer cared about what Lu Minghao wanted to do at other times.
At this time, Rin Tohsaka only cared about one thing, and that was to obtain the Holy Grail to save Sakura Matou and the innocent citizens of Fuyuki City who died because of the battles between Heroic Spirits.
However, in Lu Minghao's eyes, who saw all of this, Rin Tohsaka now was like an ostrich burying her head in the sand, pretending that nothing would happen, or like a wife who knew that her husband was cheating, thinking that as long as the other party did not bring the mistress home, everyone would still be a loving family.
Honestly, Lu Minghao was quite disappointed with Rin Tohsaka's behavior.
If Rin Tohsaka was like when she had just summoned herself, directly using the Command Seals to attack without saying a word, then Lu Minghao would still think that Rin Tohsaka had a bit of a Magus's appearance.
Now she was pretending to be an ostrich, it was simply too weak.
Lu Minghao didn't really care that Tohsaka Rin had initially forced him with Command Seals not to harm her. Compared to the current ostrich-like Tohsaka Rin, at least back then, she had some shining points in Lu Minghao's eyes.
As for now... she's not even qualified as nourishment for his 'Abyss of Evil'.
'Might as well make good use of her tonight and see what brilliant light his first Master will emit in despair.'
Thinking of this, Lu Minghao raised his head and looked at Matou Sakura in front of him. She was the most crucial step in his plan to create the Emiya Giant Hero.
"Tohsaka-senpai asked you to protect me... Thank you, but it's not necessary."
At this moment, Matou Sakura had no idea what Lu Minghao, who nominally came to protect her, wanted to do. She just politely thanked Lu Minghao and turned to leave, because she had more important things to do than dealing with Lu Minghao.
"Oh, Sakura, are you leaving? Don't you mind if that old worm in your heart occupies your body and even kills you and Emiya Shirou's child?"
"What! Caster, what did you say? My child with senpai?"
In the next second, Matou Sakura, who was about to leave, rushed directly to Lu Minghao, her originally empty eyes filled with anxiety and nervousness as she asked him.
"It's true. I've already sensed the aura of life being conceived, although it's very weak, it's real."
Lu Minghao looked at Matou Sakura with a confident expression, but in reality, he was just deceiving her. Even if Matou Sakura and Emiya Shirou hit the jackpot once, it would be impossible for a life reaction to appear in just one night.
After all, humans are such a weak and limited race. If it were Lu Minghao, self-reproducing three hundred times in a second would be as easy as pie.
"....... Caster, do you have a solution?"
Looking at Lu Minghao in front of her, Matou Sakura hesitated for a few seconds, then gave up her plan to continue looking for the kind Mr. Jin and chose to gamble on Lu Minghao, after all, he could easily see the worm in her heart, so he must have a way to solve it.
"Solutions? There are many, it just depends on which one you want to choose, Sakura."
"Many?"
"Yes, the simplest way is for me to directly take out the old worm in your heart and crush it to death. Of course, I can't guarantee that you, as a human, can survive being gutted and then having your heart put back in."
"So, I suggest you use another method, a safe, perfect method, and in the end, you can obtain power comparable to a Heroic Spirit."
The voice, like the whispers of a devil, echoed in Matou Sakura's ears. After hesitating for a few seconds, Matou Sakura looked at the location of her heart. She could already feel the Crest Worms inside becoming more and more active. She didn't have much time left.
"I agree, Caster, what should I do?"
"The right decision. Come with me."
Looking at Matou Sakura, who agreed to his proposal, Lu Minghao smiled slightly, snapped his fingers, and his body merged into the shadows under his feet. Seeing this, Matou Sakura gritted her teeth and followed.
On the street, the passers-by seemed completely unable to see everything that was happening in front of them, and were still chatting about the gas pipeline explosion in this morning's news.
On the other side, in the world of shadows, Matou Sakura cautiously followed behind Lu Minghao, her eyes constantly looking around at the inverted world. Buildings stood upside down in the sky, and flattened human-shaped shadows could be seen walking back and forth on the streets.
"Alright, we're here."
A few minutes later, Lu Minghao stopped in front of a huge shadow. The shadow in front of him was like a pool of viscous black mud, constantly wriggling its body and spreading outward, exuding malice towards everything in the world.
"What is this?"
Matou Sakura looked at the thing in front of her and asked with a vigilant expression, although she really wanted to kill the old worm in her heart, it didn't mean she couldn't see that there was something wrong with the thing in front of her.
"This? This is All the World's Evil, the shadow of the culprit who killed tens of thousands of people in Fuyuki City ten years ago."
Saying that, Lu Minghao began to admire the thing in front of him. He had only found it recently. Although the All the World's Evil that overflowed from the Holy Grail was destroyed by Artoria's Excalibur, the shadow remained.
"Don't worry, although this thing is very dangerous to others, it's the best nourishment for you, ensuring that the whole process is painless, and even very comfortable."
Looking at the hesitant Matou Sakura, Lu Minghao began his great deception again, but in fact, it couldn't be considered a deception. Although this thing looked very ugly and was very dangerous, that was for others.
For Matou Sakura, who had experienced countless despair since childhood, was trapped in the worm pit, and had long fallen into darkness, this was simply the best thing.
Especially since Matou Sakura still maintained her gentle personality after experiencing these things since childhood. A large part of the reason was that Matou Sakura regarded Emiya Shirou as her salvation, which allowed her to repeatedly jump on the edge of blackening.
And now, what Lu Minghao wants to do is to completely integrate Matou Sakura into the darkness and become a part of it, but at the same time, ensure that Matou Sakura's soul, after being corrupted, still maintains its original personality. At most, her personality will have changed slightly.
"Is it true?"
At this time, after hearing Lu Minghao's words, Matou Sakura not only didn't believe it, but instead took a few steps back. She never knew that she had the qualifications that Lu Minghao said, and it would be very comfortable to enter here?
Looking at the viscous, pitch-black, unconsciously wriggling tentacles, only a ghost would believe that this thing would be very comfortable!
"Really, no one believes me when I tell the truth. Is there no sincerity between people?"
Faced with Matou Sakura's vigilant expression, Lu Minghao raised his hand in great pain and stood on the moral high ground to point fingers at her. There should be more sincerity and less routine between people, so that the whole world will become infinitely beautiful.
"So, go in!"
In the next second, before Matou Sakura could react, Lu Minghao suddenly appeared behind her, kicked her in the kidney, and the whole person flew out like a ball with a pop, just falling into the shadow of All the World's Evil.
"Oh, I forgot to say one thing, I'm not a human, so I don't need more sincerity between people."
Looking at Matou Sakura, whose body was grabbed by tentacles and dragged into the shadow, Lu Minghao raised his hand and waved, indicating that she didn't need to thank him, and by the way, explained his race, otherwise, what if Matou Sakura misunderstood?
After all, he said that there should be more sincerity between people, and now he is no longer a human, and he is still so sincere to Matou Sakura, how could she not be moved to tears of gratitude.
