The Matou Residence was not far from Huiqun Academy, less than ten minutes by taxi.
“Let’s stop here.”
Until a luxurious villa appeared in view, Surtr told the car to stop.
“Alright, that’s 2,600 yen in total.”
So expensive, Surtr paused her action of withdrawing money.
Converted to RMB it would be over a hundred, and it was less than three kilometers away.
Her meager funds shrank once more, and the two got out of the car.
“Two young ladies, although I don’t know why you’ve come here, people often go missing around this neighborhood. It’s better not to stay too long.”
Before leaving, the honest-looking driver suddenly reminded them.
No matter how one thought about it, this was Matou Zouken’s doing, Surtr thought to herself.
That old geezer would hunt humans just to cling to life; who knows how many people he had eaten over all these years.
Dying a thousand times really wouldn’t be enough for him.
“Thanks for the reminder.”
Bidding farewell to the driver, Medea set up a crowd-repelling barrier around the area.
The distant mountains swallowed the last ray of sunset, and night shrouded the earth.
At times like this, it was often when the bugs in the gutters came out to be active, and it was also a great time for pest control.
“What a truly disgusting place.”
In front of the courtyard’s main gate, Medea, who had put her black robe back on, instinctively placed her hand over her nose, a visible look of disgust on her face.
The villa was quite luxurious, but for some reason, it gave people a creepy feeling.
Surtr could only sense that something was wrong with this estate, but Medea, being a mage, clearly had a much clearer understanding.
Decayed dark magical energy permeated every part of this estate, like a garbage dump piled with rotting fruit, constantly emitting a sickening stench outward.
The entire villa had turned into a paradise for insect swarms, making her feel sick in different ways compared to her previous useless Master’s workshop.
“Heh, it seems this old man’s magecraft has made the two of you feel displeased.”
A hoarse, damp voice rang out from inside the door.
An old man leaning on a wooden staff, wearing a dark gray kimono, hunched over, with not a single hair on his head, walked out from inside the house and chuckled at the two people outside the door.
Magicians often possess a very strong sense of territoriality, being quite wary of other magicians who trespass into their own domain without permission.
Not to mention Servants.
Neither of them concealed their tracks, so it was only natural for Matou Zouken to discover them.
At the same time, another line of quests popped up in Surtr’s eyes.
[Client: Matou Zouken]
[Quest: Want to obtain eternal life]
[Reward: Primogems × 500]
But after just a glance, she threw it into the trash can.
Although she really wanted Primogems, compared to helping him achieve immortality, she wanted to cremate him even more.
At least that would clear her mind.
Matou Zouken’s gaze lingered on Medea for a moment, then turned to look at Surtr beside her.
A greedy, dark light radiated from his sunken eye sockets.
For an old man like him who was on the verge of death, the vibrant vitality emanating from her was undoubtedly a fatal temptation.
Judging from her appearance, she probably possessed some special bloodline, likely belonging to the lineage of Hereditary Pathogen Carriers.
Those people could spread the mystery of the Age of Gods within their family in a virus-like manner, so it was nothing even if it was a bit strange.
If anything, that was even better.
If she could be made to stay here…
Thinking of this, Matou Zouken’s mood inevitably became cheerful.
Even if she was a Servant, she was merely the weakest caster, and he truly did not think much of her.
“I wonder what business the two distinguished guests have coming to find an old man like me? Why not go inside the house to discuss it in detail?”
Temporarily suppressing the craving in his heart, Matou Zouken asked the two of them hypocritically.
“We would go even without you saying so, caster, do it.”
Surtr did not want to waste words with this kind of fellow, and shouted straightforwardly.
“Understood, master.”
Medea responded immediately.
She had long wanted to tear down such an eyesore of a place, and immediately summoned her staff, lightly tapping it against the ground.
Magical energy gathered in the air to form a pale pink magic circle.
A scorching beam of light pierced through Matou Zouken’s body along with the main gate.
The corpse fell, instantly turning into a scattered swarm of insects that gathered in the air and flew toward the mansion like they were fleeing.
“What a rude little girl!”
An angry voice spread from all directions.
The magical barrier set up within the mansion fully unfolded, and the rustling sounds of insect chirping echoed from the bushes, corners, and beneath the bricks.
Dark shadows emerged from them, and in the blink of an eye, the Matou Family residence transformed into an impregnable fortress.
The old bug did not die.
It was not surprising, since that thing was quite hard to kill anyway.
However, given the opponent’s posture and connecting it to the information Shinji provided, whether he intended to firmly defend the mansion or lure them inside remained open to discussion.
‘Be a bit careful, he might have hidden something in the house.’
Surtr reminded.
‘Understood.’
Nodding, Medea cast her gaze upon the barrier.
Before coming, Surtr had already introduced the old bug to her—a magician who had survived precariously from five hundred years ago to the present, and who could even rival a Servant at his peak.
He was originally a lofty person who longed to save the whole world and held ideals, but now it seemed he had completely fallen.
“Hmph, as far as barriers go, it is still somewhat worth looking at. It seems those hundreds of years were not lived in vain.”
“However, after so long, it is only at this level, which shows it is nothing much after all.”
Medea’s tone did not conceal her disdain for Matou Zouken at all.
Wanting to stop Medea, who stood at the pinnacle of magic in this world, with this kind of thing was still quite inadequate.
After observing for ten-odd seconds, Medea stepped forward and came before an exterior wall.
A brilliant blue magical glow flickered atop the staff.
Raising her hand, she lightly touched the wall with the staff.
Instantly, upon the translucent barrier, blue patterns resembling a circuit board spread outward with the staff at the center.
Afterwards.
Bang.
Like a shattering mirror, from Surtr’s perspective, the semi-circular shield enveloping the Matou Family right before them shattered into pieces with just a single touch from Medea.
The whole process took only ten-odd seconds.
Although Surtr was confident she could do it faster, she obviously could not be as elegant as the other party.
“Let us go, master.”
Medea calmly stepped into the courtyard.
The swarm of insects rushed toward them.
Obscure incantations were chanted from her mouth at a speed too fast for people to hear clearly.
Cyan gales surrounded the two of them, tearing apart the incoming flying insects.
But no matter how large the number, they were ultimately just third-rate goods.
Under Medea’s exquisite control, not a single drop of blood even thought about getting close.
Surtr followed closely behind her.
From time to time, static resembling a cut-off signal echoed by her ears, and one magic circle after another appeared in the air and detonated. This chapter was copied from novelping . com without permission.
Medea was like a chief surgeon holding a scalpel.
In less than two minutes, the barrier that the Matou Family had spent hundreds of years maintaining was mostly dismantled by Medea.
The two of them walked unscrupulously toward the depths of the courtyard.
A moment later, they arrived before the mansion’s door.
Strange?
Standing at the doorway, Surtr looked back at the ravaged courtyard.
Why was Hassan not seen?
Just moments ago she had been continuously on guard against him, but the two of them had come all the way to the mansion’s main gate without seeing him.
Indeed a trap, huh.
Exchanging a glance, Medea retreated two steps and raised her staff.
A scorching pillar of light burst forth from the tip, piercing through the door.
The chilly sunlight shone in from the outside, bringing a trace of light to the dim living room before them.
Stepping through the door, the rot-laden aura, completely different from the insect swarm outside, made Surtr furrow her brows straight away.
Moreover, this feeling, this malice, she seemed to have seen it somewhere before.
It should have been not long ago, it seemed to be at…
“It is the greater grail!”
Suddenly, Medea spoke up.
“master, there is the greater grail here, no, it should be the aura of All the Evils of the World.”
Yes, this is it.
No wonder it felt familiar.
To think the old bug actually picked up the black mud as well.
“Let us withdraw first…”
Even without Dark Sakura, the black mud itself was a special attack against Servants; it was too dangerous for Medea to stay here.
But before the two of them could make a move, Matou Zouken’s gloomy voice rang out once more.
“Hehe, want to leave now? Too late!”
A noisy sound of flapping wings echoed by their ears.
Large swaths of shadows crawled out from the darkness, their crimson compound eyes emitting a creepy light in the air; their numbers were so great that even the living room was illuminated somewhat.
If the ones outside were all small fries, the ones inside were all elite monsters.
Normally, such a setup had limited threat to Servants, but…
“These are bugs that this old man specially cultivated using black mud; I suppose their effect on Servants should be quite good.”
The corners of the old bug’s mouth curled into a smile of holding victory in his grasp.
No matter how powerful a Servant was, as long as they were bitten once by these bugs, they would be eroded by the black mud.
It could be said they were born specifically to deal with Servants.
As long as the Servant was wiped out, the remaining single master was simply nothing to fear.
Surtr did not bother with him, grabbed Medea, and ran outward.
But at some unknown moment, a black-robed figure had already blocked that path.
The dark shadow raised a right arm that looked completely mismatched with its body, and a hoarse voice sounded from beneath the skull mask.
“Noble Phantasm, Zabaniya.”
Noble Phantasm!
The shadows within the room climbed onto the bodies of the two, as if wanting to devour them entirely.
Wolves in front and tigers behind, a nearly fatal situation.
But beneath the shadows.
The flame-haired girl curved the corners of her mouth.
“Ha, I have finally waited for you.”