Chapter 58: Kariya and Tokiomi
Upon seeing this hidden mission, Su Xiao's heartbeat quickened. The hidden mission reward, 'Designate any skill level +1 (ignoring upper limit),' was not meant to enhance Azure Steel Shadow or Blade Mastery, but to upgrade those abilities already at max level.
For example, the four abilities: Absolute Magic Resistance, Supreme Blade, Spirit Shadow Constitution, and Devouring Core—these were X-ranked, with no possibility of improvement using Paradise Coins or Soul Crystals.
The hidden mission's reward offered a chance to break through the upper limit of these skills, which was why Su Xiao was tempted.
Among these four skills, any one breaking through its limit would significantly boost Su Xiao's strength.
But thinking about this now was still premature. The hidden mission's difficulty was high, and time was tight—only 45 hours.
Moreover, the punishment for this mission was bizarre: confinement in the Black Abyss Cage for one hour. He had no idea what that meant.
Under normal circumstances, a mission with such generous rewards would typically have execution as punishment—death. Yet 'confinement in the Black Abyss Cage for one hour' could match the terror of death.
He didn't want to experience what 'confinement in the Black Abyss Cage for one hour' felt like, so he needed to act quickly.
Su Xiao took a incendiary grenade from his storage space. Although the old priest's treasury was tempting, it was a derivative world faction shop certified by Reincarnation Paradise. Without the old priest personally opening it, entering was impossible. The old priest hadn't taken out those items before his death mainly because they belonged to the Holy Church. Giving them to Su Xiao privately would bring him endless trouble.
Just as Su Xiao stepped out of the church, a loud boom echoed as flames surged from the church's doors and windows, engulfing the entire building in a blaze.
"Farewell, priest."
Su Xiao got into the sports car parked by the street. As he was about to start the engine, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Notification: Your Master, Matō Kariya, has fallen. If you do not find a new Master, you will be forcibly returned to Reincarnation Paradise in two natural days.]
"Hmm? Matō Kariya is dead?"
Su Xiao contacted Bubu Wang. The text message Bubu Wang sent back indicated that Matō Kariya had died at the hands of the King of Heroes.
"As expected, that guy went after Tokiomi."
Starting the engine, Su Xiao sped down the street in the sports car. Since the main mission was already complete, he didn't need to find a magician to serve as his Master.
His remaining time in the Holy Grail World was 45 hours, while the forced return time was 2 natural days—48 hours. So whether he had a substitute Master was irrelevant.
Ten minutes later, Su Xiao drove to the southwest of Fuyuki City. As soon as he got out of the car, Bubu Wang ran out from a small alley between residential houses.
Bubu Wang raised his head, leading Su Xiao toward a residential area.
When Su Xiao arrived at the destination, he found it was a small estate. A large hole had been smashed into the estate's wall.
Entering through the hole in the wall, from a distance, Su Xiao spotted Matō Kariya's head.
Matō Kariya's head had been severed and casually tossed beside a fountain pool, while his headless body lay face-down in the water.
Su Xiao grabbed the headless body. The weight felt off.
With a splash, Su Xiao pulled the headless body out of the pool. Matō Kariya's hand was gripping the throat of another corpse.
The corpse Matō Kariya was strangling had a gruesome expression—eyes wide, mouth agape.
No wonder the corpse looked like that. At that moment, Matō Kariya's other hand was tightly clutching the corpse's groin. With Matō Kariya's strength, the victim must have experienced the sensation of crushed testicles before death.
This corpse was none other than Tōsaka Tokiomi. Matō Kariya had crushed his balls—such was the depth of his grudge. The deceased was, of course, Tōsaka Tokiomi.
Su Xiao examined Tōsaka Tokiomi's body and found that the fatal wound wasn't on the throat or groin, but a stab wound in the back, piercing the heart.
The hidden mission's information had already changed. Current surviving Masters: 4 people. Remaining Command Seals: 36.
If Su Xiao could eliminate these four Masters or make them consume all their Command Seals, the hidden mission would be complete.
Of course, finding these four Masters within 45 hours was difficult. Although he had the temporary skill: Large-Scale Detection (two uses), he still needed to plan.
Without these two chances to detect the Masters' locations, finding the remaining four Masters in 45 hours would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. The LV.20 difficulty was no joke.
These four Masters were: Emiya Kiritsugu, Kotomine Kirei, Waver Velvet, and Uryū Ryūnosuke.
The first two were hard to find, while the latter two were less difficult. Su Xiao planned to find the latter two first, then use the two tracking opportunities to locate Emiya Kiritsugu and Kotomine Kirei.
"Bubu, is there any unusual smell in Fuyuki City? Like a very strong scent of blood, or a particularly distinctive fishy sea smell?"
Bubu Wang tilted his head in thought.
"Woof."
"A fishy sea smell? A very special kind?"
"Woof."
"Track that smell."
Su Xiao mounted Bubu Wang's back. Bubu Wang was about to move but suddenly stopped, looking at Matō Sakura.
"Are you... going to abandon me?"
Matō Sakura's chest heaved violently, her small hands clenched tightly.
"No, I'm sending you somewhere."
Su Xiao picked up Matō Sakura and placed her in front of him. Bubu Wang took off at a sprint.
"Where to?"
Matō Sakura curled up into a ball. Su Xiao didn't answer.
Bubu Wang weaved through the city. After more than ten minutes, he stopped in front of a residential house. Su Xiao walked toward it, and Matō Sakura followed closely behind.
Su Xiao had been here before and sensed a special aura inside the house—likely a young magician. Even if not a magician, the person had many Magic Circuits. Such people were rare in Fuyuki City.
Knock, knock, knock...
Su Xiao knocked on the door and pulled out a cardboard box to block his face.
Soft footsteps approached from behind the door, followed by a woman's voice.
"Who is it?"
Hearing this voice, Matō Sakura's pupils contracted, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
"There's a letter and an item for you."
"A letter? At this hour..."
"The sender is... let me see... Tōsaka Tokiomi."
"Is that so."
The door cracked open, revealing a beautiful young woman through the gap. As she opened the door, Su Xiao dropped the cardboard box, and their eyes met.
"Ah!"
A high-pitched scream rang out. The woman instinctively tried to close the door, but a strong hand grabbed the edge, easily pulling it open. The woman stumbled back a few steps, dragged out of the room.
"Rin! Run!"
The woman lunged forward recklessly, tightly hugging Su Xiao and screaming hoarsely. The shout startled a little girl inside the room into a daze.
Su Xiao didn't know where the woman found the courage to engage in 'close-quarters combat' with him. Perhaps it was a mother's sense of responsibility.
Just as the woman was about to bite down on Su Xiao's shoulder, her peripheral vision caught sight of someone, making her stop.
Under the dim streetlight stood a little girl in purple.
"Sakura..."
The woman hung on Su Xiao, staring blankly at Matō Sakura not far away.
Matō Sakura breathed heavily, her mouth opening and closing but unable to make a sound.
Su Xiao pulled the woman off him. Although she was wearing pajamas, her soft, mature body was offering him quite a view, both her daughters were present. He couldn't exactly put on an adult educational show.
The woman's name was Tōsaka Aoi. 'Tōsaka' was her married surname, so her identity was obvious: Tōsaka Tokiomi's wife, Matō Kariya's childhood sweetheart, and Matō Sakura's mother.
"Your daughter. Take care of her yourself. I'm busy."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, Tōsaka Aoi quickly ran to Matō Sakura, pulling her into a tight embrace. When Tōsaka Tokiomi had given Sakura away, she had wanted to object, but it was her husband's decision. In the Tōsaka family, Tokiomi's word was law for everyone.
Su Xiao mounted Bubu Wang's back, and Bubu Wang carried him away into the distance.