Chapter 38: Zoran’s Wish?

"Your life is already like a candle flickering in the wind."

Those were the first words Zoran spoke when he met Kariya Matou again.

"I know," Kariya replied, suppressing his pain and offering a bitter smile.

The erosion caused by the Crest Worms had caused multiple organ failure. He had long since prepared himself to die once this war reached its conclusion. He glanced at the vacant-eyed Sakura in his arms, and a flicker of hope surfaced in the depths of his gaze.

He looked up at the figure floating in the sky and pleaded, "You... you promised me... Sakura's body... cough, cough!"

Berserker was dead; he had lost the chance to continue the fight. He had ordered Berserker to kill Zouken Matou with his own hands. This household was on the brink of collapse. But it was worth it. All of it. Aoi's daughter was here, he had rescued her! Zouken deserved to die, and Kariya himself could die, but Sakura... Sakura was innocent.

Zoran remained silent for a moment before slowly descending to stand before him, his gaze dropping low. Kariya knelt, holding Sakura as he straightened his upper body. His eyes were full of hope, like a man of a bitter fate waiting for a god's mercy.

At this very moment, Zoran was his god!

"The Crest Worms are ceaselessly remodeling her body..." Zoran crooked a finger slightly, and a revolting worm was forcefully extracted from within Sakura. Bound by gravity, it was held suspended in the air by Zoran. It writhed and twisted frantically, desperate to return to the warmth of the body it had just inhabited.

Zoran closed his fingers, and the worm exploded into a pulp under the gravitational pressure.

"I must say, your father was much smarter than you," Zoran sighed.

"What do you mean?" Kariya's eyes widened.

"Your agreement was a failure from the start. That old man had already claimed this body as his vessel."

"You mean... he still has a trump card?" Kariya was stunned; he couldn't see it at all. Despite being a descendant of the Matou family, he knew very little about their worm magecraft.

"Some of Sakura's nerves have already been modified to house Zouken Matou's will. It's true, even if you kill his physical body, his consciousness will not fade."

With a single glance, Zoran had seen Sakura's current essence. She was being "remade" into a container. Not a single fiber of her being could hide from the eyes of a Demon Sorcerer.

Upon hearing this, Kariya's face twisted. He clenched his teeth, his hatred nearly tangible. In the eyes of his father, Zouken Matou, there was no room for family or humanity. Everything was merely a means to achieve his thirst for immortality.

"My authority is not suited for support or healing," Zoran said flatly.

Kariya bowed his head deeply and said hoarsely, "You must have a way, don't you? I have fulfilled your request..."

"Of course," Zoran cut him off with a smile. "After all, I am a Demon Sorcerer."

Like the hand of God in the masterpiece The Creation of Adam, he pointed a finger downward. A faint glow of green light descended, sinking into Sakura's curled-up form.

A spell. A power completely different from the magecraft of this world.

Zoran was glad that on his first day escaping the Netherworld as a soul, he had scoured the shelves of Uncle's Rare Finds. What he had told Shendu was no lie. Reading was not just about learning modern magic; it was a way to reclaim the ancient wisdom that had been eroded by the Netherworld. Though the effect was subtle, for an Ancient Demon, it was enough.

Pointing down, he whispered the incantation: "Begone!"

Modern sealing spells, banishment spells, and the ancient restructuring spells from his memory, mana carrying a faint aura of immortality was slowly transmitted.

Sakura's brow furrowed, and a wretched, high-pitched chittering of worms echoed from within her. As the green light washed over her, Sakura suddenly jolted awake. She scrambled out of Kariya's arms, collapsed onto the floor, and began to retch violently.

Zoran withdrew his mana, tucking his hands back into his wide sleeves with an air of calm. He stated plainly, "Keeping one's word is a prerequisite for a Demon."

Beside him, the bored Shendu suddenly raised an eyebrow. What was that supposed to mean? Was that a dig at him?

He spread his hands and mimicked Zoran's nonchalant tone, whispering, "As is well known, that is indeed the case."

"Sakura! Sakura!" Kariya wept with joy, embracing the girl and calling her name repeatedly.

"Uncle... Kariya?"

Zoran turned around and slowly floated toward the exit of the Matou Manor. The play here had reached its finale. Kariya wouldn't live much longer; as for what happened to them next, it wasn't his concern. While Kariya wasn't exactly a likable fellow, he at least had a sense of propriety. Even knowing his days were numbered, he hadn't had the gall to beg Zoran to solve his own Crest Worm problem.

Looking back, Kariya had placed Sakura to the side and was walking back toward the basement worm pit. Zoran caught his mutterings:

"Magus families... I will end the Matou worm craft. Sakura, when I die, burn me to ashes too, okay?"

In the pitch-black night, a massive fire began to roar within the Matou Manor.

On the way back, Zoran spoke up. "The Master of Rider sent word. His Servant, Iskandar, wants a duel of 'King vs. King' with you."

Shendu looked up and laughed. "Excellent."

"His Noble Phantasm is like yours, a Reality Marble. I think it will be quite interesting," Zoran said expectantly.

Rider: Iskandar, the King of Conquerors. Alexander the Great, who had conquered Europe, Asia, and Africa in history. Zoran recalled the information about him. Without a doubt, Rider was no weakling. Though his Master, Waver Velvet, was young and somewhat timid, he was nonetheless a teenage genius of the Clock Tower. In the original timeline, Iskandar had only lost to Gilgamesh by a hair. The reason for his defeat lay in his own divinity. If Shendu hadn't been a demon devoid of divinity, he likely would have been bound by the Chains of Heaven and wouldn't have won so easily.

Shendu counted the remaining opponents on his fingers. After a moment, he smiled. "My brother, once you obtain the Holy Grail, I am curious, what wish will you make?"

"My wish?" Zoran paused under the moonlight.

The Holy Grail's power to grant wishes was limited by the mana of the Servant souls it had absorbed. In other words, it wasn't truly omnipotent. Furthermore, the Grail had long since been tainted; any wish made would be realized in a distorted fashion. A demon's eyes always see through to the essence.

Thinking of this, Zoran said firmly, "Brother, I have never needed the Holy Grail itself, or its wish-granting ability."

"What I need is merely a vessel overflowing with mana. Nothing more."

Just like the famous saying: The talismans were never the point. The power inside them was.