As the blinding flames surged higher, thick black smoke began to billow from the crematorium's chimneys, something that hadn't happened in a long time. Over time, Zouken Matou's screams grew more desperate and gut-wrenching.
Even through the thick, heavy iron doors, the group could clearly hear the horrific sound of something inside scratching at the walls, creating an eerie creaking noise.
Enhanced by the power of Fang Mo's Arcane Ring, the temperature inside the crematorium had already exceeded 2,000 degrees—enough to melt steel. A mere touch would have incinerated any normal person to ash.
But Zouken Matou was different. Fang Mo had earlier plunged a healing dagger into him, a blade that pierced his life-controlling Crest Worm, forcing it back into Zouken's body.
Thanks to the dagger's terrifying regeneration abilities, Zouken's body was continuously being burned and regenerated, repeatedly undergoing this agonizing process.
His flesh was scorched, peeled away layer by layer, and the Crest Worms inside him kept bursting apart, only to regenerate seconds later, proliferating again inside him.
Yes, proliferating.
As mentioned before, Zouken had lived for centuries. His body had long since decayed, and to extend his life, he had transferred his soul into a mass of writhing worms. Every so often, Zouken would need to seek out fresh bodies, using the worms to infest and take over their hosts in a parasitic process akin to reincarnation.
This meant that Zouken no longer had a human body, so being burned by fire alone wasn't painful for him. Only when the worms were killed would he experience any damage.
This also rendered conventional healing magic useless to him. After all, it would only restore his outer shell, not the worms already dead inside him.
But Fang Mo's healing weapon—this small dagger embedded with healing gems, a red garnet blade, and an emerald handle—worked uniquely on Zouken Matou.
Technically speaking, the "healing" effect of a Tinker's weapon was an abstract concept. In the logic of the weapon, perhaps Zouken's health was linked to the number of worms in his body. So, to "heal" him, the dagger kept increasing the number of worms.
And because the weapon's logic succeeded in treating him, Zouken was now experiencing true hell.
He had become like a living torch, his entire body engulfed in flames. Worms crawled out of his eyes, nose, and skin, only to burst into flames and be incinerated. He tried to escape, but his eyeballs had already burst from the heat, leaving him blindly scratching at the walls. His fingernails curled and peeled away, and his skin stuck to the metal doors due to the extreme heat. Yet the agony kept triggering his survival instincts, compelling him to continue his futile struggle to escape the inferno.
Outside, meanwhile...
"Isn't it beautiful?" Fang Mo stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the black smoke rising into the sky, as if admiring a spectacular view. "Indeed, fire is the most beautiful light for purging corruption."
"Uh..." Rin Tohsaka hesitated. Sure, she loathed Zouken Matou as much as anyone, but something wasn't right. It had been nearly ten minutes. How could anyone, even Zouken, survive this long in a crematorium?
Even for an old monster like Zouken, it didn't seem possible for him to endure such terrifying flames for so long.
At that moment, Rin realized what was happening. It was clear that Fang Mo was torturing Zouken. He must have used some unknown method to ensure that Zouken wouldn't die, subjecting him to prolonged agony.
"Uh... Archer..." Rin decided it was time to intervene. "Can't you just finish him off? If you keep torturing him like this, I'm afraid Sakura might develop some psychological trauma..."
While speaking, Rin glanced at Sakura. But what she saw left her stunned.
Thanks to Fang Mo's time-reversal ritual, Sakura had been reduced to the form of a small child. Yet, in the face of this gruesome scene, the little girl's eyes were shining.
Yes, her eyes were literally glowing.
Rin had never seen such an expression before. It was a look of fanaticism, awe, and reverence. A sickly flush had spread across Sakura's innocent face as she stared, wide-eyed, at Fang Mo's back, as if imprinting this scene deep into her memory. Her gaze conveyed an almost inexplicable sense of admiration and resolve.
"W-What..." Rin was left speechless. "Sakura? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, sister." Sakura shook her head, but her gaze never wavered from Fang Mo's back. "In fact, I've never felt better."
"..."
Rin didn't know how to respond.
"Sakura, are you really okay?" Shirou Emiya had also noticed something odd and voiced his concern.
"..."
Fang Mo's words struck a chord, silencing both Rin and Shirou. Yes, what had Sakura gone through to reach this point? They fell quiet, their thoughts racing.
Meanwhile, Fang Mo was also observing Sakura's behavior.
If he remembered correctly, there was a storyline in the original where Sakura turned evil, known as the "dark Sakura" route. She certainly had the potential to go down that path, her inner resentment surfacing after just a few words from him.
However, in that storyline, a key catalyst for Sakura's transformation was the dark mud of the Holy Grail. But with Fang Mo's time-reversal ritual, Sakura had reverted to her pre-Matou state. Theoretically, the source of her darkness should have been erased. So why was she still acting like this? Fang Mo couldn't quite figure it out.
Especially the way she looked at him...
That fanatical gaze of admiration was starting to make even Fang Mo question if he was getting too deep into character.
"Could it be... her memories?" After pondering for a moment, Fang Mo realized the problem.
Yes, during Zouken's threats, his words had ignited Sakura's long-buried hatred, pushing her toward darkness. Then, he had used the time-reversal ritual to remove the source of her corruption, but her memories had remained intact, leaving a part of her dark persona.
The ritual had created some kind of conflict, resulting in Sakura's strange new personality.
She wasn't fully corrupted, but her newfound confidence and extreme behavior suggested she was on the edge. However, she wasn't completely insane... yet.
"Well, I guess this works." Fang Mo shrugged, deciding not to overthink it.
With that, Fang Mo stood back and watched Sakura methodically torment Zouken, along with Shinji's pitiful pleas.
But the peace didn't last long.
Not far away, Saber suddenly staggered and collapsed, her voice weak as she called out to Shirou: "Shirou, I..."
Before she could finish, she fell to the ground.
"Saber!" Shirou cried, rushing to her side.
"Huh?" Fang Mo, Rin, and even Sakura turned their attention to Saber.
"She's... running out of mana," Rin quickly realized.
"What?" Shirou looked confused and panicked. "What do we do? I've been trying, but I can barely generate any mana."
"Well..." Rin hesitated. Mana transfer was the solution, but the idea of that was uncomfortable, especially with Saber unconscious and unable to consent. It felt wrong.
"Please, Tohsaka-san," Shirou begged, his voice filled with desperation. "Please help Saber!"
"I... well..." Rin struggled with the decision. She didn't want to lose Saber, but...
"No!" Sakura suddenly shouted, surprising everyone. "Senpai, you absolutely can't do that!"
"Huh? Can't do what?" Shirou asked, still confused.
"You just can't!" Sakura was adamant, but then her eyes lit up with an idea. She turned to Rin, her expression resolute. "Sister, you're an excellent mage. If anyone can supply Saber with mana, it's you."
"What?" Rin was taken aback. "But I already have Archer. I can't form contracts with two Servants."
"That's easy to fix," Sakura said, her eyes glowing with fervor. "Senpai can transfer his Command Seals to you. As for the Führer..."
"...I will become his loyal subordinate!"