Because shrines are often located on mountaintops, the foxes tend to instinctively run towards mountainous areas when scouting for information in Fuyuki City.
The mountainous regions of Fuyuki City, which sits by the sea, are usually in the suburbs near the mainland side.
By sheer coincidence, after checking the large cavern behind Fuyuki City, one fox accidentally wandered onto a small path...
Well, that was just the explanation the Inari Fox gave to Hikigaya Hachiman when reporting the situation.
The true story was that when the Inari Fox was planning to return the way it ca, it encountered several strange bugs and, in a mont of playfulness, secretly followed the Crest Worms to the hidden base of Matou Zouken.
While Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't understand why the stupid fox currently squatting in front of him with drooping ears found creatures like Crest Worms amusing, finding Matou Zouken's location was truly excellent news.
"Sakura and Karna will stay here. I'll just take Saber."
Considering the precedent set by Emiya Kiritsugu last night, Hikigaya Hachiman decided to leave Karna, whom he personally considered the more powerful of the two, to look after Irisviel and Sakura, and take Artoria to capture Matou Zouken to serve as a substitute for the Lesser Grail summoning.
No one had any objection to Hikigaya Hachiman's plan.
Looking up at the clock on the wall, the ti was already past four in the afternoon.
There were less than four hours left until the agreed ti with Rider.
"Well then, I'm counting on you this ti, Saber."
"Ah, please leave it to !"
With that, Artoria twisted the throttle of the motorcycle in her hands.
Accompanied by a huge engine roar, the two people and the vehicle quickly vanished at the end of the street.
Twenty minutes later, by the winding mountain road several kiloters from Matou Zouken's hidden base.
Before Artoria could stop the motorcycle steadily, Hikigaya Hachiman rushed to the side of the road and started vomiting.
"Master, are you alright?"
After parking the motorcycle, Artoria frowned as she looked at Hikigaya Hachiman's distressed expression.
Seeing Hikigaya Hachiman fight previously, she thought his physical fitness was excellent. She never expected him to be so weak just from riding a motorcycle for twenty minutes...
"No, I don't think this has anything to do with my weakness or lack thereof..."
Looking at the expression on Artoria's face, Hikigaya Hachiman guessed what she was thinking and imdiately defended himself.
Anyone riding a motorcycle at a speed of up to 190 Km/h, with frequent drifts and constant swerving, would be unable to bear it, right?
Especially since Artoria was wearing a layer of rigid armor, which nearly chafed him to death along the way...
After a short rest and feeling sufficiently recovered, Hikigaya Hachiman slowly led Artoria toward Matou Zouken's wooden cabin.
Along the way, with the help of the Inari Foxes, they perfectly bypassed all the bug sentries Matou Zouken had stationed outside, arriving at the exterior of the cabin.
"Hm?"
Matou Zouken, resting inside the cabin, vaguely sensed sothing was wrong around him.
Although the bugs scattered in the outer periter had not discovered any enemy presence, Matou Zouken, adhering to the principle of caution being the parent of safety, still decided to move.
However, just as he stood up, an air blast directly destroyed the wooden cabin he was in, instantly exposing him completely to the outside!
"This move is... Saber?!"
Although the Matou family was not participating in this Holy Grail War, Matou Zouken was still collecting intelligence on the various participating Heroic Spirits.
Therefore, upon realizing that the cabin was destroyed by an air blast, Matou Zouken instantly recognized that the attacking Heroic Spirit was Artoria.
But imdiately afterward, a look of confusion appeared on Matou Zouken's face.
Artoria's Master, Emiya Kiritsugu, was confird dead last night.
Under normal circumstances, Artoria should have been forced to withdraw due to losing her magical energy supply.
How did she still have the magical energy to sustain her body, and why had she specifically co to cause trouble for him?
However, the reason for seeking him out was no longer important.
After confirming that the one who ca knocking was Saber, the leader of the three Knight classes, Matou Zouken imdiately planned his escape.
His body rapidly split into countless Crest Worms that attempted to burrow into the ground.
But barely a few centiters into the ground, the Crest Worms felt like they had hit a layer of hard stone, unable to dig any further...
"The sa escape thod won't work the second ti."
Hikigaya Hachiman walked out from the opposite side of Artoria, surrounding Matou Zouken in a pincer movent.
"You? Why?"
The Crest Worms reford into a human shape. Matou Zouken frowned as he looked at Hikigaya Hachiman.
He couldn't understand. Matou Zouken didn't know why Hikigaya Hachiman would co looking for trouble with him when he was the one who suffered the greater loss a year ago...
"The re intentions you had for my little sister are enough to warrant a death sentence, aren't they?"
Hikigaya Hachiman truly had no conflict of interest with Matou Zouken, but that didn't stop him from wanting to kill this old man in front of him.
Especially when he thought about how Sakura would have been violated by those disgusting bugs if he hadn't transmigrated. The killing intent in Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes grew even stronger as he looked at Matou Zouken...
"If that's the case, then there's no room for negotiation between us..."
Sensing the murderous intent in Hikigaya Hachiman's gaze, Matou Zouken, knowing that things wouldn't end well today, looked even older.
"I advise you to stop with the parlor tricks. Wouldn't it be better to just wait obediently for death?"
Hikigaya Hachiman summoned Demon Slaying Blade in his right hand and, without looking back, swung out two slashes of sword energy, pinning two black beetles that intended to sneak attack him to the spot.
At the sa ti, Artoria instantly dealt with dozens of unknown bugs, covered in hard exoskeletons, that were delaying her movent.
"I have lived for hundreds of years. How could I be captured so easily by you?"
Hikigaya Hachiman's words sounded like a huge joke to Matou Zouken!
His body collapsed instantly, turning into a pile of Crest Worms that split into four piles and fled in four different directions.
Concurrently, various types of insects he had hidden in the woods revealed themselves, blocking the path of Hikigaya Hachiman and Artoria and gaining ti for the Crest Worms carrying Matou Zouken's soul to escape.
The Crest Worms carrying Matou Zouken's soul easily escaped into the woods under the cover of the nurous insects.
Just as Matou Zouken was controlling the Crest Worms to flee and musing that Hikigaya Hachiman was still too naive, a large white figure suddenly blocked the path of his swarm!
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