Some people rarely get angry, but once they do, they are often more angry than people with the hottest temper.
Aoi was that kind of person. In Kariya's memory and in Tokiomi's impression, Aoi had never lost her temper with anyone, until today, at the two men who had the deepest connection with her.
In front of Aoi, whose eyes were red with anger and heartache, both Tokiomi and Kariya were at a loss as to what to do. They could only maintain a confrontation with each other and continue to endure Aoi's scolding.
"Why are you still holding your fist up? Do you want to keep fighting?"
"Then just kill me first, then kill Rin and Sakura, then no one will bother you!"
"Why don't you continue fighting?"
"... ... "
"... ... "
The two men who were scolded were speechless and could only remain silent.
But Aoi didn't intend to give them a chance to escape.
"Why are you mute? Speak, aren't you usually quite talkative?"
Just when Kariya and Tokiomi were at their wit's end and were forced into a desperate situation, wishing they could faint, an unprecedented wave of magical power suddenly came from the direction of the mountain top.
If the waves of magic used by ordinary magicians are streams, and the waves of Heroic Spirits releasing their treasures are rivers, then the magic power that erupted now is the sea. The vast magic power rolled up waves of tides, pouring down from the top of the mountain, sweeping across the entire Fuyuki City. Anyone with a magic gene in their body noticed the abnormality in the air.
That is the feeling of malice invading the body, that is an invisible curse, that is the aggregation of death.
The core that emanated all this ominous energy appeared in the sky above Ryudo Temple.
Black holes.
This is a space tunnel that connects the altar of the Advent Ceremony to the "Great Holy Grail" hidden deep under Mt. Enzo in the east of Miyama Town. The Great Holy Grail has been absorbing the magic power of the earth veins for sixty years, and now it has received the souls of five heroes. The interior is already full of magic power, becoming an enormous magic vortex. This is the true face of the dark and squirming "object".
Originally, this was just a force without attributes, used to open a gap from this world to the "outside world". However, due to a wrong seed sown in the past, this force was completely stained with the color of a dark curse.
People often use the sun to symbolize vitality, so this hole that looks like a black sun is a symbol of extinction.
However, the true nature of this "Black Sun" is known only to a few people, not including Tohsaka Tokiomi, who still believes that it is his lifelong pursuit and the supreme thing for all magicians - the passage to the "root".
Although it was somewhat different from what was recorded in the book and what he had expected, the "Root" was above all things and it was not surprising that it appeared in any form. Moreover, the ominousness and the curse might symbolize the difficulty of the road to the "Root".
He had already realized it. At this moment, he no longer cared about his wife, his daughter, or the obstacle that was blocking his way. Instead, he only cared about the ultimate goal of the magician and the "black sun".
"Must, must go to the source—"
Tokiomi's eyes were filled with longing, yearning, determination, and even fanaticism.
With his already swollen and painful hands, he took out two emeralds from his pocket, which contained rank A healing magic.
At this moment, he could no longer see his wife's heartbroken eyes, nor hear the calls of his two daughters.
"At this point, you actually—"
While Kariya was filled with righteous indignation, he also felt sorry for Aoi and Rin.
"Don't even think about it!"
Kariya's approach is exactly the same as Tokiomi's. Tokiomi has a gem that seals healing magic, and he also has the "URUZ" primordial rune that symbolizes vitality.
He had already made up his mind to defeat Tokiomi. This was a goal he had set long ago. If he had forgotten this, there would be no Matou Kariya today.
Tokiomi, whose wounds were healing, broke free from his daughter's hands and stumbled toward the mountain.
Kariya, nourished by "URUZ", was about to chase after him, but was blocked by Aoi with her arms outstretched.
"Let him go, Kariya." Aoi pleaded, looking sad.
"Aoi, you—" After all, Kariya is not Tokiomi. The source of his motivation for struggle is the woman in front of him. As long as she says a word, he will go through fire and water without hesitation.
"Let him go." Aoi sighed and said in a tone of "nothing is more sad than a dead heart", "I know him, that is the meaning of his life. If you stop him again, one of you will really die here."
"But, you—"
Aoi shook her head vigorously at Kariya, who was about to say something else.
"That's enough, Kariya. Thank you for everything you've done for me, for Rin, and for Sakura. Thank you so much. You've done enough for us, so don't go on and don't lose your life for us."
As she spoke, two lines of tears flowed from her eyes, slid down her cheeks, and wet her clothes.
Kariya could not refuse such a request from Aoi. He punched himself helplessly and sat dejectedly on the stone steps leading to the shrine, holding his head like a sulky child.
Ying sat down next to Yanye, gently pulled Yanye's clothes, and whispered, "Uncle, please don't be angry with mom, okay."
Looking at Sakura's expectant eyes and listening to her soft voice, Kariya rubbed her head out of habit.
"I'm not mad at Aoi, I'm mad at myself. If I were more useful, this wouldn't be the case."
"No, Sakura is the most useless one. She can't help at all. But—" Sakura put her head close to Kariya's ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "—It doesn't matter if Sakura is useless. We still have our brother."
Kariya smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said nothing.
Although his nephew Shinji is a little monster, he and Justisia are focused on the "Holy Grail Ceremony" and may not have time to take care of Jichen.
Besides Shinji's group, there is also Saber's group in Ryudo Temple. Given Emiya Kiritsugu's personality, it is possible that he would think Tokiomi is in the way and kill him directly.
Tokiomi's departure was truly a life-or-death experience. Although subjectively, he wished that Tokiomi would die immediately, when he thought about how sad Aoi, Rin, and Sakura would be, Kariya felt heartbroken as well.
He had no way of explaining the inside story to Ying and could only hold his head and act like an ostrich.
Beside Kariya, Sakura still had a blind admiration for her brother. She turned her head and looked at the top of the mountain with shining eyes, as if she could see her favorite brother.
Behind the two of them, Aoi hugged Rin and cried silently.
Rin, who still didn't quite understand the reason, endured his mother's tears and secretly made up his mind.
Although she is still far from being able to stand on her own, one day she will fight as a magician of the Tōsaka family.
For this day, she will definitely practice hard, follow the family precepts of the Tohsaka family, and do what her father failed to do—
Always stay calm and always stay elegant.