As Sakura’s younger sister, Tohsaka, Sakura possessed a magical circuit power equal to her elder sister’s, along with the rare phantom element—Shadow—making her a genius magician in her own right, much like Rin.

Yet, for reasons unknown, she was sent to the Matou household.

In the original storyline, on the very first day Sakura arrived at the Matou home, she was implanted with Mystic Bugs—also known as Yin Bugs—which are low-tier familiars capable of draining the host's life force and channeling it to the summoner.

The head of the Matou family, Matou Zouken, implanted the core of his soul vessel within Sakura’s heart: a Mystic Bug generated from a fragment of the shattered Holy Grail, serving as his catalyst. Through this modification, Sakura’s body was to become a pseudo-Holy Grail vessel, allowing her to adapt to the Matou family’s magic, while simultaneously enabling Zouken to monitor and control her through the implanted bugs. Furthermore, due to the immaturity of the technique and his deliberate arrangements, Sakura was forced to endure immense physical and mental agony, marking the beginning of all her tragedies...

One hour. An hour before she arrived in this world, Sakura had already been sent away. She arrived at the Matou residence roughly half an hour ago, meaning she has been here for at least an hour now... Is there still time?

Lin Luo frowned. If the Mystic Bugs were implanted in Sakura, it would likely be completely too late. After all, the Mystic Bugs were generated from a piece of the Holy Grail. It was uncertain whether the Divine Healing Art possessed by his V2 Contract Book would be effective, but...

"Boom!"

The Atomic Collapse unleashed by Mugino Shizuri instantly shattered the main gate of the Matou residence.

Lin Luo had not brought everyone with him; he only brought Mugino Shizuri. As for Misaka and Misaki, he instructed them to stand guard nearby. After all, his purpose for coming here was not simply to snatch a person away... Misaki, as a psychokinetic, had surely witnessed too much darkness, but for Misaka, Lin Luo preferred she not know too much about matters like this.

Although the Matou household was an ancient family of magi, they had fallen into a sorry state. The only one capable of offering any real combat strength was the old ghoul, Matou Zouken. Even if Lin Luo could not use the Rules, his ability to simultaneously utilize two Contract States combined with the LV2 Contract Book granted him strength nearly equivalent to an LV5 esper. Facing a Matou Zouken... Well, as an old ghoul who had lived for hundreds of years, even if he possessed some hidden trump cards, Lin Luo couldn't guarantee an absolute victory, but...

There was still Mugino Shizuri.

Currently in Lin Luo’s team, apart from White ABER—who was confined within Rin’s Command Spell after severing her Fantasy, leaving her in a near-zero state—Mugino, possessing the lineage of the Fallen Angels' power, was the strongest among them. As long as the opponent wasn't a Heroic Spirit, a True Ancestor, or some utterly depraved human anomaly, ordinary magi stood no chance against her.

No matter how long that old ghoul Matou Zouken had lived, he could never compare to those Heroic Spirits or True Ancestors... No, comparing this scrap of trash to Heroic Spirits and True Ancestors was an insult to the latter.

In short, for Mugino, slaughtering an old Matou was as simple and effortless as crushing an ant.

"What now?" Having blasted the gate open, Mugino asked Lin Luo. Since forming a contract with Lin Luo, Mugino Shizuri had changed quite a bit—perhaps she had become a little more obedient? Yes, only a little.

"We kill our way in," Lin Luo said, stepping forward without looking back.

The destruction of the Matou gate naturally could not have gone unnoticed. Soon, several figures rushed out—Lin Luo couldn't tell if they were servants or actual family members, but to him, it made no difference.

Cohesion Mode activated, body accelerated. He flashed past the foremost runner, gripping his throat with his left hand, and then... LV4 Maximum Electricity Release.

Zzzzzzt.

Because his vocal cords were constricted by Lin Luo’s grip, the man couldn't even scream before he was electrocuted into a charred husk and collapsed to the floor... If he were still alive, he’d be Gaia’s illegitimate son.

Witnessing this, Mugino paused, clearly surprised by Lin Luo’s ruthlessness. It was highly uncharacteristic of his usual demeanor.

"I thought you only saved people, not killed them?"

"That depends on the kind of person," Lin Luo replied calmly, glancing back at her when she spoke. He held no goodwill toward anyone from the Matou family; in fact, his goodwill was negative infinity. In his eyes, apart from Matou Kariya, everyone else in the Matou lineage was a rotten stone in the mud. The world would be a more beautiful place with one less of them, and undertaking this necessary action for the greater good was a duty he readily accepted.

Turning his gaze toward the few others on the scene, who were frozen in terror, Lin Luo spoke, "Question: Where is the basement?"

Though they were members of a magus family, they had never encountered someone who killed so immediately upon arrival. Under the immense shock and fear, none of them could utter a word.

Since no one answered, the outcome was straightforward. A white beam shot out from Lin Luo's finger, striking one man’s head. Instantly, the man's head shattered like a piece of paper, leaving behind only a headless torso.

Atomic Collapse.

Although Mugino Shizuri's contract state limited her power to LV3, his Contract Book rising to LV2 meant his computational ability was vastly superior now. That enormous processing power allowed him to execute LV4 level strength. While he couldn't launch area-of-effect attacks like Mugino, blowing a man's head apart was child’s play.

Lin Luo had no patience for these cannon fodder characters who weren't even qualified to be extras. Only after blasting through another person's stomach did someone finally break under the sight of such bizarre deaths and tremblingly reveal the basement's location.

"Good," Lin Luo nodded, exchanging a look with Mugino, and headed towards the basement. Before taking two steps, he pressed his index fingers together. "Shining Zero, Release."

The long-absent Shiro roared, terrifying the Matou household into utter disarray. It breathed fresh air once more, simultaneously harvesting living souls...

"What's wrong?" Seeing Mugino staring at him strangely, Lin Luo instinctively touched his face and asked.

"Nothing. I just feel like you're a bit different from before. Those people—I thought you wouldn't kill them."

"How could I not?" Lin Luo laughed. "I came here today for a genocide."

"Genocide?" The casual tone stunned Mugino Shizuri, whose lips then curved upward into a bloody smile. "That's... my favorite kind of thing."

Lin Luo paid no mind to the sounds of crunching and human screams coming from behind him. Those were not matters he needed to worry about.

... At the top of the stairs, darkness below.

"Is this the Insectarium?" Looking at the darkness ahead, Lin Luo couldn't help but frown, a powerful wave of nausea rising within him—an instinctive repulsion toward aberrant creatures.

There was no time for hesitation. A girl's shriek echoed from the depths of the basement. Lin Luo’s expression instantly changed. Cursing inwardly, he charged down, with Mugino Shizuri closely following behind.

The dark staircase, reeking of decay, was filled with a shasha-shasha sound, suggesting the movement of some kind of insect... Lin Luo could no longer care about anything else. LV4 electricity, LV4 Atomic Collapse, Contract Book manifestation—every available means was deployed, all to reach the bottom of the stairs as quickly as possible.

Bang!

He violently kicked the door open and saw a small, black-haired girl huddled in the corner, screaming in terror, her small feet kicking frantically at the floor. Less than a few centimeters in front of her... was a swarm of disgusting insects.

He made it. Finally, at the very last second, he caught up.

Lin Luo could see that the small black-haired girl was Sakura. She was still Tohsaka Sakura; she hadn't been invaded by the Mystic Bugs yet. While being even a few seconds later might have been too late, at least for now...

Zzzzzzt.

Blue-white electricity exploded from his body, controlled with incredible precision. The bugs attacking the girl on the ground were instantly electrocuted and flung away.

"Who are you?"

Because Lin Luo's appearance was so sudden, the other person in the room finally reacted. He stared at Lin Luo, his eyes filled with rage.

Lin Luo didn't spare him a glance, quickly moving toward the girl huddled in the corner. The insects here seemed countless; just as one wave was cleared, another emerged. If he didn't get the girl close to him quickly, it would be hard to guarantee no accidents would occur.

Lin Luo’s action was something the other person in the room would not ignore. Without any visible movement from him, a dense swarm of bugs flew toward Lin Luo like a rainstorm.

Lin Luo paid them no mind.

Swish-swish-swish.

The sound of shattering like paper—the bugs vanished into dust before they could even let out a scream.

Mugino Shizuri extended her hand, pointing the white light in her grasp toward the other person huddled in the corner—a very short old man, bald, with limbs withered like a mummy, yet his deep-set eye sockets revealed a sharp, vigorous gleam. In both appearance and demeanor, he was an abnormal eccentric.

Matou Zouken, the head of the Matou family. No one could determine how long he had survived—a monstrously old and undying magus, cold and powerful; that was the impression he left on the Matou members.

But now...

As Mugino Shizuri closed in, his ugly, shriveled body couldn't help but tremble, and terror flickered in his sunken eyes.

It wasn't just the white light capable of instantly annihilating bugs; what instilled a deeper sense of dread in Matou Zouken was the pair of black wings extending from the back of the girl opposite him.

He swore, those things could absolutely not belong to a human being. Even having lived for nearly a thousand years, he could not comprehend that sight; he could only feel the immense oppressive pressure emanating from it.

P: One more update today.