A Saiyan's Journey

Although Zuke knew he was a Servant summoned in violation of the rules, Rin Tohsaka had no idea.

It wasn't until now that Rin realized her summoning of a Servant was considered an illegal act.

Meanwhile, the real Berserker had already been dealt with by Zuke—without her even being aware of it.

"I handled it while gathering intelligence," Zuke explained, noticing Rin's glaring eyes. He patted her head gently, as if soothing a bristling cat.

"The Master of that Berserker was Kariya Matou."

"That scumbag!"

The mention of Kariya made Rin grit her teeth in fury. Any dissatisfaction she felt toward Zuke quickly transformed into anger toward Kariya.

In the past, when Kariya used to bring little gifts, she had thought he wasn't such a bad person. But who would have guessed he harbored ill intentions toward her father, Tokiomi Tohsaka?

However, Kariya had already been killed by Kotomine Kirei, leaving Rin with no outlet for her anger.

Not only was Kariya dead, but the Matou family was also nearly destroyed. It wasn't as though she could drag Sakura out and scold her.

Despite everything, Rin still cared for her sister, even if Sakura had been adopted into the Matou family and was no longer officially a Tohsaka.

"...An illegally summoned Servant, and this kind of thing happens," Artoria frowned, her gaze toward Zuke growing more cautious.

"You're stalling for time, aren't you? Waiting for your true Master to show up?"

Zuke narrowed his eyes at Artoria. Having said everything he needed, he got straight to the point.

"Honestly, even if he does come, it won't make any difference. You don't think he could possibly threaten me, do you?"

"..."

Artoria fell silent. She couldn't deny it—Zuke, whose strength posed a massive threat to her, was clearly far beyond what Kiritsugu Emiya, a mere mage killer, could handle.

Against ordinary magi, Kiritsugu's tricks might be effective, but to a Servant as powerful as Zuke, they were nothing but child's play.

"So, what exactly do you want?"

The fact that Zuke had dealt with four Servants in just two days spoke volumes about his strength.

Moreover, Artoria noted that Zuke bore no injuries, nor did he seem fatigued in the slightest.

It was clear he had defeated those Servants effortlessly. Even someone as confident as Artoria wouldn't dare claim she could defeat him.

Since Zuke wasn't attacking immediately and was instead talking, he must have a purpose.

"It's simple. The sheath of your sword, Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia, is currently hidden inside Irisviel's body, isn't it?"

Snapping his fingers, Zuke stated his purpose.

"I want that. Could you hand it over?"

Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia, was a mythical sanctuary associated with Arthurian legends, but in the Fate universe, it represented Artoria's Noble Phantasm—her sword's sheath.

Possessing Avalon granted unparalleled regenerative abilities, which Zuke coveted.

Although he had wished for immortality in the Dragon Ball universe, the synchronization between the two worlds was too low, leaving his immortality highly flawed.

Thus, he aimed to acquire a lesser regenerative ability as a temporary measure, and Avalon was one of his options.

Compared to the Dragon Ball universe, the synchronization rate of the Fate/Zero world would likely soon reach 100%, ensuring he could fully access Avalon's capabilities.

Even though the remaining task worlds posed no immediate threat to him, there was no telling if future missions might involve works where even 3,000 combat power wouldn't suffice.

While Zuke had considered using his "Blackbird" ability to devour Irisviel and Artoria to claim Avalon's power, he hesitated.

Avalon, as a conceptual weapon, likely no longer belonged solely to Artoria, nor was it a power tied to Irisviel.

In such a scenario, taking such drastic measures could fail to yield the desired result. Hence, Zuke decided it would be better to negotiate and have them hand it over willingly.

Besides, he had no desire to treat Artoria and Irisviel so brutally—they were both beautiful women, after all.

At most, he'd give them a quick and painless end.

"Impossible!"

Before Artoria could answer, Irisviel spoke firmly.

"That item was entrusted to me by Kiritsugu… Even if it's to be returned, it should go back to Saber, not to you!"

"Are you certain? My willingness to speak with you civilly is out of fondness for your characters, but if you insist on being uncooperative, I won't hold back," Zuke said, unfazed by her refusal.

"Rin, can you extract the conceptual weapon from her body?"

Zuke lacked knowledge of magecraft, but Rin, with her formal magical training, might be capable of it.

Though she was still a child, Rin had already managed to draw a complete Servant summoning circle, indicating her solid foundation in magecraft.

"A conceptual weapon… I think I can. I've studied similar magecraft, but I've never tried it before," Rin said thoughtfully.

"But I can give it a shot."

"You heard her, didn't you? Ladies, you have a choice: surrender Avalon willingly, or my little Master will extract it by force."

Artoria gripped her sword tighter, knowing Zuke had no intention of negotiating further.

No longer hesitating, she lunged forward. With a swift step, she unleashed her Invisible Air at Zuke.

"Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King!"

Upon releasing its true name, the barrier of compressed air surrounding her blade transformed into a whirlwind, blasting toward Zuke's head.

Even a Servant's body, without magical defenses, would suffer severe damage from a direct hit to the head.

Confident in the destructive power of her strike, Artoria's expression froze at the sound of a loud crash.

Her Strike Air smashed into Zuke's face, and her Excalibur slashed his temple.

But Zuke, without using any magic to defend himself, merely stood there, unscathed, gazing at her impassively.

Neither the whirlwind nor the holy sword had left so much as a scratch on him…

To be continued...

Advance 50 chapters are up on my Patreon!

Btw, Hoi Ningen, FBI is after you after going through your search history. Hand over your Power Stones to me so I can bribe them for you winks.

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