Meeting Aoi

In the middle of the night after preparing extensively, he went to visit his childhood friend.

After taking in the Skill Possession Inheritance from Berserker Lancelot, he was able to come up with his own skill that fused the natures of the 'Mad Enhancement' and 'Eternal Arms Mastery' Skill.

As his version is Arondight was a cursed sword that had fallen from grace, he implemented the craziness of Mad Enhancement into the latter to create the 'Eternal Mastery of Demonic Arms' Skill.

It made it so even someone who had never picked up a sword before in his life was now able to use any weapon he touched even if it had the nature of influencing the user. This implementation became an 'Anti-Madness' Skill that allowed him to fight with his mind, body, and technique as one without having to succumb to the influences of his 'Arms'.

This mastery of combat arts reaching Lancelot's level allowed him to move his newly revived body at a speed faster than most could perceive. As someone who could now go toe-to-toe in combat with a Servant, infiltrating the mansion lived at with her mother and a few trusted housekeepers was a piece of cake. He arrived at her window silently...

After jumping up to the balcony where Rin was sleeping with her mother while holding onto her tightly, he was unable to stop himself from gasping at this scene he didn't expect. The peacefulness in which Aoi was hugging her daughter had an ephemeral beauty in it that made his heart beat faster. He knew what he needed to do...

With silent footsteps he came to Aoi's side, then touched her forehead while focusing his energy.

Arondight was both a Holy and Demonic sword of dual spiritualities, meaning that it didn't mean that the only things that can be learnt by the wielder were demonic in nature. He focused what divine power he had left previously to birth an insect that fused into his Arondight before making it truly become part of his body on an existential level.

The 'Heavenly Gu', which was a Holy Type Mystic Code that acted as an extension of his own will.

He used Zouken's techniques when the man was creating his main body that controlled numerous Blood Worms and created his own variant, which he decided to call 'Healing Worms'. Rather than devouring the flesh of others, they fed off the demonic power within him and converted that power into energy that can be used for healing.

His eyes narrowed once he became focused. The damage he had done to her heart may not be easy to fix, but her brain damage could be cured using Healing Worms. He took his time sending the curing power throughout her body and spirit.

"What... are you doing here?" His heart shook as he realised she was finally healed when she opened her eyes and looked at him with clarity, but the look she gave him wasn't one he wanted to see again ever since what happened at the Church.

"You had brain damage." He took his hand off her head and took a step back, which stopped the circulation of divine energy through her body. She looked at her daughter sleeping beside her in pain as she remembered the state she was in before.

Aoi finally remembered what happened to her husband and daughter, feeling intense rage as she looked at the 'Demon' who had took her husband from her. The fact that he was once her close friend hurt her worse. Her hand touched her neck as she remembered the madness and pain he showed the day he found Tokiomi dead in a church.

"...Why did you help me?"

"I didn't kill your husband...!"

"I asked: Why did you help me?" She didn't believe a word coming out of his mouth as she found he was more healthier than he looked before. If her daughter wasn't next to her, she would've thrown something to hit her husband's killer herself.

"I'm bringing Sakura to visit you soon."

"Will Zouken allow that?" She chuckled, wondering what game he was playing with her heart.

"That creature is dead." His words brought a shock to her as she widened her eyes at his statement.

"And I killed him." The purple-haired man continued, causing her to tremble in fear as he no longer seemed like the kind and gentle Kariya she knew from before the Holy Grail War had started.

"You're giving my daughter back to me?" Tears streamed down her face as she found this news too good to be true. However, Kariya disappointed her once again, forcing himself to shake his head.

"Your husband's killer is still on the loose." These words made her eyes dilate as she bit her lips.

"Do you mean yourself?"

"I didn't kill your husband."

"Even though you wanted to kill him?" He made it clear the day he brought Rin home back then.

Kariya knew he mustn't hesitate to give a clear answer as he spoke: "We were both manipulated."

"By who?"

"Kirei Kotomine." These words turned some gears in her head as she thought of that priest who was now supposed to take care of them. Even though she blamed him, their friendship made her want to believe that he wouldn't lie to her so readily.

It was easier believing someone else killed her husband than the other way around. That's why she used her knowledge as someone Zenjou Family, who specialised in maximising the magical pedigree of their partners. She wasn't a Magus herself, but she had enough knowledge to know that something was strange back then...

She remembered the most tragic scene of her life as clear as day, realising that there was a lack of evidence to suggest they were fighting. Aoi knew Tokiomi's fighting style well and knew that there should've at least been burns anywhere he fought.

"Even if I believe you..." She wasn't able to finish her words as she remembered what she said purely to hurt him after the death of her beloved husband. There was also the fact that Kirei would definitely kill her once he learned of her condition.

Her husband had given her all his assets and wealth, so it was natural if he wanted to regain control of the finances after her 'miraculous recovery'. Aoi hugged her daughter as she was scared of what the future held for them.

"Let's... forget what happened first. I wasn't in my right mind and you had just lost your husband."

"...Alright." It was better to do that since things would be too awkward to think of a battle plan.

"Wait, how did you get up here anyway?" Aoi continued as she finally realised this point.

"...I'm part Berserker now." He told her truthfully since there wasn't any reason for him to hide it.

Her eyes then started to shine as she looked at him up and down, realising that 'becoming part Servant' had given him skills beyond her understanding while also keeping his mind clear.

"Can you make others part Servant too?" This question made him scratch his cheek in distress.

He realised through testing different things that he could probably bring down the other two 'Beast III' of Lapse and Rapture if he tried. However, the only problem was that this needed compatibility.

He refused to use this 'Summoning Spell' he came up with despite finding out that Sakura was a hundred percent compatible with 'Beast III/L'. The powers of a Beast of Calamity would eventually destroy humanity with their immense strength.

If it wasn't for his the hints he got from ancient tomes, he would have fell for summoning devils...

"It's way too dangerous." He could probably take in the sentience of a Beast III, but he wasn't sure if the ability of these Lust Calamities would end up corrupting the minds of those who gained them.

Plus, Aoi had just recovered. He didn't want to lose her again. Especially due to his own negligence!

"I want to be able to fight...!" She spoke with resolution, not wanting to be someone who could only stay at the back while someone else took care of everything by her own will. This was what she felt after Tokiomi died, as she wanted to change...

If Kirei Kotomine truly betrayed and murdered her husband in cold blood, then she wanted to take revenge herself. Kariya's condition was the only hope for her, which proved even someone who ruined his body could become 'part Servant'.

"I know that but-"

"Please, I'll do anything in return." She grabbed his hand, then continued: "And I mean 'anything'."

He shivered as her dark eyes were less seductive and more horrifying, as if she still believed he was some violent killer who took her husband. Did she truly believe what she said back then?

Kariya shook her hand off, breathing heavily as he was unable to make eye-contact after she gave him that look again. This 'deal' didn't appeal to him to the slightest as he put his hands on her shoulders and picked his words carefully, saying:

"I have thought up a different method than that. It will let you gain great power even without Magic Circuits." He shifted the topic, making her feel lost as he was acting outside her expectations of him.

She felt kinda bad for saying that to him, but the results were good enough that she ignored it.

"What power?"

"Let me check your compatibility with them." He focused his mind and grabbed her hand gently.

[Compatibility Test is being confirmed... Results:

Hollow Compatibility- 100%

Quincy Compatibility- 25%

Shinigami Compatibility- 75%

Fullbringer Compatibility- 80%]

His eyes widened as it seemed like Hollow Compatibility was genetic. Even Sakura, who had the highest Hollow Compatibility before this, was only at 80%, with her Shinigami Compatibility being the same. How was Aoi so attuned to 'Hollows'...?

"What's wrong?" She seemed unaware of this.

"Until I've created what's needed to give you magical power, you will need keep up an act. I'll come visit you tomorrow with Sakura, so please hold on tight." He spoke to her before leaving.

As he was heading towards the balcony, he heard her voice call out to him despite being soft: "Sorry."

He turned and made a complex look before nodding his head, before returning to his workshop to find a way he can mass-produce 'Magus' using whatever means he had available to him.

He went to the basement that was now off-limits to the rest of his family and sat down in front of a desk. There were some failed prototypes of Hollow Masks and other materials needed for sorcery.

The modern Magus always had a Mystic Code that was specifically made to amplify their Spells on hand. Some used ancient swords, others used more alchemically created devices or consumables that had the sole purpose of holding magic inside.

The Tohsaka Family's Jewel Magecraft was a good example of this, even though their type of Mystic Codes were consumable jewels, they made deals other family's and had a lot of assets, allowing them to not suffer from losing their 'Amplifiers'.

Right now, only his Arondight was his Mystic Code along with the strange 'Crowned Beast's Hollow Mask' he had sealed up within him. His Matou Family also focused on using liquids or Crest Worms as Amplifiers for their more water-related Absorption Spell. The reason Zouken mostly focused on 'draining' and other forms of stealing was because the Spells he had derived from the original 'Absorption' concept of their family's research, and Kariya couldn't escape it as well.

With things as they were, there was a good chance his family will decline once again and birth another like Zouken if he didn't do something about the nature of their 'Stealing Magecraft', so he chose to find a different interpretation of the Spell instead.

"To tie something to one's self' didn't have to mean taking from another, as it could also be interpreted as 'Tying a bond with another'. He thought of the red binding of fate that could bring people together, and created a new form of Magecraft.

He used the 'Gu Research' of the Makiri's as the foundation to create Spells that focused more towards insects rather than 'stealing'. This would likely make those other Magus Families associated with the Clock Tower, one of the big three associations for Magecraft, displeased, and may even lose interest in them as he was giving up on trying to find the 'Root' (The Origin Of Magic).

However, this must be done for the sake of changing the family that had racked up so much bad karma that it was destroying their current generation. He made a lot of productive results towards creating Magecraft anyone could train.

In Zouken's personal research, he found a revolting Mystic Code that even Shinji could use called 'The False Book of Attendant'. It was going to be made using a Command Seal meant for Masters of the Holy Grail War and the 'Lust Worms' the old fart had a hobby of implanting into his victims. Since this was the only instance of finding a Mystic Code that can be used by normal people, he had no choice but to use this as a basis for a new one.

With his current 'Lust Designation' and ability to bring out Magical Energy that was corrupted like the Black Grail's, he chose to create some 'Lust Worms' himself to see how they worked as materials for Mystic Codes for normal people.

He needed a 'Specialised' Mystic Code that had the sole function of creating new Magic Circuits after he himself activated it (since normal people didn't have the magical energy to do so). Since his new research was on Gu, he'd also make it one!

He took inspiration from Tokiomi, as that man was quite the distinguished Magus and someone who was quite strong despite having his personal Mystic Code made from Jewel Magecraft.

For the Tohsaka Family, creating specialised Mystic Codes that weren't consumable like Tokiomi's staff was easier since they had many 'Jewels' that could store pure magical energy of varying quantities.

However, what he needed to create was a 'living being' that was similar in nature but could act independently to connect itself to a normal person's soul. Once 'bonded', they should be able to use the power within the Crest Worm- No, Crest Gu to their leisure. He looked up parasitic Gu and whether he could any insects as a medium...

His first new Spell was slowly coming together.

[You have gained a deeper understanding of the nature of Magic Circuits... You have derived the concept of 'Connection' from from the Matou Family to create a new Magecraft...]

He was struck by inspiration as he understood that so long as someone had Life Force (Od), all they needed was something to convert and store energy within their soul into Magic Energy (Mana).

Kariya wasn't fatigued at all as his enthusiasm lead to the creation of a truly terrifying Gu before him that looked like a mask. He wasn't sure if anyone was willing to wear this as he looked at the stats.

[Using yourself as a template, you've successfully created a 'Hollow Gu' with 40 inactive Magic Circuits... The nature of your Beast Hollow has infected it, causing whoever that wears this mask to feel more affection towards those around them.]

[You have finished forming the nature of your new Spell 'Connection'... It can form pacts with Gu...]

With Sakura and Byakuya already having their own Magic Circuits, this was made purely to test things out on Shinji. He was still discontent with letting him use this though as Shinji's highest percentage was in the Shinigami Compatibility of spirit energy.

Since he himself didn't have that energy yet, he decided to try the instructions given to him by the Amalgam System to try training himself to control the power of Soul Reapers. He had the rest of the night and there wasn't a reason not to try it.

Kariya took a deep breath before meditating...