"It's time to begin preparing for the physical modification."
Deep in the basement of the Western-style mansion, a gaunt, hunchbacked old man with an eerie appearance let out a sinister laugh as he watched the squirming insects under his control form a sea of wriggling bodies. The old man was Zouken Matou, and the mansion was naturally the Matou residence. Seeing that all preparations were complete, Zouken now intended to bring over Sakura, who had been adopted from the Tohsaka family, and thoroughly adjust her body and magical attributes to his liking.
"Hmm...?" Suddenly, Zouken's expression changed. The surveillance insects he had hidden outside the mansion had all lost connection with him in an instant. Clearly, they had been wiped out—every last one of them. The final piece of information Zouken received from the dying insects was that they had encountered a strange black mist.
"What kind of magecraft is this?" Even the well-informed Zouken couldn't identify the nature of this eerie black mist. But one thing was certain—someone was targeting him.
"Hmph!" Zouken was well aware of the brutality of conflicts among magi. Though he didn't know which fool had set their sights on him, killing Zouken Matou wouldn't be so easy—especially when he was within his own meticulously crafted magical workshop.
Without hesitation, Zouken activated the magical arrays laid throughout the house and hurried toward the main hall.
...
Ding—You kicked down the door and destroyed private property, fitting villainous behavior. Reward: 10 villain points.
At that moment, Takashi Kuroda, having taken on the form of Viego, kicked open the Matou mansion's gate. As for the magical arrays in the courtyard, they had already crumbled the moment they came into contact with the black mist, corroded by the Ruination.
"Only 10 points? Looks like I'll have to go bigger. Tsk tsk tsk, so many magical arrays activating… Such painstaking work. If I destroy them all, that old worm will definitely be furious. Mist End!" With a wave of his hand, Kuroda unleashed an endless surge of black mist that systematically dismantled every magical array in the mansion.
Ding—You wantonly destroyed a private magical workshop, fitting villainous behavior. Reward: 50 points.
Ding—You terrified innocent individuals, leaving psychological scars, fitting villainous behavior. Reward: 10 points.
Ding—You terrified a destined heroine, leaving deep psychological trauma, highly fitting villainous behavior. Reward: 100 points.
"Wait… destined heroine? What the hell?" Kuroda paused, then extended his senses through the mist. In one of the rooms, a purple-haired girl—no, a young black-haired girl—was huddled in a corner, trembling as she stared at the black mist filled with wailing spirits.
"Oh, it's Sakura. Judging by her hair color… good, it seems she hasn't undergone that inhuman modification yet. System, explain—why is the reward for scaring Matou Sakura so high?" Kuroda asked.
Host, since we're playing the villain, bullying ordinary people doesn't make you a real villain. A true great villain should be scheming against the destined protagonists. Hence, villainous actions targeting these protagonists yield much richer rewards. Sakura is one of the three heroines of the Fifth Holy Grail War, making her a destined heroine, the system explained.
"Oh, I see… Well, in that case…" A brilliant idea flashed in Kuroda's mind. He immediately directed the black mist to envelop Sakura, causing her to scream for help in terror.
"Don't be afraid, Sakura. I'm here to bring you blessings. Just accept it, and soon you won't have to fear anything anymore." Kuroda used the mist to soothe Sakura's mind, and soon, her cries and struggles ceased. Her eyes grew hazy, her consciousness drifting in a daze.
The mist then seeped into her body. With careful adjustments, Kuroda avoided excessive corruption, ensuring the Ruination didn't erode her sanity. Instead, he merely made her body adaptable to the mist, allowing her to draw power from it. Of course, Kuroda wasn't entirely selfless—he subtly altered her consciousness to make her utterly loyal and devoted to him.
He also dyed her hair purple. The familiar shade just felt right.
*Ding—You forcibly altered a destined heroine's cognition, making her submit to you and disrupting her original fate! Truly the act of a supreme villain! Reward: 1,000 villain points! Epic-tier lottery draw x1! Skill upgrade card x1!*
"Wow, as expected of a heroine. Totally worth it. Such a huge reward all at once… Hm? Looks like the main event has arrived." Just as Kuroda was marveling at the rewards, he sensed a murderous intent locking onto him. Raising his head, he saw the large-headed, ET-like old man glaring at him from the second-floor corridor.
"System, he doesn't look friendly," Kuroda remarked playfully, watching Zouken's murderous gaze.
Host, you're the unfriendly one here, the system retorted.
"Who are you, and why have you invaded my home?" To Kuroda's slight surprise, despite the fury in Zouken's eyes, his tone remained restrained.
This wasn't without reason. Though Zouken wanted nothing more than to flay the intruder alive, the sheer power and eeriness of Kuroda's abilities left him shaken. In an instant, his meticulously crafted workshop had been dismantled, and the entire mansion was now shrouded in that ominous mist.
Where did this monster come from? And that mist… Such unholy power. Could he be some entity from the Reverse Side of the World? But why target me? Countless questions swirled in Zouken's mind, but he dared not show it. In his pursuit of immortality, his soul had long rotted away, devoid of the ideals of his youth. Now, he feared death—feared that his 500 years of scheming would vanish like foam.
Though he stood before Kuroda now, it was merely a stalling tactic. The moment he witnessed Kuroda's overwhelming power, he had already used his insect magecraft to command his worms to flee through every hidden exit. Over the years, he had scattered worms across the world—as long as even one survived, Zouken could resurrect.
"Who am I? Harrowed Path!" Kuroda didn't bother answering. Instead, he hurled the black mist at Zouken, which instantly engulfed him. Green flames of ruin erupted across Zouken's skin, and a bloodcurdling scream tore through the air—only to be cut short as a shadowy claw clamped around his throat.
"Too noisy." Using a skill, Kuroda teleported to the second floor, lifting Zouken like a chick by the neck. "Makiri Zolgen—500 years ago, I might have respected you. But now? A noisy insect like you has no right to question me."
Despite the agony of the corrosive flames, Zouken's expression twisted in shock upon hearing his true name. The intruder knew exactly who he was—this was no random attack.
"H-How have I… offended you…?" Zouken's remaining worms forced out a hoarse question as he desperately tried to recall any enemies from his long life.
Ding—You tortured and burned an old man, highly fitting villainous conduct. Reward: 20 villain points.
"Only 20? I went out of my way to torment him, and it's not even worth one of Sakura's hairs? I thought this guy would be worth more. Pathetic." Kuroda nearly rolled his eyes. Seeing that Zouken still dared to speak, he decided not to waste any more time and prepared to finish him off.
"Die." With a thought, Kuroda unleashed the Ruination, reducing Zouken's body to ashes. Suddenly, his eyes flashed, and his hand shot out, the black mist surging with it. A transparent spirit—Zouken's true form—was ruthlessly dragged back, his face a mask of terror.
"Your insect magecraft is indeed unique. As long as even one of your worms survives, you can resurrect. That's the immortality you spent your life researching, isn't it? Too bad you met me. A soul? Heh… No soul can escape the Ruination!" With that, Kuroda plunged the Ruination into Zouken's spirit.
Deep underground, worms that had been frantically fleeing suddenly froze. Wisps of black mist seeped from their bodies, carrying faint specks of light that flew toward the Matou mansion. The worms themselves rotted away, dissolving into bloody sludge.
The same scene repeated everywhere Zouken's worms had hidden. Countless strands of black mist converged into the mansion, returning to Kuroda's hand. The glowing fragments coalesced into a single orb, and when Zouken saw it, despair filled his eyes.
"Every last piece of your soul is here. Did you really think you could escape me, Zouken Matou?"