Multiverse Adventure – My Journey Begins in Danmachi 80

Multiverse Adventure – My Journey Begins in Danmachi 80

---

Edited by: Tiny Fan Fiction

---

Chapter 80 Tokiomi, you died well!

What are you doing?

This question left Matou Kariya deeply perplexed.

Since this silver-haired boy is here, Sakura is clearly safe.

Then, the reason for staying here no longer exists.

In that case, where should I go next?

That has obviously become a question.

Continue on a journey called travel, which is actually a wandering?

Or should I stay by their side, continuing to protect Aoi’s happiness?

Besides these two naturally occurring options, Matou Kariya also heard another voice appearing in his heart.

……No, none of those are what I want to do.

If I were to say it appeared, that wouldn’t be accurate, because this voice had never actually disappeared; it was just that Matou Kariya had never faced his own heart, which is why he had never heard it.

Following this voice, Matou Kariya reflected on the dark desires that surfaced from the depths of his heart.

Then he was surprised to find that the images lingering in the deepest recesses of his memory were not the moments spent growing up with Aoi.

Instead, they were of Tohsaka Tokiomi…… that elegant man, born into a prestigious family, with dazzling Magecraft, as if the gods had intentionally made him superior in every way.

Although most of the scenes in his life were with Aoi, the starting point and center of his memories and emotions were all Tohsaka Tokiomi.

……Yeah, why am I confused?

……The answer is right in front of me; what is there to not understand?

……Actually, from the first day I met that man Tohsaka Tokiomi, didn’t I know very clearly what I wanted to do?

……But, is it really possible?

Do I really want to do that?

Sensing Matou Kariya’s inner turmoil, Noah raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest in his eyes.

“Oh, it seems you’ve already figured out what you should do?”

Matou Kariya instinctively looked at Noah, but quickly lowered his head out of guilt.

“Is it, is it really okay?”

In Noah’s view, Matou Kariya’s wish was simply to reclaim his childhood sweetheart, the already married Tohsaka Aoi, who was raising 2 daughters.

Although taking another man’s wife might be a bit unethical and could shorten his lifespan, Noah didn’t care; a little lifespan here and there was nothing… after all, it wasn’t his lifespan!

The most important thing is, Matou Kariya is a normal person!

By normal, Noah didn’t mean in terms of character, but rather that Matou Kariya wasn’t like other Magus who would willingly sacrifice their lives to achieve the Root.

This also means that Matou Kariya might be the only one who can escape at a critical moment in this Holy Grail War.

This is very important for Noah,

because he can provide Matou Sakura with a reliance, a protection that can still be there even after he’s gone.

Although Matou Kariya is a bit foolish, this also means he will do his best to protect Matou Sakura, right?

As for Tohsaka Tokiomi, Noah can’t say what kind of person he is, but he estimates that this individual’s chances of surviving this Holy Grail War are not high.

As a loving husband and father, Tohsaka Tokiomi would give up his own daughter for adoption, showing that at his core, he is still a Magus.

With his exceptional strength as a Magus and the Tohsaka Household’s advantage as the top dog in Fuyuki City, it’s only natural that he would be targeted by most participants.

Noah, who has been through many battles, knows that in war, those who are the most prominent and have the most fame often die the fastest and most miserably… oh, but he himself is an exception.

In any case, if Tohsaka Tokiomi dies, Tohsaka Aoi will be left alone, and it’s likely that she will struggle to survive, possibly even following her husband in death.

At that time, if Noah were to send his long-separated daughter to her, along with a childhood friend who has affection for her and will surely cherish his daughter, wouldn’t that be perfect?

If Tohsaka Tokiomi lives, then even if Matou Sakura returns, the environment there will only serve as a constant reminder of the fact that she was abandoned by her Familia.

The others in the Tohsaka Household will also remember this.

But if Tohsaka Tokiomi dies, the 3 women will be consumed by grief over the loss of their father and husband, and they won’t have the heart to be distant from each other; instead, they will come together, crying and reuniting as a loving Familia.

At that time, Matou Kariya can reclaim his loved one, Tohsaka Aoi can find solace in the joy of reuniting with her daughter to alleviate the pain of losing her husband, and Matou Sakura can return to her mother’s embrace.

So, Tohsaka Tokiomi, your death will be a good thing, a wonderful thing!

Sacrificing you will bring happiness to you, me, and everyone else!

Of course, I, who have made these arrangements, am the second-greatest good person, next to Tohsaka Tokiomi.

I am truly worthy of being called the greatest good person of all time!

Riveria would definitely praise me for my intelligence if she heard this!

“Even now, are you still clinging to that sense of morality? Is your pride more important, or the happiness of the one you love? You know, giving up dignity and faith is often harder than giving up your life!”

Noah’s voice was like a winter wind, both cold and fiercely intimidating.

It sent a shiver down Matou Kariya’s spine as he looked up at Noah.

“You don’t even have the courage to abandon your pride, to become a despicable person, or even to fight and take back what’s rightfully yours?! Do you even dare to say you love her?! You know, sometimes when an opportunity is missed, it’s gone forever!”

Although he didn’t fully understand, Noah’s last words struck a chord deep within Matou Kariya’s heart.

Eight years ago, on the eve before Sakura became Tohsaka Aoi, he had also hesitated about forcibly taking her away.

But seeing the happy smile on his beloved woman’s face, Matou Kariya chose to let go.

It was because of that single lapse in judgment, coupled with his escape from the Matou Family, that he almost led Sakura to the brink of destruction.

But thanks to the silver-haired youth before him, he had been spared from causing a greater calamity and was given another chance.

A chance to challenge that man!

If he missed this opportunity, would fate grant him a third one?

It was highly unlikely, and Matou Kariya dared not even hope for a third chance.

The opportunity was right in front of him; he had to consider if this was his only chance in life.

If he stood by and watched Tohsaka Tokiomi die in this Holy Grail War, he would probably feel a regret far greater than losing Sakura.

So, he decided!

Accompanied by a searing sensation like a branding iron, Matou Kariya instinctively looked down at his back.

There, formed by 3 swirling blossoms, was a crimson pattern resembling a wave.

The Matou Family was one of the 3 major families participating in the Holy Grail War, and they were also the creators of the Command Spell system.

Matou Kariya certainly understood the significance of the Command Spell he held in his hand.

“I! Will defeat him!”

As if fueled by an invisible fire burning behind him, Matou Kariya slowly rose to his feet, straightening his spine as if trying to pierce the ceiling.

“I! I’ll take down that Tohsaka Tokiomi! I’ll make him kneel before me, crying and beating his breast, with a self-loathing expression!”

Noah nodded with satisfaction as he heard Matou Kariya regain his determination.

But as he listened, he felt something was wrong.

Hum?

​​Why are you talking about Tohsaka Tokiomi?

Where is Tohsaka Aoi?

The courage to protect the one you love, huh?

Aren’t you focusing on the wrong thing here?

But Matou Kariya didn’t notice his confusion.

Instead, after calming down, he gave Matou Sakura an apologetic look.

Swearing to defeat her father in front of someone else’s daughter is a bit… oni-chichi, isn’t it?

But, I guess this is me taking a bit of revenge for Little Sakura, right?

However, what Matou Kariya didn’t realize was that Matou Sakura also didn’t notice his gaze.

Instead, she was staring blankly at Noah’s back.

You don’t even have the courage to defeat the one you love and take her home?

You dare say you love… So this is what love is?

Although she was only a 5 or 6-year-old girl, having a Matou Sakura who was superior to her in every way had already made her learn to read people’s expressions in a subtle sense of inferiority.

Not to mention the experiences of the past few days, which made her even more mature than girls her age.

Although she wouldn’t suddenly become smart and knowledgeable because of this, she would have a deeper understanding of many things that had confused her before.

For example, Matou Sakura knew few men naturally.

One was her father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, and the other was her mother’s friend, Uncle Kariya.

However, her beloved father had sent her to hell with his own hands a few days ago…

Although she really wanted to go back in time, Matou Sakura also vaguely understood that she could no longer throw herself into his arms like before and call him father wholeheartedly.

And although Matou Kariya was very kind to her and her sister, always sending Divine Gifts, Matou Sakura was keenly a little, a little…

Matou Sakura couldn’t quite describe that feeling.

She couldn’t say she was repulsed or disgusted.

She should say that every time she saw him talking to her mother, she was always more concerned and uneasy, feeling a bit unreliable, not someone to rely on.

But more importantly, it was the boy in front of her.

When Noah rescued her from the insect nest, the girl thought that it was the heavens sending her a reliance again, like a Hero rescuing a Princess in a fairy tale.

But when Matou Sakura tried to cast Noah and herself into the roles of the male and female protagonists in a fairy tale, it was a Failure.

Matou Sakura knew that what separated her from Noah was not some impenetrable wall, but simply the vast distance between them.

Unfamiliar, unclear, indistinct.

Noah’s past, Noah’s thoughts, everything hidden behind Noah’s azure eyes… she knew nothing of it.

In his eyes, she was probably just a pitiful little girl who had been abandoned by her parents and nearly taken advantage of by bad people.

Whether she was called Matou Sakura or Tohsaka Sakura, it was all the same to her, a mere Fundamental aspect of her existence.

Noah didn’t care, nor did he want to understand.

So, even though she could sleep in Noah’s arms, Matou Sakura still felt like he was a white cloud floating in the vast blue sky, untouchable and ephemeral.

Although it seemed like she could reach out and touch him, he would vanish into thin air the next second, dispersing into the horizon like a wisp of smoke.

When she saw Noah scold Matou Kariya earlier, Matou Sakura became even more certain of her intuition.

This individual, Noah, possessed a resolute will that Matou Sakura couldn’t even begin to imagine, charging forward towards a distant Target that she couldn’t see, with a Speed that she couldn’t keep up with.

To Noah, who was as free as the wind and wouldn’t stop for anyone, Matou Sakura was just a brief passerby on his long journey.

Noah would eventually disappear from her side, leaving her behind… every time she realized this, Matou Sakura felt a pang in her chest, her breathing becoming labored, and her nose stinging with unshed tears.

This feeling of sadness was different from the resentment and reluctance she felt when she left her parents, or the fear and trepidation she felt when she was taken to the insect nest by her ‘Grandfather’.

It was a more subtle, yet more unbearable, ache that threatened to suffocate her.

This complex mix of emotions was beyond Matou Sakura’s comprehension, and all she could do was instinctively reach out to grab onto it, to hold onto this small, fragile sense of security that remained.

Big brother, what kind of person are you, really?

Can’t you really stay by Sakura’s side?

Sakura truly didn’t want to experience the fear of being abandoned by everyone again.

As night fell, Matou Sakura drifted off to sleep, her hand growing warm.

When the endless dunes of sand filled her vision, she realized she had entered a dream once more.

And then, Matou Sakura saw the Corpses.

Countless, seemingly endless, dead bodies stretched out before her, with Blood flowing like a river, a Mana convergence of unimaginable scale.

However, before Matou Sakura could even process her fear, her attention was drawn to the Figure at the center of the Battlefield.

In just one glance, she was certain – this was the same child she had seen in her dream before, a fleeting glimpse of a familiar face amidst the chaos.

He stood with a broken sword in hand, half-kneeling on the ground, drenched in blood.

His slender, scar-ridden body was visible through the shattered armor, his eyes devoid of light and filled with shadows as he gazed at the battlefield.

Though she had her suspicions, it was only now that Matou Sakura confirmed, this boy was indeed Noah.

After ending the battle alone, Noah returned to the crowd.

But besides cheers, what greeted him was a mix of silence and fear.

People relied on his strength, yet feared it too──a fact Noah was all too aware of.

He said nothing, though, simply returning to his quarters, cleaning his body, treating his wounds with simplicity, and then devouring sweets with large bites.

There was a sadness in his heart, but it wasn’t due to the jealousy, fear, or hatred directed at him.

For everyone had their own mission and place; different destinies were preordained for different people.

The weak and the ordinary were destined to be ignorant and powerless, ruled and trampled by the strong.

Even towards the Demon King, the legendary one, who brought endless slaughter and pain to the world, he felt no hatred like the others.

Because they were the weak, lost in the desires of slaughter and destruction, unable to free themselves.

Under his sword, there was only a distinction between those who could be killed and those who could not.

Having emerged from a village devoid of life, he never held the naive thought that everyone would return kindness.

The law of the jungle was etched into his bones long before the warmth of humanity.

He would protect them with all his might when they extended kindness, and kill every enemy without discrimination when attacked by offensive arts.

Regardless of the reason, when one raises a weapon to kill, they must be prepared to die.

His only trouble was his inability to protect all the good people, to fulfill his responsibility──the responsibility of the strong.

Every individual in the world had their own responsibility and place; the weak struggled in confusion, while the strong carried their burdens with clarity.

As the strongest, shouldn’t he bear the most responsibility?

But what if he couldn’t bear it?

Wouldn’t that just mean he wasn’t the strongest yet?

If so, becoming the strongest would suffice, wouldn’t it?

And so, he drew his sword.

A sword symbolizing hope and despair, future and end, blessing and curse.

……Do you truly intend to bear the power and sin of judging all life in a world nearing its end?

“Only the strong can decide the fate of other beings……”

He hesitated for only a moment.

“……I am the strongest, therefore, it is my duty to judge the fate of the world!”

At this realization, Matou Sakura’s consciousness quickly surfaced.

In her daze, she heard the rumble of wheels and the sound of a mechanical broadcast.

“……We’ve arrived at Mifune City.”

---