Chapter 540: Self-Reproach

Aoi's complexion instantly turned pale.

She hurried to Lin's front, clasped Lin's shoulders with both hands, and those green eyes were filled with panic.

"Lin, Ying? Isn't she with you? Why hasn't she returned?"

Lin opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Guilt surged up like a tide.

If she hadn't joined the Holy Grail War, if she hadn't dragged Ying into it, if she could have been more careful…

Aoi watched Lin's expression, and slowly released her hands.

She stepped back, and tears already glimmered in her eyes.

"Ying… what happened to her?"

Yuanban Shichen stepped forward, reaching out to clasp his wife's shoulder.

His movement was gentle, but the hand was firm and strong.

"Aoi, stay Calm."

Aoi looked up at him, lips trembling: "Shi Chen… our daughter…"

"I know."

Yuanban Shichen's voice was very Calm, so calm it was reassuring, "Ying is currently missing, but there is no evidence that anything happened to her. Lin is also injured; let her go inside and sit down first, okay?"

Aoi looked into her husband's eyes, those icy blue irises showing no panic, only composure.

She inhaled deeply and nodded.

"Alright... alright..."

She turned to Lin, reached out to smooth Lin's disheveled hair, eyes full of concern: "Lin, come in first, I'll tend to your wound."

Lin felt a sour sting in his nose.

She lowered her head and followed her mother into the living room.

Saber and Lixiang also followed in.

The Yuanban Family's living room was spacious and elegant, with a deep red sofa paired with a solid-wood coffee table, several Western oil paintings hung on the walls, and a stack of vinyl records beside the gramophone in the corner.

Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, warming the whole room.

Aoi had Lin sit on the sofa, took a medical kit from the cabinet, and began treating her tiny wounds.

Her movements were light and gentle, but her eyes remained red.

Lin sat there, motionless.

She dared not look at her mother's eyes.

"Mom..."

Lin finally spoke, her voice as low as a mosquito's hum, "I'm sorry… I didn't protect Ying well…"

Aoi's hand paused.

She said nothing, just continued treating the wound.

Yuanban Shichen stood nearby, watching his daughter's bowed head, watching his wife's forced tears, silent for a few seconds.

Then he spoke.

"Lin."

Lin lifted her head.

Shi Chen looked into her eyes, those blue irises, just like his own, filled with guilt.

"You're blaming yourself."

Lin bit her lip, not denying it.

Shi Chen sighed.

He walked to Lin's front, placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Lin, listen to me. This Holy Grail War— even if you don't join, it will still commence."

Lin was stunned for a moment, then looked up at her father.

Shi Chen continued, his tone carrying a hint of emotion he couldn't quite explain:

"After the Fourth Holy Grail War ended, the Holy Grail vanished. Logically, there shouldn't be a Fifth, but it appeared anyway. What does that indicate? It shows that some unknown force is driving it."

He paused, his voice deepening a few degrees:

"You participated, you have a Servant, you have means to protect yourself. If Ying is in danger, at least you can try to save her. If you were just an ordinary person, unaware of this war's existence, then when Ying gets into trouble, you wouldn't even understand what happened."

Lin's lips moved.

"But Ying…"

"There's nothing to 'but' about."

Yuanban Shichen's tone grew a few degrees firmer, "Members of the Yuanban Family, don't wallow in self-pity at a time like this. Ying is still alive—I can feel it, she's still alive. What you need to do isn't blame yourself here, but find a way to locate her and rescue her."

Those blue eyes were full of seriousness, "You're her older sister, you want to protect her, that's fine. But some things are beyond your control."

Lin fell silent.

Shi Chen looked at her, suddenly recalling many years ago when Lin was still young, also bowing her head before him, feeling guilty for accidentally breaking a laboratory gem.

What did he say back then?

"Lin, members of the Yuanban Family may fail, but they cannot evade. Lift your head, think about what to do next."

Lin's tears finally couldn't be held back.

But she quickly wiped them with her sleeve, raised her head, and nodded forcefully.

"I understand, Father Jiao."

In the alley outside the Tohsaka Residence, a man hid in the shadows.

Jiantong Shen'er's body kept twitching, and they curled up in the corner like a frightened cockroach.

Their eyeballs were bulging as if about to pop out of the sockets, the blood‑shot whites emitting an eerie red glow in the darkness.

Something was writhing on their face.

It was insects.

The tiny insects burrowed out from under their skin, then slipped back in beneath the skin.

They crawled across the face, leaving raised tracks that looked as if a nest of snakes were slithering beneath the skin.

If a passerby were nearby, they would certainly be scared to tears on the spot.

But Jiantong Shen'er didn't care.

They were too excited.

"Finally... finally I've found..."

Their voice was hoarse, tinged with an uncontrollable tremor.

Their mouth stretched to the ears, revealing a grin that could frighten a child to death.

All the members of the Yuanban Family were inside.

That hateful Yuan Ban Lin, that pretentious honor student, that woman whose gaze toward him was always contemptuous—she was inside.

And her father, Yuanban Shichen.

The guy who withdrew unscathed from the Holy Grail War ten years ago.

The one who stood by and did nothing when death came.

That—one of the murderers who killed grandpa!

Jiantong Shen'er's body trembled even more, and the insects on the face writhed even more joyfully.

"All in one pot... all in one pot... ha ha... hahahaha..."

They laughed in a low voice, the laugh sounding as if forced out of the throat—hoarse and sharp.

They wanted revenge.

They wanted to avenge grandpa.

The last time at school they let them escape—they never figured out how those two women could still leap away alive after jumping from the third floor, but that doesn't matter now.

Now, they can't run away.

Jiantong Shen'er extended the right hand, the three violet‑black Command Spells on the back of the hand flickering with an eerie light in the dim illumination.

"Berserker... appear... for me, appear..."

They summoned magical energy, attempting to call forth their Servant.

But the Command Spell only flickered a few times, with no response.

Jiantong Shen'er furrowed their brows.

(What's going on?)

They tried again.

Still no response.

The smile on the face turned ferocious.

"Useless... bastard... even you dare defy me..."

They clenched their teeth, and the Command Spell on the right hand erupted with a blinding flash!

"In the name of the Command Spell—Berserker, come to my side!"