[FMMISM] Chapter 6: A Deal with a Devil

When Ragna arrived in Fuyuki, it was already close to dusk.

"That'll be 14,700 yen, sir."

Gazing through the rearview mirror, a taxi driver spoke to Ragna.

"Alright, just a moment." Ragna nodded to the driver, then thought, 'Seriously, only in Japan where taxi fare is more expensive than a call girl's service.'

Soon, he pulled two large bills out of his wallet and gave them to the driver.

"Thank you, sir. Have a good day."

After Ragna stepped out of the taxi and watched it leave, he walked toward a gloomy mansion in the distance under the orange sunset.

It was none other than the Matou residence, the top visit site for any transmigrator who came to the Nasuverse. They could skip visiting the Clock Tower, skip Chaldea, but they absolutely couldn't miss visiting the Matou residence!

In front of the mansion, amidst the chirping of insects, stood an old man who looked like a mummy.

His sunken eye sockets housed sharp eyes, and his frail body exuded an oddly disproportionate sense of intimidation.

"Long time no see, Ragna."

"Oh, hey, Matou." Ragna waved at him casually. "Seeing you still so healthy is really the best thing."

The old man's name was Matou Zouken, the owner of the mansion and the head of the Matou family, one of the three founding families of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.

He was one of the Holy Grail War's creators and the Command Spell's inventor.

Zouken had once been a rather talented and powerful mage, but now he was just an ugly old monster, surviving for five hundred years by consuming humans. He couldn't even appear in the sunlight, making him a truly inhuman creature.

After a brief exchange at the entrance with Zouken, Ragna soon found himself walking through the eerie hallway of the mansion, eventually sitting on a couch in the reception room.

"Qualification has been obtained."

Ragna raised his right hand, showing Zouken the Command Spells that had appeared on the back of his hand two hours ago when he entered Fuyuki.

"Oh, that is quite... an interesting pattern. It seems like the Holy Grail War is going to be very interesting... But Ragna, I don't think you came here today just to tell me about this, did you?"

"As expected of you. You're right, I'm here to say my final goodbye to Sakura."

Upon hearing this, Zouken's murky eyes stared intently at the boy.

"So... you mean?"

"I mean, according to the agreement we made before. You can implant the Crest Worms into Sakura's body tonight." Ragna said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Zouken's body trembled slightly, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips.

"Hehehe, I knew I didn't misjudge you. You're truly a great man."

"Heh... right back at you."

In the dimly lit reception room, the handsome boy and the ugly old man locked eyes, both revealing a chillingly evil smile.

As the sunset shone through the curtains onto Zouken's face, it caused his thoughts to become hazy.

Unconsciously, his memory drifted back to the day he met Ragna for the first time.

A year ago, just a few days before the Matou family welcomed the Tohsaka family's second daughter into their family.

At the first sight of Ragna, the five-hundred-year-old monster felt as if his perception of time had come to a halt.

Standing in the night, Ragna's small and slender body exuded a presence far stronger than his physical stature would suggest. His handsome yet beautiful face, seemingly inhuman, bore a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

What oppressed Zouken the most were Ragna's pitch-black, icy eyes.

Just meeting those eyes made him feel as if he were falling into an absolute zero black hole.

'What kind of monster is standing before me?'

At that time, this was his first thought.

"Hmm, you could say I'm a devil."

As Ragna introduced himself like that, Zouken immediately accepted and believed it.

Zouken was a worm that degraded through the constant devouring of human lives, while Ragna was a dragon that could evolve by consuming souls.

Although their scales of existence were different and their natures completely opposite, they had one thing in common—an evil being hidden beneath a human exterior.

At that time, Ragna stood before Zouken and proposed a deal.

"I'll represent your family in the Fourth Holy Grail War, but in return, you will delay implanting your worms into Sakura for a year. During this time, you can't touch her, and I'll occasionally visit to play with her. Don't worry, I'm not interested in the girl; she remains the property of the Matou family. After a year, you can do whatever you want with her."

"What is your purpose?" Zouken, unable to fathom it, asked instinctively.

"I just want to build a good relationship with the Tohsaka daughter, that's all..." Ragna said with a cold smile. "Before she got transformed by your worms..."

"!!!"

As soon as he heard Ragna's answer, Zouken's eyes widened in surprise.

He realized that the boy before him was a monster beyond his imagination.

Ragna planned to first build a trusting relationship with the Tohsaka family's daughter before betraying and harming her thoroughly. He intended to lift up an innocent, naive girl to heaven, only to throw her down harshly afterward to hell.

One could only imagine how desperate, hateful, pained, and sorrowful Sakura would be at that time.

Looking at the handsome boy with his deep black eyes, Zouken involuntarily felt a deep-seated fear. He figured out that this boy was truly a monster who fed on human negative emotions and found joy in it.

With that, the deal was struck as the mage and the devil formed a contract.

Zouken would ensure Sakura's safety and well-being for a year until the day Ragna decided to 'enjoy' her. In return, Ragna would represent the Matou family in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and if he won, he would hand over the Holy Grail to the Matou family unconditionally.

Of course, the contract also stipulated that they could not harm each other, among other clauses. After all, Zouken was the one who invented the Command Spell. In terms of contracts and binding magecraft mastery, he was undoubtedly the best of his time.

In Zouken's eyes, no matter how powerful Ragna was, he couldn't violate it, just like how Servants couldn't defy the Command Spell.

Zouken was very satisfied with this profitable deal and even felt a sense of admiration for Ragna.

For a year after that, Ragna traveled between Tokyo and Fuyuki every three weeks.

Each time, he brought Sakura expensive gifts and souvenirs that could only be bought in Tokyo, just to make the girl smile.

In regular people's eyes, the Matou residence was so gloomy and cold, definitely not a suitable environment for a young child like Sakura. Because of this, Ragna could naturally break through her defenses and become her spiritual support.

Sakura even shyly called Ragna 'Big Brother' and opened her heart to him, smiling more often.

Perhaps it was because she had left her capable elder sister's protection, Sakura even became more cheerful and outgoing than she had been with the Tohsaka family.

'Hehe, this must be what they call 'those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make them mad'?'

As he thought this, Zouken was delighted.

In this way, the year came to an end.

With Ragna informing Zouken half a month in advance to prepare his worms, two monsters disguised as humans were about to conduct a grand bloody ritual on the innocent girl living in her dream that would take place tonight.