The Ex-Machina on a Dimensional Journey

"Question: How is the mission progressing?"

Karna withdrew his bloodstained spear. The heat of its shaft swiftly evaporated the red liquid, and the enemy at his feet had only just vanished when that familiar voice reached his ears.

At that moment, he heard a soft landing behind him.

The sudden sound did not put Karna on guard. He had already sensed who had arrived.

"It's done, Mas..." His words stopped abruptly. Karna looked troubled, and only after several seconds of deliberation did he finish: "Master."

The Xiu Ers were all the same person. Their appearances and energy signatures were identical, so Karna mistook the Xiu Er who had returned for Number Four, the one who had actually formed a bond with him.

Of course, that bond was precisely what allowed Karna to pick Number Four out from among them.

He had paused because he realized his mistake and did not know what to call her. In the end, he forced out "Master."

He had met the other Doppelgangers. After establishing their master-servant relationship, Number Four had taken Karna to the Boundary where Number Two was.

There, Karna had seen the group of identical Xiu Ers, as well as the object they were fighting over in the Holy Grail War—the Great Holy Grail.

Karna himself did not care much about the Holy Grail.

As it happened, Xiu Er needed help, so the Xiu Ers sent him to assist Number Nine before they had settled what he should call each of them.

Hence his awkward hesitation.

Karna's poker face concealed his embarrassment perfectly, but Xiu Er had heard the pause in his reply.

It seemed this gloomy-looking son of a god was not as unapproachable as he appeared.

"Reminder: We are the same individual. Mistaking one of us for another is understandable.