"Quick! Run faster!"
"Ha...! Ha...! Ha...!"
In a vast forest, Astolfo dragged the Homunculus rescued from the Culture Tank along in a mad sprint.
For a Homunculus, this was undoubtedly an enormous burden.
After all, Homunculi were created to provide magical energy to Servants. They did not possess the functions needed for such intense exercise.
Even leaving the Culture Tank was an extremely arduous matter for a Homunculus.
A body that had never moved before wailed in agony.
Feet that had never touched the ground before wailed in agony.
A windpipe that had never breathed the outside air before wailed in agony.
Even a heart that had never beaten violently before wailed in agony.
The Homunculus was currently in such a state that it would not have been strange to suddenly vomit blood, nor would it have been strange for the body to collapse.
Yet Astolfo continued urging the Homunculus onward.
"Just a little more! While no one in the castle has noticed!"
Normally, escaping Mirenia Castle was no easy matter.
That castle was Yggdmillennia's headquarters. It housed numerous Magi, and during the Holy Grail War, its defenses were at their tightest. Even if one could evade the watchful eyes of the other Homunculi and the Golems' patrols, there was no escaping the many barriers and magical traps.
Not just Mirenia Castle—even all of Tuliphas was now under Yggdmillennia's surveillance.
Escaping under such circumstances might not have been difficult for a Servant, but doing so without being discovered was incredibly difficult.
Fortunately, the many Masters within Mirenia Castle had all been distracted by Fang Li's direct assault on the Red Faction's headquarters.
That was why Astolfo had been able to bring this Homunculus straight out of the castle.
"Listen, you absolutely mustn't let go of my hand, okay?"
Astolfo had