Grafting
After all, he descended into a physical body, and had absolutely no connection with the magical body constructed by the Holy Grail.
As Magecraft, Gilles looked around and saw that he only had one Rider and one Archer by his side. He knew that the Archer could hold out for a while longer.
As for Rider, they would probably run out of magic power to sustain themselves if they used certain abilities.
With this in mind, Gilles immediately made a plan. He activated the True Magic circle he had set up in the basement, intending to use the lives of those below to completely convert them into magic power.
Besides replenishing their own losses, these offerings can also be reused to summon powerful Sea Demon, teaching this kid what it means to not trespass on someone else's territory!
As for the Master?
If we just get through this phase, then we can just find anyone and forcibly turn them into our Master, right?
At the same time, his Noble Phantasm appeared in his hand and began to turn automatically. It was a magic book called the Prelati's Spellbook, made entirely of human skin. This Noble Phantasm itself contained magic power and could use its own magic power to perform large-scale Magecraft.
At the same time, it also records the knowledge of the Evil Gods of the ancient times. It is because of this knowledge that Gilles was able to summon terrifying monsters that even famous heroes would find difficult to deal with, even when his own abilities were insufficient.
Now, he was about to repeat his feat from ten years ago, summoning the raging Sea Demon!
If he can kill the guy in front of him and survive, he can obtain the Holy Grail then use its power to fulfill his wish and truly resurrect Jeanne d'Arc!
"I must say, you're quite impressive. You managed to kill our Master before we could even react. But you stopped after killing our Master. Did you think we were no longer capable of dealing with you?"
Gilles spoke, hoping to lower the other person's guard so that he could perform his Magecraft perfectly.
"We're finished! Our Master is dead! I'm going to disappear right now!" Astolfo shouted from the side. After Kirei Kotomine died, he gave up the struggle and instead shouted in despair.
This behavior ignited a surge of anger in Gilles' heart. He thought he should have made his move sooner and turned this guy into a sacrifice, then incorporated him into his own magic, so that the idiot could be of more use.
Unfortunately, with Kirei Kotomine now dead, he doesn't have that opportunity for the time being.
Robin Hood Archer, also put away his weapon. He glanced at Gilles, then at Mephistopheles, and spread his hands, saying, "I surrender."
Mephistopheles was quite surprised to see that Robin Hood and Astolfo had stopped attacking. "Don't you have any intention of avenging your Master?"
"He's not a good person either!"
The answer that came out of his mouth was Astolfo, and he said it with such confidence. Looking at this cute boy, Mephistopheles couldn't help but sigh that it was no wonder that there were scenes in fan comics where Gudao would sneak into Astolfo's bed at night.
Then Astolfo added, "I don't have any particular wish. Your strength seems formidable, and I can't beat you. Since I can't beat you, and I don't need revenge, and my wish isn't important, why should I continue fighting?"
That makes perfect sense; it even makes you want to applaud.
Although he was criticized for being slow-witted, Mephistopheles thought this guy might actually be the smartest.
Robin Hood nodded in agreement, saying, "This time I have to admit he makes a lot of sense. I had similar thoughts. I might as well take advantage of my ability to move around as Archer, wander around, enjoy the scenery, have something to eat, and then head straight back to the Throne of Heroes when it's time. It's better than fighting you to the death."
Gilles wanted to curse at the two men's instant surrender, but he didn't care anymore. He had stalled for time long enough to complete the entire Magecraft!
A maniacal laugh appeared on his face as magic surged from the Noble Phantasm before him, a sign that the Magecraft was fully activated. His Noble Phantasm would then fully activate the True Magic circle in the basement, and in just a moment, he would gain a portion of his magic power. The remaining portion would be used by the Noble Phantasm to summon the most powerful monster!
But in the next second, Gilles froze.
The Noble Phantasm in front of him had indeed taken effect, but the True Magic circle in the basement did not react at all, as if he had used the wrong method, causing the magic grimoire below to lose its connection to him.
He tried again immediately, but it still didn't work!
Sweat beaded on Gilles's face. He forced a smile, but it looked incredibly eerie on his comical face.
Especially now that his smile is uglier than a cry, it makes his face look even more distorted, like that of an Evil Gods's servant.
Moreover, it's rushing towards the "Benbo Ba" or "Babo Ben" style.
"You've discovered your Magecraft isn't working?" Mephistopheles spoke to Gilles at this moment, appearing so relaxed that he even casually sat on a nearby bench, his smile extremely bright, a stark contrast to Gilles's expression.
Gilles immediately realized that this guy must have done something!
But what exactly did the other person do? From the moment they entered until now, Gilles hasn't felt any interference with his Magecraft. Could it be that this guy first went into the basement, completely destroyed it, and then reappeared through the front door?
But wouldn't it be more advantageous to just rush out from the basement entrance and launch a surprise attack?
Not to mention that the entrance to the basement is inside the building, and the rest of the area is completely sealed off. How could he have entered the basement and caused damage without entering the church?!
Poor Gilles's mind raced, but he just couldn't figure it out.
Upon hearing that Gilles's Magecraft had failed, Robin Hood was surprised but also relieved. Although Gilles was one of his own, Robin Hood still found it hard to accept that the other party wanted to use innocent people as sacrifices.
Now that his plan to see the other party had been thwarted, Robin Hood felt that this was the best possible outcome.
"How did you get into the basement?!" Gilles demanded.
"The basement? I haven't been there yet, but I will after I beat you up, don't worry." Mephistopheles said, getting up and walking towards Gilles, a slight smile playing on his lips.
He knew perfectly well why Gilles was so shocked, because Mephistopheles had indeed damaged the True Magic circle in the basement, but such damage didn't require anyone to go down there.
The basement was just an ordinary area, not a place with any protective barrier. Mephistopheles easily used his True Magic to interfere with the area below, and under this interference, the True Magic circle set up by Gilles was naturally completely destroyed.
With the True Magic circle destroyed, there will naturally be no response. Without a response, everything will stop at the point where Gilles's Noble Phantasm consumes magic power, and cannot continue.
At this moment, the battle had officially begun. Gilles knew he couldn't summon the Sea Demon, so he could only choose the most ordinary way to fight: extracting magic power from the Noble Phantasm at hand and, with Noble Phantasm help, beginning to condense the Magecraft most suitable for high-speed combat!
Countless magic projectiles began to converge and emerge from Gilles's body, blasting towards Mephistopheles.
Mephistopheles neither dodged nor evaded, letting the opponent's magic bullets bombard him, as these magic bullets posed no threat to his defenses whatsoever.
Gilles was shocked to see this. He never expected that this guy's defense would be so abnormal. He was completely unharmed by Giles's continuous magic bullet attacks.
However, Gilles did not give up. The attack, which looked powerful, was actually just a feint.
As Mephistopheles drew closer, Gilles finally prepared one of his most powerful Magecraft!
Although it's impossible to summon the fully-formed Sea Demon, summoning a portion of its power is no problem at all!
"Let me show you the most powerful force of the Prelati's Spellbook, hahahahahaha, hohahahahahaha!"
Laughing wildly, Gilles's surrounding magic underwent a violent transformation, as if a void gate had been opened, and numerous tentacles emerged from nothingness—enormous tentacles, each almost as tall as a person!
And there were already seven or eight of these tentacles!
All of these tentacles coiled towards Mephistopheles, each one exhibiting excellent resistance to Magic Resistance and remarkable resilience against physical weapons!
It's safe to say that this attack would be a real headache for many heroes; it's an absolutely demonic thing!
However, Mephistopheles swung his sword, and with the strike of the Ares's Sword, these enormous tentacles were directly severed by the attack of the War God's Forged Sword!
In that instant, Gilles saw something extraordinary: it was a short sword, but as it was swung, a blade of light extended from its blade. This blade of light appeared for only a moment, and in the blink of an eye, one would miss the chance to observe it.
Under the attack of that light blade, his proud Magecraft was instantly broken by the opponent!
The surrounding pillars and other structures shook violently. Under the impact of the tentacles, these pillars collapsed to the side, causing the roof to shake as well. With the loss of the load-bearing pillars, the entire roof finally collapsed with a loud rumble!
At this moment, the church suffered the greatest loss, while Mephistopheles, the target of the attack, not only escaped unscathed but also severed Gilles's Sea Demon tentacles!
The Sea Demon has an extremely strong self-healing ability, so Gilles was not particularly anxious except for being shocked. Taking advantage of the gap in the opponent's attack, the Sea Demon's tentacles rolled out again, and at the same time, new tentacles began to grow from the broken parts.
Almost at the same time, Gilles once again manipulated the magic bullet and fired it at Mephistopheles.
Even if the magic bullets don't have any effect on this guy, as long as they can interfere with him, it's considered a success!
"So why do you think these things will work on me?" Mephistopheles sighed, and suddenly light appeared around him.
The sword in his hand was gone, replaced by a bow. When the bow, which emitted a faint light, was drawn back, an arrow made entirely of light appeared on the bowstring and was aimed forward.
At that moment, Gilles felt a surge of fear welling up within him. He was surprised and terrified by the fear he felt.
The Sea Demon's tentacles trembled and even began to shrink into nothingness, as if it had sensed a natural enemy.
"So, it sensed the power of the sun?" Mephistopheles observed the Sea Demon's tentacles' reaction and, without further hesitation, released his right hand.
Instantly, the arrow, imbued with light, flew out, piercing through the Sea Demon's tentacles and disappearing into the hole from which the tentacles extended!
A piercing scream echoed from inside the cave. The tentacles left outside thrashed wildly, but soon stopped moving, as if, after a final struggle, they had finally run out of strength to resist.
At the same time, Mephistopheles aimed another arrow at Gilles and, without any further ado, released it!
The arrows formed from Apollo's power carry the power of light and the sun, making them extremely effective against such filth. Gilles, having been contaminated by this substance for a long time, has very poor resistance to such things that are clearly designed to exorcise evil.
Struck by this arrow, and under the combined blows of the Divine Construct's powerful performance and the exorcising effect, he couldn't even utter a single last word. The arrow pierced through him, and then blazing white flames erupted from the wound, burning him to ashes from the inside out!
Chapter 107 Grafting
After killing Gilles, Mephistopheles fell into a brief period of contemplation.
Astolfo and Robin Hood exchanged glances. Robin Hood was somewhat gratified to see the look of shock in Astolfo's eyes, which made him realize that his own shock was nothing compared to this. The fact that even Astolfo was shocked showed that the man before him was indeed very capable.
As for Gilles' death, Robin Hood felt no sadness whatsoever. Robin Hood genuinely disliked Gilles, or rather, Gilles as Magecraft, and even found him somewhat repulsive.
This guy is a madman. If he hadn't been on the same side as him, he felt he would have been tempted to attack him.
Seeing Mephistopheles suddenly fall silent after killing Gilles, he asked with some confusion, "What are you thinking about?"
Mephistopheles raised his right hand, then gently placed his index finger to his lips. "Don't make a sound, I'm studying the movement of spirits."
So Robin Hood obediently shut his mouth. Although he didn't know what the other party was doing, seeing how powerful the other party was, he felt it was better to listen to him.
If he could, he wished he could live a few more days, travel around, see the sights, and then return to the Throne of Heroes.
Before heading back, he also needs to make a trip to the Holy Grail to Holy Grail, since that's the real reason the Holy Grail summoned him.
Robin Hood was quite self-aware of his own position.
"Huh? Studying the direction of spirits? What does that mean?" The sudden commotion drew a glare from Robin Hood. Astolfo, completely oblivious to the atmosphere, went along with Mephistopheles's words, "Are you saying that Gilles became a ghost after he died, and you're following him?"
Robin Hood wanted to shut Astolfo up, but it was too late.
However, Mephistopheles didn't do anything; he simply continued to sense the direction of the spirit while raising his hand.
While simply banishing Gilles would suffice to protect Illya, Mephistopheles's goal isn't just to rescue Illya; he also needs to rescue his sister Bazett in this world. According to the divination, he must first summon the Holy Grail.
Therefore, in order for his sister to appear as well, and also based on the principle of doing whatever he could to gain some benefits, Mephistopheles felt that having the Holy Grail appear was a good choice.
The theory of the Holy Grail is based on the passage opened when the souls of Servants return to the outside world, thus communicating with the Root located outside the world.
To achieve this goal, six Servants are needed to truly stabilize the passage, but in reality, if the means are sufficient, the soul of one Servant would be enough.
Mephistopheles's task was simple: to use Gilles's soul return channel to confirm the Holy Grail's connection with the outside world and stabilize this temporary channel. Most importantly, while stabilizing it, he also needed to remove the part that was originally placed inside Illya's body and make it completely independent.
"Yes, that's true. It can directly sever the connection between the Greater Holy Grail and the Lesser Holy Grail, so that the soul no longer needs to rush towards Illya. However, in this way, the channel opened by the Servant's soul cannot be sensed by the Greater Holy Grail. Without sensing a sufficiently stable channel, the Greater Holy Grail will not reveal itself."
Mephistopheles pondered silently for a moment, and then made a plan.
"In the name of the great YHVH, I seal you here." A peculiar True Magic circle appeared in Mephistopheles's hand. It was actually a simplified version of the summoning True Magic, leaving only the pure binding power.
This True Magic circle is purely formed from magic power. Once the magic power dissipates, the magic circle will naturally dissipate as well. However, Mephistopheles originally intended to use this True Magic circle to buy some time, so he didn't care if it lasted too short.
As Mephistopheles activated his True Magic, Gilles's not-yet-fully-returned soul was instantly captured and sealed away.
Although this part of the clone is imprisoned, once the seal is broken, it will immediately reconnect with the Root and other Root, and then reopen the passage to the Throne of Heroes.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Mephistopheles produced the book that Vulcan had forged for him and began writing on it at an extremely fast pace.
He was incredibly fast; he could even draw a circle in one stroke, without needing tools like a compass.
This is a skill for math teachers, and it's also a required course for everyone who studies True Magic. If you can't draw a circle by hand, you'll have a very difficult time on the path of True Magic.
After all, the element of the circle can be found everywhere in both Eastern and Western mysticism!
Robin Hood, who was watching from the side, was completely engrossed. He first saw Mephistopheles use some kind of Magecraft he didn't understand, and then, with a flash of magical light, a soul that clearly belonged to Gilles was captured.
Then, the other person opened a book and began to write and draw in it. Looking at the drawings, Robin Hood couldn't help but wonder if the other person was really an archer and not a Magecraft.
Furthermore, this book seems to be a Noble Phantasm. A Noble Phantasm appearing on an archer these days—a book, a bow, a sword—are archers really required to have such high standards? So, I'm really just wielding a bow, and the dagger is only for close combat when absolutely necessary? That seems a bit too unprofessional...
Astolfo watched intently, even showing envy and surprise when Mephistopheles drew a circle in one stroke.
However, he didn't speak this time, which made Robin Hood secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Soon, Robin Hood noticed that the drawing Mephistopheles had made in the book seemed somewhat similar to the Magecraft that was currently emitting a faint light in mid-air and sealing Gilles's soul.
No, it's not similar, it's exactly the same!
"Done!" After finishing the last stroke, Mephistopheles stretched the book forward, and the magic circle on the book and the magic circle in the air resonated with each other. In an instant, the True Magic in the air turned into magic power and began to drill into the book, sucking Gilles in with it!
Mephistopheles glanced at Gilles, whom he had sealed inside the book, and smiled slightly. "Wait a few days. In a few days, I'll send you back to your beloved Throne of Heroes!"
He now needs a medium to connect with the Greater Holy Grail and use that medium to create a Lesser Holy Grail. There are two ways to do this: one is to remove the Magic Circuits from Illya's body, because those Magic Circuits are the Lesser Holy Grail.
Another approach is to find something similar to the Magic Circuits within Illya's body, or something closely related to the Greater Holy Grail, and use that as a basis for creation.
Mephistopheles remembered that he happened to have just one of those things, right next to Sakura Matou.
When Sakura Matou was telling me about her experiences last time, she mentioned that Zouken Matou obtained a fragment of the Holy Grail from the Fourth Holy Grail War and wanted to implant this Holy Grail into Sakura Matou's body so that she could become the Matou family's Lesser Holy Grail, thus achieving the effect of getting in through connections.
However, Sakura Matou was not so easily manipulated. With the ability to fool others, she put away the fragments. But Sakura Matou Zouken Matou was deceived by this power called fooling, believing that the fragments were inside the girl's body.
This once again made Mephistopheles sigh, "So what power did I gain in the future? Fooling... Am I walking the path of Hermes? Hermes and the Golden Dawn... Triple Greatness?"