"A Stand attack? What does that mean?"
Roland did not answer Medea. Instead, he summoned Killer Queen in front of him.
Stands were closely tied to the mind and spiritual strength. Any growth or decline in a Stand User's psyche directly affected their Stand's condition.
That went doubly for Roland, whose very soul had now changed. The Killer Queen that appeared before him had undergone a tremendous transformation.
Most conspicuous were the cracks covering its body, like porcelain on the verge of shattering. Flickering firelight seemed to flow within them. Its face looked even more skeletal, and its dangerous slit pupils were filled with deep crimson. Bloodshot threads spread outward from them like clinging vines.
Yet despite its fractured appearance, the Stand fed ample power back to Roland.
After moving Killer Queen's limbs a little, Roland immediately felt the difference.
With its current punching speed and strength, beating his former self would probably be child's play.
If he had to describe it in terms of stats, Killer Queen's power, speed, and precision were probably all at rank A now. As for growth potential and stamina, Roland could not judge them.
He could feel that Killer Queen was still growing. Those crack-like marks were the best proof, as though something beneath this shell was about to be reborn.
"It still needs time... The power Shendu's soul gave me really was much stronger than I expected. Once Killer Queen is reborn in its new form, how will its abilities change?"
Will it multiply the same Stand abilities severalfold, like Kars, or reach the level of Requiem outright? And when a Stand like that climbs the path to Heaven, what will it bring me?
Filled with anticipation, Roland unconsciously flexed his fingers, watching his fingernails, which had not grown at all.
Even in this unfinished state, however, Killer Queen's power had increased enormously.
The most notable change was the force of its explosions. Although it had already been far more powerful in Roland's hands than in Yoshikage Kira's, that was nothing compared to its current strength. Kiritsugu Emiya had needed to plant large quantities of explosives beforehand to blow up that floor. Now, Roland only needed to walk around and casually touch a few things to achieve an even better result.
Moreover, perhaps because of the changes brought about by Shendu's soul, Killer Queen was no longer limited to planting bombs in physical objects.
It could even destroy Barriers formed from mana. Simply by touching one part of a Barrier, Killer Queen could annihilate the entire thing.
Before that happened, the Barrier could not even alert its owner. If a mage set their Barrier to operate autonomously, they would probably die at Roland's hands without ever noticing an intrusion.
Though with his current abilities, he hardly needed to be so sneaky when dealing with ordinary mages.
After Roland explained this to Medea, she understood and went off to set up the Barriers.
For a Caster with Workshop Creation listed among her Personal Skills, her combat strength with and without an established territory was on two entirely different levels.
In the original story, Kayneth had entered the Holy Grail War with such confidence precisely because he had brought multiple Mana Furnaces. He could create a workshop more luxurious and powerful than those of the Three Founding Families at any time. Their home-field advantages were utterly insignificant to him.
Had his understanding of combat not remained rooted in the Clock Tower's rather academic approach, he should have shone much more brightly in this Holy Grail War.
Although Roland's base was only a Leyline Site, Medea could still construct a temple that surpassed a workshop. Within her territory, she was confident she could fight even Saber, who possessed the highest level of Magic Resistance.
"Unfortunately, this Leyline Site is still too far out on the fringes. If we used a site on the level of the Three Founding Families', or the finest one in this city-that temple called Ryuudou Temple-as our base..."
"That one's out," Roland rejected the suggestion outright. "I have a feeling that place is probably going to get blown up."
Because of Shendu's influence, too many people were eyeing the Greater Grail this time: Darnic, the Einzberns, Zouken Matou. One careless move, and they might find themselves attacked by everyone at once.
"Then, Master, what should we do next?"
After finishing the basic construction of her territory, Medea approached Roland and asked.
"Although I have no wish myself, you need the Holy Grail to grant yours, don't you, Master? I could make something that appears equally convenient, but we don't have enough time to accumulate that much mana now."
Making a Holy Grail by hand was no idle boast for Medea.
As a mage from the Age of Gods, Medea had little trouble seeing through the Holy Grail's true nature. The mana accumulated in Fuyuki City's leylines over sixty years could even construct the bodies of seven Servants. With such an immense supply, most things could be accomplished easily. Wishes on the level of obtaining a physical body or gaining wealth were trivial to fulfill.
But the so-called omnipotent wish-granting device was nothing more than a sales pitch.
After all, the Greater Grail had essentially been built to reach the Root and realize the Third Magic. Granting wishes was merely a by-product.
That was precisely why the Three Founding Families had always concealed this truth. Otherwise, those greedy fellows from the Mage's Association would have worn out their shoes rushing here in droves, rather than dismissing it as a rural Magecraft Competition.
Medea did, however, hold the Command Spell system in high regard.
"Without astonishing talent in the system of commands and painstaking research, no one could create a system that even I cannot easily reproduce. Its creator had the makings of a hero."
Roland had not reached a definite answer about what to do next, either. There was no original plot for him to copy anymore. In this Holy Grail War, the most straightforward person was probably Kayneth.
"Hmm. At any rate, there's something we need to confirm first."
Roland said unhurriedly, "As the providers of the Holy Grail's core technology, the Einzbern Family is responsible for sending the Lesser Grail. This time, I killed their Master in advance, so they can only send a Homunculus."
Medea understood his meaning. "If they use a Homunculus as a vessel for the Servants' souls, then no matter how well it has been adjusted, after four or five at most, it will become something inhuman that cannot even maintain the form of a doll. Even if they use it as a temporary Master, there should still be someone responsible for taking over."
"Exactly." Roland snapped his fingers. "I've already sent the Shadowkhan to monitor the other known Masters. Aside from Darnic, who still hasn't shown himself, and the Einzberns, who haven't arrived yet, not the slightest movement will escape my eyes."
"Do you intend to check on the Einzberns' backup Master?"
"Yes." Roland nodded. "Besides that, there's something else I need to confirm. You said earlier that my very existence is an anomaly, which causes abnormalities in the summoning results. I have to see for myself exactly who the Einzberns' Heroic Spirit is."
Remembering Avalon, which he had taken from Kiritsugu Emiya, Roland began to doubt the Saber Maiya Hisau had mentioned. Although there were few people Avalon could point to, what if something had gone wrong with the Class? Even with the same King Arthur, the difference between her Saber and Lancer forms was like night and day.
If something had gone wrong in that respect, the constantly overlooked Einzbern Family might well become the greatest dark horse of this Holy Grail War.
(Everyone, don't worry about the romance. I never planned to go into much depth with it anyway. That isn't the main point of a multi-anime crossover novel. It's just an excuse for Fei Jiu to openly write smut. I really want to write smut, but I'm afraid of getting locked in the little dark room. Sigh (￣▽￣"). Still asking for votes! Fei Jiu will work hard on updates!)
Thanks to The Sword Is Named for You for the 5,000-point tip! More bonus updates tomorrow!