"Found him? Did he leave his workshop?"
Caster was a little surprised. Although she had only seen Roland's Shadowkhan a few times over the past two days, these seemingly ordinary ninja soldiers were even stronger in combat than her Dragon Tooth Warriors in terms of utility. Their stealth was unparalleled, and gathering intelligence with them was like having countless Assassins working together.
Within a single day, Roland had obtained information on the bases of the other Heroic Spirits and Masters. Only Darnic remained nowhere to be found, and Caster had been wondering whether he had used some special Noble Phantasm to accomplish this.
"I wouldn't exactly say he left," Roland said, looking rather strange himself. "He just hid somewhere unusual."
Through the Shadowkhan's eyes, he realized that Darnic wasn't hiding somewhere the ninja soldiers couldn't find, but somewhere very low on their search priorities. That was why it had taken so long.
Under Caster's puzzled gaze, Roland waved a hand. "Anyway, you'll understand once you come and see."
The Shadowkhan kneeling on the ground gradually dissolved into a pitch-black vortex, which spread beneath Roland and Medea's feet and swallowed them.
In a dark, enclosed corridor, the lights overhead flickered, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere filled the passage.
Two Mana Furnaces at the center of the corridor roared, sending magical energy spreading like an electric current throughout the square space.
Darnic was intently watching the images in the Water Mirror, which gathered like an illusory mist beneath the lights.
"King Arthur and the King of Conquerors. It seems this round's Masters really went all out."
Darnic muttered, his expression somewhat grim.
Then he addressed the figure behind him. "Can you deal with them, Lancer?"
The figure stood silently in the shadows beyond the reach of the lights and answered in a calm voice.
"That Rider won't be a problem. But if I face the Wielder of the Holy Sword, even I cannot guarantee how things will unfold."
"That's enough."
Darnic nodded. As a survivor of the previous Holy Grail War, he had witnessed the terrifying battles between Servants many times, yet he still trusted Lancer's words. Although something unexpected had happened along the way, Lancer's strength was beyond question in terms of sheer capabilities.
"Speaking of which, Master, where are the Homunculi in your workshop? They all disappeared after you activated it to prevent anyone from spying on you."
"They should be guarding the workshop outside. But they're merely tools without souls to begin with. They cannot reach the Dream Realm, the special branch of my workshop's Otherworld Transformation."
Otherworld Transformation was one of the essential capabilities of the finest workshops.
Although it was not as powerful as a Reality Marble formed from one's inner world, a sufficiently powerful supply of magical energy could still replace the workshop's interior with an otherworld of one's choosing.
Under these conditions, impossible phenomena such as an Infinite Overlapping Corridor, an inescapable labyrinth, or buildings that regenerated as soon as they were destroyed could all be created freely, their rules dictated by the workshop's owner.
This absolute control meant that a mage inside the workshop could even freely alter spatial distances, confronting invading enemies in whatever manner they wished.
Over the past sixty years, Darnic had researched this more deeply. The intertwining of dreams and souls had allowed him to successfully develop a means of placing his workshop within an otherworld called the Dream Realm.
Here, the quality of Mystery was the deciding factor in whether an attack could inflict damage. Ordinary magecraft could not harm Darnic at all in the otherworld known as the Dream Realm.
"Although injuries sustained in the Dream Realm will carry over into reality once the Otherworld Transformation ends, among these mages, probably only that fellow Kayneth has magecraft of a high enough caliber to remain effective here."
The corners of Darnic's mouth lifted, a hint of smugness on his face.
"And Servants. If only souls with substance can appear here, you will be unable to resist the Mystery of a Servant."
Lancer, concealed in the shadows, remained entirely composed and pointed out Darnic's shortcomings as though assessing the merits and flaws of a weapon.
"Correct, and that brings us to another paradox. The moment I activated the workshop, this place became the Dream Realm. To kill me, they must first destroy the workshop. But this is already an otherworld called the Dream Realm, so how would they find it?"
Feeling that he had already secured a measure of invincibility, Darnic said, "No matter what kind of Familiar or Servant they are, without knowing that I'm hiding in the Dream Realm, they won't even be able to detect a trace of me."
"That isn't necessarily true, Master."
Suddenly, Lancer extended a hand, shielding Darnic behind him.
"?"
Darnic frowned, still unaware of what was happening. But his past experience kept him from hesitating too much, and he chose to trust Lancer's actions.
Sure enough, a moment later, countless black shadows appeared out of thin air within the hazy otherworld. Soldiers dressed as ninja rose from them, slowly surrounding Darnic and Lancer.
"How is this possible? This is the Dream Realm..."
Darnic easily identified whose Familiars they were from the ninja's matching attire, which was precisely why his shock was impossible to contain.
What were these Familiars made of, that they could move freely even through the Dream Realm?
Yet upon seeing these Familiars, Lancer's expression grew even more tense.
"Be careful, Master. Another pair is attacking us."
As Lancer spoke, the Shadowkhan surrounding the two suddenly moved to the sides, clearing a central path as though respectfully welcoming their master's arrival.
Roland stepped out of the shadows and offered a gentle greeting to the wary Master and Servant.
"You certainly made me work to find you, Darnic."
"Caster's Master, what do you want?"
"I'm only here to see whether you're worth killing first, and what scheme you're hiding."
Roland narrowed his eyes as he looked at Darnic behind Lancer.
As expected of a Master from the previous Holy Grail War. This fellow had truly mastered the art of staying alive. He entertained no illusions and stayed beside his Servant at all times.
This technique for hiding in the Dream Realm was interesting, too. Without the Shadowkhan, unless I saw this workshop with my own eyes, even I wouldn't realize this was the Dream Realm.
But more than that, the Heroic Spirit this man had summoned intrigued Roland even more.
For Masters in the Holy Grail War who did not know a Servant's identity, examining their parameters was the best way to judge their strength.
Thus, when Lancelot first appeared in the original story, the protection of his Noble Phantasm had left all the Masters present uncertain and suspicious of his identity.
Yet the situation Roland encountered was even stranger than that.
A Master's aptitude affected their Servant's abilities. Even with a Homunculus like Irisviel as her Master, Saber's parameters still had their highs and lows. But this Lancer, whose true appearance remained concealed, had a B in all five parameters.
There wasn't a single exception. They were so balanced that it was downright eerie.