After Roland vanished, Darnic could no longer remain conscious. He gave the order to undo the Workshop's Otherworld Transformation, then passed out.
Inside the Workshop, now restored to its usual appearance, Lancer sighed softly and addressed the figures in the eleven tanks at its center.
"Master, what should I do next?"
As he spoke, lights gradually came on in the silent Workshop, illuminating the figures inside the tanks.
Each of them carried an alien, oppressive magical energy that clearly marked them as Homunculi. Faint traces of the modifications they had undergone still remained on their bodies.
Even more astonishingly, all eleven Homunculi had exactly the same face as Darnic, whom Lancer had laid to one side!
Every one of them shared a contractual connection with Lancer.
This was why Enkidu had shown no alarm even after seeing Darnic incapacitated. His true Master was the collective consciousness named {Yggdmillennia}, composed of Darnic and these eleven Homunculi.
At Lancer's words, the eleven tanks lit up and emitted a strange humming sound. Hearing it, Enkidu's spirits visibly sank.
Even if survival is your instinct, there is no need to go this far...
He kept those words to himself. Faced with a life that yearned to survive, Enkidu would not needlessly interfere.
Enkidu slowly approached the unconscious, incapacitated Darnic and pulled open his clothes.
-At the center of his chest, a glowing disc embedded in his flesh flickered with light. A groove at the disc's center had been filled.
A Sheep-Patterned Rune Stone was set into it.
Enkidu took hold of the disc and detached it with a slight twist. Then he opened a new tank and placed the disc on the chest of the figure inside.
As though alive, the disc's Spirit Runes lit up one after another upon touching flesh. Their light finally converged on the Talisman at its center, and the disc slowly sank into the Homunculus's chest.
Then the Homunculus opened his eyes. His gaze quickly shifted from confusion to sharp focus, and he casually grabbed the clothes beside him and draped them over himself.
"Lancer, has that man left?"
"He has."
"Good." Darnic nodded and turned toward the ten remaining tanks behind him. "I never expected to waste a body here, but this temporary alliance was worth it. Hmph. Even those people at the Clock Tower would never imagine that I had already achieved the same results as a Grand Caster."
Looking at the ten Homunculi modeled after himself, Darnic smiled smugly.
"You reduced your original body to pure flesh, then used that flesh to create Homunculi of yourself. You divided your soul into faint fragments of consciousness and formed a collective, before entrusting your central self's obsession and most of your soul to that powerful Talisman, using it to control your bodies. With such methods, you truly are a master of soul research, Master."
Lancer calmly described Darnic's methods, a trace of pity in his eyes.
He had been summoned by the collective consciousness named Yggdmillennia. When Darnic activated the Summoning Circle, these Homunculi, already drained dry in the previous ritual and about to be disposed of, had cried out with a yearning to survive. That powerful will had replaced the catalyst and summoned him.
This collective consciousness was his true Master, not the remnant soul dwelling in the Talisman with nothing left but its obsession. Unfortunately, driven by survival as its foremost instinct, {Yggdmillennia} believed it could survive better under the control of a more complete central self that shared its consciousness. Thus, it accepted Darnic, who was likewise "itself," as its representative.
"What is that look, Lancer? I thought you would understand me." Darnic scoffed. "The moment I obtained this Talisman, I understood. Flesh is nothing but a pointless cage. The soul is true life."
"Besides, I merely brought the process forward. In another two hundred years, my personality would have become this sort of collective consciousness anyway. I might as well extract my obsession ahead of time. What's more, Yggdmillennia and I are one and the same."
Darnic spoke with easy confidence. "As long as I achieve my goal, both Yggdmillennia and I can exist forever. That is precisely why these Homunculus versions of me accept me as their central self. After all, without souls, they are merely tools."
"Tools?" Enkidu murmured. "Even so, I still believe human souls and human lives are precious, radiant things. To dismiss them as inferior, dwell within a tool, and turn yourself into something like a weapon-is that not tragic?"
"Perhaps this cannot truly be called living, but it is necessary if I am to live better."
Darnic had completed this transformation decades ago. Back then, unable to activate the Sheep Talisman no matter what he tried, he had drawn upon his research, which had already reached a Grand-level standard, and come up with a bold idea.
If I cannot use the Talisman, why not let the Talisman use me?
He had sacrificed everything he was to the Talisman, turning whatever was unnecessary into materials and vessels, then used its immense power to barely stabilize his sense of self and preserve his central consciousness. This meant he would possess not only his skills as a mage, but also a Homunculus's powerful Magic Circuits. Moreover, these individual bodies existed as a collective. If one was killed, another could replace it at any time.
The existence of the self was a frightening thing. Even a Grand Puppeteer capable of creating multiple bodies at once would, when employing this form of immortality, only allow a new consciousness to awaken in a new body after death, to avoid conflicts.
Multiple versions of oneself existing simultaneously was practically unheard of. Had Darnic not relied on the Sheep Talisman's power to establish his own primacy and persuade these collective consciousnesses to sleep obediently as his spare batteries, he would have been in serious trouble.
Darnic's gaze was cold as he addressed Lancer. "If you have any complaints about me, you can voice them directly."
"I am merely a weapon. If this is my Master's decision, I will obey."
Taking in the will conveyed by the ten Homunculi behind him, Lancer gently lowered his head. An atmosphere as all-embracing as nature rippled around him as he openly accepted Darnic's decision.
"Good. That man interrupted our view of the earlier battle, too. How is it going now, Lancer? Have any Heroic Spirits been eliminated?"
Enkidu turned to look into the distance. With his supreme ability to sense presences, he could detect others from far away. Even Assassin, with Presence Concealment as high as rank A, could be sensed by him at close range.
Sensing the presences dozens of miles away, Enkidu slowly relayed the information.
"Rider and Saber have stopped fighting. The Servant with the ominous presence is attacking another Servant. It seems to be Archer..."
Halfway through, as Archer's presence emerged, Enkidu involuntarily stopped speaking. So familiar, so deeply missed-Lancer was certain this was the king he knew.
"Could it be you?"
Confusion and agitation reverberated through his chest, but overwhelming joy soon overcame them.
It was almost as though fate had arranged it. So many ironic things happened in the Holy Grail War.
The outcome would not change, after all. Either he would take the king's head, or the king would tear out his heart.
Even if they fought to the death a thousand times, the fate entwining them would never break.
A smile naturally spread across Lancer's face, his previously impassive lips now brimming with joy.
How wonderful it was that he had been able to manifest in this Holy Grail War.
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