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IBHJ Chapter 566
🕑 Added 2023-11-11 06:59:46 +0000 UTCThe sunset had faded to a mere trace of crimson along the horizon.
It was the gloaming hour.
The moment when day and night intertwined in a final dance.
The moon and sun shone as one.
Adam watched his numb, departing kinsmen with a mix of sorrow and powerlessness.
What should he do?
He looked to the other free homunculi, the first to awaken like himself.
Yet no answers came.
Adam pursed his lips, at a loss.
He wanted to do something, but did not know how.
A broad, sturdy hand clasped his shoulder.
Adam turned to see Spartacus' calm, inscrutable smile.
"Follow your heart," Spartacus said. "This world has no absolutes to judge right and wrong. But know that in your heart, the flame for freedom has already been ignited."
"Spartacus..." Adam murmured.
"What are they doing, Mr. Fujimaru?" Mash asked, turning to Shirou.
He sipped his tea. "Perhaps this is Adam's journey to find himself."
She looked puzzled.
As befitting his biblical name, Adam sought to liberate all homunculi.
It seemed a fool's errand, yet great deeds oft stem from such dreams.
And so Spartacus pledged himself to Adam's cause.
Though he believed only those who yearn for freedom deserve it, in the end he chose to aid Adam in freeing the homunculi.
Just as he had led the slave revolt in life, Spartacus now took up arms again for freedom.
The freed homunculi also joined the fight to rescue their kin.
It has to be said, Vlad's cunning plan succeeded, yet Shirou did not intervene. Though he too wished to join Spartacus in reckless heroism, he could not.
His task was destroying the connection points, not the Slavery. Rash action now might doom them all.
Spartacus understood, and said: "Do not regret being unable to help us. You have aided us enough. And I see you have greater duties yet. So feel no remorse, for this is my life's purpose."
He looked into Spartacus' eyes.
"In life, I failed to lead the slaves in successful revolt against the cruel monarch," Spartacus said. "This time, I will succeed. I will overthrow the oppressor and see the slaves rise! This must be why the Grail summoned me again! I feel both joy and sorrow - joy to bring freedom, sorrow that once more a tyrant must fall. But this time, I will not fail!"
Shirou nodded.
Perhaps this was the Holy Grail War's destiny.
The Black Faction had a king, while the Red summoned the rebel to cast him down.
It seemed too coincidental to be mere chance.
Adam turned to him and said appreciatively, "Mr. Assassin, thank you for showing me what it means to strive for oneself. Now I understand - my fate can only be grasped through my own efforts, my own striving. Your words have lit a fire in me, like the fire Prometheus stole from the gods. And I want to pass this fire into the hearts of others."
Adam had decided - he wanted to free his fellow homunculi from Yggdmillennia's oppression. This was his resolve.
Though Shirou could not join them, as he had to remain with Mash and await her team leader's next move against the connection points, he gave his support to Adam's determination.
Using [Heroic Leader B], he imparted various skills to Adam, Spartacus, and the rest. Unlike [Imperial Privilege EX], the imparted skills from [Heroic Leader B] could not stack, so he carefully considered and granted the innate skills of Camelot's Knights to Adam's group. For Spartacus, he provided [God Slayer], [Battle Continuation], and [Wisdom of Desperation] to maintain his rationality.
Led by Adam, the rebel army marched towards Yggdmillennia's castle under the cloak of darkness, steadily advancing through the night.
He watched as they departed into the distance.
Puzzled, Mash asked, "Why are they leaving, Mr. Fujimaru?"
With a smile, he explained Adam and the homunculi's situation to Mash, and added, "They're simply going to liberate their own people."
"Why can't they just talk to each other?"
"Some matters can't be resolved through words alone," Shirou replied, reaching out to pat Mash's shoulder as he gazed after Adam and the others' retreating forms.
She tilted her head quizzically. "But isn't communication and exchange what many advocate for?"
"Being able to communicate is only possible because those who came before us shed the necessary blood and tears."
She looked thoughtful, realizing her Servant had deeper insight while she seemed naive by comparison. She lowered her head.
Noticing this, he reached out and ruffled her hair reassuringly. "Don't expect to become an ideal Master all at once, that's unrealistic."
She nodded, then lifted her head with determination. "Mr. Fujimaru, I will definitely become a reliable Master someday!"
"Actually, I don't want you to become a 'reliable' Master."
She looked bewildered. "Huh?"
Seeing her confusion, he just smiled. "Alright, enough of that. Let's go find some place to wait for Gray."
Three hours later, the bracelet on Mash's right wrist buzzed with vibration.
...
Graveyard...
"Why is everyone staying still?" Sisigou frowned.
Mordred pondered for a moment before replying, "Most likely because they're waiting to see who makes the first move."
"So they're thinking the same as us then."
"Seems like it," she nodded. "Everyone's waiting for someone else to act first."
"Well, what should we do now?"
She thought for a moment. "Can you still track the new Servant position?"
He used his familiars to check. "I can. She hasn't left the area I had the familiars watching. But something's weird..."
His frown deepened in puzzlement.
"What's weird about it?"
"This Servant No.16 - her path doesn't seem to be heading to Trifas. It looks like she's going toward Vâlcea instead."
Having researched Romania prior to arriving, he had a basic grasp of the country's geography and cities.
"Heading to Vâlcea?" she raised an eyebrow, then smiled slyly. "Then let's go to Vâlcea too."
He looked startled. "Weren't you saying we should lay low?"
She scoffed dismissively. "Eternal King is in hiding, Red and Black are wary of each other - things are stagnant as still water. Not what we hoped for. It needs shaking up."
She narrowed her eyes resolutely. "Using this oblivious new servant to muddy the waters isn't a bad play."
He sighed and stood, stretching. "If that's your call, so be it."
She gave a nod.
"Then, may I take my leave?" Saber asked.
She was almost overjoyed.
"That won't do," Mordred shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget, you're my spoils of war!"
Saber's mood soured again.
...
On the highway toward Vâlcea, a car sped wildly, its terrifying velocity earning looks of awe from other drivers.
Inside, Gray breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I finally connected to Mash's personal terminal."
The Servant was wholly focused on driving, utilizing her Class Skill, Riding B.
Rank B allowed fluid control of superior vehicles, though she could not ride Phantasmal, Divine Beasts, or Dragons. She excelled with chariots but avoided them due to saddle sores. However, with cars and their soft seats, she was very willing to drive.
These ancient heroes shouldn't originally be able to drive modern vehicles, but Riding B enabled the Servant to handle them easily.
"Not contacting her again?" the Servant asked.
"Can't. Signal's too weak for video," Gray shook her head.
The bracelet relied on Chaldea's SHEBA, so contacting Chaldea or other members at times required going through SHEBA. But for some reason, the signal was very unstable, leading to poor connections. This prevented Gray from contacting Mash or Chaldea directly.
"But it's fine. The signal's faint but we can pinpoint her location. I'll text her first."
The Servant nodded.
Gray composed a text and sent it to Mash, saying she already knew Mash's location and to stay put and wait there.
Before long, Gray received a reply from Mash.
The content was simple - just the words [I understand, Captain].
Gray finally breathed a deep sigh of relief at this.
She exchanged status updates with Mash via text a few times, then turned to her Servant and said, "Mash has contracted with a Servant."
The Servant looked puzzled. "Didn't you say you had the summoning ritual, Gray?"
"Mash said she contracted with the Black Assassin from this Holy Grail War."
"Assassin, huh... Well, at least no need to worry about Mash's safety now," the Servant mused.
Gray nodded. "I scheduled to meet her at the cafe by East Station in Vâlcea."
"I see," the Servant nodded in understanding.
Reflected in the rearview mirror were the two of them. Apart from build, they looked nearly identical - same bundled golden hair, even matching golden ahoges standing up on their heads.
Just by their faces, it would be hard to distinguish who was who.
But Gray still seemed very young, like a little sister sitting next to her older sister.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
That description was quite noteworthy.
