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IBHJ Chapter 529
🕑 Added 2023-10-19 06:46:59 +0000 UTCShirou and Saber locked eyes, understanding passing between them, and without a word, they dashed out of the basement.
The castle was a mess as stone golems boldly rose from the earth, unconcerned with being seen. As they reached the palace court, they could feel the tension hanging in the air.
Vlad stood there with a grave look on his face.
Shirou turned to him, "What's going on?"
Vlad replied, "The imprisoned Red Berserker incited the homunculi to revolt and blew up the underground tunnels. They have escaped!"
Shirou's eyes widened.
He had a feeling this might happen.
But...
So soon?
...
Vlad sat on his throne, his usually composed face shadowed with tension, and his hands balled into fists.
Anyone could see that the man was livid right now.
And who could blame him? Spartacus had just escaped from the Fortress of Millenia, taking a bunch of homunculi with him and ditching Vlad's domain. For a king, this was equivalent to treason, and if there's one thing a king cannot tolerate, it's treachery.
Shirou had always known that Spartacus was a symbol of pure rebellion. If one couldn't make him submit and willingly kneel in servitude, then bringing him under one's banner meant sowing the seeds of rebellion.
So he wasn't really surprised that something like that happened, but what did surprise him, though, was the speed at which Spartacus managed to sway those homunculi to turn on their creators.
He had been captured for less than a day, and Spartacus had already incited them to rebel. Wasn't this too fast?
Avicebron urged, "Lancer, we must catch them as soon as possible!"
"Catch them?" Vlad responded with an icy tone. "Once they've betrayed us, they're not my subjects anymore. They're traitors. Kill them!"
Vlad was a renowned king of Romania, celebrated for his intellect, decisiveness, and clear-headedness. However, he also possessed the iron will and cruelty befitting a king.
And if there's one thing a king won't stand for, it's treason.
"But Lancer, I need A-11072!" Avicebron said, a crease forming on his forehead.
While the rest might not matter to him, A-11072 was an exception. This was no ordinary homunculus; it was crucial for his project — the creation of the Primordial Human.
Vlad rose from his seat, giving Avicebron a chilling stare.
It was evident that the act of rebellion had thoroughly ignited his fury.
Just then, Shirou calmly interjected, "Lancer, times have changed and the age of feudal monarchs is long gone."
Vlad's intense gaze shifted toward him.
His stare was as cold as a blade falling from the sky, extremely sharp. Not many had the courage to meet that gaze.
Astolfo certainly wouldn't have the guts.
However, Shirou looked back at him with a calm smile.
Vlad took a deep breath, his anger slowly fading. "You have a point, Assassin. Our days of ruling are long gone."
There was a melancholy about him, the melancholy of a monarch.
"Bring them back," Vlad commanded, settling back into his throne.
Astolfo's hand shot up, "Let me do it! I'll go, I'll go!"
"You... do you also want to betray the black faction?" Vlad shot him a sidelong glance.
Astolfo bristled, "Don't slander me so casually, Lancer! I might be impulsive, but I've got principles!"
Vlad ignored him.
It was then Shirou stepped up, "I'll handle it."
Vlad glanced at him and nodded, then shifted his gaze to Saber. "King Arthur, you should accompany him."
Saber paused briefly, then acknowledged with a nod, "Very well, Lancer."
Together, they both left the court.
The Fortress of Millenia boasted a sprawling underground labyrinth that included prison cells, homunculi cultivation chambers, and the subterranean chamber housing the Holy Grail, among its many facilities.
Moreover, when the castle was initially built, it seemed they considered the possibility of the castle being captured. To prevent the extinction of their clan, they constructed an underground tunnel leading directly to the outside world.
Ironically, the very tunnel designed by their ancestors to ensure the safety of future generations became Spartacus and the homunculi's escape route. To add insult to injury, the tunnel was destroyed in the process.
This tunnel led straight to a mountain northwest of Trifas. However, after Spartacus and the homunculi made their escape, they blew it up from the outside, causing it to completely collapse and become impassable.
One might consider using a beam cannon to blast through the tunnel, but due to the area's unstable geological conditions, that would likely trigger more cave-ins. With no other option, Shirou and Saber set out from the surface toward the mountain.
They quickly closed the gap. Despite Spartacus and the homunculi having the advantage of the tunnel's shortcut to the mountain, Assassin and Saber's speed gave them an edge.
On the way...
Saber spoke with a complex expression, "I really didn't expect them to rebel..."
"You seem very surprised," he remarked.
"Yes," she nodded, "I once knew someone quite similar to them. She was also a homunculus created by a magus family, but she devoted her entire life, even in death, to follow the orders of the family that created her."
He understood who Saber was referring to.
Without a doubt, it was Irisviel.
He remarked, "Each person follows their own path, whether it's loyalty or a thirst for freedom. In the end, we're all fundamentally the same in this regard."
Saber glanced at him but choose to remain silent.
In no time, the outline of a famous Romanian mountain came into their view.
Saber cast a glance in his direction, her eyes conveying her intention for him, in his role as the Assassin, to locate Spartacus and the others.
Harnessing the powers of his black mud, he quickly pinpointed the whereabouts of Spartacus and the homunculi.
He gestured towards the mountain's eastern edge, "They're right there."
She nodded and then dashed forward, with Shirou quickly following behind.
As they rushed through the thick forest, they heard voices before they saw anyone.
"Spartacus, where are we going?" someone asked.
"To a distant home," Spartacus responded.
Another voice, filled with curiosity, asked, "Home? What does that mean?"
Spartacus smiled, "It's where we live together. Make houses, set fences, keep chickens, and live good and calm."
"But wasn't that castle our home?" someone else asked.
"That was the fortress of oppressors!"
Emerging from the cover of trees, Saber, with her concealed blade drawn, called out, "Berserker, enough of this nonsense!"
Shirou was right behind her.
At the forefront of the group, A-11072 was taken aback when he saw him and exclaimed, "It's Mister Assassin!"
Shirou cast a fleeting glance at A-11072, a chuckle escaping his lips. "I see... the idea to blow up the tunnel was yours, wasn't it?"
A-11072 was startled, "How... how did you know?"
"Sometimes, there's no need to ask. You can tell just by looking."
The sight of Assassin, paired with Saber's no-nonsense glare, set the homunculi on edge.
"What... what do we do? Our masters have caught up with us."
"Will we be recycled as defective?"
"I don't know... Maybe we will, because we didn't work properly."
"That's what I've been saying. We shouldn't have run away. We should've stayed in the castle like everyone else!"
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Now let's see where this leads.
