"What?" Everyone present looked utterly astonished at the scene unfolding before them. Setting aside Vlad III killing his own Master for a moment, everyone found Darnic's third command via Command Spell to be utterly unbelievable. Servants could devour human souls and convert them into magical energy. This was a privilege they possessed as spiritual bodies.
But humans could not do such a thing. However, this particular magus before them was an exception. As the head of the Yggdmillennia family, Darnic had focused his attention on the soul, a nutrient that could not be converted through magecraft and was of little use.
This was probably due to his experience fighting alongside Servants in the Third Holy Grail War. Or perhaps, the fear induced by a prophecy declared by a certain magus in the past compelled him to achieve this great feat?
Darnic had researched magecraft that could transform other people's souls into sustenance for himself.
However, that was a curse of the highest taboo. This wasn't a matter of ethics. As long as it meant the continuation of his own life, Darnic would not hesitate even to crack open an infant's skull. However, this magecraft was simply too dangerous. It was an extremely dangerous Grand Magecraft that would lead to death with even the slightest deviation.
Even Darnic himself had only performed this soul-devouring ritual three times in sixty years. These three times were performed under the most perfect conditions he could conceive, yet even so, the adaptation rate between his
body and soul had already fallen below sixty percent.
Darnic could feel that someone who wasn't him was gradually taking control of him. It was likely that even if the next ritual was perfectly successful, he would simply become another person named Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia. Even if he possessed the memories, even if all the details were completely recorded, that person would absolutely not be himself.
In other words, Darnic's attempt to devour the soul of Vlad III, who was a Servant, without performing the ritual was a complete act of suicide. After all, that was the soul of a Heroic Spirit. It was a supreme, colossal soul that could activate the Greater Grail if seven Servants were gathered. For a human who was not a 'container,' this was simply something impossible to contain.
"This is utterly absurd!" Atalanta could not comprehend Darnic's actions at all.
"To merge a Servant's soul with a Master's soul, even a Command Spell shouldn't be able to do something like that!" To this, Darnic, who had already merged with Vlad III, laughed loudly: "That's right, Archer. Even with the third Command Spell, processing the Heroic Spirit Vlad III's soul into the ultimate state that's easiest for me to merge with, it's impossible to dominate a Heroic Spirit.
So devouring it is even more impossible." The laughter emanating from Vlad III's body was no longer distinguishable as either Darnic's or Vlad III's voice.
"However, imprinting is possible. At least, I can imprint my thoughts and obsession with the Holy Grail from the past century onto him."
"Now, I am no longer Darnic, but at the same time, I am not Vlad III! I am merely a monster seeking the Holy Grail, and I don't mind being such a being!" Originally, in the summoning of Heroic Spirits, even with the aid of catalysts, there was a tendency to summon Heroic Spirits whose spirituality was similar to one's own.
In other words, Darnic and Vlad III, who possessed excessive self-confidence and dignity, were very similar in terms of their spiritual aspects, or the color of their souls. And although it was only for a short time, they had lived together as master and servant.
If this was used as a basis, combined with the binding power of a Command Spell, then imprinting the unique existence of 'Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia' into a huge Heroic Spirit's soul was certainly not impossible. This magus's obsession truly surpassed that of a Heroic Spirit.
"Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop it! I am the King of Wallachia, the son of Vlad II! Don't enter me!" Vlad III cried out desperately, filled with resentment. However, his face had gradually transformed into an ambiguous appearance that resembled both Darnic and Vlad III. This form was like an amorphous monster.
"Alright, now you are me, and I am you. My King! No, Vampire! Your power will become our shared property!
All for the Holy Grail! My dreams, my hopes will take root in your heart and live forever!" Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia. He was now parasitic upon the soul of the Heroic Spirit Vlad III in a malignant way, akin to a cancer cell.
"Damn it all!" This was truly too much to bear! Karna, who had initially been watching the Black Faction's internal strife with amusement, now found it somewhat intolerable. As a king, Vlad III's noble soul had earned Karna's respect. But now, this Heroic Spirit was falling into such a tragic end. This genuinely displeased Karna, also a Heroic Spirit. He instantly appeared behind Vlad III, who had transformed into Dracula, and thrust a fatal blow at his spiritual core. In this situation, Karna believed it was better to let him die than to allow him to transform into this state!
But Karna's attack bore no fruit. What flowed from the pierced part was not blood, but an unidentified substance resembling black shadow. At this, Karna's eyes widened as he looked at his spear and said, "Although I had a solid feel, does it have no effect when he's like that?"
"Lancer, even your spear has no effect?" Atalanta could hardly conceal her astonishment. The spear Karna used, like hers, was a treasure bestowed by a god. If even such a weapon, piercing the spiritual core, had no effect, then that meant...
"If it were before he transformed into a vampire, this blow should have shattered his spiritual core and killed him." Bats gathered, gradually forming a human shape.
"However, what stands before us is not Black Lancer Vlad III. It is the vampire known and feared by the entire world." In the world of Type-Moon, there exist vampires known as Dead Apostles. Some mingle with humans and feed on blood, while others maintain a solitary existence, interacting with no one. Regardless, Dead Apostles have always maintained their unique concepts and culture, living silently on the hidden side of the world.
But now, what stood before the Servants was not such an existence. Although in terms of the concept of mysterious phenomena, the legend of vampires only has a short hundred-year history, his terror has completely encompassed the entire world.
And once people hear "vampire," what they initially think of is not the Dead Apostles hidden in the world's shadows, but "Dracula the vampire," created based on the great Romanian hero Vlad III.
In terms of fame alone, perhaps many great heroes are not as famous as him. In the minds of modern people, when they think of an evil spirit in the night, they immediately think of a vampire. (Though in our culture, we'd first think of a zombie.) In people's hearts, he is the true King of the Night!
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