"Alright, Lily. How do you feel now?"
After Aslan helped Artoria obtain a Spirit Status for her Servant body, he asked curiously.
Honestly, the relationship between a Heroic Spirit and a Servant was rather too abstract—so abstract that Aslan didn't know how to handle it.
For example, it was like different puppets created by Aozaki Touko.
Their memories, emotions, and even origins were exactly the same. Even they themselves believed they were the same person.
But to others, they were all copies.
That's why it was difficult. After all, the Artoria who had pledged loyalty to him—the one he knew—was the Servant Artoria, not the Original Body on the Throne of Heroes.
Things became abstract and philosophical. Are two existences with identical memories and emotions considered the same individual?
Philosophical—it was too philosophical.
Fortunately, Aslan had learned the technique of granting Spirit Status through Algol, so he didn't need to worry too much.
He could directly grant Spirit Status to the Artoria he knew, then unify them at the level of Spirit Status.
Spirit Status was like a Saint Graph. Even if memories and emotions were identical, only the Original Body truly possessed the Saint Graph, while the others were merely Avatars.
So, what kind of existence was this Artoria who had been granted Spirit Status?
In a certain sense, Artoria was his Avatar, since Aslan had split off a small portion of Arthur's Spirit Status for her.
Artoria would be regarded as Arthur, but in terms of Spirit Status, Arthur wasn't Artoria's Avatar.
"I don't feel any issues, and all my strength has returned. It also feels more real."
Artoria clenched her fist. Right now, she felt as if she had reclaimed her original body.
When Aslan said he would reclaim her Original Body from the Throne of Heroes, Artoria had prepared herself to become mere information absorbed by the Original Body from the Throne of Heroes.
But now... she couldn't explain what kind of situation this was. It was a feeling beyond words.
She was still herself, yet she had truly become Artoria.
"But somehow, I feel my power has become far stronger."
Artoria felt slightly unreal. Her current strength seemed to have surpassed even the Original Heroic Spirit, Grand Spirit Origin, and the Artoria hailed as the goddess wielding the Holy Lance.
"That's normal. After all, I granted you Spirit Status by splitting my own."
Becoming stronger was natural. After all, Aslan had truly lost a portion of his strength to Artoria.
"Will this affect you, Master? Such immense power?"
Artoria asked with concern. After all, this power was too great. Even increases from the Holy Lance and Holy Sword weren't like this, right?
"A little effect? But not much. Besides, I don't lack this kind of strength."
"Maybe I just lost a tiny bit."
Aslan made a pinching gesture with his fingers and spoke indifferently.
After all, Arthur's Spirit Status was essentially Divinity bestowed upon him, so he didn't feel any pain at all when cutting it.
He estimated that when he returned to Little Garden's Central Core later, after being observed, perhaps the Central Core would refill him once it obtained new information?
Moreover, Artoria's status was now Arthur's Avatar, so it couldn't be considered a loss.
"Is that so?"
Artoria's voice was slightly small. Aslan's aura didn't seem weak at all.
It seemed this really didn't affect Aslan much.
But if so, Artoria became even more astonished. Just how strong was this existence, who was also Arthur?
(Is he really a Servant or a Heroic Spirit?)
(Or rather, is he truly Arthur Pendragon?)
Artoria doubted this deeply. But based on her knightly oath, loyalty to Aslan, and personal desire, she finally suppressed the curiosity within her heart.
"However, Master, just how strong is your power now?"
Artoria asked curiously. It seemed she also wanted to verify her suspicions.
Especially after seeing Merlin beside Aslan, Aslan mentioned that it was his Noble Phantasm as Arthur—Knights of the Round Table—that allowed him to summon knights to assist him.
Merlin was simply called out.
Yet, Artoria sensed that the Merlin before her was the true Grand Caster.
"Mmh... Maybe I could destroy a star in a few seconds?"
Aslan said after hesitating briefly. Perhaps he just needed a short time to gather power.
"It's not that extraordinary either. Let's just say it's from the universe of Saint Seiya."
In the Saint Seiya universe, each individual truly possessed the power to easily destroy stars.
"Saint Seiya... What is that?"
Artoria shook her head in confusion. But Aslan had no intention of revealing further information.
"Just nonsense. Don't think about it. Consider it idle chatter."
Aslan flicked Artoria's forehead, asking her to calm down and first get accustomed to her current power.
After all, with Little Garden's Central Core's support, even if Saint Seiya characters truly appeared, Aslan wouldn't panic.
He'd bring them to Little Garden and let the gods and Buddhas there deal with them.
"Wait, Master, there's one more thing I want to confirm."
Artoria said with a serious expression. Because Aslan had distracted her, she almost forgot the important thing she needed to do.
It was about Aslan's identity. Was he truly Arthur? If he was Arthur, why did he have an Oriental name?
Why was his power so overpowered?
"What is it?"
Aslan looked at her curiously too. He wondered what she would ask?
Or had she finally realized his identity?
"Master, are you Arthur from another world?"
Not a Parallel World, but Arthur from a completely different world?
"So, you've doubted for a long time? Only to ask this question?"
Aslan said, slightly stunned. He'd been waiting in vain all this time.
"I can confidently say I am Arthur, but the specific circumstances—you'll have to judge for yourself later."
After all, Aslan wanted Artoria to act as his substitute at crucial moments. He definitely wouldn't hide information about Little Garden from her.
"Is that so?"
Artoria also sighed in relief. She felt as if she understood everything.
So the so-called Outer-Demon God was Arthur from another world? Was this world threatened because of his existence?
With that, she no longer needed to worry about the world being destroyed. Artoria also breathed a sigh of relief.