The death of a Servant does not harm their Master, and the death of a Master does not immediately cause a Servant to vanish.
As entities reliant on mana to function, Servants typically depend on their Masters for mana supply. However, they can also store mana themselves. Unless faced with situations requiring massive mana expenditure, even a Master's death allows them to persist for a time with their accumulated reserves.
Among them, Archer-class Servants generally possess superior independent action capabilities after losing their Master.
Examples include the future Shirou Emiya or Gilgamesh.
As for Morpheus himself, he was an exception. His case was far too unique. Even if he weren't an Archer but a mana-intensive Caster, he could exist in this world entirely independent of a Master.
After all, he manifested in his physical body, completely unrelated to the mana constructs created by the Holy Grail.
Gilles, the Caster, glanced around. With only a Rider and an Archer by his side, he knew the Archer could persist for a while longer.
As for the Rider, using any abilities might deplete their mana reserves almost instantly.
With this in mind, Gilles made his decision. He activated the magic circle he had set up in the basement, intending to convert the lives of those below into mana.
This would not only replenish his own losses but also make use of these sacrificial offerings to summon a powerful sea demon, teaching this upstart what it meant to trespass on another's territory!
As for a Master?
As long as he survived this phase, he could simply find someone and forcibly make them his Master later.
Simultaneously, his Noble Phantasm appeared in his hands, automatically flipping open. The Prelati's Spellbook, crafted entirely from human skin, was a grimoire brimming with mana. It could unleash large-scale magecraft using its own reserves.
Moreover, it contained knowledge of ancient eldritch deities, enabling Gilles to summon terrifying creatures that even renowned heroes would struggle to face, despite his own limitations.
Now, he aimed to recreate his feat from a decade ago, summoning a rampaging sea demon!
If he could eliminate the foe before him and survive, he could claim the Holy Grail and use its power to fulfill his wish... resurrecting Jeanne in truth!
"I must say, you're impressive, taking out our Master before we could even react. But stopping after killing him... do you think we're no longer a threat?" Gilles said, hoping to lower his opponent's guard and buy time to perfectly execute his magecraft.
"We're done for! Our Master's dead, so I'll probably vanish soon!" Astolfo cried out beside him. After Kirei's death, he had given up resisting, instead shouting in self-abandonment.
This behavior ignited a surge of anger in Gilles. He thought he should have turned this fool into a sacrifice long ago, converting him into mana to serve a greater purpose.
Unfortunately, with Kirei dead, he had no such opportunity for now.
Meanwhile, Robin Hood, the Archer, stowed his weapon. Glancing at Gilles and then Morpheus, he spread his hands and said, "I'm done. I surrender."
Morpheus, seeing that neither Robin Hood nor Astolfo continued their attacks, was somewhat surprised. "You're not planning to avenge your Master?"
"He wasn't exactly a saint!" Astolfo blurted out, his tone utterly unapologetic. Looking at the charming boy, Morpheus couldn't help but understand why doujinshi depicted scenes like Gudao sneaking into Astolfo's bed at night.
Astolfo continued, "I don't have any grand wishes either. You seem incredibly strong, and we can't beat you. Since we can't win, there's no need for revenge, and wishes aren't that important, so why bother fighting?"
His logic was so sound it almost warranted applause.
Though often deemed dim-witted, Morpheus felt this guy's reasoning might be the sharpest of all.
Robin Hood nodded in agreement. "This time, I have to admit he's right. I feel the same. With my Archer-class independent action, I'd rather wander, see the sights, grab a bite, and return to the Throne of Heroes when my time's up, rather than fight you to the death."
Their immediate surrender left Gilles wanting to curse aloud, but he no longer cared. He had stalled long enough to complete his magecraft!
A manic laugh spread across his face as mana surged from the Noble Phantasm before him, signaling the spell's full activation. In an instant, his Noble Phantasm would fully trigger the basement's magic circle, granting him a portion of mana while the rest would summon the mightiest of creatures!
But in the next second, Gilles froze.
His Noble Phantasm had indeed activated, but the basement's magic circle showed no response, as if he had used the wrong method, severing the connection to his grimoire.
He tried again, but still, nothing!
Sweat beaded on Gilles's face. He forced a smile, but on his comical face, it looked eerily distorted.
Especially now, that smile was uglier than a grimace, twisting his features like those of an eldritch deity's kin.
And it leaned toward the grotesque visage of a Cthulhu-inspired monstrosity.
"Realized your magecraft isn't working?" Morpheus addressed Gilles, his tone utterly relaxed. He even casually sat on a nearby pew, his radiant smile starkly contrasting Gilles's expression.
In that moment, Gilles realized it must be this man's doing!
But what had he done? From the moment Morpheus entered, Gilles hadn't sensed any interference with his magecraft. Could he have entered the basement, destroyed the magic circle, and then reappeared at the main entrance?
But wouldn't it have been more advantageous to ambush from the basement's entrance?
Moreover, the basement's entrance was inside the church, with all other areas sealed. Without entering the church, how could he have sabotaged the basement?!
Poor Gilles's mind raced, but he couldn't fathom it.
Hearing that Gilles's magecraft had failed, Robin Hood, despite his surprise, breathed a sigh of relief. Though Gilles was an ally, his willingness to sacrifice innocents was something Robin Hood struggled to accept.
Seeing his plan thwarted was, for Robin Hood, the best outcome.
"How did you get into the basement?!" Gilles demanded.
"The basement? I haven't been there yet, but I'll head there after dealing with you, don't worry," Morpheus said, standing and walking toward Gilles, a slight smirk on his lips.
He knew why Gilles was so shocked. Morpheus had indeed sabotaged the basement's magic circle, but he hadn't needed to go down there.
The basement was just an ordinary space, not fortified with a barrier. Morpheus had easily used his magecraft to interfere with it from afar, completely dismantling Gilles's magic circle.
With the circle destroyed, there was no response. Everything halted at the point where Gilles's Noble Phantasm consumed mana, unable to proceed further.
At this moment, the battle truly began. Gilles knew he could no longer summon the sea demon. Left with no choice, he resorted to conventional combat, drawing mana from his Noble Phantasm and using it to conjure magecraft suited for high-speed battle!
Countless magic bullets formed, materializing around Gilles and bombarding Morpheus.
Morpheus neither dodged nor flinched, letting the magic bullets strike him. They couldn't so much as dent his defenses.
Seeing this, Gilles was inwardly shocked. He hadn't expected this man's defenses to be so formidable, emerging unscathed under a barrage of magic bullets.
But Gilles didn't give up. The attack, though powerful, was merely a feint.
As Morpheus drew closer, Gilles finally prepared a truly formidable spell!
Though he couldn't summon a full sea demon, calling forth a fraction of its power was well within his reach!
"Behold the mightiest power of Prelati's Spellbook! Hahaha, hahahahaha!"
Laughing maniacally, the mana around Gilles surged violently, as if a gate to the void had opened. From the nothingness emerged massive tentacles, each wider than a person's height!
Seven or eight such tentacles appeared!
They surged toward Morpheus, each exhibiting exceptional resistance to magic and physical weapons!
Such an attack could trouble even renowned heroes... an utterly eldritch abomination!
Yet Morpheus swung his sword. With a single slash of the Sword of the War God, forged by the war god, the massive tentacles were severed!
In that instant, Gilles witnessed it: though a shortsword, its blade extended with a radiant light during the swing. The light blade flashed for only a moment, fleeting enough to miss if one blinked.
Under this light blade's assault, Gilles's prized magecraft was shattered in an instant!
The surrounding pillars trembled. Under the tentacles' impact, they collapsed to one side, causing the roof to shake. With the loss of load-bearing pillars, the entire ceiling came crashing down with a thunderous roar!
In that moment, the church suffered the greatest loss, while Morpheus, the target, remained unscathed and even severed Gilles's sea demon tentacles!
The sea demon's regenerative abilities were formidable, so Gilles, though shocked, wasn't overly concerned. Seizing the gap in Morpheus's attack, the sea demon's tentacles lashed out again, new ones sprouting from the severed ends.
At the same time, Gilles fired another volley of magic bullets at Morpheus.
Even if the bullets couldn't harm him, disrupting him was success enough!
"So why do you think these things would work on me?" Morpheus sighed, a glow enveloping him.
The sword in his hand vanished, replaced by a bow radiating faint light. Drawing it, an arrow formed entirely of light appeared on the string, aimed forward.
In that moment, Gilles felt fear surge within him, startled by his own dread.
The sea demon's tentacles quivered, retreating into the void as if sensing a natural predator.
"As expected, it senses the power of the sun?" Morpheus observed the tentacles' reaction, no longer hesitating. He released his right hand.
The arrow of light shot forth, piercing the sea demon's tentacles and flying into the void from which they emerged!
A shrill scream echoed from within, the remaining tentacles thrashing wildly before going limp, as if their final struggle had exhausted their strength.
Simultaneously, Morpheus aimed another arrow at Gilles, releasing it without a word!
The arrow, imbued with Apollo's light and solar power, was supremely effective against such corrupt entities. Gilles, long tainted by these forces, had little resistance to such purifying might.
Struck by the arrow, under the dual assault of a divine construct's power and its exorcising effect, Gilles couldn't even utter a final word. Pierced, white-hot flames erupted from the wound, incinerating him from within until he was reduced to ash!
***
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