After dispatching Gilles, Morpheus fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
Astolfo and Robin Hood exchanged glances. Robin Hood felt a touch of relief seeing the shock in Astolfo's eyes, realizing his own earlier astonishment paled in comparison. Even Astolfo was stunned, which spoke volumes about the man before them.
As for Gilles's death, Robin Hood felt no sorrow. He genuinely disliked Gilles, the Caster, finding him repulsive. The man was a lunatic, and had they not been on the same side, Robin Hood might have taken matters into his own hands.
Noticing Morpheus's sudden silence after eliminating Gilles, Robin Hood asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"
Morpheus raised his right hand, gently placing his index finger to his lips. "Quiet. I'm studying the flow of the spirit."
Robin Hood promptly shut his mouth. Though unsure of what Morpheus was doing, given his overwhelming strength, it seemed wiser to heed his words.
If possible, Robin Hood hoped to linger a few more days, wander the world, take in the sights, and then return to the Throne of Heroes.
Before that, he'd make a stop at the Holy Grail to confront it, as that was the true reason it had summoned him.
Robin Hood knew his place well.
"Huh? Studying the flow of the spirit? What's that mean?" Astolfo's sudden outburst drew a glare from Robin Hood. Unfazed by the atmosphere, Astolfo continued, following Morpheus's words. "Does it mean Gilles turned into a ghost after dying, and you're tracking him?"
Robin Hood desperately wanted to silence Astolfo, but it was too late.
Morpheus, however, did nothing. He continued sensing the spirit's flow, raising his hand.
While protecting Illya could be achieved by simply expelling Gilles, Morpheus's goals extended beyond saving her. He also aimed to rescue his sister in this world, Bazett. According to his divinations, he needed to summon the Holy Grail first.
Thus, both to ensure Bazett's appearance and to seize any potential benefits, Morpheus deemed summoning the Holy Grail a wise choice.
The Holy Grail's mechanism relied on the channel opened by Servants' souls returning to the world's exterior, connecting to the Root beyond.
To achieve this, six Servants' worth of energy was typically needed to stabilize the channel. But with sufficient skill, a single Servant's soul could suffice.
Morpheus's plan was straightforward: use Gilles's soul's return channel to confirm the Holy Grail's connection to the exterior and stabilize this temporary passage. Most crucially, he needed to extract the component originally embedded in Illya's body, making it entirely independent.
"Hm, it's as I thought. Severing the connection between the Greater Grail and the Lesser Grail ensures the souls no longer flow toward Illya. However, this means the Greater Grail can't detect a sufficiently stable channel, so it won't manifest," Morpheus mused silently, formulating a plan.
"In the name of the great YHVH, I seal you here." A peculiar magic circle materialized in Morpheus's hand... a simplified summoning circle, stripped to its core function of confinement.
Formed purely of mana, the circle would dissipate once the mana faded, but Morpheus only needed it to buy time, so its brevity was no issue.
As his magecraft activated, Gilles's soul, not yet fully returned, was instantly captured and sealed.
Though confined, the soul would reconnect with the Root once the seal broke, reopening the channel to the Throne of Heroes.
Seizing this brief window, Morpheus produced the book forged by Hephaestus and began writing in it at a blistering pace.
His speed was astonishing, drawing perfect circles in a single stroke without tools like a compass.
This was a skill of a master mathematician, a requisite for any magus. Failure to draw a perfect circle freehand meant a arduous path in magecraft.
After all, in both Eastern and Western mysticism, the circle was a ubiquitous element!
Robin Hood watched, enthralled, as Morpheus employed an unknown magecraft, followed by a flash of mana capturing what was clearly Gilles's soul.
Then, Morpheus opened a book and began scribbling and drawing. The symbols made Robin Hood wonder if Morpheus was truly an Archer and not a Caster.
Moreover, this book seemed to be a Noble Phantasm. An Archer wielding a book, a bow, and a sword... were the standards for Archers so high now? Robin Hood, with just a bow and a dagger for emergencies, felt almost unprofessional by comparison.
Astolfo watched just as intently, his face lighting up with envy and amazement when Morpheus drew a perfect circle in one stroke.
This time, he refrained from speaking, much to Robin Hood's relief.
Soon, Robin Hood noticed the pattern Morpheus drew in the book bore a striking resemblance to the faintly glowing magic circle in the air, sealing Gilles's soul.
No, not a resemblance... identical!
"Done!" Finishing the final stroke, Morpheus extended the book. The circle on its pages resonated with the one in the air. In an instant, the airborne magic dissolved into mana, flowing into the book, drawing Gilles's soul along with it!
Morpheus smiled faintly at Gilles, now sealed within the book. "Wait a few days. I'll send you back to your beloved Throne of Heroes soon enough!"
He needed a medium to connect with the Greater Grail and create a Lesser Grail. There were two methods: one was to extract the magic circuits within Illya, as they formed the Lesser Grail.
The other was to find something akin to Illya's circuits or closely tied to the Greater Grail as a foundation.
Morpheus recalled having just such an item... held by Sakura Matou.
Sakura had mentioned that Zouken Matou obtained fragments of the shattered Holy Grail from the Fourth Holy Grail War, intending to implant them in her to transform her into the Matou family's Lesser Grail, a backdoor approach.
But Sakura, bearing the Authority of Deception, wasn't so easily manipulated. She kept the fragments, while Zouken, deceived by her Authority, believed they were inside her.
This prompted another sigh from Morpheus. "What kind of Authority did my future self gain? Deception… am I walking Hermes's path? Hermes and the Golden Dawn… the Triple Greatness?"
Robin Hood overheard Morpheus's muttering but found it incomprehensible. Why did his words carry the air of the nobles he knew, yet remain so cryptic?
He was a noble himself... had he missed some exclusive noble gathering?
"Don't understand? That's fine. Most people in this world probably wouldn't either," Morpheus said, patting Robin Hood's shoulder. "But you should understand YHVH, right?"
Robin Hood nodded blankly. Of course he did. "Isn't that like praying to God before battle? I haven't seen it used before magecraft, but I suppose it's not impossible?"
In Robin Hood's era, around the 12th century, Christianity had long spread through England. He naturally recognized YHVH as Jehovah.
"No, Robin Hood, it's part of a magic incantation, not a prayer. A necessary component," Morpheus corrected, stowing the book. "So, what are your plans? Stay here forever, or return after a while?"
Robin Hood answered promptly, "As I said, I'll wander around. The world now is far better than my time. They say the Age of Gods was nice too, though that's debatable. My era wasn't as good as this.
"But I'm a dead man. Once I've seen enough, it's time to go. At least my true self in the Throne of Heroes will gain some new experiences or knowledge."
Morpheus nodded, appreciating his mindset, then turned to Astolfo.
"Huh? Stay here forever? Impossible! I need mana to function, but I don't have enough. I can't directly tap the Greater Source's mana either. I'll vanish soon, unlike Robin Hood... he's an Archer, I'm not!" Astolfo's words were less a plan and more a complaint.
"I don't even have much time to wander!"
Then, he felt a surge of mana coalescing around him.
Astolfo blinked as Morpheus said, "My manipulated mana should be absorbable, no different from a Lesser Source. If you avoid using your Noble Phantasm, it's enough for about ten days. For a normal human lifestyle, maybe a month."
"I'm researching ways to keep Servants in this world permanently. If you want to stay, find me before you vanish," Morpheus added. "I'm not sure what the future holds. If you stay, you might protect humanity or something."
"Protect humanity?" both said in unison.
"Yes, protect humanity," Morpheus confirmed. "The Earth might face ruin... er, I mean Gaia. Humanity could face a crisis, or someone might cause trouble beforehand. That's when you could step in."
"But sustaining us requires massive mana, which is hard to manage," Robin Hood pointed out.
Morpheus shrugged. "I can make you mana-independent. I haven't fully grasped the Third Magic, but I believe its principles align with my current theories."
Astolfo seemed clueless about the Third Magic's significance, but Robin Hood knew it promised infinite mana. Seeing Morpheus's youth, he wanted to call it a pipe dream... achieving the Third Magic couldn't be that simple.
But he held his tongue, saying only, "Well, I wish you luck achieving that before I fade."
With that, he grabbed Astolfo.
"Hey, why grab me? Let go of my collar!"
Despite Astolfo's protests, Robin Hood's next words made him comply.
"Come on, to the basement. Time to save people!"
As the two began clearing the rubble to reach the basement door, Morpheus smiled and joined them. "Let me help. The people down there can be saved. The only issue is the psychological trauma, which will take years to heal."
"Better than losing their lives," Robin Hood said, moving the last stone to reveal the basement entrance.
The trio descended, the dim staircase carrying a damp, musty scent.
Soon, they reached an underground space, more akin to a natural cavern than a basement, its walls bearing clear signs of human carving.
There, countless coffin-like containers held emaciated, pale people, lying like zombies.
Yet, clearly, these people still lived... Death had not yet claimed them!
***
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