"Understood."
Upon hearing Shirou's command, Karna responded with his usual calm demeanor and rushed to the fissure where Shirou was located as quickly as possible.
At the moment when his form materialized from spiritual particles into a physical body, the great hero sung in the Mahabharata did something unprecedented—he voluntarily set aside his golden spear. However, his aura did not diminish; instead, it intensified. Even Shirou, standing beside him, could sense an extraordinary presence—a divine majesty more vast and grand than the sun, representing the unparalleled might of the ancient Indian civilization.
"Brahmastra: O' Brahma, Cover the Earth!"
This was the anti-army, anti-nation Noble Phantasm bestowed upon Karna by Parashurama, the Brahmin with the axe. Originally a bow, it would track and infallibly hit its target when invoked with the name of the god Brahma. However, due to a curse, it could not be used against opponents stronger than Karna.
In other classes besides Archer, the weapon would manifest as different projectiles. Due to the numerous curses Karna suffered in life, each class carried different curses. As a Rider, his chariot would lose mobility at critical moments. As an Archer, he would forget the ultimate secrets of archery at crucial times. As a Lancer, he would forget how to use the sure-kill weapon Brahmastra at key moments.
This, however, was not a critical moment, and Karna had not forgotten how to use his Noble Phantasm—this was the most unique activation method among all his classes. It did not rely on his golden spear, which served as the vessel for Brahmastra, but on his eyes that could see through appearances to the essence.
Karna's eyes widened, and an unprecedented brilliant light shone from his green-silver pupils.
In the next second, the light converged into a single point and shot out from his elliptical pupils.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Stripped of all the descriptions of aura and sensory experiences, the method of using the anti-nation Noble Phantasm "Brahmastra: O' Brahma, Cover the Earth" in the Lancer class is shooting lasers from his eyes.
The average human pupil diameter is 2.5-4mm; even if dilated by strong light, it would be around 8mm. Including the surrounding eyeball area, the laser Karna shot would be no more than 1cm in diameter.
Do not underestimate its power just because the laser is as thin as a pinky—an anti-nation Noble Phantasm is not named lightly.
The earliest Noble Phantasms were divided into four categories based on their targets: anti-personnel, anti-fortress, anti-army, and anti-world. However, this rough classification couldn't clearly define the myriad of Noble Phantasms possessed by Heroic Spirits, leading to subsequent additions such as anti-mountain, anti-civilization, anti-feast, anti-purge, and so on.
Among the original four categories, anti-fortress emphasized great power, and anti-army emphasized a wide range. If a Noble Phantasm had both the range of an anti-army class and the power of an anti-fortress class, how would it be classified?
The conventional proposal is—anti-army·anti-fortress or anti-army + anti-fortress.
But such a designation seemed lowly and failed to highlight the Noble Phantasm's immense power, leading to the creation of an independent category that surpassed both anti-fortress and anti-army, known as "anti-nation Noble Phantasm."
Though there were elements of tongue-in-cheek and exaggeration, the description of "anti-nation Noble Phantasm" was true.
So, what happens when the laser hits the ground can be easily imagined.
To put it plainly, the entire city of Millennia was surrounded by a curtain of flames shooting skyward.
Following Shirou's instructions, Karna's terrifying laser circled the perimeter of the entire castle. The immense power of Brahma was unleashed upon contact with the ground, erupting like molten lava and volcanic ash.
The faces of the Yggdmillennia Masters, hiding in the most heavily protected room in the castle, changed almost simultaneously. The destructive power of the light beams emanating from the garden was truly terrifying. Merely sweeping through the outskirts of the city caused such devastation; if it had directly swept through the interior of the castle—
Upon this realization, Darnic issued the command without hesitation:
"This place is no longer safe. Fiore, take everyone else to that location for refuge—"
"But, isn't that the highest-level restricted area?"
Fiore knew exactly where Darnic was referring to, which is why she was perplexed. As the Master who carried the hope of the Yggdmillennia clan's revival, everyone present had high-level access, allowing them to move freely within the castle, except for private areas. There was only one exception—the underground altar.
No one was permitted to enter there except Darnic. Even Fiore, as the future head of the clan, had only been brought in by Darnic once, just before the Servant summoning ritual, to witness the true form of the Greater Grail.
To Fiore's confusion, Darnic simply replied:
"It is a restricted area because of the Greater Grail. Without the Greater Grail, it's just an ordinary altar—hurry, the enemy's attack could come at any moment."
"Uncle, what about you—?"
Darnic's order was for Fiore to take everyone to the restricted area, clearly indicating that he had no intention of going there himself.
"—I will go outside. Fiore, you will be in charge of the command from now on. Everyone must follow her instructions."
With that said, he leaped out of the window. For a magus, descending from a high place was not a difficult spell; it was like walking down stairs, and he began to walk in the air.
——It's time to prepare for the worst.
His gaze shifted between the Greater Grail, the aerial garden, and the Command Spells in his hand.
As the sole beneficiary of the Third Holy Grail War and a monster who had researched the Greater Grail for over 60 years, Darnic understood the essence of the Holy Grail War very well.
The moment the Greater Grail appeared before everyone and was fixed in place, he realized that a chaotic battle, devoid of any factional boundaries, was about to begin.
Though he was the head of the Yggdmillennia clan, a figure of great authority, this was ultimately a battle over a Grail that could grant any wish. Even the most obedient Fiore and Caules might not follow his orders, not to mention the powerful Servants and top combat experts sent by the Mage's Association.
Even if the Archduke, situated in his homeland, was stronger than all the other Servants, and even if his strength surpassed other magi, this slight advantage meant nothing in the context of thirteen Servants remaining in the world. Moreover, due to Vlad III's overwhelming presence, remaining hidden and waiting for an opportunity was difficult, and he might even become a target for everyone.
There were ways to break the deadlock, but any action carried significant risks.
"——What a predicament."
Just a few minutes ago, he had the upper hand, so how had it suddenly become such a difficult situation?
However, Darnic did not feel anxious or frustrated by this. In nearly a century, he had encountered many similar situations, some even more intense.
Especially the Third Holy Grail War sixty years ago—the intensity of that war made it seem like a miracle that he was still alive.
Discovering the path to the Greater Grail through a collapsed cavern was an unexpected stroke of luck. By weaving a tapestry of lies, he managed to entice Nazi Germany and, with a presidential order, dispatched troops that were hard to believe came from the Allies, forcibly seizing the Greater Grail.
Then, during its transfer to Germany, he deliberately had them pass through Trifas, and subsequently killed all the magus and soldiers who had fought alongside him. Since then, he has focused on research and politics. When dealing with the Association, Darnic always maintained the guise that "the Yggdmillennia clan was content to serve as a refuge for declining magi."
To adapt the Greater Grail to Trifas, Darnic allowed it to slowly deteriorate. During this process, the Grail not only retained the ability to summon pure Heroic Spirits but also gained the unexpected byproduct of summoning "characters who only possessed aspects of Heroic Spirits."
Regardless, time was on his side. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty years—
What was the cornerstone of this persistent determination?
Was it the fundamental motivation of all magi to reach the Root?
Of course, that was a significant factor. Being born a magus, it was natural to aim for that goal. But could he truly go to such lengths solely for this "pure" desire?
Bitter memories from eighty years ago resurfaced.
At that time, as a newly emerging magus, he had a promising engagement. It was indeed an excellent match. For Darnic, it would lay the foundation for elevating his family lineage to nobility.
However, this engagement was put on hold. The bloodline of the Yggdmillennia clan was deemed impure and unlikely to sustain itself beyond five generations, inevitably leading to decline—this was the warning from a certain magus.
——Absolutely absurd. If there were still five generations left, taking appropriate measures to remedy the situation should be completely feasible.
It seemed that only Darnic thought this way. To a clan unwilling to take risks, he quickly became an outcast who needed to be excluded.
Whether it was his sworn brother who had once patted his shoulder warmly, talking about friendship or the woman who had shyly expressed her love and was soon to become his partner—all of them distanced themselves from him.
——That's fine. In the long journey of life, one sometimes encounters such things.
But at that moment, the dream of elevating his clan to nobility was utterly shattered. Even if he overcame the decline after five generations, the stigma once attached could never be removed.
While he might not have cared, the future of his successors had been stolen by that magus. In that instant, Darnic realized that reaching the Root through conventional means—studying magecraft day and night, striving to elevate his status within the Association, becoming nobility—was an unachievable dream and thus abandoned it.
Hence, he needed to devise a way to prevent his clan from declining and also explore a path to reach the Root.
While it wasn't impossible to continue his research independently by leaving the Mage's Association and hiding in the world, Darnic refused to do so.
Staying within the Association was undoubtedly humiliating. However, Darnic never forgot this humiliation for even a second and etched it deeply into his heart—as motivation for his efforts.
During this period, he came across information about the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City. He allied with Nazi Germany, which had a strong interest in occult practices and participated as a Master supported by military forces.
The situation became extremely chaotic due to the rule-breaking tactics of the Einzberns—an unexpected stroke of luck.
The Third Holy Grail War ended amidst the chaos. The exhausted Einzberns, Tohsaka, and Matou were unable to stop Darnic and Nazi Germany's actions.
To this day, Darnic no longer harbored resentment towards the clan that abandoned him. Considering the current situation, he even felt like thanking them. However, that clan had long been wiped out and left no mark on history.
Darnic did not directly act against them; he merely used political means to corner them. By guiding them to invest in meaningless experiments, letting their secret techniques leak, and causing their heirs to die in unfortunate experimental accidents, he led them to ruin.
When they finally debased themselves, trying to curry favor with Darnic and join the Yggdmillennia, he exiled them instead of integrating them into the clan. Since then, Darnic only heard that they went to the Far East—the stage of the Holy Grail War, Japan—and never heard from them again. They likely lived a life of endless sorrow.
His life was one of constantly trampling others. Now, the targets to trample were the Mage's Association and the magus of his clan.
Of course, he had no hesitation—whether it was trampling his clan or sacrificing his life.
Anyone familiar with Darnic's usual demeanor would be chilled by his current expression. His face was cold and emotionless, like frozen frost.
In such moments, he always thought of extremely vile things. If necessary, he would not hesitate to commit any evil act. He intentionally went outside for this reason—to avoid raising unnecessary suspicion among others.
"——So, what should I do?"
As Darnic pondered in a corner, new changes unfolded in the castle courtyard.