章節 1159: Missing Ingredient
With a stone-faced expression and eyes far colder than the stagnant air within the castle, Jubstacheit looked back at the four 'interlopers', casting his gaze over Heracles and Kenshin before squinting as he looked between Illyasviel and Irisviel. Though he had intended to say something to Illyasviel first, Jubstacheit's expression became dark as he looked upon Irisviel with an astute and piercing gaze. He could tell at a glance that she wasn't the same Justeaze-Type he had made thirty years ago, causing his old, almost skeletal, fingers to curl slowly into fists as he asked, "What are you...? You are not a Homunculus produced by my Einzbern family..."
The moment Jubstacheit mentioned the words 'my Einzbern family', Illya's gaze turned even icier than the aged Golems, stating, "The Einzbern family is not yours, eighth-generation Golem Terminal, Acht. I have come to reclaim my birthright in accordance with the laws established by the Einzbern family more than a thousand years ago. I order you to stand down and relinquish the title of Ninth Head back to me..." As she spoke, the momentum from Illya's body continued to rise as her Magic Circuits slowly began to glow with increasing intensity all over her body. She came here expecting a fight and, with how Jubstacheit had looked at her mother, Illya's patience was quickly wearing thin.
In response to Illya's words, Jubstacheit's expression hardly changed, remaining a cold visage as he looked back at her and plainly stated, "You lost your claim to the position after your death more than ten years ago. Even then, you were the product of a Homunculus and a traitor, not a true descendant of the Einzbern family. The title was only ever granted to you as a means to motivate you further but, even though you were meant to be the 'ultimate' vessel for the Holy Grail, you failed to fulfill your purpose, not once, but twice..." With each word that left his mouth, Jubstacheit's own momentum rose to match Illya's as, surprising everyone present, a Magic Crest slowly took form on his exposed forehead.
Though it was widely believed that the Einzbern's did not possess a Magic Crest that was passed down through their lineage, the truth of the matter was, when the despondent ancestors of the Einzbern created Jubstacheit nine-hundred years ago, they had bestowed him with the Magic Crest. They had been so devastated by their failure to recreate the Third Magic of their Master, as the Einzberns had originally been nothing more than the disciples and family members of the true wielder of the Third Magic, that many either abandoned the 'impossible' endeavor while the vast majority of 'Einzberns' killed themselves. Jubstacheit was their legacy, given an impossible task to complete after they had become disillusioned after hundreds of years of failure...
Seeing the complex Magic Crest on Jubstacheit's forehead, centered around the Alchemical Symbol for Earth, Illya's eyes widened in abject shock. Though even she knew her 'claim' was loose, Illya felt that Jubstacheit's denial was more so related to his hatred for her father than anything else. After all, even though the Homunculi produced by the Einzbern family had no rights, they were still formed using the genetic material of the Einzbern Ancestors, even if the basic structure had changed since the creation of the Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern. As there had been several historical Homunculi that had held the title of 'Head', she knew Jubstacheit was denying her claim due to personal reasons, not wholly due to the 'logic' inherent within his words...
As tensions continued to build, Jubstacheit turned his cold eyes towards Irisviel once again, saying, "I will ask once again...what are you? If you do not answer my question, do not expect to leave here in one piece. I have no need for failures who have outgrown their use..." Though these words earned him a venomous glare from Illyasviel, Jubstacheit completed ignored her as he continued to stare at Irisviel who, despite the fact she was smiling, had a cold light in her eyes that could ice over a tundra with its intensity. It was very subtle but, her own Magic Circuits had started to glow, something that caused Jubstacheit expression to shift from a scowl into a glower.
Illyasviel had actually been an anomaly, not all that dissimilar to the original Justeaze, and, even now, Jubstacheit had no idea how her complex Magic Circuits had formed and stabilized. Though he had created several other Homunculi that were able to bear children, most of the infants died within the womb while the few that were formed rarely lasted more than a month as their own Magic Circuits ate away at their bodies. It was as if there was a key ingredient missing from the process and, even after thousands of attempts, Jubstacheit felt he was no closer to the truth. Seeing this 'mockery' of his own creation possessing similar Magic Circuits to Illyasviel was a grievous insult to his pride, one of the only emotions the Einzberns had programmed into him.
Maintaining her 'smiling' expression, Iris squinted her eyes almost imperceptibly, answering, "I am Irisviel von Einzbern, mother to Illyasviel von Einzbern, Widow to Kiritsugu Emiya, and former vessel for the Holy Grail. A splendid man was able to grant my soul a new vessel, one that, despite your best efforts, you would never be able to re-create. That man has so many ways to reach the Root that it makes everything you've been trying to accomplish over the last nine-hundred years seem like child's play~." Though she was hardly the vindictive type, Irisviel hadn't been happy to learn how her daughter had been treated after her death. As a result of his petty vengeance, Jubstacheit had not only separated Kiritsugu and Illya, but he even put the latter through intense physical strain and torture, all while trying to redirect her hatred toward the father who had 'abandoned' her and his adopted son, Shirou...
The moment he heard Irisviel's words, Jubstacheit's momentum exploded outward, snuffing out the thousands of lit candles as he rose to his feet. He did not shout or curse but, judging by the hateful expression on his face, it was very apparent Jubstacheit had taken exception to Irisviel's words. At the same time, the doors behind them burst open as the waiting Artificial Humans tried to pour into the room that, after Jubstacheit's rise began to glow with a blue haze. This was a special Bounded Field that was supposed to make it impossible for enemies to shape their Magical Energy into any kind of structured spell. The moment he activated the Bound Field, however, a large volume of blue blood sputtered from Jubstacheit's mouth as, from his chest, a red and gold spear now protruded.
Rather unceremoniously, Scáthach pulled the spears free, tearing away large pieces of Jubstacheit's artificial frame, forcefully deactivating the Bounded Field before it could come into effect. Then, to prevent his Magic Crest from shattering, Scáthach cut off his head in one swift motion before placing it into an isolated spatial pocket. With this series of actions complete, taking a mere three seconds, she looked towards the gobsmacked Illya, reprimanding, "There is no sense in talking with an enemy you have already decided to kill. If I hadn't been here, your inaction would have endangered the lives of everyone here..." As she spoke, Scáthach manifested several red spears around her body, sending them flying at hypersonic speeds as they pierced into the group trying to enter through the massive double doors.
Though she felt like her revenge had been 'stolen' from her, causing Illya to feel more than a little frustrated, she knew Scáthach's words rang true. The moment the Bounded Field began to activate, she had tried to muster up her Magical Energy, only to find it was like trying to force an ocean's worth of water through a pinhole. If not for the ridiculousness that was Scáthach's existence, there was a good chance Alaya would have had to intervene, costing Vahn a phenomenal amount of stored Magical Energy. Realizing she had let down Vahn's expectations and trust, Illya's frustration was quickly replaced by guilt as she looked toward Scáthach and said, "I will take care of the rest." in a determined voice.
Hearing Illya's words, Scáthach gave a curt nod as she ceased her attack, brandishing her spears in the process. Other than Jubstacheit, she hadn't killed any of the other Artificial Humans as, other than ensuring the lives of Illya and her entourage, this event was entirely unrelated to her. If not for Vahn persisting in their last training session for a full seventeen hours, refusing to go down as he pushed himself far beyond her expectations, Scáthach would not even be here. Now, however, she knew what he was capable of if given the 'proper' drive so, in the future, their training sessions would be even more intense. Vahn himself had been aware of this but, rather than use a Command Spell to force Scáthach to obey, he had committed to earning her cooperation through hard effort...
---
With the death of Jubstacheit, combined with the fact that Illya had indeed been the previous Head, the Homunculi within the expansive castle were unable to take action against her. Thus, with her mother close at her side, Illya used her Familiars to deal with any of the Artificial Humans that did not surrender outright. This included the young boy who, being one of the closest at hand during the start of combat, ended up being pierced through the gut by Scáthach's spear before Illya later decapitated him. She knew that, while the Homunculi were 'innocent', most of the Artificial Humans present within the castle were cancerous elements that needed to be removed. They were remnants of the 'old ways', Magi that were firmly cemented in their ways and, over the years, had mistreated thousands of Homunculi, effectively Illya's kin, in the pursuit of their research.
While making their way through the cold and dimly lit hallways, it wasn't long before Illy and Iris found themselves at a place that represented a deep trauma for both of them, the Homunculi Disposal Yard. This was a vast chamber with a stone platform that extended outward into a lake-sized pool of glowing blue liquid. Even now, this pool was filled with hundreds of failed experiments, slowly being dissolved so their biomass and Magical Energy could be used in the next generation of Homunculi. There were even some near the top, their bodies run through with arrows, swords, and other forms of weaponry, still breathing as they slowly bled to death. They did not even possess the free will to try and escape the pool, forced to simply float in the glowing blue liquid as the life slowly drained from their bodies...
Several years ago, as she was being prepared for the Fifth Holy Grail War, Illya had saved two of the Homunculi that had been left to die in this chamber, granting them names and treating them as her family. As for her mother, Iris had also been tossed into this chamber in the past, forced to survive after Kiritsugu had offended Jubstacheit by requesting a more 'compact' and animalistic Homunculi for the sake of efficiency. Fortunately, though she was originally tasked to survive within the pool for an entire month, Kiritsugu had defied Jubstacheit, breaking into the chamber and pulling her free from the corrosive liquid without worrying about his own safety. It was this moment, having yet to form an ego of her own, that Iris began to awaken to true emotions for the first time. She decided that, since Kiritsugu had ignored his own safety in order to save her, a discarded tool, she would give up everything if it meant making his dream come true...
Using her authority as the current Head of the Einzbern family, Illya commanded that the still-living Homunculi within the pool be saved. Sella and Lysritt, the two Homunculi she had saved, had started to develop true egos after she had them assigned as her caretakers and bodyguards. As her mother had also awakened her own ego after being saved by her father, Illya believed the only thing needed for the Einzbern Homunculi to break free from their programming was a 'purpose' they had assigned themselves. They lived their entire lives surrounded by other emotionless entities, denied even the most basic rights as they followed their programming without unnecessary thoughts. After being saved, or shown kindness, this would quickly change to a 'fierce devotion' towards the person that had saved them, awakening their self-preservation instincts and allowing them to develop a 'true ego' to replace their previously machine-like thought process...
With this in mind, Illya showed a genuinely pained expression as she promised each and every one of the Homunculi pulled from the pool, "It's okay now...I will not let you suffer anymore..." Though the only thing she got in response was either a blank expression or a polite, "Thank you for your concern...", Illya continued in her efforts, knowing each of the five Homunculi she had saved would imprint on her. The thing Jubstacheit had never realized, as he was simply incapable of rationalizing such complicated emotions, was that the 'missing ingredient' he had been searching for was the emotional bonds between two people. In other words, it was 'love' that allowed for the creation of a 'Perfect Homunculus' as, so long as they believed they were nothing more than tools, how could they ever become something 'more' than what they were designed to be?
Though Illya had no intention of allowing each of the hundreds, or even thousands, of Homunculi present within the castle to fall in love with Vahn, she knew they would be very loyal to him when he managed to save them. She fully expected each and every Homunculus that had their life extended by Vahn would continue to willingly serve within the castle, never considering for a moment leaving the person who had given them 'purpose', especially with his gentle and empathetic nature. Though it was somewhat unfair to them that she would not let them infringe upon her own happiness, Illya believed the Empire would also serve as a Utopia that allowed the Homunculi to experience the kindness of others. As there was little chance Vahn would allow cruel and malicious people to reside there, Illay believed it was only a matter of time until the Homunculi began to imprint upon others...
---
After several hours of 'cleaning' out the castle, using her Familiars to check each and every one of the hundreds of rooms and workshops, Illya, Iris, Kenshin, and Heracles found themselves in a large antechamber. The walls were lined with massive statues that, even at a glance, were obviously ornate Golems that were meant to protect the secret treasure of the Einzbern family. Each took on the form of a different figure within the Astrological Zodiac, possessing the qualities of both humans and animals as they towered six meters over intruders. Illya didn't know if there was a meaning behind their order but, from left to right, there were statues representing Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo. On the opposite side of the room, the statues representing Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces stood parallel to their kin. Among them, the only female figures were those of Virgo and the two twin figures representing Gemini. They were admittedly masterful works of art and, if not for the fact they released an oppressive atmosphere from the moment the group entered the room, Illya would have taken a few minutes to appreciate their beauty.
With the hope of avoiding a fight, Illya flared up her Magical Power as she shouted, "My name is Ilya von Einzbern, Ninth Head of the Einzbern family! Jubstacheit von Einzbern has been removed from his post as the Eighth Head! By my authority as the Head of the Einzbern family, I order you to stand down and open the vault...!" As the vault doors looked like they weighed several thousands of tons, as they were made almost entirely of magically enchanted gold, Illya knew it would take days, if not weeks, just to breach the chamber that contained Das Rheingold. She wanted to see with her own eyes the legendary treasure, hoping it would prove useful to Vahn and his Empire in the future. If not for the existence of Das Rheingold, combined with her feelings of wanting to repay Vahn's kindness, Illya would not have cared about returning to reclaim her birthright so soon.
Surprisingly, the statue of Virgo, which looked extremely similar to the Justeaze-type Homunculi, answered, "Only those who possess the Einzbern Magic Crest have the authority to trespass this sacred vault. We recognize your claim as the Ninth Heath of the family but, if you are unable to present the crest, we are not able to allow you free passage. Only the one who has been entrusted with the task left behind by the Einzbern Ancestors has the authority to order us to stand down..." As the statuesque golem spoke, it raised a large staff that was adorned with a gemstone larger than Illya's head. It was very clear that, if she could not provide the Einzbern Magic Crest, the thirteen golems present would bar their passage...
Though the transfer of a Magic Crest often took years, as the knowledge contained within could overburden the mind and body of the recipient, there were several means to expedite the process. The most common method was transferral through sex, usually resulting in Magic Crest losing quite a bit of its power since it needed to be partially sealed beforehand. Other methods included the willing transfer of a Magic Crest, usually requiring the lifeblood of the previous wielder and direct blood ties with the recipient, and the 'foreceful' transfer of a Magic Crest by consuming the heart of the former wielder. The only other methods were to preserve the crest, much like what Scáthach had done, slowly deciphering its structure over tens, or even hundreds, of years...
Without much hesitation, as there was only one 'viable' method available to her, Illya called out, "Scáthach..." in a somber voice. This caused a small burst of magical energy next to her, followed by the appearance of the purple-clad warrior who, understanding Illya's intentions, pulled out the head of Jubstacheit, a wrathful yet lifeless expression permanently affixed on his visage. Unlike a normal Magus, requiring the consumption of the heart, Jubstacheit's 'core' had been implanted in his head as, from the very beginning, he was meant to be more of a repository of information that had been given a function. He was an Artificial Intelligence that had been implanted into a humanoid golem, making his brain both the source of his sentience and the organ which stored the Einzbern's Magic Crest.
Asking for Cath Palug's assistance, which she had been keeping at bay previously, Illya's body slowly morphed into a partial transformation. Then, even though the thought alone made her nauseous, Illya extended her jaw far more than a normal person before tearing apart Jubstacheit's head and taking a huge chunk out of his bluish-grey brain. Deciding it was better to get it over with quickly, Illya quickly gorged herself on the gooey organ, doing her best to ignore its taste and the slug-like consistency that she would never have been able to keep down on her own. Her ears and tail began to gradually enlarge but, after only a few seconds and several large bites, Illya covered her mouth with both hands, tears in the corners of her eyes as she practically begged Cath Palug to behave...
Slowly but surely, Illya's beast-like features began to recede as, from deep within her stomach, a powerful heat began to spread through her body. It felt like her brain was on fire but, with the natural regeneration of Cath Palug and her own enhanced body, she was able to tolerate the pain as nearly a thousand years of information and memories were embedded into her mind. This actually wasn't the first time she had gone through a similar process as, after becoming the Ninth Head of the Einzbern family, she had been given what was obviously a partial inheritance. Jubstacheit had kept all the secrets related to the production of the Justeaze-type Homunculi to himself, along with many other secrets that could not be entrusted to others.
After twenty minutes of excruciating pain, during which time her mother tightly embraced her, Illya's forehead began to form the shape of the Einzbern Magic Crest. Though parts of it were fragmented, as was often the case when a crest was forcefully acquired, it was still irrefutably the Einzbern Magic Crest. Thus, after rising to her feet with the assistance of her mother, Illya, with a sickly complexion, ordered, "Open the vault..." with the crest still glowing on her forehead. Fortunately, the golems were not programmed to care about the methods used to obtain the crest. The only thing that mattered was that Illya was the one who possessed it, granting her the authority to access the vault they had guarded for centuries.
As the vault slowly opened, there was a brilliant blue and gold light that refracted on the natural stone surfaces that had been carved out of the mountain's core. There were hundreds of golden pipes jutting out of the walls and ceiling while, at the bottom of a long flight of stairs, a massive underground lake was present. Instead of water, the lake was filled with the same mana-rich blue liquid that slowly dissolved the bodies of failed Homunculi. From this, it became obvious that the Magical Energy contained within the bodies of the Homunculi was recycled to feed into the large golden crystal that stood like a miniature mountain several meters beneath the liquid's surface. As the crystal would turn into purified gold after being split off from the main body, the sheer volume of the massive Das Rheingold, if accounting for the current price of gold, would be enough to match the entire global economy, equating to more than 70 trillion pound sterlings...and growing...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Scáthach does not fuck around (o___o)...','All you need is love...Love is all you need (o 3 o)...','Would you eat a biomechanical brain for 85 trillion USD? I wouldn't even flinch xD...')
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章節 1160: Burden : Hope
While Das Rheingold was one of the most valuable treasures in the world, there were some things that couldn't be valued in any market. These were items that had either existed since the time of the Age of Gods or, by some miracle, managed to obtain a fragment of Mystery that managed to persist into the modern era. Though it was possible to reach the pool containing Das Rheingold by moving to the base of the stairs, there were other sections of the vault that contained the precious treasures the Einzberns had collected for more than a thousand years. Among these, serving as the centerfold of a collection that could easily fill a small museum, was a large golden scabbard decorated with blue enamel. Upon its pedestal, secured in a glass container covered in complex magical runes, it looked more like a King seated upon a throne than an object intended to accompany and sheath a sword...
Though Artoria's scabbard had been one of the main artifacts she intended to recover, Illya only spared it a ruminating glance before moving on to on item she considered far more important, at least to herself. She left her mother and Kenshin to begin securing the other items while moving to the side of the collection and undoing a seal that had been placed on a large ruby. This was a unique artifact known as [The Crown of Saints], a relatively useless item to most but, for Illya's purposes, it was perfect. After picking it up in her tiny hands, she walked over to the towering Heracles, smiling up at him as she said, "Please kneel for me, Heracles..." As he had always listened to her, ever since the time he had saved her from the wolves many years ago, Heracles dutifully kneeled before Illya as she placed the palm-sized ruby against his forehead.
The moment the ruby contacted Heracles, it began to sink into his flesh as an intense amount of steam began to explode outward from his body, filling nearly the entire room in an instant as the temperature gradually increased. His skin, which looked like wrought-iron before, began to lose its brackish quality, becoming a natural bronzed color that resembled highly-tanned flesh. A pattern of red markings began to spread across his brow and temples, looking similar to a crown of blood as the ruby embedded in his forehead began to glow with a mystical light. At the same time, the false gold and red eyes that always glimmered with madness in the past began to regain glow with the light of self-awareness as Heracles released a heavy and relieved sigh that carried enough force to push Illya back a few steps.
After rising to his feet, Heracles began to inspect his body, clenching his fists open and closed as his muscles and bones created small thunderous sounds, belying the great power contained within. Then, though he still had a visage that would cause lesser men to feel weak in the knees, Heracles managed a grim-looking yet genuine smile as his voice rumbled like thunder, saying, "Little one...it seems you're quickly growing beyond my need to protect..." Though his voice gave the illusion of a small earthquake to anyone hearing it, there was a touch of gentleness that made Illya tear up a bit as she murmured, "I'm sorry..." in a comparably mouse-like voice...
Due to their massive size difference, extreme enough that Illya barely surpassed his knees in height, Heracles responded to Illya's apology by using his index finger to rub the top of her head. Though it was almost impossible to tell, his expression had softened slightly as he rumbled, "It is I who should apologize to you, little one...I could not make your dream a reality. Had I ten thousand more lives, I would have given them all to free you from this burden..." Even as a Berserker-Class Heroic Spirit, Heracles had experienced the same memory link as every other Servant. Though he had no memory of the Fifth Holy Grail War, he had seen the efforts of his counterpart and the suffering Illya had gone through. It was these memories that allowed her to control him so easily during the Sixth Holy Grail War, rather than having to spend several months trying to establish simple communication.
Hearing Heracles' words, Illya's face formed into a whimpering frown as tears began to pool at the corner of her eyes before liberating themselves and running down her delicate facial features. She had always felt guilty about forcing Heracles to remain at her side as an emotional anchor and, even if he hated her, Illya wouldn't have blamed him. Though it felt like someone was rubbing a stone against the top of her head, she could still feel his concern and gentleness. Thus, while clinging to his large hand, which was bigger than her entire hand, Illya began to cry once again while, as he had always done, Heracles watched over her from above...
---
After 'robbing' the entire vault of its treasures, including the 'core' of Das Rheingold, an item that looked like a crudely forged iron ring, Illya and company left the emptied vault behind. Though the mountain fortress-castle would still be used by them in the future, Illya planned to seal it off for the time being unless Vahn had a use for it. This place had become a barrow with the number of lives that had passed through it and, for nearly a thousand years, the air, even with torches and a magic formation artificially warming the interior, felt cold and devoid of life. If someone were to use so-called Dark Magecraft and Necromancy within these walls, it would likely be far more powerful than almost anywhere else in the world. It was for this reason that Jubstacheit had redesigned a large part of the castle to be a cathedral, an attempt to sanctify the Einzbern Castle as a holy grounds instead of treating it as the endless crucible of death and despair for hundreds of thousands of Homunculi...
In total, there were nearly four-thousand Justeaze-Type Homunculi within the Castle, each having very small differences from each other based on the type of experiment used in their production. The common traits they all shared were inordinately beautiful features, ruby-red eyes, and pale white hair that was silky-smooth to the touch. At the same time, with a few exceptions, they each shared a ridiculously short lifespan, the oldest within the entire castle only being seven years old. On average, due to the inhumane experiments conducted within the Castle, most Homunculi would not even live to be more than two years of age before they were recycled.
This was largely the result of the fact that it was always better to produce the next generation instead of trying to preserve the previous generation. The only exceptions were those that had anomalous traits which, until their deviation could be understood, guaranteed they would lead longer and, oftentimes, far more tragic existences. Since Jubstacheit had been trying to recreate another 'perfect' Homunculus like Illya, there had been several pregnant Homunculi, many being a few years older than their counterparts. Instead of the eyes of an expectant mother, however, they each had thousand-yard stares without even the most basic semblance of a desire to live contained within their otherwise gorgeous red pupils...
Having come to the Einzbern Castle expecting things to take several days to wrap up, Illya and Iris began pouring over the research documents of the Artificial Humans while the former tried to make sense of the overwhelming amount of information contained within her newly acquired Magic Crest. It would take her many years to truly comprehend everything she had learned, especially with the ridiculous amount of redundancies and arbitrary information contained within her mind. Jubstacheit was the type that, even if an experiment had failed, he would continue to repeat it with only minor changes, sometimes with the only difference being a fraction of a degree in temperature or an act as 'pointless' as someone dipping their finger into a solution...
After passing on her orders to the Homunculi within the castle, including having them clean up the aftermath of the prior battle, Illya and Iris went to one of the most important rooms within the entire complex. Just as there was a Homunculi Disposal Yard, there was all a Homunculi Production Yard, the place where each and every Einzbern Homunculus was developed. This was a deep underground chamber that looked like an endless warehouse containing thousands of crystalline glass containers. On average, dozens of Homunculi were born and killed within the Einzbern Castle each and every day, with thousands being sacrificed annually to carry out oftentimes ridiculous experiments.
Over the course of a nine-hundred-and-fifteen year period, a total of 8,928,411 Homunculi had been produced within these icy-cold chambers, each and every one of them living tragically short lives as nothing more than tools. Things had only been exacerbated after the accidental production of the first Justeaze-Type Homunculi as, from that moment onward, the primary goal of the Einzbern family had been to try and secure the Holy Grail and reobtain the Third Magic.
After the failures of the Second and Third Holy Grail Wars, Homunculi had been mass-produced in an effort to make a Master that would, for a short while, even rival a Heroic Spirit in power. For more than two hundred years, millions of Homunculi had been produced with the sole purpose of fighting each other to the death, passing on their combat experience to the next generation like a machine-learning program. As a result, current generation Einzbern Homunculi were several times stronger than humans while their Magic Circuits and Od capacity made them comparable to a hundred other Magi. There were even some 'anomalies' who were far stronger than even Superior Magi, though this often came at a significantly reduced lifespan, spontaneous organ failure, or a complete lack of reproductive functions...
While staring at a group of Homunculi that appeared no older than a few months old, as they were always artificially aged to an adult form during incubation, Illya muttered, "I promise, the world you will be born into will be far warmer than this cold and desolate place..." This final batch, assuming they did not try and produce any future Homunculi, would reach maturity within two week's time. Illya intended to wait for their 'birth' before returning to Avalon as just the thought of leaving them alone in this dark and ice-cold chamber made her heart hurt. As there would be no Homunculi killed in that time, their final number would be over seven-thousand near-identical lifeforms, making Illya feel slightly guilty as Vahn, Da Vinci, and Paracelsus would all be 'very' busy for a few months when she brought them back to Avalon...
Fortunately, until the time of their departure, Scáthach was able to preserve the lives of those that had been nearing the 'expiration' date while Illya and Iris, both possessing the inherited knowledge of Einzbern Alchemy, were more than qualified to make small modifications and treat any deviancies. The most difficult part for them would be dealing with the still-births as, even if they were both Magi that had a strong tolerance against such things, it was never easy seeing a malformed fetus. Neither had any experience with such things, meaning they had to rely on the information hardcoded within their minds to assist with the births. Seeing the 'dead' look in the eyes of Homunculi that had been forced to bear such children was something would always be deeply ingrained into Illya's heart and mind, strengthening her conviction to create a paradise for them in the future...
---
As disheartening as some of her experiences within the Einzbern Castle were, there were a number of things that brought a smile to Illya's face. The five Homunculi she had saved from being recycled began to behave in the way she expected, their egos slowly awakening a bit with each passing day. Though the ones that were created for combat were fighting an uphill battle, as their ego had been suppressed so they would not experience fear, pain, and hesitation, it was very apparent they were making steady progress. They would need to overcome the apathetic mentality of beings that had experienced death 'millions' of times, but the introduction of new stimulus, especially of the positive variety, would go a long way towards their mental development...
One of the pet projects Illya had come up with was converting the central courtyard of the castle into a large garden, both as a way to introduce 'life' into the cold and desolate environment and to serve as a memorial to the lives lost over the centuries. It would be impossible to guarantee the number was accurate, but she wanted to grow a flower to represent each sacrificed Homunculus. This sentiment wasn't wasted on her 'kin' and, though they initially just planted the flowers due to Illya's orders, it became a common sight in the days that followed for many groups of Homunculi to gather within the nascent garden, observing the flowers with blank expressions.
Other than having them maintain the castle, Illya hadn't required any of the Homunculi to take part in any experiments, leaving the vast majority with a significant amount of free time. When asked what they should do, Illya and the other simply told them to think about what they 'wanted' to do and, if they could not come up with something, just relaxing and interacting with the others would be enough. Though they didn't have anything to talk about with their kin, this resulting in several small groups of Homunculi forming as they wandered around together, almost as if traveling as a group would allow them to 'find' whatever it was they were looking for. As humans were, on a very basic level, social creatures, this behavior was considered a positive development in the eyes of Illya and Iris.
Like this, several days passed within the Einzbern Castle without any real incidents, the one small exception being when a group of Homunculi found Kenshin training. For many of them, they had hundreds of years of memories related to combat so, seeing the battle-junky Kenshin exerting herself, there were some who interpreted the order to think about what they 'wanted' to do as proactively carrying out the very same experiments Illya wanted to avoid. They had no aversion at all to trying to kill each other, as this had always been the way their combat exercises were conducted, so Kenshin had to step in and teach them how to spar 'properly'. As a result, she had a small group of around forty Homunculi training with her every day, sometimes from sunrise to sunset as Kenshin was actually terrible at having 'nothing to do'...
During the passage of these few days, Heracles had been the complete opposite of Kenshin, to the point he could spend hours just standing atop the high castle walls, staring at nothing in particular. Illya would often join him just to talk but, apparently being a man of few words, Heracles would just respond curtly as he knew better than anyone how thunderous his own voice could be. This was not the age he had been born in, a time when the Gods still roamed the lands, so he could not be the same boisterous 'Hero' that others touted him to be. In truth, he had an overwhelming sense of guilt that he knew he would never overcome, no matter how many times he died. Illya was also aware of this, as she had experienced the memory link with Heracles twice, so she respected his solemnity and simply did her best to ease his burden slightly...
To be summoned as a Berserker, even though he was overqualified for nearly every other class, the only exception being Caster, this current Heracles had been pulled from a time in his Legend where he had just been controlled by Hera to kill his own wife and their fivechildren. He had been a part of a Theban company that had just won a hard-fought battle against the Minyans. However, during the celebratory feast following their victory, Hera had influenced his drunken mind to mistake his own family and companions as enemy soldiers.
Believing them to be assassins who intended to get revenge for their kin, Heracles had slaughtered the entire group, even choking the very life out of his most beloved Megara with his bare hands. It was this event that served as a catalyst for his Twelve Labors and, though he had never experienced them directly, Heracles still had the memories of his own exploits as a result of the Greater Grail manifesting his legend. There were some things he was so famous for that, even if he had been reverted to a younger version of himself, he would still possess those same qualities, usually as a Noble Phantasm.
With fresh memories of crushing his own wife's throat on his mind, Heracles had chosen to continue watching over Illya as a form of penance. Though he had the memories of his Twelve Labors, he was also aware that these were not feats he himself had achieved. Unless he could redeem himself once again, Heracles would never be able to absolve himself of the guilt in his heart. At the same time, he was tempted to lower his head and, if necessary, beg for Vahn to summon his wife and children into this timeline.
Though he had been unable to respond to him at the time, Heracles could vividly recall the time when Vahn had asked him if there was anyone he would want to summon into this world, himself included. If not for the fact it would be the same as 'running away', Heracles would have asked that Vahn summon him from History at a time before his madness, undoing the very event and changing the timeline. As this would be a very selfish thing to do, something even the Berserk him had been able to rationalize, Heracles decided he would be more than content just to have his family in his arms once again. Though he would have continued to dutifully protect Illya until the end of his days, Heracles believed he could fully dedicate himself in service of the Empire if Vahn was able to fulfill this wish of his...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Raid Boss is awake...!','Gotta admit, the Einzbern Castle is a pretty fucked up place...','Vahn, stop summoning waifus and get this man his family back (T ^ T)...!')
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