Avalon withdrew, succeeded by the Third Magic.
Spiritual particles manifested, reconstructing magical energy.
Amidst a radiant white-gold glow, the homunculus's body levitated. Unseen by all, its shattered heart briefly transformed into spiritual particles, was restored, then returned to physical form.
Thump, thump.
The homunculi of Yggdmillennia borrowed heavily from the Einzbern's techniques—one of the three founding families of the Holy Grail War. Thus, for Sakatsuki, who had inherited the complete knowledge of the Einzberns in another world, modifying a homunculus was child's play.
The miracle of life was born from magecraft. Blood infused with dense vitality surged forth, coursing through the homunculus's limbs and organs, reconstructing its deficient flesh and repairing its crudely made organs.
A faint moan escaped its lips—soft, yet enough to draw relieved smiles from the heroes. Astolfo, satisfied, nudged Saber Siegfried with an elbow and whispered:
"Hey, Saber, is this really okay? You're betraying your Master, you know?"
Saving the homunculus. Saving Astolfo. Saving Siegfried.
Presented with these three irresistible temptations, Sakatsuki had proposed a deal: "Then let's trade for Saber—have him join my ranks." And Siegfried had agreed without much hesitation.
After all, while Sakatsuki had framed it as a choice, there was only one correct answer.
Agree, and Siegfried would defect from the Black Faction, but Rider, the homunculus, and even he himself would survive.
Refuse, and Siegfried would entrust his heart to the homunculus and perish; Astolfo would vanish after losing his Master or be sent back to the Throne of Heroes by Sakatsuki himself.
The moment Siegfried uttered "I agree," he keenly sensed something shift.
"...It's fine, Rider. This is the best outcome."
Siegfried nodded calmly at Astolfo's concern, then turned to Sakatsuki, who was grinning, his gaze flickering.
His allegiance had been altered. As Sakatsuki had said, he no longer belonged to the Red or Black Faction.
Yet Sakatsuki had deceived him—the so-called "Sakatsuki" was also a participant in the Holy Grail War, a hidden third contender vying for the Grail.
"The Blue Faction..."
Beneath her black cloak, Artoria glanced at the pensive Siegfried, then at Sakatsuki's smug expression, and pursed her lips.
Lord Sakatsuki was always like this—his offers were impossible to refuse, yet he made it seem like there was a choice.
How cunning.
As Sakatsuki presided over the ritual, channeling the Third Magic through the homunculus's body, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation.
"Well... I never expected this. So in this world, Sieg isn't a 'he' but a 'she'?"
Though Yggdmillennia's homunculi were mass-produced, the dolls still came in male and female forms.
Sakatsuki naturally assumed Sieg was the male homunculus from the original work. However, while administering Third Magic treatment, he discovered the subtle peculiarities of this body. After all, prior to this, Sakatsuki had only known of the homunculus's existence through Reika's descriptions without ever seeing one in person.
Yet such a trivial change was quickly dismissed. In the grand and brutal Holy Grail War, the gender of a homunculus was utterly insignificant.
As long as it was usable, efficient, and fit to be a pawn—for Sakatsuki, even if the homunculus bore Illya's face, he, as the mastermind behind the scenes, could accept it with indifference.
The only question was whether Jeanne d'Arc would still fall for the feminized Sieg as she had in the original story.
With a hint of mischievous amusement, the young man pondered this as the homunculus's treatment finally reached its conclusion.
————
"A blue that flows with iridescence... So this is the most deeply concealed existence of this war."
Avicebron toyed with the heart in his hand before tucking it into his robe.
[Join us, and you shall obtain this precious magical core.]
Though his heart wavered, as a Caster, he could not stop the irreversible change.
Faction: Black → Faction: Blue.
Despite now belonging to the Blue faction, Avicebron could still sense that his faction information remained veiled. Unless he actively revealed it, anyone who checked would see him as a Black Servant.
"...Interesting."
After offering this ambiguous remark, the 'Black' Caster buried himself once more in his golemcraft.
Though he yearned to create the Primordial Man, Adam, now was clearly not the time.
As a Caster, Avicebron knew that defying the Black faction's will would mean tearing off his disguise—exposing his betrayal and ensuring the newborn 'Adam' would be mercilessly slain by the Black faction.
Thus, until the opportune moment arrived, he would bide his time and wait with hope.
"Teacher... Teacher—"
His Master's excited shouts grew louder as they approached. Avicebron glanced at the energetic blond boy before withdrawing his gaze.
Besides, the companionship of his Master wasn't entirely unpleasant.
————
Having left the Caster's workshop, Reika reviewed the entire process. Confirming there were no issues, she strode toward the throne room.
Now, it was time to report to Darnic about Celenike's death.
Upon arriving at the throne room, before she could speak, Darnic cut her off, unable to conceal his agitation:
"Set aside everything else for now, Reika Rikudou. Can you contact your Servant?"
Pausing, Darnic's expression darkened further. "Gordes has lost contact with us. After dragging on for so long without capturing Rider, it's likely something has gone wrong."
Before this, Darnic could never have imagined that dispatching Saber and Assassin—whose combat prowess was no less formidable—would still lead to such difficulties. If the Red faction lacked the resolve for mutual destruction and refrained from launching a Servant ambush, who in this world could possibly stop these powerful familiars?
Yet the mere thought that Gordes was also part of the pursuit team...
"Oh, then it's nothing to worry about."
What kind of tricks could that fat man possibly pull off? Darnic didn't even dare to imagine.
Surely he couldn't have lost Saber, could he?
With such worries in mind, Darnic stood by the throne, watching as Reika performed magecraft to activate the seven-branched candlestick.
The scene visible through the eyes of Black Assassin, Artoria, immediately appeared in midair within the throne room.
And what met their gaze was a thrusting spear and a burning sword!
"This is—!"
Darnic's pupils constricted. Even though he wasn't physically present, he felt the suffocating tension as if he were there.
Because between the spear and sword attacks, a shadowy figure darted through. Accompanied by the crisp sound of magical bullets being loaded, the black-robed young man grinned ferociously and pulled the trigger, aiming at Gordes who lay unconscious on the ground!
Bang!
————
"We need to put on a show."
After dealing with the homunculus issue, Sakatsuki said this to the Servants.
"A show?" Astolfo asked, puzzled. "Why?"
"Because to solve your problem, you need a Master." Sakatsuki pointed at Astolfo's increasingly translucent hand. "Your current situation is due to losing your Master—the severing of the causality line has cut off your mana supply."
"Ah, I see! That's why I suddenly couldn't sense my Master's connection anymore!"
The airheaded Astolfo slapped his forehead, belatedly realizing his connection with Celenike had been severed. "Strange, what could have happened to my Master inside the Fortress of Millennia? Wait, could it be... she finally came to her senses and decided to let me go?"
She was just killed in retaliation... Sakatsuki raised his hand, cutting off Astolfo's rambling, and continued, "There are two ways for you to survive. First, attack humans and replenish yourself by consuming their life force or even their souls."
"Absolutely not! I would never do that, never!"
Astolfo immediately objected the moment Sakatsuki finished speaking. As one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins, he would rather die than resort to such demonic methods.
"Then there's only one option left." Sakatsuki unsurprisingly raised a second finger. "Find a new Master and form a contract with them."
"But the problem is, where can I find a magi with Master qualifications at this point?" Astolfo muttered. "Even though I have B-rank Independent Action, can I really find a suitable Master within two days?"
"No need to go through all that trouble." Sakatsuki pointed at the still-unconscious homunculus.
"Look, isn't this a ready-made Master right here?"
Hearing this, Astolfo froze. "He is technically a magi, and I wouldn't mind becoming his Servant... but he's not a Master, is he?"
"Well~" Sakatsuki raised an eyebrow mysteriously. "This mountain man has his own clever plans."
***
[Note: Regarding Sieg's gender change, though it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, fortunately, there weren't many descriptions involving his gender in the earlier text. It can be adjusted—after all, Sieg and Astolfo make a better pair this way~
Also, no need to mention the appearance issue. The initial homunculus of the Yggdmillennia had an androgynous appearance. Even in the anime, Sieg's body and features only became mature and masculine after receiving Siegfried's heart transplant.]