She felt the piercing pain of her deflowering, and two lines of clear tears couldn't help but stream down her face.
For a fragile homunculus like her, Haruka Kasugano's "presence" was simply too overwhelming. She felt as if her very life were being snatched away.
Haruka Kasugano lay flat on the ground, letting Toole sit up. He grabbed both of her hands, stacking them atop her thighs, and then applied force from below.
"Ahhh..." Toole's pain quickly transformed into pleasure, and a look of joy bloomed across her normally cold, aloof face. Just like that, the two became one.
"Toole, be my homunculus from now on. Fight for me, be consumed for me," Haruka Kasugano said.
"Ah~! Yes! From now on, I only live for you, with this brief homunculus life of mine!" Toole swore her vow.
[Ding~! Congratulations to the Host for successfully bluffing Toole. Reward obtained—]
[Modifying her homunculus body mechanisms to grant her a normal lifespan.]
Though they were both based on Einzbern technology, the homunculi created by Gordes were far different from the likes of Irisviel—they were defective goods with incredibly short lifespans. Especially a combat model like Toole; her natural lifespan was only three months.
[Ding~! Reward converted: Modifying Toole's parameters. The intentionally over-strengthened Magic Circuits in her body have been removed, making her almost identical to a normal human!]
-------------
"Ah~!" Toole reached the peak of ecstasy, laughing freely.
Homunculi generally lack emotion, so most are "poker-faced." Toole was no exception, but the intense pleasure deep within her body forced a completely different expression onto her face.
Toole was quite tall, around 165cm, giving her long, elegant legs.
"Ah~! This feeling... is this something a homunculus like me is allowed to feel?" Toole smiled.
"This is the feeling of freedom!" Haruka Kasugano bluffed.
"Freedom... it's wonderful~!" Toole muttered.
Afterward, Haruka Kasugano held her close as they slowly walked back toward the Black Faction's castle.
"Eh... why have the Magic Circuits in my body weakened? Didn't you say you were going to strengthen me?" Toole furrowed her brow, looking at Haruka Kasugano beside her.
"I did strengthen you. Your lifespan is now similar to a human's. You can serve me for decades now!" Haruka Kasugano laughed.
"How is that possible... No... my body..." Toole couldn't be 100% sure if she had become a normal human, but she was certain of one thing: she had much more than three months left to live.
"So the strengthening you mentioned... was about length, not intensity..."
"Hmm? That sounds a bit dirty coming from you!" Haruka Kasugano couldn't help but laugh.
"Eh?" Toole was left utterly confused.
--------
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
Haruka Kasugano arrived at the homunculus cultivation vat hall. There were thousands of vats here containing thousands of homunculi. Their sole purpose was to act as "power banks," using their Magic Circuits to provide infinite mana to the Black Faction Masters. Sieg was originally one of them.
Haruka Kasugano began smashing the vats, pretending to "rescue" them. There were both males and females; the females were rescued naked by Haruka Kasugano, providing quite a scenic view.
Watching woman after woman being pulled out, Toole asked, "Are you going to do that 'happy thing' with all of them too?"
"No... you are special," Haruka Kasugano smiled sheepishly. With this many, even he couldn't handle it...
"I don't understand," Toole said blankly.
At that moment, Haruka Kasugano's actions finally attracted the other main character.
"What are you guys doing?" Althea walked over, tilting her head in confusion.
"We are being free," Toole said bluntly.
"Free... what is that?" Althea put her hands on her hips, looking puzzled. Unlike Toole, she wasn't a combat model but a magecraft-specialized model. Consequently, she wasn't very tall—just a bit over 150cm. However, her cute face and twin-tail hairstyle were very striking.
"Do you want to try freedom?" Toole asked.
"Can I?" Althea asked curiously.
Toole turned and asked, "Is she special? Can she try freedom?"
"Uh... she is indeed 'free'..." Haruka Kasugano felt helpless at their dialogue. Althea was a magecraft-type with a lifespan of about three years. In the original story, she follows Caules to the Clock Tower to study and do housework.
"Then keep opening the vats here. Althea and I are going to go 'try freedom' for a bit." With that, Haruka Kasugano picked up Althea and walked into a side room to be free.
Ah!
Ahhh...
Since Althea wasn't a combat model, her constitution was much weaker than Toole's. The pain almost made her lose her soul. She was petite and slender; watching her experience the pain of her deflowering like a little doll was quite a sight.
Haruka Kasugano held her petite frame, even grabbing her tiny tender feet and putting them in his mouth while letting her experience "freedom."
"Freedom... it hurts..." Althea cried out.
"Freedom..."
"Freedom is so joyful~!"
Like Toole, Althea quickly felt the joy of freedom. With Althea on all fours, Haruka Kasugano grabbed her twin-tails from behind.
"Ah~!" Althea completed her coming-of-age ceremony.
[Ding~! Host successfully bluffed Althea. Reward converted: Weakening her Magic Circuits and increasing her lifespan!]
Haruka Kasugano walked out, holding Althea.
"Has she... also obtained a human lifespan?" Toole asked.
"Yes. Like you, she will serve me for a lifetime," Haruka Kasugano smiled.
"Mhm. I am a combat type, and she is a magecraft type. We can serve you in many different ways," Toole said expressionlessly.
Helpless, Haruka Kasugano continued breaking the vats. Soon, Gordes noticed the situation and ran over to condemn them.
"What are you doing? Stop this at once!" Gordes shouted. Fiore and Caules followed quickly behind.
"These homunculi provide mana to the Servants! Why are you releasing them without permission?" Gordes roared.
Toole stood before Gordes with her axe, mimicking Haruka Kasugano's earlier words. "No one wants to die, and no one wants to let others die," she said flatly.
"Don't be ridiculous! Who do you think you are? You are all things I created! You aren't allowed to have self-awareness!" Gordes barked.
"Perhaps, but we aren't heartless enough to watch others die," Toole countered emotionlessly.
Haruka Kasugano and Althea walked over. Fiore froze when she saw it was him, but knowing he didn't want to be exposed yet, she said to Gordes, "Uncle, calm down."
"Calm down? They're revolting!" Gordes fumed.
At that moment, Astolfo ran in, shouting, "Hehe! I felt it! Haruka Kasugano, you've become my Master~!"
"From now on, I'm backing him up!"
Astolfo's arrival settled the matter. It gave the homunculi the "backing" they needed to negotiate. Gordes and Caules were instantly deflated.
"Honestly... always doing things we can't do..." Although Toole remained expressionless, her internal admiration for Haruka Kasugano skyrocketed.
[Ding~! Toole's 'Affection' level +50%!]
[Ding~! Althea's 'Affection' level +50%!]
[Considering these homunculi have low initial ratings, rewards are being banked for the Host.]
Fiore played along with Haruka Kasugano's act, using the opportunity to de-escalate. "Fine, you are all free from now on. However, out of gratitude for us creating you, you may choose to work for us freely. Of course, we won't mistreat you in the future."
Toole and Althea were overjoyed. Suddenly, Fiore received a telepathic message from Chiron.
"What? Caster has betrayed us?" Fiore said, shocked.
During the time Haruka Kasugano was wrestling with Celeike and conquering the homunculi, the battle at the Hanging Gardens involving Jeanne, Chiron, Frankenstein, and Mordred had ended. During the chaos, Darnic merged with Vlad III to become Dracula, only to be instantly killed by Shirou Kotomine.
Afterward, Jeanne met Shirou and realized he was the "anomaly" of this war—the reason she was summoned. Because Avicebron defected under Shirou's persuasion, the Black Faction forces were routed. After Mordred fired a Noble Phantasm at Semiramis, everyone fled. Mordred dematerialized, while Jeanne, Chiron, and Frankenstein retreated on foot.
"Master, Caster might be moving against Master Roche!" Chiron's voice rang out in her head.
"What? Roche? Where is he?" Fiore cried out.
Haruka Kasugano patted her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, he's fine. I've already made arrangements."
------
Elsewhere.
Having just defected, Avicebron dematerialized and returned to Roche's side. Using the excuse of needing Roche to bring a homunculus embryo to the lakeside, he lured him there to act as the core for Golem Keter Malkuth.
While waiting for Roche, he stared at the "Adam" beneath the lake. "This world is so ugly; a paradise must be created, and Adam is the existence for that..."
Previously, he couldn't move against his Master because of the Command Spells, but now, having joined Shirou Kotomine, he was no longer bound. He could boldly turn Roche into the core. It was cruel, but for the sake of crafting Adam, everything was worth it. Even if... he might regret it later.
Tap, tap, tap... Footsteps approached.
Ah, my core is here. Avicebron turned around with a sense of grim satisfaction.
In the next second, he froze.
Because the person walking toward him wasn't Roche.