Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

Tohsaka Rin: "Legend of Dracula? What kind of Noble Phantasm is this? And why does Vlad III reject it so much?"

Chihiro: "What name are you most familiar with when it comes to Vlad III?"

Tohsaka Rin: "The most familiar name? I think it's..."

Waver: "I understand now."

Waver: "Vampire. Dracula."

Tohsaka Rin: "Yes, the vampire Dracula!"

Tohsaka Rin: "So, the effect of this Noble Phantasm is—"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "To become the legendary vampire, Count Dracula."

Iskandar: "A vampire? I didn't expect the Lancer of the Black had such a legend tied to him."

Tohsaka Rin: "But Dracula is so famous, isn't he? Shouldn't that make him really powerful? Then why does Vlad III hate it so much?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Because it's a slander and humiliation to Vlad III."

Chihiro: "The so-called Count Dracula wasn't a title the Grand Duke had during his lifetime. It was something forced onto him later."

Waver: "The name Dracula first appeared in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula in the 19th century. In the story, Dracula is a vampire, and the character was inspired by Vlad III. He later became the most iconic representation of vampires."

Waver: "But in reality, Vlad III was a devout Catholic."

Kayneth: "A devout believer being inexplicably labeled as a vampire would naturally feel extreme disgust and rejection toward this power."

Tohsaka Rin: "I see."

---

["I am absolutely not a vampire... I am not, I am not!!!"]

[The Grand Duke roared with hatred and despair as he continued his final resistance, but his body moved uncontrollably.]

["No, you are a vampire."]

[Darnic said coldly, "Vampire Dracula. A pathetic monster burdened with this stigma through creation. I command you with the second Command Seal—'Survive until the Greater Holy Grail is obtained!'"]

["DARNIC!!!"]

[The Grand Duke, summoning the last remnants of his rationality, regained control of his body for a brief moment. With a roar, he lunged toward Darnic.]

[Darnic smiled faintly and welcomed the blow without resistance.]

["Ha, ha, hahaha..."]

[His chest was pierced, blood splattered everywhere, and Darnic fell, yet his laughter grew louder and more deranged.]

["How rude, my Servant! As an apology, please suck my blood!"]

["You are indeed a vampire, the king who rules the dark night! You have no need for wishes. Just leave behind my dreams, my desires, and my existence!"]

["I command you with the third Command Seal—'Engrave my existence upon your soul, Lancer!'"]

["What?!" ]

[Not only the Grand Duke, but everyone who witnessed the scene was stunned.]

[Servants could devour human souls to convert them into magical energy. It was their privilege as Heroic Spirits. All humans could do was transfer them into containers for observation.]

[However, Darnic was an exception.]

[He had developed a forbidden magic, one that allowed him to devour others' souls and convert them into sustenance.]

[This magic was purely evil. To extend his own life, he would not hesitate to commit atrocities like crushing a baby's skull.]

[At the same time, the magic was extremely dangerous. Even the smallest mistake could result in death.]

[Over the past sixty years, Darnic had only performed this ritual three times, each under the most ideal conditions he could create.]

[Even so, the compatibility rate between his body and the devoured souls was less than 60%.]

[It was clear that even if he succeeded in performing the ritual again, he would become someone else, another person entirely, merely carrying the name "Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia." Even if he retained his memories, he would no longer be himself.]

[In other words, attempting to devour a Servant's soul without the proper ritual was nothing short of suicide, a guaranteed path to having his soul torn apart.]

"..."

Seeing this, the Black faction fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone could feel the stronger and more terrifying murderous intent now gathering in the Grand Duke.

"Haha! Darnic!"

Vlad III was so angry that he laughed, and with a wave of his hand, he unleashed his Noble Phantasm directly at Darnic.

"Careful!"

Fionn hurriedly grabbed Darnic and dodged to the side, his face full of helplessness.

He thought to himself, I haven't seen this guy Darnic in so many years, and now he's turned into someone like this? Coming up with such an insane idea as engraving a soul…

Under Gordes' and the others' orders, Siegfried, Astolfo, and the others quickly stepped forward to restrain Vlad III.

The entire Black faction descended into chaos, leaving them no time to focus on the video or answer any questions.

Waver: "Darnic really knows how to cause trouble."

Kayneth: "Haha, Vlad III must be furious right now."

Tohsaka Rin: "The Black faction suddenly went completely silent. They must be in total chaos."

Achilles: "This development is completely unexpected."

Semiramis: "And the way he's doing this is incredibly bold."

Kotomine Shirou: "It looks like Black has nothing left to rely on."

"This is ridiculous!"

[Atalanta, who had been observing the battle from a distance, spoke in a low voice: "Darnic… no, you are neither Darnic nor Vlad III anymore."]

["That's correct, Archer."]

[The 'Grand Duke'—no, the entity that resembled Darnic while wearing the appearance of the Grand Duke—spoke, its voice a mixture of both Vlad III's and Darnic's.]

["Even if I used the third Command Seal to forcefully refine the soul of the Heroic Spirit known as Vlad III into its most manageable state, it would still be impossible to fully control him, let alone devour him."]

["But I can engrave myself into him. I will carve my obsession from the past hundred years and my desire for the Holy Grail into his very being!"]

["I am no longer Darnic, nor am I Vlad III. I am simply a monster seeking the Holy Grail. That is enough for me."]

[When summoning Heroic Spirits, even with the use of Holy Relics, it is possible to summon spirits with qualities that reflect the summoner's own.]

[For both Darnic and Vlad III, their shared obsession with cleansing their names and removing the stigma attached to them created a spiritual similarity between them.]

[Using this connection and the power of the Command Seals, it was not impossible to engrave an inherent existence like 'Darnic' into the soul of a Heroic Spirit.]

[This magician's persistence, in this case, was slightly greater than that of the Heroic Spirit he had summoned.]

["Stop! Stop, stop, stop! I said stop right now!"]

[The Grand Duke screamed desperately, his voice full of hatred and resentment: "I am the King of Wallachia, the son of Vlad II! Do not defile me!!!"]

[But it was too late. The process had already begun. Darnic was parasitizing on Vlad III's soul in a vicious way, akin to cancer cells invading a body.]

["Well, now you are me, and I am you, King! No… vampire!"]

["Damn it…"]

Kotomine Shirou: "Hmm? It actually worked!"

Waver: "In a twisted sense, Darnic really is a genius."

Kayneth: "What is this? It's like some kind of bizarre chimera."

Darnic's intention was to become a Pseudo-Servant, but his actions had instead turned him into a deranged monster.

["Puff!"]

[Though momentarily shocked by Darnic's bold move, Karna quickly reacted, seizing the opportunity to strike. His spear pierced directly into the Grand Duke's heart, where his spiritual core was located.]

[However, the 'Grand Duke' showed no reaction. He didn't even turn to look at Karna.]

[From the wound, an ominous, shadow-like substance began to flow out.]

[Karna: "It felt right, but… it's useless in this state."]

[Atalanta: "Lancer, even your spear didn't work?"]

["If he were still the same as before, this attack would have shattered his soul core and destroyed him."]

[Karna said solemnly: "But the being before us is no longer Black Lancer, Vlad III. It is the creature known across the world, a vampire."]

[The bats that had scattered reformed into the shape of the Grand Duke, though his appearance had undergone a drastic change.]

[The once elegant black noble attire he wore was now in tatters. What lay beneath was no longer flesh, but a shadowy substance that oozed and writhed unnaturally.]

[His cold eyes had lost all traces of the wisdom they once held, replaced by an eerie, mindless gaze.]

[The spear that had been the Grand Duke's signature weapon disintegrated into ash, as if signaling the end of Lancer Vlad III.]

[Karna: "What stands before us now is nothing but a total monster."]

[The creature now was neither Darnic nor Vlad III but a monstrous entity born of Darnic's obsession and Vlad III's power, a being named Dracula.]

Tohsaka Rin: "Even though he's become a monster, his strength has clearly increased. Maybe he really could take the Holy Grail back now."

Jeanne: "No. A creature like this should not exist in the world. It must be eliminated immediately."

Waver: "So, in the end, Darnic's efforts may have only made things worse and put him in an even more disadvantageous position."

***

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