Whoosh!
Like a meteor piercing the long night, with [Mana Burst] from Shirou, Adam slipped into the titan's head through the gap in the tentacles before they sealed completely.
He entered its interior skull.
Adam spotted the black Grail, still radiating intense mana. Without hesitation, he reached out his palm.
"Awaken, Adam—!"
He yelled loudly as countless magic circuits converged on him from all directions.
In that moment, Adam's body faded like melting spring snow, his will dissolving into spiritrons.
Just as the Primordial Human had kicked Spartacus onto the ground, about to stomp down and crush him underfoot, its massive body suddenly froze.
"Success!" Avicebron shouted before unleashing his Noble Phantasm. "Oh my endless dream, manifest here now as reality! [Royal Crown - the Light of Wisdom]!"
With a clang, light flashed in the Primordial Human's eyes. It stopped moving and stood back up straight.
After Avicebron activated his Noble Phantasm, his own body started to fade even more quickly.
"Caster! You—" Astralfo looked at him in shock. "If you die, your Noble Phantasm will go out of control again!"
"No, that won't happen anymore. Adam is in control of it now," Avicebron said calmly.
"It can't be... you don't mean...?"
"The moment my Noble Phantasm returned to normal, I passed the Royal Crown - the Light of Wisdom to him. He is the Primordial Human now. So even if I disappear, there's no problem."
Astralfo stared blankly at Avicebron.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You seem unexpectedly...heroic?" Astralfo said after a while.
"Heroic? Don't be foolish. I'm no hero. I detest heroes the most, because those are what humans worship." Avicebron said mildly.
He turned his head to look at Adam. "I hate humans. I hate them so much. And that's why I was able to have that dream... To create the Primordial Human, Adam. He is my dream made manifest. Perhaps in trying to make him, just like that magus...I too was longing for humanity's farthest Eden..."
"Avicebron..." Astralfo looked at him solemnly.
"Astolfo...I hate you. I hate you as some heroic figure. I hate even more your irrational conduct... However, perhaps when despised by others and despising others, I had also hoped someone like you would stand by my side... So don't forget, don't forget that foolishness of yours..."
Avicebron's body dissipated like mist.
Astolfo was silent for a moment before smiling. "Ah, I will not forget. Because this is who I am - a fool in the eyes of others..."
...
I...
Did not disappear!
Adam could clearly sense his own state. He had not vanished. Instead, he had fused with the titan, truly becoming the Primordial Human - Adam!
The Black Grail, still radiating mana, caused the connection point to fluctuate, briefly sending Adam's consciousness into the rift of that dimension.
He could see. He saw.
The pitch black chaos, the countless worms, and the lone man waging a lonely battle.
That figure, that muddy figure scattering mud about, and those brilliant eyes still shining like fire within the dimensional rift.
Without a doubt, it's...
Mr. Assassin!
"Now, I finally walk the same path as you, Mr. Assassin...!"
Spiderweb cracks appeared on the Grail. Adam's consciousness fused completely with the titan's, gaining control.
No - more accurately, it had returned under his control.
Yes, that's right. A body without a brain cannot move. Similarly, a brain without a body is frail and pathetic.
And now, body and brain had reunited as one.
Therefore, the true Adam had awakened!
Standing tall upon the land, Adam raised his head and let out a piercing cry.
The sound quaked the sky and trembled the earth.
With his seven hundred meter frame, he towered like a mountain range!
Crack crack crack crack crack—!!!
Vlad's stake finally fully shattered apart. Shudde M'ell regained its freedom.
And right after regaining movement, before it could get its bearings, Adam charged swiftly, crashing bodily into it!
With a loud "boom", the seven hundred meter Shudde M'ell was smashed straight into the ground by Adam's charge. The earth shook from the impact.
Seizing the opportunity, Adam sat on Shudde M'ell's body and raised his fist, comparable to a small hill in size. Like a meteor, it smashed down heavily.
Boom!
The earth quaked!
"The Primordial Human has begun moving. Did Caster succeed?" Saber's brows rose as she spoke.
"No." Astolfo descended from the skies, landing beside the rest. "That is Adam. He is acting of his own will!" he said solemnly.
Hearing that, everyone stared in surprise at Adam attacking Shudde M'ell.
Just then, Saber noticed Avicebron's absence and glanced at Astolfo. "Where is Caster?"
"He has...departed," Astolfo said. "As he faded, he gave his completed Noble Phantasm to Adam. So Adam maintained his sense of self."
"I see..."
Everyone fell silent.
To be honest, their impression of Avicebron was rather poor.
But at this crucial moment, giving his Noble Phantasm to preserve Adam's consciousness was truly unexpected.
That was not something the misanthropic, human-hating magus would have done.
Yet he did.
And at this moment—
Boom! Another deafening crash rocked the earth, feeling like an earthquake. Everyone struggled to keep their footing steady. Even the over thirty meter Spartacus was unsteady.
They turned to look, and their hearts sank.
Shudde M'ell, whom Adam had struck first, had shaken him off. Now it had Adam pinned down, suppressing him completely.
"Not good," Mordred assessed the situation and said. "That Adam guy is just like Kiara - a newbie who has no idea how to use his strength!"
"Mm..." Kiara shrank her head bashfully.
Like a wise old granny, Mash patted her shoulder comfortingly.
Spartacus' face darkened. "He needs a weapon!"
"But where can we find a suitable weapon for him here?" Gray frowned worriedly. "His body...is at least seven hundred meters long!"
"There is one!" Spartacus stated firmly. "Only one person here can provide that weapon. And he's already noticed."
"Who is it?" asked Gray.
"You're referring to the Black Faction's Lancer, right?" Mordred said. "And looks like he's already noticed."
Mordred pointed at some nearby wooden stakes. Everyone followed her gaze, staring in bewilderment.
The countless stakes piercing the earth and forming a literal forest of spikes started violently shaking.
Buzz buzz buzz!
"Wha—what's going on here?" Gray gaped in disbelief.
"It's him," Spartacus said grimly. "Wallachia's oppressor—Vlad the Third!"
Vlad had transformed into his most hated incarnation—Dracula. After activating his forbidden Noble Phantasm, The Succession of Blood, Vlad took on the vampiric powers of his legendary namesake.
As Dracula, Vlad gained immense physical abilities, shapeshifting magecraft, healing skills, mystic eyes of enchantment and more in exchange for weaknesses to sunlight and holy artifacts.
And at the same time, an insatiable thirst for blood awoke within him—a bestial desire that threatened to overwhelm his rational mind.
Using Command Spells to cling to sanity, Vlad fused his two taboo abilities, [The Lord of Execution] and [The Succession of Blood]. He transformed into the impaling forest that impaled and restrained the massive behemoths. He even managed to pierce most of the writhing worms, releasing some of his vampiric mists to hunt down the few that escaped the impaling forest.
But Vlad could endure no longer. His forest of stakes shattered, freeing the colossal monsters.
Fortunately, Adam had transformed into a giant by then.
As Dracula, Vlad was slowly losing his reason with each passing moment, despite the Command Spells preserving part of his mind.
But using the fragmented consciousness preserved by those Command Spells, he still instantly assessed Adam's current state with a glance.
A fledgling.
Just like his past self that had never once taken up arms.
In that sort of state, Adam had no clue how to use the advantages of his form, and was completely ignorant about battle. His downfall was only a matter of time.
But how could Vlad let him fall?
If Adam lost, what would become of his Wallachia?
Unacceptable.
Adam could not fail!
Recalling the past, how he was feared as a monster... Feared by his enemies, feared by the nobles, feared by the commoners, feared by his allies, feared even now by future generations...
Thus was he damned as Dracula...
He used to resent that reputation, but now Vlad faced it and accepted it.
For with it came power...the power to protect his people!
Dracula, Dracula...
Wasn't it the highest praise that his achievements inspired such dread?
Yes.
That's right.
"I am Dracula—!"
Buzz buzz buzz—!
In that moment, countless wooden stakes piercing the earth took flight towards the sky like shooting swords.
They blanketed the sky like pouring rain.
...
Get the latest chapters up to Chapter 1290 on my Patreon: patreon.com/bcloud