A heart withered for four hundred years suddenly pulsed with life once more.
He felt an inexhaustible drive, a determination to fulfill this mission at all costs.
Having made up his mind, Uemon Ji used the wealth he had accumulated over four centuries to acquire the Einzbern's homunculus technology from the Mage's Association. Returning to his territory, he devoted himself entirely to the experiment of recreating Amakusa Shirou's ability in the form of Mystic Eyes.
If this experiment succeeded, he would be worthy of Lord Amakusa, who had allowed him to live. He could even face his father and mother in hell with a smile!
...No, his parents would never go to hell. They were good people who had never harmed anyone in their lives—unlike him, whose hands were stained with the blood of countless lives. When he died, hell would be his only destination.
Though it pained him, he hoped he would not reunite with his parents there.
Driven by fanatical zeal, Uemon threw himself into the experiment.
But alas, fate was unkind.
The experiment was far more difficult than he had imagined—almost like a pipe dream.
No matter how many homunculi he created, no matter if he used living humans or even infants as materials, the experiment made no progress whatsoever.
Amakusa Shirou's unique Magic Circuits simply could not be artificially replicated.
By this point, Uemon had long understood that Amakusa's miracles were not due to him being a saint or a Child of God, but because he was born with extraordinarily special Magic Circuits. His Circuits were in a constant state of flux, allowing him to interface with any magical foundation. And since the world itself was filled with countless natural magical foundations, even his simplest gestures could invoke the magecraft inscribed in the very fabric of reality—whether it was healing wounds or walking on water.
Yet no matter what he tried, Uemon could not reproduce these ever-shifting Magic Circuits, let alone adapt them into Mystic Eyes.
Just as he was beginning to lose control of his emotions, a homunculus was born.
This homunculus, which had prematurely awakened in his workshop, was immediately placed under his protection.
Uemon knew that among the homunculi produced by the Einzberns, there were occasionally special individuals with extraordinary qualities.
After conducting experiments on this one, Uemon arrived at an ecstatic conclusion.
This homunculus possessed a terrifyingly potent "adaptive" trait! Its Magic Circuits could even change in response to the adjustments made during the experiment!
Uemon treated it like a priceless treasure.
He gouged out the homunculus's eyes and placed them in the laboratory.
After a full year of experimentation, he finally succeeded—step by painstaking step—in adjusting the Magic Circuits within the Mystic Eyes, transforming them into an unprecedented form that replicated Amakusa Shirou's ability!
The experiment's progress was smoother than he could have ever imagined.
So smooth that he even wondered if the Root itself was aiding him in fulfilling his wish.
Of course, that was nothing more than an idle, fanciful thought.
If he had truly been favored by the Root, he would never have experienced such despair. He would have lived a peaceful life with his parents in the village of his childhood.
He had intended to transplant the Mystic Eyes into himself, but further testing revealed that they could only function with their original owner—there was no way to make them his own.
Left with no choice, he returned the eyes to the homunculus.
Before long, the homunculus opened its eyes again.
The first thing it asked caught Uemon completely off guard.
"Where's Jeanne?"
So indifferent.
So naive and childish.
Uemon brushed off the question.
Then, he began teaching it magecraft.
Since the Mystic Eyes could only be used by this homunculus, the only option was to strengthen it and send it to Fuyuki City, where it could use the eyes to alter the Greater Grail's mechanisms—thereby saving the world and restoring it to its original state.
Uemon held nothing back. He imparted all the knowledge and experience he had accumulated over four centuries.
Such a thing was unthinkable in the world of magecraft.
Unless one was the heir designated to inherit a family's Magic Crest and destined to become its head, such treatment was unheard of.
And yet, this was merely a homunculus—a disposable tool. Countless others had already died in the discard pits. It should have been grateful for this privilege.
He even ordered the other magi, humans, and homunculi on the mountain to treat it as a "Saint" or "Child of God," demanding they bow and kneel before it.
This was nothing more than Uemon's way of memorializing Amakusa Shirou, a means to reminisce about the past.
And then—
The third despair arrived.
One day, the homunculus betrayed him.
It had never been hypnotized at all. Worse, it had unknowingly learned to use the Mystic Eyes, manipulating the mountain's barriers to burn everyone alive.
"Traitor! You damned traitor!"
Uemon roared in fury.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The homunculus laughed madly.
Once again, Uemon escaped by faking his death.
But the mission he had finally found, everything he had worked for and achieved—all of it was reduced to ashes in that fire.
Again, fire.
Again, fire!
Again, fire!!!
He had thought he had found the meaning of his survival, only to lose it at the very last moment.
Three despairs.
Each time, he lost everything.
Even a single one would have been enough to break a person beyond recovery—let alone three.
Uemon left the mountain behind.
Having lost all purpose, he wandered aimlessly for three more years.
Just as he had for centuries, he lived without direction, without vitality.
But this time was different.
This time, he abandoned even thought itself.
Every day, he moved numbly, ate numbly, slept numbly—merely existing for survival's sake. The drive that had once propelled him was gone. He lived not because he wanted to, but simply because he was still alive.
Then, one day, news of the impending Fifth Holy Grail War reached his ears.
Uemon stood alone in the snow, silent for days.
Finally, he turned and set out for Fuyuki City.
He had nothing left.
And yet, he still remembered the sense of mission that had once reignited his passion, the fervor that had filled his heart for the first time in centuries.
Even without the Mystic Eyes, without his workshop, disciples, or descendants—he still had something to do.
—Save this world.
He would participate in the Holy Grail War.
It was nothing much.
Just a slight change in objectives compared to before.
If he could not return the world to how it was ten years ago, then at the very least, he would not allow it to grow worse than it already was.
—If he could not use the Greater Grail, then he would destroy it.
That was his wish for this Holy Grail War.
***
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