Command Spells!
After the first Holy Grail War failed because the Masters and Servants all had their own conflicting agendas, Zouken Matou, the creator of the Servant system, added the Command Spells in the second war as a means for the Master to control their Servant.
Every chosen Master receives three Command Spells.
Each stroke can be used to execute one absolute order upon the Servant.
Of course, if the relationship between Master and Servant isn’t strained, the spells can also be used to temporarily boost the Servant’s abilities.
While the Command Spells granted by the Grail appear to be engraved directly onto the Master’s flesh, they are actually closely linked to Magic Circuits.
The reason the shape of the Command Spells varies from person to person is that they are influenced by the characteristics of the Master’s Magic Circuits.
The reason Rin Tohsaka’s spells look so similar to those of Tokiomi Tohsaka is because of their blood relation, as Magic Circuits are traits optimized and passed down through family lineages.
This was why Byakuya, despite knowing he wasn’t a native of the Nasuverse, never doubted that he could somehow obtain the specific aptitude of Magic Circuits.
If the Grail had already skipped the process and given him the end result—the Command Spells—then surely obtaining the Circuits themselves wouldn’t be an issue.
Based on what Morgan was implying, his hunch was correct—and perhaps even conservative.
“If you wish, Master, there is no need for human modification.
With a simple inversion, I can convert those three Command Spells into three Magic Circuits for you,” Morgan explained.
“However, once those three strokes are gone, the contract between us will become a mere formality.”
“No problem.
Let’s go with that,” Byakuya agreed immediately.
“W-Wait a minute!”
Sakura Matou raised her hand.
“If three Command Spells can give Big Brother three Magic Circuits, then if we add my three as well, wouldn’t he have six?”
“As long as there are no issues during the transfer, theoretically, yes,” Morgan nodded.
“Theoretically, that’s the case, but…
I don’t think it will work.”
Byakuya hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
Under the confused gazes of the two girls and Kama’s inscrutable scrutiny, he explained, “A few years ago, after my martial arts broke through to my current realm, my ‘intuition’ became incredibly accurate, especially regarding matters concerning myself.
“Even though our Command Spells all originate from the Holy Grail, my intuition tells me that the Magic Circuits converted from these three marks appearing directly on my hand would be different from circuits converted from external Command Spells…
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t need your three.
As far as I know, somewhere in Fuyuki, there are over a dozen Command Spells stripped from Masters who were eliminated in the previous two Holy Grail Wars.”
Sakura Matou looked toward Morgan.
“Such a possibility does indeed exist in the occult,” Morgan said after a moment of thought.
“After all, while the essence of a Command Spell is merely a high-purity crystal of Magic Power, the power granted by the Holy Grail is influenced by the Master’s own Magic Circuits once it manifests on them…
If my observations are correct, once a Command Spell is formed, its properties do not change even if the owner is transferred.”
“Then let’s go with what I suggested.
Convert these three Command Spells into three Magic Circuits for me,” Byakuya decided.
“Do you need me to prepare anything?”
“No.
Just provide me with a venue.”
***
Morgan was highly efficient.
Byakuya had summoned her that morning and informed her of his request.
Later that day, she declared she was ready to begin.
“Lie on that stone altar.
In a moment, do not use your will to resist my Magic Power as it enters your body.
Leave everything else to me.”
In the basement, Morgan pointed to a stone altar situated at the center of a ritual circle inscribed in all directions.
Seeing Byakuya walk straight toward the altar, Morgan opened her mouth several times as if to say something, but hesitated.
Finally, after Byakuya lay down as instructed, she asked curiously, “Master, are you truly not worried at all?”
“Worried about what?” Byakuya asked back.
“…”
*What else?
Obviously whether I’ll take the opportunity to do something to you during the process.*
Morgan was well aware of the “reputation” she had left behind in later generations after the Battle of Camlann.
Furthermore, Byakuya and she had barely exchanged a hundred sentences since his summoning, and that included the technical discussion regarding Magic Circuits.
To claim that such a brief interaction could establish a bedrock of absolute trust…
even that little girl, Sakura Matou, probably wouldn’t believe that.
“About that…”
Byakuya sat up on the altar and looked at Morgan.
“My intuition tells me that, currently, you harbor no malice toward me.
Moreover, even if you were to suddenly decide to try something, I have the confidence to counter you…
“By the way, why have you suddenly become so hesitant?
This doesn’t seem like the behavior of the legendary witch.”
“My apologies.
I failed to be ‘witchy’ enough to satisfy you, Master.”
Morgan was speechless.
She raised her hand and signaled him, “Let’s begin.
Don’t keep the little girl waiting outside, otherwise, her Servant…”
Though she had already been shocked the first time she saw that Assassin, just thinking about that creature made her want to let loose a few choice British curses.
*When you summon beings like that for a Holy Grail War, do you even consider how the World’s Will feels?*
Once Byakuya lay flat again, Morgan activated the array.
Using the three Command Spells on the back of his hand as a foundation, she inversely derived circuits that mirrored the nervous system within his body.
As the crimson Command Spells dimmed, the circuits manifesting within him became more vivid.
Until they broke through the critical threshold—
[You have acquired a new talent — [Magic Circuits (White)]]
It worked!
As he received the feedback from the Trait System, Byakuya felt Morgan’s Magic Power circulate through his body once under her control before it began to withdraw.
Byakuya opened his eyes and locked gazes with Morgan’s brilliant blue eyes.
“I’m starting to regret it,” Morgan remarked.
“I should have taken the opportunity to do something to you just now.”
Converting Command Spells into Magic Circuits…
Although she had guided the process from 0% to 99%, that final 1%—the evolution that turned three mediocre Magic Circuits into ones that, while similar in raw strength, possessed a near-perfect compatibility with his body—had been completed spontaneously by his own biology.
No wonder he had rejected the little girl’s offer to use her Command Spells to add more circuits.
“Then I’ll thank you for your mercy~”
Byakuya smiled, raising the hand where the three Command Spells had vanished.
Perhaps because their “origin” differed from those of normal magi, the three Magic Circuits in his body were fully formed the moment they were created, ready for immediate use.
Feeling the power swirling around his hand, converted from vitality by instinct, he let out a breath.
“So this is Magic Power?”
On the Trait System panel, a new notification flashed brightly—
[You have acquired a new ability — [Magic Power (Lv.0)]]