Roa was using a secret ritual unique to the overseers of the Holy Grail War, a technique to transfer Command Spells. This method was typically used to recover Command Spells from the dead or from those who sought the Church's protection after defeat.
Don't forget that Roa's current incarnation, Kotomine Kirei, was the son of Kotomine Risei, the overseer of the previous Holy Grail War. He had long since learned the rituals for managing Command Spells from his father, and these memories had fused with Roa's consciousness upon his awakening.
At this point, Roa was Kirei, and Kirei was Roa. The two entities had long since merged into one.
Although it was his first time performing this ritual, the procedure itself wasn't complicated. Given Roa's level of magical expertise, it only took a few minutes to complete.
The crimson Command Spells, under Roa's manipulation, were peeled off the severed limb, along with the severed contract, and reconnected with Roa's own magic circuits.
During this process, Darius III struggled continuously. However, as the Command Spells began to attach themselves to Roa, Darius's voice gradually weakened, perhaps realizing the futility of his situation.
Seeing Darius's fading strength, Roa grew even more smug.
"Why aren't you cursing anymore? There are still a hundred seconds before the contract is fully established. Are you tired?"
"Yes, I am tired," Darius III's expression of anger vanished, replaced by a relaxed smile. His body even began to fade, "So tired that my spirit core is collapsing. It's time for me to leave."
"Are you doing this on purpose—!"
Roa's smug grin instantly froze. He realized a terrible possibility.
Darius III's earlier rage had been an act, with one goal in mind—to buy time and exhaust his magical energy as quickly as possible. The Berserker class was infamous for consuming vast amounts of mana, and after the fierce battle Darius had just endured, his reserves were already nearly depleted. His violent struggles had further drained his mana, eventually leading to the collapse of his spirit core.
Because Darius was encased in the Soil of Genesis, the leaking spirit particles were absorbed by the soil and went unnoticed by Roa and the others. By the time they realized it, it was too late. Even if a new contract were established or Command Spells used, there was no saving him. Darius III had successfully freed himself from the fate of being enslaved by monsters.
"Hahaha!"
The Persian king, having successfully outwitted Roa, let out a loud, triumphant laugh. Like his old rival, Iskandar, Darius was brash on the surface but clever underneath. From the moment he had been trapped, he had been strategizing, and in the end, he had succeeded in lulling his enemies into complacency.
"That's the thing with monsters. No matter how long you live, you can never outwit humans."
As the massive, fading figure of the black giant gradually disappeared, Roa let out a strange cry, cutting off Darius's head in a fit of rage.
Even so, the berserker, now sharing the same fate as his Master, continued to laugh. Through broken words, he spoke one last time.
"Don't get too cocky... You monsters who hide in the shadows, manipulating others. Humans have never been your playthings... Even if I fall... others will rise to defeat you. It's just a shame... I couldn't meet him again..."
In his final moments, just before his existence completely vanished, Darius III finally uttered the name of the man he had pursued both in life and in death—the one to whom his Holy Grail wish was dedicated.
"The King of Macedon... Iskandar... I wish... we could fight... one last time..."
Far away, at a camp dozens of kilometers away, Iskandar was fast asleep, hugging a bottle of wine. As he slept, his face contorted strangely, and tears began to well up at the corners of his eyes as if he were mourning the passing of a worthy rival.
That night, the Persian king, Darius III, met his end in battle!
The Fifth Holy Grail War had only just begun, and already, one Servant had fallen!
"Tch, what a disappointment. These heroes from history are troublesome."
Having personally ended Darius III's life in frustration, Roa still seemed unsatisfied. He continued to swing his dagger, cutting up the remains of the body and the Soil of Genesis that clung to it.
"Be careful, or you'll get swallowed up as well," Araya warned.
Since awakening to his Origin, and merging with the concept of Stillness, there weren't many things in this world that could truly threaten Araya. Even if his physical body were destroyed repeatedly, he could constantly regenerate through the concept of stillness, though it might take some time.
However, Chaos was different. It had the power to assimilate things on a conceptual level, erasing their very existence.
"I'm not worried," Roa said dismissively.
"Besides, the core of this Chaos is something I taught Fabro."
Nrvnqsr Chaos nodded in acknowledgment.
"The Reality Marble, Lair of the Beast King."
It was because of this shared history that Nrvnqsr Chaos had become Roa's most loyal ally. Even after two hundred years, when Roa called, Nrvnqsr Chaos immediately answered.
"Still, you shouldn't have been so hasty," Nrvnqsr Chaos added.
"If I hadn't acted, you wouldn't have been able to absorb the core," Roa explained.
"Servants are summoned by the Holy Grail system. After their death, they return to the system to become part of the ritual's energy source. That's why I said only the necessary seven matters. Besides, consuming a Servant's concept-level energy could cause unpredictable changes to the chaos within you. If that happens, don't blame me if I can't deliver on my promise."
"I trust you," Nrvnqsr Chaos replied confidently, his tone full of belief in Roa's abilities.
"You're a genius of the dark arts. If it weren't for the True Ancestor Princess chasing you, you might have already become a Magician."
It was clear from Nrvnqsr Chaos's unwavering tone that he had absolute faith in Roa.
Not one to let his ally's help go unrewarded, Roa had promised to help Nrvnqsr Chaos reorganize his internal system tree, evolving the uncontrollable chaos into a law-based, fully controllable system. This was something only the original designer of Lair of the Beast King—the creator of the Reality Marble—could achieve, and it was one of the few things Nrvnqsr Chaos truly cared about.
While Nrvnqsr Chaos, as a collective consciousness, didn't fear death, the instinct to survive was still deeply ingrained in every living being.
"You think highly of me."
For once, Roa smiled in a way that wasn't purely out of malice.
"But regardless of the outcome, this will have to wait until after the Holy Grail War. Now that we've failed to claim a Servant this time, who knows how long we'll have to wait for the next opportunity?"
Nrvnqsr Chaos thought for a moment before replying, "We may not have to wait."
"What do you mean?"
"Ryougi Shiki—the woman Araya is so interested in. She was saved by two people. One of them wiped out the beast horde I sent with a single stroke. That person could very well be a Servant."
"A single stroke? That certainly sounds plausible. It's worth investigating," Roa mused, nodding thoughtfully.
"Though we should proceed carefully. A combination of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and a Servant is far more dangerous than the novice we just dealt with."
In the darkness of the night, the monsters who stood against humanity had set their sights on a new target.