CHAPTER 3.5 - CONTINGENCY

Deep inside the now-damaged castle of the Einzbern, a long-haired old man sat amidst a multitude of large tubes filled with glowing green liquid and what appeared to be human figures. The room was scattered with bottles of reagents and shelves lined with books and scrolls.

Humming to himself, the old man's eyes gleamed with animosity. He was Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the head of the Einzbern family.

This room was their magecraft workshop, a place where the works and crafts of the Einzbern were kept. Not many knew this, but Jubstacheit rarely left this room. If something required his attention, he would send a homunculus body double controlled from here. It was the most efficient way to handle matters without abandoning his experiments.

Emiya Kiritsugu had managed to destroy one of his body doubles, causing the recoil to almost reach his real body. Fortunately, Jubstacheit had managed to sever the connection before any harm could be done to his real body. He was far from amused by this.

Aside from that, his granddaughter had also been taken away from him. His plan to transform her into a Lesser Grail and the next master of the Einzbern family had been completely ruined. The scheme to turn her own family against her had been discarded as well.

Furthermore, the corruption of the Grail threw a metaphorical wrench into his grand plan. Emiya was undoubtedly serious about this matter, and Jubstacheit had an inkling of who was behind the corruption. It was the Einzbern family's greatest regret, the Avenger-class Servant from the Third Grail War.

Angra Mainyu.

He still remembered that war as if it were yesterday. In his honest opinion, it was the war with the most problems by far. The Edelfelt had somehow managed to split their Servant, resulting in the summoning of two versions of the same Servant. Then his own family meddled with the Grail and summoned Avenger. After that came the destruction of the original Lesser Grail.

It was a mess.

Emiya's words had some merit to them. The corruption might hinder his plan to achieve the Einzbern goal. It wasn't that he cared about the ramifications for others; rather, he was more concerned about the chance of it backfiring on him. He would keep this in mind.

He walked over to a tube in the workshop. As a magus, he was accustomed to planning things years in advance. Emiya's actions might have put his plan on hold, but they wouldn't stop it entirely.

What if someone took his granddaughter? What if she proved to be unreliable or incompatible with the ritual?

Born from these simple questions, a contingency plan had been devised years prior to the fourth war. If he didn't have his granddaughter, if she proved uncooperative or useless, the answer to all of these scenarios was simple.

He would simply create another one from scratch.

His gaze fixated on the tube that emanated an eerie green light before him. The liquid inside bubbled and shifted. At the core of the tube resided his contingency plan, designed to fulfill his granddaughter's role in the event that she couldn't.

A young girl, with her legs curled up, floated in the middle of the tube. Smaller tubes were inserted into her body to provide necessary nourishment. Glowing rune seals were embedded on her body, simulating her growth and incorporating his granddaughter's memories into her being.

He conducted a final check, ensuring there were no errors or mishaps in her parameters. Satisfied, he nodded to himself and pulled a lever down. The liquid in the tube began to slowly drain. The girl inside was supported by the many tubes attached to her body. Finally, he pulled another lever, and the girl opened her eyes.

With the hissing sound of steam, the tubes slowly detached from the girl's body. She gracefully landed on her feet, her naked form resembling that of any other newborn homunculus.

Her skin had a darker shade, her long hair was white with a reddish hue, and her eyes were a faded gold color. She looked up at him.

"Grandfather?" she spoke, questioning.

He nodded, pleased with the outcome. A high-spec homunculus, cloned from his granddaughter, with enhanced physical and magical abilities.

"From now on, your name will be Chloe. Chloe von Einzbern, and you will restore the Einzbern family to its former glory," he declared.

The girl, now known as Chloe, nodded in understanding.