After Gilgamesh and Kirei Kotomine's voices faded away, the Tohsaka residence fell silent once more, with only the crackling of broken wood burning in the flames remaining.
But soon, a new figure appeared out of thin air.
Roland slowly emerged from the shadows, casting a strange gaze at the incredulous face of the now dead Tokiomi Tohsaka. His head, no longer able to support its own weight as it detached from what little flesh held it onto his body, The head slowly rolled across the ground and finally came to a stop at Roland's feet.
Roland felt a sudden urge as he instinctively stroked the Key of All Spirits in his hand for the first time in a long while.
"It's like searching for a needle in a haystack, only to have it fall straight into my lap. None of the magus I personally killed were qualified enough to become contracted spirits, yet you, the overlooked one, have stepped into that realm."
Roland had only come to check whether Kirei Kotomine's storyline was developing as he had expected, but instead he received an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
The power of the Key of All Spirits was already in operation. Tokiomi Tohsaka actually possessed the aptitude to become a spirit contract, something that truly exceeded Roland's expectations.
Although turning Tokiomi Tohsaka into a Spirit contract would not be of much help to Roland at his current level, it was still the first Spirit he had personally created with the help of the Key, and he could not help but look forward to it.
Before long, amid swirling silver light, a new message from the Spirit Contract appeared before Roland's eyes.
—Spirit Contract: [Tokiomi Tohsaka] (Uncontracted)
Sign: You will grow a charming little mustache and a well groomed goatee on your chin.
Side Effects: Under the influence of Tokiomi Tohsaka, your wariness toward those around you will be greatly reduced. Once someone gains your trust, it will become difficult for you to doubt them. Furthermore, you will grow more prone to carelessness, and at critical moments, various factors will cause events to deviate from their expected course. In addition, Tokiomi Tohsaka requires you to maintain a magus's elegance at all times.
Imparted abilities:
Magic Circuits: You possess the aptitude to explore mysteries, gaining a bonus to the number of Magic Circuits equivalent to Tokiomi Tohsaka's level during his lifetime.
An excellent head of a family: You understand how to manage a family. Whenever you assume the position of head, you will be able to run it smoothly and keep it profitable.
Ordinary Magician: In terms of magical knowledge, you receive an enhancement equivalent to Tokiomi Tohsaka's lifetime level. However, as your understanding deepens, your empathy will gradually diminish.
Digestion requirement: Achieve victory with elegance and composure during a large ceremony involving at least seven participants.
"To call it subtle would be an understatement. Can a spirit like this even be classified as a yellow-level spirit?"
Looking at the Spirit Contract in his hand, Roland's expression became rather peculiar. He did not even feel like criticizing it, as if doing so would somehow lower his own standards.
Other spirits might present a roughly even trade-off between abilities and cost, but with Tokiomi Tohsaka, it was all cost, and all of it was presented exceedingly subtly. Calling this spirit completely useless would not be accurate, as it did grant the ability to pursue the magus path. Yet calling it useful was equally difficult; the sheer number of negative traits alone was enough to instill fear at a single glance.
The price of lowered vigilance, enforced elegance, and even distorted values might have been something Roland, when he was freshly transmigrated could grit his teeth and accept in exchange for self-preservation. However, the curse of failing at crucial moments was something he would never tolerate.
Judging from Rin Tohsaka's performance, this bloodline curse clearly varied from person to person. As long as one's overall strength improved, the mistakes caused by the curse would be limited and would not necessarily be fatal.
But when combined with the other costs imposed by Tokiomi Tohsaka, this spirit was practically the perfect tool for backstabbing.
"I have a feeling you're hinting at something."
Roland sighed as he looked at the Key of All Souls in his hand.
"What should I do with this spirit bond next?"
No rule stated that a Spirit Contract must be formed. The Key of All Spirits was merely an item and carried no binding force.
How it was used depended entirely on Roland, the user, though leaving it unused would naturally result in nothing happening.
Even so, Roland found himself reluctant to waste such a rare Spirit Bond.
After all, keeping such an unlucky spirit by his side was unsettling; it would be better to deal with it as soon as possible.
Although only he could use the Key of All Spirits to harmlessly digest a Spirit Contract, the influence of a Spirit Contract was not limited to him alone.
"If I just throw him onto some random person, would it act like a curse? But compatibility is also an issue… After all, once a spirit is separated from the Key of All Spirits, it becomes a wild calamity."
As Roland pondered this, he reconnected with the Key of All Spirits and tossed Tokiomi Tohsaka into the silver vortex it generated.
"If there's another opportunity to get a new spirit contract, I can verify it then."
Indeed, he had already decided how to handle Tokiomi Tohsaka's Spirit Bond.
[Key of All Souls]
—Spirit Possessing: Soul of the Holy Lord (Contracted), Yoshikage Kira (Contracted)
—Spirit Tokiomi Tohsaka (Recycled)
—Number of Spirit Summoning Attempts: One
—Status: Can be shuttled
Normally, one could only obtain a new chance to draw spirits from the Key of All Spirits after recycling a Spirit, but this rule was not absolute.
During one's journey, if the owner of the Key of All Spirits created a Spirit they did not need, they could choose to contribute it to the Key in exchange for another opportunity to draw.
However, this chance was limited.
The extraction pool was restricted to worlds associated with contracted spirits or those already digested by the user, and the result was not guaranteed to be a contracted spirit. If one was unlucky, the draw could yield something completely useless.
How should he choose?
Roland looked at the two worlds currently available to him: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Jackie Chan Adventures.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Roland immersed his consciousness directly into the vortex representing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Although Jackie Chan Adventures might offer items with greater potential, Roland was not lacking in power at present. In fact, he was already overwhelmed with growth and consolidation, so despite having obtained a new draw opportunity, he had not been in a hurry to use it.
The Jojo world, however, was different. While it might not appear overwhelmingly powerful, it was filled with limitless possibilities.
More importantly, Roland happened to need something from it desperately.
Among the key factors for ascension to heaven ritual— such as the Stand, allies, the 36 secret words symbolizing souls' desires and experiences, and the courage to discard one's own Stand, Roland still had no clear understanding of what kind of soul quality and ritual were required to achieve it.
After all, this was knowledge Dio had acquired through countless trials and hardships, chosen by fate itself. Roland's original plan had been to gradually fill in the gaps, using insights from various worlds as references, and eventually construct a ritual suited to himself.
However, having a direct reference from someone who already understood the ritual would undoubtedly make things much easier.
Roland reached into the vortex, instinctively grasped what lay within, and an uncontrollable smile slowly spread across his face.
Compared to other spirits that were complete like polished gemstones, this new spirit was clearly incomplete. Even its faint blue glow could not conceal that fact.
Yet the moment Roland saw the name of the Spirit Fragment, he understood that fate was still on his side. Soon, he would witness the result of what would happen when a compatible individual united with the Spirit Contract.
—[Spirit Fragment · Enrico Pucci]