Spiritron Transference: Rayshift.
A technology akin to time travel that converts a Magus into Spiritrons and transmits them into the past. Under normal circumstances, it is a rather unsettling technique—intertwined with the machinations of the Alien God’s forces and involving the output of one’s spiritual data while confined in a sarcophagus-like 'Coffin.' However, during my friction with Marisbury, I had mobilized every faction at my disposal to refine this technology into something far safer.
Among those refinements, the most critical system was… naturally, the one concerning the local Servants who would serve as our primary military force.
The 'outrageous gacha rates' of the original FGO timeline were firmly etched into my memories and Godo-duo’s mind alike. He and I had spent many hours agonizing over how to secure an additional supply of Servants.
The conclusion we reached was simple: even if we didn’t summon them through the system, procuring Servants locally was a viable alternative.
Yet, we had abandoned this concept during the 'Wicked Dragon Hundred Years' War'—the first Singularity. It was confirmed there that the King of Demon Gods could interfere with the Rayshift to dump me into high-danger zones.
Even putting that aside, local procurement posed various difficulties, such as the heavy burden placed on the Chaldea system and the vulnerability of the Master, who must be protected at a higher priority than the Heroic Spirits themselves. Ultimately, our existing roster of Servants had been more than sufficient.
In my case, I possessed a foundation of personal martial prowess, and in the second Singularity, I had integrated Altera via the Impure World Reincarnation. Conversely, Ritsuka… possessed a pathetic amount of prana. Maintaining even two Servants was a struggle for him, and three was practically his absolute limit. Summoning more Servants would do little more than broaden his tactical options at the cost of his life.
Thus, the 'New Rayshift System'—envisioned by Gudo-duo and me, constructed by a former King of Magic, and perfected by the Grand Puppeteer—seemed destined to remain buried.
“Mash, come here!”
“Understood, Senpai!”
And now, the labor of those geniuses began to shine.
Mash laid her shield flat beneath the sphere where the Mad King was struggling in vain, beginning to etch a Reverse Summoning circle with a pattern distinct from Chaldea’s standard summoning arrays. Meanwhile, Gareth and Kiyohime dashed toward the battlefield where the other Heroic Spirits were locked in a fierce struggle.
“Howdareyoumydeardearhusbandhowdareyoumydeardearhusbandhowdareyoumydeardearhusbandhowdareyoumydeardearhusbandhowdareyoumydeardearhusbandhowdareyou!!!!”
“…Hey, Ritsuka. Is she really going to be okay?”
“F-For now, it should be fine…!”
“Sigh, I don’t even know anymore. Let’s just focus on this side!”
“I will not allow it!”
An arrow wreathed in blue prana streaked toward Ritsuka’s throat.
It was a strike aimed at the other Master, the one currently sustaining the prana of Gareth and Kiyohime. However, in that instant, Ritsuka’s body contorted at a bizarre angle and bounced in an unnatural direction, causing the arrow to miss. Seizing that opening, Karna swung his massive spear, knocking Arjuna’s bow aside.
“Urgh… Heave!”
“Mister!”
“Urgh… Dammit… Mash, hurry!”
“Please wait just a moment! The connection with Chaldea is unstable due to the prana deficiency!”
“Shit… Cú Chulainn, that bastard… He claimed to be a Divine Spirit, and he really wasn’t joking… Cough!”
Crimson blood poured incessantly from the corners of my mouth.
Managing my shattered heart was exhausting enough, but keeping the Mad King imprisoned meant several of my Magic Circuits were undoubtedly suffering from necrotic damage. Is this what it feels like to be hit by an Origin Bullet? No, surely it wasn’t that bad.
Yet, the damage was undeniable. Blood began to stream from my Rinnegan like tears, and with a slight tremor, one of my fingernails simply fell off.
But despite the excruciating agony, I couldn’t hide the smile that burst forth. No, I began to laugh openly.
The Rayshift circle, which should have glowed with blue light, pulsed with an ominous crimson—an inverted polarity. Moments later, several pale, tattered hands reached out, winding around the planetary debris of the Chibaku Tensei that held the Mad King captive. Mash had hurled her Noble Phantasm, inscribed with the reverse summoning array, into the center of the gravity well.
“Good job, Mash.”
Letting out a sound thick with blood and foam, I spat out the gore filling my mouth and clapped my hands together.
“Chibaku Tensei, release!!!”
With a thunderous roar, thousands of cursed demonic spears erupted, lashing out as if to tear the very air apart. The crumbling boulders were instantly reduced to sand and dust, while a colossal gale, resembling a lightning-streaked tornado, battered the summoning circle suspended in mid-air and Mash’s shield.
However, the Mad King was already ensnared. Trapped within the Chibaku Tensei while I bought time, he was now caught in the overlap of Chaldea’s reverse summoning system. There was no longer any path of retreat for him.
“Do not mock me! Do you truly believe I would yield to this?!”
Yet, he continued to resist.
Despite the Reverse Summoning array—which incorporated the Matou family’s secret techniques and the absolute binding of the Command Spells—he fiercely rejected the transmission, swinging his spear and discharging prana in an attempt to shatter Mash’s shield.
But the moment the Mad King was bound by something even more absolute than the Chibaku Tensei, the tide of battle tilted decisively. Medb, who had barely been maintaining a stalemate with Scáthach via the Grail, was ruthlessly pushed back by Gareth’s coordinated assault. Seizing the opportunity, Scáthach took a throwing stance and hurled her spear at the Mad King.
“[Gae Bolg Alternative!]”
The Mad King, struggling while suspended in the air, was pinned in place by the first spear she threw. In that heartbeat, the second spear vanished into his chest, obliterating the region of his heart.
“Good, keep him pinned!”
Li Shuwen, who had been engaged with Fionn mac Cumhaill, lunged forward and added his own spear to the barrage. The slightly off-center strike pierced the Mad King’s abdomen, nailing him to Mash’s shield like a specimen. And finally, I leapt into the air.
“Die already, you miserable bastard!”
Glaring down at Cú Chulainn as I descended, I extended my hand, forcibly slamming him toward the earth’s surface as I roared.
“[Shinra Tensei!!!!!]”
*
With a final cacophony of thunderous impact, feral roars, screams, and the screeching noise of Noble Phantasms forced to their limits, the physical form of the Mad King Cú Chulainn vanished entirely from the North American continent.
“How dare you… to my Cú-chan! You people… Gah!”
“It is over, wicked woman.”
Medb, who had fought to the end attempting to support Cú Chulainn with the Holy Grail, was decapitated by Karna’s spear. She dropped the Grail as her form dissolved. Meanwhile, Fionn mac Cumhaill withdrew as his spiritual core was pierced by Diarmuid’s Gae Buidhe. Only Arjuna remained standing, but given his fatal wounds, it was clear he could no longer resist.
“Bansho Ten’in.”
“Are you recovering the Grail?”
“Yeah… and Ritsuka, get ready. This battle isn’t over yet.”
“Eh?”
I looked at the Heroic Spirits who were either gasping for breath or rushing to assist the mechanised infantry that had been ravaged by the conflict.
“The Mad King is gone, and the Grail is recovered. Medb has faded too. Isn’t this the end?”
“No. It’s only over when we return.”
I pointed to Mash’s shield, which was radiating heat and emitting scorched smoke.
“Communication with Chaldea is down, meaning we can’t return right now. They can’t even process the calculations on their end.”
“Ah…!”
“And… there’s no better time for the King of Demon Gods to pull a stunt than a moment like this.”
Of course, I didn’t think for a second that the Mad King, who had been sent to Chaldea, would cause significant trouble there.
Godo-duo Mayday and Romani would have already explained the plan. Even if the opponent was a Divine Spirit-class entity, our side possessed a True Ancestor princess whose presence alone could suppress such a being, and a human capable of physically killing concepts. In short, it was a lost cause for him.
‘Technically, excluding outliers like O.R.T., killing a full-powered Arcueid of the Millennium Castle is impossible for anyone who isn't a Beast. Furthermore, the Mad King is merely a Heroic Spirit whose Saint Graph was bloated. He’s no match for Arcueid, who is merely “downgraded” to Divine Spirit-rank when summoned as a Servant.’
Furthermore, unlike the American continent which was his home ground, Chaldea was our home turf. Even accounting for some minor damage to the facilities, the site was prepared to subdue any individual of the Mad King’s caliber. Frankly, even if I dropped a Shattering Star there, Chaldea could withstand it at least once without damage.
“…Mister, look over there.”
“Sprouts are starting to grow. With the Grail recovered and the cause removed, the land is restoring its prana on its own. The Counter Force is beginning its purification.”
At that moment, the other Servants began to approach slowly.
It seemed Arjuna had finally faded after fighting Karna to the end… and Diarmuid looked heavily wounded from his clash with Fionn.
“Diarmuid, you’re in a sorry state.”
“…I can only offer my apologies to my Master.”
“Forget it. Oh, and you can keep those spears. Honestly, you’ve used them well enough that I’ll just let you hold onto them.”
“Thank you… and Master, I have been thinking. Could we perhaps accompany you to Chaldea after all?”
Diarmuid asked. The other Servants seemed to feel the same. However…
“It’s difficult right now. Sending the Mad King placed an immense load on Chaldea’s Rayshift system. And there’s no telling what the King of Demon Gods might do while Ritsuka and I are being transferred.”
“Ah…”
“Hmm, that would indeed be problematic.”
“Scáthach. Can we at least remain safe for the time being?”
“Even I do not know that.”
Well, that means there’s no immediate answer.
I had no choice but to sit down and watch the earth slowly regain its prana. The Celtic soldiers were gradually losing their forms and collapsing under the weight of the Counter Force, or falling to the reinforced mechanised infantry. Starting from a parched Washington, the American territory was beginning its slow recovery.
[Hello? Is everyone alright over there?]
“Alcatraz.”
[The seedlings I was raising have come back to life! That means everything’s resolved, right? Right?!]
“It seems so for now. Can you come over here for a moment?”
[In a heartbeat!]
When Alcatraz, who had been providing backup in case of emergency, arrived, the Heroic Spirits and allies who had played a role in this Singularity were finally gathered in one place.
Scáthach and Diarmuid who joined midway, Alcatraz who saved my life… and the resistance members who were with him: Li Shuwen, Karna, and Nightingale.
“…Robin and Billy faded first, and I used Altera as a decoy, so technically three Servants have faded.”
[It’d be great if we could go to Chaldea too, but it’s a real shame!]
“It can’t be helped. Especially in your case—if you went, there would be two ‘identical’ Kobeck Alcatrazes once the Human Order is restored. There's no telling how the foundation of history would react.”
[True enough. Besides, I’m a Dead Apostle… Ugh, if my luck is bad enough, the Heroic Spirits I fought alongside might even be summoned to kill me! I’d like to avoid that.]
“I appreciate your understanding.”
“Um, but Mister. When can we actually go back?”
Ritsuka asked. However… I couldn’t give him a definitive answer to that question.
“…Ritsuka, I don’t know either.”
“Eh?”
“Under normal circumstances, as long as we had Mash’s shield… no, if I at least had my dolls, we could return whenever we wanted. That’s how we Rayshifted in the first place.”
But now… Mash’s shield was too overheated from the reverse summoning to draw a summoning array, and my dolls had long since been shattered and depleted. While I was coughing up blood because my heart hadn’t finished reconstructing itself, calling upon the Naraka Path to repair dolls was absolutely out of the question…
“…And, if my hunch is correct, the King of Demon Gods has likely made his move by now.”
“What?!”
“There’s a limit to the resources he can employ, so he won’t deploy another entity like the Mad King here. But…”
He was almost certainly launching a full-scale assault on the Rayshift summoning system.
The Crypters, including Kirschtaria, couldn't access the 6th or 7th Singularities yet. If the King of Demon Gods could just keep Ritsuka and me stranded in the 5th Singularity, it would be his victory. If he drags this out, the Incineration of the Human Order will naturally reach completion, and we'll be forced to watch from the sidelines while sucking our thumbs.
“That… we can’t let that happen!”
“It couldn't be helped. The King of Demon Gods effectively played a winning hand. Without you coming here, the Mad King was an opponent we simply couldn't catch… In exchange, the King of Demon Gods has locked us in this Singularity.”
As proof, there was still no contact from Chaldea. In fact, even if we escaped halfway through, it would still benefit the King of Demon Gods. After all, the Singularities are designed to deteriorate the more time passes.
In the 2nd Singularity, a moment's delay would have seen Boudica and Nero at each other's throats. In the 3rd, the curse of the Tetragrammaton would have spread to consume the entire ocean.
“…Mister, when do you think Chaldea will contact us?”
“It would be nice if Scáthach could observe them… but it’s impossible. The magnetic field surrounding Chaldea serves to protect it, but it also acts as a barrier that prevents anyone from looking in.”
Naturally, I had faith that Chaldea would overcome the Mad King, but without hearing from them, I was just as uneasy. There was no way they’d lose, but… what if they failed to perform the Existential Provenance for Ritsuka or me? We would simply vanish—just like Olga Marie did in the prologue of the original records.
“Phew…”
“…So that’s why you avoided local Servant procurement. You were afraid the King of Demon Gods would play a trick like this.”
“It’s effectively his most inescapable trick. There’s no way for us to counter him overwhelming us with quantity in unnecessary Singularities or stalling for time like this.”
However…
I looked toward Alcatraz.
The man who had been clapping and cheering just moments ago was now looking between Ritsuka and me with uneasy eyes as he sensed the situation turning sour. I watched him and offered a smile.
[Hmm? What’s wrong?]
“Alcatraz, you’re friends with Zelretch, aren’t you?”
[Eh? Er… technically, yes?]
“Have you heard anything about the Second Magic?”
[No, no way. I can’t do that! No matter how great a Mage I may be, there are things I can and cannot do!]
“I’m aware of that. This isn’t the Second Magic, but merely… something similar.”
He tilted his head as if he found it difficult to understand.
“Listen well, Ritsuka. A Singularity is inherently a wretched problem where things get more and more cursed as time passes. You know that much, right?”
“Yeah!”
“In our current situation, it’s impossible to Rayshift directly to Chaldea. Neither my dolls nor Mash’s shield are usable right now. Even if I were to draw a summoning circle connected to the coordinates of Chaldea I remember, and even if the staff there assisted us, there’s no telling how the King of Demon Gods might manipulate the transmission.”
“True. You dropped in front of Fafnir in the 1st Singularity, in front of Boudica in the 2nd, and you almost died in the 3rd.”
“But Chaldea isn't the only place we can go.”
“...?”
Ignoring the throbbing sensation near my heart, I summoned the Naraka Path.
Various scraps and miscellaneous items poured out… Over my thirty years of existence, this ability had been just as useful as the Deva, Preta, and Asura Paths. Thus, the mouth of the Naraka Path held truly everything.
Traces from when I imprisoned Francesca Prelati, various Holy Relics and Mystic Codes received from El-Melloi or Brishisan, certain Craft Essences from the gacha, Black Keys from the Holy Church, the Hydra venom I had intended to use with Robin Hood, the precious Mystic Eye collection I had bought at an astronomical cost on the Rail Zeppelin, the box that once held the dolls given by Touko Aozaki (though the dolls themselves were all broken), the lingering traces of the many Magi I had imprisoned or tortured… and conversely, the remnants from when I had sheltered Magi to heal them.
The research papers and will left to me by Zouken Matou, the contracts signed after the Holy Grail War with Kiritsugu Emiya, Kirei Kotomine, Waver Velvet, and Kayneth El-Melloi, the Self-Enforcement Geas scroll that Jubstacheit had stubbornly demanded from me… and the traces left behind after cleansing the mud of the tainted Grail from the participants of the 4th Holy Grail War, including Zouken.
The Naraka Path vomited all of them out.
Yes, it also served as a sort of storage. I had always used it that way, but frankly, I hadn’t expected to use it quite like this.
“What is all this?”
“Traces of Angra Mainyu—the Evils of Humanity. Though now they’ve been scrubbed clean and are nothing more than the 'remnants' of Heroic Spirits.”
Fragments of King Iskandar’s mantle, the suit I had bought for Tristan which he left behind after being cleansed in the Naraka Path, the remnants Gilgamesh left behind while fiercely resisting Enkidu’s binding. And…
[Whoa! This is incredible! Where did you get this!]
Among the items, Alcatraz stared at a strand of hair that looked like an antenna, glowing with a particularly brilliant golden light.
[It’s prana of astonishing purity. A jewel crystal that has accumulated magical energy for decades… no, it’s beyond that. This must be the remnant of a Heroic Spirit? And an incredibly high-ranking one at that… at least on par with the Mad King!]
“…Wait, Master. That couldn’t possibly be what I think it is, could it?”
“I… think I might know what it is too…”
Diarmuid and Gareth spoke simultaneously.
“That isn’t a remnant of a Servant.”
[...Eh?]
“It is the remnant of a living spirit—a being that is currently alive.”
[…!]
Alcatraz looked at me in shock.
If it were the remnant of a Divine Spirit-class Servant like the Mad King, it wouldn't be hard to accept. It would take a long time, but if a Caster-class Servant secured a Leyline and began Workshop Creation, it wasn't impossible to produce such a 'trace.'
“Ritsuka, take out the Mystic Code.”
“Huh? Oh, okay...”
I handed the small Mystic Code taken from Mash’s shield to Alcatraz and looked between him and Scáthach.
“That is the trace of a certain ‘Living Spirit.’ And that spirit currently resides in a certain ‘Singularity.’”
[…You want me to track it?]
“Exactly. As I see it, the King of Demon Gods is likely going to block any attempt at summoning back to Chaldea with his life. We don’t know how many days we might have to stay here, and if we’re unlucky, we might get caught up in the normalization of the Singularity.”
[This is madness. What if we can never return to Chaldea!]
“There is a Divine Spirit there. A Divine Spirit with the Sight of God. And regardless of where we go, Chaldea has no choice but to attempt the Existential Provenance for us. If they fail… we die anyway.”
But failure in Existential Provenance was impossible. The staff members I had hand-picked to support it were elites among elites.
From ESPers like Kirie Fujo, Fujino Asagami, and Godo-duo Mayday, to omnipotent existences like Manaka Sajyou and Shiki Ryougi—even the Moon Princess and the Fifth Magician were lending a hand. The King of Demon Gods could only interfere with the 'Rayshift' process—the road to Chaldea itself. As for the Existential Provenance that maintained our very existence, interfering with that would require nothing less than a bomb attack like the one Lev Lainur committed.
“So, give it a try. Gareth, you must have received orders from your ‘King’ as well, right?”
“…I shall not answer that.”
“Well, I suppose there were many restrictions for you to manifest here.”
I looked at Gareth, internally cursing the Lion King who had simply shouted ‘I leave it to you, heroes of the past!’ to herself.
“Do you have the coordinates?”
“No. However, my King might have even foreseen this specific scene.”
“The possibility is low but… well, I don’t care. Do you think we can use ‘that’ to track the coordinates of the current King of Knights… no, should I call her the Lion King? Either way, can we track her?”
“If we utilize a fragment of multi-dimensional interference—a piece of the Second Magic—it shouldn’t be impossible.”
Gareth nodded. In any case, that was a symbol second only to a Noble Phantasm for the existence known as Artoria Pendragon… In the Servant Universe, it is used as an energy source, a miraculous substance capable of turning a 4-star Servant into a 5-star: Altrium.
“Of course, we need the appropriate technology to track it. If it were Chaldea’s technology, maybe, but…”
“That’s not a problem.”
I looked at Alcatraz. A premier Mage praised by Arcueid herself as a being capable of enjoying everything a human could… and we even had Scáthach here. Even if we couldn’t use it right away, Mash’s shield remained, so duplicating the ritual temporarily wouldn’t be difficult.
[…Fine. Under those conditions, I’ll give it a shot.]
As Alcatraz finally nodded, I broke into a triumphant smile.
‘I’ll show you the essence of a counter-charge, King of Demon Gods.’
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