Huff, huff. Ah, ah. This is a broadcast from the Control Room. Master No. 48, Master No. 48, please report to the Control Room immediately.
Please come at once. Static—
"This sounds absolutely terrible, for fuck's sake."
I headed toward the Control Room. I really wanted to grab the person making that broadcast by the collar and give them a good shake.
It’s probably because the second Singularity popped up. Orleans, right?
I’m going to wreck that bastard Gilles de Rais.
I'll kidnap Jalter, crush Gilles, and then find a way to squeeze everything I can out of Jeanne d'Arc. Since the map is wide and Wyverns will be flying all over the place, it should be smooth sailing if I take Guardian, Lancer Cu Chulainn, and Caster Cu Chulainn.
In terms of pure efficiency, I should take Okita instead of CasCu, but it's not like Okita can throw her sword for long-range DPS.
Lancer Cu Chulainn can at least throw his spear to take them down.
Basically, Cu Chulainn's spear returns to him. I can just have him keep chucking it using that property.
The best-case scenario would be bringing Jeanne Alter back with me. I don't know if that's actually possible, but let's give it a shot.
Of course, given her insane firepower, her mana consumption will be terrible, but I'll need her later for Cu Alter, the Demon God Pillars, or for sweeping through the Lahmu in the Seventh Singularity.
Or maybe a GUDAGUDA Honnoji event could trigger? But if that happens, what becomes of Okita? I feel like the event would end with her and the others just messing around once they meet.
Still, if Honnoji triggers, I can get Nobu, so I should hope for that. For now, I'm contemplating how to capture Jeanne.
Man, how do I seduce her? That’s my biggest worry. If I play my cards right, I’m confident I can domesticate her perfectly. I’ll make her so dependent on modern civilization that she won't be able to live without it, and then I’ll put her to work for a long, long time. Kia~
I was indulging in various fantasies when I arrived in front of the Control Room.
"Yo! Chaldeas!"
"What?"
The Director looked at me with pure annoyance.
"Aw, Director, why the face? We have to go to the next Singularity anyway, right? It's the Hundred Years' War in Orleans, isn't it? I’ve predicted everything. Don't worry, I've already planned out which Servants to take in my head~ I’m taking the Old Man, the Other Old Man, and Guardian. Since it’ll likely be large-scale combat in open fields, I figured it’d be best to bring people capable of long-range attacks. Though, considering my mana capacity, I might have to swap the Old Man for Okita..."
"Damascus, wait, you're talking too fast. And the Singularity we've observed isn't the Hundred Years' War in France."
The Doctor spoke up, looking flustered.
"...Then where is it?"
What the fuck? It's not the Wicked Dragon War? I don't get to see Jeanne? No way, goddammit...
"What we've observed is London. It's relatively recent—1888. Damascus, you have to fight in London."
"Pardon?"
"Hee-hee~ I wonder why our 48th Master, Damascus-kun, thought it would be Orleans? Even I don't quite understand, so would you mind telling me why~?"
Da Vinci had set another trap. I thought she’d stop suspecting me to some extent after I pulled that crying act earlier, but it seems she hasn't let her guard down completely.
"The enemies are trying to set the Human Order on fire, right? If so, most people who absolutely despise humanity would be helpful to them, wouldn't they? When you think of the Hundred Years' War, who comes to mind? Jeanne d'Arc. No matter what happens, she would never resent humanity. But what about her lackey, Gilles de Rais? That's a different story, isn't it? Giving a Holy Grail to a madman who went off the deep end after Jeanne died? That's a total win. From the enemy's perspective, they'd think there's no better candidate. If I were the enemy, I would have given the Grail to Gilles. Then he'd go on a rampage claiming he's avenging Jeanne, right? There's the answer. If it were me, I'd give the second Grail to Gilles. That's why I thought of the Hundred Years' War."
"Hmm~ That’s not a bad line of reasoning."
"Master, you are incredible!"
It seems Da Vinci found my bullshit convincing. Of course she did; I've cleared at least Part 1 of FGO. Okita's eyes went wide as she called me amazing. In this situation, I basically have Clairvoyance. Even a rough guess will turn out to be mostly correct. Let’s just ignore the King Arthur incident; we didn't have Mash, and Arthur was stronger than expected, so that wasn't easy.
"But London? Then I should take Okita instead of the Old Man."
"And the reason for that, kid?"
"If you unleash Ansuz in the middle of downtown London, you'll blow up every building in sight. Even if everything gets undone once the Singularity vanishes, I think differently. If people die there, will they really be 'undone' once the restoration happens? I think there might be lasting effects. So, I want to resolve this while avoiding civilian casualties as much as possible. Because we really don't know what might happen."
Actually, I recall this being mentioned in FGO. People who die in a Singularity have their bodies affected, so even after restoration, they might die or get injured for other reasons. That's why I want to avoid casualties if I can.
"Also, if it's London, I bet Jack the Ripper will show up. London is famous for thick fog, and Jack the Ripper is beyond famous, so it'll be a headache if they appear. I'm not saying the Old Man would lose, of course. But I want to immediately crush any crazy bastard who's intentionally running away while murdering people. That's why I'm leaving the Old Man out this time. Even though I feel safer with him around, I don't think I have the stamina to maintain him, and I can't take the Director either. The Director is someone who absolutely must not die."
If I put it like that, the Director won't be able to go to London. It can't be helped. Sorry, Director. It's going to be a bit tough. Please bear with me.
"Okita, Guardian, let's go. We're going to go in and crush them the moment we start."
"No, wait. Even if we've observed it, we can't go immediately. Listen carefully. Chaldea's current state is a mess, so the Rayshift itself is dangerous. We might not be able to prove your existence, so the departure is tomorrow. Since there's a risk of you vanishing entirely after the Rayshift, let's go after we've done some maintenance. Understood?"
"Well~ fine by me. I might be okay, but the Master might die if he's left alone, so it's better to be careful, right?" Guardian said nonchalantly.
"I agree as well. If I am summoned separately from the Master, I cannot protect him. It is best to Rayshift after the maintenance is complete."
Okita is surprisingly stiff. Maybe if I keep an ice cream in her mouth all day, she'll speak a bit more softly?
"Well... with two of them agreeing, I'm not in a position to say much. And I'll avoid anything that might get the kid killed if I can help it. So we just meet here tomorrow? I'm going to go sleep until then."
Lancer Cu Chulainn said that and left the Control Room.
"I shall take my leave as well. Master, do you have a moment?"
Is this vixen wagging her tail at me? Even better.
"Huh? Oh, uh, sure. I don't have anything particular to do right now."
Oho, I wonder what kind of 'event' is about to unfold for me.
"I've found a good location. I absolutely need the Master's help."
Wait, is she dragging me to a Daily Dungeon? The place where you go to farm items? She's not wagging her tail like a vixen; is she dragging me along because Da Vinci needs materials and she needs a battery to supply mana?
"Wait... are we going to a dungeon or something? If so, give me a break. I'll be seeing hell firsthand tomorrow, so let's just rest for one day."
"Eh? Is it inconvenient for you?"
"Are we going because Da Vinci said she needs something?"
"Yes, that is correct. As expected of the Master! You know everything without me even having to explain."
Son of a bitch...
------------------------------------
"Here we go!"
As soon as we entered the dungeon, a Wyvern opened its maw and shrieked at me.
"Kuaaaaaaargh?!"
It was screaming, but the moment we started, Okita rushed in and severed its wings, legs, torso, and head in that order. It didn't even take a second. Wow.
"Master, I have eliminated one for now."
"That was incredibly fast."
"Then I shall handle the rest."
With those words, it took less than a minute to kill the remaining four Wyverns.
To think someone who slashes through enemies like this struggled against King Arthur... It made me realize once again that King Arthur is exceptionally strong and that the Holy Grail is an absurd object. And I'm the one who swallowed it. Heh.
"Da Vinci-san said she needs Wyvern wings. She mentioned that if the leather is properly stretched and processed, it can serve as a substitute for Chaldea's outer walls. She asked us to hunt about ten of them."
"Right. Then let's drop off these four Wyverns at Chaldea first and go hunt the rest."
And so, we delivered the Wyvern wings to Da Vinci's workshop in Chaldea.
"Ooh~ As expected of Okita-san! You're quick with the material procurement. I could only send two of you since it's a simplified Rayshift device, but to think you've already handled it... Amazing~"
"Once we finish this, you're going to make us do something else, aren't you? Since Chaldea is missing so many things right now, let's just grab what we need while we can."
"No, Damascus, you need to rest for tomorrow's work. So we'll stop after ten Wyverns. Just hunt six more and then you two should rest."
"O-kay."
Just as Da Vinci said, I intended to rest in my room after hunting ten Wyverns.
After the hunt, I took a shower in my room and lay down on the bed. But suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in~"
The door opened, and the Director was there.
Unlike before, her hair had turned black, her eyes were dark, and there were parting lines across her body. Her appearance had changed significantly from the original Director, but that didn't matter right now. I was just grateful that she was alive.
"I'm sorry. Normally, I would have wanted to send you a bit later. I thought you might suffer from PTSD or that your mind might break down. But right now, there's only you. So... I'm sorry for entrusting you with such a difficult task again."
"No, Director, it's fine. If the Human Order collapses, there's no future for my family anyway."
"You don't have to act tough. I heard everything from the Doctor... how you broke down once as soon as you left Fuyuki... It's okay, Damascus. I'm scared too, so why wouldn't you be?"
Ah... I'm not really good with this kind of atmosphere.
"Then can I speak crudely from now on?"
"No, you can't."
"Aww..."
-------------------------------------
Guardian stared out the window. He was just standing there, gun in his left hand.
"Help me out next time, friend."
He was talking to himself. In the empty corridor, he just watched the blizzard outside the window. His eyes were unfocused, and he looked like he was barely standing.
"Guardian-san?"
Okita spoke to him. Focus returned to Guardian's eyes.
"Uh... oh? It's Okita. What's up? Do you need something?" Guardian asked.
"Ah... no. It just seemed like you were lost in thought."
"Ah... I was just reminiscing about a friend. I had a very reliable friend before I came here."
"Is that so?"
"A very cool guy. I'd give anything for him to wake up... Before I came here, he fell asleep and hadn't woken up by the time I was called here. He's incredible. If only he'd wake up..."
Okita tried her best to respond to Guardian's words.
"Your friend will surely wake up. Please do not worry, Guardian-san." Okita said, clenching her fists.
"If only you were older, we could have had a drink together."
Guardian felt it was a shame today that Okita was so young.
At 9:00 AM, the entire Chaldea staff gathered in the Control Room. Director Olga Marie spoke before the Rayshift began.
"Everyone, you did great work in the last Singularity. But we still have many mountains to climb. So don't relax yet. Stay sharp! No matter what happens, carry out your responsibility and restore the Singularity to the end. Understood?"
Hmm... this reeks of a morning TBM at a construction site.
"Now, everyone, get into the cockpits and prepare for the Rayshift. Damascus, Okita Souji, Guardian, and Cu Chulainn—these four will be converted into quanta and then reassembled at the destination point to begin operations. We've performed maintenance on the Rayshift system yesterday and found no defects. So rest assured, restore the Singularity, and come back. Everyone, prepare!"
Da Vinci spoke energetically at the end as she ushered us into the cockpits.
"Ah~ Not yet, not yet! I haven't finished my drink!"
Guardian, who had been drinking alone yesterday for some unknown reason, drunkenly complained as he was pushed into the cockpit.
"I'm not done drinking! Give me more booze! Booze!"
"Sigh... Kid, are you nervous?"
"No, Hyung-nim. I'm just a bit stunned~ I was sure the Hundred Years' War would be the second Singularity, so it's a bit ridiculous that my prediction was off~"
"That can happen. Let's talk more after the Rayshift."
"Got it~"
Okita boarded the cockpit quietly. She seemed more nervous than expected.
Once everyone was in their cockpits, the Doctor spoke.
"Damascus, you are the final hope for humanity right now. If anything goes wrong with your vitals, I'll immediately tell you what measures to take, so you must follow my instructions. Understood?"
The Doctor was always a worrywart; he was like that in the game too. I should listen to him unless it's a special situation. Wait, isn't the act of restoring a Singularity a 'special situation' in itself?
"Then, starting Quantum Conversion."
I felt my body turning into powder from my feet up. Is this what it felt like to vanish from Thanos's finger snap?
Guardian was alone after the Rayshift. After a good, long vomit, he looked around.
"Ah... ah... where is this? Master? Okita? Cu Chulainn~?"
No one answered. In the middle of a city street shrouded in thick fog, Guardian stood alone.
"Looks like the communications equipment broke along with that 'excellent' Rayshift."
He lit his Mystic Code. He did it to check his surroundings, but the fog was so thick he could only see about five meters ahead.
"Whew... this is too much. And so is the guy behind me!"
He fired his fastest magical bullet. The enemy dodged it with extreme speed.
"Fuck, is it a slash-and-dash type?"
Guardian hated Assassins the most. Other Servants would at least fight you head-on, but these bastards were the kind of lowlifes who only aimed for the innocent Master.
He didn't like that such a piece of shit was now aiming for his own throat.
"Hey! You prick! Do I look like a Master to you?! Huh! Do I look that much like a pushover?!! You bastard who looks like he can't do shit if I just outplay you!"
Guardian shouted while looking around. Telepathy didn't work in this fog. There was no one to answer even if he asked the Master for his location.
"Come on out! If you're cute enough, I'll let you kill me!"
Upon hearing those words, the Assassin revealed themselves before his eyes.
"Ah... well, that's a wrap then."
As soon as Guardian finished speaking, the Assassin slit his throat.
Blood sprayed from Guardian's neck. To stop the bleeding, Guardian quickly holstered his revolver-shaped Mystic Code and grabbed his neck with both hands as he collapsed to the ground. He thrashed around for a long while before finally going limp.
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