The gigantic creature rampaged, its limbs obliterating what little remained of the city. Wyverns tried to flee, shrieking in sheer panic before being caught by the tentacles and dragged into waiting maws, their cries silenced with disgusting squelches that echoed through the air. The only blessing was that it wasn’t exactly mobile – there were no clear appendages that allowed it to move whatsoever, forcing it to remain stationary. However, given the sheer number of giant flailing tentacles about, that hardly mattered.
Ren and Morgana could only stare at the creature. It was something out of a movie – no, a nightmare. A being like this wasn’t natural. It didn’t feel natural whatsoever. Even more so, something within them felt… incredibly opposed to its very existence. Was it their personas? Were they rejecting this creature even worse than they were?
The image of seeing the doppelganger eaten alive was still fresh in their mind. Combined with the exhaustion of exiting a Palace and the fact they had just finished a fight with the doppelganger’s shadow… neither Master could stop themselves from crashing to the ground. “Senpai?!” a shocked Mash cried out, running to Ren’s side. The other Servants immediately took notice and formed a defensive cordon around them, with both Saber and Archer also moving to the Masters.
“S-sorry guys, just a bit tired,” Ren reassured them, trying to muster up a smile – and failing miserably. On top of the physical exhaustion from everything, there were a lot of emotions the two were wrestling through as well. They had successfully changed the doppelganger’s heart; her words and actions proved it. That was supposed to be it. They should’ve been able to grab her Grail and head out.
Instead, they had been so focused on their typical methods that they made a crucial mistake: They had forgotten who the Palace ruler was surrounded by. From what little Sae had told them, many of Shido’s cronies had done everything they could to cover up Shido’s change of heart. Granted, it was ultimately because of Yaldabaoth that much of his deeds were able to be concealed in the first place, but it was still an important factor they hadn’t considered.
Archer meanwhile gazed at the monster, frowning. “We can rest a little, Masters,” he suddenly announced.
That caught Ren’s, Morgana’s, and Mash’s attention. “Wh-what?” Morgana stuttered, blinking. “Archer, what the hell are you talking about?! We gotta deal with that… thing of Gilles’! You can see how much destruction it’s wreaking right now. If we don’t do something-!”
“Then it won’t do anything,” Archer concluded for Morgana calmly. He pointed to the monstrosity still wrecking Orleans. “Caster’s creature is currently only destroying the city,” he explained. “The city is already in ruins with no civilians, or really any living humans within. It’s also completely immobile as well as there are no legs, tendrils, or any other means of locomotion that we can tell. It’s not leaking any particular miasma nor is it spawning more creatures to invade other territories. And even if it could move, it would seem Caster is more concerned about destroying the immediate vicinity than even targeting us.”
Blinking, the three turned to the horrific monstrosity. Indeed, besides razing the city to the ground, Gilles didn’t seem to be interested in doing much else – well, other than laughing and ranting maniacally. “At the moment, you’re exhausted,” Archer stated, looking back at them, looking them over critically. “Take a moment to catch your breath. We have some time to deal with Gilles. We’ll move if he does anything else.”
“But there’s no time,” Ren objected. “If we leave him alone, it’ll just give him time to do something worse! We need to-!”
“Archer is right, Ren,” Jeanne cut in. She had torn her horrified gaze away from the city to look upon the Masters. “Even in a situation such as this – no, especially because of a situation like this that we must be well rested and prepared.” She turned back to the city where Gilles was still rampaging. “After all, we… we must stop him,” she whispered. It was clear she was fighting back tears. “This madness of Gilles – it has to stop. We will stop it.”
Ren and Morgana looked up at Jeanne in surprise. They couldn’t argue against her – this was her home, and their opponent was someone she knew personally. If she was the one suggesting they rested, then there was no arguing that point. Nevertheless, sitting down here not being able to do anything as it rampaged made them deeply restless. “Fine, we’ll take a break,” Ren relented with a frustrated sigh. “Still, we have to do something about Gilles. Anyone have an idea?”
Saber was silent as she considered. Then she nodded. “My noble phantasm should be able to eliminate him,” she stated. Her tone was calm and level. It wasn’t one of confidence or reassurance – it was a tone of absolute surety.
The Masters blinked. “You mean the hurricane?” Morgana asked, tilting his head out of curiosity. As strong as the winds were from those gusts, he didn’t think they would be enough to take down such a large monstrosity. But they both had a feeling that it wasn’t what she meant.
Indeed, the Servant shook her head. “Strike Air comes from dispersing the winds that conceal my blade in whatever direction I choose,” she explained. “You are aware of my true identity, are you not, Masters? Then you know of my noble phantasm. I’ve not used it yet as it consumes an incredible amount of prana, but it should take him down in one strike.”
Ren and Morgana’s eyes widened. Right – Artoria Pendragon. Better known as King Arthur, the pinnacle of knighthood and chivalry. They remembered the lecture from Da Vinci and Roman about how a Servant’s fame made them stronger. It was a rather familiar concept to them – the stronger a cognition was in peoples’ minds, the more powerful it would be. Yaldabaoth, a god born from the cognition of the masses in Tokyo, almost wiped out their existence. Only the intervention of Lavenza saved them.
And when it came to knights, no one was more famed than her and her sword, Excalibur.
Ren reached over to his communicator and tapped it. The holographic screen winked into existence, revealing a still-frazzled Roman pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee at his table while staring at yet another monitor. Ren decided to wait until the doctor finished pouring himself a steaming cup and took a long sip first. Coffee was definitely necessary at a time like this and he would rather not surprise the doctor and have it spilling on his desk or lap.
“Roman? You’re getting all this, right?” The Master asked rhetorically. “Can you get us anything about Gilles’…. whatever that thing is?” Morgana sat a bit more upright to get a better view of the screen, with Mash sitting beside Ren at his other side.
The doctor checked his readings, blinking blearily. “It seems the monster has considerable regenerative properties on top of its strength,” he reported, his fingers moving over the keys as he charted out the data. ”I’m not reading any other organisms or toxic materials issuing from it. Looking at these readings, it would seem Gilles de Rais is around the… head? Chest? Close to the top anyway.” Ren glanced over at the monster. The doctor’s confusion at the creature’s anatomy was rather understandable – it was just a big…. Thing.
“The Grail is located closer to the base,” he pointed out, going through the readings. “The creature is using it as a power source to fuel its regeneration. For now, it doesn’t seem to be doing anything else with it so we should be able… to…” Roman’s words trailed off as he leaned forward, his eyes widening. “Wait, what’s going on here?” he demanded, staring at the screen. “Prana’s concentrating on the Grail – far more than normal!”
Suddenly, something bulged from the side of the monstrosity. Immediately, everyone was on guard. Gilles’s words echoed through the air once more. “What?!” he demanded. “Tainting my dear Jeanne’s mind wasn’t enough for you?! You would taint her very soul and body as well?!?” That caught Ren and Morgana by surprise. That… shouldn’t be what happened after they stole a Treasure. What was going on?
With a disgusting tearing of flesh, a bulging mass of flesh burst out of the creature and landed on the ground before it rapidly began swelling up and growing upwards, darkening to a dead ashy color. Countless red eyes opened and lined the black pillar of flesh, its pupils cross-shaped. Soon, it was the same size and height as Gilles’s monstrosity.
“Connection established,” the creature said. It spoke in the doppelganger’s voice that rapidly deepened into an inhuman, demonic pitch. “Anchor and existence acknowledged. Parameters within bounds. Processing data. Parsing. Threat levels: Negligible.”
“Hear our voice, humanity. We are Orobas. One of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods under King Solomon. Your existence has been declared unnecessary, and so we shall cleanse you. This shall be our mercy, for we shall be swift and exacting.”
“Your meaningless existence is at an end. Rejoice.”
Everyone’s eyes widened at the two titanic figures that loomed in Orleans. Roman in particular was left staring at the screen with horror. If color was able to be transmitted through the communicators, they would’ve seen it utterly vacate his face. “Th-that’s…. that’s impossible…” he breathed. “Oro… bas…? No, it… it can’t be, it-it must be some sort of imposter…”
“Doctor, now’s not the time to freak out,” Morgana snapped, glaring up at the screen. “What can you tell us about this new… thing? Orobas?” Then he stopped and blinked before turning to Ren. “Hey, didn’t you have a persona by that name?” he asked curiously.
Ren dug through his memory, then nodded slowly. Indeed, Orobas was one of the personas he had. It wasn’t one he could summon right now – probably because nobody in medieval France had a cognition of it. He scrounged around in his memory for information about it. “I think it was one of the seventy-two demons of the Goetia,” he murmured slowly.
He looked back up at the black pillar, lined with red eyes. “This one is certainly uglier though – mine was just a bipedal horse,” Ren remarked with a smirk. Morgana chuckled while the other Servants gave the both of them odd looks.
“You dare?!” the mad Caster screeched, once more drawing everyone’s attention as his comparatively tiny form sprouted back up from the creature’s head. “You dare, you dare, you dare, you dare, you dare, you dare!?!” As he screamed, he clawed at his face to the point of leaving bloody trails down his gaunt cheeks, making him even look more horrifying than before. “How dare you taint my dearest Jeanne like this?! What manner of affliction came about from… you.”
The Chaldeans felt a chill down their backs as Gilles’s glare rested on them once more. Even from such a far distance, it felt like his hatred had redoubled once more. “You are the cause of this!” he spat out. “You wound taint and defile her mind, her soul, and now her body?! Was the execution not enough?!? Oh God, must you continue to torment her so?! Is there no limit to your lust for entertainment, to your cruelty?! How I repudiate you! Fine! If you wish to pen this tragedy for me, I shall play my part to the end!”
Howling into the skies, more portals began opening all over, spitting out more and more monstrosities. A considerable horde of tentacled abominations started pouring out of the city towards the group. “Guess that concludes our break,” Archer commented sardonically as he summoned his bow and an arrow once more. Quickly firing, it exploded among the horde, incinerating and obliterating a large chunk of them… and barely stemmed the flow as simply more poured through the aftermath.
Orobas in the meantime turned its eyes on Gilles, who in turn had faced the pillar once more. “And you, you foul demon!” he screamed. “You would defile my dear Jeanne! Your existence is a heresy and blasphemy! I curse you! Your existence is an affront to God! I will purge you and destroy you, you foul beast!”
“Humanity still speaks in nothing but hypocrisies and spittle,” the pillar noted. While its deep, inhuman voice was monotone overall, one could easily hear the hint of disdain that crept into its tone. “Analyzing. Servant name: Gilles de Rais. Class designation: Caster. You claim to serve God yet summon blasphemies He would reject. You call us a foul beast yet the being you have called is an aberration. We repudiate you. Your presence is unnecessary. Correcting error.”
Large tentacles sprung up around Orobas and wrapped around it, squeezing around as tightly as they could. A glow emitted from the pillar underneath the tentacles before they were shredded by powerful beams of red prana, emitted by the eyes. As more smaller tentacle monstrosities sprang up and charged at the pillar from below, the pillar emitted superhot smoke that roiled over the creatures, immediately boiling their blood to nothing before incinerating them as they stood. More beams fired from the eyes, cutting lines across Gilles de Rais’s creature, which quickly regenerated and retaliated in turn.
Ren watched as the two beings battled each other over the ruined Orleans. A stray thought popped into his mind that Ryuji, Futaba, and Makoto (and probably Haru too) would very much enjoy this fight if they saw it in a movie before snapping himself out of it. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a movie – this was all too real, and he needed to get the situation dealt with.
The horde that they were fighting through wasn’t as thick as it could be, given a good portion was being diverted to fighting Orobas, but they were still numerous. Archer was still thinning them out with arrows as Kiyohime blasted flames into the left flank as the other Servants charged forward to cut them down. And while dealing with each monstrosity individually wasn’t a problem whatsoever, they more than made up with quantity.
“Saber!” Ren called out. “Can you take out Gilles de Rais?” Under more normal circumstances, he would be happy to just let the two monsters fight it out then mop up whoever was left. However, as they were under constant assault like this, there was no way they could simply sit back. Not to mention, he didn’t want to chance Gilles deciding to send a premade army of these creatures out to the rest of France.
The Servant looked over at Gilles fighting the pillar and frowned. “I’m too far, Master,” she called back. “We’ll need to close the distance to make absolutely sure. We shouldn’t need to advance too far before I’m in range!”
The Master of Chaldea nodded. Reasonable enough – they were a rather large distance away in their retreat from Gilles and Orleans. He turned to the others. “Siegfried, Georgios, can you plow a way forward?” he asked. The two Servants didn’t answer but immediately moved to the vanguard, hacking away a path. Once more, the others took up the flanks and rear guard with Ren and Morgana at the center. It was just like fighting through the Palace castle all over again.
Still, there were two clear differences. Neither Ren nor Morgana were in their Phantom Thief regalia. Their personas used magecraft and prana as opposed to the power of the Metaverse and they were still exhausted from their expedition into the doppelganger’s Palace and the fight with her shadow. As such, the formation was tighter than before, with Mash sticking closer to the two and fighting more defensively as opposed to aggressively attacking the tentacled monstrosities.
The second was that they were fighting on open plains as opposed to the strict confines of the castle. It gave a lot more maneuverability for everyone involved, including the monstrosities. They swarmed all around the cordon, lashing from almost every side possible. Several Servants got hit when the tentacles struck at blind spots they weren’t able to cover properly, requiring Ren or Morgana to patch them up which in turn drained even more energy from them.
As a result, every step to advance was a grueling march, wading through countless abominations to get within range of the monster. It was a small blessing that Gilles and Orobas were distracted with fighting each other so they didn’t have to worry about direct attacks from either of them. They already had enough to handle with the horde bearing down on them.
Eventually, Saber called out, “This should be close enough!” Ren glanced over and checked their distance. They were almost literally right outside Orleans. They were still some distance away from Gilles’s creature but it loomed over them regardless, almost blocking out the sun. Gilles didn’t seem any wiser of their new position as he kept frothing at the mouth, sending more countless tentacles to attack Orobas and getting blasted down in turn.
“Everyone, spread out,” he barked. “Give Saber time to use her noble phantasm!” Everyone immediately took their positions, with Ren, Morgana, Saber, and Mash at the center. The other Servants surrounded them in a circle, warding off the tentacle monsters as well as they could. Some of them tried to leap off their peers and pounce from above, forcing Kiyohime, Archer, Ren, and Morgana to pick them off as best they could as the others kept the cordon as well as they could. At best, it was a tenuous position. But one they wouldn’t have to maintain for long, hopefully.
The winds dispelled from around Saber’s sword, revealing the beautiful blade. She raised it into the air and as she did, it began glowing with a warm, divine light. Motes of golden light rose into the air and entered the sword as prana and power began building, to the point even Ren and Morgana could feel it. The sheer power distracted the other Servants but thankfully, it had even more of an effect on the monstrosities as they began shying and retreating away from Saber as if they were outright terrified of it.
As the light coalesced, the blade turned into a column of power, radiating out its divine energy. The monstrosities further shrank away, like wild beasts from a blazing inferno, giving everyone a much-needed reprieve as they all could only gaze in awe at the sheer power of Saber’s blade. Saber herself was composed and calm, her expression showing no sign of burden of the power she had in her hands. Only a focused precision that precluded all other emotions.
Ren and Morgana stared up at the golden light. They had confidence in their personas and they had seen noble phantasms before. They even saw the corrupted version of this same power back in Fuyuki, utilized by the darker version of Saber. However, what they felt here only left them with a sense of solemn awe at the pureness and its power. Instinctively, they backed up, as did the other Servants. Not because they were afraid but more because they didn’t want to be caught in the blast radius.
Staring at the light, they both remembered. The Phantom Thieves: Ryuji, Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Sumire, and even Akechi. All of them fighting side by side, celebrating both their joys and sorrows. Even as they stared down Yaldabaoth or Maruki, they didn’t flinch. They were all together, fighting as one. That gave them courage then. And seeing this, the light of miracles… it reminded them of that courage. Of what they were fighting for in the first place.
Then Saber spoke.
“Ex-!”
She took a step forward with that single syllable, causing a golden shockwave to radiate out. The ruined pavement cracked underneath. Finally, the two monstrosities had taken notice, with tentacles rising up around them and Orobas’s eyes turning towards them, but by then it was far too late.
“-CALIBUR!!!!”
With a final cry, Saber swung down. The golden column of light descended like the judgment of heaven and raced forward in a golden wave of pure destruction, blasting through creatures and crumbling buildings before crashing against Gilles’s monstrosity. The mad Caster’s shrieks of rage and fear filled the air as he reviled against God once more, this time, the sound of the destruction was louder. The monster crumbled into ashes which were borne away from the power of Excalibur. At the end, the only sound Gilles made was a piercing shriek – whether of madness or pain or something else entirely was something only he would know.
Then the power passed. And it was gone – both the power and Gilles alike. The smaller monstrosities curled up inward on themselves, making faint, horrific shrieks of pain before dissolving into dust as well, like they never existed to begin with.
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Everyone sighed in relief that Gilles was finally defeated… until a faint rumble got their attention. They immediately turned, weapons ready, to face the pillar before them. Its ruby eyes stared at the group impassively, each eye moving to a different person in turn or focusing on their surroundings. It was a very disorienting and disturbing thing to witness.
“Analyzing presences,” Orobas intoned as its eyes continued to rove about. “Servant quantity: Seven. Servant names: Artoria Pendragon. Heroic Spirit EMIYA. Elizabeth Bathory. Kiyohime. Saint Georgios. Siegfried. Jeanne d’Arc. Class designations: Saber. Archer. Lancer. Berserker. Rider. Saber. Ruler. Threat level: Negligible.” A few of the eyes focused on Ren, Morgana, and Mash.
“Unknown variable. Name: Mash Kyrielight,” it continued. “Defensive combat style. Threat level: Negligible. Master quantity: Two.” Then its eyes rolled. “Error. Analysis inconclusive on Masters. Cautionary discretion advised. Calculating threat level. Conclusion: Negligible.” Once more, its eyes focused on Ren and Morgana. “Your presence is… familiar,” Orobas murmured. “Collective accessed. Requesting permission for further analysis. …Permission denied. Information irrelevant.”
“He sure likes to talk a lot,” Morgana noted drily. Ren chuckled despite his own nervousness. It was clear this demon pillar was trying to figure them out. Still, the sign of familiarity was intriguing. He once used the Orobas persona before during his part adventures. Did this particular Orobas know that?
He was tempted to ask but decided not to. It seems it could access a ‘collective’ – probably the other seventy-two demons or whatever was like it if it went by that naming scheme. And considering it was gathering data on them… better safe than sorry.
Still, this… thing needed to be dealt with immediately. It still seemed somewhat distracted by analyzing them and figuring out what was going on. Perhaps if he could make a decisive strike… He glanced over at Saber, who noticed and glanced back. He tightened his fist – the one with the command seals. Saber’s eyes flickered over for a second before nodding almost imperceptibly. It was now or never. He whispered, “By my command seal –“
Before Ren could complete the command, the ruby eyes immediately began to glow. Mash rushed in front of him just in time to deflect a powerful beam of prana, almost bowling her over in the process. Everyone was forced to split up to dodge the onslaught of lasers and superheated smoke that billowed out from the base of Orobas.
“Hostile intent detected,” it intoned. “Humanity hasn’t grown beyond their base tactics. Rejoice in your purging and know your end has come at last. Reinitiating contact with the collective. Standing by. Awaiting further command.”
Ren gritted his teeth and both he and Morgana were covered by Mash, who barely held on from the attacks as they retreated away from Orobas. He had lost track of the other Servants, though judging by how the laser blasts kept going everywhere, they most likely were doing what they could to avoid them as well. As much as he wanted to give the order to Saber and have her obliterate Orobas, it would require her standing still to unleash it. And under this withering barrage, that was all but a suicide wish.
But then again, everyone around him had been impressing on him the necessity of victory at all costs. If he gave the order, she would use her noble phantasm no matter what, even if it would kill her. Was this the true test of it? If push came to shove, if there was a method of victory in front of him that involved sacrificing others, would he be able to carry it out? He glanced down at his seals and his vision winked for a second, seeing his bloodstained glove covering his hand once more.
“Senpai, look out!”
At Mash’s scream, the two Masters looked behind them. A cloud of superheated smoke rapidly approached them. Ren’s eyes widened. There was no way they could escape from that. Once more, Mash moved between them and raised her shield, glowing with power as prana began building around her once more.
“Lord Chaldeas!”
At her roar, the circles and emblems of light formed in front of her shield, causing the smoke to crash and swirl all around them like a wave impacting against a solitary pillar of rock. Ren and Morgana stayed behind her away from the worst of it, though the suffocating heat and smoke left them both coughing and gagging. Ren, fighting for any breath he could as the smoke roiled past them, looked once more at the seals.
What would the world cost?
----------
Jeanne ducked underneath a crumbled ruin of a house to avoid more of the prana blasts. They had all been separated and had no way of locating or contacting the others. A few explosions – most likely from either Archer or Kiyohime – lit up against the pillar, but all that did was give the eyes a new target to focus on, blasting the area where the attack came from. Approaching it was all but impossible as it kept billowing out superheated smoke. Already, the pavement at the base was glowing bright red.
In short, no one could approach it and trying to attack it from far had proven to be useless. Coordination was more or less impossible without all of them retreating, but they didn’t have the luxury of time. This being was far more intelligent than Gilles de Rais and would probably cause some other harm if they left it alone – that phrase about contacting the collective didn’t bode well. What minimal pressure they were offering was doing enough to keep it distracted. A small blessing that it was looking down on them.
A plan formulated in her head. There needed to be two factors: A way to approach or block off attacks from Orobas, and an attack that would destroy him. Saber’s noble phantasm would obliterate it, or perhaps a combination of Georgios and Siegfried’s noble phantasms. Or perhaps everyone at once. Of course, that required everyone being here and being able to coordinate – something she couldn’t exactly do at the moment. And if she tried to rally everyone with her flag, Orobas would most likely shoot her down. She could approach it, but she couldn’t do anything.
Unless…
She gripped her flag. It was now or never. If this was what must be done, then she would face it head on. The Lord would see her path and trials through. And that of everyone else. Especially Ren and Morgana. She broke out of cover and charged at Orobas. Once more, superheated smoke roiled out as ruby eyes focused on her and fired prana blasts once more. She raised her flag as she charged.
“Luminosite Eternelle!” she cried.
With that, a warm golden light shone from the heavens as the grace of God wrapped around her. The smoke parted around her as they couldn’t breach His divine grace, and the blasts of prana bent around her as well. Holding her flag aloft, she pushed forward. Her flag was heavy, so unbearably heavy from His power as she marched forward. But this was yet another trial. She wouldn’t falter, not when the others were dependent on her to light the way forward. The smoke became even heavier and so did the prana blasts, but she wouldn’t yield. He was by her, and He would see her through.
Before long, the smoke parted from her vision, revealing repulsive dark gray flesh. The smoke billowed out, thicker than before. The golden glow of the Lord’s grace was starting to fade away already. She could feel the heat of the semi-molten pavement underneath her feet. At this range, she would be immediately incinerated. Her efforts would be in vain. But not this day. She would make sure of that.
With a single movement, she planted the flag into the softened pavement below, rooting it in place. Taking a deep breath, Jeanne reached to her side and drew her sword. She grasped the blade itself with both hands as she knelt, pointing the pommel toward the sky. The heat from the pavement rapidly warmed her grieves to nigh-unbearable levels, but she could tolerate it. As she held the blade, the edge cut through her gauntlets and into her skin. Rivulets of blood flowed down, steaming as drops hit the ground. “O Lord, I entrust this body to you,” she prayed as prana gathered around her.
“La Pucelle!”
At her cry, flames erupted all around her, burning away the smoke as it rapidly spread. Though Jeanne was at the center of the conflagration, she felt no heat, no pain. These were the flames that had burned her away in life, and so they would burn her away ever after. In exchange though, the flames were unstoppable, seeking to destroy whatever the saint deemed necessary. This would be her final act here, and hopefully would grant salvation to everyone.
As the flames reached ever higher, they raced up the pillar of flesh that stood before her. It roared in rage – its first show of actual emotion – as it redirected as many of its eyes as possible to annihilate the saint. But it was too late. The flames blocked each and every blast and burned away the smoke, as if they wouldn’t suffer the touch of the sinner on the Saint. They were the flames that would purify and leave nothing in their wake.
But for Jeanne, she remained kneeling untouched on the ground as the fires of her noble phantasm burned all around her. They parted, revealing the sky. Jeanne turned her gaze skyward and raised her blade, the golden light of Heaven shining down and welcoming her. The Lord was with her. He always was. As it shone brighter, her last thought was a prayer.
Please, my Lord, grant Chaldea your succor and aid in their trials to come.
----------
Ren wasn’t sure what exactly happened. One moment, he was choking for breath alongside Morgana as Mash did her utmost to block the smoke, the next they were all bathed in a sea of flames. All three of them recoiled in shock before realizing that they felt no heat or pain from the flames whatsoever. They only burned away the smoke as the flames raced out, covering the whole area.
Then a roar caught their attention and they turned toward Orobas – and their eyes widened as the pillar was set aflame like a bonfire. “Error! Error!” it raged. “Unexpected variables detected! Such incalculations must not be permitted! Revising error! Requesting revision to the collective! Revisions denied! Variables deemed insignificant! Revisions unnecessary! Requesting revision! Revision denied! Requesting revision! Request denied!”
Orobas’s eyes rolled about in panic. “Know this, humanity!” it boomed out. “You stand before a precipice that has no bottom, a fate you have no power to defy! It is beyond useless! Useless! Useless! You struggle and fight in vain! Know that the King of Mages shall not tolerate your trespass! You will submit! And you shall perish! It…. Is…. Inevitable…!” Finally, the roaring flames consumed the pillar utterly and before long, it dissolved away into ashes.
As it did, a gleaming item revealed itself, dropping into a crater where the pillar had been. After that, there was nothing. The silence that radiated all around them was deafening. Ren gulped and hit the communicator. Roman’s pale, shocked face once more popped up on the holographic screen. “Roman, what just happened?” Ren asked, barely able to get the words out through his dry throat.
Roman tapped a few keys. “It, um, seemed like Jeanne used her noble phantasm,” he replied, looking at the data. “Her noble phantasm, La Pucelle, conjures the flames that had killed her in life. In exchange though, it… it sacrifices Jeanne’s life.”
At that news, Ren paled as Morgana, standing nearby, blanched. Jeanne sacrificed herself to take down Orobas? The sight of a steel door closing in his face once more flashed before him. With her, that made three people who had died for this: Marie, Mozart, and Jeanne. A pit developed in his stomach and his throat tightened. He was the one who insisted on pulling off this heist. Because of that, everything that had happened here…
“Ren,” Roman spoke up quietly. He had seen the Master’s expression and needed to shake him out of it as soon as possible. “The singularity’s almost resolved. Retrieve the Grail. And… for what it’s worth, you did great. As well as anyone could hope for.”
The Master of Chaldea scowled before forcing himself to smile. “Yeah, I guess,” he said, his tone strained. “Not bad for a first time, especially given the situation. We’ll let you know once we’ve recovered the Grail and you can get us out of here.” Before Roman could say anything more, Ren turned off the communicator.
Morgana and Mash looked at him in concern as he did. “Ren?” Morgana asked gently, trying to read his closest friend’s expression.
Still forcing a reassuring smile, he nodded to both of them. “Come on, guys,” he said. “Let’s finish this and head back to Chaldea.” Before either of them could say anything, he walked towards the crater, leaving the other two to look at each other before hesitatingly following him.
Before long, they came to the crater. Spanning the diameter of the pillar from earlier, it was edged with debris from all the ruined houses that were destroyed and shoved aside from its growth. Ringed around it was the ground blackened with ash and soot from the smoke. The crater itself was shallow, as if a giant hand had come and scooped out the dirt. The middle lay the Grail.
The Servants had already gathered around it, keeping a watch. There was no sign of anyone else approaching but it was better safe than sorry. “Hey guys!” Ren called out, raising a hand to catch their attention, still with an easy smile plastered on his face. “Hope you guys weren’t waiting for too long!” He was about to make a joke about traffic being horrible when his peripheral vision landed on Kiyohime. No, better not. She might take that joke as a lie, and frankly he had more than enough complications and pain to deal with.
Walking to the center, he picked up the Grail. It shone resplendently in his hand, showing no trace of taint or malevolence despite being used by Gilles de Rais or transforming into Orobas. If it wasn’t for everything they had just gone through, he would’ve even considered it anticlimactic. But this Grail was something earned after this long campaign. His grip tightened around the artifact.
This was just one out of many to come. Was this how it was going to be from now on?
A glow of light caught his eye. The Servants they had encountered from Orleans were glowing, shedding particles of light. “It would appear we’ve fulfilled what we’ve been summoned for,” Siegfried noted, looking at his hand. “The battle is over here. I thank you all for your support, and once more I apologize for the trouble.” He smiled at the group. “Chaldea, you are all noble souls,” he declared. “Should you summon me, I will once more pledge my blade to your cause.”
“And mine as well,” Georgios agreed. “After witnessing your deeds, Ren Amamiya, I can safely say you are no heretic. I shall lend my sword to your cause as well.” He glanced over at Ren. “And if you are blaming yourself for Jeanne, don’t,” he said, giving a stern glance at Ren. “She had made her decision and chosen to give her life so that we may succeed this day and be ready for the next. It was her choice to make. It may not lighten your heart, but take solace in that fact. It was not your mistake that caused her death.”
Ren blinked in surprise, his mask slipping for a brief second to reveal pure shock and raw grief. He took a deep shuddering breath before it fell back into place. “Noted, Georgios,” he replied, his smile even more strained than before. “Thanks for everything, you two. I’ll see you when I see you.” With that, the two Servants faded away into golden dust.
“Ugh, really? Just at the beginning of my world tour?” Elizabeth snapped, stomping her foot. “I didn’t even get a chance to throw a concert here! How am I supposed to get my adoring fans now!” She glared at Ren. “Puppy, you promised me you’d make me an idol! I’m not letting you off that easy, I guarantee that! I’ll see you soon!” With one final glare (and was that a faint blush?), the draconic Lancer faded away, leaving Ren, Morgana, and Mash very nonplussed.
“Hmph, that Lancer can do what she likes,” Kiyohime scoffed, her fan once more concealing her mouth. “It is clear Anchin-sama is not here, despite what you have said, Master of Chaldea.” She shot an ill-tempered glare at Ren, not noticing – or perhaps ignoring – the fact that Saber and Archer had their blades at the ready, with Mash ready to intercept at a moment’s notice.
“I shall search other lands for him,” she stated. “However, do not count on my assistance again. I have no need for the company of liars around me. I shall find Anchin-sama on my own. Farewell, and may the winds bear you to the fortune you deserve.” Then she turned, and without a backward glance walked away, eventually scattering into nothing like all the others.
Now it was just the Chaldeans left: Ren, Morgana, Mash, Saber, and Archer. Ren took a deep breath, then tapped the communicator. “Grail secured, doctor,” he reported in a tired voice. “Beam us up.”
“A Star Trek reference, huh?” Roman replied, trying to match Ren’s failed attempt at humor with a strained smile of his own. “Good work, you guys. Activating rayshift. We’ll see you all shortly.”
The communication ended. Then they were surrounded by a flash of light, and Ren knew no more.
----------
Collective reached. Transferring data. On standby. Awaiting conclusion.
The data was different than they had expected. The Servants were within calculations. The Caster and his monstrosity were outside variables but were well within parameters. So was the partial Servant. Even the failure of the construct was accounted for as well as the fall of the singularity.
However, the two Masters were variables that were completely unexpected. Their powers were negligible overall, even as something they had no data on. However, there was something here that was… amiss. Their algorithms should be flawless. Their plans would succeed no matter what. And yet…
What did mortals call this sensation? Unease? For the King’s plans, every variable must be accounted for.
Another sensation stirred within them. A small remnant, plaintively wishing for something beyond hopes. Beyond dreams. A plan formulated among their algorithms, a way to collect data on these unknown variables. So they turned to the remnant. What do you want? they asked. The remnant was silent for a moment and an eternity. Then it replied.
Another chance.
And by their will, the remnant’s wish was granted.
----------
The soft piano music once more reached Ren’s ears as his eyes opened again. He felt the hard bunk against his back. Slowly, he stood up. It was a strange sensation – he had only been to the Velvet Room a few days before, yet it felt like a lifetime ago now. Perhaps it was because it was the one bit of familiarity compared to all the fantastical things that happened in Orleans? Who could really say?
Shaking off his ruminations, he stepped out of his cell. Once more, Igor was at his desk with Lavenza standing faithfully by his side, smiling. Igor was first to break the silence, raising his hands and clapping. “Well done, my dear guest, well done!” he crowed. “You have surmounted a challenge that reaches past humanity with surpassing cleverness and valor! Truly, you are a most remarkable guest!”
Ren forced a smile on his face. He knew praise from anyone in the Velvet Room was genuine, but despite that the words sounded completely hollow. “Thanks, Igor,” he replied, once again forcing a smile on his face. “If the other singularities were like that, then it’ll be tricky but I think we’ll pull through just fine. Thanks for all the help you’ve given me so far.”
However, his mask didn’t do much to fool either of them. Igor’s eyes fell as Lavenza’s smile was replaced with a worried expression. Stepping forward, the little girl gently held Ren’s hand. “You did all you could, my Trickster,” she reassured him, her bright yellow eyes meeting Ren’s shocked grey ones. “The sacrifices of those Servants were not something you could have prevented. There are many lives you have saved in that singularity, and many more could have been lost were it not for your cleverness and decisive nature. Take heart in that.”
Igor stared hard at Ren and sighed. “It would seem you need some further reassurance that you have saved others,” he said. “Allow me to show you.” His perpetual grin widened a bit as he raised a hand and curled his finger off to the side. A cell door opened, and a person stepped out. A young woman with silver hair and brighter yellow eyes than she had before. Her clothes were the same, though the yellow shades of her outfit were now the deep blue shade of the Velvet Room.
Ren’s eyes widened as the girl folded her arms. “This is the life you have saved, and will now be assisting you in the matters of singularities and magecraft,” Igor explained as his grin widened. “She shall be your new attendant alongside Lavenza. Would you like to introduce yourself, my dear?”
The girl gave an arid stare at Ren before sighing. “Well, if it wasn’t for everything I’ve experienced and seen so far, I would’ve dismissed this all as a dream,” she grumbled. “But it’s all a bit too real. Still, I owe you my life, and I will not so easily forget my debts.” She drew herself up, her eyes meeting Ren’s. “I shall introduce myself again. I am Olga Marie Animusphere. Director – or rather, former director of Chaldea. Now I’m an attendant of this… Velvet Room. I look forward to working with you.”
The Master of Chaldea was speechless, blinking rapidly as he tried to process what was happening. The last time he saw her, she was about to be cast into a giant ball of fire in Fuyuki and he out of sheer desperation tried to save her. And now, here she was, about as healthy and whole as she could be. There was the odd caveat that she was a Velvet Room attendant now but other than that…
“Well?” she snapped as a small, embarrassed blush crept into her cheeks from being stared at. “Are you going to answer me or are you going to keep gaping like a fish?!”
Ren blinked in surprise again before finally chuckling, regaining his composure. “As sharp as ever, huh, director?” he asked, shooting a teasing grin at her as the girl blushed further. “Glad to see you’re doing well. You look pretty good, all things considered.”
Olga cleared her throat, trying to shove the blush down from her cheeks. “Well, I have you to thank for that,” she responded brusquely. “You have my gratitude for saving me from… from the traitor, Lev Lainur.” It was clear that she had to force out the last few words. Nobody commented on it, however. She still needed time.
“Henceforth, I shall put my all into assisting you,” she stated. “I have watched you maneuver through the singularity and I must say, though your magecraft has improved, it is still sloppy. A magus like you won’t be enough to get through all of them, especially if it gets any tougher.” She paused, then blushed again. “Though g-given what y-you’ve been through w-with that s-singularity and that P-Palace, I’ll g-give you s-some praise,” she stammered. “Be thankful.”
Suddenly, Ren was hit with a sense of deja-vu. In front of him stood a little girl, wearing a faded blue guard uniform with an eyepatch on her eye and hair buns curled up on the sides. Then he blinked, and it was Olga again. He had to chuckle in amusement. How familiar. “Thanks, director,” he replied with a grin. “I’ll be counting on you.”
The attendant blinked and blushed even more, coughing into a fist. “J-just call me Olga, A-Amamiya,” she replied. “As I s-stated, I’m the f-former d-director now, so th-that title doesn’t m-mean anything.”
He nodded. “Olga it is then,” he responded easily, causing the girl to blush even further.
Lavenza cleared her throat nearby. “Unfortunately, Olga has much to learn as a Velvet Room attendant,” she spoke up, her tone a bit more clipped. “It shall be a while before she shall be able to assist you with your requirements within the Velvet Room. For now, my Trickster, I shall continue assisting you with whatever you require here.”
Her annoyed gaze softened as she opened the Compendium, revealing the transparent pages. “The singularity will take time to resolve,” she explained, smiling. “But until then, you shall have access to your personas it allows you. Your strength is returning to you, my Trickster.”
Ren nodded, feeling relieved. Honestly, with the singularity resolved, he had been wondering what would happen to the personas he utilized, like Metatron, Satan, or Pixie. To still have them was a giant weight off his mind. As much as he liked and used Arsene, just him would limit his options far too much. Having a collection of personas, even as limited as this, was a gigantic boon. “Good to know,” he replied gratefully.
“Now, I believe it is time, my dear guest,” Igor spoke up. “New trials will await you not just in the singularities, but in Chaldea as well. Once again, I must reiterate, do remember to build your bonds with not just Servants, but those at Chaldea as well. They shall be your strength in the days to come.”
He nodded, but before he could turn back to his cell, Olga spoke up. “One moment, Amamiya,” she said, catching the Phantom Thief’s attention. “When you speak with Roman and Da Vinci, let them know I’m safe. And if they doubt you, tell them these words: ‘Stars, Cosmos, Gods, Animus, Antrum, Unverse, Anima, Animusphere.’ They will believe you then. Do not forget these words in that order!”
Ren blinked with surprise but nodded regardless. It was a rather odd sequence of words but he made sure to commit them to memory. “I’ll be sure to tell them,” he reassured the former director with a smile. He glanced at the other residents of the Velvet Room. “See you guys soon.” With that, he walked into the cell as the walls faded away into darkness.
Chaldea awaited him.