There was a strange air of tension within the command center, considerably more so than when they were setting off for Orleans. After all, expectations were now set, and with the debriefing, Ren and Morgana would be more closely scrutinized than before, by both Servants and the staff at Chaldea. Anything could still happen, but Ren and Morgana had proven themselves, so the pressure was even greater now.

Not to mention, it was Ritsu’s first foray into a singularity. There was some discussion on whether she should set off with them – especially considering she didn’t have nearly the combat skills of either Ren or Morgana, nor did she have their experience or strategic acumen. Some training perhaps would be needed. However, the more veteran Servants – particularly Artoria, Cu Chulainn, and Jeanne – argued that no amount of training would prepare her properly for the battlefield. It was better to send her in now.

So Ritsu, dressed in her Chaldean Master uniform, which functioned as a mystic code, stood beside Ren and Morgana, bouncing excitedly. The uniform had useful functions that included strengthening Servants, granting them brief clairvoyance to dodge incoming attacks, and even healing them. Ren could do the same as well, but with his personas, the mystic code was made redundant overall.

Formations were also shifted as well. While Mash was to protect the Masters to the best of her ability, her priority was given to Ritsu as opposed to Ren or Morgana. The latter two had the means to protect themselves far more than she did, after all. Her defensive capabilities would be far more necessary for Ritsu than they were with the Phantom Thieves. However, given Ren’s capabilities, additional protection would be required besides Servants. And it turned out, they had the perfect answer.

Joan stood nearby, crossing her arms as she stared up at the globe that was CHALDEAS. As an incarnated Servant, she could be treated much the same as one of the Masters without straining the power supply from Chaldea. She wouldn’t strain the supplies overall for Chaldea either. Amazingly enough, the Lancer Servant required almost no persuasion. As soon as she was told her role, she immediately agreed without even a hint of grumbling.

“We’ll be counting on you, Joan,” Ren called out. “Glad you’re coming with us.”

She glanced over at the Master before turning her eyes back to the globe. “I’m just doing my job,” she muttered. “I have to make sure you all survive so this won’t all be for nothing.” That all the people she killed in France wouldn’t have died for absolutely nothing. Their lives were wasted to a heretic and sinner like her – all she could do at this point was make up for it. Now and in the future.

“Oh, ragazzo and gatto~!” came Da Vinci’s sing-song voice over the intercom. “Please see me at my workshop~! Your universal genius has presents for you~!”

Ren and Morgana looked at each other in surprise. Come to think of it, they never received their weapons back from her. Ritsu grinned. “Gifts from Da Vinci?” she asked. “Well of course – the Phantom Thieves only use the most awesome stuff, after all. Go on! I wanna see it when you guys come back!” With a small (not so small) encouraging push from Ritsu, they set off down the hallway towards the Caster’s workshop.

“Do you think we should tell her that most of the stuff we used were just replicas?” Morgana pondered as he walked beside Ren in his Metaverse form.

The leader of the Phantom Thieves chuckled in turn. “I think we can keep that a secret for a bit longer,” Ren replied with a grin. He still remembered all the weapons and gear he bought from Iwai, or the stuff he collected in Mementos and had to wash at the laundry machine. They all turned out extremely useful – and surprisingly sold for a decent amount too once the team no longer had any use for them.

Honestly, it was a blessing that he could do his laundry in the coin-based laundromat right across from LeBlanc which also neighbored a bath. Explaining to Sojiro where he got all the dirty clothes from would definitely have been awkward overall. Stashing away weapons, however, was another story. Thankfully he used knives and pistols, while Morgana used scaled down swords and slingshots. Easy to conceal in his bag.

Thankfully, Haru had come in as a godsend, renting out a storage unit for most of their gear. It got harder and harder to hide things like Ryuji’s clubs, Yusuke’s katanas, and most of all, Haru’s battleaxes and grenade launchers. How they weren’t caught by the cops with those, he would honestly never figure out…

Coming to a stop at Da Vinci’s workshop, they once more tapped the door panel. The door hissed open almost immediately, allowing the two in. Entering the room, they found Da Vinci wearing magnifier glasses, closely looking over Ren’s knife. “Hey, Da Vinci,” Ren called out, loud enough to be heard but not so much as to disturb her. “I hear you’ve got something for us.”

The Caster looked up and grinned, pushing up her glasses. “Indeed I do, my ragazzo!” She handed back their weapons which now looked a bit different – a streak of white across the blades of their respective weapons. Switching forms, the top part of the gun retained the white streak while the prongs of Morgana’s slingshot held the same coloration.

“Please, do try them out,” Da Vinci chirped with a grin. “I had particular fun customizing them this time around – improving upon one’s own works is the sigh of a true genius, after all~” She looked at them expectantly. “How do they feel, ragazzo? Gatto?”

Ren stared at the streak in his knife approvingly before twirling it in his hand. He switched to its gun form and aimed it carefully, making sure to keep his finger off the trigger. It was no slouch before, but it just felt better in his hand now than it did before. He had a similar feeling with some of the weapons he picked up back in the Metaverse – despite their progressively outlandish designs, they somehow still felt easier to wield and use than more ‘practical’ knives and guns in turn.

He grinned at the self-proclaimed genius. “And once more, you’ve outdone yourself,” he complimented earnestly. “This certainly feels better than before. What kind of modifications did you do this time?”

As he asked, he aimed carefully through the sights of his pistol while activating his Third Eye. It was a technique that came in handy when he was fighting Servants in the real world. He would have to practice more with it. Meanwhile, Morgana was giving his own cutlass experimental swings, and judging from his grin, was just as happy.

Da Vinci’s smile became mischievous. “Do you remember when you sent back Fafnir’s fangs back to Chaldea~?” she asked innocently.

Both Ren and Morgana froze, their mind immediately putting the pieces together. Both of them stared at their weapons in shock. “Whoa,” Morgana gasped. “No way. You… you actually incorporated Fafnir’s fangs into our weapons?! That’s… that’s ridiculous! Did you just make us Noble Phantasms, Da Vinci?!”

The Caster immediately burst out laughing gleefully. “Oh, my, how flattering, my dear gatto!” she cried. “No, no. These aren’t Noble Phantasms. While they’re powerful on their own right now, they still lack the mystery and legend behind them to truly make them Noble Phantasms. No, my ragazzo and gatto, these are still just mystic codes. But as you can tell, they are far more powerful than most. At the Clock Tower, you would be offered enough money for a hundred lifetimes for them.”

Ren gulped as he stared at the weapon in his grasp. It wasn’t like he was unused to holding legendary weapons in his hands – after all, few could match the Paradise Lost knife he had formed from executing Satananel and the Tyrant Pistol he had created by doing the same to Lucifer. However, those were weapons bound and utilized within the Metaverse. In the real world, while they still held a great amount of power, it was locked away until they were brought once more into the cognitive world.

But this… this was different. The Chaldean weapons were made by Da Vinci with real world materials, with materials that were beyond fantastical. Noble Phantasm or not, what they held in their hand would be considered by anyone to be mythological weapons, worthy of a lot more respect than just a weapon. And it was power that they were honestly wary of. It may be just barely enough against Servants or mythological beings, but just what would it do to a regular person…?

Suppressing the thought, Ren forced his usual carefree grin on his face. “Heh, well, it’s gonna be useful regardless,” he commented lightly as he switched it back to its knife form and began swinging it around to test it. He could practically feel the blade cutting through the air with unnatural sharpness. It may be just his imagination, but with how mystery seemingly combined both cognitive and reality together, it was extremely hard to say for certain. “Any particular changes we should be aware of?”

Da Vinci sighed in disappointment. “Not as much as I’d like, sadly,” she lamented. “The edges of your blades are sharper and keener, they’re more durable, and the shots – both the normal and special shots – are more powerful overall. However, I couldn’t go too far. I needed to leave good portions of it unmodified so that if there were other interesting materials, I could do further work on them.”

Both Ren and Morgana whirled to Da Vinci. “More work?” Morgana echoed. “Hold up, you mean to tell me you plan to do more?!”

The genius grinned broadly. “Si!” she answered, beaming. “The singularities are a crisis, but they are also a treasure trove of mysteries and materials that even I, the Uomo Universale, would be hard-pressed to find in the real world! It would be remiss of us not to exploit them so that we may work towards fixing the problem overall! Geniuses always find solutions within problems!”

The two Masters blinked at her, then could only shake their heads while smiling. “Can’t argue on that front, Da Vinci,” Morgana replied. “Did you make something for Ritsu as well?”

Da Vinci’s smile diminished a bit at the question. “Ah, no, I haven’t,” she replied. “Ritsu hasn’t had any weapons or firearms training, fantastical or mundane, unlike the two of you. It would not do for her to have a weapon where she might end up harming herself. She has been given a standard issue knife for self-defense and security usage, but no more until further notice.”

Ren considered, then nodded. Weapons were extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. The Metaverse had given the Phantom Thieves prerequisite knowledge of how to utilize their weapons, somehow, and before long, they had used the weapons so much it had become muscle memory. Unfortunately, no such shortcuts existed for Ritsu. He agreed with Da Vinci’s decision.

“Alright, if that’s all, we should probably get going,” Ren decided, sheathing the knife as Morgana turned it into his slingshot form and put it away. He smiled gratefully and gave a low bow. “Thank you so much, Da Vinci,” he said. “We’ll make good use of them. We promise.”

Da Vinci grinned and waved. “Please do~! I wish to see the data for further improvements!” she chirped. “But until then, ciao~!”

After the two left, the Caster sighed tiredly. Incorporating Fafnir’s fangs into their weapons was hardly beyond her ability. If anything, she was amazed at how easy it was. But she didn’t miss the expressions of pure shock from Ren and Morgana – and the signs of trepidation as opposed to wonder or joy. Were they wary of the power they wielded? The two had briefed her, Roman, and Mash about the Metaverse, but was fighting shadows truly that different than fighting in the singularities?

Well, that was obviously the case, or they wouldn’t be having so many problems right now. She remembered the two’s insistence on not killing. Da Vinci was many things – an idealist and a dreamer, an inventor and a scholar, an artist and a mathematician, all beyond peer. But even she kept her feet on reality.

And she knew what the two wished simply wasn’t possible. But unfortunately, some things were beyond even her ken. And that included explaining such things to such admirably strong-willed individuals. They would have to experience the reality for themselves – and they could only hope they could keep them together when that happened.

They had to.

—-------

With that, they all gathered back in the command center once more. Roman had been waiting for them with a smile. “Welcome back, you two!” he greeted them. “I take it Da Vinci furnished your weapons?”

Morgana grinned and nodded. Ritsu’s eyes gleamed as she spun towards them. “Weapons? From Da Vinci?!” she gasped. “Lemme see lemme see lemme SEEEE!”

Mash gave an exasperated sigh as she reached over to gently pull her back. “I don’t think now is a good time, Ritsu-senpai,” she murmured. Ritsu blinked, then coughed into her hand in embarrassment before giving an apologetic smile to the others and backing off. Ren flashed a grateful smile to Mash, who returned a bashful one in turn.

Roman, meanwhile, was waiting for the fuss to die down. “Right, so now that we’re all here,” he began, raising his voice so it carried easily to everyone in the room. “The next Singularity is located once more in Europe – specifically, the Roman Empire.” He tapped out a few keys on his work console and once more CHALDEAS whirled and became blue once more, showing the continents before slowing down. A beeping dot on Italy indicated the location.

“The time period is the first century, in 60 AD under the reign of emperor Nero,” he explained. “This was during the Roman Empire’s heyday where Rome was prospering – well, more or less. You’ll be rayshifted close to Rome. Given its proximity, expect little to no conflict near the rayshift coordinates. Though given our track record with both Fuyuki and Orleans, take that forecast with a heavy grain of salt. Be ready for anything.”

He glanced over and saw Mash had her hand up. “Yes, Mash?” he asked.

“Are Servants present within the Singularity?” she asked. Roman nodded in confirmation. “Is there perhaps a method we could use to distinguish friend or hostile Servants within our area? It would certainly be good to have advance notification.”

Ren and Morgana nodded. Indeed, having Futaba scanning Mementos and revealing both the layout of the floors and what kind of enemies were there had always been helpful. If they could have something similar, it would save them a massive headache. A hope that was quickly dashed by Roman sadly shaking his head.

“Unfortunately, Servants are too complex to identify off the cuff as friend or foe,” he replied sympathetically. “Still, at least we can track incoming Servants, bar any with higher rank Presence Concealment, and mark them down on Chaldea’s IFF as necessary. It’s not much but it’s much better than nothing.”

“IFF?” Ritsu asked curiously.

“Identity Friend-or-Foe system,” Da Vinci supplied. “A fancy military term and system that basically tracks whether someone is an ally or enemy. Quick categorization makes for quick decisions in the heat of battle, after all, though of course it has its own caveats. Still, leave it to Da Vinci-chan here to make sure it’s nice and accurate at all times~!”

Ren nodded in understanding before looking over at the gathered Servants. His gaze lingered on Loki in particular, who was watching the happenings with a faintly amused expression on their face. “Hey, Roman?” he asked, turning back. “I don’t suppose we can summon more Servants before we go? We could definitely use the extra firepower and more options, just in case.”

That request took Roman by surprise as Ren never really asked to do a summoning outright, though he quickly recovered. “Unfortunately, it takes some time to gather the necessary energy and stabilize it before we can summon yet more Servants,” he replied apologetically. “If we do it too soon or too often, the summoning process becomes unstable and we end up summoning all sorts of random things – most often mapo tofu, for some reason.”

“Mapo what now,” Morgana echoed flatly.

“Mapo tofu,” Ritsu jumped in. “It’s tofu made in this spicy sauce that-“

“I know what it is!” Morgana interjected irritably. “But – just – how do you summon mapo tofu?! That makes no sense at all!”

Ritsu shrugged. “I gave up asking how anything worked here, honestly,” she replied casually. “Less of a headache that way.” She then looked over at Roman. “I don’t suppose we can run the summoning process then?” she asked hopefully. “I could use a snack before we go.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Ritsu-senpai…” Mash sighed exasperatedly.

Ren didn’t respond to the others as he looked back at CHALDEAS, his mind buzzing with thoughts. An idea had formed in his mind. Akechi was here, after all, wasn’t he? It may be Loki, but he could still see signs of Akechi there. It wasn’t precisely the same, but he could see hints of him underneath Loki. It was an anomaly if what everyone says was true, but it still happened.

So if Akechi was there… Why couldn’t the others as well? They had Personas that could probably qualify for it. Seiten Taisei – or Son Goku – for Ryuji, Hecate for Ann, Susano’o for Yusuke, and more. They were all powerful beings and would definitely contribute greatly to their fighting force and utility if they were ever summoned, giving them a bit of an easier time restoring humanity.

And he and Morgana could see their friends once more.

He shoved down his emotions. No. When they got to summoning, then he would consider it. For now, it was better to focus on the mission at hand. He just needed to be patient. They had Loki. The others will show up in due time. That was how it worked last time – no reason it wouldn’t work this time.

“We’ve managed to get our generators running more efficiently,” Da Vinci called out. “And with the new efficiency, we can now send four Servants out on the field! So please do pick carefully who you’ll be going with!”

All three looked over at the collection of Servants. Eleven total, not including Mash and Joan. All of them with their own talents, strengths, and weaknesses. They were entering an era of relative peace. But then, that was what Orleans was supposed to be, and that was basically a disaster with wyverns, monsters, zombies, and Servants all over the place butchering people. They needed to make their choices carefully.

“Right, we’re gonna need someone for recon,” Morgana said. “Archer, Medusa, you guys are up! The grassy fields should be really good for both scouting and mobility so we’ll be counting on both of you!”

Archer smirked and Medusa barely nodded her head in acknowledgement. “As you will, my Masters,” the latter murmured, her eyes concealed once more by the metallic blindfold. They both stepped forward, ready for their orders.

Ritsu looked about, narrowing her eyes as she focused on which Servant she wanted to bring. There were so many good choices here. But in the end, she nodded. “Tamamo – Caster,” she called out. “What little I saw of your magecraft was amazing already. You got way too much utility and probably a heck of a punch! Come on down!”

Tamamo giggled once more behind her sleeve. “Always nice to have an enthusiastic Master who appreciates my abilities,” she chirped. She stepped forward and bowed. “Then as you have called, so I shall perform,” she declared. “Caster Tamamo-no-Mae, at your service. Let’s put these ruffians in their place.”

Morgana nodded in approval of Ritsu’s choice. “Good call,” he said. “Now, we need to have a front liner. We got plenty to choose from, thankfully, so we should-“

“Loki.”

Everyone immediately looked at Ren at the immediate answer, including Loki, who raised their eyebrow. “Master, I must disagree,” Artoria replied, frowning. “Loki is a loose variable. We cannot predict their actions, nor would they be fitting for the front lines. They would be nothing more than a liability. I ask you to reconsider.”

Loki gave an exaggerated wince. “Ouch, harsh words,” they remarked before settling back into their sardonic grin.. “Not untrue though.”

“We already know what you, Siegfried, and Cu Chulainn are capable of,” Ren retorted. “We don’t know what Loki is capable of. I have some ideas thanks to knowing their… host.” He had to ground out the word. “It’s better to take them to the field and see what they can do. With Tamamo, Medusa, and Archer keeping track of them, I doubt Loki can make much mischief. It’s better we know now what Loki can do than have it cripple us at the last moment.”

Artoria looked bemused by the argument and opened her mouth to retort before she was interrupted by Loki herself laughing. “Well, I didn’t realize my company was quite so wanted,” they said cheerfully. “If that’s the case, I’m happy to come along. I want to see for myself what the deal with these Singularities are in the first place.”

Sauntering forward, they gave a low bow before standing back up, winking to Ren. “I’ll be in your care, Master~” they murmured.

Girl or not, Akechi or not, it took Ren a considerable amount of restraint not to punch Loki. A sound caught his attention and he glanced over to see Archer holding back Ritsu’s fist. “Don’t,” he muttered, glaring at the Pseudo-Servant. “It’s not worth it.”

“Ren, are you sure about this?” Roman asked concernedly. A skepticism that was shared by literally everyone in the room, staff and Servants included.

The Wild Card nodded confidently. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he replied.

There was a moment of silence, then Roman sighed. “Alright then,” he replied. “We’ll trust your judgement. Everyone, to your stations!”

Ren nodded as everyone moved to their workstations and the group moved towards the Coffins. They opened up and were awaiting to transport them to the new singularity. Everyone stepped in and the doors closed… with the exception of Ritsu, who shivered and hesitated as she stared at her open Coffin.

Mash, who was just about to enter, looked over. “Ritsu-senpai?” she asked worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

Ritsu blinked in surprise before chuckling abashedly. “Oh, nothing,” she replied, trying to shrug it off. “Just cold feet, I guess.” Her smile faded as she looked at the Coffin once more. “It’s hard to believe I have to go in one of these again,” she murmured. “The last time I went in, it was gonna be my literal coffin. I hyped myself up for it to try and get over being afraid but… heh, no such luck.”

She chuckled again, this time a bit more bitterly. “Heh, here I am wussing out in front of my idols and in front of you, Mash,” she muttered. “God, I’m definitely a sadsack right now.”

“That’s not true, Ritsu-senpai,” Mash quickly denied, walking forward and gently taking her hand in both of her own. Mash had read that physical contact could help soothe a person’s nerves, and decided to try it now. It seemed the right time for it. Roman and Da Vinci noticed there was a hold-up, but decided not to rush them, instead quickly moving to the PA system to notify the others within the Coffins.

Ritsu’s hand was warm to Mash’s touch, almost like her sheer vitality and energy converted into heat. The redheaded girl blinked in surprise and turned a slight shade of red, but she didn’t move her hand. “Ren-senpai and Mr. Morgana are scared too,” she reassured her. “But they both trust you and have faith in you. If there were any doubts, they would’ve spoken up. But they haven’t. I’m absolutely sure they will need you.”

The Master blinked again, her mouth hanging open slightly speechless. Then she giggled. “My, when did you become such a smooth talker, Mash~?” she commented with a wry grin. Mash immediately spluttered, her face becoming a deep shade of crimson at the compliment. “I see Ren is being a good influence on you, and so is Morgana. As expected of the Phantom Thieves, after all.

She looked back at her Coffin. “But you’re right,” she continued. “If they’re trusting me to watch their back, then I better not disappoint them. Time to earn my keep here.” Then deciding to see Mash flustered one more time, she quickly leaned in and gave a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for the pep talk, Mash. See you on the other side~!” she chirped out before hopping into the Coffin and the doors closed.

Mash could only stare at the Coffin, holding her cheek in shock as her face turned even redder. Suddenly, Roman’s voice came over the PA, causing the girl to jump in surprise. “Ahem, um, whenever you’re ready, Mash,” he called over. Mash hurriedly nodded before jumping into her own Coffin, the doors sealing. With that, the process began.

Unsummon Program start.

Spiritron Conversion start.

Rayshift starting in 3, 2, 1…

All procedures cleared.

Grand Order, commencing operation.

And with that, they knew no more.

—------

Second Singularity – AD 60, Eternal Madness Empire: Septem

Ren blinked as they came to once more. It was a bright, verdant meadow field they were standing in once more, with the sun beaming down on them. It felt much like Orleans, but it was also considerably warmer as well. Honestly, it was tempting to take off his Chaldean uniform jacket, but that definitely wouldn’t be a good idea right now. He could, however, hear distant crashing and roaring.

“Well, I wouldn't mind this for a vacation spot,” Ritsu remarked, looking around and stretching. “Sun feels good, there’s a faint whiff of a sea breeze. Ah, this place is practically paradise. Well, besides the noise – I could certainly file a complaint about that.”

Loki chuckled darkly. “You guys really are green, you know that?” they remarked, a bitter smirk spread across their face. “You really think that’s just some common noise?”

Morgana turned to Loki with a glare. “You gonna be this irritatingly cryptic all the time, Loki?” he snapped. “Why don’t you just tell us what the hell it is?”

“It is a battle.”

Everyone turned to Medusa, who was standing as still as a statue facing the source of the noise. “The scent of blood is in the air, with the clash of swords and shields. Only a small distance to the northwest.”

Ren’s eyes widened. The mood immediately shifted. “All Servants, get over there and help out who you can!” he barked out. “Morgana, Ritsu, Mash, with me! Let’s go!” The Servants nodded and bolted off towards the battle as Ren, Ritsu, and Morgana ran as fast as they were able to after them. Before long, the Servants disappeared over a hill and out of sight, leaving the others besides Mash huffing as they struggled to keep up.

“Masters, we have a problem,” came Archer’s voice through their mutual telepathic link.

Ren blinked in surprise as he continued running. He was fit thanks to his exercising – a practice that came both from necessity as a Phantom Thief and simply spending time training with Ryuji – though it seemed Ritsu could keep pace with them as well. One less worry for them.

“What is it, Archer?” he asked over the link.

“There are two Roman legions fighting against each other,” the Servant responded. “One side is utterly outnumbered, though they have a rather… flashy figure fighting with them. It is difficult to tell who to support.”

Morgana blinked. “Well, that’s an issue,” he admitted. “Ren, can you get Roman on the line?”

Ren nodded and brought up his communicator and tapped it. The holographic Roman quickly appeared. “Hey Roman,” he panted out. “We’re coming up on a nearby battle, but there are two legions fighting each other – we don’t know who’s who.”

Through the holographic image, Roman blinked in surprise. “That shouldn’t be possible,” he said. “According to our records, this era of Roman history should be peaceful. No civil wars or anything should be going on.” He checked off screen for a second. “And according to the coordinates, you’re far too close to Rome for any foreign invaders. Just who-“

“Didn’t you say the same thing about Orleans, doctor?!” Morgana snapped as he continued running. Unlike in the Metaverse, running did drain stamina, and as fit as they all were, even he was starting to run out of breath.

“Senpai, Mr. Morgana, we’re almost to the destination,” Mash pointed out. Unlike the others, she wasn’t even tired despite hauling her huge shield. “We will be able to get a visual of the battle. Roman, we’ll need identification once we’re on site.”

Roman blinked. “Er, right,” he stammered. “Leave it to me.”

As they crested over the hill, their eyes widened at the sight. As Archer said, two Roman legions were clashing against one another, and as he said, one side was clearly outnumbering the other and pushing them back. The Servants were watching impassively (or other means of observation in Medusa’s case), reading the flow of battle before rushing in.

The Masters and Mash all took in the details. One side, bearing purple banners emblazoned with a gold tree and wreath, had five divisions of troops, two out in force while three were maneuvering around to flank their enemy. The other, carrying banners of red and gold, marked ‘SPQR’ and adorned with a rose ringed by a wreath, only had two divisions, both of them fighting hard against the enemy.

However, there was one more marked difference between the two factions. The smaller faction had a figure in golden armor racing to and fro, as opposed to the more static Roman armies remaining clashing with one another. Their red sword danced and spun like a flame, cleaving through the front lines of the opposing soldiers before dashing away to some other point.

Roman stared through the screen, slack-jawed. “What the- this shouldn’t-“ he stammered. Then he cleared his throat. “Right, I’ll pull what information I can and see which side to support. Banners would be a good place to go with. The red banners are more proper Roman flags but purple is the color of Roman emperors so it could be the Praetorian Guard. But then-“

As Roman mumbled on trying to figure out solutions, Ren could only watch as the battle happened before him. He thought he was used to death after seeing all those bodies in Orleans, but seeing people getting cut down in front of him was another thing entirely. Swords flashing out and crashing against shields as soldiers pushed and struggled against each other, blades seeking their marks and piercing their sides or necks, resulting in blood cascading onto the grass below.

He didn’t want to see such a sight anymore. This needed to end. Now.

His eyes became blood red once more as he activated his Third Eye. Immediately his surroundings became darker as they lost their relevance in his perspective. Immediately, everyone became highlighted in a colored aura. Morgana, Ritsu, Mash, and the Servants all around them began glowing a bright blue.

Ren focused on the conflicting armies, blinking once or twice to adjust to the overwhelming brightness of the massed auras. As his eyes adjusted, however, it quickly became clear which side were allies and which side were enemies. He blinked again as his eyes went back to normal. “The ones with the red banners!” he barked out. “They’re our allies! Everyone, go!”

His orders caught everyone by surprise. Roman could only splutter a response and barely got a confirmation out before Ren shut off his communicator. Archer had already summoned his bow and was drawing back a spiral sword arrow, taking a moment before firing. It raced across the air like a comet before impacting the middle of the enemy formation, erupting in a gigantic explosion that consumed a great portion of soldiers.

Screams of fear and pain rang through the air, causing the Masters’ stomachs to plummet. But they couldn’t stop. Not here, not now.

“All forces, pull back!” came a new voice. Ren looked over to see the figure with golden armor waving her sword, dashing and roaring. “Withdraw and regroup! We have reinforcements! Pull back!” The figure turned to look at them. For a second, the gazes of Ren and the figure in golden armor met. A mutual understanding seemed to pass between the both of them before the latter turned away, continuing their commands.

A hail of arrows came in retaliation, threatening to skewer them. Mash immediately raced forward as Ren pulled Ritsu towards him, Morgana quickly joining Ren as they all took shelter underneath the shielder’s protection. Medusa’s blades whipped in the air in a flurry of steel as their chains rattled, shattering a great amount of the arrows while the remainder clanked harmlessly against the shield.

Archer had deflected his own barrage with Kanshou and Byakuya before resuming raining down arrows while Tamamo summoned a floating round mirror and deflected the arrows with a barrier from said mirror, before throwing talismans among the army. The front line was immediately blasted away by hurricane winds, scattering screaming soldiers everywhere. Joan had charged in, sword and banner in hand, and collided into the lines of legionnaires. And Loki…

Loki was missing.

Suddenly, the enemy army began screaming in fear and confusion. As Mash lowered her shield, Ren narrowed his eyes as he tried to see why – and his eyes widened when he found the reason. Loki was among the enemy forces, changed into that black outfit they initially wore – Akechi’s Metaverse outfit. But that wasn’t what caught their attention.

Their serrated blade was buried in the chest of what appeared to be a commander. Laughing madly, Loki withdrew their sword, the commander’s blood spraying out everywhere as they leaped among the soldiers, hacking away in a frenzy.

Morgana could only watch with wide, shocked eyes. “What… what is Loki doing?!” he gasped.

“Sowing discord and confusion into the enemy ranks, it seems,” Archer commented. He had withheld his fire as he observed Loki. “Fitting for a being like them. At least they’re useful.” Drawing his bow once more, he fired another volley of arrows into the further wing of the enemy forces, well away from Loki to prevent friendly fire.

Ren could only watch as Loki tore into the enemy soldiers. Their vicious fighting style reminded him so much of when Akechi fought alongside the Phantom Thieves in Maruki’s Palace… and when he was facing that very same blade when they fought back on Shido’s Ark. It was a harrowing battle as he struggled to match the insane swings of the fallen Detective Prince.

“Ren-Senpai!”

The Master blinked in surprise as Mash charged in front of him, swinging her shield and smashing back several soldiers that had charged up the hill towards them. “Thanks Mash!” he called out gratefully. This wasn’t the time to lose track of things. He needed his head in the game. He pulled out his gun and pointed at the fray… and hesitated. Beside him, Morgana already had his slingshot out as well but had yet to fire a shot.

These weren’t monsters they were aiming at. These were…

“Masters, please stand back,” Medusa murmured, standing beside Mash with her chains bladed chains out. “We shall keep you safe.”

Ren and Morgana couldn’t respond as they processed their realization. Luckily, Ritsu filled their silence. “Thanks, Rider,” she replied with a sigh of relief. “Though going back into history is cool and all, getting skewered on a gladius is not on my to-do list.” She looked around at the Servants tearing through the enemy Roman army. “But jeez, you guys really are going to town on them,” she muttered.

It wasn’t long before the enemy forces were in a complete rout. Bombarded by Archer’s arrows and Caster’s spells, their front lines crumpling under Joan’s wrath, and with Loki constantly disappearing and reappearing murdering their commanders and causing chaos, there was no chance they could continue their assault or even mount a counterattack. The disciplined Roman army broke ranks and fled, screaming, swarmed by more arrows from Archer to keep them running.

“The enemy will not return,” Medusa commented quietly as she stood back up from her stance, the blades and chains vanishing from her hands.

“Yeah,” Ren nodded, trying to regain his composure. “Thanks, Rider.” There was a barely perceptible nod of acknowledgement back. He had to wonder – was Medusa trying to prevent them from killing if they didn’t have to? Ritsu didn’t notice, but she had stood in the way of their weapons so they couldn’t open fire. He doubted that was a coincidence.

Before he could ask, their Servants returned, looking none the worse for wear. Loki shifted back to their regular suit, stretching. “That was a nice warmup,” they said casually with their usual sardonic smirk. Nobody deigned to give them a response, not that they seemed to mind.

Their attention was drawn as three figures came up towards them – the person in golden armor flanked by two Roman soldiers. The Servants didn’t summon their weapons but all of them straightened up as they approached, ready for anything. Mash in particular drew closer to Ren as she gripped her shield more tightly while Joan drew La Pucelle once more in preparation. If the three noticed the tension among Chaldea, it didn’t cause them to hesitate.

Standing a small distance away, the one in golden armor reached up and took off their helmet, revealing a young woman with her blonde hair in a bun and striking green eyes. “Umu, well met!” she cried, smiling brightly at the group. “We didn’t call for reinforcements but your assistance is most welcome. Please, speak – I would hear the identity of our saviors.”

Everyone blinked in surprise, but Ren decided to speak up. “We are from the Chaldea Security Organization, here to help restore the timeline to its proper order. I’m Ren Amamiya, a Master. These are my fellow Masters, Morgana and Ritsuka.” He indicated to each of them. “It’s an honor to meet you. I didn’t expect such a powerful warrior to be a beautiful woman like yourself.”

The young woman laughed. “Ah, so you recognize my beauty upon first glance!” she replied cheerfully. “I thank you for your praise. It means all the more coming from one who seems as capable as you are! Your tale seems a bit wild, I must admit, but I will allow it! It would certainly help explain your extraordinary abilities and odd attire. Ah, but I forget my manners.”

She smiled brightly as she drew herself up. “I am Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus!” she declared. “You may call me Emperor Nero!”

There was a moment of silence as Chaldea digested the information. Then-

“Nero’s a girl?!?” Ritsu yelled. Morgana buried his face in his paws and Ren pinched the bridge of his nose.

It was going to be one of those days.