"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Mental link"

"Noble Phantasms"

POV

Chapter 42: Invited to dinner.

Masters POV

"It places us currently around eighty miles from Aldrich location." Olga pointed towards the map "We currently have no idea as to what manner of defences he has available, however from what we have encountered we can expect more of the chimera's as well as the strange Servant that Solaire encountered in Vallensium."

"So, what are we thinking?" Ritsuka cupped his chin "We could just have Gough use his bow and just blast the city from far away."

Olga raised her hand to present a counter argument, then paused in realisation that it actually wasn't a terrible plan before she stopped herself, turning to Sulyvahn "Were you capable of erecting defensive fields?"

"Yes." Sulyvahn responded immediately, being sat at the far end of the table with his arms crossed "My own defensive field around Irithyll was based upon his own." he gestured his head over to Ash "Your unkindled can attest to its effectiveness."

Their heads turned to Ash, the servant gave a quick nod in response "There was only a single one in place on the bridge, however without the doll to act as a key, it deflected anything that would attempt to pass through it. Including my more powerful pyromancies." cupping his chin, the unkindled's expression turned thoughtful "Whether or not it could also deflect a projectile as powerful as whatever Gough can produce, I do not know, but it will repel us."

"They can, however, only cover a small radius." Sulyvahn provided "If Aldrich is employing such a barrier, which I have no doubt he is, it will only cover his inner sanctum."

"Can you get us through?" Olga inquired, Sulyvahn mulled it over in his head before giving his answer.

"With enough preparation, I should be able to craft some items to allow you to pass through the barrier, however I will not be able to craft many."

"How many do you think you can?"

"Enough for you and your Servants." He replied, his eyes flicked over to Nero "One more if she is feeling suicidal."

"Ha!" Nero barked out a laugh "I have not come this far to allow myself to be relegated to the rear guard! This Emperor will face the rival to Rome on the-"

"A simple yes would have sufficed." Sulyvahn cut her off with a tired sigh, rubbing his wooden brow. Nero pouted at him, which he promptly ignored. "With the Caster of the spiders dead, it is unlikely you would need to concern yourself with any more, the few that remain will be directionless and easy pickings."

"Umu! Good news then!"

"Okay, so Aldrich will probably be in the centre of the city." Ritsuka leaned over the table, staring at the map "This right here." placing a single finger on the city plans, he brought the attention of the group to him "The Forum, that seems as good a spot as any...right?"

"It lies in the centre of the city and it the spot of most significance." Ash admitted, leaning over the table to stare at the architectural plans "From what little I know of Aldrich, it is the most likely place he would take up residence."

"His ego would allow nothing less." Sulyvahn commented "It also sits above a Leyline in the region, thus it works out to his advantage to secure himself there."

"Alright, so we can assume Aldrich is here and protected by a field of some kind, right?" Ritsuka looked around the room for confirmation, when he got it he went on "So...all we need to do is clear out the city and then rush in and defeat this guy before he can open up his portal to Hell."

'Hell?' Ash mouthed to himself in confusion, he looked around the room and saw that very few others offered the similar state of confusion, save the baffled look on Nero and Vespasian's face followed by the slight creasing of Sulyvahn's eyebrows being the only evidence of his own confusion at the word.

"Very colourful, Fujimaru-kun." Romani's head appeared "And you're also right about the portal aspect, from Da Vinci's little gizmo you've been taking with you it looks like there's some crazy readings coming from Augusta Treverorum."

Ritsuka's eyes were drawn to the strange metal globe they had been carting around with them, the device had several small rings which moved around it in tandem, eerily reminding him of Chaldeas except for the fact it was green. "Is that what this thing does?" he muttered out.

"I'm not entirely sure what it does, Da Vinci's explanation went over my head." Romani shrugged "Although she has a habit of using several paragraphs to explain something that could be done in maybe five sentences, so its not my fault."

"Its a scanner, just leave it at that." Olga sighed, rubbing her brow in frustration as she straightened herself out "Moving on, we should continue our strategy meeting. Ash? You fought Aldrich, what can you tell us of his capabilities?"

"Powerful sorceries." Ash listed off "A scythe which stole my life force and healed himself with it, minor use of teleportation and use of Gwyndolin's powers, in regards to his bow. He will be slow however, but he makes up for it in durability."

"Anything else?"

"His main body is comprised of flesh chunks-"

"Ew." Romani and Ritsuka cringed at the description with Nero scrunching up her face like she sucked a lemon.

"And is only an avatar. The room I was in was actually...well…" Ash paused, cupping his chin in thought as he considered how he would word it correctly "His true form is sludge so I believe I spent most of the fight ankle deep in him."

"...That's disturbing."

"Well, the contents of his meals were the real issue, and the smell was certainly-"

"We don't need anymore, Ash-san." Mash interrupted him with a polite smile, the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried to suppress her grimace.

"...Oh, before I go." Romani looked over to Ritsuka with a tiny, somewhat strained smile "Happy Birthday, Fujimaru-kun!"

The boy blinked at him, then slumped his shoulders in realisation "Huh...forgot about that."

"Yeah…" Romani gave a tiny chuckle, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck "Sorry...What are you now, Nineteen?"

"...Seventeen."

"Seventeen!?" Olga sputtered "What am I doing with children in Chaldea!?"

"Don't look at me!" Romani held up his hands in surrender "I just looked found out now! I knew he was young, I didn't think he was that young!"

"He's practically a child! What happened to parental consent!? Child employment!?"

"Well...His Master aptitude was so high that it looks like we couldn't exactly overlook him…" He shrugged "I think the plan was to train him in an on-site apprentice style program…"

"Now I'm feeling a little self-conscious…." Ritsuka looked away from the pair and towards Mash "I-It's not that weird, right?"

"I'm only sixteen myself, Senpai." Mash offered with a reassuring smile "I don't think its that weird."

"Oh…" Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief "Thank goodness." blinking, he turned to Olga "Wait, how old are you Director?"

"I beg your pardon!?" The woman whirled on him "What type of question is that!? Where did you learn your manners!?"

"S-sorry!" Ritsuka held up his hands in surrender as a panicked look came onto his face "I-I was just curious is all!"

"If you must know I'm twenty three."

"Wow." The boy blinked, giving her an innocent smile "You look good for your age."

"…"

"...What?" Ritsuka blinked at the woman as her expression slowly thinned out.

"I'm going to…" Sulyvahn slowly stood up from his chair, turning around "Solve...yeah…" he quickly departed the room, having little interest in sticking around for whatever was about to happen next.

Ash's eyes darted from Ritsuka to Olga, the woman's face being a perfect mask.

Except for her eyes.

Which looked like they could have outmatched the intensity of the first flame at its height. Vespasian obviously saw something similar, as he was staring at Ritsuka in the same way someone would stare at a dead man.

Ritsuka, meanwhile, was completely ignorant to the growing danger he was in, looking around the room in confusion at the sudden shift in tone "What? What's wrong? It's just that the Director looks pretty young."

"...Senpai." Mash cringed at him, not having the courage to face the Director, but certainly feeling the sheer anger that was pouring off her being right now.

"Umu!" Nero, however, blundered into the situation with the same amount of grace which she usually carried about. Much to the growing despair of Vespasian and Romani "You do have the youthful visage almost akin to a child! I suspect you take the greatest of care with your skin to ensure such a smooth finish!" as if to prove her point, she crossed the distance between the two of them and began to rub Olga's cheeks with the back of her hand "As I suspected!" the Emperor grinned in triumph, as if she had won some great achievement.

Romani looked as though he was watching a car crash occurring in slow motion with no discernable way to stop it.

Kerry, having snuck up behind him, was grinning like a maniac with the small camera in her hands, holding it up and getting a good focus on the scene in front of her.

The click of the camera was signalled the snapping of Olga's temper.

Servants POV

Arash paused in his carving, furrowing his brow and looking off in the direction of the command tent with a raised eyebrow. "Huh...Wonder what happened…"

"Hmph?" Beatrice looked away from her makeshift catalyst, repairing the one that had been broken in the fight with Gundyr "Something wrong?"

"No, probably nothing Betty." Arash waved off her concern "Although I think one of my seeing's has just come to pass."

"Seeing's?"

"I'm a little Clairvoyant." He shrugged "Nothing special, although I had perceived great danger towards Master for a few days now."

"Wait what!?" The woman dropped the Catalyst "Shouldn't we-"

"I didn't say it was life threatening." Arash calmed her down "I think he just made a small blunder is all."

"I can guess what it was." Solaire mused, looking away from his sword as he sat his whetstone down, a tiny smile on his face as he nodded towards the entrance of the tent, just in time for red faced Olga to come storming out of it, muttering a storm of curses under her breath. Her Berserker followed after her, having been stood guard at the entrance flap.

"Wonder what happened to set her off this time." Arash mumbled, then let out a sigh of exasperation when he saw Ritsuka emerge, a large red shaped hand print on his cheek and a look of utter bewilderment on his face. "Nevermind, I think I figured it out."

"Eh?" Beatrice looked between the two of them "You did?"

"I believe what Arash illudes to, lady Beatrice." Solaire turned to her "Is a classic example of 'boot in mouth'."

"I'll say." Arash chuckled, shaking his head in obvious amusement "Poor kid probably doesn't know how to speak to women."

"I'm probably not much better." The sun knight admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders and a hapless expression "I never found myself having much luck with women."

"Really?" Arash blinked at the man "Why not?"

"Well…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"There's something strange I feel right now."

"You too?"

"You refer to some odd connection despite us never having met before?"

"I do...it's strange."

"It is." Ash nodded his head, having swiftly left the command tent following Ritsuka's debacle and then encountering the rather reserved member of their camp.

"Maybe its because we're both cursed?" Lucien offered with a tiny shrug as he moved into the medical tent, Ash following after him "Can't think of much else."

"Possibly." Ash nodded his head "Then again, I have met some unkindled before, but none seemed to exude this level of familiarity."

"Really?" Lucien muttered as he crouched down next to the sounded man, looking over his injuries "I suppose I can relate, I have met many Hunters before but none felt like you do." he looked over his shoulder back at Ash "Odd."

"Indeed." Ash replied, then looked down at the wounded man "How are their injuries coming along?"

"They've made good progress last few days." Lucien muttered "Your...fancy parlour tricks have helped. I wasn't much for the arcane anyway, preferred to use my hands."

"I can see, you are quite skilled for a man who claims to hunt things."

"Probably a Doctor before." He shrugged "Or some kind of surgeon. Can't remember much before the blood."

"You as well?" Ash blinked "I confess, my memories before rising from my grave are missing as well."

"...Maybe that's why we're kindred spirits." The man mused, Ash gave a grunt of acknowledgement. "Doesn't matter, got patients to deal with, heard we're almost there. Need every man we can get."

"We are close, yes." Ash nodded "You will dealing with the strange creature?"

"Yeah." He affirmed "Killed it before. Can kill it again."

"...I killed Aldrich before." Ash muttered "And the large suit of armour patrolling the camp."

"...The one on fire or the one with the big axe?"

"The second one."

"Hmph." Lucien grumbled, then paused and began to slowly look back over at Ash "Weird how we're fighting things we've killed before. I would say it ain't right…but there's us coming back from the dead."

"I suppose this is certainly a new perspective for me." Ash mused "I wonder if this is how my opponents felt well they killed me, only for my reanimated body to walk back through the doors within the same hour."

"...You too, eh?"

"You rise from the dead repeatedly as well?"

"More times than I care to." Lucien grumbled under his breath, the pair following into a short silence before the Hunter loosened the bandage around the man's leg, staring down at the wound with a blank expression "Bone's been righted, no sign of infection." he cast a glance towards Ash "Gonna need some arcane."

Ash nodded his head, holding out his palm and allowing the glowing orb to form just above the man, the gentle rays of light gradually began healing the wounds.

"...Impressive." Lucien grunted, rising to his feet "Any side effects?"

"It takes long to fix damage to bones." Ash replied "And it is not as effective as Miracles when it comes to healing."

"That it?" At Ash's nod, Lucien let out a mirthless scoff "Looks pretty miraculous to me."

"Fou!" Lucien abruptly jolted, spinning around and staring down at the small white rodent which had snuck into the tent "Fou! Fou!"

"Fou?" Ash looked down at the animal with a raised eyebrow "I thought you did not usually stray far from Mash, what are you doing here?"

Lucien flattened out his features, calming his nerves until he was breathing at an acceptable rate "I won't start anything if you don't." he spoke down to it, Fou stared at him for several seconds as if trying to discern his intentions before it nodded to itself.

"Kyu!" Spinning around, the small animal trotted out of the tent, leaving Lucien and Ash behind, the latter somewhat confused as to the nature of the exchange.

"Just an agreement with the beast." Lucien grunted, waving away the question he knew was building in Ash's head "Nothing more."

"I...see." Ash shrugged "I will admit, Fou does seem more intelligent than one would expect."

"...You can't see it, can you?"

"Well…" Ash paused "There is something about the way he feels that sometimes puts me on edge, but aside from that I cannot say I understand your meaning."

"Hmph." The Hunter grunted "Small mercies."

Quelaag stood next to Gough, the large giant staring off across the horizon.

"I can see it, you know?"

"The sun?"

"Ha!" Gough snorted, shaking his head "No, Lady Quelaag, I referred to our destination. The city where the devourer Aldrich resides."

Quelaag pursed her lips "How...How old is Gwyndolin?"

"...Older than I. Older than Gwyn. He would speak not of it." Gough replied in a sombre tone, casting a glance down at the Chaos witch "I fear he has been alone too long, I sense a deep emptiness in him."

The Chaos witch let out a scoff "He was always sullen, came with his territory." she dismissed, although her attempt was half-hearted at best "He thought the moon was to represent 'melancholy' so he turned himself into that. Gwyn raising him as a girl did him no favours with his attitude."

"I cannot confess that Gwyn was a perfect Father-"

"Ho?" Quelaag smirked up at Gough "How treasonous…"

"However." He continued on, although his tone indicated he found the comment somewhat amusing "...However now. That melancholy as reason. He took to Lady Stheno so quickly because I believe he merely wanted the company of another Lord again…" letting out a quiet sigh, his shoulders slumped "Not that Lady Stheno was poor company, I believe she did well to bring some life back into Lord Gwyndolin."

"He couldn't have been that bad, surely?"

"Lady Quelaag…" Gough paused, unsure of how best he could word it "...He would not have been out of place in a painted world."

Quelaag recoiled as if slapped, gaping at the giant with wide eyes before they darted off into the camp, seeking out the source of the conversation "The fuck!? The...He can't have been that bad!"

"…" Gough said nothing in return for a few moments before he looked back across the horizon "We are to begin our assault soon. If thou art to speak with him, do so with haste before the chance slips by."

Quelaag wasted no time in spinning around and moving further into the camp, a heavy scowl on her face.

Gwyndolin heard her coming long before he saw her. Although he should have been expecting it, if he was being truthful he had expected her to come barging in far earlier. The trip here had likely kept her from doing that, they had been taking few rests along the way, the overhanging sense of urgency in regards to Aldrich had been present.

An urgency Gwyndolin shared if Aldrich were to open up a doorway to the Abyss, there would be no stopping such an outbreak.

He cast his eyes towards the door of his projected tent as it burst open "Greeting, Lady Quelaa-"

"Cut it out with that posh shit." She interrupted him "I know you didn't always speak like that. I'm not going to be spending my time here speaking to Gwyn's mouthpiece."

Gwyndolin let out a small, nearly imperceptible sigh although one tinged with a sense of warm nostalgia rather than exasperation at her blunt way of speaking "I suppose that was expected of you." letting out an amused laugh, he looked over at her, seeing her face set in a heavy frown "You always did dislike the goings on within court."

"I much preferred remaining in Izalith." She responded with a roll of her eyes "Hearing all those other Gods sing the praises of Gwyn got old very quickly."

"I'm sure it would, if one were not used to such honours." Gwyndolin countered "You only attended court maybe a dozen times in a thousand years."

Quelaag froze, her eyes shadowing over as she stared at Gwyndolin "Lin...it was three thousand."

"It was?" Gwyndolin let out a small hum "I suppose my memory might be failing me, although I was summoned in my prime, so I suppose I might still be assorting my memories in order."

"Lin." Quelaag advanced on him slowly, her shadow falling over the Lord who made no effort to move, still staring at the mouth of the spider serving as her lower half "Lin...how old are you?"

"That might be difficult for me to answer, Lady Quelaag." Gwyndolin replied in a tired tone of voice, almost slumping in his chair "You know how time began to break in Lordran towards the end of the Age of Fire, it happened so often that I could not give you an accurate number."

"Gwyndolin."

"...I did stop counting eventually." Gwyndolin shrugged "It took some time for me to cease concerning myself with the passage of time."

Quelaag leaned towards him, her hands reaching out slowly towards the sun like crown on his head, Gwyndolin made no move to stop her as she gently clasped the underside of the spikes at the side and lifted it up, slowly revealing his face.

Pale white skin made him look like a porcelain doll, the platinum blonde hair flowed down freely from his head, resting just at his shoulders. The effeminate face slowly looked up towards Quelaag. She stared back at him with a slight grimace.

His eyes, which had once held the brightest shine of gold within them were now nothing more than a dull yellow, glazed over with little strength in them.

"If you...must know." Gwyndolin stared up at her, eyes flicking to the side "...I stopped counting after a hundred thousand."

Quelaag almost choked, dropping the helm onto the floor with a heavy clang, completely ignoring as it rolled away from her. Gwyndolin's only reaction was a small flinch at the noise.

"The broken fragments of time likely raise the number considerably, in truth I do not know how old I am…"

"What the fuck…"

"Please, Lady Quelaag." Gwyndolin chided her in a childlike tone, although his eyes held no life in them "Crude language such as that is not fit for one of your status…" looking meaningfully at the spider torso "Even in your...present condition."

"My present condition!?" Quelaag snarled at him "My condition!? What about you! How long were you alone!? What happened to Gwynevere!?"

For the first time in their conversation, Gwyndolin's eyes sprung to life…

With burning hatred.

"Gwynevere." He replied through gritted teeth "Saw fit to leave at the first sign of danger to the flame. Along with all other Gods in Anor Londo. Even after the flame was revitalised, they never saw fit to return."

Quelaag recoiled, eyes wide "B-but what about everyone else? All the Nobles-"

"Dead, old age consumed them long ago."

"…" Quelaag's eyes softened "Lin, how long were you alone?"

"Ser Ornstein had been one of the few to remain at his post...until he departed."

"De-He left!?"

"To find Faraam." Gwyndolin gave an empty smile "It came as no surprise. Ornstein always held him in such high regard, although given his final role, it came as a greater surprise that he did not do so sooner."

"Lin…"

"Do not look upon me like that." Gwyndolin shook his head "I did find company eventually, towards the end anyway."

"You're too blaze about this." Quelaag scowled at him "You...Lin...you're older than even Gwyn was…"

"Hmph...I suppose I am, aren't I?" Gwyndolin gave a mirthless chuckle "Although still younger than brother."

"Brot-…" Quelaag widened her eyes at the implication "He….he survived?"

"Indeed." Gwyndolin nodded, his expression blanked "It seems he too survived until the very end, the humans outside encountered him in their last venture through time."

"What?"

"I had thought I would feel some burning rage when I learned that piece of information, that Father's purge of his memory had failed to remove all traces of him." Gwyndolin blinked "Instead I felt nothing...how odd...although perhaps I shall feel differently should I ever encounter him again."

"Lin-"

"Umm…"

"What!?"

Mash recoiled, a hurt look flashing across her face as Quelaag whirled on her with a snarl. The Chaos witch clicked her tongue and looked away, her expression flattening out "...I mean...do you need something?"

Gwyndolin let out a melodious laugh causing Quelaag to shoot a glare his way, the Lord simply smiled back at her before turning towards Mash "Wast th're something thee did need?"

"S-sorry to disturb you, Gwyndolin-san." Mash bowed her head guiltily.

"Speaketh thy piece, then depart."

"Senapi says that we're about to go, he just wanted to let you know." She sent a glance towards Quelaag "Sorry for interrupting, Quelaag-san."

"Tch." The chaos witch clicked her tongue again, shaking her head "Don't apologise, that was my bad."

Gwyndolin raised an eyebrow at her, then sent another glance over to Mash. The girl froze as the eyes of the God seemed to be scanning her now, narrowed slightly as he observed ever inch of her before he seemingly found what he was looking for, nodding to himself "I off'r mine own congratulations, Pygmy Mash. Lady Quelaag doest not oft apologise. Clearly thou art quite dear to h'r already."

"What nonsense are you spewing forth now?" The Chaos witch snapped at him "She's just less annoying than others, don't read too deeply into it."

"Forsooth, p'rhaps mine own fusty age is causing delusional visions."

"Stop talking like that." Quelaag rolled her eyes "I know you enjoy the whole 'dark and brooding' aspect but try not to speak in words than few can understand."

"Thou always were a slayer of enjoyment, Lady Quelaag." Gwyndolin moaned, one of his snakes reached out, grabbing his helmet and placing it back atop his head, although the tiny smile remained on his face "Tis a great pity thee never visited the great theatre."

"That depends on whether or not you wanted to watch me kill a speech writer for depicting the great war against the Everlasting dragons for the nineteenth hundred time." Quelaag scoffed "Did they also write out Faraam's role in the play?"

"…" Gwyndolin gave her a flat look behind his helmet, prompting a smirk from Quelaag as she turned away and moved out of the tent, leaning down towards Mash as she passed her.

"Yes, he is a boy."

Mash jolted, shooting Quelaag a look of surprise before looking back at Gwyndolin, then back to Quelaag "B-but he's so…"

"Hm." Quelaag nodded with a smirk, leaving the tent.

Masters POV

"These will grant you access, in the event that Aldrich has indeed set up a boundary around his base." Sulyvahn handed off the small wooden dolls to each individual servant and Master "Avoid losing them, it would be most troublesome otherwise."

"Hmph." Verndari grunted as he stared at the small doll in his hands, then moved to strap it onto the back of his shield before turning to face Ritsuka "My Liege, how do you propse we proceed?"

Ritsuka looked to Olga and Nero before nodding once, then turned to face the assembled Servants "The plan we have come up with is as follows, we're currently assuming that Aldrich will have the strange Servant guarding outside. At which point Lucien-" he gestured to the man in dark leather, who gave a single grunt in response "-will deal with it, Solaire and the Balrog."

"The what?"

"That's...what I've been calling the Berserker that's on fire with the horns." Ritsuka cringed "We don't really know their true name, so I came up with one."

"I see, apologise for the interruption."

"Right." Clearing his throat, he carried on "Solaire, Lucien and Balrog will hold deal with the giant Servant which is apparently a horse as well." looking over to Lucien he gave a small frown "Is that an issue?"

"Are you asking if I'm stupid enough to turn down help?" The Hunter responded, a raised eyebrow.

Ritsuka cringed slightly, waving his hands "Sorry, I didn't know if you were one of those 'this is my prey' type of hunters."

"Oh." The man shrugged "I'm not."

"Well, alright then." He coughed into his hand "The main force that will assault Aldrich will be the Servants who came with me, and Nero, along with the Director and her Berserker...and Gwyndolin."

"What of the giant?" Verndari grunted "What will it be doing?"

"He." Quelaag hissed at the man, who showed no indication of caring "Will be providing cover from afar, considering his prowess with the bow. I will take to the streets and deal with whatever other freakish little ghouls the abyss spawn has conjured up while you kill him."

"And where shall you be?" Ash directed the question towards Sulyvahn, the Pontiff tilted his head in acknowledgement before raising an eyebrow.

"If you think I'm going to go waltzing into combat with a man who was capable of devouring Gods, you're an even bigger fool than I suspected. However, considering that should the giant see me attempt to flee he will shoot me down-"

"Thou art correct."

"...Indeed. It seems I am forced to follow after the Chaos Witch and deal with the abominations in the street." He paused "At least until Gwyndolin re-emerges and takes my head."

Ritsuka blinked, looking questioningly towards Olga, the woman remained blank faced before she sighed "Gwyndolin wants to personally execute Sulyvahn when the situation here is resolved." soon scoffing at the disapproving looks she received from Mash and Ritsuka "Don't look at me like that, its a personal grudge between them and if it secured the aid of a God, of all things, then I'm not going to waste my time negotiating. Besides, Sulyvahn is well aware of the agreement."

"Considering the threat was made to my face, it is rather obvious." Came Sulyvahn's dry retort before he stared back at the group "I suspect you are almost ready?"

"Umu!" Nero nodded her head, turning to Vespasian "I hope you are prepared, Legate! This battle will decide the fate of Rome!"

Vespasian gave a small sigh in response, shaking his head "Indeed, my Emperor."

"Now then!" Nero pointed her sword towards the city in the distance "Let us begin!" she went to rush forwards, only for Vespasian to grimace and stand in front of her "What?"

"My Emperor, while I do recognise your zeal, and I whole heartedly support it." He hastily added on at her growing look of confusion "I believe it would be best to ensure the troops are assembled before we begin our offensive."

"...Ah." Nero blinked, nodding her head "Of course, that makes sense. Truly, you are a tactical genius Legate."

"Your praise is most welcome, my Emperor." Vespasian bowed his head slightly, then turned to Ritsuka and Olga "Will our...giant friend be able to destroy sections of the wall to allow our troops entry?"

"Mine bow can destroy the front most section, should thee require it." Gough pointed out, then crossed his arms "However, I may only use the skill once, I shall be depleted after."

"Your Noble Phantasm." Olga nodded her head "I suppose it is quite powerful?"

"Powerful but localised, I am afraid." Gough awkwardly scratched the back of his neck "It was meant to ground Dragons, but I believe it can deal with a wall."

"This should be good." Arash whispered down at Gareth, a wide grin on his face "We'll get to see a Giant use a Noble Phantasm."

"I know!" Gareth replied in an equally giddy tone "I can't wait!"

Olga frowned "How much magical energy will you have left?"

Gough turned thoughtful for a few moments "Enough to last an hour afterwards." his helmet looked back towards them "Perhaps less."

"We would need to move quickly then." Olga surmised, turning to Ritsuka "We'll move out immediately. How many of the wounded can fight?" she directed the question to Vespasian, the Legate cupped his chin.

"Thanks to the aid of the strange Hunter and the arcane knight, I would say that half of them can reliably hold a sword." he paused, a frown soon coming to his face "However, some are still too wounded."

"Cecilia." Olga turned to the woman "You have Healing spells, do you not?"

"Thou art correct, Lady Animusphere." Cecilia nodded her head, Olga seemed to preen at the respectful tone that the Firekeeper directed at her. "Does thee wish me to tend to the injured?"

Ritsuka nodded his head "No offence to all you've done, but even with the copy of Ash you can make…" he trailed off with a grimace, Cecilia shook her head, a look of understanding.

"Thee need not soften thy words. Mine role was never for combat. Should any be wounded, they can rely on my aid."

"Umu!" Nero beamed at the woman "As expected of such a beautiful flower! Such a caring personality to match her exquisite looks!"

"She does know they look the same, right?" Beatrice whispered to Sif, the wolf gave her a deadpan expression in response. "Oh...you're probably right." nodding to herself, while not capable of understanding the animal in the least, she did not need to be skilled in the art of communicating with animals to understand what Sif thought of in that moment.

"I will bring up the Legionnaires." Vespasian nodded to the Emperor "Those that remain will make our best effort to keep the majority of their forces away from your assault." he cast a glance at Ritsuka and Olga before moving towards the pair "I am trusting you to ensure the Emperor walks out of this battle alive." narrowing his eyes into a slight glare, the man loomed over them "It would be best if she did, for your sake."

"Right." Ritsuka nodded back to him with a determined expression "We won't let anything happen to her."

Vespasian studied his expression for a few moments before giving a curt nod, the corner of his lip twitching upwards "Good." he turned away, moving back towards the main body of the troops as they prepared themselves.

"Do you want me to wish you some words of fortune?" Romani asked through the communicator "I've been keeping a little journal of the last few days." as if to prove his point, he held up a small red book in front of him with a proud smile.

"Roman, why?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at the man, Romani pouted in response.

"Because its like when all those great generals from history had scribes documenting their journeys." He whined, putting the book down "I mean...no one is probably ever going to read it, but that doesn't take away from it too much does it?"

"I mean…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Ritsuka gave a wry smile "I'd probably read it but I don't think anyone else outside of Chaldea would be allowed to."

"They most certainly would not." Olga huffed, turning a glare on Romani "I trust you understand that much, Doctor?"

"Yes Director." Romani slumped his shoulders, fidgeting on the spot for a few moments before he gave a hopeful smile "Can I keep writing it though?"

Olga gave him a flat expression for several seconds before she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head "Very well, provided that it does not leave Chaldea it can reside in the library."

"You're the best, Director!"

"What are you a child? Stop cheering like that!"

Master Group POV (One Hour Later)

Ritsuka, Olga and the Servants stood at the far end of the field, the city walls were well within their sights. As was the dark cloud that churned and rumbled above the city itself.

"Romani? Can your scans detect anything?" Olga asked with a nervous expression as she stared at the cloud, the Doctors face popped up moments later, although the transmission was static, the doctors face flashing in and out of existence.

"-egative...n't...n….obab...ourc...distortion...rector!?...can't…"

Olga clicked her tongue, turning the communicator off, looking over to Ritsuka she shook her head "It seems that we are too close to the source of the singularity in this era, we will not be receiving aid from Chaldea at this time."

Ritsuka and Mash gave a small nod in response, Ash looked over his shoulder towards the main force of Romans near them. The small array of servants stood just in front of them all awaiting for the signal to attack. "Gwyndolin?" Ritsuka turned to the God, the Lord gave a minor hum of acknowledgement "Can you give Gough the signal?"

He nodded once.

Gough POV

"Thee may loosen when ready, Ser Gough." The illusion of the Sentinel informed him, soon disappearing from sight as Gough nodded his head. Hoisting his bow up, he began to knock a single arrow and draw it back to the point where his bow began creaking.

"Alloweth the winds falleth silent. Alloweth mine own sight beest true. Alloweth mine own arrow flyeth. Alloweth mine own foe falleth." The arrow at the end of his bow began to glow brightly, a loud roar was heard as the bow began to tremble with the force of the projectile. Gough squinted his eyes at the gate. "Loose! Calamitas Ruinam!" his hand released the string.

Master Group POV

Ritsuka saw it before he heard it. The single lance of light shooting across the field in an instant, burning brightly as if it were a falling star as it slammed into the gate of the city.

Then the implosion came next, the area where the arrow struck expanded in a circle outwards, all the debris which had been blasted away seemed to hang in the air for what felt like an eternity before it collapsed inwards in a split second.

With a single shot, the entire front portion of the gate and the wall had been destroyed. Then Ritsuka heard the clap of thunder akin to a jet engine. Even though Gough had been at least a mile away from them, it was still loud enough that he, Olga and Mash had to cover their ears from the sheer volume of the attack.

Arash was simply staring at the broken gate, blinking several times before a wide grin came to his face, turning his head to stare at the location were Gough was, he raised his hands giving a thumbs up. Clearly receiving the response from the giant that he wanted as he soon have a short laugh and shook his head.

Looking to the side, he saw Gareth gaping at the damage from atop Sif, he gently nudged her with his elbow "Pretty impressive, right?"

"Absolutely!" Gareth grinned "That was amazing!" she rubbed Sif behind the ears "We have to outdo him, right boy?"

Sif released an amused howl in response, Ritsuka slowly took his hands off his ears turning to Nero, the woman still blinking at the damage "Emperor Nero?" the woman gave no response "Emperor?" he gently poked her on the shoulder, she turned to him with a confused expression, blinking several times.

"What!?" She then shouted in his face.

"Are you alright?"

"What!? I can't hear you!" She gestured at her ears "There's a ringing in the air!"

Ritsuka sighed, feeling someone give him a pat on the shoulder, he looked over to see Ash staring down at him through the helmet "Perhaps we had best move now?"

"Right." He nodded back to the Servant, then looked at Olga "Director? Do you want to give them the order?"

"Fine." She sighed, although there was the barest traces of a smile on her face, opening her mouth to give out the order, she was interrupted by Nero.

"Ah! We're going now!? CHARGE!" Then sprinted forwards as the Romans charged the gate in the distance. Olga gave a blank look in the direction of the Emperor as she sprinted away from them and towards the city.

"I wanted to say that." Olga mumbled under her breath, earning a quiet snort from all the Servants who heard her, the closest being Ash making him the only one to receive the glare in response. Which was magnified when her Berserker soon glared at him as well.

Ash coughed and looked away, staring towards the back of the Emperor before looking down at Ritsuka "We should probably follow after her, Ritsuka."

"Yeah." Ritsuka nodded his head "Lets go guys!"

City attack force Servants POV

It was a bloodbath in every sense of the word. The moment the Romans stormed into the city, they were beset on all sides by abominations of every walk of life. Emaciated corpses stumbled towards them with glowing white eyes and a dark cloud surrounding their bodies, casting low level sorceries which burned through the shields and scorched the soldiers.

There were few of the accursed left, but there were more than enough to present an immediate problem, the mangled forms numbers in the tens as they immediately charged into the thick of the fighting, bodies being sent flying and often in more then one piece as the beasts ripped apart the troops.

Solaire slashed his blade through the lower ankle of the second leg of the Accursed, the creature let out a snarl as it snapped its jaws towards him. Hefting his shield up, Solaire grunted as it slammed into his defence, attempting to clasp its mandibles around the shield. He responded by shoving a sword into one of its large glowing eyes, the accursed let out a howl of pain from all of its heads as it recoiled, pressing the advantage he thrust up and through the throat of the beast, retching his sword to the side and slicing open the neck.

The wail became a pitiful gurgle, however it did not relent in its assault, violently thrashing its legs towards him in an attempt to pay him back for the injuries he had caused. A clap of thunder and a second later the side of its head exploded in a shower of gore, Solaire briefly saw Lucien throw away the large pistol as it dissipated back into smoke before he swung his bizarre cleaver, slashing through the shambling corpses with ease.

Another cry brought his attention to the right hand side as the burning armour of the Berserker 'Balrog'. It was an odd name but if that allowed them to distinguish it then that was fine by him. It also made him feel better to ascribe a name to the servant rather than 'Berserker.'

Balrog clasped its clawed hand into the skull of the accursed, slamming its head into the ground as it attempted to break free. The clenching of its hand brought the sound of snapping bone as the skull was broken inwards as it raised the greatsword above its head. It ripped its hand free only to stamp on the accursed's face and pin it to the ground as it hefted its sword above it head. Then thrust downwards, ending the struggling permanently.

Solaire would certainly admit that even though he had faced many terrible foes, he would think twice about attacking Balrog. Even under the Sun. Nevertheless, discarding the thoughts, he continued his advance, the morning rays strengthening his body as he hacked and slashed through the towns occupants with ease, the Romans slowly but surely following in the wake of the servants.

Sulyvahn danced across the battlefield, the twin greatswords in his hands blitzing through the air in streaks of orange and purple. He swung the glowing purple blade down, instantly cutting through the shambling corpse that had been stumbling towards him before slashing the burning greatsword through the air, releasing a small wave of fire from the blade which incinerated a small gathering of the opponents.

His head soon turned in the direction of an accursed charging him from down the street. In an almost slow movement, he raised the steel greatsword in his left hand and pointed it towards the rampaging beast. The deep purple light danced across the surface of his blade before shooting towards the Accursed in a beam of light, striking the upper portion of its head, a horrific burn lanced across its body as it continued its run, releasing a roar of pain as it lunged towards him.

Sulyvahn stepped to the side as it shot past him, raising the burning greatsword up and cutting across its body, the smell of charred flash soon followed as the screaming of the beast intensified for a few moments before Sulyvahn slashed his smaller blade through the Accursed's head, silencing it. Releasing a scoff, he flicked the blade clean of the dark blood clinging to it.

Master Group POV

Ash burst through the line, swinging the black blade through the air and leaving a trail of fire in his wake. The hollows were quickly cut down as the Servants gradually made their way towards the forum, Ash cast a glance behind him to see how the others were doing.

It would not be an understatement to claim that the Dragon slayer Armour had effectively been the main driving force in the attack towards the forum. The giant suit of armour stomped through opposition with minimal delay. Bringing its axe above its head and slinging its shield onto its back, the armour slammed it into the ground with enough force to send a blast of air through the pavement and up the street, ripping through the ground and sending the bodies flying off in all directions.

Ritsuka peaked out from behind Mash with a blank expression before facing Olga "Director, your servant is actually amazing."

"O-of course he is." The woman puffed out her chest, a prideful smile on her face "Were you expecting anything less of the Animusphere family."

"No." Ritsuka shook his head "Its just...it's still pretty amazing."

"Save your compliments, as welcome as they are." She muttered the last part quietly under her breath "Until we have achieved victory here."

"Your commander is correct." Verndari commented as he marched past the pair, slashing through a shambling hollow with a grunt of disgust. The top half of the body fell to the ground, the burning light in its eyes continued to shine as it crawled towards the knight, the gladius in its hand flicking through the air as it attempted to slash at the heels of anyone close by. Verndari ended its attempted when he stomped down on its skull. "I would advise you keep your mind on the task at hand, my Liege. Distractions are hazardous in combat."

"Right." Ritsuka nodded his head, awkwardly looking away "Sorry."

"Don't worry too much about it." Beatrice reassured him as she fired off several orbs of blue light towards the hollows down the street, the projectiles piercing through their bodies and causing them to fall to the ground "I think Verndari is very much a 'job first' type of person….I'm not that used to talking to people though so I wouldn't know."

"I can picture that for him." Ritsuka admitted easily, narrowing his eyes down the street "Arash, demon spider person thing. Take out its eyes."

"On it." Seconds later, several dozen arrows instantly buried themselves in the head of the accursed as it rounded the corner, soon screaming in pain and reeling its head back to let loose the acid spit. A beam of blue light flew over their heads, striking the accursed and instantly cutting it in half. Ritsuka and Beatrice gaped at the damage, turning towards the source of the attack to see Gwyndolin lower his staff and pull out his bow. Matching Arash with an arrow spam of his own moving up the street. Said Archer raised an eyebrow at the subtle challenge and continued on, clearing the street as they continued their march upwards.

"I know he is a God, but I wasn't really expecting that." Ritsuka muttered under his breath, then paused and shrugged his shoulders "Although if he is Faraam's younger brother, then I guess that makes sense, right?"

"We didn't really see that much of Faraam-san in combat, Senpai." Mash replied from the front as she blocked spells being launched down from the windows "Although Siegward-san said that it took a group of servants to even wound him severely."

"Makes sense." He nodded his head, grimacing as they passed by one of the bodies "What are these anyway? They look like the zombies we saw in France but…"

"They appear to be cursed in some manner." Ash commented as they passed him, the Servant throwing a chaos orb towards the nearest building, the bright ball of fire destroying the front portion of the house and sending several of the hollows tumbling out while coated in flames. "I encountered their like in Irithyll." turning back to face them "They are likely the citizens who lived here. Aldrich did similar to the Clerics who served him."

"My citizens turned into these monsters!?" Nero seethed "Unacceptable!"

"...Quite." Ash shrugged his shoulders, looking away from them and pointing upwards "The entrance to the Forum lies ahead, I assume you can see the slight shimmer of air surrounding it." Ritsuka squinted his eyes at the Forum, noticing a strange flickering of light around the building in the shape of a dome, akin to staring at the surface of a still lake as it faintly rippled.

"Guess we just need to see if Sulyvahn was trustworthy, huh?"

Ash grunted in response, Ritsuka could already tell that the man wasn't exactly fond of the idea of relying on him for anything remotely linked to their lives.

A white blur shot down the street as Gareth and Sif cut through resistance, the bright flashes of light signified the gunlance detonating while Sif twirled the sword in his mouth, sweeping it through the air with a disturbing level of skill and far more than one would expect from a wolf.

Ritsuka frowned "Doesn't this seem...too easy?" he questioned out loud. Ash kicked away another husk and then paused, sending a glance Ritsuka's way before he began to mull over the statement in his head.

"It does appear to be...remarkably easier gaining access to Aldrich's lair than I would expect." He replied with a shrug "However, we are currently fighting on two fronts. It is possible that the concentration of Servant's on either side and the loss of his allies has significantly lessened his offensive capabilities."

Ritsuka pursed his lips "When you say it like that it makes sense but...I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Worry about it later." Olga cut off further musing "We still have an objective to complete and Aldrich lies just ahead. Whether or not this is a trap will remain unknown until it is sprung and with what lies above our heads-" she pointed up towards the dark clouds, now rumbling and circling inwards as the beginnings of an upside down vortex began to form "-I suspect we do not have time to dally."

"Fair enough." Ritsuka replied back abashedly "Sorry."

"Don't apologise for it." She frowned at him "Prudence is the sign of a good Master, however the simple fact is we lack the time for it. Our hand has been forced."

"Wow...You're surprisingly calm, Director." Mash gave the woman a wide smile "That's really impressive."

Olga blinked at the compliment, a faint red dusting her cheeks "I-It's fine. Besides, panicking now would do us no good."

"As expected of my Pale Rose." Nero boasted, resting a hand on the Director "Such a calm and collected mind."

"Please...stop…"

City Assault force Servants POV

Lucien swung his cleaver through the air, burying it in the torso of the emaciated body, he ripped it forwards, the serrated blade tearing through the body as the man continued to hack his way through the crowd. A small frown upon his face.

"Where are you?" He muttered under his breath, performing a savage haymaker on the nearest corpse, its head disappearing in a misty cloud of remains as it slumped over.

"Any luck finding our quarry?" Solaire asked, throwing a bolt of lightning towards another target before slipping his shield back on "Their numbers are becoming few and yet we have seen no sign of your prey."

"I know." Lucien grunted, narrowing his eyes "I don't like it. Beasts are dangerous enough, this one was smart in life too."

"I see." The knight nodded his head, a frown on his lips "Then we are facing a more dangerous foe than believed."

"You fought them." The Hunter pointed out, snapping his blade out and swinging it to the side, bifurcating the nearest undead "You should know."

"...Yes, I now understand." Solaire muttered "Indeed, it was a frightful thing to face."

"Why it needs to die quickly." He replied, frowning "So where…" he paused, noticing something "Why have the arrows stopped?"

"Beg pardon?"

"The giant." Lucien pointed out "He was supposed to be providing support with his arrows. Its not like any of them are silent, so why haven't we heard anymore?"

The pair fell into silence for a few moments before realisation set in "You do not believe-"

"Shit!" Lucien cursed, spinning on his heel "He went for the camp!"

"Ser Gough is strong, but I doubt he is skilled in combat." Solaire widened his eyes behind his helm "The Firekeeper!"

"Come on!" Lucien broke into a sprint "We've cleared this part anyway."

"Indeed." Solaire nodded, looking to the nearest soldier "You!"

"Me?" Aulus looked at the man "Yes, Prefect?"

"Aulus? Good man." Solaire nodded to him as Lucien vanished off in the opposite direction "Get word to Lady Quelaag and Sulyvahn if you are able, tell them that Sir Lucien and myself are heading to the camp, we believe that it is under attack."

"Understood, Prefect." The man nodded his head "We'll make sure to clear up any remaining problems here. Good luck."

"To you as well."

Gough POV

The giant Archer grunted as he stumbled backwards, the glowing blue blade arcing upwards and just past his head as the abomination continued its assault. Gough thrust his bow forwards as the beast swung the sword down, locking it in place with his bow before he delivered a savage punch to the horse like face.

The beast stumbled backwards, snarling the whole time before slashing the blade vertically, releasing a wave of energy. Gough held his arms out in a blocking motion as the wave slammed into his arms, he released a hiss of pain as he felt his skin burn on contact with the energy.

The copy of the Ashen one slammed into the side of its head, burying the bastard sword into its lower jaw. All it seemed to do was enrage the beast as it lashed out with its free hand, grabbing the projection and throwing it away. Its glassy eyes darted over to the Firekeeper, the woman sat just at the edge of the camp. It growled as it span towards her, only for Gough to grip it in a headlock, being only slightly taller than the creature but having far greater mass to his body.

The pair wrestled as Gough tightened his hold around its neck with his left arm, his right doing its best to restrain its sword arm. The beast thrashed and kicked with the legs welded to its body, its free hand slashed at his wrist with its claws in an attempt to loosen him from it.

The beast crouched down low, angling its body forwards before it kicked back, taking both itself and Gough off their feet before slamming into the ground alongside the giant. The two continued their wrestling match until the beast ripped its arm free of Gough's hold, Gough snapped his head to the side to avoid the blue blade from skewering his face. The beast used the opportunity to slam the back of its head into the Giant's helmet, denting it inwards slightly. Gough released a grunt of pain as the beast ripped itself free of his hold, twirling around and pulling the sword from the around, holding it above its head before bringing it down.

The bastard sword of the Ashen copy struck the Beast in the wrist, releasing a howl of pain its blow went wide, slicing into Gough's shoulder instead of his neck. Gough roared in agony before pulling his his uninjured arm and slamming it into the neck of the beast. The moonlight greatsword was violently pulled out of his shoulder with a sickening squelch as he rolled over, grasping it and heaving.

The sword buried in the beasts wrist vanished, soon reappearing in the Ashen copy as it rushed towards them. The beast swapped hands, grabbing the sword with its uninjured arm and swinging it towards the clone, slicing the copy in half in a single swift movement and causing it to crumble into dust.

The back of Gough's forearm smashed into the side of its head, snapping it to the side and knocking a dozen teeth out of its jaw, violently breaking bone and making it look more disfigured than before. His free hand went back to his wound as he stumbled back, the beast growling in pain as it glared at the knight.

A single burst of lightning struck it in the side, it hissed as its head snapped in the direction of the attack. Solaire lowered his talisman back onto his waist and then withdrew his sword. Lucien lowered his saw cleaver into the ground, soon disappearing into mist before his hand clasped a handle of a weapon which seemed to emerge from the same mist. Pulling it upwards to reveal a large stone like hammer which he slung over one shoulder.

"This is no state for you Ludwig." Lucien grumbled "Not again anyway."

The named Ludwig focused on him, its broken jaw snapped back to its rightful place in a crunch. The wounds it had suffered slowly healing over as its blade glowed ominously.

Master Group POV

Ash stood at the door to the Forum, the large wooden entrance remained tightly closed. He shook his head, turning to Ritsuka "Looks like its been enchanted. We'll need some time to get it-"

"Berserker." Olga cut him off "Open it." Ash blinked in surprise but quickly stepped aside when the Dragon slayer armour marched forwards, slamming its axe into the ground and slinging its shield onto its back. Holding both hands forwards, it began to push the doors, its legs buckling and the tiled ground beneath its feet shattering as it applied more strength.

Ash backed away as the creaking of wood grew louder, with a final groan from the Berserker, the doors shattered inwards, sending splinters of wood shooting into the interior.

"That works." Ash shrugged, turning to Ritsuka "I believe we can…" he paused, staring at them "Is something wrong?"

The entire group was gagging, Ritsuka hunched over with both his hands clasped over his mouth as his eyes began to water.

The first thing to assault them when they opened the door was the smell, the eye watering smell could not possibly be put into words to accurately describe it.

Olga turned away, moving back town the stairs and holding her hair back started to vomit, a response almost shared by Ritsuka and Mash.

"Ah." Ash blinked in realisation "Yes…" his dulled senses began to take account of it, he cringed "I suppose it is...rather foul."

"I would rather you not dally too long." A voice echoed from within, the group paused and slowly turned back to the entrance "It is rather rude to break into one's dwelling. Have the courtesy to at least face me like the rats you are."

"Rats?" Nero growled, pinching her nose shut "I shall show this degenerate a rat."

Ash flicked his blade so it was soon covered with fire, ignoring the squawk of surprise from Gwyndolin at seeing the ominous black flames clinging to his blade. He advanced inwards, the squelching sound had him look down to see the black sludge clinging to his boots. He grimaced behind his helmet as he pulled his foot upwards and saw the broken bone he had stood on.

"Come, come." The voice called out again, a strange echo to it which sounded as though two different voices were speaking at the same time "Don't be so shy, I dare say I am already familiar with two of you, it is like meeting old friends for dinner, is it not?"

"The final meal of a dead man." Ash called back, advancing inwards, the other servants soon followed him in.

"Unkindled." The voice replied in greetings "And Gwyndolin! My old meal! How have you been enjoying this second life? I see you look far healthier than last time...it shall make the taste all the more succulent I suspect."

"Thee should beware thine own poisonous tongue." Gwyndolin replied with a snarl "Should thee fail to control its flapping, thou may find it cut off."

"Ah...still some bit in you...how delectable." There was an amused chuckle "And who else have we hear...hmmm…" the others soon stepped into the darkened room.

"Let us see...Ah! Fujimaru Ritsuka, the last true Master of Chaldea. Mash Kyrielight, a fanciful experiment...and little Olga Marie Animusphere...the 'not quite good enough' child."

"How do you know that?" Ritsuka asked, narrowing his eyes as he covered his nose. The voice tutted in response.

"That's no way to speak to your betters, young man." An amused sigh soon followed as the room seemed to churn, the sludge along the floor rippled as a figure soon emerged "As for how I know…" from beneath the sludge, a green overcoat and ruined tophat appeared, the mocking face cocked into a smile "A friend of yours was kind enough to inform me."

"Lev?" Ritsuka recoiled "What!? How-"

"Lev?" Olga started, trembling "Wha-what…"

"Ah...hello little Olga." 'Lev' smiled at the woman as more emerged, only his top half consisted of the professor as it emerged from the ground. The disgusting pillar of flesh and bone snaked upwards until it was looming over them "Yes...you look just as his memories described."

"You...you…"

"Consumed him?" Aldrich surmised "Well...In truth it was more than that. Suffice to see we merged into something far greater." spreading his arms wide, Aldrich grinned down at them, the Servants assuming a formation in front of him.

Mash and Verndari taking up defensive positions in front of the Masters, Nero and Beatrice. Arash and Gwyndolin behind them while Ash, Gareth, Sif and the Dragon Slayer Armour took up the flanks, all staring at him.

"I don't suppose you could have waited a few more minutes. I was almost complete." Aldrich sighed "It is most vexing to be interrupted twice by the same piece of scum." his eyes narrowed at Ash "This is your second offence."

"You say that as if I am supposed to feel guilty." Ash scoffed, pointing his sword at the Lord "And opening a doorway into the Abyss is nothing to strive for."

"Is it not?" Aldrich shrugged "The Deep is merely a tool to be used. It had merely gone too long without capable hands to mould it into something...perfect."

"And that's you?" Questioned Ritsuka, Aldrich's eyes fell on him causing him to shiver.

"But of course? As one who could devour Gods and Demons alike, who else is better suited?" Sneering down at them, he soon began chuckling "What is with that expression little Olga? Are you not pleased to see your old friend?"

"You! What did you do to him!?" Olga screamed at him, her face contorted in shock and horror. Aldrich blinked at her, tilting his head in confusion.

"Were you hoping to kill him yourself? It would have been quite impossible I'm afraid." He shrugged "He would have simply killed you all quite handily."

Ash narrowed his eyes "So he was a Demon then."

"Was." Aldrich replied "Now I am." he then flinched, his smug expression flattening out "He still kicks now and then."

"So...so he wasn't...he wasn't possessed?" Olga whimpered, Aldrich's predatory expression returned.

"Oh you truly are as blind as his memories detailed. The poor little girl who could achieve nothing noteworthy. Who was never good enough...so pathetic. I admit, when I saw some of the memories of Flauros, I was concerned that a true sorcerer would come to fight me. I had seen so many competent magi that I believed I would need to be more careful...However, little Olga..." Aldrich's smile turned kind, almost caring in the same way a father would smile at their child. Olga's breath hitched, seeing the same caring smile Lev had given her so often "You are no Kirschtaria Wodime."

Olga's eyes glazed over, her arms fell limply at her side. Mash froze on the spot then snarled at the Saint.

"No. She is not this Wodime." Ash spoke out, drawing their attention towards him "Nor is she Fujimaru Ritsuka, nor is she Mash Kyrielight." Olga's head slowly turned to him, her brows slightly furrowed "I know nothing of her skill as a Sorcerer, nor as her quality as a summoner. All I know is that she is Lady Animusphere. Despite whatever you may claim she is not, I shall tell you what she is. Human. If she, as a mere human, could stand before a Lord of Cinder who could consume Gods themselves, is it any wonder you would resort to such petty insults." cracking a grin behind his helmet, Ash stared up at Aldrich "Because perhaps you are merely afraid of those with courage. It would explain why you could only best Gwyndolin after he had been betrayed and poisoned."

Aldrich remained silent as he stared down at Ash for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders "Quite the rousing speech, but being told by the worthless that you have worth is hardly a compliment to boast of."

"Perhaps." Ash admitted "But you were slain by this worthless unkindled. What does that say about you?"

"…"

"Thee should have heeded my advice, Devourer. Thy tongue did indeed flap too loudly." Gwyndolin carried on, a venomous tone in his mocking statement.

Olga sniffled, rubbing her eyes before levelling a cold glare at Aldrich "Fujimaru, Mash." she brought the pairs attention to them "Defeat Aldrich and restore this Era."

"Umu!" Nero strode forwards, pointing her burning sword at Aldrich "You shall pay for harming my Rome, creature!"

Aldrich stared at her for several seconds before he tilted his head to the side "...Who are you again?"

Nero almost facefaulted, gaping openly at Aldrich "I'm Nero Augustus Germanicus! The Emperor of Rome!"

"Really? I thought you some common whore who just happened to be accompanying them."

Nero remained silent for several seconds before she growled "I will see to it you shall never torment my Rome again, Fiend!"

"I suppose the time for talking is over then." Aldrich shrugged "Although I suppose I should introduce myself properly…"

A small section of the sludge in the corner of the room began to bubble violently, Verndari turned his head to it in confusion.

Then a beam of red energy shot towards him, barely having enough time to avoid it so he wasn't cut in half.

"Argh!" Although he was not fast enough to avoid it entirely, the beam of light slicing through his silver armour with ease, the heavy clank of his sword arm falling to the ground soon followed.

Ritsuka recoiled in horror, then stared at the spot where the blast had come from.

A large red eye stared at him from the ground, the cross shaped pupil narrowed at him.

"I am Aldrich and I am Flauros." Aldrich rose up, the flesh along his meat like torso split open as more of the red eyes emerged, fizzling with power as they stared at them "I am Aldrich. Devourer of Demon Gods." he threw his arms wide as a grin formed on his face.

The ground around them began to rumble as tentacles comprised of meat burst through the floor, the group retreated as each of them held the same glowing inhuman eyes lining their bodies.

"Now then, Chaldea. You shall witness my ascension!"

AN: Yep, a really long chapter this time.

Longest one to date.

Yep, Aldrich did consume Flauros and gain access to some of his powers. Meaning this is part one of two of the finale of this singularity because otherwise the chapter would have probably been 20k words long.

So here you go!