Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 54 of the story! Something, something, I'm getting out of ideas for these introductions. And apparently we are going to have a dead week in NA before the summer event arrives...
And with that said, let's start it!
DISCLAIMER: All the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author.
"Blegh! This tastes bad." Nala contorced her lips in distate while her fingers holded a small cup.
"That's tea for ya. Simply awful." Mordred speaked to her, sitting on a couch next to Nala and Peko.
"Hm, I don't find it all that bad." Peko replied, sipping a bit on his own cup of tea.
"Yeah. It's nice." Ritsuka said as he was sitting on another couch with Mash, the two of them also holding a cup of tea.
"And that's why it is always important to have a stash of tea in your house." A young man in one end of the room said as he put the teapot in the top of a table. He had a well kept blond hair and blue eyes as well as glasses and formal clothes.
"Thank you for giving us an hospitable reception mister." Mash thanked the young man. After all the living room they where in right now was part of his residence.
"The gratitude is mine. All the help we can find is welcome after all." The young man responded to Mash as he walked torwards the center of the room and sat on a armchair. "You were also lucky to have run into Mordred. London has become an hostile environment as of late." He told them before looking at the masked servant who had also came with the rest, leaning into the wall. "And I'm pleased in finally seeing the servant that Mordred told me about with my own eyes."
"..." The masked servant stayed silent with his arms crossed, seemingly ignoring the young man's comment.
"Why is he so quiet?" Ritsuka asked to himself as he and everyone else in the room stared at the masked servant with slight puzzlement.
"O-Oh? You were talking to me? Sorry!" The masked servant said, rubbing his own head as he apologized. "Did that silent pose looked cool to you guys? Haha."
"He wasn't hearing anything at all." Peko said to himself, staring at the masked servant with some embarassment.
However, it seemed the young man didn't let that bother him. "Hahahaha! No worries. I too get lost wondering in my own thoughts sometimes."
"More than sometimes." Mordred murmured. "Typical nerd behaviour."
"Back from bathroom break!" Doctor Romani announced as his holgram appeard in the room. "Now that we explained our situation and our cause, could you explain yours and in general a brief resume of what's happening in London to us?" He asked to the young man.
"Of course! I'm more than glad to share any information I have with you." He responded to Romani. "But first, we shouldn't forget our manners and introduce ourselves to one another, don't you think?" He proposed to them.
"Now that you mention it, I too would like to know it." The masked servant said before glaring at the Chaldea group. "You were about to tell me before we got attacked by Jack the Ripper."
"Sure. It's only natural for us to tell you our names if we want to be allies." Mash said. "My name is Mash Kyrielight. And I'm a Demi-Servant from Chaldea!"
"I'm Ritsuka Fujimaru. Master of Mash and leader of this group." Ritsuka introduced himself as well.
"I am Peko. Member of the group too." Peko told them.
"And I'm Nala. Nice to meet you!" Nala introduced herself by last.
Mordred looked at the two kids next to her. "Are you some kind of siblings or twins?"
"Yes we are." Peko responded to the woman knight.
"It isn't like it's hard to come to that conclusion." Nala told her.
"You never know shorty. Siblings can be different from each other in a lot of ways. Speaking from experience." Mordred replied.
"You aren't that tall either!" Nala raised her voice angrily, approaching her face to Mordred.
The knight responded with aggressivness as well, approaching her face to Nala. "I am tall enough to beat you up pip-squeak!"
"The temperature of the room is feeling oddly hotter." The masked servant commented.
"I'm noticing it too." Ritsuka told him.
"Please, calm down Nala! Why do you have to get offended by a thing like that?" Peko said as he hold off his sister.
The young man also did the same. "Now, now Mordred, it isn't time for this. Save that behaviour for the enemy only. Excuse me for Mordred's rudeness. She has a tendency to act like that."
"We also apologize for Nala's behavior. She has quite a strong altough excessive attitude sometimes." Mash apologized in return, much to Nala's contained discontent.
With the two girls having been calmed down, the young man presented himself to the group. "Greetings. My name is Dr. Henry Jekyll. A scientist who studied its subjects before all of this crisis hitting the city."
Romani raised an eyebrow at hearing his name. "Henry Jekyll?"
"Do you find it strange as well doctor?" Mash asked him, noticing the look on Romani's face.
"Yeah. Henry Jekyll is a fictional character from a british novel but...I don't detect a Saint Graph or Spirit Core on him. This person isn't a servant at all!" Romani said.
"And it isn't the first case we have witnessed here." Peko told him.
"Yeah. I'm seeing a pattern here." Ritsuka replied. "First the mention of Oliver Twist by Jack and the Ripper and now the appearence of Dr. Henry Jekyll."
"Both fictional characters with one of them being right in front of us in flesh and bone." Romani said. "Could that mean..."
"Sorry to ask you Mr. Jekyll, but to you know about Oliver Twist?" Nala asked to Jekyll, having reached to the same thought as Romani.
"Yes, I do know about him. He is a famous fictional character from a novel published some decades ago. Why?" Jekyll responded, proceeding to give a question to them.
"It's that we have encountered Jack the Ripper before and she mistook me for that character." Peko explained to the young scientist.
"And so we would like to know if between the time period this fog first settled until today, you got any reports of that character being spotted wandering around London?" Mash concluded, leaving Jekyll a bit pensitive.
"Hmmm, from all the news and stuff I've been keeping up to date from the outside over this last week, I don't recall of having any entry about the appearence of Oliver Twist on London's streets." Jekyll responded, turning his head around to look at Mordred. "Mordred?"
"Only kid I ever saw out there was that annoying serial killer." Mordred mentioned Jack the Ripper. "Apart from that, no one else."
"As for me, I saw nothing besides the usual monsters apart from some few civillians who would venture outside." The masked servant gave his own point of view. "Sure that I may be missing something since I only appeard on this Singularity three days ago. But the lack of evidence even from the two people who have spent more time in here leads us to believe that perhaps Oliver Twist hasn't actually appeard in this Singularity."
"But then how does Jack the Ripper acts like if Oliver Twist was real and most of all, confuses Peko for him?" Ritsuka asked to Jekyll and the two other servants.
"I'm afraid that is a topic without answer as of right now." Jekyll replied, having no clue on how to make sense out of a subject like that. "Wich is why we should temporarily put that aside."
"Then how can a fictional character like Jekyll exist and Oliver possibly not?" Nala asked confused.
"Perhaps because the man we are seeing isn't from fiction at all." Romani told to the chaldeans.
"Huh? What do you mean by that doctor?" Peko asked him.
"The novel Jekyll us supposedly from, The Strange Case of and was published two years ago from the time this Singularity currently situates. Call this theory of mine far-fetched but, I think that the we are seeing here may be an actual person that served as model for the literary Jekyll." Romani shared his thoughts with the group. And despite really sounding like a bold assumption to have, the group also found that it may not appear as impossible as it should.
"Perhaps it is indeed that." Mash said. "The fact -san has no detection of servant components inside his body and lived before the emergence of this Singularity..."
"Are you discussing something?" Jekyll asked them as he noticed the talk that was happening between the group.
"Not that important. It isn't worth your intrest." Ritsuka lied to him, thinking that they had enough conversation and speculation about wheter he was real or not.
"Is that so?" Jekyll persisted a bit.
"Yeah. Dumb stuff from the place we came from. You should pay it no mind." Nala advised him, lying as well.
"Hey, and what about this guy?" Mordred suddenly called their attention, pointing torwards the masked servant behind her, surprising even the servant himself. "Do I need to come up with a nickname for him?"
"That's right! You didn't introduced yourself to any of us yet." Jekyll speaked, staring at the masked servant. "I've heard a good amount of you from Mordred ever since you appeard. She said it was hard making conversation with you."
"Let alone accepting to join us." Mordred added. "You also want to protect the people from here, don't ya?"
"Y-Yes I do. And that's what I've been doing." The masked servant responded to Mordred.
"Then join us already dammit! Or you think you will be able to do everything alone?" Mordred said, rising her voice a bit. "Also, now that you know our names, it would be nice to know yours."
The masked servant groaned slightly. "Do I have to?"
"I don't see why not." Peko told him. "Is there any reason for wanting to keep your name a secret?"
"Hum, just wanting to-"
"Wanting to keep a low profile. That's always your excuse moron." Mordred interrupted the servant. "But I doubt that three days later, the enemy would still be unaware of you. Specially now that Jack the Ripper saw you."
"Exactly. If our foes had no knowledge of your presence before, they certainly do now. And so you'll become one of their possible targets." Jekyll added.
"What enemies are you speaking of?" Romani asked to the young scientist.
"Monsters like the Homunculi, Automatas and Helter Skelters. As well as servants such as Jack the Ripper and others who might be associated with her." Jekyll replied.
"And believe me when I tell you that Jack the Ripper isn't our biggest threat here." Mordred said before looking in disdain to the ground. "Not when that person is also roaming around..." She whispered.
"Wich is why from now on you would be better off by staying and helping us." Jekyll told to the masked servant.
The servant in response, speaked a tad nervously. "You sure?"
"Even we that landed on this place just some hours ago know that staying alone outside isn't the smartest choice." Mash said to the servant.
"Also, you helped us fighting against those monsters and Jack. So we are basically allies now." Nala told him.
"And your aid helped us alot. Just stick with us." Ritsuka tried to convince the servant. "Our chances of saving London will only increase if you do so."
Feeling pressured to accept the invitation and seeing that there was no way in trying to tell them otherwise, the masked servant ended up sighing in defeat. "Fine then. I think I'll join you for the time being."
"Finally!" Mordred exclaimed.
"Now, can you also tell us your identity? And face too if it ain't asking for too much."Romani asked him, wanting to know the servant's name like everyone else in the room.
"Well, with everyone already introduced, it would only be unpolite of my part to not do it." The masked servant said as he then proceeded to remove the crow feathers hood and steampunk mask, revealing his face to the others. His hair was dark with strays of white, tied into a small bun at the back as well as some bangs on the sides. His eyes were of bright red and on his chin, right below the lips, a small red tattoo of an alchemy symbol. The servant was rather young looking, seeming to have the same age as Jekyll. "My name is Faust, the Alchemist. Nice to meet you."
Barely a second had passed since the introduction, Jekyll was already charging him with a lot of questions. "Faust!? The main character of Goethe's tragical play of the same name?!" He then calmed down his excitment. "Wait a bit now. Or are you rather Johann Georg Faust? The real person the protagonist of the play was based on?"
Apart from Romani, Mash and Faust himself, everyone wasn't understanding a thing of what Jekyll was saying.
"Eeh, he is the who?" Mordred questioned, scratching her head.
"He may instead be the Faust of Christopher Marlowe's play, wich was some sort of adaptation of the faustian book." Romani said to Jekyll before thinking deeper on the topic. "Hmmm, but now that I'm seeing it better, there were a lot of drama plays and novels about Faust."
"The source of where I came from doesn't matter. I am pure and simply, just Faust." Faust told to Jekyll and Romani.
"So it's best to assume he is a mash up of both the real and fictional Faust." Mash said.
"Do you know who he is Mash?" Peko asked to the Shielder.
"Faust was a famous germanic alchemist, doctor and mage, both in reality and legend. His fictional counterpart is more well known due to being a protagonist of a tragic and cautionary tale." Mash explained not only to Peko but also to Ritsuka and Nala.
"A tragic and cautionary tale?" Ritsuka repeated the last part, feeling curious about it.
"Yes. Faust is a figure mainly known for having-"
"Now, it wasn't that hard to join the club, was it?" Mordred said laughing, giving some rough taps on Faust's back.
"Is all that euphory really needed?" Faust asked to Mordred, thinking the knight was precipitating a bit.
"And so with everyone here presented, I can share with you the events of this 'Singularity' as you call it." Jekyll speaked, about to fill them in about the situation of London. "To start, all of this fog appeard about a week ago unannounced. This fog is anything but normal from what London has seen before, being lethal to anyone who spends too much time on the outside breathing it. So a state of quarantine was enacted by the governmemt."
"And what you've done when that happened?" Nala asked him.
"For the first day, I tried to do a search and collect resources around the area. A dumb mistake now that I look back to it." Jekyll said. "The streets not only got infested by this fog, but also by the hostile creatures you have encountered already. I would have been done for if it wasn't for Mordred appearing right in time to rescue me."
"And just like four eyes, I was as confused when I arrived here." Mordred speaked. "After that, he led me to his apartment and we spent the next days trying to figure out what the hell was happening here."
"As well as trying to make contacts with other scientists and scholar-alike people on London. Mordred acts as the brawl who goes outside everyday and I the brain who writes the reports of what she finds outside and analyse the overall situation." Jekyll concluded.
"Is there a name you already gave to this malevolent fog?" Faust asked to the young scientist.
"Yes. Me and Mordred have dubbed it as 'Demonic Fog'." Jekyll responded to the alchemist.
"A fitting name to it." Romani commented.
"Yes. Because of this Demonic Fog, everything on this city has stopped. From small shops to big factories. And it's a question of time until the people of London run out of supplies to keep them safe inside their houses." Jekyll said. "There was also no response of the government as of late. So I'm afraid we have to assume the worst has happened..."
"But not everything is lost right?" Ritsuka speaked. "Like you've mentioned, you got contacts of other smart people that will help us."
"Yeah we do." Mordred responded before staring at Jekyll. "Speaking of wich, weren't you reading the latest letter of that Victor guy saying he had something to show us in his office?"
"Precisely." Jekyll replied to his helper. "I was about to mention that right now."
But before he could elaborate further on it, the image of Da Vinci appeard next to Romani. "Sorry to interrupt your chat but there's something I need to tell to our group as of now. Name's Leonardo Da Vinci by the way."
"Can you at least say an 'excuse me' while getting infront of another person?" Romani protested behind her.
"What do you want to tell us Da Vinci?" Peko asked to the italian inventor.
"I ended up detecting this Singularity's Leyline." Da Vinci revealed.
"Really? Where?" Nala asked surprised.
"He he, you won't going to believe this but..." Da Vinci pointed to the floor of the room they where in. "It's right beneath your feet."
"Talk about being lucky!" Ritsuka exclaimed, pleasently surprised.
"Then I'll start making a contact with it." Mash said as she summoned her shield and looked at Jekyll. "Sorry if it may look inappropriate to do this in the middle of your house -san."
"No worries. I understand this is something you have to do. Plus I believe it won't envolve damaging the house. Feel free to do it." Jekyll told to the Chaldea group before looking at Faust. "I'm going to my office in the meantime. Want to come in as well ? I have plenty of alchemy books as well as some adaptations of your legend."
"I'll accept it." The alchemist said with a smile. "A bit of knowledge never hurt anybody after all."
"You defeated all the bandits that ambushed you?!"
"Yep. One of the first times I went to do a job alone. After that, they left the village alone." Mordred told one of her adventures as a knight to a mesmerized Nala while Peko and Ritsuka watched Mash establishing contact with the Leyline while Da Vinci gave one of her lessons.
"Servants aren't only divided by class but also by category. One that we call Hidden Attributes. Every servant has one." Da Vinci explained to them.
"And what are those categories called?" Peko asked Da Vinci.
"There's at least four of them. Heaven, Earth, Human and Star." Da Vinci said. "The servants from the Heaven category are mainly those who come closer to actual Divine Spirits such as demi-gods or other forms of correlation. They can also be actual Divine Spirits of low Divinity or who lowered it in order to become Heroic Spirits. Heracles, per exemple, belongs on this category as well as Euryale."
"And the others?" Ritsuka asked her.
"The Human category is perhaps the longest one. It ranges from simple artists, writers and musicians to warriors, kings and emperors. All can fit in as long as they were human in life and actually existed. The Earth category in turn is reserved for servants of myths, tales and legends. And in this Singularity you have already found four exemples of it."
"Four?!" Peko exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes. Jack the Ripper, Mordred, Jekyll and Faust. Allow me to explain clearly. Mordred is a Knight of the Round Table of the arthurian myths, automatically putting her in the Earth category. Due to have been a notorious serial killer but never having its identity discovered, Jack the Ripper became known as a myth, putting it ,or her in this case, in the Earth category. If the people had discovered the serial killer's true indetity, Jack the Ripper would have been a servant of the Human category instead. , altough not being a servant from what we've seen, can still be the inpiration and model to the character of same name of the novel, making him a legend and fictional counterpart be put in the same category as of Jack the Ripper. And lastly for Faust, it is a bit fishy since he can be a match up of the real and fictional Faust. But if we consider that his Spirit Core is mainly occupied by his mythical side, then Faust also applies to the Earth category."
"In short, characters from tales, legends and myths right?" Ritsuka said, getting the requirements to be a servant of the Earth category.
"Exactly that Ritsuka! Ten points for you." Da Vinci congratulated him. "And now for the final category. The Star category. This one differs from the rest as it's a bit special."
"In what sense?" Peko asked to Da Vinci.
"The Star category is only for those Heroic Spirits who become turning points of human history. They are symbols of hope and progression to mankind." Da Vinci told the two.
"That surely sounds A LOT of special." Ritsuka commented. "Wonder if we have met a servant from that category already."
"You have." Da Vinci replied. "Jeanne, Mozart, Romulus and Drake are all servants from that category." She then smirked and looked to the side. "And you've also met another servant from the same category already."
Peko immediatly realized what Da Vinci meant by that. "You are a servant from the Star category as well Da Vinci?" He said surprised.
"Yep! The genius and brilliant inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci! The important pillar to the rise of the Renaissance! That's a me!" She said with a happy and proud smile.
"Wow! Then I guess the Star servants aren't as rare to find as I thought." Ritsuka said after being revealed of Da Vinci's Heroic Spirit status.
"You better think before saying that." Da Vinci told him. "The Star category is still special and the category with least Heroic Spirits in it."
Nala and Mordred approached to the center of the room where they were, still talking to one another.
"I can't believe he actually did that!" Nala exclaimed to Mordred.
"Haha, you better do. He was crazy just like that." Mordred told to the younger girl before staring at Mash. "Oi, is that done already?"
"Glad you asked. I finished to establish contact with the Leyline." Mash informed, getting her shield from the ground.
"And what were you three talking about?" Nala asked to Peko, Ritsuka and Da Vinci.
"Heroic Spirit attributes. It was intresting." Peko responded to his sister.
"Then I didn't missed that much." Nala responded unbothered. "Now you guys on the other hand should have listen about the stories Mordred told me! They were so cool!"
"Those weren't stories! Those were facts that happened!" Mordred reprimanded Nala before smiling. "But yeah, they were incredible to hear right? I might tell you some more."
Interrupting the conversation, the door of Jekyll's office opened with Jekyll and Faust coming out of the room.
"By the dissapearence of the sound, we can assume that you finished what you had to do." Faust told to Mash who nodded in response.
"Yes. And with that out of the way, you can tell us what you were about to say about the letter that you received from one of your collaborators." Mash brought that subject up to Jekyll, to wich he agreed.
"The letter that I received was from an acquaintance of mine. He's a brilliant scientist as well. You from the future may know him as Victor Frankenstein." Jekyll revealed.
"Victor Frankenstein?" Mash repeated the name.
"With a last name that everybody knows." Ritsuka added.
"Who is he supposed to be?" Nala asked them.
"Another fic-" Da Vinci was about to explain before being interrupted by Romani.
"A fictional character from another british novel." Romani told them.
"It's rude to barge in like that!" Da Vinci protested behind him.
"Hmmm, I think I'm starting to see a pattern here." Peko talked, seeing how some people they've met and heard about in this Singularity were characters from fictional works.
"The letter he sent was recent, saying that he would like to show us something he was working on in his office." Jekyll continued the explanation. "Usually, I would send Mordred to go there and see what it was. But now that all of you are here..."
"Job gets easier to do." Mordred concluded.
Jekyll nodded his head. "His residence is east from here." He handed a map to Ritsuka. "This will help you find his residence and not getting lost if the communications of your Chaldea base happens to fall again."
"Appreciate it." Ritsuka said as he grabbed the map from Jekyll.
"Will you go with them as well?" Jekyll asked to Faust.
"Hm? O-oh yeah. Sure." Faust responded immediatly. "Way to go Faust! Now you can't paddle back on your decision idiot!" He mentally slapped himself for having agreed in going out with the rest without having second thoughts.
"Alright! Then I bet everyone is ready to go." Jekyll said. "Have a save trip out there guys. Be careful with the Demonic Fog above all else!"
"So you're staying here?" Peko asked, noticing that Jekyll would be the only one not going.
"Jekyll is a human that doesn't have a skill protection against the Demonic Fog like you." Mash told him. "It's saver for him this way." She then stared at Ritsuka. "Ready to go outside master?"
"I am!" He then looked at Nala and Peko. "You two?"
"Same!"
"Ready to go!"
Now outside, the Chaldea group was walking on the misty streets on their way to Victor's Frankenstein residence alongside Mordred and Faust.
"The fog seems to only get thicker around here." Nala said.
Faust turned his head to look at Mordred. "Hey. Knight of Treachery-"
"Just call me Mordred." The knight replied.
"R-Right. Sorry for that." Faust briefly apologized. "I assume you have been to Victor Frankensteins's house already, correct?"
"Yes. Why the question?" Mordred asked him.
"The last time you went there, how was the fog density?" Faust asked her in return.
"Hmm, not as dense as now." Mordred responded, getting what Faust was trying to see.
"So the area where is house is might have become more dangerous." Peko commented.
"If so, we need to be careful for what can be waiting for us." Faust said.
"How's the connection doctor?" Mash asked to Romani as she took a glance at his hologram.
"Still operative." Romani replied. "But I doubt that it will stay like that if there's really a great manifestation of Demonic Fog in the area of Victor Frankenstein's residence."
"For now, let's just hope for the best and you continue to guide us doc." Ritsuka told him. "If any monster is nearby, warn us."
"They're invited to come. My sword needs some training honestly." Mordred speaked, confident of her skills.
"Don't think you're the only one who will be dealing with them." Nala responded to the knight. "I too had my share of adventures and battles by now."
"Yeah, yeah. But have you defeated a knight before?" Mordred asked the girl.
"Hum...no."
"Then talk to me once you did." Mordred said with a grin, upsetting Nala a bit. "Until there, you're just a pip-squeak."
"I'm honestly impressed that you're trying to save London, having knowledge about your tale." Mash said, looking at Mordred who raised an eyebrow.
"Surprised?"
"A bit. You're the knight who brought Arthur's kingdom to ruin after all." Mash told her, having learned about the tragic demise of Camelot. "If anything, London shouldn't mean that much to you in order to save it."
Nala was shocked in hearing that. "What?! You destroyed your own kingdom and didn't tell me!?"
"Didn't felt like it." Mordred told her. "But it must sound awsome when putting it like that, doesn't it?"
"W-Well..." Nala couldn't decide on wether she agreed wih Mordred or not.
"I think it depends on context. Was the kingdom you destroyed evil?" Peko asked her.
"It had his problems." Mordred looked to the side. "But no. I can't say it was like an evil kingdom."
"But you still caused its fall." Ritsuka told her, annoying Mordred a bit.
"Look! What I have done it's done! There's no coming back from that!" Mordred raised her voice. "Yeah, I may fucked up everything, but so what? I'm not going to spend this temporary second life lamenting over spilled milk. Instead, I'm going to do things on my own way!"
"So this time you want to do things differently." Faust told her. "It seems even the most treacherous knight can still retain some honour."
"It isn't about honour! It's about doing what I want with no strings attached." Mordred told him.
"Hum, I see." Faust said. "As someone who has read the arthurian myths before, I'm impressed that King Arthur's son, Mordred, was actually a wom-"
Having no warning, Mordred grabbed Faust by the collar and threw him agressively on the ground, pulling her sword on him. Eveyone reacted with shock.
"M-Mordred?!" Ritsuka exclaimed perplexed.
"One more word calling me a woman and I remove your damn throat, do you hear me?" Mordred threatned Faust with a cold glare, giving chills on the alchemist spine as well as everyone else.
"U-Understood." Faust replied with some fright. "I didn't meant to provo-" To his surprise, Mordred pulled her sword away from his throat, much to Faust's confusion.
"Bffahahahahahahaha! Should have seen your face!" Mordred said as she laughed. "Oh man, I really got ya with this."
"You...didn't actually felt offended?" Nala speaked, being victim of Mordred's prank just like the rest.
"Yep, I didn't. You know how many centuries have passed since I died? I couldn't keep getting angry if people called me woman. I just don't care anymore." Mordred speaked before offering a hand to help Faust get up. "Plus, we have more important things to do than that."
"Okay." Ritsuka said a bit weirded out. "Just please don't do that again."
"Yeah. My heart almost couldn't make it with that scare." Romani added.
"Your intimidation matched perfectly with the legends I've read." Faust told her. "Remind me to never piss you off for real."
"Sure! Also, as a side note: don't bring that topic of Camelot again. It's...a tad delicate." Mordred warned them, altough still maintaining her cool.
"Noted!" Ritsuka said.
"Now let's hurry up to that Victor guy's residence! The faster we do it, the closer we get to obtain the Holy Grail." Mordred exclaimed, restarting her walk. "After all, it will clear this Singularity's problems."
"Since the grail was a huge objective to your father and fellow knights, do you really plan on giving us the grail once we find it?" Mas asked to Mordred, being aware of the Knights of the Round Table journey in search of the grail.
"Yeah. You can all rest easy about it. I'll let you have it." Mordred said with a chill expression as she walked past them. "After all, I think someone worthy of possessing the grail has finally appeard." She said, looking at the Chaldea group and then Mash in specific. "Hope that shield doens't feel heavy in arms like yours!" Mordred told her before turning around and walking ahead.
Mash felt Mordred's comment as weird before sensing some words slipping from her tongue. "You like to always act as a moron, don't you?" She said with some furor before realizing the words and way she speaked to Mordred. "Huh?"
"M-Mash? Are you alright?" Peko asked her, thinking hos strange it was for her to say those kind of words out of the blue.
"Yeah. You normally don't say this type of stuff." Nala added. "Did she genuinely angered you with a comment like that?"
"N-No...O-Or perhaps yes? I'm not sure what I was thinking really." Mash said, putting a hand on her own head.
"That was an unusual behaviour for someone like her." Faust noted, telling it next to Ritsuka.
"True. Perhaps it's just one of those thoughts that escapes from our mouths." The master of Chaldea replied while Mordred silently stared at Mash on the front, giving a small smirk.
"Well, it was completely unexpected coming from you Mash." Romani told her. "But saying things we don't want to happens from time to time. Don't think too much about it and-...Oh great! Looks like we wont have a peaceful trip guys!" Romani informed them as he watched his monitor.
"Enemies coming for us?" Peko asked the doctor before having a half body of an automata falling right next to his side.
"They sure are coming!" Mordred told them as she targeted her next opponent approaching her. Quickly, more enemies appeard from the mist, surrounding them. "A lot of them!"
Faust prepared his staff. "Can't say we weren't expecting it! People from Chaldea, are you up?"
"We are!" Ritsuka said after looking to Mash, Peko and Nala entering their fighting stances.
"Good! Let's make this quick!" Faust exclaimed.
With the passage of some minutes in the battle, the last of the opponents was brought down by Mordred's blade.
"And that was the last one being disposed of." Mordred informed to the rest.
Nala walked torwards Mordred with a cheeky smile on her face. "Brought three enemies down. You?"
"Four." Mordred responded to the smaller girl, not even looking at her.
"F-Four? Are you counting that helter skelter that I killed and not you?" Nala questioned Mordred, feeling she was cheating on the numbers.
"Keep dreaming! I'm the one who delivered the final blow, not you. So if we go by the right counting, you only killed two enemies actually." Mordred told her with a smug.
"I think you should stop being a cheater instead!" Nala accused Mordred.
"Care to repeat that shortie!?" Mordred said angrily.
"You heard it! You're a cheater, cheater!" Nala repeated, not feeling afraid of Mordred's furious glare.
"Be careful. You're crossing the line." Mordred told her as the tension between the two rised.
"Can you two calm down please? This wasn't a competition." Peko told to the two girls.
"Shut up Peko!" Nala told him.
"You weren't called for here shortie N.2!" Mordred also shut him down.
"...Okay..." Peko said with a sad smile, feeling completely devastated on the inside.
Mash touched him on the shoulder. "I'm sure that they will cool down immediatly."
Meanwhile, Ritsuka was looking at everywhere with his eyes, trying to find someone. "Hey, as any of you saw Faust?"
Peko and Mash looked back at Ritsuka.
"Now that you mention it, where is he?" Peko talked before hearing some rubble noise some meters behind them.
Faust was next to a defeated corpse of an helter skelter, inspecting it. "All of the development...to end like this." The alchemist muttered as he passed his hand on the metalic texture of the helter skelter while the rest of the group approached him.
"Checking on the robot?" Ritsuka asked to Faust.
"Kinda. It's impressive how much technology and magecraft as advanced since my time." Faust told him. "But to be used like this...Feels wrong."
"It pains you seeing that, Faust-san?" Mash asked the servant.
"To a certain point. Throughout the ages, countless mages and alchemists like me would teach ourselves to attain knowledge and use it to pave new paths to mankind." Faust responded. "It fascinated us. The intrigue and mystic of the unnatural."
"Alchemy and Magecraft always went hand in hand right?" Ritsuka asked.
"Yes. Alchemy is the bridge that connects science and magic. A merging point of the mysterious with the factual." Romani answered to Ritsuka. "If you were an alchemist, you were also a mage and vice-versa. Many were those who found and crafted new magical crafts through the nature of alchemy."
"So we can think of alchemy and magecraft as one in the same?" Nala asked to Romani.
"Not exactly the same. Magecraft has spells and habilities such as True Magic that could never be replicated with alchemy. The differences are still there and significant to be considered two different subjects." Romani told her.
"It's all just wizards doing tricks. How it cannot be the same?" Mordred said.
"No. He is right." Faust told her. "There are things of magecraft that alchemy could never be able to recreate." The alchemist lowered his head, looking at the ground. "Even if you sacrificed everything..."
"Now that I think about it, Faust being here is kinda unexpected." Nala told to everyone, gaining their attention and looks of confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" Peko questioned his sister.
"I just find it weird how a servant who has nothing to do with London is in London. Mordred and Jack at least make sense since they are british. But Faust isn't even from this land." Nala explained.
"Well, the Counter Force summoning while it can evoke Heroic Spirits with origins and roots from the land the current threat is located in, it will also summon randomly Heroic Spirits who have nothing to do with the place and region they've been summoned to." Romani told her. "It wasn't the first time we've witnessed it."
"So some servants are summoned by the Counter Force by chance?" Ritsuka replied to the doctor.
"Well, when you're trying to save the world from a dangerous threat, certain limitations shouldn't be applicable." Romani responded.
"Even so, I would like to know it." Faust told them, having finished looking up at the helter skelter.
"To know what?" Mordred asked him.
"The truth." Faust answered. "Even if I just happened to be summoned by the Counter Force by luck, I can't help but think there was more to it." The alchemist looked at his own hand. "There must have been a specific reason for why amongst all the Heroic Spirits, I was the one to be summoned here. I need to know it! The true motive I was called here!"
"Then you believe your summoning wasn't by pure chance?" Mash asked the alchemist.
"I do. And I would like to know why." Faust responded.
"Hmm, as of now I doubt if that will be possible, but perhaps we will get to know it the more we explore this Singularity." Romani told him. "It's still too soon to reach for a conclusion."
"Unfortunately, I believe you are right." Faust responded with sorrow before reciving a strong tap on the back by Mordred.
"Instead of mourning and wondering about it, why don't you reserve it for another hour? This ain't the proper time for it!" She scolded him.
"S-Sure! My apologies!" Faust replied. "It wasn't my intention to bring the mood of the group down. I'm not a very cheerful person you see." The alchemist told them. "That's why I prefered to do things alone."
Thankfully, they weren't fazed by it.
"No problem. You didn't bring anyone's mood down." Peko told him. "Plus, you aren't the only one whose head is full of questions."
"By the contrary, I think you did well in opening up to us about that personal topic of yours." Mash also speaked. "We will make sure to help you find that answer."
"But remember to also help us in return too. We're in this together now." Nala told to Faust.
"We got each other's back. Whatever problem you're having, you can tell us Faust." Ritsuka told him, extending his hand to the alchemist. "If seeing all this creations being used wrongly hurts you, then we'll clear this Singularity to make sure no one misuses them again."
Altough a bit overwhelmed by the comments and Ritsuka extending him his hand, Faust managed to crack a smile in his face. "Those were very gentle words you said." He shaked Ritsuka's hand. "Having people like you here makes this situation less dire."
"We could say the same for you, Mordred and Jekyll." Peko replied.
"Hey now, guard all the compliments and 'thank yous' for when we finish this Singularity." Mordred told them, wanting the conversation to end so that they could go to Victor's manor.
"Okay then. Let's not waste more time." Ritsuka said, with all of the group going back to walk on the street torwards their destination.
Finally arriving to Victor Frankenstein's residence, they saw how much foggy the place was engulfed in compared to the streets they've walked in on their trip.
"This zone is full of the Demoic Fog." Mash said. "Are you still with us doctor?"
"Yeah...ki...nda...The Dem..onic Fog...concentration here...is al...ready...affe...cting the...commu...nications." Romani responded as the sound and image of his hologram would glitch in static.
"Looks like the connection won't be able to hold on for much longer. Better shut off the communications now and restablish contact later doctor." Peko advised Romani, seeing that the connexion was getting interrupted.
"Better...tha...t way...Be care...ful with...any...ene...mies nearby...Stay s...afe..." Romani warned all of them.
"We will be. See you later doc." Ritsuka said to Romani before he cut down the communications.
"Now for the mansion." Nala said, about to walk torwards the metal gates of the residence before being stopped by Mordred.
"Wait a minute! Don't be so hasty now." The knight told her, taking out an item from her armour.
"Is that...a flashlight?" Ritsuka asked, seeing Mordred holding the cylindrical object on her hand.
"But isn't it a bit early for those to have been invented yet?" Mash questioned, remembering that the flashlight would only come some years later from the year this Singularity occurred.
"Four eyes gave me some days ago after spending a crap load of time in his office building it." Mordred informed. "People like him spend their times in the most weird way."
"So I can assume that is a scientist really ahead of the curve." Faust commented.
"Seems like it." Nala added.
"Okay, shush now!" Mordred told them to shut up as she pointed the flashlight at Victor's house, turning the light on and off with intervals. She groaned slightly as no response came and proceeded to do it a second time.
"Are you playing with it?" Nala asked to her, oblivious of what Mordred was actually doing.
"No I'm not! That stupid isn't giving signal yet!" Mordred responded, getting impatient.
"You're doing morse code." Ritsuka speaked, realizing what Mordred was trying to do.
"No shit genius." Mordred replied to him. "This was the way I used to communicate with him to let me enter. That guy was supposed to also reply in morse code from the window of his bedroom." She explained to them. "But now for some reason he's not doing it!"
"That doesn't sound good to hear at all." Peko said.
"Yes. Something suspicious has definetly happened if it's taking a while for Victor to give his signal." Faust also expressed his opinion.
"Then should we enter the house by ourselves?" Mash proposed. "He might be in danger right now, needing our help!"
"Well, we're definetly ain't sitting here, waiting for a response." Mordred said, guarding the flashlight before walking torwards the gate, not noticing the time bomb that fell next to the gate. "Let's check his ho-"
"MORDRED!"
"WATCH OUT!"
All of them yelled in alarm to her, resulting in Mordred to spot the bomb in front of her, about to blow up. "Khh!"
A huge explosion happened, sending Mordred flying torwards them as they shielded themselves from the strong gusts of wind and dust.
"Is everyone alright?" Ritsuka asked them after coughing a bit and removing the cover of his arm from his face.
"BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!" An angry Mordred yelled in rage as she immediatly got up, having suffered minor damages from the bomb, altough it was enough to make her pissed. "Who the hell threw that bomb at me?! Show up and meet my blade's rage!"
"This attack couldn't have been from a normal enemy! It had to be a servant!" Peko exclaimed.
"But who?" Nala asked her brother.
"That power of explosion from the bomb would've been enough to kill a human!" Faust speaked. "Thank goodness you only got some scratches Mordred!"
"And that's somewhat supposed to be better?!" Mordred replied angrily.
"Let's calm down and focus on defeating the enemy!" Mash said as she prepared her shield.
Faust agreed with her. "We need to stay on alert! With the servant hidding, the attacks could come from-"
"That won't be a problem Faust-dono! I'm already here ahahahwehehehohoho!"
The sound of a maniacal and clownish laughter freezed everyone in the moment, specially Faust. "T-That voice...!"
"If what brings you here is Victor Frankenstein, I'm sorry to inform you but he's no longer available." The voice said, coming from a figure who stood behind the curtain of dust and smoke that slowly faded away. It revealed the figure of that of a man dressed in a clownish attire with purple hair that ended in a waves shape. The clown man's skin was painted in pure white with some purple simple paintings beneath his blue and purple eyes. And to compliment the design, a bizarre red hat with two white and purple horns coming out of it as well as a small coat of purple crow feathers on his back.
Seeing this exact person, this 'man', caused the entirety of Faust's body to shivver in a terrible shock as his eyes widened upon seeing the clown. He was no stranger to the alchemist. "Mephistopheles?!"
To be continued...
And that's it for chapter 54!
And the OC servant this time is (drumrolls noises) Faust! Now, you have probably heard about this guy at least once before, altough there was higher chances of being his fictional, mythical counterpart rather than the real one, Johann Georg Faust. Who is he? It's in the chapter, but for a brief resume, a germanic alchemist, doctor and magus who lived on 15-16th century Germany wich was the starting period of the 'German Renaissence'. And what better job to be in the Nasuverse world than a magus?
And everyone who knows him, knows well why exactly he's popular. Wich is why that encounter with Mephisto at the end felt...tense.
Also, if you're a writer, don't you feel that there are characters that is a joy to write dialogues and scenes they're in? Mordred is one of them. Absolutely love her and she's one of the servants I was looking forward to get to. Specially for with the interactions she has and is gonna have with Chaldea.
But anyways, that's all I wanted to say, and see you next time on chapter 55! Peace!
P.S:
(Moriarty sees Holmes entering his bar)
Moriarty: Well, this was rather unexpected. My archnemesis accepting my invitation to drink?
Holmes: After all we've done throughout the years professor, I think we can have some time to finally sit down and socialize instead.
Moriarty: Well said. (Snaps fingers) Two drinks for the table my student!
(Nala appears, wearing a maid outfit)
Nala: Already on the way Professor-san!
Holmes: You've been teaching her?
Moriarty: Of course. While my body may be outdated for all the schemes and chases we used to have, my legacy will live on.
Nala (Puts the two drinks on the table): Here they are! Hope that you both enjoy it, Professor-san, Holmes!
Moriarty: A toast to our glorious times, Sherlock?
Holmes: A toast indeed, Moriarty.
(The two toast and swallow their drinks)
Moriarty: BLERGHH! (Vomits the drink out and fall off the chair) W-What the..?! Why did I have the poison in my drink?! N-Nala, you were supposed to put the poison in Homes drink, not mine! Have you forgo-
Nala (Smilling evily): No, I did not. I did it on purpose.
Moriarty: Wha-
Nala: Lesson Nº11 of the Villainous Class- If you want to be at the top, make sure the ones above get knocked down.
Holmes: Oh my, you teached her well Moriarty. Way too well may I say.
Moriarty: You shut up Holmes!...But yes Nala, you still did very well tricking me. An A+ for you. (Smiles proudly)