DAMIAN'S SUDDEN EXPEDITION TO CHALDEA (CHAPTER 10)
STYX'S POV
I don't know how much torture I can take from this pits of hell, one thing I know of is that Damian is somewhere we cannot reach. As Tentadora was bound and gagged with her own hair and machinery while getting beaten by the triplets trying to get an answer out of her. I could only answer as Tentadora whimpers sadly at the loss of Damian's presence.
"Please, your liege, we do not know your son's presence in the whole of Safe Haven." I answered truthfully as a bellowing anger rose up from Damian's father.
"I don't need your pity explanations!" He bellowed in anger, "Your job was simple– to keep Damian safe. Yet the two of you lost him!" Magma rises from the ground, the little blobs, ever so slightly hitting my back as bubbles burst out.
"Believe me, my liege, we were with him the time Damian disappeared. Tentadora scoured through Safe Haven and we found that an unknown portal suddenly appeared and disappeared as soon as we felt Damian's presence faded, that's all I know!" I don't know what happened next, all I know is that it suddenly turned black and I was knocked out of my consciousness. Oh, Damian, where in the hell are you?
DAMIAN'S POV
"If Damian is okay with it, then best of luck to you all, and to you, Director." Romani said to Olga, "Although in order to communicate with me, we can do short bursts, so contact me if there is an emergency. We don't want to lose our connection with you," he reminded us.
"Yeah, yeah, even if we sent a hundred SOS, no one would come to our aid." Olga mumbled.
"What is it, director?" Roman asked her.
"Nothing! I'm cutting off the feed, so do your job now." Olga replied before cutting it off.
"Sheesh, way to go, Olga." I retorted to her side, to which she tried to smack me but I avoided it.
"Shut it, Damian, be thankful you're still alive. If not for Mash, other survivors or Servants would deem you as a monster," Olga harshly replied, "So you better shut your trap before I throw you in a raging rampage of monsters somewhere."
"As if you can touch me," I told her and held her hand to which she cringed.
"Eek! What are you doing?!" Olga complained loudly as she tried to wipe her hand from her already-dirtied uniform.
"See? You can't even—" I was cut off when Mash picked me up by the ears, "Ow!" I complained to her.
"Master, refrain yourself from agitating Director Olga." Mash demanded.
"Hmpf, fine!" I answered and flew to sit on Mash's shoulder, away from Olga's fiery gaze.
"And you, Director, please compose yourself. We are in a grave situation, we need to be level-headed from this point on." Mash reminded Olga, Olga was about to say something but seeing how firm Mash is from her position she gives up and sighed exasperatingly.
"Fiiiiiine," Olga replied before dusting herself off.
"So, Director, are you okay with this? We could wait out here from this Leyline point—" Olga cuts off Mash.
"We can't afford to do that, Mash. Ample amounts of time will be wasted if we don't make haste," Olga said defiantly, "Even if we waited and rescue came, after our return to Chaldea, who knows how long it will take to fix Singularity F and choosing the next team?" She asked Mash immediately.
"But–" Mash was cut off again because Olga started blithering.
"It will take months or even a year or two to gather enough personnel and funds!" She suddenly exclaimed to Mash, "Do you know how much harassment I'll get from the Association?" Olga bombarded her.
"Director, I–" Mash was cut off yet again, this back-and-forth conversation turned from ugh to ugh.
"The worst case scenario is that the Association will blame me for mismanaging Chaldea. And I'll lose the foundation to them!" Olga continued ranting, "And if that came to be, then I'd be toast! I just can't go back to Chaldea empty-handed. I need proof to shut them up!" I flew and stopped in front of her before clapping my hands loudly in front of her face.
"Stop overthinking everything!" I yelled at her and she was quite stunned by what I just did. She blinked a few good times before composing herself.
"Sorry…" Olga trailed off, "Damian, Mash, you're stuck with me for the time being." I rolled my eyes.
"I figured," I sarcastically replied but she ignored me.
"So, let's continue exploring this town. The singularity must be here somewhere in this twisted history of a town called Fuyuki." Olga looked at us and back our surroundings.
"Affirmative, Director." Mash and I were about to head out when Olga called for us.
"Stop! Before we venture out of the city, Damian." I bored my eyes at her, "Isn't there something you want to say to me?" I thought about it too hard but nothing came to my mind.
"No, nothing in particular. Why?" I inquired, veins on her forehead were obviously seen when I answered her.
"I thought small creatures are very smart, but you don't seem to be very smart. Do you even remember what happened in the Command Room?" She demanded.
"What about it? And why are you pressing that matter?" I argued, then Mash steps in.
"Master, it's probably the time Director Olga slapped you," she reminded me.
"Ah… that long, nonsensical purpose she said while that… tall, creepy guy was standing behind me like some kind of pervert." I recalled and Olga's eyebrows twitched at my remarks.
"Don't you insult Lev Lainur that way!" She scolded me loudly and smacked my head, which earned a pulsating, bulging lump on my head.
"Hey! I was just stating facts!" I said to Olga.
"Anyways!" A flashback emerged in my head when I finally remembered what happened that day.
Flashback…
As the blaring sirens surrounded the hallways, people from all over Chaldea made haste to gather inside the Spiritron Hall. Mash was talking to a redhead girl before approaching me, the eyes of the humans were wary about my presence but didn't seem to mind me when Mash approached me.
"Well, after we talk about your existence and this… unknown portal somewhere in the Earth, here's your number." She handed me a seat number.
"What's this for?" I asked her.
"You're sitting in the front row, seeing how you're the only 'other' living being here aside from Fou…" Mash trailed off, "Dr. Romani is talking to Director Olga about your sudden appearance." I followed Mash's stare and there they were, Olga and Romani discreetly talking about me. I feel like Olga sensed my gaze and looked at me while Romani was discussing about me, she whispered something back to his ear before dismissing him.
"That woman doesn't seem to be taking a liking to me," I mentioned to Mash.
"Everyone does," she replied honestly, "But please take any available seat in the front row," she told me but seemed to stop when she noticed something.
"What?" I looked to where she was staring and there were two seats open, an unnamed seat and a seat titled 'Director' who's name is Olga Marie.
"Oh. I guess it's not your lucky day," Mash said to me, "You're sitting beside the Director, and you'll see her in front." Right, talk about inheriting Jack's power.
"Let us cut the chatter, Director Olga is about to start." A guy said, who's, by the way, the only one taking a liking to me. I don't care if I were to like a boy or a girl, but if this guy likes me, I'd call him weird. You hear someone clearing their throat and my attention was cut short by the Director.
"Welcome to Chaldea, our Special Organization. I am Olga Marie Anismuphere, the Director of Chaldea. You are gathered here today because you have been chosen, or discovered from each country due to your special talents." She told us, and glanced at me, "By talent, it means, your attributes to the Spiritron. You are filled with magical circuits, totally capable of becoming 'Masters'." Huh, I thought humans don't possess any magical powers. Guess the textbooks in Major Styx's lessons are outdated, but then again, there's Heaven, it's not like there are no humans there.
"Where's Mash, by the way?" I whispered to myself and looked around, there she was, with the redhead girl again. Does she like her? Huh, I guess we can't fault her.
"I'm sure you didn't imagine to be a part of Chaldea, but be sure to keep this in mind…" Olga suddenly continued and trailed off when she saw me sitting beside her 'seat', "You are to be reborn as cutting-edge mages, with the help of fusing magecraft and science." Well, color me impressed! Seeing how the chosen candidates are delighted by Olga's speech, she continued.
"With that said, even though all of you possess the said talents, none of you are special." She emphasized, wow, a way to crush their hopes and dreams, "You have to understand that you all are standing at the same starting point, meaning you're all inexperienced rookies."
"I guess that's a valid point," I replied in a whisper. Then, Olga eyed the other candidates in different uniforms.
"Which reminds me of something in particular, the mages that were sent by the Association still act like students. So fix yourselves!" She reminded them and the mages looked down, "Chaldea is my domain, so your family heritage and personal achievements doesn't mean a single thing here."
"Yikes," I whispered again, but this time she heard me and glared at me. I immediately shut my mouth as she continued.
"Always remember that my position is completely different than yours, so my orders are absolute." She said defiantly, "You all are just tools to protect and keep humanity striving, so I won't allow any arguments in here." Huh, would you look at that, sacrificing the few to save the many. I didn't know it's this literal in the human world, just then, a huge commotion happened inside the Spiritron Hall. Students complaining and arguing with what she said.
"We're just tools to you?!" A man yelled, "We were here because we're the heroes!" He argued further and soon, the hall was filled by the human's noise. Olga merely raised an eyebrow at them.
"Didn't I just tell you all that I wouldn't allow arguments?!" She yelled back, much louder, which caused the whole Spiritron Hall to go silent. Then, she landed her eyes on me. Why is she suddenly looking at me? She walked closely, "You there! You came in late, do you have any problem with what I just said?" I didn't know what to reply so her eyes twitched at my sudden silence.
"Am I seeing this right? I let you in, be a part of Chaldea, and you're here, just meeking about?" Before she could even begin berating me, a new hire suddenly talked.
"Hey, this isn't right! I didn't sign up for this!" She yelled at Olga, to which I sighed in relief.
"We came all this way because of your insistence, and knowing we are experts. But you, wanting absolute obedience? That's ridiculous!" Another new hire stepped in, oh thank the devils for cutting in all of a sudden.
"They're right! You're trampling us!" A guy yelled on the other side of the hall.
"As a mage, family lineage is the most important asset of all! How can you just brush it off?!" Another guy yelled, and soon, another commotion happened.
"Silence!" She yelled, but no one listened, "And this is the reason why I say you're still acting like students!" She yelled at them before looking back at me.
"Don't blame me, I may be the son of Lucifer, but I can't enchant all of these people to revolt against you." I suddenly explained it to her and she fumingly walked back to the center of the stage.
"If you don't like what I said, then you can leave Chaldea all at once!" People were about leave when she added something that stopped them, "It's not like there are flights to send you all home. But, if you're all so stubborn, then I recommend you all to trek down a snowy mountain six thousand meters above sea level." All of the candidates went back to their positions and Olga triumphantly clapped her hands, wow, she's eviler than me.
"Great! None of you dropped out," she said through her evil smile, "Don't waste my time on such matters, seriously. You need to realize that this is how dire our– no, how dire humanity's situation is now." She regained composure.
"It's not like it matters to me," I whispered to myself, and Olga looked at me.
"Look at this creature who'll be joining your side in fixing humanity, they're a good example. Not arguing, no opinions, just good and obedient."
Present…
That's when I remembered all of Olga's purpose, ugh, what a headache. Mash stands clear to my position as Olga presses the bridge of her nose.
"Do you remember now, Master?" Mash asked me.
"In a way, I guess…" I trailed off and Olga smashed a small stone with her bare hands.
"In a way? So you weren't really listening, were you!?" She approached me menacingly, "I need you to sit down, because honestly! How are you so clueless? You stepped into Singularity without knowing your mission?" She stood besides Mash, towering me yet again.
"Don't bully me! It's not my fault you're boring when you open your mouth!" I argued with Olga.
"Whatever! I'm going to explain it to you again, we at Chaldea!–" she was cut off when me and Mash felt something off in our surroundings.
"Director, let's continue that later. The enemies are coming!" Mash readies herself, "Master, your orders!" She called out for me.
"Mash, let's go!" I told her, I have to get away from Olga for the time being as well.
"Hey! Come back here and listen to what I have to say!" As we faced off the new enemies, I noticed immediately that it was a ghoul.
"Huh, even ghouls exist in this world." I said loudly as Mash jumped high and smashed two skeletons at once and rolled before landing to use her shield to sweep some skeletons off the floor while I strengthened my hand to punch the ghoul. It passed through! I landed on the ground with a loud thud then I found myself dumbfounded about it.
"Master!" Mash broke through a small crowd of skeletons before making her way to me, "Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, just a little dirtied." I replied and dusted off my shirt, "That ghoul sure caught me off guard." I mentioned that to her.
"You can't attack them physically, you have to find a specific part in their body…" Mash trailed as she examined the floating ghoul coming in our way, "There!" She used her shield to smash a red-glowing orb inside the ghoul's body and it immediately disintegrated.
"I knew that!" I embarrassingly lied, "I just had a misstep and lost my chance to hit it!" Mash just looked straight at me as if she didn't believe me.
"… Right," she said before looking behind me, "There's another one!" I looked behind me and cracked my knuckles.
"I have never been humiliated in my life," I mumbled and looked at the ghoul as a small dark aura enveloped me, "But you're the one who did it." My right hand got bigger and the ghoul stopped approaching me as if it sensed something in me. Too late, jackass. I grabbed the ghoul's body and even though it phased through, I crushed the orb inside it and it disintegrated.
"Wow, Master sure knows how to get worked up." Mash suddenly interrupted and my cheeks flushed.
"What? No! I'm just showing the ghoul how it's done!" I explained it to her embarrassingly.
? POV
I stood on a pile of broken concrete as I heard a battle ensuing, looking at it, I noticed a little demon aiding a Servant.
"Huh, what an interesting bunch." I told myself as the Servant approached the demon.
"Wow, Master sure knows how to get worked up." The pink-haired girl suddenly interrupted the demon and seemed to be embarrassed.
"What? No! I'm just showing the ghoul how it's done!" The demon explained it to her embarrassingly.
"Huh, that little demon is the Servant's Master?" I asked myself.
"Right, right." The servant nodded and immediately looked in my direction, and the demon felt it too. I unknowingly made my presence known to them, I quickly stepped away from the rubble to not be seen.
DAMIAN'S POV
"Someone's watching us." I told Mash.
"Yes, it means we're not the only ones who survived." Mash said in a hopeful tone.
"Or it could be another Servant who went rogue and is coming to kill us all." I destroyed her hope and she shakes her head.
"Nevermind that, Master. Let us go back," Mash said and dusted herself. I didn't push the subject since it's been a while since I had fun destroying things. When we reached back to the Summoning Circle, I was reminded by Olga's long lecture about Singularity F's mission. She seemed to be watching us the whole time.
"Good work there, Mash Kyrielight. Your synergy still needs a lot of work," Olga addressed.
"Yes, Director." Mash replied.
"Synergy? I can say, we're doing pretty good there." I boasted.
"Pretty good? Oh please, if you were to do that same thing again with that ghoul, your life would've ended then and there." Olga argued, which angered, "But I don't care, what matters more is that I can pick up where we left off." I internally screamed as I tried my best not to get angry at her.
"Continue? So you mean there's more to it, Director?" Mash chimes in.
"Why of course! You, Damian, should remember it!" Olga demanded, "Re. Mem. Ber!" She syllabilized.
"You're a piece of work!" I snapped at Olga, then, someone interrupted.
"Now, now, Damian. Director Olga's ramblings can be very useful," a guy answered, well, who is it other than Roman?
"Even if you're not the candidate, you must remember what she said."