'How could this happen?!' Fujimura Ritsuka thought as she watched her Servants fight what seemed to be an unending wave of orc-like monsters.
In order to resolve the newly emerged Singularity, she was once again rayshifted into it with her Servants by her side. However, as soon as they arrived in the forest they previously left, they were immediately ambushed which took them by surprise as they were unprepared for it.
"We're completely surrounded! Senpai, your orders!"
"If we stay here, we're finished... Artoria, use your Noble Phantasm to create a path through the monsters on my left! If I remember correctly, there must be a beach that way and it will be easier for us to fight over there!"
"Please leave it to me." Wasting no time, Artoria raised her holy sword above her head, which started to glow in a golden and warm light.
"Caliburn!" She shouted as she swung it down and unleashed a giant beam of light that decimated everything standing on its path, leaving nothing behind.
"Good job, Artoria! Let's go!" As soon as Ritsuka shouted, they all ran through the path opened by Artoria's attack while taking care of the monsters that followed them or tried to stand in their way.
However, with Artoria in the lead taking down every monster before her securing their path, Bedivere and Gareth who assisted her by defending their flanks, and Mash who took care of the attacks coming from behind, they managed to reach the beach mostly unharmed.
"Master, are you alright?" Gareth asked as she gave a worried look to Ritsuka who was trying to catch up her breath.
"Yes... I'm fine. What about the monsters?"
"They stopped pursuing us as soon as we left the forest. We should be fine for now." Hearing Bedivere's words, Ritsuka let out a deep sigh of relief. But she then widened her eyes in surprise when she heard someone clapping their hands from the sky, prompting her to look above where she saw a hooded woman, floating in the air.
"I never thought that you would manage to escape from them. I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. But again, I should have expected this from you three."
'Who? A mage? She doesn't feel like a Servant so… is she a human?' Ritsuka thought as she took in the appearance of the mysterious stranger, but for some mysterious reason, she felt like she had already seen that person in the past.
"That person…"
"Do you know her, Bedivere?" Ritsuka asked the knight standing next to her when she heard him mumble. However, he shook her head, not letting his gaze stray away from the stranger.
"No, I don't remember seeing that person even once in my life. But, for some reason, she seems familiar to me. My king, what about... My king?"
Hearing Bedivere's confused voice, Ritsuka glanced at Artoria to see her frowning at the mage as she slowly pointed her sword at her.
"So, you're the one who caused this Singularity to appear. Why am I not surprised... What is the meaning of this, Merlin?!" She shouted, surprising everyone as they all looked in shock at the flying mage who simply smiled, waving her hand at them.
"Merlin?! By Merlin, you mean Merlin-sama?! Bu-but she's a woman and...!" Gareth screamed in confusion, her gaze running back and forth between Artoria and the magus presumed to be Merlin, a feeling which was shared by Ritsuka and the other Servants by her side.
"I've heard that Merlin-san is a shapeshifter so did he change his appearance?"
"You may be right, Lady Mash. However, I can't help but feel that this person before us is a completely different being than the Merlin we know." Bedivere said as he stood in front of Ritsuka and Mash with his right arm raised, observing with caution the mage who decided to take off her hood, revealing her beautiful face.
And when they saw it, for a little moment, they became allured to her beauty that they momentarily lost their hostility towards her, except for Artoria who shouted at her.
"Merlin, answer me at once, why are you doing this?!"
"There is no need to yell like that, Artoria. I can hear you just fine." She said with a wide smile, as if mocking Artoria who could only frown in frustration. "And as for why... Well, to put it simply, it's because you people are intruders, that's all."
"Intruders... you say?"
"Of course! I made up this place so I could have my own special playground for just him and I, you know? Ah, I may say playground but I suppose 'love nest' is also appropriate."
'Him? Don't tell me she's talking about that child?' Ritsuka thought as she remembered the sole person she had met in this Singularity.
"So, I'm sorry for not being sorry about this but I'll have to remove you from this place for bothering us... Or perhaps I can keep you guys as pets, I'm sure that breaking you guys apart would be quite fun." She said as she snapped her fingers, making a staff appear in her hand which made the Servants take a fighting position.
"You'll all do well as an entry so... try to amuse me a bit!"
And with a wave of her staff, Merlin launched a barrage of magical blasts at them, raining down like shooting stars at them. Seeing this, Mash placed herself in front of Ritsuka and Bedivere, raising her shield to protect them, with Gareth doing the same with Artoria, preparing herself to defend her king with her own shield.
But just before the magical blasts could reach their targets, they were all taken down by a torrent of flying swords coming from behind them, surprising all people present on the beach.
"What?!"
"From behind us? But I couldn't sense anybody over there?"
They all turned in the direction where the swords came from, only to see a child walking towards them with a frown on his face.
"A child? A glowing sword and a black armor... Senpai, is he?" Mash turned to Ritsuka who nodded at her with a smile, happy to see her rescuer once again.
"Yes, it's him."
"Big brother!" Artoria shouted as she ran to the child before she hugged him tightly, much to the shock of everybody especially Bedivere and Gareth who never expected to see their king act like this. However, it wasn't the only thing that shocked them but also her choice of words.
"Big Brother?!"
"My king, you mean that this child is... sir Kay?" Bedivere asked as he stared at the child who was looking at Artoria with a warm expression on his face, something he had never seen with the Kay he knew.
"Artoria, can you let me go?"
"Do I really have to do it?"
"If you do, I'll cook something for you later." Kay said, but when he saw that Artoria didn't let go of him and hugged him tighter instead, he let out a sigh as he gave her a small hug.
"You know what, once I punish that idiot over there, I'll do anything you want, no matter what it is."
Hearing this, Artoria perked up with a wide smile on her face. "Really?!" And when she saw Kay nod, she let him go after giving him a last squeeze against her body.
"Alright, now… I'm really sorry, people of Chaldea, for involving you in this mess." The young child named Kay said as he walked towards them, much to the surprise of Ritsuka and the other Servants.
"How do you know about Chaldea?"
"And are you really sir Kay?" Mash and Bedivere both asked in turn as they looked at the child who softly smiled at them.
"I'm sorry but talks will have to wait… It looks like somebody is too pent-up to wait anymore." He said as he looked up at Merlin who was smiling like a child receiving the best present they could ever ask.
"I was waiting for you, Kay. I knew I would be able to lure you out if I attacked them."
"Lure me out? Aren't you the one who kept running away from me? I'm seriously tired of running after you, you know."
"Isn't that because we were trying to stab your sword in my poor ass? You know I can't handle something that big."
"You should know very well that the first time always hurts, don't you?"
And then, they both started to laugh in front of Ritsuka and the Servants were shocked at their discussions, except for Artoria, not expecting them to make dirty jokes between them.
"Ho-how crude..."
"Are they really Sir Kay and Merlin-sama?"
Gareth and Bedivere couldn't help but to mutter as they looked at the individuals in front of them, dumbfounded by the sight.
"Alright, Merlin. I hope you're ready for your punishment." Kay said as two swords appeared in his hands, surprising the knights once again as they were copies of their king's holy sword Caliburn, while Merlin raised her staff above her, smiling with excitement.
""Now, let's do this!""