Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Avalon Bond. Now, before we begin, shall we answer some of the reviews.

AbyssalSovereignFF - Sorry if you believed so, but at the very first chapter, I explain that this is a SaberxShirou story, following UBW's Good End story. Being that said, in order to avoid others from making the same mistakes as you did, I will adapt the summary to explain that is a SaberxShirou story.

hahaminato - Rin's visitor so far will remain a mystery. Whether it's Archer or a different version of Shirou, that much is a given. It will be revealed later on.

Okay, here is the chapter.


Avalon Bond

Part II – Fate Grand Order

Chapter 25 – Septem Final Part and Interlude

Beta: Axel Emiya


The four horses galloped fast towards the United Empire Capital. Nero was riding up front as per her natural leader position.

The United Empire Capital was a vital information for Nero to send her army but neither of the scouts that she sent came back. How needless deaths from her army would be saved if she had this information sooner. Now it didn't matter as the amount of quite familiar construction appeared in the horizon, much to her own dismay. Whoever was the ruler of the United Empire, ended up building up a second Rome. The group was surprised at the sight of many different species appearing. Golems, Wyverns, Skeletons and even human soldiers stood up front. All of them, though, fell victim to Shirou's rain of arrows. Mash would place her shield to guard Ritsuka and Nero, while Jeanne and Arturia dealt with those that attempted to strike them. After the first line of defense, the group managed to get inside the capital and it looked like they were in Rome once more.

They had met two more lines of enemies and they all met the same fate.

Before long, the group stopped in front of what looked to be the city's main palace, before Romani's voice echoed.

"Do be careful, there is strong magical source in there." They had dropped from their horses, before looking at the palace one last time.

"Senpai, do you believe Professor Lev is in there?" Ritsuka nodded affirmatively.

"I believe so Mash. He may be this court mage that gave Nero's Empire trouble. Though, we still need to search for Boudica." Arturia turned to their master at Boudica's mention.

"Shirou and I shall work fast in searching for her, while you all go and search for the Ruler of this City. I have the feeling that we will need Boudica's skills here." With that settled, the group split up with Shirou and Arturia barging inside the castle and getting rid of the skeleton soldiers that attempted to stop them. Since Boudica was a servant, it was merely the case of following her magical signature. However, later they realized that this castle was literally made out of prana, probably by the power of the Holy Grail. Then, it was the case of searching for the accommodation that had the most opposition, probably it would be where Boudica was located. It came as a surprise to the couple when they found Boudica's prison, practically without anyone guarding it.

Arturia was about to run and smash the steel bars when Boudica's voice stopped her.

"Stop Arturia. This room was built with mage craft, there are curse sigils hidden in multiple locations. Only a mage can overrule them and free me." Arturia held her steps while Shirou observed the room.

His nose flared wild, confirming Boudica's information. Arturia then saw as Shirou casually walked first to the right wall, before grabbing the painting.

"Shirou…what are you doing?" A fond smile graced his lips as he remembered himself in a school uniform following an irate looking brunette magus through the school halls.

"This situation kinds of reminds me of when Tohsaka and I found the Sigils placed by Rider in our school for Breaker Gorgon. At the time, I helped her find the sigils by magic scent and she defused them. With her as a teacher, I learned a thing or two."

Arturia allowed herself to reminisce on the happy days that the three had shared in the Emiya Household and she found she missed hanging with Rin and Sakura. So, with a smile, the King of Knights waited as her fiancée worked through the curse sigils defusing them one by one, until the last mage craft became visible on the steel bars that composed Boudica's cage. This time, though, Arturia had used her sword and opened the cage by force, earning a chuckle from both Boudica and Shirou, before the Queen of Victory jumped to Arturia and enveloped the fellow Britanian in a hug.

"Come on, we must return to the rest. They might be facing whoever servant is the top rules of this Singularity." The two women stopped the interaction and accepted Shirou's directive, before following Shirou down the hall.

Ritsuka, Nero, Jeanne and Mash, meanwhile, cautiously walked throughout the Palace, following the humongous bundle of magical energy in this place.

They soon reached the Palace's Throne Room and saw a man sitting there on the throne. His outfit lacked more detail, with plenty of his muscles showing. He used black pieces of clothing sprawled though his body, together with golden ornaments around his neck and a golden crown was seen as well. Whoever this guy was, it was clear that he was a servant as well.

"Welcome my beloved child." His voice was strong and echoed throughout the hallways. "Emperor Nero of Rome, it's indeed marvelous to meet another of my children. Another child of Rome."

Nero, though, couldn't know who this figure was, though the man continued speaking.

"You are truly brave to have come here on your own…and that's why you rule over the current Rome." Then the servant began to look at Nero from head to toe. "How adorable, how beautiful, how gorgeous. I can see how you held Rome up with those slender arms of yours. Now, come. The past, the present, the future…all that is Rome loves you." Nero still was at a loss as to how this person knew him, before she stopped breathing right there. Being the Fifth Emperor of Rome, she of course knew her Empire's history from scratch, including Rome's founder.

"No…no, it cannot be!" Mash and Ritsuka looked at the Emperor in surprise as she talked in between gasps. "Now I see…just one glance…he is truly, Rome itself…" The servant smirked at the clear sight of her figuring it out.

"Yes my child, it is I King Romulus, founder of Rome or rather I am Rome. Now, it's time for you to join me as well, child. Do so and you shall be forgiven. Together we shall unite Rome."

Nero was still in awe at the sight of the man responsible for the very Empire she is proud of ruling. Still, what he requested of her she couldn't attend.

Not when this very man was also responsible for killing her troops and causing a ruckus to her Empire. No, she couldn't do what he requested.

"Emperor Nero, do you know who he is?" The question sounded so foreign to her, before she remembered that neither of the group from Chaldea knew about the past rulers of Rome. She answered Mash's question, her eyes never leaving the enemy.

"I had thought about it…I had believed. I had wanted to believe…However, you now stand in my way! You are none other than Rome, the founding king of the nation. The Holy Progenitor, Romulus!"

Many gasps were heard, including Romani's, at the sight of the son of the God of War Mars.

"My child…" Romulus began, but Nero beat him to it.

'Do not call me that…whether it's the past, the present or the future, I am the one and only Fifth Emperor of the Roman Empire! Holy Progenitor, O King Romulus. I hereby challenge you with my warriors, my swords!" Mash and Jeanne looked at one another. Nero was obviously calling them her swords, because obviously, Nero wouldn't be able to face a servant. Still, it was preferable that Shirou and Arturia were here as well, but they would have to make do until they arrived. Romulus smiled ruthlessly about Nero's proclamation. He then looked at Mash and Jeanne, before turning to Nero.

"Huh, I'll allow it then, Nero Claudius. Show me you can trample over Rome's love with your love. Now, behold! My spear!"

Nero was foolishly about to wield her Scarlet sword, before she was yanked back by Ritsuka, while Mash and Jeanne stood in position in front of them.

"Sorry Emperor Nero, but this is a fight between servants."

The Emperor's pout was almost adorable if they weren't in the middle of a fight with Rome's founder himself. The man yields a spear by the looks of things, though calling it a spear was quite of a stretch. Still, Jeanne was not about to underestimate her opponent because of this. And because neither Shirou or Arturia were here, it fell on to her to be the offensive type while Mash covered with her shield.

As such, Jeanne had catapulted herself to meet Romulus halfway as their spears met in the middle, generating sparks of attrition. Mash was by their side almost instantly, slamming her shield on the enemy servant, forcing Romulus to back away, before charging at Jeanne once more. The Holy Maiden Knight felt her knees buckle at the strength of this servant, forcing her to focus as much prana as possible to reinforce her limbs against him.

Mash managed to keep him from pressuring Jeanne too much, allowing the two girls to face this threat without fear of being overwhelmed. Still, Romulus had both strength and skill in his favor against Jeanne. She was neither a Saber nor a Lancer servant, despite having both weapons as part of her legend. And her sword was actually more used for her ultimate noble phantasm, instead of a regular melee weapon of battle. As such, her spear would have to make do, while her armor and Mash kept Romulus from landing strong hits on her.

Ritsuka and Nero just kept on looking at the fight and Emperor Nero was feeling irate at seeing others fighting her fights. But she then looked at Ritsuka and saw his focus on Mash, flinching when he heard Mash's grunts of effort and pain from keeping Romulus at bay. Ritsuka had said before that he couldn't do much else than be the support to the other servants, but he at least had these strange symbols on the back of his hand that once activated, it gave both Mash and Jeanne a boost in strength against the enemy.

When Mash was sent flying, Ritsuka screamed for Mash in dire concern.

"Mash!" The shielder servant was stopped in her path towards the wall by Ritsuka's hands, before she looked up to see her senpai's concerned look for her.

"Senpai…"

"Mash, snap out of it, I can't keep him alone!" Mash blinked once and saw as Jeanne parried Romulus's spear with her own. Mash grabbed her shield relic and charged to help Jeanne, giving her the time needed to breathe.

"Sorry Jeanne…we need to do something…he is too strong." Nero could see that Romulus was keeping his superior smirk the entire time, while he twirled his spear in triumph.

"So Emperor Nero, I must say that this entourage of yours is failing to uphold the standards required of a Roman Emperor. Mash and Jeanne grunted at the man for diminishing them like this. Sure, if Shirou or Arturia were here, they wouldn't be at such a disadvantage right now. But they were still due to rescue Boudica, so Mash and Jeanne had to make this work. It's not every time that they can rely on Shirou or Arturia to be on the front lines. Romulus saw the two servants gear up in front of him and tsked in disappointment.

"Huh, I grew bored of this, perhaps the other servants could entertain me further. Now, begone from my sight!" He then twirled his spear while focusing as Much prana as possible, before slamming the spear on the castle grounds.

Jeanne and Mash noticed the floor rumbling like an earthquake before three logs erupted from the ground, in a vertical trajectory. Magna Voluisse Magnum represents the great tree that symbolizes Rome. It was the image of the tree that appeared to Romulus's mother Silvia in a dream. Mash and Jeanne saw the logs attack coming at them, before both focusing on their ultimate defensive noble phantasm. Mash with her Lord Chaldea and Jeanne with her Luminosité Eternelle. Mash's shield glowed in white lifting a brick wall and Jeanne's flag spear glowed in yellow, effectively blocking Romulus's noble phantasm.

"Go Jeanne, I can hold this!" The Holy Maiden saw Mash's body glowing in white as Ritsuka must have used another command seal for her. Nodding, Jeanne focused the rest of her defensive move to charge and strike the surprised Romulus.

As soon as Jeanne's spear pierced Romulus' heart, he stumbled backwards bleeding, before looking at Nero, just as Shirou, Arturia and Boudica arrived at the scene.

"Your spear ended up conquering mine, after all Nero Claudius. As such, I entrust my eternal crimson and gold empire to you and your heirs."

Nero Claudius observed the founder of Rome and despite observing her kindgom's worst enemy about to vanish she couldn't help but feel the immense praise it is to be acknowledged by King Romulus himself. Now, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel finally. With the leader of the United Empire defeated, her Rome could flourish once more, unimpeded. Still, as she looked around, it was evident to her that nothing had changed. As such, Nero turned to Mash and asked the million dollar question.

"Umu! Now that we defeated him, then everything is going to fall back into place, correct?" Emperor's expression was of hope when she asked, but that hope soon vanished when she saw that neither of the Chaldeans looked relieved.

"True that the leader is defeated, but we are still due to find the Holy Grail…and the United Empire's Court Mage is still due to appear."

The party of servants, master and Nero then looked surprised once the noise of hollow clapping could be heard, before they heard the distinguished sound of a man's shoe heels walking towards them.

"Well, well, to think you took Romulus as well. It seems you have became more powerful since I last saw you in Fuyuki, Mash. And it seems you all have assembled more servants into your little group."

The group then gasped as Lev appeared before them. From Chaldea, Olga, Da Vinci and Romani tensed as they saw the man himself with his brown overcoat, oversized hat and the smug only bigger than his own ego. They all saw what Lev was holding in his hand as well, hence why no one thought of attacking him for now. Holding the Holy Grail like a golden chalice, Lev could see that he had leverage against the group. After all, a servant may be strong, but no servant can defeat the holy grail.

Shirou and Arturia looked cautiously at the man and were prepared to move at a moment's notice. Back in Fuyuki, Shirou managed to stop him from killing Olga, but now he couldn't know what he was planning.

"Hand in the Holy Grail at once, Lev. You're alone…you can't win this." Professor Lev merely chuckled at Ritsuka Fujimaru.

"Oh that's precious. The little boy thinking that he can talk back. No, Ritsuka Fujimaru, I don't believe myself cornered if that's what you're implying. Who do you think summoned all the servants you faced?" Mash narrowed her eyes and lifted her shield to protect Ritsuka and Nero, who was looking at this new presence, wearing strange clothing. "I have the power of the Holy Grail with me to do my bidding. Your little group has caused me quite the nuisance of late. First in Fuyuki, then in France and now here in Rome…thanks to your actions, I really got yelled at. My plan was to give the Grail to a fitting fool then enjoy what would unfold. But you ruined that." Lev's words were clear to everyone with half a brain.

First in France and now in Rome, Lev wished to give the grail to a Heroic Spirit to drive an era into madness and hereby ruin mankind. He tried in France with Jeanne Alter and now he attempted in Rome with Romulus.

"So King Romulus didn't wish for the downfall of humanity. He merely wished to build his own version of Rome; hence he was against Lev's plans." Ritsuka nodded at Mash's conclusion, while never taking his eyes away from Lev.

"In the end, the only one here against mankind is you Lev…"

"Shut it trash…" Lev yelled at Romani's words. "I never had any hope for humans in the first place. You think you all can defeat me, Lev Lainur, just because you defeated a few servants? Huh, I will show you the favor of our King!"

They all tensed as Lev Lainur was glowing with massive amounts of prana, before transforming into a hideous creature. It was hard to describe it really. It looked like a pillar of flesh filled with red goblets with eyes inside with the shape of a black star, moving in random directions all at once.

"Uh, what is that ugly thing!?" Emperor Nero was standing next to Ritsuka while Mash protected them.

"Allow me to introduce myself…" Somehow, Lev's voice was heard. "I am Lev Lainur Flauros, one of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods! The Demon God Flauros."

Mash and Jeanne were already heavily weakened after fighting Romulus, so Shirou and Arturia stepped up in front of the group. Arturia with Excalibur at the ready while Shirou carried two katanas one in each hand.

Shirou and Arturia evaded as soon as the eyes glowed and sent powerful beams of energy at them. Using evasion and agility, the sword wielders each took turns slashing Demon God Flauros with their swords. Each damage, though, was completely healed in seconds, as Demon God Flauros kept on sending laser beams at them. None of it able to even graze the fast servants. To Shirou and Arturia, this was no different than them facing Gilgamesh's swords portal. In many cases, Gilgamesh proved more of a threat because each of those weapons were noble phantasms. When Demon God Flauros then sent a black smoke wave at them, Arturia and Shirou were forced to abandon their strikes. The black wave kept on attacking them and protecting the Demon God Flauros at the same time.

So, long-range attacks it is then!

Arturia used her strike air with Excalibur and Shirou unleashed energy slices that came from the demonic swords from Muramasa.

Each attack landed head on and they could hear a grunt of effort from Flauros.

"Shirou, keep on the attack!"

"Right!"

Arturia bombarded the pillar with her strike air while Shirou kept on unleashing his sword wave strikes, now added by fire mage craft. To the spectators, it was truly a show from those two. Mash and Jeanne had more skills of defense than offensive, hence why they had trouble against Romulus, but looking at Shirou and Arturia, they could tell that these two were a different league than them. Nero's eyes sparkled at seeing true magic in front of her. It felt like she was the audience to a play and Arturia and Shirou were performers. It was quite rare to see such coordination even from the strongest in her army. Boudica was truly inspired as well. The people from Chaldea had firmly believed like Nero did a couple days ago that Shirou was truly a walking army with the number of projections he was hurling at Flauros with reckless abandon. And Arturia was King Arthur, nuff said!

"Arturia, back me up for a second!"

The King of Knights nodded and used her Excalibur to redirect the laser beams from Shirou as the redhead swordsmith turned his katanas into golden sparks in the air, before Shirou worked through the skills inherited by the blacksmith. Once he gathered enough prana in his hand, and much to everyone's amazement, a new katana was literrally being forged in mid-air, enveloped by red flames.

Memories of his ancestor stuck in his forgery, slamming his hammer on steel repeatedly, always chasing, but never reaching, for the perfect blade…

Ever since Muramasa became a part of his Reality Marble, Shirou has been fascinated about his ancestor's life. The memories, the hardships, the tenacity in his path…it made the redhead believe that he could continue his ancestor's profession someday and earn a living as a swordsmith back in Fuyuki. Which was ironic, considering Shirou's reality marble and his ability to trace swords, even before he met the old blacksmith.

Using the Tsumagari Muramas was out of the question, but he could make bastardized versions of it anytime.

As soon as the new sword was formed, Shirou vanished from his position and appeared quite close to the pillar of flesh, before making a horizontal powerful slash at Flauros.

"Haaaaaa! May your fall be humble, Lev Flauros!"

The pillar was sliced in two, much to everyone's gasp, before a pillar of flame enveloped the enemy.

After Shirou's attack on Demon God Flauros, the human Lev appeared once more, with his clothes battered and bloody, still the man had the Holy Grail in his possession.

"Once more, you two stand in my way. But no matter….I already have a contingency plan in place for this exact scenario. I have enough power to call upon one more servant! One who will destroy Rome!" Nero and the others cursed as Lev smirked in glory.

"Hah, now come forward! Great hero of destruction, Altera!" The servant called Altera emerged from within the energy of the Holy Grail and made everyone on edge. Lev, however, was only cackling madly.

"Hahhaha, kill…destroy. Incinerate. With your power, burn Rome and this singularity to the ground! It's over Chaldea…the dream of continuing humanity is nothing but a dream. This servant is the ultimate destroyer. Altera is a heroic spirit, but…"

"Silence!"

The second that Altera had appeared and sliced Lev in two, the group shuddered in fear at the onslaught of magical energy by the Holy Grail being absorbed by this new Heroic Spirit. Looks alone could be truly deceiving as despite being introduced as the god's whip and king of destruction, Altera had quite the petite frame and long white hair. Probably smaller than Arturia was when she was Shirou's servant. One look from Shirou at her tri-colored sword and both his hands went immediately to his head to try and ease the immediate headache that followed once he attempted to trace a divine construct.

"Shirou…what's wrong?" The pain was so massive that the redhead had to use Arturia as a clutch.

"Her sword…it's a divine construct. I…can't trace it."

The news came as a shock to everyone, before Altera was empowered by the Holy Grail looked at her opposition and announced with a smooth and profound voice, while her sword glowed in tremendous energy.

"I am…a warrior of the Hun and it's king. I am the King of Destruction, the one who destroyed the western world. Destruction!" Ritsuka all but yelled for Mash – even with the usage of his command seal, before Mash quickly conjured the energy of her shield as soon as Altera's high energy beam and noble phantasm Proton Ray attacked. However, all Mash could do at the end of the day was divert Altera's attack towards the castle ceiling, all but destroying the entire building. The shielder servant was about to be somersaulted backwards because of the backlash when Shirou and Arturia quickly appeared behind her and held her on each side. Boudica focused on yanking Nero and Jeanne secured Ritsuka away from the attack's worst consequences. Quickly, those who had the strength and stamina, left the castle before it collapsed on their heads.

Once outside the capital of the United Empire, the group managed to collect their bearings to see where Altera was. Nero was on the ground, desperately covering her head, until she opened her eyes and blinked twice.

"Umu! I firmly believed I was going to die. Did you save me Boudica?" The Queen of Britannia looked at the downed Emperor and nodded with a smile, albeit it seemed rather forced.

"It seems my body moved on its own, Emperor Nero. Now, where is Altera?" The question was directed towards the group from Chaldea. Shirou and Arturia were looking around, while Mash and Jeanne helped Ritsuka get up as well.

The master then called Chaldea from the intercom.

"Doctor, can you tell us where Altera is?" Back at the Headquarters, Romani was looking at the map in front of him and tracking Altera's signature.

"She already started her advance from the United Empire's Capital and judging from her direction, she's heading for Rome." Nero was on edge immediately.

"If she unleashes one more of that magic, she will obliterate Rome for sure, but how can we reach her and stop it? There are now horses nearby and I don't think either of you can catch up to her."

For a second or two, the group appeared indecisive about the next course of action, before Boudica stepped forward.

"I can use my Noble Phantasm Chariot to take me and one more, but the one who comes with, must pack quite a punch to beat him in one strike or else Rome is done for."

"Allow me the honor, Boudica!" Arturia stated proudly with her sword in hand and positioned it close to her face. Boudica smiled and summoned her chariot with a whistle before two beautifully white stallions appeared brining the Chariot of Boudica. Arturia immediately climbed aboard behind the Queen of Britannia. In less than a second, Boudica issued the order and the two horses galloped fast towards Altera's path. The Chariot's wheels then glowed in yellow energy as the Chariot lifted off the ground and started flying, much to everyone's amazement. In little to no time, her Chariot was but a small dot in the sky with only Shirou being able to see from a distance.

From up above, Arturia and Boudica then spotted Altera running from the ground. Boudica then turned to Arturia and gave her the signal. The Queen of Britannia and King Arthur then gathered massive amounts of prana together for one combined assault. Boudica's Chariot glowed in yellow energy the same moment that Arturia called forth the energy for her Noble Phantasm Excalibur. The end result…Boudica's Chariot was transformed into a golden yellow comet that dove straight towards Altera's position. The King of the Hut sensed the attack coming, but she couldn't charge her own noble phantasm fast enough to parry the meteor that came from the skies and sliced her in half as well as open up an extensive carve on the land, because of Arturia's sword noble phantasm.

The King of Knights couldn't see much because of the destruction, but she could have sworn that Altera had shown a relieved smile right before vanishing back to the Throne of Heroes.

When the Chariot then landed on the ground, Boudica grabbed the Holy Grail and both Britannian legends galloped back to where the group from Chaldea were waiting, together with the troubled Nero.

By the time they arrived, Romani had already communicated to them that Arturia had managed to retake the Grail after defeating Altera in a marvelous display of teamwork with Boudica.

Nero just observed the group from Chaldea as they celebrated the acquiring of the Holy Grail. She then approached Ritsuka who was close to Jeanne and Mash. Shirou and Arturia were chatting with Boudica about something.

"Ah Emperor Nero..." The blonde Emperor smiled, sharing Ritsuka's enthusiasm, despite her gut telling her that this bond she now had with them had reached to an end.

"So, like the others, you are going to leave, aren't you?" Ritsuka and Mash had a flat smile on their faces and Mash nodded. These types of bonds were amazing to both her and Ritsuka, but this last part was quite painful.

To meet these legends, forming a bond with them, only to say their goodbyes soon after.

However, both would treasure the memory of the proud and pompous emperor. Jeanne had opted to leave them be and went to Arturia and Shirou. Her life right now was to aid Chaldea and save mankind. But, she knew that some time, she will have to say her goodbye as well to them. Her bond with Arturia and Shirou meant the world to the Holy Maiden and she wondered what would be like if she had met them when she was alive. Back to Nero and Mash, the shielder servant began to explain what would happen now.

"Yes, with the singularity fixed, this era will be restored to the original timeline and the memories of this event will be erased." Despite her saddened visage, Nero found comfort in the knowledge that this wasn't a goodbye to them.

"It's unfortunate that i haven't given any of you a suitable reward…you all deserve so much and it pains me not to retribute in kind." Mash and Ritsuka smiled at the Emperor Nero. "But this is not farewell. Soon, you'll find yourself heading to Rome. All roads lead to Rome, for Rome is the World. Both the Holy Progenitor and I believe so. So, I will not say goodbye, only thanks to all of you. And please extend my appreciation to Shirou and Arturia as well. They were also invaluable to the Empire."

While Nero said her goodbyes to her friends, Shirou and Arturia were waiting for Boudica to give them an answer. Shirou was at first surprised when Arturia went behind Master's back and invited Boudica to join them in Chaldea. But his surprise lasted for about half a second. Boudica hailed from his fiancée's country and was close in time. It went without saying that by having Boudica close to her, Arturia could reminisce about her time not only as King of Camelot but also as a simple girl that tended to her adopted family's house and helped both her father and brother with the chores. And Boudica looked at the King of Knights with fondness, treasuring her like she had with her own family back in the day. Her husband was also King of Britannia, so both Britannian women had plenty of history to share with one another.

It would be a shame to cut this bond short.

"So, Boudica, do you accept going back with us to Chaldea?" The Queen of Britannia nodded enthusiastically at the invitation.

This adventure has been a blast to her and she is sure that she will have many more adventures like this with them. Mash and Ritsuka were already behind them and Mash started the bonding of Boudica's spirit, linking her to Chaldea. As soon as it was finished, Romani activated the system to bring them all back to Chaldea. Nero observed it all with a smile on his face, trying in vain to commit this image to memory. However, as soon as the team left, the singularity fixed itself and even Emperor Nero was no more, going back to her seat as Emperor of Rome, going about history's true obstacles until the Roman Empire was no more a couple of centuries later on.


===Chaldea===

Once everyone got transported back to Chaldea, Jeanne went along with Mash and Ritsuka to be checked by the Staff in case of lingering injuries.

Shirou and Arturia stayed close to the platform together with Boudica, whose eyes were wide as saucers to make sense of it all. She didn't even register when Shirou had briefly reported the mission success to Olga, Da Vinci e Romani. Arturia placed a comrade's hand on Boudica's shoulder, awakening the Queen of Britannia to her presence.

"I know it's a lot to take in at first and it shall be our honor to guide you along this facility…but first, it's important to get us something to eat."

Boudica could only offer a sincere nod and a smile at her fellow Britanian, happy to get settled in and embark in this adventure.

"After all, it's like I always say to my fiancée…hunger is the enemy!"

Boudica, being quite fond of the pleasures of dining, concurred. Shirou, for his part, laughed fondly at the remark and remembered when Arturia first said those words to him.

"Thank you Arturia, Shirou, I will be in your care then."


===Next Day===

With the second singularity fixed, the now A-team had received a couple days off to rest and recuperate.

Ritsuka and Mash had decided to invite the servants for some board games to pass the time. With the base being located in the upper mountains of Antartica, there wasn't much to do outside. And inside the base, there wasn't much else to do as well, except training and gathering knowledge about the World and its intricacies. Ritsuka actually had to spend some time teaching every one of the servants some of the rules, except to Mash and Shirou. The redhead pseudo-servant never bothered much with board games while growing up. Even before knowing about the moonlit world, one Emiya Shirou spent his leisure days either going to the Archer club, helping his classmates with chores, taking care of the Emiya household and feeding the hungry tiger that is Taiga.

Even when Arturia and Tohsaka moved in with him, they didn't bother with this.

Though, it was quite fun when he remembered the time when they played baseball together during war time.

So, after Ritsuka explained the rules of the board game of his choosing and after Boudica and Shirou made some snacks for everyone, the entire day and night was filled with the master and the servants enjoying each other, having a nice time. It ended up being quite fun to everyone when it became known that Arturia had quite the competitive edge no matter which game was played and no matter who she played against, not even when Shirou was her opponent. The time-off was also spent with Jeanne, Arturia, Boudica and Mash to sit together and converse, getting to know each other more.

Mash in particular was quite down after leaving Emperor Nero alone, but after an entire day of playing games with the others and eating Shirou's snacks, actually being a normal girl for once, it raised her spirit and mood.


===Control Room===

While Ritsuka and the others were having some time off, Romani, Olga and Da Vinci were alone in the control room. The reason being the revelations from this second singularity.

Before Lev was killed by the servant Altera, he had revealed himself to be in his words 'one of the seventy two demon gods and not only that but he was following the orders of some King he mentioned, right before turning into that strange and hideous creature. Olga and Romani, in specific, were the most affected by seeing the Dr. Lev they knew was actually a demon god in disguise. Now, the question remained whether something happened to him in the meantime, or if he was always like this and no one knew.

"…to believe that he had tricked everyone like this, even my father." Olga was finding quite vexing, that she was biting her finger quite hard.

"That's only half the problem, Olga." The gray haired in a wheelchair looked to see the thinking Romani. "We are so far clueless as to Lev's intentions with the singularities and why he wiped out mankind."

"Plus, we will have to account for these 'demon god' entities probably appearing in the other five singularities." Both Romani and Olga nodded at Da Vinci. "This time, Shirou and Arturia were strong enough to handle Lev when he was Demon God Flauros, but what if other demon gods appear in the next singularities. Ritsuka and Mash already have to handle the singularities and even the servants brought to life by the Grail." Olga concurred, though she was most interested in Shirou and the unbelievable amount of prana he possessed. She had remembered bits and pieces of his display against the servant King Leonidas. Before, he had only shown them one or two weapons at a time, but in that fight, Shirou had traced hundreds of swords without batting an eye to use against Leonidas' Noble Phantasm.

"Olga…Olga…are you daydreaming?" The Animusphere heir blanched as Romani's hand waved in front of her.

"N…no, damn it, stop that!" Da Vinci giggled at their leader's frantic tsundere behavior.

"Now run along and bring me some coffee, Romani. I…wish to speak with Da Vinci about something."

The good doctor sighed in dismay and mumbled, before going to the coffee machine.

"You're curious about Emiya Shirou aren't you, Olga?" She actually stopped being surprised that she knew, so Olga didn't bother acting surprised.

"Do you happen to know just how he is able to summon swords and noble phantasms…it still irks me that I can't find out how."

Da Vinci smiled, remembering when Shirou used it against Leonidas.

It was indeed a mystery worthy of Da Vinci's to solve the mechanics, but she had a promise to Shirou to keep up his secret.

"His tracing ability allows him to use the noble phantasms, but that number of swords in one single attack it's truly baffling. I don't know if he has a pocket dimension where he calls his weapons from, but that doesn't work, because the swords are also projections. Not only that, but he has also Muramasa's skills of weapons forgery. That last flame sword attack he used against Lev was akin to Muramasa's legend. Nero did state that Shirou's a walking army and I find that description quite accurate. Though, where he summoned his swords from remains a mystery."

Olga could see the thinking Da Vinci and sighed. Once she behave like that, she went into her own little world.

"Here is your coffee Olga…Da Vinci, wake up. Have you explained to Olga about the system's malfunction yet?"

Da Vinci stopped wondering and looked at both of them, before explaining.

"Oh, right…"

"What's wrong with the Chaldea system!?" Olga just couldn't handle bad news right now, with Lev's sudden experience and they still having five singularities to fix.

"Yeah, it was precisely because of this, that we suggested that Ritsuka and the others recuperate for a longer time before jumping right to the third singularity. The technicians picked up a spike in FATE's system by the end of the second singularity. Keeping three servants throughout the singularity appears to strain the system. While they are here in Chaldea, it's not worrying, but once they are in the singularity, it's a whole other matter. Since Boudica is now with us, Ritsuka would have to choose between her and Jeanne to accompany them to the next singularities. Arturia and Shirou will have to tag along as they are strong enough to face most threats in the singularities, but the FATE system can only handle one more servant with Ritsuka and Mash."

Romani gave his input, then.

"Well, that should not be a problem in itself…the more servants they bond with, the more alternatives we'll have. Problem is we can only send in three servants at a time right now."

"Okay, you all scared me for a second. Though running diagnostics and more tests is a must right now. Perhaps, we can improve on the system." Da Vinci and Romani acknowledged the order, before this meeting was adjourned.


Author Note

With that, it's the end of Septem, next up…Okeanos with a surprise.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who added this story to his/her follow/favorite.

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Next update: TBD