There was once a knight.
He is known as the knight blessed by the heavens themselves,
The knight never questioned this, once in his life.
Known as the perfect knight, he alone reaches the cup touched by the blood of Christ.
A loyal knight, to his king, a well-mannered young man.
But even still…
Not once has this knight known how to be selfish.
He fights for humanity, he deems those that threaten humanity as his enemy.
A black-and-white perspective.
He would willingly throw his life away for humanity.
But he himself never knew the pleasure of what being a human is…
ARC 2 Prologue: A Message from the Core
March 10, 2031
10:31
Mare Aurum; Barracks
Stargazer's POV
"HA! HEYA!" I cried out as my opponent kept blocking my attack.
"Good, just like that, but put more force behind it." A Chinese Martial Artist, Li Shuwen said as he easily blocked my attack.
I keep a steady flow of breathing, striking at his unguarded body parts. He caught a right hook to his chest, and then a left hook at his ribs, which he once again saw.
"Both of your hands are not usable, what will you do–" Ignoring him, Using my hand as a support, I twist my lower half to kick the side of his head. An impact sound was made from the blow, but at the last moment, he let go of my right arm and also caught my foot, before tossing me to the side, gaining some distance between him and me.
Charging at him again I try to go below him and do an uppercut, which he blocked with both hands. Seeing it failed, I backed a bit before charging at him again with a barrage of one and twos which he blocked easily, seeing him distracted, I went lower and did a leg sweep, and it caught him off balance, seeing this chance, I grab the help of his shirt and deliver the finishing blow, but before my fist connect, I felt a bump on the back of my head. I groaned realizing it was his foot in a kicking motion but he bumped it signifying that I lost.
A kick from the back of the head can be damaging as it hits probably the most vulnerable part of the body which is the back of the head, and with enough force, it can take away the consciousness of a person or worse it can kill you. I stood up and Li Shuwen did the same.
"Ugh, I almost had you there." I groaned.
"Yes you did, you are cautious, yes, but not cautious enough as you leave a weak point open, an experienced fighter or martial artist can see that and take advantage of it, so do be careful next time."
I nodded, though still bitter, I almost won that fight, granted he is surely going easy on me, but winning against a servant even if the said servant is handicapped, is still a huge deal and achievement.
"Still, you managed to land a lot of hits today and your fighting style is beginning to develop, though there are some hiccups here and there, the fact that you managed to grow this quickly, must be the result of your journey. Good job Lord Ritsuka." Li Shuwen said while smiling.
Well, the reason why I was able to quickly learn is because I already know the fundamentals due to the self-defense training I had back in Chaldea, though it's really hard to get time when every minute back there, I was always called to do something, so if anything I learned by experience.
"And that's that, good work today, Lord Fujimaru." He said before bowing out of respect, which I did in return.
"Yeah, thanks also Li Shuwen."
"Still, even though it's been a few months, I can say that you're learning fast." From my right, A girl in a sports bra and leggings, brown eyes, and beautiful wavy brown hair in a ponytail, holding a bottle of water and a towel.
"Well, I already know the basics. So, how did it go with yours Hakuno?" I said to the other master while accepting the towel she gave to me and drinking the bottle of water.
"Well Nameless is as ruthless as ever, doesn't even give me a chance to recover." Hakuno sighed while crossing her arms.
I just chuckled while I wiped my sweat using the towel she gave me.
"Don't be a sore loser Hakuno, at least this time you last for almost 5 minutes of pure combat." I tease her.
"Hey! You also only last for at least 7 minutes against Nameless!" She argued.
"It's still 2 minutes of difference, against a servant in physical combat, that's quite big you know."
"Hmmm!" She pouted before…
POKE
…poking me in the cheek with her index finger.
"...and what might you be doing?" I said as I felt my eyebrow twitch.
"Poking you." Said Hakuno while still pouting.
"...why?"
"Because you irritate me."
"Well, that's not a valid reason to–," I said while rolling my eyes, before being poked at by Hakuno again.
It doesn't hurt that much, but the feeling of my cheek suddenly being poked, is certainly very uncomfortable.
Feeling irritated because of the poking I fought back and also poke her cheek.
"Ow! Why?!" Hakuno asked.
"Because you irritate me."
After saying that I began poking her cheeks as she did the same.
3rd Person's POV
As the airheads continued their poking war. Nameless walks and sees the scene, shaking his head he approaches the two of them before smacking both of their heads.
""GAH..!""
"The two of you stop it, we are still not done today, Hakuno you still have training with Li Shuwen, and Fujimaru, the next one will be with Gawain, right? Swordsmanship?" Nameless asks.
"I probably couldn't even spar with the pain you just inflicted on me," Ritsuka replied.
"Oho, do you want me to do it again?" Nameless said while raising his fist.
" Yeah, yeah I'll go now Mom." Said Ritsuka before leaving.
"I'm not a mom!" Nameless yelled.
"Yes, you are!" Ritsuka yelled back.
"Yep, he's right," Hakuno said from the side.
"Sigh! Just finish it already. Li Shuwen, take care of her okay, don't overdo it. I'll keep a watch on Fujimaru." Nameless said before following the Master of Chaldea.
" I'll try." Li Shuwen replied before taking his stance.
"That's Concerning!" Yelled by Hakuno before also taking her stances. With a gesture from Li Shuwen, Hakuno began to charge at him.
"HAH!" a punch from her right hand followed by her left hand to his chest which Li Shuwen blocked easily before a kick on the side of his head was made by Hakuno, which Li Shuwen dodged smoothly but tilting his upper body backward.
Seeing her chance, Hakuno changed her position to his left before doing a palm strike at his face. Successfully landing a hit, Hakuno didn't stop and did a roundhouse on him, however, Li Shuwen, not bothered by the previous hit, blocked her kick with his forearm. Hakuno upon seeing this jumps back to gain some distance.
"Master already improves this much, there's sloppy work here and there but her offense is still good, with enough enhancement she can deal a massive blow to her opponent. Still, she needs to work on her stance and balance." Li Shuwen mentally sighed.
"Let's see how you do when you're on the defensive." Li Shuwen said before taking charge this time.
Surprised by this, Hakuno goes into a defensive stance and manages to block Li Shuwen's blow by crossing her arms in front of her. Li Shuwen does a left hook before stopping at the right second and swinging his right foot at Hakuno's leg but stops before hitting her leg.
"Hit." Li Shuwen said. Gaining some distance again, before charging this time, he jumps mid-air for an axe kick which Hakuno jumps back but loses her footing, Li Shuwen not missing this, charges at her and gives another punch and stops just in her chest without hitting it.
"Hit." Li Shuwen said. Hakuno kicking him away gained some distance between the two of them, but using his speed Li Shuwen caught up with her and with a blow to her chest the match has already been decided, yet Li Shuwen stop just moments after it connected to her chest, but the force of the wind made her fall on her butt.
"And hit. Good work master, you've improved." Li Shuwen said before helping her to get up.
"You're too hard Li Shuwen." Hakuno said while panting.
"Of course, being used to the hardness of combat makes a difference when you are in a real fight." Li Shuwen said while putting his hands behind his back.
Hakuno just sighed and bowed in respect which Li Shuwen did the same, before heading back to her room to rest.
Not far from where Li Shuwen and Hakuno fought, Ritsuka is fighting Gawain, the Knight of the Sun using wooden swords while Nameless watches on the side.
Stargazer's POV
I Strike at Gawain using my sword, while he casually blocks it. He resumed a simple stance with a sword on his front. It is incredibly simple yet effective at the same time, being able to strike at the front while also guarding his left and right sides.
He swings his sword lightly, signifying a "come on", tempting me to attack. I readied my sword and rushed at him while swinging my sword intending to hit him at his side, but he blocked it and put on a sword locked.
It's obvious who is winning. Gawain with no effort began to overpower me while my leg began to bend backward and take a step back to not lose my balance.
Not yet…!
Not wanting to lose I also began to push, and gradually I've begun to push him through a little bit.
Gawain seemed surprised but smiled with pride before changing his expression again into a serious one.
"HMMMP…!"
Gawain let out before getting pushed back instantly. Landing on my butt, I attempt to stand up but Gawain's sword, more specifically its tip, is on my face signaling my defeat.
Sighing, I stand up and bow in respect.
"Nice work, Lord Fujimaru, I must say, you're improving rapidly." Said Gawain with a smile as he offered his hand to me which I accepted. Despite his large size he gently lifts me so there's no harm being done to me.
"Thanks, but the reason I am even this good is because of your teaching," I said to Gawain.
"You're too humble, Lord Ritsuka, you should feel proud of your progress," Gawain said to me.
"I know, but still…"
"Just take the compliment Fujimaru, stop trying to argue against it," Nameless said as he walked towards me and handed me a wiping towel which I took and wiped my sweaty face.
"But it is true though! The reason why I was able to be this good is because you guys are teaching and training me in the first place." I tried to argue back, only for Nameless to smack my head lightly.
"It is true, but you should also take the compliment of other people and take pride in it. It's okay to be humble, but there's being humble and then there's being too soft. So take the praise, and be proud of it. It means that someone took notice of your achievement." Nameless lectured me, and in the end, I guess I agreed with him.
Most of the time people would only look through your mistakes, and even if you did something incredible most of the time you'll just get a simple "good job" or even outright ignore you and focus on the things you are wrong about. I'm not saying that a good job is not good, it is, though sometimes humans just want other people to praise them, but that could lead to you either largening your ego or using that as a motivation to be better.
Anyway, after that lecture I was told to take a day's rest, simply because Nameless caught me not sleeping because of wanting to train and learn more about the Regalia. I got a massive scolding from Nameless, Li Shuwen, and Tamamo almost killed me when she learned that Hakuno accompanied me that night, Nero said something about joining, Cu teased, while Lu Bu roared and went off somewhere.
I eventually found Mare Aurum's Void Gate teleported back to Mare Regalius, and went to my apartment where I took a shower and refreshed myself. After showering, I put on some clothes which are a purple hoodie, and some pants, before hearing a notification from my terminal. Picking it up I saw a message from, "AirheadCandyAddict."
"There's something I have to tell you, come to our usual place." it reads. Curious as to why, I replied I'll be there soon.
I put on some shoes and went out of my apartment. I walk across District 2 before entering District 3 and like always the place is buzzing with people on food stands and many restaurants and cafes. I wondered why didn't Nameless just opened his cafe here, but he just says that Mare Melum just feels at home for him. I didn't know what he was talking about, I guess it was the atmosphere of the place, but I just shrugged it off.
I passed by many restaurants and stands, but I stopped when I saw a bakery there. I thought the girl that was waiting for me at our usual place and shrugged before entering the bakery and took out my card, only to see a long line.
I just sighed to myself. Well. I'm already here, might just as well buy her treats.
I waited in that line for almost 30 minutes by the way.
Location: Mare Regalius; District 3 Outskirt of Place
12:07
I walked through the district and came across a small gate that I passed through to go to the local forest. I hummed to myself while enjoying the natural breeze. Luckily the many trees block the sun, so I didn't get sweaty while walking even though it's in the middle of the noon.
Not long after, I saw a familiar tree with an amazing view of the lakeside where you can see people fishing for sale or just fishing for fun. Under that tree, I can see a brown hair girl sitting on the ground with a scowl on a picnic blanket and you can see, what looks like a bento laying on the blanket. I walked to her, and she seemed to notice me, as she turned her face in surprise before making an angry(pouty) expression.
"You sure took your time." She said with an almost growly voice, while she made room for me to sit next to her, which I did. I just laugh sheepishly and apologize.
"Sorry, sorry, I guess I just got lost in the path of fate." I tried to joke with her only to be met with an angry expression.
"Sorry, sorry, I just happened to see a bakery and thought I should buy you one, so I did but the line is so long, that's why I'm late," I said while bowing my head lightly to show how much I wanted to apologize. I looked up a little to see her surprised face.
"Really..?" she said before turning around.
Sovereign's POV
He did think about me huh? I look at him and smile, to which he responds with an awkward smile and I can't help but giggle.
What's with that stupid face he makes? Before I hear a gurgling noise coming from my stomach.
"...Don't tell me you haven't eaten yet?" He said with a dumbfounded face, while my face just reddened in embarrassment.
But then, I also hear his stomach grow, and before I can remark. He stops me.
" Heh! Don't tell me–"
"Stop, don't even try it, or I'm not giving this to you." I pouted hearing him say that.
I saw him sigh, before handing me a bag from that local pastry shop that just opened. I actually had my eye on that shop for a while now, so I'm excited to eat one of their products.
I opened the bag to see a rainbow, cake roll, my favorite, I wonder why he knows since I never actually told him. I looked at him for answers and when he saw me he looked confused before finally getting it.
"I see you eating roll cake whenever we hang out or eyeing a pastry shop, so I just guessed that you like it." He explained, his eyeing for things still amazing despite knowing him for about half a year now.
I remembered something, before taking out the bento and opening it, before handing it out to Ritsuka.
"Here, you still haven't had lunch yet, right," I said to him while Ritsuka just accepted the bento. He prayed for thanks before picking up the chopsticks and taking a bite.
He munched the food before swallowing.
"Let me guess, Tamamo cooks this right?" He said, which surprised me.
"How'd you know?" I ask.
"Tamamo's cooking always has this distinct aftertaste I guess." He said I agree, Tamamo's cooking for some reason, always has this strong sweet aftertaste in whatever she cooks. I don't know what she adds to it, but it always has that aftertaste.
I look back at Ritsuka only to see him eating in silence with his face full of nostalgia.
It's not hard to wonder why, he tells me stories about all the shenanigans that he has back in Chaldea, and when I heard the one about Tamamo, I couldn't help but think, "Yup that's Tamamo alright." So seeing him finally get a familiar taste of food would obviously make him nostalgic. I just eat with him in silence.
Midway through our lunch, he suddenly asks something.
"How did you get Tamamo to cook for me?"
"I didn't." I answered while taking a bite out of the cake roll.
"What?" He said before looking at me.
"I didn't, I just asked her to make a bento for me, and then she made one, she had no idea that you would be the one eating it." I explained to him.
A long silence befalls among us, the only sound we hear is the chirping of birds, the sound of the waves from the lake beneath us, and the fluttering of the grass and leaves from the wind blowing past through them gently.
"Tamamo's going to kill me." Ritsuka finally spoke after the awkward silence to which I replied with a teasing tone.
"Yeah, she'll definitely kill you."
After that, we resumed our lunch while talking about various things.
3rd Person POV
For about 10 minutes the Master and her Companion eat while talking and after finally finishing their lunch they clap their hands together to say thanks for the food, before putting away their bento and the plastic wrap. As they just lay down on the blanket and relax.
"Hakuno I want to ask, are there any clues?" Ritsuka suddenly asks while his eyes are closed. Beside him, whose eyes are also closed but opened when suddenly asked, Hakuno replied to her question while looking up.
"No, nothing yet, sorry." Hakuno apologized.
For half a year, upon the request of the master from the bleach world, Hakuno and many of her servants try to find clues on how to get Ritsuka Fujimaru back to his world. At first, Ritsuka Fujiamru is in a panic since if he doesn't get back home soon, the Foreign God might attack Novum Chaldea, and this worries the Last Master of Humanity, so to get home, many of the generals try to help Ritsuka Fujimaru, to get home.
"Actually there's something I want to talk about." Hakuno Kishinami said before sitting up.
"Hmm, what is it?" Ritsuka remained lying down while his eyes were closed.
"There's a letter, and it answers to you, It said that it's specifically for the Master of Chaldea."
Hearing that Ritsuka quickly sat up and looked at her in surprise. Aside from Hakuno Kishinami's circle, no one knows about Ritsuka Fujimaru's existence as an outsider in their world. So hearing this means that there's a chance that this is a clue.
"What did it say?" Ritsuka asks with a serious face.
"We don't know yet. The letter won't open or reveal what's open, it seems like you're the only one who can open it, Ritsuka." Hakuno said and upon hearing this, Ritsuka became suspicious of it, but he must find out about it.
Hakuno without needing confirmation only knowing from his look and face, nodded before standing up and reaching out his hands.
"The message is back on the castle and is being investigated by Nameless and the others. Come on, this might lead you to your biggest clue yet." Hakuno said.
Ritsuka, hearing this nodded and took her hand.
"Let's go then." Ritsuka said, and the two of them headed back to the castle.
Mare Regalius; Castle of Sovereign: Throne Room
13:01
In the throne room inside the castle of Mare Regalius, waiting in the room are the combined forces of Nero along with her Generals; Nameless, Cu Chullain, Li Shuwen, Gawain, and Tamamo with her Generals; Elizabeth, Medusa, Karna, and Lu Bu. There are also the combined members of Jeanne d'Arc.
They were informed by Hakuno Kishinami that Ritsuka Fujimaru had agreed to open and see what was inside the suspicious letter that had arrived at their doorstep. But they can't help but wonder where the two masters are.
"Those two are certainly taking their time." Said Nameless.
"Should we contact them then? Master, though lazy, has never been late before." said Medusa.
"Perhaps they are in danger?" Gawain said while thinking.
"That's not possible, I can feel the master's flow of mana, and it's stable, so it's highly unlikely for her and Fujimaru to engage in combat."
The group wondered, as to why the two of them were late, of course, each one of them came to their own conclusion that is until the child of light said something that threw the room, or more specifically the Nero and Tamamo, into a panic.
"What if, say, the two of them are having an intimate time together." Cu Chulainn wondered. Upon hearing this the entire room became silent. That is until Nameless smacked him in the head.
"Idiot, why did you say that?!" Nameless said.
"What? It's a genuine question!" Cu defendant.
"Still Tamamo and Nero especially Tamamo here you know!" Nameless said even repeating the name of the avatar of Amaterasu's name just to make it clear that the Irish servant might get a hint.
"I mean can you blame me, when in the same room, are always arguing over something random? So it would not surprise me if those two did it." Cu said. While Tamamo and Nero stayed silent.
"He does have a point." said Karna.
"OY!" Exclaimed Nameless.
"It's already been half a year, and whenever I see those two in the same room, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Master always seem to do something together or always together." Karna explained while Nameless tried to stop him as he felt the ominous aura of radiation from both Nero and Tamamo.
"Hmm, even in training, I always see those two helping each other and reviewing their moves." Li Shuwen joined in.
"I did see those two buying books together back in my bookstore." Medusa said so.
"Whenever Puppy couches me, Squirrel is also there to watch," said Eli.
"And then there's the time we found out that Fujimaru is not sleeping and Master is accompanying him." Jeanne said.
All of them wondered, except for Lu Bu, who remained doing their own thing. That is until all of them finally notice the dangerous aura emanating from both Nero and Tamamo.
Tamamo lifted her face, and almost everyone shivered at the sight they were seeing. Tamamo simply smiled and said one word.
"I'll kill him." It's not even a suggestion that she means business.
"How dare that homewrecker get between me and my lover! I think he's a decent human being after 6 months! It seems like I was wrong, It's time to kill him!" Tamamo pulled out a katana out of nowhere.
"Calm Down Tamamo, just like you said, he's been here for about 6 months already, do you really think that Fujimaru would do something like that?!" Nameless, asks her while trying to Calm her down.
"Yes." Tamamo answered without even hesitating.
"Well, there goes six months worth of bonding." Nameless thought to himself, before hearing a mutter.
"...not fair…" Nero mutters.
"Ahh crap. What's she gonna do now?" Nameless said to himself.
"It's not fair! I want in!" Nero yelled.
Nameless and the rest just look at her dumbfounded.
"Is this really the woman I gave my loyalty to?" Nameless, Cu and Li Shuwen said, while Gawain remained silent, not saying or thinking anything.
"Ah, I got a message from Fujimaru." Said Jeanne.
"What is it?" The room suddenly became focused on Jeanne, which made her step back before composing herself.
"He said that he and Master would now be coming via Void Gate, and the reason why they're late is because Hakuno saw a food stand and bought some food, that's why they were late."
The room becomes silent again, and they have one thought in mind.
"It's not even Fujimaru Ritsuka's Fault in the first place."
They suddenly heard a sound from the void gate located behind the throne and turned their heads towards it. After a sphere of light of numbers disappears standing in front of the throne, Ritsuka Fujimaru carrying a bag of food in both of his hands and Hakuno Kishinami carries a bag of food in one hand while munching a yakisoba bread in another. Before they could say anything Fujimaru made his statement.
"THERE'S A VOID GATE INSIDE THIS ROOM?!"
No one said a word from what they had just heard, but the Master of the Moon replied to him as if the Master of Chaldea didn't just yell out of nowhere.
"Yeah, munch you didn't know?"
"Of course I didn't know, you never told me?!" Ritsuka said.
"You didn't ask." Hakuno said while taking another bite.
"You know that I hate having to walk these unnecessary long hallways of yours, just to get somewhere, why didn't you tell me?" Fujimaru Ritsuka said.
"It's not my place to tell you everything," Hakuno said while munching her food.
"It is YOUR place to tell me, a foreigner and outsider because you are the goddamn SOVEREIGN." Ritsuka made it clear to her that it was her responsibility to do these things. Hearing this Hakuno just looks away, because she knows that, but for some reason forgot about it.
"Yeah, yeah sorry about it." She said.
"At least pretend to be more apologetic about it?!" Ritsuka said but sighed in the end. The two of them finally turn their heads to the other people in the room and greet them.
""Hello there."" The two of them said.
"What a boring Greeting."
Thought everyone aside those two from the room.
After the uneventful waiting, they finally get to the meat of it all, Hakuno finally takes out the letter from the throne itself.
The letter, by appearance, is not a letter at all, it is a cube made of condensed information, like what the alter ego from the other side of the moon did. But unlike that, The cube itself is made by crushing the information into a cube at the very center of it lies a single information.
"There's no virus found in the letter nor any malicious information or any offensive code cast." Nameless said and explained that the Cube is just floating in the center while all of them are surrounding it.
"The cube itself acts as a wrapper around the real message by using information and condensing it as a wrapper, while the real message is layered with three different protective code casts. One is being used to protect the message itself from being the cube of information so the said information from the cube would not blend with the actual message, the second one is used to protect the content of the message and can only be opened by the receiver itself. The last one is used as a counter-attacking code where if anyone forcibly tries to open it it would shock the person attempting to open it." The Holy Maiden said, explaining the structure of the cube.
"Yeah, Elizabeth Bathory learned it the hard way." Medusa said, while Eli herself just looked away with a mixture of embarrassed and angry expressions.
Ritsuka, despite not being knowledgeable enough to know the mechanism of a code cast nor even any magecraft at all, manages to follow along with the explanation and admit that the way it is protected is really well done.
Hakuno meanwhile, though impressed, thinks deeply about it, while thinking Ritsuka has a question.
"Are we sure it's really safe?" Ritsuka asks, wanting to double-check everything. There's a chance that even though it's safe for everyone else, maybe it will attack when he is the one who holds it.
"I've checked it myself and there seems to be no evidence of an offensive code cast other than the counter-attacking one, but even then, I cannot truly be sure since I only have half of the regalia." Hakuno said while scratching her head. Ritsuka who was not in deep thought and a deep breath before having a determined face.
"I'm gonna do it." Ritsuka, even though fearing something might happen if he did so, still decided to open it.
"Are you sure we're not one hundred percent sure if it's even safe in the first place?" Tamamo said with a slight worry.
"Even so, standing here not doing anything will not yield any results." Ritsuka said
Hearing that, the servants become silent, it's an absolutely reckless and selfish point of view. Nameless hearing this tries to argue back with Ritsuka, but the master of the moon, sighs before opening her mouth.
"I say we should do it. Ritsuka is right, not doing anything will not bring us answers" Hakuno said.
Nameless simply sighs, hearing this, I guess he forgot just how much, not caring for certain things is her master, and it seriously gave him a headache, but he cannot do anything but just go along with it, such is the life of a servant.
Nameless walks to the two masters before smacking them in the head lightly, the two of them clutch their heads.
"Just make sure to be cautious, okay?" Nameless said to them. Hearing this the two looked at him and nodded with a smile. Nameless seeing this moves back to the others where Cu nudges him with a smile while Nameless just rolls his eyes.
Ritsuka stood in front of the Cube, looked at everyone, and nodded. With a simple nod they already know what Ritsuka is saying, in response, Hakuno stepped back between Nero and Tamamo who returned to bring out their sword and talisman respectively. Cu brings out his spear and the fingertip of his glow signifying that he is ready to use runes, while Nameless projects a shield on his left hand while his open hand is ready to project a weapon. Gawain brought out his sword and put out a stance while Li Shuwen did the same by putting up a stance to deliver a blow. Karna, Medusa, and Elizabeth brought out their weapons the same as Jeanne who brought out her flag.
Seeing everyone ready, Ritsuka brings out his hand, After a second of hesitation, Ritsuka finally touches the cube. Out of nowhere Ritsuka Fujimaru magic circuits connected with the cube itself.
Ritsuka felt a burning sensation throughout his nervous system, so he endured it. But as he is trying to toughen it out, the cube begins to speak in a mechanical voice.
SYSTEM CONNECTED
MAGICAL CIRCUIT ONLINE
VERIFYING RECEIVER IDENTIFICATION
IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE
After that the cube began to open and from inside was a single piece of letter. He takes the letter as the cube falls and makes a clunking noise. The others upon seeing the content of the cube become bewildered, at the inside of the cube which in their eyes is perfectly made to conceal, and hide a single piece of paper.
"Let me see!" Hakuno said while approaching Ritsuka, and Ritsuka showed this to her.
Hakuno becomes closer to the paper even squinting her eyes to see the content, and this makes Ritsuka confused.
"What? Is it really hard to read it?" Ritsuka asks.
"Well yeah it's hard to read when there's nothing to read in the first place," said Hakuno.
"What? There IS written in here, can't you see it?" Ritsuka said.
The Master of Chaldea is right, the content of the paper is clear to his eyes, he already read some of it, but that can't be true for others as well.
Hakuno, hearing this, took the paper from Ritsuka's hands and showed it to the others only for them to see nothing but a blank paper.
Ritsuka realizes this, and finally arrives at the obvious conclusion, and so do the others.
"So, only I can see them…" said Ritsuka.
"So at the very end, it also has another layer of protection." Said Medusa while inspecting the paper.
"Well, let's not make this any longer, Fujimura-kun can you read us what's the content?" Said Nero, in which Medusa gave the paper back to Ritsuka.
"Well, here is what it says…
I called upon the Master from the Foreign world.
If you are reading this then this means that my message finally has arrived.
It took me all I've got just to send this letter to you, you who have been selected as the new wielder of the Regalia.
I wish I could tell you more, but I was restricted from sending this short message.
But, know this and be reassured, I'm an ally of the mooncell itself, but due to complications I was captured and can't do anything, rather than give you a vague message, I can tell you this.
If you wish to know your place in all of this, come find me at the core of this very place.
The Mooncell Core, that's where I am right now.
That's what it says, no signature, or any name whatsoever…" Ritsuka finished reading the letter, and this shook everyone.
Stargazer's POV
"There's someone in the core right now?" Hakuno.
"But that cannot be. The only authoritative that can access the Core is the Sovereign or that is the wielder of Regalia, the winner of the grail war, or the servant who is doing maintenance there, but that can't be." Tamamo said.
"Right, the servant who was formerly in charge of doing maintenance is now your enemy." Hakuno already informed me about the Greek mathematician Archimedes, but something bothers me about him, based on what the others tell him, Archimedes is a man who values logic and reasoning first, yes he was corrupted, but those conflicts already ended long ago, so why is he still loyal antagonistic towards Hakuno, not only that, based from what I can see from him when I made first contact with him Archimedes, feels "not right", like the way he fights feels like it's sloppy, and not someone who operated by logic.
"Hakuno, and everyone." I called out to them before bowing.
"Please, will you give me the information to go to the Core?" I requested them. I'm a foreigner here, so there's no place for me to decide that I wanted to go there in the first place.
"Sure, of course." I heard what Hakuno said, and I raised my head. Upon raising my head I saw Hakuno with a smile in front of me.
"You possess half of the regalia, so technically you pretty much have the same authority as the Master to go there yourself," Cu explained to me with a smile.
"But, I still feel like I should at least ask for your permission, you know since I'm an outsider after all." I said to them before Hakuno patted me on the back.
"No need to be humble Ritsu-kun, we're all friends here!" Hakuno said with a grin, while I just cringed at the nickname.
"No, please stop, please don't call me that." I asked, while Hakuno just playfully stuck her tongue out before composing herself.
"Okay then first we need to locate where the entrance is." Karna said.
"You guys don't know where it is?" I asked them to which they nodded.
"Well, it's not like we don't know, it's more like that the Entrance to the Core is always changing location whosoever." Cu explained. While I just tilted my head.
"Umu! It's like what the Child of Light said the entrance previously is in the old school building where masters participated in the Holy Grail War, however after the war ended, Praetor here made the Entrance not be in a single place but appear an obscure place in different areas after each day." Nero explained to me in detail.
"Normally my husband here would just teleport there, because of our current situation, that's impossible right now." Tamamo explained while pointing at the rings from our hand. While I just bow my head and apologize.
"Sorry…" I apologize and I see Nero budge Tamamo, while Tamamo tries to reassure me.
"No no no no, it's not like I'm to blame, well I am, wait no that's not what I meant! It's like ahh, we would be doing this would be much easier, if this didn't happen." Tamamo tries to explain,
"So do you blame me or not?" I ask hoping to just give it to me straight
"...Yes." That's all what she said as I looked at her confused but just shrugged it off.
We started out hating each other, well more like Tamamo outright hated me, but she finally made peace with me I guess, so that's nice.
"So, how do we do this then? Use the regalia and synchronize Hakuno?" I ask half-jokingly.
"Yeah, actually, we need to do that." Hakuno said to me.
"Oh shit, really?" I ask in surprise.
"Well, it's more like that I need you to synchronize with me so I can use the full functionality of the Gate Locator." Hakuno explained, that while I just did as she was told, I held both of her hands, and for some reason, this made her yelp.
"W-Wha-what are you doing?" She said as she reddened, while I just made a confused face.
"I mean we're finding the location of the Entrance, right? Also Tamamo, I'm not making a move with her, this is literally how we do synchronize." I said as I felt Tamamo's animosity.
"Let's start then?" I asked Hakuno, to which she nodded, as I put my forehead into hers, and at the same time, both of us activated our regalia.
I feel myself being connected to her, my magic circuit and mind become a part of her, due to the regalia connecting with each other. Now that I think about it, for some reason whenever I'm closer to her I feel…powerful, I don't why though.
I see, what's going on through her head, I see many different locations, one is from an old relic of a temple, the next is what looks like a savannah in the distance is a kingdom that for some reason looks like Uruk, the next is what looks like a cave, and then finally I see on what looks like a wormhole being deep in the forest where it's leaves are made of orange that reminds me of the autumn leaves.
I disconnected from her as such, and because of that I no longer see her thoughts. I looked at her and she did the same and both nodded, signifying that we both saw the same thing before she looked back at the others.
"The Void Gate will be in the Welsh Forest in three days from now. I would now select who will accompany me and Ritsuka on our journey through the Welsh Forest." Hakuno declared that she would finally act as a Master.
"My pick is Gawain. The Welsh Forest is where the sun shines the most and due to Gawain's attribute he will be a good vanguard." Hakuno said while Gawain stepped up.
"Yes" exclaimed Gawain.
"How about you Ritsu-kun, any suggestions?" Hakuno asked.
"Can I really make a say about this? I mean you're the master here, not me, Hakuno." I asked about them.
"Well, you're a Master too, and probably have much more experience than I do, so I feel like asking you will be a good thing." She said, while I just nodded before looking at the present servants.
Nero and Tamamo are out because they are the rulers of their territory, and that means that they are needed here, I would also like Cu to join but he is also needed here to train the soldiers, same with Li Shuwen, Nameless though I want, I look at him and seeing my eyeing look, he shook his head.
"Sorry Fujimaru, Master, I can't be the one who will organize and watch over Mare Regalius." Nameless explained.
"Same with me Master, I will also be the watchtower of Mare Regalius in the meantime." Medusa said so, they were off the list. Karna is a very good choice, but that would mean one of Tamamo's powerful generals would be gone, and we can't have that, and also simply because I cannot gauge this particular Karna's power in the first place because I'm not his master, so sorry Karna you can't go. Jeanne however is that she also has a mission on her own so we can't have her, then that means only one left and honestly, it's actually perfect for this mission as a substitute for Cu."
"Eli, want to come?" I said and all of them looked at the dragon servant.
"Eh, me? Why though." Even Eli was surprised but I explained.
"Though Eli is quite honestly very loud, and annoying."
"Can you at least sugarcoat it a bit, Puppy!" Eli complained but I continued.
"She is still a dragon and her nose and ears would be a great use for us to be alerted to any kind of concealment, and she can fight pretty well, and most importantly, Eli, you pretty much have nothing going on right?"
"I mean I always sing and practice." Eli said
"Yeah, but you have nothing to do in the first place, you have no concert right now, so how about joining us, you can treat it as an idol tour you know?" Upon hearing that Eli perked her pointy ears before accepting the request. I look at Hakuno to signify that Eli is the one I want to choose, and she seems to not be against it.
"Them Lancer Servant Elizabeth Bathory and Saber Servant Gawain will be accompanying the two of us to the core, Nameless and Medusa will be the ones in charge of Mare Regalius for a while, this operation will begin tomorrow at seven in the morning, our meeting place would be in Mare Luxuria in the Millennium Capital. That's all dismissed." Hakuno said and after that, the servants one by one began to leave.
Nero returned to Mare Aurum saying that she would monitor the soldier along with her generals while Tamamo returned to her castle saying that she would prepare Hakuno's clothes for the operation, before I left though I asked her a question.
"Hey Haku-chan,"
"NGhh Stop why did you call me that! It's cringe." She said as she cringed.
"Well, as long as you call me Ritsu-kun, I'm gonna keep calling you that." I said but before we argued again I returned back to my question.
"Why tomorrow though? Didn't you say that the entrance will change each day?"
"It's okay, even though it will change, I picked tomorrow simply because there's a chance that it would appear again, its change of location is random, but because the regalia is in there, chances are that it would attract the entrance." Hakuno explained.
"I see, then that's all I want to ask, see you tomorrow Hakuno." I said before going to the Void Gate in the throne.
"Hey, Ritsuka!" She called out to me I turned and looked at her. Only to see her embarrassed face and slight reddish cheeks.
"...Hey if you want, after this, do you want to eat with me? There's a new sushi restaurant in District 3 that will open soon, so what do you say?" She asked.
"Yeah sure, sushi sounds nice!" I said before teleporting.
Now that I think about it, isn't it like a date?
Nah, probably not.
Sovereign POV
"Did I just ask Ritsuka out on a date?" I said to myself after he teleported.
I've known him for almost half a year now, and gotten to know him pretty well, from his hobbies and habits. He always tells me stories about his adventures which, I want to say, are pretty absurd and stupid, though he doesn't want to talk about the Lostbelts, which I understand and do not want to pry about. Now that I think about it whenever I'm with him, I'm always having fun, like with Nero and Tamamo. Hell, we even have a secret place for ourselves that even Nero and Tamamo didn't know.
I just sighed as I thought about this confusing feeling of mine for Ritsuka that I didn't understand.
Thinking about it, it's probably nothing, and I just walk into my room and rest.
March 11, 2031
Location: Mare Luxuria; Millennium Capital, Throne Room.
6:51
3rd Person POV
The next day the four who will journey through the Welsh Forest, are now inside the castle of Mare Luxuria, the two servants arrive with their usual clothes, Gawain wearing her armor and Eli wearing her Idol dress, the two masters are also present in the room. Hakuno Kishinami wears a brown militaristic uniform with crimson lines on it, at the bottom of her shirt you can see a crimson rose to signify the emblem of the emperor of rose, her bottom half consists of sports shorts for mobility, also wears thigh highs and boots. In her hands, she held a cloak that was given to him by the fox priestess, and in its collar, you can see a fox emblem signifying that it was made by the Avatar of Amaterasu.
She showed off her clothes spinning a little to show off, then Tamamo walked in and praised Hakuno's new look.
"How do I look?" Hakuno ask.
"Hmm! You look good, my husband!" Tamamo praised her.
"But I may ask, why is the bottom half exposed, Master?" Gawain asked.
"Oh that, because I'm not comfortable with pants, and I feel like my movement will be restricted simply because I'm still not used to them," Hakuno explained, and she is aware of the disadvantage of having exposed skin especially when engaging in combat. But she thinks that sometimes, it's better to wear something you are used to than something that is not, and that comfortability in some cases can determine the battle.
The 4 of them heard the door open, and there appeared the Master of Chaldea. Ritsuka Fujiamaru requested that his outfit would be customized, and his current outfit resembled those of his old uniform back in his world. He wears a white uniform that extends just above his knee, where it is held together by a belt in the middle, just like his old uniform it has also a belt on the chest to make it a bit tight and wrinkled where it extends to his back where two loose belts flutter, he wears long dark blue gloves that extended just below his elbow where his uniform's gray sleeve met and tucked in under the gloves, with the said glove having an exposed area in his right arm showing his command seal. For his bottom half, he wears dark gray militaristic baggy pants and simple gray boots. On his hand, he also carries a cloak with the difference that there is a large Chaldea logo imprinted on it.
"How do I look?" Ritsuka asked the same question as Hakuno from earlier and he got the approval nods of others.
"Gotta admit though, never did I expect that Tamamo would actually make the customized version that I requested." Ritsuka said.
"I may not like you much, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't honor your wishes, I am still after all an artist myself." Tamamo said, putting a hand on her chest with a proud look.
"Still, I think you made the belt for my body a bit too long, there are two loose tails from the belt at the back. My opponent can take advantage of this, you know." Ritsuka said, before looking at Tamamo who has a smug look on her face, and Ritsuka immediately realized why.
"This is on purpose." Ritsuka said with a dumbfounded face.
"This sly fox!" Ritsuka can't help but think that to himself.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Tamamo looked away, her smug face never fading on her face while she put her hands on her mouth and giggled to herself.
"Idiot, that could kill him, you know." Hakuno scolded Tamamo before smacking her in the head. Tamamo herself just did not mind it and continued to giggle to herself.
After that whole thing, Hakuno, now at the center of the room, now speaks as the sovereign.
"I will now repeat the content of this mission! As of now, the time is 6:57 in the morning, at exactly seven, we will depart to look for the entrance to the core, as we know. in the Welsh Forest. This mission is used to meet the messenger of the suspicious letter that arrives for Ritsuka. This mission has two objectives: One, is to meet the mysterious messenger and question them, and Two is to find a clue that can help Ritsuka find a way back to his home. This mission will be directed by Hakuno Kishinami, along with Ritsuka Fujimaru as the two masters of the group, and will be accompanied by Gawain a Saber, and Elizabeth Bathory, a Lancer." Hakuno said in an authoritative voice.
There is silence in the room as the final minute before seven in the morning, and no one makes a noise only preparing themselves, Gawain holds his sword with two hands and prays towards it, and Elizabeth twirls her staff with a smile. Hakuno Kishinami meanwhile, composed herself and took deep breaths, Ritsuka meanwhile is leaning on the wall as he held his sword in his hand and mentally preparing himself, he brought out from his pocket, the Chaldea badge that he kept for himself before clutching it, he looked at the time through his terminal, and see there are only 20 seconds left before seven, he made his sword and badge disappear back into his storage, and walk towards Hakuno stopping just beside her.
Only 10 seconds left before seven, Ritsuka looked at Hakuno who did the same. He smiled and nodded to which Hakuno also did the same thing.
5…4…3…2…1…
As if the two masters were one, both of them, at the same time, put on their cloaks as Hakuno made her statement.
"Let the Operation begin!"
""Yes!""
The three of them said, before the four of them began their journey the time for the Master of Chaldea to announce his presence had come.
In the southwest of the Welsh Forest, a knight is seen walking, before stopping and looking at the sky.
"So they finally made a move." The Knight said before altering his course to the North East, as his dark armor made a clunking move.
As he walked, Many loose Attacking programs suddenly jumped him from all sides, stooping in the middle of it all. Suddenly his weapon, that is to say a shield appeared and with one swift move managed to fight back against the attacking programs, and with that one attack killed all the attacking programs that jumped on him with the remaining ones running away. Before continuing his walk
It's time for the Knight of the Holy Grail, to announce his presence to the Last Master of Humanity.
From the darkest corners of .PH, sitting on the round table with four people, sits on it before the Witch of Britain suddenly stands up, not saying anything, the loyal mathematician along with the Author who fell from Grace, and the Demi-God from the Oldest Epic remain seated.
"And pray to tell, where might you be going, Witch of Britain?" The Demi-God.
"Where else, but to him of course."
The three of them never said anything, The Mathematician simply shook his head, the Fallen Author just rolled her eyes, and the Demi-God was simply amused.
The Witch not minding her colleagues, reaches to the other while speaking.
"I think it's time for me to meet him face-to-face"
As she says she leaves the room, the Author and Mathematician disappear from their seats, as they know that once the witch makes her move, no one is stopping her, but her making her move also means one more thing.
The Demi-God who was left behind did nothing but chuckle to himself, he could make his appearance, but he knew it was not his time yet, after all, he was summoned for a single purpose.
"So, the first phase of the plan now begins." The Demi-God said in amusement.
"Let's see then how much humanity can hold up against it."
At the same time as the Sovereign and the Stargazer made their move, their enemies also began to move.
Now, It's time for the Servants of Velbers to make their presence known to the world of .PH.