Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 84 of the story! Has anyone of you enjoyed watching the eclipse? Well, I don't live in North America so I sure as hell didn't!

With that said, let's start it!

DISCLAIMER: All of the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author


A small silence stood between the group after the masked mysterious woman made a pronunciation on wanting to offer them aid by joining their side.

"And...you are?" Nala asked to the lady, wanting to know her name first of all.

"Oh, that's right! You never told me and Robin your name despite having helped us escape." Peko speaked, remembering he had spent all this time forgetting to make such simple question to her. "So could you tell us please?"

"Sure thing." The woman replied, knowing that her name would be asked sooner or later. Closing her eyes for a second, the woman took out the tissue mask covering the lower part of her face, exposing her nose and mouth. "I am Scáthach. Nice to meet you." The mysterious lady had introduced herself.

"Scá..thac?" Ritsuka tried to pronounce it.

"That's certainly an odd name to have." Mash commented before thinking on something. "But where did I heard about that name before?"

"Well, if she's a servant, from somewhere she must be." Robin replied.

"Hmmm, Scáthach." The hologram of Doctor Romani appeared, the man trying to recognize that name. "Scáthach...Scáthach...Scáthach...Aha! I remember!" Romani exclaimed.

"Now onto the expositon part." Ritsuka commented.

"Scáthach was the name of a celtic warrior woman from the irish myths. A legendary martial arts and combat teacher from Scotland. She's...She was the teacher of Cú Chulainn himself, training him into the hero of his own story!"

"WHAT?!" The entire group shouted in surprise.

"Cú was your student?!" Nala asked in bafflement torwards Scáthach.

"He was. The best that I ever had may I say." Scáthach answered.

"Then I presume you yourself must be pretty skilled for having been the teacher of someone like him." Rama speaked.

"Have you been on this Singularity since its beggining?" Nightingale asked her.

"Yes." Scáthach responded shortly.

"So why are you revealing yourself and wanting to join us only now?" The nurse made another question. "I believe the motive couldn't be something like lack of space in the group."

Peko agreed with Nightingale. "True. You could've allied with us way sooner."

"The reason for that it's that I originally intended to correct this Singularity all by myself." Scáthach revealed to them. "But then, I became aware of the true monstrousity that is Cú Alter's power, realizing that alone would be technically impossible."

"Can't judge you. That dude fights like a true beast." Robin replied, remembering of his recent confront with the spearman and the other servants of his side.

"Specially now that he probably is being backen up by the holy grail." Peko added, gaining a look of bewilderment from the others of their group except for Robin.

"The-The Holy Grail!? Cú Alter is being powered by the Holy Grail!?" Romani exclaimed.

"Ups! Almost forgot to tell you about it." Robin stared at the doctor. "But yes, the Holy Grail you guys from Chaldea have been searching is in the Celtic Empire's hands."

"And how can you forget of something as important as that?!" Elizabeth told to him, slightly upset.

"S-Sorry! All of the rush and adrenaline from our survival insticts made us forget to tell you about it!" Peko justified and apologized before clarifying that topic to the group that went to Alcatraz. "The Holy Grail is indeed with the celts. With Queen Medb to be more precise. And she's well aware of its power since Cú Alter's sole existence is due to a wish she made to the grail."

That explanation started to click in the party's heads as it connected many points of interrogations that had appeared on this Singularity.

"So the corrupted version of Cú Chulainn is really a product of Medb and the grail influence!" Mash declared, seeing the things clearer now.

"Of course! It could only be that! Never would someone like Cú let himself be corrupted by anybody!" Nala speaked, satisfied that the question of the Cú Chulainn they had met on Fuyuki and the one in this Singularity being essentialy the same person was put to sleep with this statement.

"It also justifies the endless numbers of soldiers in the Celtic Empire. Now we know how Medb got an army so big." Ritsuka also brought that up.

"Knowing him very well, he surely wouldn't, mainly if that somebody would be Medb of Connacht." Scáthach replied, having been a fundamental part on the Irish Child of Light's life. "A part of my mind can rest now thankfully to that."

"Why exactly? A feeling of guilt over seeing your student cause this much pain and destruction on innocent people?" Rama asked to the celtic woman warrior.

Scáthach didn't denied it. "Pretty much. I've trained Cú Chulainn since his teen years. I've witnessed his struggles. His overcomings. His overall improvement as an adroit spearman. My very best disciple in large years or even that ever was." The spearwoman told them.

"It must have been quite the letdown once you heard the rumours about him provoking terror on this country." Ritsuka said, imagining how Scáthach reacted once she caught up with the news about Cú Alter's existence and cruel conquest in America.

"I kept in hopes that the servant who was doing all of this wasn't the same as the one I once welcomed as my disciple. That the possibility of him using such trusted and legendary weapon to hurt others was absurd." Scáthach look at her own weapon, a red spear simillar to Cú's Gáe Bolg.

"Well, and now you have the answer!" Romani told her. "That should make the things not appear as bad as they seem."

"Sure." Scáthach looked to Romani, still with a serious face on her. "However, even if he isn't the Cú Chulainn I knew for a lifetime, he continues to be in someway and form, Cú Chulainn. So, altough a different one, I feel it is my responsability as mentor to teach him a lesson!" The spearwoman strucked the tip of her spear in the ground, still convinced she had to be the one dealing with Cú Alter.

"Hm, guess the bond is that deep." Nightingale replied. "The United States are infected by a virus that has been killing it for this past few months. Cú Alter and the Celtic Empire. And you look to take care of that disease by eliminating them. Same as us." She took a step forward, speaking to Scáthach. "Therefore, I don't see a reason why we'd refuse your help now." The nurse accepted the spearwoman's aid.

"Yeah. It could really come in handy." Robin speaked before looking down at the ground, sorrowfully. "Specially after the loses we suffered today..."

"Hmm..." Peko also felt the thief's grief, having seen the demise of his companions as well. It was all fresh in his mind yet. How he watched them going down one by one.

"So it's true?" Ritsuka asked to the boy, noticing the change in his mood. "Geronimo, Tesla, Billy and Nero are..."

"Yeah." Peko replied, rubbing his own arm, not looking directly at Ritsuka. "We could have retrieved the grail and end with this Singularity there but..." Peko lowered his head, his eyes hiding behind his hair. "If only things would've went better."

Ritsuka went to cheer Peko up, about to place his hand on the boy's shoulder. "We may have-"

"But we can't let that bring us down!" Peko interrupted Ritsuka, not letting the deaths of his allies perturb him. "Cú Alter may be strong and ferocious but he for certain isn't invincible!" The boy said with conviction. "I believe that we can do it! That we can defeat him!" Peko looked up to Ritsuka's eyes. "We won't let the others sacrifices be in vain. Things will get better! Isn't that right, Ritsuka?" He smiled to his friend.

Ritsuka was slightly impressed, liking the positive atittude of Peko despite the unfortunate event that happened to the majority of his group. "Eh! Now you're talking!" Ritsuka smiled back to him, proceeding to stare at the Command Seals on his hand. "Thank you for fulfilling the task, Tesla."

"Plus, we didn't only stayed losing today. Quite the contrary!" Nala went next to the two, telling it to Peko.

"True. With Rama back again, we regained ourselves a fundamental piece of our side." Robin also pushed his sadness away after what Peko said.

"And foul of you to think that was the only positive of today!" Romani told Robin.

"Huh? Like what?" Robin asked, not knowing about it.

"Diarmuid and Fionn have been defeated for good!" Mash revealed to him and Peko. "Those two won't cause us trouble anymore."

"Fu! Fou!"

"Wha-No way!" Robin was astonished by what he heard.

"Erm...who are those two?" Peko asked confused, never having met with the celtic duo.

"Two guys that we don't have to worry about no longer!" Nala told to her brother.

"Sweet!" Peko replied before remembering of something else that hold back his happiness. "But as much as I'm sorry to inform you, there's another servant to make up for their place." The boy then looked at Rama. "And this one might be someone you knew or heard about."

"Hmm, do say their name." Rama talked back.

"He's name is Arjuna." Peko unveiled it to the others. He looked at Nala. "The archer guy we met at the woods back then."

"What?!" Nala yelled in shock. "That guy is actually one of our enemies?!" Her own brain begun to remind of the servant. "I mean...guess it makes sense with that personality of his." She crossed her arms.

"And it isn't the only thing to make sense here. Arjuna's presence here can also justify for Karna as well." Rama commented about the correlation these two figures of the hindu mythology had with each other. "Most certainly that the existence of one in this Singularity led to the appearence of the other one."

"Both the main protagonists of the Mahabharata are here then." Romani put a thumb under his chin, thinking about the situation. "And of course, on opposite sides."

"We also got to meet another new servant enemy as well unfortunately." Elizabeth speaked.

"A servant that went by the name of Beowulf." Nightingale said. "We fought him in the prison before he walked away, giving place to Diarmuid and Fionn to fight us. He is much likely alive and someone we'll have to deal with it now." The nurse told more occurrences that happened to her group to Peko and Robin.

"In the same day two enemy servants get brought down, we discover other two to worry about." Robin replied, displeased that Cú Alter and Medb weren't the only servants they had to fight now with Arjuna and Beowulf in the picture as well.

"And in the middle of all this she also perished..." Elizabeth murmured sadly, still in disbilief that Nero, her rival, had died while on her mission. "Tsk! You stupid! How dare you die before we could make our contest to see who's the greatest idol of all? I won't forgive you for it! I won't!"

"Are you alright?" Robin asked to the lizard idol girl, noticing the frustration on her face.

"It's nothing!" Elizabeth responded with a smile. "I'm happy that you survived just like you promised me, puppy!" She winked at him.

"S-Sure. I was just lucky for having made out alive from there." Robin replied, having forgotten the sensation of what was like to be near Elizabeth again. However, he couldn't deny that her being happy for seeing him alive made him feel a bit good.

"This means what we've suspected since the beggining. The Celtic Empire is really our main concern here." Romani speaked, continuing to think about the fact that faction was the one with the grail. "We should from now on target all of our focus on them. If the Celtic Empire goes down, then the grail will be retrieved and this Singularity cleared."

"That means we shouldn't worry about the other side, is that what you're saying?" Scáthach told him, pointing out the West army existance in all of this, being the other faction at war here.

"Well, if they aren't the ones with the grail, I don't see why we should waste time with them." Ritsuka said.

"I don't know. Unless they are planning on something..." Mash thought. "I expected to see more actions from the West army since we escaped from their headquarters, but they've been silent since then."

"Perhaps the frontlines are keeping all of their forces busy that much." Peko pondered, trying to find an explanation for it. "And I mean, we are on the east part of the country, which isn't a West army's domain."

"Hmm, it could be that." Rama saw some sense on Peko's point. "However, you'd expect for those guys to have an army big enough to send some smaller troops into conquering small towns on the east."

Mash nodded in agreement. "Edison said how fast his factories could produce the helter skelters. An ability of his own. Shortage of military resources shouldn't be a problem altough they don't have an endless source for it unlike Medb and the celts with the grail."

"When you put it like that, it surely doesn't sound right." Ritsuka commented, his mind going for some possibilities. "Could something bad have happened to them?"

"If they'd fell, we certainly would get some news about it already." Nala dismissed that thought. "But who gives? It was made clear as of now that our main enemies here are the Celtic Empire! We should worry only to defeat them like doc said."

Ritsuka ended up doing the same. "Yeah. First things comes first. We should plan on how to retrieve the grail from them."

"After our recent fiasco? Forget doing a special operation man!" Robin told him. "The city that is their headquarters will certainly be more heavily guarded due to our attempt at killing Medb."

"Wouldn't even surprise me that majority of the army and all of the servants of the Celtic Empire would be guarding it now that they know we want to put an end to their queen and king." Peko added. "We'd need to do differently this time."

"I can confirm that. Your actions threw the entire city into an uproar. Now every square mile of it has celtic patrols." Scáthach shared the information with the group, having seen how fully crowded and guarded Washington D.C became while she fought Cú Alter to allow both Peko and Robin to escape.

"But why? Rama has fully recovered and we got Scáthach to join us." Nala told to her brother.

"I know. But I doubt only our party here would be enough to fight against almost their entire army and servants." Peko replied back. "If we wanna get the grail from the Celtic Empire's hands, we need to fight fire with fire."

Mash seemed to have an idea of what Peko meant by that. "You're saying that..."

"We should fight their army with an army of our own." Ritsuka concluded.

Peko smiled to the two. "Exactly!"

"An excellent idea!" Romani expressed his liking of it. "If we get to fight them with equal numbers instead of trying to go against an whole army alone, our chances of defeating them and getting the grail will certainly be higher!"

"For that we'd need to have enough thousands of men to create at least what could be considered an army." Nightingale said, staring to Robin and Rama. "I'm sure having all of The Resistance would help us take care of the problem."

"Yeah! You guys are a faction too after all! You must have quite the good number of soldiers on your side." Nala told to the two servants happily, assuming that The Resistance had enough numbers to make an army and go toe-to-toe against the Celtic Empire.

"..."

"..."

Both Robin and Rama stood silent, staring at each other. They then decided to confess it.

"Humm, about that..." Robin stared at the ground, rubbing the back of his head before looking at Rama.

"All the members of our faction barely make half a thousand." Rama revealed, much to the everyone else's shock.

"FOU?! (You're joking!)"

"What?! Barely half a thousand?!" Romani exclaimed.

"That's shockingly short!" Elizabeth said.

"We can't go againt the Celtic Empire with that! Their army's number must be around fifty or sixty-thousand if not more!" Peko talked about the huge difference between the two factions.

"We'd be quickly overpowered by the enemy if so." Mash added.

"And you had the gall to be insane enough to partake on this war against two big armies with only half a thousand?!" Nala yelled to Robin and Rama.

"Hey! Don't go blaming on us! The Resistance had the bad luck of appearing after all of this conflict between the big two factions started." Robin told her and to the rest. "It was a case of arriving late to the party."

"And Geronimo created it originally for gathering intel and performing scouting as well as planned surprise attacks. The Resistance was never meant to be a huge army for a full on scale battlefield." Rama justified their faction's low number.

"I might understand it, but what we need right now isn't a small group of espionage, recognizance or assassination." Scáthach told to the two. "But of a full capable large army if we want to stand a chance against Cú Alter, Medb and their empire."

It was easier said than done, as the whole group scratched their heads into trying to find a solution for that.

"How will we get a large army like that anyway?" Ritsuka questioned. A question that didn't stayed too long on his head.

"Attention! It's an urgent warning!"

A soldier of the camp appeared running torwards them in alarm, getting some confused glares.

"Hm? What's the matter?" Rama asked him.

"Celtic soldiers and some monsters are trying to invade the camp by attacking the front gates!"

"An invasion!?" Ritsuka exclaimed, getting suddenly on alert just like the rest of the party.

"Tsk! Don't tell me they followed us all the way here!" Robin said with annoyance.

"I fear they might have." Scáthach spinned her spear for a bit. "If so, then we better kill them before they can retreat to their rulers with our location!" She proceeded to went to the front gates, being followed by the group shortly behind.

Reaching to the place, they were all ready for combat.

"Quick soldier! Tell us how many of them are!" Rama speaked to a soldier who was near the gates.

"Well...They were quite a big group initially but..."

"Hm? 'Were'? What do you mean by that?" Nala asked to the soldier, who pointed to the terrain just outside the camp.

"You better look it for yourselves."

Doing so, the party got a huge surprise as they saw all of the monsters and celtic soldiers that threatned to attack the camp laid on the ground, defeated.

"They have already been dealt with? That fast?" Nightingale asked, befuddled.

"But how so?" Ritsuka was also not understanding, until he saw someone throwing punches and fighting more ahead in the area. "Huh?"

"Look! There's someone there ahead!" Peko pointed out, spotting the person too, making all of them looked to the same place.

Thanks to the moonlight, they could see the features of the individual who was in combat with the remaining enemies that were left. A young adult man with a red and black changpao dress, red hair tied in the back and dark-brown eyes with red eyebrows and red eyelids. He only wielded a simple looking qiang spear. Even from afar, it was easy to tell that the man had to be somewhere from the Far-East, his martial arts alone taking care of the entire wave of enemies as they watched him.

"He took all of them by himself?" Mash asked, astonished by the man's power.

"You all should've see it. Shortly after those monsters and the celts were spotted coming torwards the camp, that man appeared out of nowhere and cleaned the entire floor with them in just a few seconds!" The soldier told them. "It barely gave me enough time to even load my gun!"

"That's something!" Nala replied, looking at the man finishing with the last opponent in front of him swiftly. "Wonder what his deal here is."

"To have killed the celts, he most certainly isn't working for them." Robin said, already scrapping off that idea.

"Then is he with the West army perhaps?" Ritsuka thought.

"Hard to tell." Robin talked back.

The eastern man walked up to the front gates. "Do not fret! I'm no enemy of yours! I have no intrest in the conflict that has been happening around here!" He speaked loudly to the group on top of the wall. "I came here with the intent of only fighting someone! A certain someone that is now amongst you!"

"Hm? He isn't envolved in this conflict whatsoever?" Elizabeth commented on the man's declaration.

"Then he is neither part of of the Celtic Empire nor the West army." Nightingale added.

"So that makes him a rogue servant!" Peko concluded. "I didn't knew we'd still find another one that shortly in this Singularity after Scáthach."

"Who exactly do you wanna fight here?" Rama demanded the eastern man to tell them who was the one he was looking to fight from the group.

The eastern man pointed his finger at one of them. "That lady in purple over there!" It was Scáthach.

"He wants to fight Scáthach?" Mash said, the response making her and the others even more confused.

"Do you owe something to this guy?" Ritsuka asked to the spearwoman.

She shook her head in negative. "No. I don't even have the smallest of idea why he looks to fight me." Scáthach stared down at the man. "May I know why you wish to have a fight with me?"

The eastern man smiled. "I've been searching for strong opponents to fight with in this place you call Singularity! Fighting is what eases my mind and balances my soul! Once my ears catched rumours about this fiersome warrior lady with a red spear that could strike down any adversary, I knew I had to find you on one way or another!" The man explained his motive, piercing his spear on the ground and looking at Scáthach. "And now, after days, I finally did found you, spearwoman! So please, accept my humble offer to have a fight with you right here and now!"

"Talk about having an obsession." Nala commented.

"But at least it seems he doesn't have purely bad intentions with us. If all that man wants is having a fight, I see no problem in that." Robin replied, perceiving the eastern man to not be an enemy to them.

"Hmm, it can't be a trap, can it?" Peko said, still a bit suspicious about the man.

"I don't think so. The way he speaked just now sounded genuine." Mash replied, thinking the opposite.

"What do you guys think? Should we all go down to confront him just to be sure it isn't a set-up?" Rama pondered.

Ritsuka crossed his arms, pensative. "Hmm, kinda hard to s-"

Scáthach started to walk down the stairs of the wall. "I'll go fight him. Don't think anymore about it." She said, surprising the rest.

"W-What?! Can we at least help you or something?" Peko asked to Scáthach, offering her some help.

The celtic spearwoman refused it politely altough. "No need for it. I can tell he likes honrable battles. And no one fiddles with honrable battles."

Mash put a hand on Peko's back. "And you're still recovering from your own wounds Peko. Sit this one out instead." She advised him.

"That's right idiot! Don't dare to reopen them if you have a shred of intelligence!" Nala reprimanded Peko.

Ritsuka looked at Scáthach before she descended to the ground. "We will be up here watching. Anything off and don't hesistate to call us for help."

The spearwoman gave him a small nod before walking down the stairs. The soldiers opened the front gates once Scáthach stood in front of it, seeing the eastern man waiting for her on the other side. "Before we do start this, could you tell me your name?" She asked to her opponent, now on the outside.

"Hm! Sorry." The eastern man smirked, putting both his hands on the spear, putting in an offensive position. "Not in the mood to tell. But I may reveal it if you defeat me."

"Hmm, I see." Scáthach rotated her spear, pointing it at her opponent. "But a servant you definetly are. In that case, how about we do like this? If I win, you don't only reveal your name but also have to do me a favour. If you defeat me, I'll be the one to do you a favour instead." She proposed, turning this fight more intresting. "What do you say? We have a deal?"

The other servant tought a bit about it. "Hmmm, so I reckon that this won't be a battle to the death then."

"It won't. I don't know about you, but I have important things to attend to besides this fight." Scáthach told him, not planning on dying in a simple fight before even helping the chaldeans and the others properly in the war. "Hope that you can understand it."

Staring to the side, the eastern servant gave some thought about it. "All good." He smiled to the spearwoman. "I don't mind of this being a warming against you as our real fight waits a little longer. How about we set the limit to five minutes?"

"That sounds a good idea." Scáthach replied, agreeing with those terms like he agreed with hers. "With that topic now settled, I think we can give it a start!" She exclaimed, a materialization of red mana surrounding her spear.

Her opponent already was liking what he was seeing. "About time!" He shouted, with the two dashing at each other, beggining their battle.

Barely a minute had passed, and the battle had already chained the group's collective attention to it. It was being mostly fairly equilibrated, with Scáthach and the eastern man moving at almost insane speeds, keeping track of one another altough for the eyes of the bystanders it was a bit difficult to keep up with their speeds on the arena, catching only fast figures clashing their spears onto each others, making sparks fly in the air. Such skilfull fighters, victory could end up falling to either one of them.

"The way they attack and defend. It's so perfectly executed it's almost like seeing two machines fighting one another." Mash said, the fight being intense enough to put her on the edge of her seat metaphorically speaking, altough it wasn't one to the death.

Nala stood in silent, seeing how well coordinated the eastern servant timed his attacks and moved around Scáthach. Altough fast, her eyes and mind could perceive and analyse clearly the swing of his changpao and jab of his fists. The girl also observed carefully the action and steps of his legs, seeing how well positioned they were, adopting a peculiar stance that allowed the man to dodge perfectly and respond back with a combo of kicks and elbows even if they were blocked by Scáthach's spear. But the man himself also had the head to know when to go back to defensive and block his opponents atttacks, waiting patiently for an opening where he would have the opportunity to strike. Such well thought, trained and planned movements of the eastern servant and overall fighting style genuinely impressed Nala. "That's how he does it..."

Meanwhile, Peko was paying more attention to Scáthach while Nightingale checked his wounds. The boy payed attention to the way the spearwoman approached the situation, remaining calm and composed even when it seemed her opponent was gaining the upper hand. The boy spotted how Scáthach in a space of a single second conjured what appeared to be small runes, runes those that would enchant her skills and body, aiding her in having some turns where she'd gain the upper hand back from the eastern servant. Apparently small and barely noticeable magecrafts that despite of that, gave the celtic spearwoman a mana supply for herself, continuing to parry the adversary's blows while maintaining her head focused, moving her spear naturally for when to attack and defend. "Hmm, Scáthach is already quite agile and strong by herself. How much does those runes enchant her-Ahg!"

Peko yelped in pain as Nightingale applied a bit of alcohol in a wound of his. "Sorry for not saying anything but this wound of yours here wasn't properly disinfected." She said, having just finished doing her job.

"Warn me next time please!" Peko said a bit upset, having his mind taken out from the battle.

"It's hard to tell who's going to be the winner out of this." Elizabeth speaked.

"So far both of them were unable to land a hit on the other." Robin added.

"And that's not because they are terrible at attack, but actually great at evading and blocking each other, getting on this stand-off." Rama replied, looking down at the fight. "But eventually, one of them will have to slip. It's either that or the time runs out."

And Rama was right on one thing.

As the fight went on for a few more seconds, the eastern man attempted to put an end to it by doing a combination of spear thrusts and kicks. Scáthach kept concentrated, doing her best to block every single one of them. As the last clash of the man's changpao came into contact with her spear, Scáthach didn't waste time and immediatly lowered her body and tripped his legs with a quick movement of her own.

"Hm!" The eastern servant was caught off guard by it, losing his balance for a brief moment. And the spearwoman took that has a chance, beggining her new turn of attacks at him. The ferocity and intensity of the blows grew gradually, causing the eastern servant to fall down to one knee after tanking a strong hit from Scáthach. The spearwoman aimed her spear at a non-fatal area of him, about to strike him there. At the same time, her opponent was about to went for a single quick punch in the area below her chest. It was a secret technique of his that could win the battle for him.

But suddenly, Scáthach stopped her weapon just as it was about to pierce the man in the right side of his torso. As an effect, the eastern servant also prevented his own fist from hitting on her diaphragm. The two had stopped their fight. Or rather...

"The five minutes have passed." Scáthach told him. "Guess this means it's a draw." She put her spear away from the other servant, giving her hand to him. "You were an worthy opponent. Looking forward to have that full fight with you next time."

"Eh. Likewise." The eastern servant replied, accepting her hand, getting back on his feet. "You've exceeded my expectations so far."

"Scáthach!" Ritsuka called the spearwoman out from behind, the entire party having descended the wall and join her at the outside of the camp now that the battle was over. "That was an amazing battle you two did!"

"It was definetly breathtaking!" Peko added with the same enthusiasm.

"But all of that to end up with a draw? Sounds boring to me." Elizabeth expressed how she wanted for the battle to have had a winner.

"I think otherwise. Both Scáthach and her opponent displayed a great show of their abilities!" Rama told her. "If anyhting this was a perfect exemple of a battle between two great fighters!"

"That may be, but it won't make us learn the name of this servant." Mash speaked about how since the spearwoman wasn't able to defeat the eastern servant, his name wouldn't be revealed.

"Meh. Don't fret about it. I can tell it to you anyways." The eastern servant said, willing to share his name despite not having been defeated.

"Hm? But you said you wouldn't reveal us your name unless you were defeated." Scáthach told him.

"Well, you brought me down to one knee and almost landed a strike on me if it wasn't for the time endings. I can count it as a defeat." The eastern man told her with a sportmanship's manner, attributing the victory to Scáthach before looking at the rest of the group. "My name is Li Shuwen. A pleasure to meet you."

"Wait...Li Shuwen." Ritsuka put a finger under his lips. "I think I've heard that name before somewhere."

"The grand chinese master and martial artist of the fighting style known as Bajiquan?" Mash speaked, having help Ritsuka remind of the historical figure.

"Yes! That guy!" The master of humanity joined his fist into his own hand. "Now I know why his fighting position looked familiar to me!"

"Wow! A martial artist's master!? That sounds hella cool!" Nala exclaimed, approaching Li Shuwen, stars in her eyes. "Does that mean you are black belt or something? That your kicks and punches can split entire mountains!? You'll have to teach me that!"

Li Shuwen looked down at the girl with a bothered expression, a bit of sweat running down his face. "H-Hey! Contain yourself now! I'm currently not in the mood to open a school and teach lousy kids like you. Come back to ask me again when I'm older perhaps."

"Is it true that you don't have nothing to do nor want to get into the conflict of the war that is happening here?" Robin asked to the chinese martial artist.

He confirmed it. "Not at all. I do have no intrest in partaking it. My only desire here as previously expressed, is to encounter and fight against other strong servants. Gotta take the opportunity while you're still young y'know?"

"Then you really meant it when you said you've only went to this camp to have a chance to fight Scáthach?" Rama got his turn to ask Li Shuwen. "Why don't give a better thought to that and join us in the war?"

"Sorry, but I've already made my statement of not taking action in this conflict." Li Shuwen replied, refusing to consider a change on his delcaration.

"But if our enemies win, all of humanity falls!" Peko told to the martial artist. "Doesn't that makes you worry in the slightest?"

"Hmmm, if anything..." Li Shuwen turned his back to Peko, smiling at the sky. "It makes my need to fight strong foes while I still can even more persistent!"

Peko sighed behind him, lowering his head. "Guess he isn't that intrested on the whole topic of mankind ending..."

"But wether I help you not, I think you do have a pretty good chance taking at the Celtic Empire." Li Shuwen told them, positive that the party had what it take to win the war.

"Psst, no one tell him the total number of soldiers our faction has." Elizabeth murmured, giving a side glare to the group.

"It's a shame that we can't have someone like you on our side." Ritsuka told to Li Shuwen. "A master martial artist like you would certainly come in handy right now. Gotta gather all the help we need at this point."

"But if Li Shuwen-san doesn't desire to, then we shall respect that desire." Mash speaked, accepting that the chinese servant wouldn't be joining them in the conflict.

"Glad to see you value other person's decisions." Li Shuwen replied, thinking about leaving the area at this instant. "However, if it's allies or people that you're looking for to help, you should try with those West army people." He said, gaining puzzled looks from everyone.

"The West army? What's the deal with them?" Nala asked him.

Li Shuwen, stared at her and then at the rest in some little surprise. "Have you guys not heard? Many people have fled from that faction headquarters, afraid of their leader."

"What?" Ritsuka reacted in perplex. "Something's wrong with Edison?"

"That's bizarre. From what I saw when we met him, he didn't striked me as a intimidating person." Nightingale commented. "If anything, I never perceived him as someone that could be scary to others."

"Then definetly something must have changed." Li Shuwen said. "All the rumours I heard is about how their leader had gone mad and ill with all of this, reaching to the point of closing all factories and locking himself up in the big fortress of his."

"That sounds awful. Such freakish behaviour coming from a leader will only prejudice their army's moral." Rama replied. "That would be a golden opportunity for the Celtic Empire to finally break through the frontlines and conquer the entire west part of America."

The hologram of Doctor Romani appeared. "We should check on that problem! Travel to Denver and see what caused Edison to act like that. The West army is the biggest oppositor to the Celtic Empire. If it falls, the war pretty much ends with the celts win!"

"My thoughts exactly doc!" Ritsuka replied, sharing the same opinion.

"You think we can talk some sense into him or that he will let us enter his domain?" Robin asked, doubting that would be that simple to speak with Edison in such state.

"He is suffering an illness! Wether he wants it to be treated or not, that's up to me to decide!" Nightingale responded. "And I choose to cure any patient of any diseases they might be suffering!"

"Hmm, but if we could indeed resolve that problem with him, we may could have a chance of forging an alliance with the West army, granting a enough big army to fight directly with the Celtic Empire!" Peko exclaimed, seeing the huge benefits of it.

"We've already tried once. It didn't went well." Ritsuka told to Peko.

"But if Edison is on a desperate situation with lots of pressure, perhaps he'll be more more inclined to accept an alliance this time around." Romani told him.

"Then I think there is no harm in giving it another try." Mash replied. "If we help Edison and the West army out, they can help us out in return."

"Yep! We'd have better odds by having an entire full-sized army backing us." Nala speaked. "Guess everyone here is of the same opinion I suppose." She said, seeing the others agreeing as well.

"It's decided, we're going to Denver to treat Edison's illness!" Nightingale exclaimed, looking back at Li Shuwen. "Thank you for having reported such problem to us."

"No need to. I just thought it would be of your intrest to hear it." Li Shuwen replied, about to walk away. "Anyways, you better have-"

"Wait a moment!" Scáthach called the martial artist before he could leave. "Can you at least accompany us to their headquarters?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Li Shuwen said.

"You said if I won, you'd have to do me a favour." Scáthach brought up. "Well, how will I be able to tell you the favour if you're far away and it isn't guaranteed there will be a next time we'll meet each other?"

That being said, Li Shuwen smirked a bit. "Eh, using my own words against me? Fine. I think it's a fair reason for at least going with you in the meantime."

"Welcome aboard then Li Shuwen!" Ritsuka told to the martial artist after knowing he would be joining them on their way to Denver.

"Temporarily!" Nala added next to him.

"Looking at the map, you should reach Denver by morning if you depart now." Romani told them, visualizing the travel from the party's current location all the way to the headquarters of the West Army.

"Got it!" Ritsuka replied before looking at everyone around him. "Alright guys! Let's get a vehicle and head to Denver immediatly!"


In the late hours of the morning of the next day, grey clouds hovered above the abandoned city of Denver and its large fortress, now fully guarded and crowded with helter skelters. Edison really didn't want anyone to disturb him. But that wouldn't be possible today.

Storming in the front gates, the duo of Scáthach and Li Shuwen buested the giant metal doors open, obliterating the helter skelters in front of them.

"Go ahead! We two will draw this machines attention away from you!" Scáthach exclaimed as the rest of the party runned past them, managing to advance as the spearwoman and Li Shuwen kept the enemies occupied.

"Where's the way to Edison's office?" Peko asked, running up some stairs and entering the interior of the building alongside the rest, being chased by other helter skelters.

"You three have been here before right?" Rama asked to Ritsuka, Mash and Nightingale. "Still remember the path to that room?"

"Humm, kinda!" Ritsuka replied, looking at an intersection in front of them. "To the right!" He exclaimed, trying to remember the course to Edison's office last time he has been here. But as they took a turn to the right, a group of helter skelters was waiting for them. "Crap!"

Hearing more mechanical noises, they looked behind to see another group of helter skelters coming from the left.

"We're trapped!" Nala summoned out her sword, ready to fight her way through.

"Not for too long tho!" Robin said, him and Elizabeth stepping forward, firing a couple of arrows and soundwaves at the helter skelter troop, unblocking the way through.

"Robin! Elizabeth!" Ritsuka called the two servants as he saw them staying behind while he and the others proceeded.

"Me and puppy will handle them! Just focus on getting to the objective!" Elizabeth replied back to Ritsuka.

"Right! Don't worry about us! Get to the office!" Robin added as he and Elizabeth were about to get surrounded by helter skelters.

Opting to not oppose, Ritsuka just nodded as he and the rest continued their run. Taking some more right and left turns while speeding through the corridors at the sound of the alarms, the group seemed unable to find the door to the office.

"There!" Mash pointed out to something at the end of an hallway. "That's the door to Edison's office! We've reached it!"

Approaching it, the party looked all to each other, preparing themselves for any fighting if needed.

"Ready?" Ritsuka asked to them, being replied with a collective nod. Staring to the gates, the master of humanity decided to open the gates by kicking it, opening it with violence.

"That was uncalled for. You could have hurt your leg." Nightingale slightly reprimanded him, not approving such reckless action.

"A bit show-off from you Ritsuka." Peko told him, thinking the same.

Ritsuka in return smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Hehehe, sorry. I let the emotions of the moment take the best of me."

"IT'S RUINED! EVERYTHING IS RUINED!"

A loud hopeless voice made the group all stare to its source that stood some meters in front of them on the other end of the room.

"Let's not forget what we've came here for." Nala said, staring distraught Edison, lying sadly with his head and arms on the desk.

"I'M UNCAPABLE! MY CREATIONS ARE ALL WORTHLESS GIANT PIECES OF JUNK!" The man with the lion head cried as he slammed his hands on the desk, very clearly inconsolable.

"Don't say those things Presiking! You cannot give up now!"" Helena stood by his side, trying to cheer him up and raise his moral while Karna silently watched also near Edison's desk.

"THOSE WORDS MEAN NOTHING! THEY CAN'T CHANGE ANYTHING! THIS WAR IS HAS GOOD AS LOST!" Edison roared in lament, the vibrant and energetic man that they had first met now having been turned into a whimping pessimist, with a small mountain of soda cans lying around him.

"It isn't I'm sure that the Presiking is strong enough to surpass any difficulty! You're a genius after all, are you not?" Helena insisted on not giving up on him.

"I'M NOT! I'M NOTHING BUT A FRAUD!" Edison cried again, slamming his hand on the desk once more. "I CAN'T FIND A SOLUTION FOR THIS! I TRY AND TRY BUT I JUST CAN'T!"

"Eish. This sounds like a mix of a hangover with depression." Nala said, feeling a bit of pity for Edison. They all were feeling it.

"Edison...is looking bad." Mash commented. "Way different from when we met him the first time."

"True. Never expected to see a guy like him in such a sorry state." Ritsuka replied.

"All this grief is even making me not question why he has a lion's head." Peko said lowly, this being the first time he was seeing Edison and his peculiar characteristics.

"He is sick, such as I suspected." Nightingale took a step forward, readjusting her gloves. "We'll have to cure this."

"Hm?" Karna moved his eye, his sight spotting them. "So you decided to show up again." He said, not seeming very alarmed by their presence as Edison and Helena also noticed the group shortly after.

"Wah!? You're here?!" Helena exclaimed in shock.

Meanwhile Edison was quick to compose himself back, stopping with the whimpering, cleaning the wasted cans of soda away and staring at them with hostility. "What do you want? Came here to put an end to me?" He said with seriousness and agressively.

"None of that." Ritsuka responded to the man with a lion head. "We've heard how the things with your army have gone bad, so we came here to check. See if things were okay." He explained with honesty.

Edison however didn't believed him. "Hahahahaha! See if we were okay?" The inventor laughed. "Even I told better lies when I was a kid boy! I'm not a fool! I can see through your mockery!" He accused Ritsuka, not wanting his or no one else's pity for him.

"But we're saying the truth!" Mash exclaimed, arguing back. "We did not came here to fight!"

"Hmphm! Sure thing. You're here to give me pats on the back and cookies instead." Edison scoffed, noticing a large absence in their group. "Where's that second-rate engineer Tesla? Is he too occupied whinning about me?" He chuckled. But nothing prepared him for what Ritsuka would tell him next.

"He's dead." The master of humanity responded shortly, putting a chilling silence in the entire room as Edison's cocky smile dissapeared and his eyes slightly expanded in dismay.

"..." He was speachless, such news coming from the left field.

"Tesla died?" Helena muttered, also bewildered at such reveal.

"I...I see." Edison accepted the fact he was now dead, going back to put a serious face. "How did he died?"

"Bravely." Peko responded, having been there on Tesla's sacrifice. "Way braver than most would in the same situation."

"Hmm, so that's how." Edison lowered his head. "Well, I suppose even people like him had to be tough once in a while in their lives." He speaked, acting like Tesla's death didn't hit him hard.

"He wasn't a coward!" Peko rised his voice, making Edison focus his attention on him.

"You're new around here, aren't you?" Tesla asked.

"Yes he is! And what about it?" Nala replied back, backing up her brother.

"Hmm, do tell me children..." Edison took a few steps forward while staring at the twins, causing Ritsuka and the entire group to be cautious with him, unaware of what he could pull out at any moment. Still with a unfriendly face he asked to the two. "Do you like burgers?"

"Huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"If you like burgers? Hamburgers." Edison said, being a strange question to do. "Do you enjoy eating them or have ever eat one?"

"What the hell is that type of question?!" Helena exclaimed, with Edison having break the entire tension in the room with that.

"Uuh, I've already eat some. I like it." Peko replied.

"They're super good! Specially on an empty stomach!" Nala said with a smile on her face, reimagining the feeling. "Taking the first bite on a burger is one of the best sensations ever!"

"Aha! It's that good, isn't it?" Edison said happily, liking the answer of both kids. "What about soda?"

"Love it!" Nala replied.

Peko nodded. "Same!"

"Hehehe. And do you know what is the country where you will find the best of the best of those two?" Edison smiled proudly, putting his hands on his hips and staring to the ceilling. "In the land of the free, where one can eat burger and drink soda as much as it pleases them: America." He said patriotically. It looked like his old personality was coming back.

"Eerrm, I'm not sure if I'm following you." Peko replied to Edison, not seeing much value in the words he just said.

Nala on the other hand was different. "Oooooh! That sounds awsome!"

"Because it is awsome! There is no other nation in the world as awsome as the United States!" Edison exclaimed, looking euphorically to the two kids, wanting them to agree with him. "Think about how the whole world would be a paradise if it was the same as America! Burgers, soda and freedom everywhere! Now sing with me children!" Edison opened up his arms enthusiastically. "On three! One...two...and, O say, can you see! By the dawn-"

"You can stop with that." Peko interrupted Edison's singing. "We know you're trying to indoctrinate us."

"...Oh." Edison lowered his arm, his intentions having been seen right through him. "Well, but it did sound convincing, didn't it?"

"Uhmm, I dunno? I think it was cool the way you speaked and I like burgers but nothing much besides that." Nala told him, making Edison even more dispirited.

"Just put an end to that mad dream of yours already." Nightingale told him, stepping up. "No one here wants to help you achieve that american world domination you desire so much."

Edison felt attacked by it. "Silence! How can you say such things! Saving America is the top priority here! Can't you understand that if it falls, so does the entire world?!"

"But there's a right way to do it! And yours certainly isn't it!" Nightingale persisted on her opinion. "To alter a country's future for the better or worse if of an incredible selfish thing to do! You say you want to save America, when you also are at risk of putting it as the number one enemy of the entire world by opressing other nations!"

"So you think you know what is best for a nation?" Edison argued back. "That wanting it to prosper is wrong?"

"I don't! But when that comes at the price of blood and other human lives, there is no pride in such 'prosperity'!" Nightingale told him harshly.

"Enough!" Edison roared. "I'm tired of the way you deem the love for my country that I fight and spent so much enerfgy to protect a bad thing!" He said, losing the small patience there was still left in him. "You better leave before I finish with your anti-patriotic mindset!"

"But we came here to help!" Ritsuka speaked up, trying to diffuse the situation. "If we ally to each other, we can save America by defeating the main enemy that is the Celtic Empire!"

"Would you let me build my dream however?" Edison asked to Ritsuka, wanting to see what he meant by 'saving America together'.

Hesitating a bit, Ritsuka knew that wouldn't be possible. "Sorry. That I can't allow it to happen."

"Then you are swore enemies of America! My enemies!" Edison roared loudly to the ceilling. "As such, I'll eliminate you right here! No further negotiations possible!" He declared, signaling for Helena and Karna to get ready to fight.

The group did the same.

"That's the second time things don't end well!" Mash said, wielding her shield.

"You idiot! Can't you see this will only doom us all!?" Nightingale said with upset to Edison. "Do you honestly prefer the whole world to end rather than not seeing your personal dream fulfilled?!"

"Anyone that goes against my wishes goes against America itself!" Edison replied, not giving ears to the nurse. "As so, you all need to perish!"

Nightingale was appaled by it. Never she had seen such severe case of delusion. "You are mentally ill! I recommend suicide in that case!"

"Make me!" Edison shouted, firing an energy beam from the cannon implanted on his chest torwards the party, forcing them to dodge.

Nightingale jumped forward, her fist and Edison's fist hitting onto one another. "Intensive therapy it is!"

Quickly, the entire room turned into a battlefield with the whole party fighting against the trio servant of Edison, Helena and Karna.

Rama went to clash with Karna, his power being of similar strenght of the other hindu servant, hence why he was being able to handle the demi-god pretty well. "Why are you going along his madness, Karna? I thought the great hero of charity would have a better judgment than this!" Rama questioned why Karna would still follow Edison when it was clear the man wasn't well in the head.

"I made a deal of companionship with him." Karna responded calmly, forcing Rama to take some step backs in order to not be sliced by his spear. "I was the first servant Edison came looking for help at the start of his Singularity. That level of trust is to not be betrayed and you should know of that, king of Kosala!" Karna exclaimed, the swing of his spear releasing a fire slash at Rama.

Rama reacted by sending a sharp giratory circle of mana with his sword, the two attacks cancelling each other out. Rama dashed at Karna, attempting to hit him by surprise. "I do know!" He said, his sword being prevented from striking Karna in the chest due to the lancer servant good reflexes. "But why such level of loyalty to a man you've met recently?"

"I admit. He does resemble a friend and king that once saved me before. His personality does feel familiar when I think of that other friend of mine. Perhaps that's why I pledge my Vasavi Shakti to him so much." Karna revealed to Rama, who had a guess in his mind.

"Could that king be-hrgh!" Rama was pushed back by Karna's weapon, almost being hit by it.

"With the justification now done, I plead that we go back to fight for real." Karna told him, being aware of what his compatriot servant could be capable of.

"Eh! If that's what you want, so be it!" Rama replied back, his eyes staring into Karna as they clashed once more. "You probably know he is also here in this Singularity by this point."


"Magical Tuning!"

Crafting a couple of magical circles, Helena settled them at many locations around the trio of Mash, Peko and Nala, ordering them to fire. But they all anticipated for it at the same time.

Mash put her shield in front, blocking some of the lasers from the three.

"Luminary Route!"

Peko made his own enchantment while the shielder gave him cover, firing a light bullet from his hand at a beam, exploding upon contact, eliminating other beams that were nearby.

And Nala took out the rest of the laser beams with her own sword, slashing them down.

"Tsk! Things were already complicated as they were! Why did you had to appear to complicate it even more?" Helena expressed her distaste at seeing the party having shown up in a moment of fragility to the West Army.

"Don't blame us! We really just wanted to help you!" Peko told to the small occultist.

"You're leader just had to be a lunatic!" Nala said. "How can you bare to follow him?"

"The Presiking isn't like that! I guarantee you that all he needs is time to collect himself!" Helena defended the behaviour of Edison. "He is fragile in the moment, but normally he is a great leader and genius when he's at the top of his game!" She passed her hand on the pages of her book. "Now go away!" She summoned two books above the trio, sending the laser beams down at them and forcing Mash once again to block them.

"Ghg! We must reach an agreement here!" Mash said while covering Peko and Nala. "We won't go anywhere if we keep fighting!"


"The Wizard of Menlo!"

Edison stiffened his body, enduring one of Nightingale's punches. As payback, he hit the nurse in return, the two servants having envolved into a wild brawl fight. Delivering a kick, Nightingale almost hit Edison in the face if the inventor hadn't put his arm in front, blocking it. He went to grab her ankle and throw Nightingale away. The nurse however managed to land on the ground perfectly, standing right in front of Ritsuka who was watching all this fight.

"This is pointless Edison! We won't achieve anything with this!" Ritsuka talked to him, trying to talk some sense. "You know it! We both know it!"

"If you really want to save America then stop resisting and let me treat you!" Nightingale added.

"Never! You bunch are infidels with no sense of love for a nation! You don't know what it's like to fight and sacrifice for it!" Edison shouted, unwilling to listen to the two.

Having enough, Nightingale sprinted at the inventor. "I've also had to sacrifice things!" Throwing a fist, she break through Edison's defense, punching his face, her face with a look of rage. "Don't pretend you're the only who knows about war's suffering!" She yelled, launching Edison torwards a wall with the power of her punch.

"Gnghr!" Edison grumbled in pain as he stepped out from the dust that was lifted the moment his body crashed onto the wall, his face now bloodied.

"Nightingale can sure be terryfying while angry." Ritsuka noted, observing the look of angriness on the nurse's face, not baring anymore Edison's foolishness.

"Last chance mister Edison." Nightingale stare at him with a cold glare. "Do you surrender and accept the treatment?"

Panting, Edison recovered from the pain his body felt. "You...You forced me to do this." He said, also in a cold tone, taking out a small bottle from his back.

"W-What is that?" Ritsuka asked, wary of what Edison might be holding.

"A super elixir. One that will grant me almost unlimited power." Edison looked ath the liquid inside it, sounding dangerous. His words ended up being heard by everyone in the room, shifting their sight to the inventor.

"Hm?! That's..."

"You have a what, Presiking?!"

Both Karna and Helena looked at their leader with some concern.

"A super elixir?" Peko speaked.

"Is that supposed to be his ace?" Nala wondered.

"Possibly! He himself must have developed it!" Mash replied, feeling the tension in the room going high again. "Is that how he managed to mass produce all those helter skelters?"

"With this, I shall become invincible! Become a true genius at the cost of my own body, raising to an higher plane of existence above the norm!" Edison explained dramatically. "A sip of this elixir will transform me into my great form of Thomas Mazda Edison! A pure being of light and electricity!" He stared at Nightingale. "You'll have no chance once I drink it!"

"Stop! Don't do it!" Ritsuka begged to the inventor, seeing the craziness he was about to commit. "It isn't too late to speak the things out, Edison!"

"Hear what he says for once! Can't you see that you are provoking more harm into yourself than the people you deem your enemies?" Nightingale said, wondering if there was no end to this man's craziness.

"Nice try! But I won't fall for it! My love for America won't let me be deceived by your lies!" Edison replied, opening the bottle. "Now, to end with all of you!" He exclaimed, about to drink the elixir.

Nightingale tried to stop him, but before she could, someone did it faster than her.

"?!" In bafflement, Edison stared to the side, watching Karna destroy the elixir with Visavi Shakti, stopping him from drinking it. "K-Karna?!"

"Sorry. But this was a limit I could not let you pass over." Karna told to Edison, having done this for the inventor's own sake.

As Edison tried to say something, Nightingale tackled him to the ground and grabbed him by the fur of his lion head.

"Listen up now!" Nightingale exclaimed, about to lecture Edison. "Since I've met you, you've been nothing more but a stupid for someone who gloats so much about inventing stuff! You call yourself a genius but can't grasp the obvious, can you? The Celtic Empire has the holy grail of this Singularity! They can spawn soldier after soldier infinetly! How long do you think your frontlines will be able to hold them back?"

Ritsuka tried to walk torwards the two but Karna put an arm in front of him, indicating that he should let Nightingale tell what Edison might needed to hear.

"As long as we have hope in our hearts! If I continue to manufacture the helter skelters at a mass production, my army will eventually break through it!" Edison replied.

"If that's so, then why did we heard you were closing down the factories, forcing your own people to leave and crying and lamenting once we entered your office?" Nightingale asked, knowing very well Edison was lying to himself. "You yourself do not believe in what you say. But of course, you're a genius after all. It would be easy to guess that you'd figure out that your own strategy of mass producing helter skelters to wore out the Celtic Empire's soldiers would lead to nowhere."

"But it will work out eventually! Even at my lowest, I shall never abandon mass production as it will be the salvation of this nation!" Edison insisted in stating the contrary.

Nightingale approached her face to him, giving Edison a stern look. "And that's your major flaw. Your stubbornness and excess of pride blinds you from wanting to admit the obvious. A win by attrition is impossible. All that you're doing is just drag out this pointless stalemate. You're making a clown out of yourself." The nurse told him harshly, letting go of her grip from him.

"B-But I...I..." Edison didn't had any convincing arguments to throw back at her, having been told the truth by Nightingale.

Getting up, the nurse pondered something. "Still, to create the large army you did, you must have drown out all that power from somehwere as resource in order to make your faction possible. Something other than the holy grail, is it not?"

Remaining silent initialy, Edison decided to confess. "Yes, you're right. The power of mass production that resides within me. A gift offered to me by all the presidents of the United States of the past and future." He revealed, the information coming as unexpected. "Knowing that if summoned separatly they wouldn't stand a chance against the enemy, they instead poured all of their collective power and plural wish to save America onto me, working as a sort of vessel for the presidents wish. Hence why my title of 'Presiking'."

"Wait! You're telling us that you have all the presidents of America inside of you in some sort of way!?" Ritsuka asked, in awe with that fact.

"So that makes Edison some sort of manifestation of all the presidents will?" Peko tought.

"How many presidents are we talking about here?" Nala asked with curiosity.

"Hmmm, around forty and something presidents within Edison." Mash responded.

"Wow! His body might as well be an apartment with that much people inside of him!" Nala said with surprise.

Edison got back on his feet. "But my intentions...They were never with bad intent or ill-mannered. All I ever wanted was to make sure America had a future such was the task given to me." The inventor said, looking more calmly and level-headed. "Was I wrong for having cared about the problem?"

"Not at all." Nightingale replied. "Patriotism is a beautiful thing if you ask me. People who love their country, fight for it and protect for it. Noble causes that I do admire. It is not a shame wanting what's best for your homeland." The nurse told him. "I'd even say that many of the soldiers I met on the battlefields would like to have your traits. But like everything that can be harmful once you apply large doses of it, patriotism needs to be regulated." She pointed her finger at Edison. "And that's where your illness comes from. An unhealthy overload of patiotristic pride inside of you due to the influence of the presidents."

"..." Edison looked to the side, being deciphered easily by Nightingale.

"All of that collective desire affected your mind, making you focus only to save America instead of the entire world." Nightingale continued. "Which knowing about the United States, it's ironic that its saviour wouldn't dare to save the world but his country who is a composed home from many races of the planet. E pluribus unum." Nightingale cited, looking at the ceilling. "You much likely know what this motto means to americans. A nation that encompasses many people of different reagions across the globe, forming its unique society that is your country. Therefore, you cannot give your back on the world, as that would be ignoring America too. The prejudices are the same."

"Nightingale's really hitting on the spot with those observations!" Ritsuka said to himself, seeing Edison unable to refute her arguments.

"You can only think of an individual when everyone else also matters. Such mindset is why you could never surpass Tesla." Nightingale told to the inventor. "He might could have been as stubborn as you, but Tesla would make sure to look out and work for the sake of all the mankind, guaranteeing its safety with his natural gift."She said to Edison, comparing him to his rival. "That's the thing that separates you two."

Having heard all that in the face and blantly by Nightingale, specially the last part, Edison gave in to defeat and sat on the ground. "Okay! I admit! I was wrong for this! For all of this!" He said with a defeated tone. "Only now did I realized my folly!" He then looked at the party. "You've convinced me my ways had severe mistakes. You've won."

Handing victory to the party, the fight had been over, with the rest of the group reuniting around Nightingale and Edison.

"Looks like we managed to pacify the situation! Good job Nightingale-san!" Mash complimented the nurse for having brought Edison down to reality.

"That talk sure made Edison reconsider the scenario overall!" Peko said. "And I thought that would be impossible by the way he was behaving."

"Yep! You really gave him a piece of your mind!" Nala added.

"I assume that was your way of treating his 'disease', wasn't it?" Rama asked to the nurse.

"Sometimes the best medicine isn't actual meds but words instead." Nightingale replied. "Talk therapies can also be a cure for some patients."

"Well, I'm glad that it worked! Thanks for knocking some reasoning into him." Ritsuka thanked to Nightingale.

"Hey guys! Now that we avoided having one more conflict here, I think it would be agood opportunity to tell Edison and the other two about the alliance in order to destroy the Celtic Empire." Peko reminded them of one of the motives for why they had came here.

"Oh! Right!" Ritsuka replied, deciding to turn around and share his intentions with Edison. However, he saw the inventor sorrowfuly sitting on the ground as Helena and Karna sat next to him. "Erm...I don't want to feel like I'm interrupting here but, Edison, we were planning on forming an alliance with your faction in order to-"

"Do not bother with it young man." Edison replied. "There is no need for me to be around here anymore." He covered his face with his hands. "I've let down the entire world in my own selfish pursuit. A leader like that...is not worthy of being a leader anymore." He stared at Nightingale. "You were right about me. Same with Tesla. I'm nothing more but a stubborn egotistical scoundrel." His moral was in the low, having lost his desire and will to continue on the leadership of the West army. He begun to get up. "Maybe I should just dissapear and never show my face arou-"

"No." Karna put a hand on the inventor's shoulder. "You aren't going anywhere. Having lost your way or not, I still recognize you as my leader. The one I shall follow till the very end."

Edison reacted with surprise at his companion. "Hm? But why?"

"Because that isn't you. We know the real Thomas Edison would smile with radiance after admiting a screw up." Helena also told him. "An idiot would never see or realize that he was in the wrong. But you do Presiking! And you can still save the world with the intellect of yours. It isn't too late for that yet!" She smiled. "If you never gave up, it won't be now for sure!"

"You never let us to go down and now we won't let you too. After all, the geniality of Thomas Edison knows no bounds, rigth?" Karna motivated his leader alongside Helena.

Getting a new flame of ambition shinning inside, Tesla begun feeling better and more capable. "Yes...Yes! YES! YOU TWO ARE RIGHT!" He yelled in excitment, shoving the negativity away. "I AM THOMAS EDISON! OF COURSE I CAN TURN THIS SITUATION AROUND!" He smiled from ear to ear. "I might have ignored humanity in general but not anymore! From here on onwards, not only America, but also the entirety of mankind shall be my top priority! With my creations, I'll make the whole world prosper!"

Ritsuka was happy to see Edison coming back to his general energetic self. "Then let's do this togehter! What do you say?" He offered a handshake to Edison. "Let's team up! Save America and the world from the Celtic Empire!"

"Eh! You speaked well boy! Do tell me how we can defeat them." Edison took the handshake. "Now, as allies, you shall become my vice-president!"

To be continued...


And that was it for chapter 84!

Now all of the servants of this Singularity have been introduced with Scáthach and Li Shuwen in this chapter. You generally know what that means right? Oh yeah baby, we're getting to the final stage of the Singularity! But we're still gonna have a couple more chapters before reaching the end of this one. Anyways, I better go off to sleep now.

That's all I wanted to say, and see you next time on chapter 85! Peace!

P.S:

(Chaldea team goes to a zoo)

Peko (Staring at a giraffe): Wow it has such long neck!

Kadoc: Impressive, is it not? Their neck is generally 1.8 meters long, being taller than your average hum- wait, where's your sister?

Nala (handing a peanut to an hipoppotamus): Here mister hippo! Get another one!

Kadoc: WHAT THE HELL YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! (Quickly snatches Nala away from the hippo's range) Don't get too close to the animals or else they'll attack and try to eat you idiot!

Nala (pouting): I know how to fight and have defeated far more dangerous things than some normal wild animals.

Kadoc: I know! Still, we don't want to cause problems here and stress out Director Goredolf!

Ritsuka (Eating ice cream alongside Mash): How long until something starts going bad around here?

Mash: I really wish to not have those troubles today senpai. But I'll give it on about ten minutes.

Ritsuka (Spotting Tezcatlipoca near the section of the reptiles): Oi Tezcatlipoca! Didn't expected to find you here! What you're doing?

Tezcatlipoca (Pointing at someone behind him): I came here with Daybit. He likes going to zoos.

Daybit (Doing a thumbs up): I like zoos.