Various shades of gray and white colored the room.
Though lacking in color and decoration save for several appliances and a single potted plant, the air was well conditioned and the bed was comfy as can be. In short, the room was comfortable, if somewhat drab.
Such was the room that King had found himself frozen in.
How long has it been since the alarm woke him up? Each second felt like its own separate day as he stared blankly at the bright lamp above him.
Having slept off the fatigue and adrenaline, the weight of the situation had finally dawned on King. That burning city, becoming a 'master', and the fact that he is stuck in this world without any way back.
All of it came crashing down on him.
The shock of the realization had prevented his body from moving since he woke up.
Shit! What is he supposed to do now?! Regardless of how he did, now that he summoned Karna and fought with him, Chaldea definitely already clocks him a master, so he can't bullshit his way out of that. Not to mention, he didn't even know how he got here, which means that until new information presents itself, he needs to keep up this charade.
This entire mess gave him a not insignificant amount of deja vu, and not a good one either.
On the bright side, with his lack of knowledge and experience of this world, surely things won't spiral as bad as last time, right?
"Attention, all members of Chaldea. An emergency meeting will be held at 8 AM in the command room." An unfamiliar voice of a woman blared through the PA system and repeated itself several times.
King glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. 7.30 AM.
With a sigh, King finally got himself off the bed. Looking down, he found that he had changed his clothes. To be frank, with how tired he was, he was operating on autopilot last night.
He wore white briefs and a shirt of the same color he had never seen before. Underwear provided by Chaldea, most likely.
Looking around, he found his usual clothes, the blue flannel jacket and jeans, and put them on before going outside of his room.
The door opened with a hiss as he stepped out of the room.
Looking outside, it seems that his room isn't too far from where he first met Romani. He could probably trace his steps back to the command room from here.
"Ah" "Oh"
King's feet stopped dead in their tracks as his eyes locked with younger ones.
Ritsuka did the same, both of them letting out an exclamation of surprise.
"Good morning, Ritsuka." King greeted first.
"G-good morning to you too." Ritsuka greeted back, though King noticed a slight nervous tone in his voice.
Thinking about it more, Ritsuka can't be older than 16, can he? maybe 17 at best. It's kinda fucked up that a kid like him is thrust into this whole world saving operation, isn't it?
"Slept well last night?" King asked as a means to start small talk. Least he could do to help the guy is alleviate some of his stress.
"Me? Yeah, well Mash told me I passed out in the command room and she carried me to my room. Kinda embarrassing, honestly." Ritsuka answered while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, I saw. It's understandable, yesterday was pretty tough, isn't it?" King continued as they walked together.
"Oh yeah, about that…" Ritsuka trailed off as he stopped walking, with King following suit.
"King… Can you be my teacher?!"
…
What
"I'm sorry, can you say that again?" King responded after a few seconds of silence, pleading that his ears were mistaken.
"I want you to teach me how to be a master! After how I did in the singularity, I realized just how unprepared I really am. There were so many times I would've died back there if it weren't for someone else…" Ritsuka passionately yelled in the empty hallway, his voice echoing.
"I-I see, but I don't really see why you would ask me for that." King responded to Ritsuka's pleas. Honestly, King himself barely knew what he was doing, yet here is someone wanting to be his disciple.
"Why? Well, because it's you, King! I mean, look at what you did in that city! You went face to face with King Arthur! Dodged a strike from Heracles! The way Karna instantly understood your intentions! How you scared off Lev!" Ritsuka quickly listed off.
Coincidences and misunderstandings. Are those really what the kid wants to learn from?
Also, who's King Arthur?
"I promise I won't take up too much of your time! I'll just ask questions when I have them and I won't bother you while we're on the field!"
"Listen Ritsuka, I…" King started to say before pausing.
He would love to reject the offer, but thinking deeper, what would Ritsuka think if he did? Would he get suspicious? The last thing King wants is to be thrown out to whatever is left of this world outside of Chaldea.
Plus, the boy's desperate look was starting to get to him.
"...Alright. I'll do it." The words came out of King's mouth like barbed wire, but what other choice did he have?
"Really?! Thank you so much, King! or should I call you Sensei from now on?" Ritsuka said excitedly, stepping forward and invading King's personal space.
"I'd really prefer it if you don't." King said, hiding his growing dread at the notion.
"Alright! Well, I'll be going on ahead, King-sens- I mean, King!" Ritsuka said as he went towards the direction of the command room.
King watched on as the boy excitedly jogged to the meeting.
"You know, King. Genos basically forced himself to be my disciple. Tried to shoo him away, but he didn't budge."
"Oh really? What made you give in then?"
"Well he dropped a big sack of money in front of my door. I haven't used it at all, but after seeing that, I didn't have the heart to refuse him anymore."
…
Was this how you felt, Saitama?
A light blue hue filled the command room.
Numerous staff filled the auxiliary seats provided at sides and edges of the room, while a round table with far fewer seats was placed at the center of the room.
On the head of said table was Olga Marie Animusphere, having taken back command from Romani, who sat at her right. At her left, sat Mash Kyrielight, clad in her typical work clothes.
At the moment, they were the only three present at the table. With 15 minutes left until the scheduled meeting, she can only hope the particular staff she called would show up.
Olga Marie looked around the room, observing the condition of her staff. Many of them were sporting bandages from yesterday's incident. Some only suffered light injuries while others had more serious ones. Regardless, every member of Chaldea that was available was present at the meeting.
Though that brings to question those who weren't available. Out of Chaldea's staff that numbered in the 200s, only about 50 are currently able to do any work. The rest of them suffered rather severe injuries, rendering them bedridden and even comatose. Before, Romani had said that with additional supplies, they will eventually make a recovery, but with the destruction of the world outside Chaldea, even that is now in question.
As it stands, Chaldea is now running on a skeleton crew, with even some divisions almost defunct due to lack of staff.
The sound of the door hissing broke Olga's train of thought. King and Ritsuka entered the room, with a stoic and excited expression respectively.
Olga gestured to the two to take a seat at the table, which they did, sitting across her and Romani.
Slowly, the specific members she called out came into the room, filling the round table until there were no seats left.
Olga took a deep breath.
"Alright, now that all of us are here, let's start the meeting."
"As you all know, yesterday Professor Lev Lainur, or as he reintroduced himself, Lev Lainur Flauros, set off multiple bombs in Chaldea…"
"...As such, I have organized this meeting to address our next steps moving forward. First, the damages done to Chaldea, both to its functionality and personnel."
Olga could hear the mutterings of the lower level staff around the room. The majority of them were confused, scared, uncertain.
However, the people she called onto the table had more leveled reactions. Ranging from undivided focus to her words to the barest of acknowledgements.
"With our staff depleted, it has been decided that some positions need to be filled, and those that are sitting at this table will now serve as leaders of Chaldea's various divisions."
Yes, the people sitting in this table were those she and Romani handpicked to lead the many sections of Chaldea going forward. Most were the highest ranked positions of said division before the explosion, though some were low level employees that they decided to promote after looking over their resumes.
It's unfortunate, but Lev had placed the bombs strategically. Almost all high level members of Chaldea are out of action, necessitating this move.
"I hope none of you have any complaints."
Whispers could be heard from around her as the staff at the table contemplated her words.
"Was the director always this assertive?" "Don't you think she… changed somehow?" "Man, if only she was always like this."
Olga heeded them no mind. Rumors can say anything they want, she has already resolved herself to truly lead Chaldea from now on.
"Oi! Seems like somebody here thinks he's above this, eh?"
A blonde, British man broke the silence at the table.
His source of enmity being someone sitting to his left, another blonde man sitting leaning back into the chair.
The man was dressed in an… eccentric way. A denim jacket was draped over his Chaldea uniform, shades covered his eyes as he blankly sat on the chair.
Perhaps weirder was his behavior, having been inanimate ever since the meeting started, which drew the ire of the man beside him.
"Bloody hell, mate. Don't let your bollocks wander off at a time like this." The British man said, his hand approaching the sloth-like man's face.
"Wait, there's no need for this." A tall man across the two tried to dissuade the situation to no avail.
The man's fingers grabbed the glasses of his target and lifted it.
Blue eyes stared back at him.
…
Slowly, the British man lowered the shades back down, returning it to its original position while the other man remained unmoved.
"Apologies, darling." To his credit, he seemed sheepish at his mistake.
Olga sighed at the small altercation. At least it ended before anything bad could actually happen.
"Perhaps some of my choices seem strange to a few of you here, but I assure you, everyone sitting here is the result of background checks done by me and Romani of every staff member available."
"Now, let me list off your new leaders…"
Olga began to list off the names and new positions of those around the table. The reaction of the personnel around them were measured, none of them seemed to truly oppose her choices, though none seemed too excited either.
"...Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get to our next agenda." Olga declared.
She had been dreading this for a while…
"Unfortunately, other than our high ranking personnel, the bombs also seemed to particularly target our culinary division. As a result, all of our cooks are out of action." Olga announced, eliciting groans and moans from the entire staff. She supposed food is one of those things that are universally beloved.
"So, I have a question for all present in this room: Can any of you cook?"
…
Silence
'Damn it.'
She knew the chance of there being a great cook amongst their ranks were slim, but to think that there were none…
"...I'll do it."
Everyone's attention was drawn by the sudden voice.
Behind Ritsuka, a man in red suddenly materialized.
"Archer… Will you really?" Olga asked, rather skeptical at the prospect of a servant working such a mundane job.
"Hmph, I might not look like it, but I take pride in my cooking skills. Besides, the quality of food is an important part of morale, isn't it?" Archer replied, some smugness present in his tone and expression.
"Archer… Is your true identity a famous chef, by any chance?" Ritsuka wondered out loud.
Archer choked on air, flabbergasted at the notion. This is probably the first time Olga saw him lose composure.
"Ahem, n-no master, I'm not." Archer answered after composing himself.
Olga could once again hear murmurs coming from the staff members. A lot of them sounded wary of the servant, some of them even seemed to be… scared.
Maybe it's to be expected. As she had run down their personnel yesterday, she found that about half of the staff able to work were normal humans. Was it another targeted outcome by Lev or mere misfortune that most of their mages were out of commission? Either way, with that artist's somewhat secluded work ethic, this was most of their first impression of a servant.
"Alright. Archer, I will appoint you as our head chef. Will you need additional assistance in the kitchen?" Olga inquired, shaking off her thoughts.
"Well, anyone good enough at cooking is welcome to help. Just think of it as a part time job." Archer said, eyeing some of the staff in the room, some of them squirming as a result.
"Well then, our final topic will be about our mission going forward. I'm sure that all of you heard what Lev Lainur Flauros said in Singularity F. Before I go any further, I will confirm one thing: Yes, the world has been incinerated."
Immediately, the room lit up in a frenzy as turmoil began to spread within Chaldea's ranks. At first they whispered to each other, but eventually, hushed whispers turned into full blown shouting.
Some called for their relatives in denial, others started shouting at each other, attempting to shift blame just to alleviate some stress. A few merely stared blankly at the confirmation, too overwhelmed to say a word.
Soon, the whole room fell into chaos, shouting matches and even some physical altercation starting to pop up, with only the center table still maintaining a sense of calm.
Olga winced at their reactions. She had predicted this, but with how erratic the atmosphere has become, how is she supposed to get it under control?
THUMP THUMP THUMP
A loud thumping sound filled the room. So loud that it began to overpower the chaotic noises of shouts and yells in the room.
Slowly, but surely, the staff that had previously been at each other's throats stopped their squabbles and turned their attention to the source of the sound.
THUMP THUMP THUMP
The source of the noise was none other than King, one of Chaldea's, no, Humanity's last two masters.
As the entire room focused itself on the scarred man, they saw his visage. His face was looking down in such a way that his eyes were not visible, but even so, what was visible told them all how he felt. It did not convey anger nor threats, merely… disappointment.
As the chaos subsided, so did the sound of his heart, bringing the atmosphere to a level, but uneasy silence once again.
'...Ha, is this your way of helping me? …Thank you, King.'
Olga took a deep breath.
"I know how you all must feel. Your families, your friends, your homes, all of them are gone. Your lives have been upended by something none of us could have predicted nor done anything about."
The room kept itself still as Olga began her speech.
"Yes, it is an undeniable fact that in the face of its own destruction, humanity could do nothing but watch like lambs to slaughter. Chaldea's mission to safeguard the existence of humanity… has failed."
Murmurs started up again, but this time chaos did not ensue, merely downtrodden looks and words of despair.
"But humanity has not yet lost!" Olga yelled as she slammed the table, rising up from her seat.
Stillness fell on the room once more, silenced by the passionate outcry of the director.
"Look back upon our history and ask yourselves: When humanity was faced with unprecedented crisis, did we simply roll over and die? No, we fought tooth and nail until the bitter end. Even when our numbers dwindled to mere thousands, we humans have always prevailed."
"So why should it be any different now?! You all heard what Lev said, once 2016 passes for Chaldea, then humanity will truly disappear once and for all. Do you know what that means?"
Her question was not graced with an answer.
"It means we have one. year. One year to fight back against the ones behind the incineration of humanity. As Chaldea's director, I refuse to simply let those bastards steamroll over us and do nothing!"
The staff around her had still not uttered a single word, but the atmosphere had changed.
"So… I implore all of you to put your faith in those two men." Olga said, gesturing to the two masters sitting across her.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka and King. They now stand here as Humanity's last masters, their victories will be Humanity's victories, and their deaths will spell out Humanity's doom. So, please, as your director and as part of humanity… I need all of you to help them with all you have." Olga finished her speech, bowing to the room.
…
Silence.
Then, someone clapped their hands. Soon, a few followed suit, before the entire room eventually erupted in a mix of cheers, claps, and encouragement. There was still an air of uneasiness among the staff, though even that started to dissipate.
Olga let out a breath that she did not realize she was holding. She… she really did it. God knows how many times she played the scenarios of this meeting in her head as she laid on her bed last night. For a moment, her worst fears almost came true, but it would seem that King had come to her rescue one more time.
"...Say, not to rain on our parade, but how are we going to do that, director?" A calm and inquisitive voice came from one of the staff.
"Yes, about that, our research and engineering divisions have worked hard while most of you were resting, and we have found the cause, or should I say causes, of the world's destruction."
The door to the command room opened with a hiss.
"...But I will let someone else take over for this part."
A beautiful woman strode into the room with a confident gait, stopping in front of the center table. She eyed the room, eyes darting from person to person, before lingering on the two masters in front of her.
"Good morning to you all. I am Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, you might have heard of me."
Olga leaned back to her chair, letting out a sigh.
She had already heard of their circumstances last night, but it didn't make it any less overwhelming to listen to it again.
Seven singularities, all on a scale far larger than Fuyuki, had altered human history to the point the world itself burned as a result.
Olga glanced at the globe behind her, having been activated to demonstrate Da Vinci's words. CHALDEAS no longer showed a perfect replica of the earth she knew. Rather, it displayed a distorted map of the world, the result of these singularities.
She pinched her forehead at the thought of Chaldea's journey ahead. Today is… July 31st, 2015. Going from Lev's words, that means that they have 1 year and 5 months to fix these mistakes in history.
This is Chaldea's Grand Order, its final and original mission, to safeguard the existence and future of humanity.
Can they do it? Their numbers have dwindled and some parts of Chaldea are even defunct, but…
She looked towards the two masters sitting across her, both of them absorbing the information Da Vinci had told them.
Ritsuka, who despite his inexperience, powered through Fuyuki and at times performed how she expected a first rate master would.
King, a master who her father had kept a secret from even his closest allies. Though she had yet to figure out more about him, it was clear that his capabilities are beyond extraordinary, capable of standing his ground against the strongest of servants.
Yeah, they can- no, will save the world.
"Well, I think that's all that we needed to say, right director?"
The voice of the Italian servant snapped Olga out of her musings. "Yes, this meeting is over. All of you are to return to your stations, your new leadership will brief you further on your tasks."
Upon hearing her dismissal, everyone in the room proceeded to go out one by one. Olga breathed out another sigh, this time of relief.
"Good job, director." A man's voice came from her right.
"Yeah… Thanks, Romani."
"That was a great speech back there, I didn't know you could do that."
"Well, me neither. But I guess when you have someone who believes in you, you just try to go above and beyond." Olga replied in a rather uncharacteristically melancholic way.
"Haha, I see. I'm glad to hear that."
Romani stayed behind with her as the rest of the room had already started leaving.
"Hm? Is there something, Romani?"
"Oh, well, I just think it's great. Seeing so many people reinvigorated after yesterday's events. You really did great, Olga." Romani praised again, a hint of amazement present in his eyes as he saw the staff walking with their heads held up.
"Hmph, I guess all I needed to do was focus on my role all along." Olga said.
"...Say, what do you plan to do about the defunct divisions? Not all of their equipment is destroyed, so we can theoretically transfer some of the staff there." Romani asked.
"...I have an idea in mind, but it'll take some time before it even becomes possible. So let's just leave it be for now."
King sighed.
'Man, I guess meetings never change, even in another world.'
Whether it was Hero Association meetings, or the few company meetings he attended before that, there was always a tense atmosphere up in the air, and this one was no different.
He got pretty nervous when the staff started shouting at each other, to the point that his heart started to beat really loud. He really thought a riot was about to break out then and there.
Thankfully, the commotion died down soon after for some reason, followed by a great speech by Olga that lifted their spirits up.
He already sung her praises before, but way to go, director! That's how a leader should be.
Beyond that, hearing about what lies ahead of Chaldea really worried him.
Seven singularities?! He almost died several times in yesterday's singularity alone! How is he supposed to go through seven more?!
Well, if he could find some way to go back home before that, then maybe he could avoid dying here. Of course, that's easier said than done. He didn't even know where to begin looking for how to travel between worlds.
Also, he feels pretty bad if he left the people here without explaining, especially to Ritsuka, who coerced him to be his master. Maybe he could make it look like an accident?
"Can you two come with me for a sec?"
The voice of a woman broke his train of thought.
"L-Leonardo da Vinci!" Ritsuka shouted out in surprise.
"Yep, that's me alright! Can I have some of you boys' time for a bit?" The woman, Leonardo da Vinci, requested.
"Y-yeah, of course! Let's go, King!" Ritsuka said excitedly.
Seeing no better option, King followed his younger companion.
"Hoho, so these are our masters, hm?" Da Vinci wondered out loud, eyeing them both up and down.
Ritsuka squirmed slightly under her gaze. King was rather uncomfortable at the blatant sizing up the woman was doing.
"Oh, come on! Lighten up, will you? I'm just trying to take a good look at our main characters!" Da Vinci proclaimed, while exaggeratedly waving her arms around.
"So you were Leonardo da Vinci, huh?"
"You met her already, Ritsuka?" King asked, surprised.
"Yeah, she was the lady who woke me up this morning. I just never expected the great Leonardo da Vinci to be so…" Ritsuka's words trailed off, unsure of the right word to describe her.
"Beautiful? Graceful? Charming? Mhm, I sure am all of those things." Da Vinci replied before Ritsuka could finish, gesturing to herself with every word.
"W-well, you are all of those things, but above all else, I didn't expect you to be a woman." Ritsuka said.
'Huh? Didn't expect her to be a woman? What does that mean?' King thought, confused at Ritsuka's own confusion.
"You should probably get used to it, master. It, uh, happens far more often than you'd think." Archer advised, suddenly materializing.
"Hello, Archer. Nice to meet you too, but I think you're misinterpreting something here. I, Leonardo da Vinci, was not secretly a woman. I lived as a man, I merely took the chance to assume ultimate beauty as a servant." Da Vinci corrected Archer with a smug tone.
"Is that so?" The dryness in Archer's voice was enough to make Ritsuka feel thirsty.
So she was a man in life and history… but became a woman after she became a servant? King thought he had already gotten the whole servant thing down, but seems like this world still has some curveballs left to throw at him.
"I-I see, uh, sir Da Vinci?" Ritsuka said, addressing the servant with a little uncertainty.
"Don't be so formal, now. Just call me Caster, or Da Vinci-chan."
"I-I think I'll just stick with Da Vinci." Ritsuka balked at the suggestion.
"Aw… What about you, big guy? You've been pretty quiet." Da Vinci asked as she turned her attention to King.
Ah damn, from the way everyone seemed to recognize her name, she must be a super important figure in this world. What did Ritsuka say back in the city? She was an inventor or something, right?
"I don't think I should be too formal with a genius inventor of your caliber, Miss Da Vinci." King replied in a verbose way, dodging dangerous topics as best he can.
"Ho~ You got a good eye, so I'll let it slide. You know, the director told me a bunch of things about you." Da Vinci said, stepping closer to King.
King gulped. What could Olga have to say about him? Hopefully it's nothing bad about his performance in Fuyuki.
"A master that popped out of nowhere, summoned an incredibly powerful servant, went toe to toe with some of the strongest servants. Not to mention what you said to the director in the beginning of the singularity… I must say, you have piqued my curiosity, King."
'...Is that a good or bad thing?'
"Oh well, a main character that's fish out of the water like Ritsuka is my favorite, but an experienced protagonist like you isn't bad either." Da Vinci said, nodding to herself without waiting for King to say his word.
"Anyway, you two got a big day ahead of you, our teams are pretty close to figuring out the location of the first singularity. So don't forget to rest, alright? Later~" Having said what she wanted, Da Vinci took off, leaving the two masters and Archer alone in the command room.
Well, that was something.
"There's still some time before lunch… What should we do?" Ritsuka asked no one in particular.
"Well, I've been checking Chaldea out while you were asleep, and I thought it'd be a good idea for us to visit the simulator. With seven singularities ahead, no amount of training is too much." Archer suggested, pointing to a direction.
"Sounds good. You wanna go there too, King?" Ritsuka turned to ask his fellow master.
Training? The idea sounds nice, but if at all possible, King would like to try and look for a method to travel between worlds. Of course, that raises its own problem since he didn't even know where to start. Hmm…
"If you do not mind, master, I'd like to go." Karna suddenly spoke up, making his first appearance today.
"Like Archer, I myself was scouting our base of operations and happened upon the simulator. I'm rather curious about its capabilities, so again, if you don't mind, master?"
…Ah, to hell with it.
The warmth of the sun kissed the green grass in the wide open field. Rays of sunshine pierced through the branches of numerous trees spread across the plain. Though the sun shone bright as ever, plenty of clouds subdued its heat, making for a perfectly pleasant air temperature.
It was perhaps the picture perfect image of a green, grassy field. An almost unrealistic ideal of one.
Which is probably because it was.
BANG
A shadowy figure staggered as a magic bullet struck its figure.
"That was better, but try to condense your magical energy more."
"Y-yes, Archer!"
King sat down on the grass as he watched the other master and his servant train on practice dummies, shadow servants, the operators called them. Imitations of servants that are available on Chaldea's database.
Apparently, even though the functions of the simulator were damaged from the attack, it still has enough capacity for simple mock battles.
Right now, Archer and Ritsuka were going up against the shadows of the servants they faced in the previous singularity, Saber and Rider, to be precise. Another thing of note was Ritsuka's outfit, having changed into a black and white bodysuit of sorts. A different mystic code, according to the operators.
'...Wait, now that I think about it, shouldn't I get one too?' If his memory serves, mystic codes are basically magic staffs of sorts. Wouldn't that be a pretty big help?
"Where are you going, master?" Karna asked, seeing his master standing up and walking away from the field.
"Oh, I'm just-"
"By the way Archer, how do these mystic codes work?"
"Hm? Well, there are a lot of types of mystic codes, but the outfits you're wearing specifically have a set of spells that you just need to pump magical energy to do."
"Aren't I just a civilian though?"
"Yes, your magic circuits are nowhere near high enough quality nor amounts to practically do magecraft, but you're still technicallya mage."
"Huh. So you still need to be a mage to use these mystic codes…"
"Yeah, otherwise you can't pump any magical energy, which means no spells."
…
King sat back down. "No, nevermind, Karna. It's… nothing, not anymore." King could see the slightest hint of confusion in his servant's expression, who otherwise stayed silent.
King sighed in disappointment. Should've known it wouldn't be that easy.
BOOM
Another blast could be heard from the field. A magic bullet hit the Rider servant once again, this time causing it to fall on its back.
"...That's good enough, for now. Keep practicing, master. Gandr is a simple but very practical spell, as you saw with the director." Archer said, neither praise nor scolding, merely acknowledgement.
"Yeah… Thanks… Archer…" Ritsuka said between gasps of breath.
"You two want a turn?" Archer turned to the other master-servant pair.
"Very well. Shall we, master?"
Oh Well, no harm in polishing up.
Ritsuka watched with bated breath as King and Karna effortlessly dominated the imitations of Berserker and Assassin.
Neither the simulated heat of the sun nor the battle seemed to bother either man. King gave commands as if it was second nature, barely a gap between the enemy's movements and his words, while Karna executed his orders without fail nor delay, inflicting severe damage to their opponents.
"I knew it, King is on a different level…" Ritsuka whispered under his breath.
The younger master did his best to observe the more experienced master, trying to absorb any knowledge his conduct could provide. However, the gap between their skills was too wide, leaving Ritsuka struggling to even tell King's thinking process.
"I agree."
Archer's voice turned Ritsuka's attention to his servant, who was leaning on the tree..
"He's experienced as a commandant, but he is still able to perform in the frontlines as well, even against the likes of King Arthur."
"Not to mention, even when battling servants alongside his own, he has yet to show his magecraft, deeming them unnecessary."
"These qualities undoubtedly make him the ideal master for this crisis." Archer said, finishing his analysis.
"Mhm…" Ritsuka grunted and nodded, missing Archer's judging yet melancholic gaze towards him.
Slash
With a sweeping arc of his spear, Karna dispatched the two shadow servants. Sheathing his weapon, he walked back towards Ritsuka and Archer, followed by King.
"To masters Fujimaru Ritsuka and King, please come to the summoning chamber." The voice of Da Vinci blared through Chaldea's PA system, interrupting the group.
"Well, guess that's our cue." Ritsuka said, dusting himself off the ground.
King stretched his body as he walked alongside his companions.
Honestly, he still didn't know how to feel about being a master. Equating it to a player controlling a character works well in controlled situations like back at the simulator, but messy battlefields like when Karna fought Heracles is a different story.
Well, he should be fine when it comes to smaller battles. Maybe he should just leave it all to Karna when it gets tough.
"Oh hey, you're all here!" Romani greeted as they entered the summoning chamber. The room was filled with some staff, along with…
"Hey, Mash!" "Senpai!" Ritsuka and Mash greeted each other, before immediately breaking into a conversation. Whew, King could already the string of fate tying them up together.
"So why did you call us, Roman?" King asked the doctor.
"Let me explain." Da Vinci suddenly said, appearing behind Romani, eliciting a yelp from the poor man.
"When you resolved that singularity, it would seem that a burst of energy from its erasure came back as you all were rayshifted back, which crystallized into these." Da Vinci gestured towards the pile of rainbow-colored, star-shaped rocks sitting on Romani's table.
"Saint Quartz?" King asked. Those were the things they used to summon Karna and Archer, right? There were quite a lot on the table, probably around 20 or maybe even 30.
"Yep, precisely. You could probably tell why we called you here, then."
King nodded his head. So more servants, hm? It's great to have more allies on their side, but managing Karna is already quite a pain, so he had rather mixed feelings about this.
"Well, without further ado, set it up, Mash!" Da Vinci ordered.
Mash nodded before summoning her shield and planting it in the center of the room, lighting up the area with the same blue light as before.
"More heroes, huh? Say, is there a way to summon specific servants?" Ritsuka questioned as he inspected the rocks.
"In typical summoning rituals, catalysts can be used to summon a servant that are connected to the catalyst used, but I'm guessing that Chaldea doesn't have any." Archer answered as he glanced at the shield in the center.
"Aha, yeah you're exactly right, Archer. Sorry, King, Ritsuka, we're gonna have to go in blind." Romani apologetically said to the masters.
"Well, shall we begin?" Romani asked.
With the help of the staff and their servants, King and Ritsuka placed the rocks in the middle of the shield.
"Alright, commence the summoning process!" Romani ordered the staff.
As King repeated the chant he did in the singularity, a thought came to his mind.
'Isn't this just like gacha?'
A flash of rainbow filled the chamber.
This is just filler.
Yeah, sorry but there's nothing really exciting here, it's just a setup for the next chapter, which is also going to be filler, but with a bit more flavor to it.
Anyway these are Intermissions. They're basically going to be the chapters inbetween singularities. There's not gonna be a lot for now, since there aren't a lot of servants yet, but in the future there could be up to like, 10 of these in a single gap. For now it's just this chapter and the next.
Also, I'm going to be inserting OCs here and there as the story goes on. They're not going to be super important, they'll probably even play next to no role during singularities, they're just there to fill in the staff so I can write human-servant dynamics in Intermissions. This chapter already introduced some actually, just unnamed.
Later.