Author Note
Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Avalon Bond.
Not much to comment on about last chapter, so let's get a move on, shall we!
Avalon Bond
Part II – Fate Grand Order
Chapter 46 – Camelot Part V
Beta: Axel Emiya
After the light of Rhongomyniad was dealt with by Arash's arrow, the villagers worked quickly in salvaging what was left after Lancelot's attack.
Shirou, Mash, Ritsuka and Serenity worked double shifts in respectfully making dinner and rebuilding some of the destroyed tents for the rest. Meanwhile, Mordred, Arturia and Da Vinci merely observed as Bedivere entered the Shrine of Azrael where apparently the so-called "First Hassan" or "Old Man of the Mountain" was located. It was originally suggested that the others would join in convincing the Grand Assassin servant to join their cause, but Bedivere insisted on going in alone for some unfathomable reason. Certainly, Mordred had voiced her suspicions, immediately.
"Huh, I wonder why the bastard was insisting on going alone!?" Arturia was of the same doubt as well, with the name calling excluded.
"It does contradict with Sir Bedivere's character to be this secretive about his intentions."
When Arturia asked, the man had bowed in respect, but remained firm in his intent to go by himself only. Arturia had so far kept it to herself and Shirou that Bedivere's stone arm was actually Excalibur. When she heard it through their shared link, the King of Knights was quite surprised and her suspicious level arose, immediately. In her timeline, Bedivere had been ordered to take the sword back to the Lady of the Lake and although he had hesitated to do so a couple of times, he ended up fulfilling her order.
The difference was clear that perhaps this singularity was caused because Bedivere had not fulfilled this version of King Arhtur's order, no matter how many times she had ordered him to do so. Another curious aspect was that Bedivere was never known to have knowledge in magecraft, practically none whatsoever. As such, he couldn't have the ability to hide the Holy Sword like this.
The King of Knights could only tsk in annoyance, as the possible culprit behind this entire thing popped up in her mind with that irritating laughter of his.
"What is it, father?" Arturia looked sideways in surprise as she ended up being quite transparent about her annoyance.
"It's nothing, Mordred! Let's see if Shirou needs our help for the time being."
The Knight of Betrayal looked at her father's clear ill attempt to hide her annoyance and only chuckled in amusement.
Ever since meeting her once more, Mordred became familiarized with one Arturia Pendragon, instead of the image of King Arthur. Arturia would blush every now and then when mother complimented her on something. She would show an annoyed expression when Olga or Romani said something either irrelevant or complexly unnecessary. Or when she became visibly irritated at Mother's other timeline version as the man constantly enjoyed getting under father's skin from time to time. Although, Mordred was still due to seeing Arturia being truly enraged at something or someone.
Mother once told her bits and pieces about the so-called King of Heroes named Gilgamesh and how the man irked father to no end.
She really wanted to see that only remaining emotion from her father as Mordred ran to catch up with Arturia.
"Oi wait for me! I really hope that mother is finished with dinner, I am starving."
===With Bedivere===
It didn't take long for Bedivere to locate the shrine where the First Assassin stood.
The so-called shrine was actually a considerable indoor area, with no decoration whatsoever, aside from dim fire torches sprawled throughout the walls. The torches alone barely illuminated the area, but it was enough for the Knight of the Round Table to spot the presence in the middle of the room. The menacing aura of the First Assassin was quite nerve-wracking. The blue flames of his sword were menacing alone, without counting on the skull head and the menacing eyes – which seemed more like small blue embers - that could look straight through Bedivere's soul.
The knight felt like he was being judged the second he stepped foot inside the spacious room.
Before Bedivere could even speak his mind, however, he felt the hair at the back of his head stand up. His body felt heavy and his lungs felt like it stopped functioning.
His sight became a blur and his throat suddenly was simply too dry to even mount the words to indulge what was going on.
His mind had immediately conjured the very memory that traumatized him to no end. The memory of King Arhthr's favorite Knight observing the deadly injured King Arthur, before kneeling on the ground and extending his hands to receive the sword Excalibur with the sole purpose of returning it to the Lake.
Despite feeling the weight of First Hassan's judgement, Bedivere's trauma and anger was simply too much as the man found the strength to smash both arms on the ground, while tears started falling. Despite seeing another version of King Arthur and how her version ended up being different, Bedivere's pain and trauma hadn't lessened. That King Arthur was not the same as the one he served. No matter if the footsteps are almost identical, Bedivere's King Arthur was the one they were now facing against.
"Heaven sends a message to you…" Bedivere felt his body weight lessen as he looked upward to see the menacing Assassin's glare focused on him.
"Why…why am I seeing this? Why are you showing me this…my greatest regret!?"
"Knight who has lost his way…you have one way and one way only to free your lord…however, if you do take it, I will personally entrap your soul for all eternity." The First Assassin allowed that to sink in in the Knight's mind, before complementing. "Even still, after hearing that and knowing about your fate, your mind is still set on achieving your goal? Know that you shall be forever trapped, unable to wake up anymore." Bedivere slowly but surely rose from his kneeling position as he felt the weight of the entity's words.
"It's…my duty…the only way I could…it's my redemption for the atrocities I committed towards my king."
The First Assassin could only snort at the notion, while his glare never left the Knight in front of him.
"Then, your determination must be shown to those who live under the light…falter once…show hesitation and your duty shall not be fulfilled…nor will you receive the help of my Sword of Judgement."
The meeting itself was rather short, but only for those who had yet to feel the pressure of the Assassin's stare. For Bedivere, it felt like hours passed by, even though it was mere minutes. When he left the Shrine of Azrael, he felt like his energy was completely dried up as the man had only enough energy to walk away from the King and her son's curious gaze, wondering what happened inside. His steps were heavy, but he needed some time alone to ponder on what he had heard from the Old Man of the Mountain.
He found a most suitable place in the mountains, almost literally facing the full moon to ponder on his resolve…his determination to do what needs to be done.
Still, even now…even now he wondered if he now has what it takes to go all the way…because what going all the way means. What he must do…whose blood his hands must be stained with in order to fulfill his goal.
Those hands went immediately to cover his face in an ill-fated attempt to hide his uneasiness.
"Would you stop it already with the moping…for heaven's sake…it's making me sick just watching it."
Bedivere looked surprised, before turning to see Mordred's annoyed expression with her arms crossed.
"I don't have anything to say to you, Mordred. Just…leave me be." The Knight of Betrayal snorted as Bedivere tried facing the giant moon in front of him.
"Hmm, you are just as annoying right now as you were back then. Always sucking up to father like a lost puppy…" Mordred had her eyes closed, but opened up briefly to see that her fellow knight wasn't not bothered by her initial jab. She smiled, enjoying herself immensely. "I can also see that while you may not be the same Bedivere from my timeline, you still behave the same way. Even now, when it's quite clear that your intention is." Bedivere's eyes widened as he turned to the King's son.
"What are you talking about?" Once more, Mordred snorted.
"Please, it's almost insulting that you would belittle my intelligence, here…" Mordred turned in derision, ignoring Bedivere's eyes beginning to bulge out of its sockets.
"You must remember who you are talking to! The one who was close to a few hundred years ago, was in your very shoes. The very one responsible for killing King Arthur, yours truly, and being considered the one responsible for the Camelot's fall." She could see that Bedivere was once more lost in his own little world and she could only sigh at the man's pathetic weakness. "God, do I really need to spell it out for your sorry little ass…yes, I know that you intend on killing the King! Just like I did, back then! God, it's like looking at myself in the mirror!" Bedivere once more looked at his hand as he imagined the king's blood soaking it. "The only question that remains is the reason…I couldn't for the life of me fathom why the King's favorite Knight would want to do such a thing…"
The white-haired knight then saw Mordred's smug look. "Unless something happened in this timeline that didn't happen in mine."
"I don't have to explain myself. Like you said, you were the one responsible for the King's downfall. You just wouldn't understand my position."
The Knight of Betrayal kept up a plain stare at the notion.
"Well, I will venture a guess here and assume that what happened to me in your timeline was the same, right…after father used his holy spear to kill me, I managed to deliver a killing blow in retaliation." Bedivere looked at Mordred for a while, before turning at the moon.
"Yes. I had witnessed the exact moment." Mordred had stopped trying to goad him this time.
"…hence why I didn't know what could have happened between you and father, after the battle ended." Bedivere looked conflicted at this point.
Like it or not, he was talking to someone who lived through the same memories as he did…and like it or not, like Mordred said, he was right now walking through his very now footsteps, ironically so. In a strange sense, Bedivere began to feel his restraints loosen a bit. He began to see the Knight of Betrayal in a different light of sorts. For as Bedivere understood the influence that the King's sister played in Mordred's upbringing and later on, how her hatred escalated in the final moments that happened with the Battle of Camlann as a final consequence.
"…I had taken the King far away from the battle in hopes to take care of the wound you have given him…but the King already understood that his time was about to end shortly…it was a fatal wound, after all."
"Huh, of course, it was…what do you take me for!?" Bedivere looked annoyed both at the comment and at the interruption.
"The only thing the King asked of me, back then, was to deliver the sword to the Lady of the Lake." Mordred looked on in surprise…this must have happened minutes after her death. "But you and I both know what would happen once I did what the King ordered of me." The Knight of Betrayal, for once, kept quiet, knowing it. "I…couldn't do it and the King saw my hesitation clearly. In all his righteousness, he had only shown a peaceful smile at me and urged me to fulfill his last order."
Mordred looked on in realization.
"You never did it, did you?" You didn't return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake." Mordred could see the man's hands shake as his sin became visible to the Knight of Treachery.
"No…I couldn't…I…no." It became clear to the Knight of Treachery the difference regarding what happened to her father and this King Arthur that now became the enemy.
"So now you plan to kill the King in a vague attempt to correct your mistake." Bedivere kept his eyes closed and simply nodded.
He started listening to a strange noise and opened up his eyes in alarm at something he thought he would never witness.
The noise of the Knight of Betrayal's high pitched laughter echoing throughout the canyon.
"HHHHHHAaAAAAAAA, oh my god, that's freaking hilarious! Hhahahhsahaaa…I am having trouble holding it together here…" Indeed, tears were falling from her eyes.
"You are as irritable now as back then, Sir Mordred."
Mordred had said nothing in reply and just kept on holding her stomach, while walking away just as Shirou appeared.
"Oh hey Mordred, Arturia asked me to call you…but…why are you laughing?" Mordred though just kept on walking away, to catch up with the hilarious irony in this singularity.
"…it's nothing mother…ahhahhahaahahh!" Shirou sweat dropped as she kept on laughing while walking away and clutching her stomach.
Shirou then turned to Bedivere who was looking at Mordred's back and then turned to his usual introspective suffering.
Shirou really couldn't know what was going on, but followed Mordred and left Bedivere alone. He had an entire village to both feed and tend to, after all.
===Next Day===
Even though they managed to fend off Lancelot's initial attack on the villagers, it became evident that Chaldea alone could not hope to defeat the Lion King's army and her knights.
At least, not without a suitable army that could help them.
As such, despite some in the group disagreeing, allying themselves with the Sun King and bending a knee to the Pharoah was inevitable if they wished to fix this singularity. Of course, Mordred presented her opposition, but the Knight of Betrayal also couldn't come up with a better plan that would allow them to get inside Camelot, deal with the Lion King's Knights and the Lion King herself. So travelling back to their city was the plan, while the Hassans took care of the villagers' and tended to their wounds.
As luck would have it, however, the group was assaulted by a great sand torment, in the middle of the path towards the city where the pharaoh was residing.
The lack of visibility added by the wind's strength practically hindered the group's movement. Mash was covering Ritsuka with her shield, while the rest used their arms to shield their eyes from the sand.
"Huh, just our luck, having to fend off this shit storm!?"
Mordred practically shouted and this time, only this time, Arturia couldn't find in herself to correct her son.
"Call me crazy, but I don't believe this to be a natural phenomenon…"
Da Vinci looked around with as much difficulty, but she could find small traces of magecraft sprawled throughout the sand.
"Is it possible that King Ozymandias's power could reach this far…I mean, this is probably his land we are stepping in, right now." Arturia said as she turned to Shirou. "You can't see anything past this storm?"
"A bit, but it's the same as when we first crossed this desert. Da Vinci may be right, though…this storm should have passed us by now, but it's concentrating around us."
Arturia then saw a thinking pose coming from her fiancée.
"What is it?" She was looking at him strangely when he gave her a nostalgic laugh.
"I could just imagine Tohsaka looking at me with that know-it-all look on her face, calling me an idiot for not doing this sooner."
Arturia was still wondering what he was on about, before he clarified.
"If this sandstorm is created through magecraft, then we could get rid of it, through the use of magecraft or in this case an elemental spell."
In a different pocket dimension, one Zelretch was busy chuckling in amusement at his apprentice, while Rin was screaming at Shirou, promising bloody murder about his comment, when they next meet. The group from Chaldea soon stopped once they saw Shirou summon a twin katana, before passing fire magecraft through its metal. Focusing enough energy to send the fire beams towards the sky, Shirou then slashed through the sandstorm in front of them. The insurmountable heat created by his magecraft was enough to turn the sand around them into small pieces of glass.
The density of the material became quite heavy and soon it became a rain of shining glass falling easily around them, before the scorching sun appeared with clear skies.
"Quite crafty of you, signore….using fire in conjunction with sand to create glass…I didn't peg you for a scientist, Shirou."
The samurai servant nodded at the praise, though he amended.
"It was just something I learned in school a long time ago."
"That was incredible, Shirou-taichou. Now, we can march forwa….aaa…."
Mash was taking her steps while walking, but as soon as she did so, she had fallen inside a hole, vanishing from view.
"Wha…" The others would have screamed for her name, if the pitfall trap hadn't opened up beneath their feet as well.
===Unknown Location===
The group had fallen for quite a while, before all of them landed at the same time, inside what appeared to be a dark room.
Still, it didn't seem like anyone became seriously hurt, at least not until…
"Alright, I felt someone grab my butt, once I find out who, I will cut your head off!" It didn't appear that anyone would come forward, however.
"It's not like anyone could control where we fell, Mordred. Whoever did it, didn't have the intention." Arturia chided her son, while getting up.
Her link with Shirou aiding her about his position, while Ritsuka was busy trembling a bit at Mordred's threat.
"Alright, I think everyone is here, isn't it? It's too dark to tell for sure, but I heard seven separate thuds." Da Vinci said as she looked around. "Shirou, could you use your sword as a torch for us?"
"Yes, sure."
As soon as he did so, the room got into shape for everyone to see…it was a dungeon of sorts, but as soon as Shirou did so, everyone got into battle position, upon seeing an eighth presence.
"Oh, interesting…I was about to offer to turn on the lights, but you have beat me to it…" The new presence was dressed quite elegantly for a servant in this era and location. The clothing style was similar to the one used by Dr. Henry Jekyll in the London Singularity. The man wore a white shirt underneath a gray vest, ending with an overcoat. A pipe could be seen on his right hand, as well as white gloves. Around the servant, a few lenses that surrounded him like mystic codes.
"And who might you be, if I may ask?" The new servant looked at Da Vinci with a smirk.
"Sherlock Holmes at your service…" The name itself brought a gasp with Mash, Ritsuka and Shirou while the others looked completely unaware. "I must say that it's quite a privilege and honor to meet the great Leonardo da Vinci."
"Oh…so you know of me just from looking alone…how interesting." Sherlock nodded with a smile as he looked around.
"Of course, there is no secret I can't uncover…as a matter of fact…wow, quite a crowd we have here…Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash Kyirelight…oh my…I now find myself inclined to kneel…the great King Arhtur in person, followed by his son, Sir Mordred and Sir Bedivere. Kindred spirits from the previous times but the same home land as my own. I have to say, though, the image of the King of Knights is quite different, though not unprecedented. I trust that Chaldea has seen plenty of different versions throughout the singularities." As Holmes kept on talking, Mash and the others kept on gawking in surprise.
When Holmes looked at Shirou, however, the best detective in the world frowned at the mystery before him.
"I have to say, though, I am finding it hard gathering the pieces of your puzzle." The lenses all focused on Shirou as Holmes continued. "I can see different gentlemen staring back at me…a swordsmith that hailed from Ancient Japan, Senji Muramasa...a regular spellcaster by the name of Emiya Shirou and even a Counter-Guardian in the service of Alaya from a distant future, one that became a Servant in plenty of Grail Wars in different times and dimensions."
Shirou had met plenty of history figures in these singularities that expressed the same as Holmes right now with Zelretch being the first.
"Indeed, Mr. Holmes, it is as you can see, though I could ask the same thing of you…in my timeline, you happen to be a character from a novel."
Holmes merely smirked at that, while Arturia completed.
"It's not irregular for the Grail to summon a character from a novel, Shirou…like the Assassin from our Grail War." Shirou nodded, wondering about that.
"True, but was that Medea's doing or the Grail's? Either way, we are digressing here. So, Mr. Holmes, just where is this place?"
"Before we do that, I wonder…our link to Chaldea is severed. I can't talk to Romani." Holmes nodded as he began his explanation.
"Indeed, it's by design that your communication is severed for the time being. The reason shall be presented soon enough…now, welcome everyone to the wondrous mysteries of the Atlas Institute!" The detective ignored Da Vinci's look in surprise at the mention as he continued. "Indeed, Mr. Leonardo…the very same…information awaits us in our journey. I shall guide you to the central area of this Institute for I too have business there. It's not too far from our location, about half a mile underground and we are there, but the path twists and folds over itself, so stay close to me, alright." The group saw as the new servant turned and began to walk with Mash following close behind.
"Ah Mr. Holmes, sir…" the detective smiled at the little girl following him like a fan.
"Yes Ms. Kyrielight…I have to say, meeting you in person is quite better than through information…" The shielder servant looked at him in question as the group followed behind. "In London, I had organized most of the needed information and left it in the Mage's Association, but not all of it from fear of the enemy finding out. I trusted that Mr. Andersen with his keen edge and scholar graduation could find out the rest to be of Chaldea's assistance." Mash looked at the man in surprise as they remembered what happened back then.
"Wow, so you were there as well, Mr. Holmes…but why? Why were you summoned and why did you not present yourself to us, back then?"
"My main interest, Ms. Kyieright, was to solve the case, nothing more. I merely aided Chaldea in order to solve the murder case. Presenting myself to you would serve no purpose, whatsoever. Just like in this Singularity, I am merely here to solve mysteries, not engage in a battle royale against enemies. I have little interest in justice or honor." Mash merely looked at the man as she remembered from the books she used to read together with Dr. Romani.
The group travelled far underground, having to face off a couple of defenses set up by the Atlas Institute, meant to entrap those that attempted to find the center.
Still, it wasn't enough to deter the group, who had the guidance of the world's best detective.
Soon, the group all managed to reach the center…a magnanimous room with quite modern design, looking like the inside of Chaldea organization, with three pillars located in the center.
The area was massive enough and even had the image of the sky on top of it, amazingly enough since they were deep underground.
"Wow, so this is the center of the Atlas Institute? It looks just like Chaldea!" Holmes nodded at Ritsuka's comparison.
"Quite an apt comparison, Fujimaru…indeed, for Chaldea's entire system is based on the system you see before you." Mash and Ritsuka looked in awe, while Da Vinci looked introspective, already conjuring scenarios in her mind. "That obelisk in the center is the Atlas Institute's greatest recording medium. A Pseudo-Spiritron Calculation Engine dubbed Tri-Hermes. This is the original system Chaldea based it on." The group then walked towards the pillars in the middle of the room, as Holmes kept his focus on the pillars.
"So, I venture you are familiar with its functionality, Mr. Holmes? Aside from guiding us here, you and you alone must know the correct words or spells necessary to get a hold of the necessary information."
"Indeed, King of Knights, you are correct as I happen to have the access rights to the Tri-Hermes's information, though I feel a little sorry to use it without the staff's permission."
"So, get going already…huh, to think that I would meet another obnoxious genius, that takes too long to get to the point. That midget with glasses got on my damn nerves."
Holmes merely chuckled at Mordred's apt description.
"Oh, how impatient you are, Knight of Betrayal…but please don't mistreat Mr. Andersen like that…I reckon, though, that his story-telling methods rather leave the reader always wanting more."
Mordred, though, merely snorted.
"Tch…I am getting a headache, already."
"Duly noted, now for our first order of business, hmmm, yes what happened to the Holy Grail War that happened in Fuyuki, Japan, 2004…" Shirou and Arturia exchanged eyes for a while, wondering if the man knew anything about their wars, but neither said anything. Zelretch did express that this dimension's let's say error began with the Holy Grail War. The one where they encountered a dark version of Saber, the one event that started this mess. "You may wonder that I am referring to the first Singularity, the one where Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash joined forces as master and servant. But, it's not. There was another Grail War and one of the mages happened to be the very man responsible for Chaldea's creation."
"You mean…" Holmes nodded at Mash.
"Yes, Olga's father, Marisbury Animusphere. The data shows that he had triumphed over the other mages and had won the Holy Grail. As to what he wished for, that will remain a mystery, however. The Chaldea Observatory became a reality soon afterward, meaning that the man must have acquired a sizable fortune. With it, he managed to establish the Heroic Spirit Summoning System and the Rayshift Technology that made it possible to not just observe the past, but to also intervene in other time periods. Of course, the data shows plenty of intel, many of which it's proving to be quite interesting, indeed."
To the more astute mind, it seemed to be that Holmes was withholding important pieces of information.
However, in regards to the singularity in hand, knowing about what happened back in 2004 appeared to be quite irrelevant, at least for the time being.
The Detective looked straight at Da Vinci for a while as if considering something. Despite cutting the link to Chaldea, Da Vinci was still Romani's servant, meaning that going into detail about his suspicions about him right now would defeat the purpose. In the end, even though Holmes had doubts about the good Doctor, precisely from the intel he acquired here, the master and his servants are more than equipped to navigate through the rest of the singularities and face the one known as King Solomon, the Kind of Mages.
"Ah Mr. Holmes…" The English detective turned in surprise to see Mash looking at him. "You kind of spaced out a bit, just now."
"Oh did I, my apologies." Holmes ignored Arturia's immediate narrowing of her eyebrows at the dismissal as the man began his explanation once more. "Anyhow, the data about the Fuyuki Grail War does not bring me the conclusion I had hoped…" a straight out lie, but in this case, moving on is the best course of action. "However, on another subject, it appears that the tri-hermes did help me solve a different mystery and it involves you Ms. Kyrielight…" The shielder servant looked on in surprise.
"Me…I don't follow." Holmes nodded.
"Indeed, considering your nature as a pseudo-servant, it became clear the first time I laid eyes on you that you are still due to reach the full power of your noble phantasm, aren't you?" To that, Mash suddenly deflated.
"Yes, even though Shirou-taichou and Arturia-taichou are training me to become stronger, I am still not strong enough…and I am still due to know the name of the spirit that helped me and Senpai."
"Raise your head, Mash…carrying yourself proudly is the only possible path as you had done so ever since the beginning."
The shielder servant turned to see Arturia approach and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's after all quite fitting, perhaps, to know that the great King Arthur has been responsible for your tutelage, Ms. Kyrielight…" Everyone turned to Holmes as he crossed his arms. "…For as the instrument you hold in your hand proudly may look like a shield, but it's foremost a relic from the Round Table…or more precisely, King Arhtur's Round Table. Now, listen well, Ms. Kyrielight…the second Heroic Spirit summoned when you were young, the only successful result of Chaldea's Heroic Spirit Fusion Experiment…the one who lamented the inhumane experiments of Chaldea, but still stayed to save you. His name is Galahad, Sir Galahad, one of the Knights of the Round Table!"
As soon as Holmes announced the name of the spirit that fused with Mash, the shielder servant felt her energy leave her body and fell on the ground, unconscious.
===Inside Mash's mind===
Lying down, the shielder servant had her eyes closed.
Her eyes widened as soon she heard the loud noise of water drop echoing in the clearing. Looking around, the sky was completely dark and the surface she was lying on looked more like a crystalline lake of sorts.
She looked around, wondering where she was…there was no sight of the others nor the Atlas Institute where she was just seconds ago.
"I have been waiting for this moment, Mash…" The shielder servant turned abruptly to the sweet kind voice that came from her back. As soon as she turned, she became face to face with the spirit that fused with her. With hair color similar to her own, a kind facial expression added by a serene smile. Even though their outfits were different, Mash could see similarities. "I see that Mr. Holmes has finally given you the key necessary for us to finally meet."
Mash was still astonished at the presence this warrior emitted.
Strong but overall kind…gentle natured, calm with a resolute expression…she could see a mix of Arturia and Shirou in him.
"Sir Galahad…" The spirit in question nodded, before seeing the girl open up a smile, before bowing in appreciation. "I always wanted to say thank you…it's because of you that I was able to save senpai…it's because of you that I met Arturia and Shirou-taichou and so many others…you were the one that rescued me, Sir Galahad and I am so happy." Galahad chuckled at the girl in front of him. "To meet the heroic spirit who believed in me…who believed that I was worth saving."
"You are mistaken, Mash…" Mash became confused when the knight closed his eyes for a while, before opening it slowly. "It wasn't I who believed in you…the moment Ritsuka grabbed your hand and stood by you, even if unconsciously, you reached out to me. Your desire to live…your desire to see the starry sky…to have new experiences….to learn more about yourself, past an experiment from Chaldea. At that point, it became clear that I just couldn't let you die. So, as much as I condemned Chaldea for what they did to you, I just couldn't let you die, Mash." Mash observed as Galahad approached her and with his hands, he held her hands to show it to her eyes.
The shielder servant observed her hand as she remembered the time when Senpai held her own with his two hands.
At this point, tears of joy came out of her eyes as the experiences that she was able to live passed in front of her eyes.
But most of all, the smile from senpai would forever be a dear memory.
"It seems everything happened as you predicted, Sir Galahad." Mash looked back in surprise to see Arturia and Shirou materialize, both with a smile at her.
"My King…" Mash saw the spirit kneel next to her with a salute. "It was also due to your and Sir Shirou's tutelage that she became strong enough and for that you have my gratitude."
Mash locked eyes with her captains and both knew what was passing through her head right now.
"You knew…about Sir Galahad…but…" The disappointment was clear in her eyes, before Galahad placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I asked them not to tell you, Mash…" The lilac servant turned to him as he explained. "…without the needed experience you gathered, without their training, knowing about me wouldn't be enough…you wouldn't be able to utilize your noble phantasm to its full capacity." Mash looked downcast at that for a while, before Arturia commanded her once more to look forward in pride, earning a chuckle from Galahad. The King was indeed stern, but her charisma would always inspire her subjects to greatness.
"Mash…" she then turned to Shirou's voice. "Ever since we first met, you have shown us how much your growth and determination is. Remember what Arturia said to you at the beginning…"
She searched her mind to remember the King's words after she first awakened her incomplete Noble Phantasm.
"Yes, the shield is a weapon that should be yielded with pride and conviction. Always remember about the desire to protect when you activate it and full strength will come to you eventually." Galahad nodded, remembering the King's words both in the first singularity and when they first met in Camelot.
"Indeed. The experience you acquired has brought you to this place, Mash…the relic in your hands is only as powerful as your will to protect."
Mash summoned the shield relic, earning a nod from Galahad.
"Thank you once more…Sir Galahad."
She bowed to the spirit and then she bowed at Shirou and Arturia in true appreciation for what they had done to her.
===Back at the Atlas Institute===
When Mash next opened her eyes back at the Singularity, she was on the ground, as Ritsuka was grabbing her hand just like he did back then.
"Mash, are you alright!?" The lilac servant looked at his frantic eyes, full of concern for her as she smiled.
"I am fine, senpai…I…the news had just caught me by surprise, that's all. I apologize for making you worry."
Ritsuka and Bedivere both helped her get up, before she turned briefly to Shirou and Arturia with a subtle nod.
"Wow, you gave us quite a scare there, it wasn't my intention, Ms.…and I apologize." Now awakened, a fully invigorated Mash Kyrielight only smiled at the detective.
"It's okay…I appreciate you telling me, Mr. Holmes. It's been a while since I wanted to know about his identity and thank him for saving me and saving Senpai. I just hope that I can do right by him."
"There is no doubt in my mind…now, it appears that the Hermes is losing power, so I am afraid we shall only get one last answer from the system…at least the one true answer we need to fix this Singularity…the true nature of the Lion King's Rhongomyniad!" Holmes's tone brought everyone on edge as all eyes landed on Arturia's.
Author Note
Well, that's it for now. Man, I am truly sorry for taking this long. This chapter was supposed to be up and ready before New Years. I apologize once more.
From now on, I expect the chapters will be updated faster.
So, a couple of changes occurred in this chapter, compared to both the Visual Novel and the movie. The scene between Bedivere and Mordred was something I took a shot at and as I wrote it, it started making sense. After all, Mordred would know more than anyone the signs of someone who is about to commit the sin of killing the King. Also, I wanted to make a scene with Mash and Galahad for quite a long time. It all culminated to this very moment. The previous conversations between Galahad and Arturia…the training…the experiences…it all served a purpose to make Mash reach her full potential in this Singularity.
Well, I believe that in another chapter or two I can finish this Singularity and move on to the last one.
Lastly, I have recently created a P-atreon account for those who wish to follow my stories more personally, sending suggestions and occasional polls to help me.
Also for those who wish to make a pledge there, it will be highly appreciated.
P-atreon Account: Anime-Enthusiast
Next update: Cursed Eyes