031 - Eyes on the Goal

Olga Marie Animusphere

It had taken much too long for her tastes, but the event that would be filed as the 'Water Nymph Incident' and remain classified until the heat death of the universe was finally over. As the only member of Chaldea who bore witness to the whole event, it fell upon her to update the rest of the crew once they were allowed to return to the Command Center.

Because of course these two had to somehow achieve something relevant while taking a bath and she couldn't simply sweep the whole incident under the rug.

"In the end, Berserker Rider was too deep under the control of the Dragon Witch to break free and asked to be terminated on her own will." She finishes her heavily redacted report. "The exploration team is currently rushing towards Lyon, hoping to make contact with Siegfried before the Dragon Witch can figure out their intentions and move to intercept."

"..." For some reason, her account is met with incredulous silence. "..."

"... What!?" She asks after a while, starting to feel (self-conscious) annoyed at the way everyone's looking at her.

"Nothing, Lady Director." One of the operators finally speaks up with a sigh. "I'm just marveling at what these two can get up to in just a couple hours unsupervised."

"Their luck is certainly off the charts." Olga begrudgingly concedes. "I can't even begrudge the final results, but it doesn't really help our stress levels."

It's a bitch to account for, too. Not that she'd ever be so crass as to say such a thing out loud.

"Indeed, extraordinary individuals are a given in extraordinary circumstances like these!" Caster cheerfully pipes in. "I wouldn't be surprised if we met again in the Throne of Heroes, after everything's said and done."

"You're out of line, Caster." Olga snaps with a grunt. The last thing she wants to deal with is the implication that they might not survive the Grand Oder. "Don't jinx it."

"You know?" Roman butts into the conversation in his usual idle tone. He probably didn't even notice how his interruption cut off Olga's fouling mood, must be nice being that carefree. "One has to wonder how this Siegfried managed to remain hidden, when the Dragon Witch can detect the presence of Servants all over France."

"Don't be daft. That's because…" …Wait a minute.

"Lady Director?" Noticing the growing frown on Olga's face, Roman sits up straighter. "Is there something wrong?"

"..." If you could pinpoint the location of any Servant in the entirety of France, how would you miss the continued existence of the one you set out specifically to take out of the fight?

"... He didn't escape her notice at all, did he?" Oh, look. The answer was so obvious that even Roman could figure it out on his own.

Indeed, it doesn't matter how she looks at it. "I don't see how he could, no."

"...This is a trap, isn't it?"

"I don't see what else it could be, no." Olga nods with a sigh. "Send priority scans all over the road to Lyon and especially the city itself. If a worm wiggles funny, I want to know about it yesterday. And open a priority line to the exploration team, we have to warn them of the danger."

Mashu Kyrielight

Traveling down the road to Lyon ended up being a rather stressful affair. Speed was still their main priority, but Olga's worries about a trap meant they had to be cautious in fear of walking straight into an ambush. In the end, nothing happened, but Mashu can only shiver at the prospect of what could've happened if they had gone with their original plan of throwing caution to the wind and rely on their unpredictability, only to be caught unawares by some dastardly plan when they were most vulnerable.

Thankfully, the Olga noticed the inconsistencies in their strategy and made sure to warn them before they could make a potentially fatal mistake. As expected of the Lady Director, really.

"Alright, we're reaching Lyon." Senpai announces as the city roofs come into sight over the next hill. "And we haven't stumbled into anything suspicious so far. You know what that means."

It's kind of amazing how Senpai isn't even winded after keeping pace with a group of Servants for so long. That is, the maids don't seem particularly winded either, but they are supposed to be custom-made, genetically-engineered super-maids according to Bathory-san, so that might explain it.

Haku-senpai is just an all-around amazing person for no other reason than being amazing. That's really neat.

"You expect the trap to be waiting for us in the city proper?" Sella-san easily guesses what Senpai means, as expected of a super-maid. Everyone here is kind of amazing( except Mashu herself). "That would make sense, assuming there's a trap at all."

"Better to plan for what won't happen than happen into what wasn't planned!" Bonaparte-san replies with a deep chuckle. "But there's no point in over-preparing to the point where we miss our window of opportunity. Paranoia can kill an army just as quickly as overconfidence!"

"Lady Director?" Senpai calls out over the emergency line. "Any new readings from the city?"

"Nothing has changed since the last time." Olga answers immediately, voice pinched with intense focus. "Just a weak signal from a church in the outskirts that we probably wouldn't have picked up if we hadn't known to look for it beforehand."

"And that should be our target, which means our welcome committee remains unseen. Ugh!" Haku-senpai concludes with a frustrated groan. "Presence Concealment can be such a drag when it's used against you. No matter, we'll– Eli-chan?"

The reason for Senpai's pause was Bathory-san's unexpected actions, suddenly stepping ahead of the group with a vacant expression in her face.

"What's…?" The dragon girl trails off, vacant expression slowly morphing into a frown as she turns around to face us. "What's that sound?"

"What do you mean, Bathory-san?" Mashu tilts her head, listening attentively, but failing to catch anything of note. "What sound?"

"It's some sort of music, but…" The dragon girl trails off, letting out a frustrated noise when words seem to fail her. "It's heavy and mournful, not something an excellent idol like me would usually associate herself with."

"Now that you mention it…" Senpai chimes in. "I think I can hear something at the very edge of my range, if I [Reinforce] my ears. It's… getting closer?"

"It's getting closer." Bathory-san agrees with a growl, manifesting that bizarre spear-microphone of hers and adopting a combat stance. "Get ready, piggies! Someone's trying to start shit on Eli-chan's turf!"

"Wait, you have a turf?" Senpai startles at Bathory-san's comment. "Why is this the first time your producer hears about it?"

"Geh–! I mean! Anywhere I go is my turf!" Bathory-san quickly fires back. "That's my privilege as a Super-Idol!"

While Senpai and Bathory-san trade -very loud- quips, Mashu strains her ear to try and catch a hint of whatever it is the other two have already noticed. She doesn't know anything about mournful music an idol wouldn't usually associate herself with, but maybe…

"Super-Idol now, are we?" Senpai continues her teasing. And it must be really blatant teasing indeed when even Mashu catches on to that.

"S– Shut uuuup!" Bathory-san whines in mortification, grabbing her hat with both hands and pulling it over her face. "I have Super Maids and a Super P-san, so of course I'm a Super-Idol! I couldn't bear the shame if I were to be outshined by my own support staff! That's the one thing I'll never stand for!"

Whatever Senpai was going to say next, it gets interrupted by the increasingly loud music of organ playing in the distance. The sound doesn't seem to come from anywhere in particular, just a vague feeling of it being 'far away' and 'getting closer' that does a good job of unsettling Mashu's already frazzled nerves.

The notes continue to grow louder and closer until, with a last blast that touches upon the threshold of physical pain, they fade away completely. In their place, there's now a strange individual standing right in front of our group.

"Ah, Christine, Christine!" The newcomer exclaims grandly, spreading both hands in front of himself as if performing for a crowd. "Have you come to meet me at last? Or should I go meet you instead?"

Senpai stares at him for about five seconds before speaking up. "Yeah, no."

"No?"

It's hard to read the newcomer's expression. Partly because of the mask he's wearing and partly because Mashu has no idea how to read expressions. But she gets a vague feeling of bemused amusement from him.

"No." Senpai repeats more firmly, raising both hands over her head and firing off her magic circuits. "[Lotus Wand - Angel Staff]"

Before her projected weapon is even fully manifested, she swings down. The telltale circuitry-like patterns of [Reinforcement] ignite all over her body as a metal staff finishes taking shape just in time for the heavy head to slam against the ground with every ounce of Senpai's non-inconsiderable might.

Having come to know Haku-senpai as she does, Mashu was expecting a dust explosion and a crater at the very least, maybe a tectonic fissure depending on which unlikely flavor of Mystery the weapon in question works under. It's a jarring surprise when the ground doesn't seem to even register the impact.

But not as jarring as the enemy servant's head exploding in a shower of gore.

"Ah… Wasn't that a bit…?" Jeanne-san trails off with a wince, obviously struggling to find a delicate way to pose her question. "Excessive?"

"How fascinating!" Marie-san, on the other hand, has no trouble clapping in excitement at the bizarre display. "Is that what modern people would call… 'to brain a motherfucker'?"

…

…

There's a moment of absolute and utter silence as everyone's brains reboot and memories are double-checked, just to make sure Marie-san just said what their ears told them she'd said. Well, not everyone, there's a couple of people around who had no trouble rolling with the punches no matter what.

"Yeup!" Haku-senpai chirps up, twirling the heavy metal staff between her fingers. "You could even say I used this motherfucker to brain that other motherfucker."

As… expected of Haku-senpai, really.

"Ah…" Leysritt-san has approached the Servant's corpse, slowly dissipating into golden motes, and is disheartedly poking it with the butt of her halberd. "Anticlimactic."

"Give me a break, I'm under no obligation to play along with the enemy's pace." Senpai huffs defensively, letting her staff disappear. "And the Phantom of the Opera might be one of the weakest Servant to ever exist, but even he can be deadly to the unprepared. I just made sure to keep him from using his trump card."

"His trump card?"

"We were in a very real danger of being grandstanded until we passed away due to old age."

Ah… As expected of Haku-senpai.

Jeanne D'Arc(?)

"The Phantom has been defeated." Jeanne muses darkly, reflexively chewing on her thumb's nail out. "Right, that clinches it."

"Hmm?" Giles immediately looks up from his book. As always, a singular word of hers is enough to draw his undivided attention. Good ol' trustworthy Giles. "Is there any problem, my Jeanne?"

"First Berserker Rider fails her mission, then the fake and her jolly group of self-righteous pricks make a beeline towards Lyon." She sums up her frustrations. "I was hoping… I don't know, something. But this goes beyond the pale. There's no way this is a coincidence. Berserker Rider didn't simply lose, she betrayed me."

"I see, that's… Most unfortunate." Giles comments with a frown, before patting her shoulder reassuringly. "Let's learn a lesson from this and keep a tighter leash on the other Servants?"

"Of course, Giles. I'm not an idiot." She snaps and shakes his hand off her shoulder indignantly, before immediately deflating again. "Why do they keep acting out like this, Giles? Why can't they see that my cause is righteous?"

"They fail to grasp the dark glory of your magnificence, my Jeanne!" He tries his best to reassure her with the kind of words better saved for a public speech. Usually, his way-over-the-top displays of enthusiasm never fail to get a smile out of her. "But never fear, for your will shall triumph over this godless world in the end!"

"My will, huh? I…" But she's not really feeling like usual today. "I'm not so sure about that anymore."

"My Jeanne!?" He asks in alarm, his already protruding eyes practically bugging out of their sockets.

"Who was my family, Giles? How did I spend my childhood? Why did I want to join the army in the first place?" She asks suddenly, blurting out her doubts and hesitations. "How can I call myself the real Jeanne if I don't remember anything but pain and misery?"

For a moment, a shadow darkens Giles' face. Something that Jeanne refuses to believe could be anything other than worry, even if it makes her stomach churn for some unfathomable reason. Before she can think too hard about it though, the shadow is gone just as quickly as it came.

"You are confused, my Jeanne, tired after all these frustrations and trials." He reassures softly. "But there's no need to fret or doubt yourself. I'm sure everything will come clear again as soon as you destroy that fake."

"Yes… You are right, of course." That makes sense. His words always make sense. "Thank you, Giles. You always know what's best."

"It's what I'm here for, my Jeanne."

"I need to go prepare for… Yeah." Jeanne makes a vague gesture towards the outside. "I'll go wake up Fafnir."

As she walks down the empty stone halls, she tries to psych herself up for what's to come. Giles is right, he has to be. Everything will be fine once she makes it fine. She'll find that fake and… Crush it under her heel. Then she will… something. And that will make her… happy?

Yes, that's how it's supposed to go, that's how it'll go. The pain and hatred churning deep within her soul demand no other outcome. That's how things need to happen.

And yet…

…

…

…

How come she can't summon any anticipation? Where's the eagerness such prospects should bring her? Why does the very idea of channeling her wrath towards the fake… hurt?

No, this isn't the time for doubts. This isn't the time for hesitation. She has already resolved herself. She's entering her lategame now and only God's intervention will keep this country from burning down to ashes.

In other words, this country will burn.

...God doesn't exist, right? She's given him chance after chance to intervene and it's all been for nothing. (No matter how much she hoped and prayed, her faith was doomed from the very start.)

"Oi! Wake up, you oversized lizard! You have lazed around enough, it's time to earn your keep!"

Status Window Updated:

Lotus Wand (To Aru Series, Agnese Sanctis): A religious staff with a figurehead of a seraph at the top. Its six wings envelop the angel, like a cage that only opens upon activating its true name. The Lotus Wand allows its user to deliver attacks based on the effects that happen to it, similar to the method that is used on voodoo dolls. For example, by striking the staff on a solid object in a certain angle, an invisible blunt force attack will be applied to the opponent.

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