056 - The Crimson Empress

Mochizuki Chiyome

When she was deployed to locate the visitors from beyond time and space after the failure of the first delegation, she couldn't help but find herself amazed at the irony of it all. A humble kunoichi, sent alone to make up for the failure of three mighty warlords of legend. It sounds like the sort of task one gets sent after greatly displeasing one's master, that is to say, the sort of task one gets sent to die.

And yet, she felt confident that she could fulfill this task with relative ease. It isn't her place to say it out loud, but raw power cannot make up for everything under the sun, the right tool should be used for each job.

Her confidence held strong as she tracked down the visitors through land and water, following subtle clues of their passing that a mighty warlord would've never noticed… until her mission led her to the Shaped Isle, that is. Unease settled on her before she even set foot on the white beaches, this wasn't a place she ever wanted to visit. And the playful, mischievous snake goddess who greeted her upon arrival wasn't even the main reason.

She has a bad feeling about this, she has a very bad feeling about this.

But the mission comes first and, as much as Chiyome would've liked to keep her distance from the mischievous goddess, that option wasn't really on the table. Her mission was to track down the visitors to deliver her Empress' invitation, you see. And the mischievous goddess was trying to lead her towards the same direction their tracking skills were pointing.

When they reached the dragon-shaped grotto, Chiyome knew better than to ignore the polite suggestion of waiting outside. The presence she could feel deep inside was weak and faint, clearly sealed up in some way, but it was a presence she could never miss or mistake for something else. She wasn't going to risk an encounter unless she had absolutely no other choice.

So she waited instead, doing her best to politely deflect the idle questions and thinly-veiled mischief from her divine host. She waited as minutes turned into hours without allowing doubt or boredom to take root in her mind. She waited even as the familiar, feared aura of power flared up and the ground started shaking under her feet.

She waits hoping for the best, but fearing the worst, until she hears the sound of calm steps and relaxed conversation make their way out of the cavern.

It's with some relief that her eyes finally catch sight of orange-red hair and cheerful golden eyes, perfectly matching the descriptions she had been given. The visitors seem to be alive and well, so at least the worst scenario has been avoided.

As soon as the visitor's eyes land on her, she falls to her knee, determined not to repeat the same mistakes from her predecessors.

"Greetings, visitors from beyond time and space. This one is Mochizuki Chiyome of the Assassin Class." She introduces herself, eyes locked onto the ground at her feet as she bares her meager secrets from the get go to convey her sincerity. "Her Empress sends her to convey words of dismay and apology for the appalling behavior of the first envoys and in hopes of—"

"Little sis?" A question cuts off her introduction, perky and cheerful, but causing a shiver to run down Chiyome's spine all the same, overwhelming, primal terror causing her muscles to lock in place and her heart to start beating faster. "Little sis, it is you! How have you spent the last ten thousand years? Did you miss me?"

Ah… It seems like Chiyome's foolish relief was fated to be short lived. Just as her hopes have been met, her worst fears seem to have come to life too. There she is, the daughter of the accursed serpent, the second generation evil deity, the embodiment of Chiyome's nightmares, Ibuki-Douji.

… Who also happens to be her Empress' wayward Berserker and has unilaterally decided to adopt her as a little sister for some unfathomable reason. Someone who disappeared without a trace -and without any grieving- after leaving to recruit the goddess of the Shaped Island for their cause.

Unfortunately, she still has to fulfill her mission. And no matter her own feelings on the matter, Berserker is supposed to be an ally. She can't just freeze up in fear like this, not when her Empress is relying on her. She needs to put herself together. She can do this. She must do this.

"Berserker, what a… surprise.." She manages to force out, her voice maybe wavering a little, but serviceable enough. "This one sees you are… well."

"Fufufu~! As if a dumb seal would actually beat me!" The evil deity boasts loudly, arms ajar. "I feel better than ever after this power nap!"

"I'm sure the power nap was nice, but then you got beaten black and blue." The redheaded visitor teases, resting a hand on the snake monster's shoulder.

And nearly giving Chiyome a heart attack in the process. Her body tenses in preparation for an explosive reaction, ready to lay her own life if it proves necessary to protect the guests of her Empress… Only for the monster's cheeks to darken and an expression that can only be called a pout to appear on her face.

"Hey! That only helped!" The evil goddess whines -whines!- as she weakly tries to shove the visitor away from her. "I had to shake off the rust after ten thousand years, you know?"

How bizarre. To think this cheerful young woman, a mere mortal by any measure of the world, is capable of teasing and joking around a terrifying existence like Berserker… As expected of someone who earned the interest of her Empress to the point she would openly accept fault and apologize.

"This one is afraid to ask, but…" Chiyome finds herself speaking out of turn, morbid fascination overpowering her good sense for but an instant. "What's that about ten thousand years?"

"Yeah, being afraid is probably wise." The redhead visitor nods with a smile. "Let's just say someone found it too much of a pain to keep track of time inside her seal, so she just made up a number."

"... This one wishes she could be surprised, she really does." Chiyome sighs. "Hopefully, this incident won't sour this one's mission to convey the heartfelt apologies of her Empress and extend a less forceful invitation to court?"

"That sounds great to me, but… I'm not actually the one in charge." The redhead visitor smiles sheepishly, before turning her gaze towards the girl with white and incredibly fluffy-looking hair. "What do you say, Lady Director? Looks like this was all a big misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding that nearly killed us all. I hope you're aware that joining forces with the Purple Empress to get our pound of flesh wouldn't be an unreasonable response from our side." The fluffy-haired visitor huffs, making Chiyome tense up again. Then, the woman steals a glance towards the redheaded visitor and clears her throat loudly. "But, considering the circumstances… I suppose I can be the bigger woman. As long as your Empress accompanies her words with a tangible display of sincerity. We could use some supplies, maybe medical assistance too."

Ah, Chiyome relaxes again, the girl wants material compensation and assistance for her subordinates. That doesn't sound unreasonable, though Chiyome lacks the training required for this sort of negotiations, or to even determine what would be considered a suitable apology in this case. It wouldn't do for her to put her Empress in a difficult position by overreaching her station and pledging what she hasn't been given leave to grant.

"This one is but a humble messenger." She politely avoids compromising. "But she's sure her Empress would be overjoyed by the chance to discuss matters in person."

The rest of the conversation is purely formulaic and, much to her relief, it's not long before the Animusphere-sama and the rest of the visitors are ready to follow her back to Rome. Unfortunately, Ibuki-Douji will be traveling back with them, but that was pretty much inevitable at that point. Chiyome will count her blessings and try her best to ignore her curses.

As they are leaving though, Fujimaru-sama turns towards Stheno and…

…

…

…Huh, Chiyome had somehow managed to completely forget about the Island Goddess. That's quite the dangerous skill from the seemingly inoffensive goddess.

"Well, I'm not sure what we were supposed to accomplish with this Hero Trial." She tells the goddess. "But at least it was fun, so thank you for that!"

"Oh, you served your purpose alright." Stheno replies easily, a hand in front of her face to hide a smirk. "I should be the one thanking you for the entertainment."

"Oh, really?" Fujimaru-sama asks in a deceitfully light voice, arching an eyebrow as she reaches into her pocket. "In that case, I think I know how you can show your gratitude!"

"How bold!" The goddess of the Shaped Island gasps in a gleeful faux shock, clearly misreading the situation. "Usually, helping me is more than enough reward for–"

"Get in the flask." Fujimaru-sama interrupts the goddess, smiling sweetly as she produces a fist-sized white cube humming with magical energy.

"Eh?"

That's as far as the goddess gets before the cube bounces against her head, causing a surge of white energy to surround her. In the time it takes for her eyes to widen in shock, her whole body dissolves into more of the white energy and is absorbed by the cube. The artifact glows with energy for a moment, levitating mid-air as it shakes three times before the energy calms down and the artifact falls down into the ground.

Fujimaru-sama then walks up to the artifact and picks it up from the ground.

"Alright!" She cheers and strikes a pose, as if she hadn't just done something utterly ridiculous. "I caught myself a Mesugaki-Type Goddessmon!"

Incredulous silence meets her words, causing her to finally deflate after a moment and turn her attention back to the group.

"... What?"

Ibuki-Douji sends her a thumbs-up. "Nice!"

Olga Marie Animusphere

As they gallop on the backs of Caster's horses once again, this time towards Rome, Olga has nothing better to do than reflect upon the latest developments.

Haku's… tomfoolery notwithstanding, she has no choice but to begrudgingly acknowledge the point of her antics. The Goddess Stheno might not have been outright antagonistic, but there's no denying the playful cruelty that tinged her mischief. Olga isn't going to forget her 'doppleganger' anytime soon, and she can only assume the same will be true for all– For most of the group.

That's without mentioning the setup against Ibuki-Douji at the very end.

Yes. Goddess or not, a bit of payback is in order. It's not like they're going to kill her or anything barbaric like that, but spending a couple days in timeout will hopefully show their displeasure in a healthy and constructive fashion. Olga is pretty sure that's supposed to build character or something.

Besides, she'll feel more confident dealing with the irregularity that's the Divine Spirit's very existence after they restore contact with Headquarters. There's simply too much she could be missing without the assistance of Chaldea's sharp minds and powerful sensor arrays.

"We are nearly there. Please, follow this one closely." Assassin draws her attention to the walled city peeking from the horizon and rapidly growing closer. "We won't be stopping until we reach the palace and the security forces might misidentify you as invaders if you stray away from her."

Reaching the city is a matter of minutes and navigating the rooftops all the way to the palace gates, mere seconds that pass in a blur. She once worried that the vast expanses of territory involved in this Singularity might make navigation difficult and slow down their exploration, but now these worries seem nothing but a silly thing. Servants truly are incredible.

Navigating the palace halls on foot feels like moving at a snail's pace in comparison, but it's not like they can ride indoors. This Crimson Empress may owe them an apology, but she still has her dignity as a ruler, there's only so much that can be excused as reasonable.

After reaching a huge set of doors in what seems to be the heart of the building, Assassin stops and turns around to face them.

"This one isn't allowed any further." She explains, resting a hand against the massive doors. "She'll be introducing the honored visitors to the Empress' Champion now, who will guide you the rest of the way."

The doors are pushed open and they're gestured to step through, setting foot into a huge chamber covered in… gold? Did Assassin guide them to the treasury? If feels like a strange choice to hold a meeting here, but…

Her thoughts trail off and stall when she catches a hint of movement in the corner of the eye. Assuming it must be this Champion they are supposed to meet, Olga turns around and… immediately has to look up. And up. And…. up.

Mashu is the first to get over her shock and vocalize her thoughts. "Altera… San?"

Olga recognizes her from Singularity F, Saber of Red, but she's… huge. Inhumanly so. So big that she could easily fit someone in her palm. She's resting with her side on the piles of gold, examining them with her cool, aloof red eyes. For a moment, Olga feels like she's forgotten how to breathe under the scrutiny, but the sensation fades as soon as the titanic woman blinks.

"You know that name." She hums, nodding to herself. "Good."

And then utterly fails to elaborate.

"Err… Altera-san?" Mashu hesitantly tries again. "What's going on?"

"Master will explain." She answers calmly, moving away to reveal a door that was hidden behind her. "Through this door."

There are many things Olga finds bizarre about this situation. The strange choice of location to hold a meeting, the mountain-sized woman, their awareness of her name being used as some sort of verification… But, more than anything else, it's the fact the door in question doesn't fit the place at all.

There are many things one might expect to find inside Roma's treasury. Theirs is, after all, an old and extensive empire who has been in contact with all kinds of civilizations. Even these it hasn't been in direct contact with, it has known through intermediaries. A modern-make, Japanese-style sliding door very much isn't one of these things.

More than that, the door itself feels oddly familiar to Olga, like something she's seen once before and never again. What lies behind the door, a perfectly normal entrance hall for a modern Japanese home, only serves to intensify the feeling of deja-vu.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to wait long to get an explanation. Because it's waiting for them in the next room, sitting on a comfortable-looking couch with a cup of boba tea in hand.

"What!?" Mashu gasps in shock.
"Impossible!" Olga's treacherous lips blurt out all on their own.

"Oh, it's you Chaldeans!" A woman Olga thought had died back at the end of the first Singularity greets them with a wink and a wide smile. "Welcome back to the Emiya Household, I hope you didn't miss me too much!"

I have no intention of hiding my work behind a pay wall, but I do welcome patrons and donations.

I have a P-treon thing! A Ko-fi account too!

Just add "/Planeshunter" after the dot com and it should take you straight there.

If you have some spare change and feel my work deserves it, please consider throwing it my way. Maybe one day I'll be able to quit my shitty job and do this full time!