Living at the Advent

I opened my eyes.

It is the first time I looked up to the bright sky, waking up from an almost lucid dream. The air is cold. The light is dark. I wished it has been a little warmer, but this is no longer a dream.

Murmurs circle around me, with the remaining others, continue to pass by me in their own priorities. I didn't mind them at all. Whilst this one is dreaming, everybody else has accepted their reality.

I can't hear them. I can't see them. I can't feel them. Those lines are gone, replaced by a simple truth.

She is dead.

A cold corpse stuck within the ruins of the fire. Lifeless, empty eyes. The jolly face that once decorated me is replaced with those familiar eyes. I repeatedly cursed myself. More than I could remember. Why could she be here? Why could she choose to live like this? My questions went unanswered, and the static in this brain could only continue ripping me.

Where denial could lead me to?

She's gone. Leaving me. Escaping fear. Breaking my leash. How cruel. How evil she is for doing such a thing. Unacceptable. Truly unacceptable. How could she hope I would accept this? That idiot. I repeatedly cursed her myself.

What should I do now?

Since that day, I opened my eyes.

From that day, I opened my heart.

With all of it crashes and burns along with her, what should I do now?

I deserve this, didn't I?

Hahaha...a hollow smile, transgressing the corpse in front of me. Blasphemy. I shouldn't have laughed. But I continue. Without anyone to judge me, I laughed internally. What a joke. I don't deserve to laugh. I don't deserve to feel for her. Damnit, damnit, damnit….why do I have to feel something like this?

…..

…..

…..

Ah, I forget. All this time, I've forgotten it after all those times. I should have, I should have….

I looked up to the red, pulsing Earth. At that moment, I chose my path.

'I should have…..closed my eyes.'

.........................................................................................

Chapter 2: living advent

"Why?! Why are you here?!" He shouted in confusion, shakingly pointing his finger at the ginger figure. And for good reason.

Because I am stunned as well. WAAAAAATTTTT?! My mind went blank for a second. Returning, I cast a dilated face over her appearance. "GUDAKO?!""

"Yeah, it's me, Ritsuka Fujimura, in flesh and bones! Surprise to meet me? " she openly boasted at them. Both of us are still silent.

"It couldn't be helped. After all, there's no way you can meet me without an air of astonishment. A great beauty along with this magnificent clothing could make even emperors fall."

No….no….that's a lie…I repeatedly denying myself.

"Do you know how easy is it to track you down? Anywhere you go, the skeletons gone mad and surrounded you. Really, how hard is it for you to cover a little bit?"

You…can't be….alive…..My hands, my legs, my body, my mind shakes as my visage clears herself away, truly destroying my delusion of her appearance. It can't be…It can't be! Ritsuka Fujimura is dead! Gudako is dead! I saw her die! I saw her die!

"Gudao, color me surprised. I thought you would go back to your family at Hokkaido, what are you doing in Chaldea?"

"Ah…..ah…." Gudao stuttered.

"Yes, yes, that's what I expect. " She turns her gaze to me. "By the way, we meet again, Mash! Oh, I'm glad you survived the explosion. What happened to you? What is those dress?"

….Damnit, my head hurts. All the words I wanted to say to her, all my lament for all those years, I can't let it out. Is it my fear of her? Is it my grief talking? No matter what it is, I can't seem to form a word for her. I cursed to myself. Why can't I speak something to my best friend, the one I failed to save that day? I've done a great job bury her deep in my memories, so why…why…

"Eh….Mash?"

IS SHE ALIVE?!

Tears flow down my face unnoticed. My head hurts. It's constantly denying this. I cannot see her like this. My eyes cannot see her again. I can't feel anything anymore. Not from her, nor for her.

My head hurts. I could've saved her. This pain, it's all my fault. I didn't save her.

I failed her.

I failed. I failed I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I faile-

"Oi, oi! Why are you crying?!" I didn't notice Gudako is already clutching my torso. Ah, I did it again. "Gudao?! What's wrong with her?!"

"Mash? Mash?!" Now he's on it too. "You two know each other before?" he inquired.

"Momentarily." She answered. "But that's not the case here. Why is she like this?!"

"I don't know! I only met her this morning!"

"Wha-you're transported here only this morning?"

"Focus!" he snapped her back.

"Oh-okay. " she looked at me. "Mash, do you listen to me? Why are you crying?"

Her words fell deaf on my ears. In fact, I haven't heard anything from them ever since she first appeared. This is ridiculous. All of my years of repressed memories coming out in a single moment, in a place so unassuming it begs to be broken down. How could she, a person I've accepted, died as a fact, could be alive?

Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. The dead can't be alive! Never! Never…

"Mash? Mash!" I heard echoes of their voices as I forcibly hide in my stolen mental scape. I can't. I just can't. Is she saying that all of my sufferings for those two years is for nothing, that everything I do just to protect my will is useless? That she could just appear in front of and give me that damn smile again? That-that….!

"Gudao, this is bad! I don't think she can hear us!"

"That bad?!" He shakes me violently, "Mash, please! What's suddenly inside you?!"

I should have…I should have…!

"Mash! Mash! MA-"

BUUUSSHHHH! …beat this shiittt!

"UGYAAAAHHH!"

Immediately, I gained my footing and launched my only response to the self-conceited slut. "IDIOOOTTTTT!"

She got a lucky few feet away from us, but we didn't end there.

"Stop it! Please, stop it! I'm a woman, damnit! Don't treat me like this!"

"All idiots are equals!"

"Whoa, whoa! Mash, stop hitting her! What's gotten into you?!" He took his step and wrapped his arms around my wrist as if it's going to work.

"What the hell are you doing in this place?! Why the hell did you wait to see us, huh?!"

All feelings of nostalgia returned back with this act of vengeance. Nothing could bring me this sense of meaning more than seeing her standing in front of me and repeating the same, arrogant words. And I'm bringing all of this for my own selfish desires. So I kicked her repeatedly like a stray dog.

Not like she's taking it well either. "Curse you, the real idiot!" She grabbed my left leg. "Lancer, why aren't you defending me?!"

Lancer, who's been watching this little tirade unfolds, snickered, "I told you my only target are stronger opponents, right? Sorry, I just don't have the spirit to interrupt your lovely reunion."

"Lancer!" she shouted as she was continually hit by my right leg instead.

I don't care anymore. This person needs to shut up more before she starts bringing us all down with her luck.

"Grrr…Just stop already!" She finally snapped, tackling my leg off-guard. And just like her, we both fell to the ground. She stood back up, not before slapping her of the dirt. Anger is an understatement. "What's with you, Mash?! I saved you guys before and this is how you thank me?!"

I responded, "Go back to you! What the hell are you thinking, waiting for us to reach the harbor first to introduce yourself? How far up your asses are you?! No, no. Most importantly," I focus on my original thought, "Why the hell are you here?!"

Gudao, who's slipped my mind with my act joins the bandwagon, "Ye-yeah. How could you be…." His mouth stuttered, "….here?!"

"Huh?" she's astonished, watching me rebuking her with so many questions, betraying the image she once has of her, but, she manages to compose herself. "Hmmph. An idiot like you wouldn't understand." She flipped her hair, despite the messed state she's looked like now. "Unlike you, Gudao, I actually understand the situation I'm in. After I arrive at this Singularity, I quickly recover myself and met with this lovely girl." She gave a wink to Lancer. "Afterwards, I took a little tour and investigate this Singularity while you're collecting yourself. Thanks to Dr. Romani's instructions, I-"

"Wait a minute! Did you just say, Dr. Romani?!" I interrupted her bullshit explanation.

"Well, of course. Since Dr. couldn't connect to you guys, he talked to me instead."

So that's how it is.

"Anyway, where were I? Oh yeah. Thanks to his words, I manage to search around this city and collect most of the information about this Singularity. If it wasn't for me, then you guys will keep getting messed by these ghouls. How does it look? Quite useful, am I?"

What is this? A joke? A second in, and she's finished most of our jobs here already? Seem right.

"That's amazing, I guess?" Gudao replied, not amused in the slightest bit. Nor was I. "Then we could return back to our business, alright?" I reminded her.

"Ah yeah. And that is…." she mused, tip-toeing her way to us.

"It's nice to meet you again!" The feeling of joy is expressed in its truest form as she hugged both of us with her best. I wanted to say something, but looking back, this is perhaps what I've been waiting for.

"I thought you guys didn't survive the initial Rayshift, so I…so I…." Tears are starting to form around her eyes. "How? How could you guys survive that? I don't even know how I'm alive in the first place! How could you survive that?!"

"How could we survive that? I want to ask how could you be in Chaldea first?!" Gudao questioned, his burning eyes of anxiety staring deeply into her eyes.

"Haah? Is there a good place to talk about that?" She eyed the boy with a hidden curiosity.

"I won't listen to anything you say until you answered me!"

"Ah…..I just want to comfort you for a while…." She sighed. "Oh well, at least you're brave."

"Oh, why is that so?"

"Aren't you forgetting somebody here?"

BUUSHHHH!

Realization returned to our senses. We looked back to the ruins of the containers and watched as the figures loomed within the scattered dust. "Oh yeah."

Just as we looked, a chain of blades barely hit us when I successfully deflected the blades.

"Ceh." The corrupted Rider hissed.

My voice immediately came afterward. "RUN!" I shouted. Without much argument, Gudao lifts Olga to his shoulders and quickly instructed, "Mash, don't do this!"

"You aren't healed yet!" Gudako continued, standing still at her position, her fear keeping her stagnant.

"Don't worry about me! Just go to the safehouse!" I ordered. There's no point in them aiding me here. "We'll meet again!"

"Wait a minute! You can't-"

"If you have time to talk, then you can run!" Gudako grabbed his hand in a snap, leading him on the front. "Lancer, I count on you! Get along with her!" She eyed me as well, "And you, Mash! I don't what the hell's with you, but please, be safe!"

Lancer already prepared her stand before and responded, "Huh. You ordered your Master to run away while putting us as his obstacle. Quite a contrast here, doesn't it?"

"I don't really care about the lady. If she's in my eyes for now, I might get distracted into beating her." She laughed. "Oh, wow. I don't believe that mouth of yours." With the corrupted Rider watching each of our steps with his vigilant eyes, the fact that we're chatting with no sense of urgency, I wonder if we actually took him as seriously as I thought. Luckily, she continued. "Back it up, okay? I have no tolerance for a self-indulgent kid that blurts nonsense."

"….." I huffed. "Am I?"

The enemy on the front stood silently as we chat. Stagnant as his two feet remain unchanged as if waiting for us to make the first step. That's a given, knowing that even Phantom Spirits has the primal instincts of their Spirit Origin. He must have been a noble warrior, able to suppress the basic instincts of his body. While at it, maybe it's time to identify the Phantom Spirit. Starting with the spear of his. There's no way I can't forget that spear, even if I want to.

Harpe, The Immortal Slaying Scythe.

A divine weapon constructed to slay the untouchable attribute of immortals. Given to the hero Perseus to slay the Gorgon Medusa, it held such importance that it was entrenched into Medusa's Spirit Origin. I know that, with the existence of Ana. Then, if it wasn't Medusa who held it, then that must be…..

Huh. We're screwed from the very beginning. I begin to tremble. It isn't for a stupid reason. The fact we're going to fight Perseus of all people brings a foul smell to me. The first true fight I have to deal with, and it's one of the most famous Greek heroes. I began to miss those eyes.

"Oi, Scathach-chan."

"What, you've figured it out?" Scathach blemished, uninterested with my discovery. Of course, she will. This woman's eyes are filled with the vigor and the intelligence of her adult form, despite her younger form. I'd wish to find out more to what lead to her predicament, at least if we survived past him.

"So, do you have any advice against him?" I wished to her, sweat flowing down my cheek like a succeding river.

In which case, she smirked, "Fight then."

….

….

….

Wow, no wonder you become like that.

I ignored her advice and observed the situation forward. Barring some complications, we might be able to defeat him despite his status.

We made our moves together. Though my skills aren't compatible with her from now on, I still tried to adapt the best from what she has taught me.

We made our moves together.

And with it, our battle starts.

Rider, without any more constraint, lurched at us, brandishing his divine spear towards Lancer. Without a second thought, I moved forward.

"Hiyaah!" I defended Lancer with my shield. Taking advantage, Lancer then thrust her spear towards her opponent.

THRANG!

Unfortunately, Rider gains a little bit of sentience from his earlier fight. With the tip of his spear, he crossed his spear with hers and deflect Scathach's attack.

"Don't think you're so lucky!" he threw off Scathach off my back, though she managed to land perfectly. I leaped backward, and so she follows.

"And you…..!" Shit, he's onto me. I positioned myself to a defensive position. I could only remember the teachings that Leonidas once taught me. Which is…

-ab….-

GUH!

What's this? Why can't I remember it? I'm never the one to forget an important lesson, so why does this has to happen to me at this moment? Hold together, memor-

"Kid!" Her words shocked me out of the blue. Within that fraction of a second, Rider is already in front of me. Terrified, I frantically stepped backward.

No, he's already onto me! My legs slipped, in my horror. I can't believe this could happen to me again. My training with L-

SPRANG!

Just before Rider's spear reached my head, Scathach quickly acts and immediately clashes with his spears as I fall down on my butt.

"Your fight is with me!" she declared to the struggling Rider. Then she looked me, and with those intense eyes, she shouted, "Get lost! You can't handle this!"

My body stutters. It wasn't the first time I was told by people, by anyone, that I can't be on the front but…..this time, it felt raw, vicious and intense. Where did I go wrong? Was my memory in such shambles I can't even fight without a knife or a gun, or am I simply dreaming of my previous Master role? This isn't it. It feels more like…

No. I can't give up! While they are struggling, I could see an opening on his side. There, swiftly, I tackled down his leg, and with a single strike, I punched him to the other side.

"!"

BUUUSHHH!

Yeah, Li's teachings are still intact there. I smiled proudly over being able to gain a hit despite my disadvantage. Even without it, I'm still able to join the fight!

I looked at Scathach, which by no means, growled at me. "Why you…"

"Hm." I clean my throat. "Scathach, I'm a Demi-Servant here to protect my Masters from every danger. I already promise to them."

"Hah, protect?" she hissed. "You can't even protect yourself! How can you have the guts to stay along with me with that shaking body of yours!"

"But…."

"Leave, I tell you!" she loudly ordered. But still, I didn't move. There's no reason not to. Is it my responsibility as a Shielder now that tied me to my feet or, is it my pride?

No, no, it can't be. There must be some reason I'm doing this. But for that moment, my mind was adamant about it.

"I won't."

She gritted her teeth at my stubbornness. "You can't fight like that! You don't-"

SHING!

Rider! He returned to his footing and immediately engages with Scathach. She, in her frowned expression, leaves me to hold him back. My mind flutters. Despite the difference in their heights, Scathach and Rider manages to fight in a similar standing. The noises of metals clashing with each other deafens the ear of those who wouldn't be able to survive in this battlefield. Streams of wind, calamitous as it is, was changed over and over by the swinging of their spears.

Magnificent. That's the only emotion I could describe with this battle. As much as I ever watched my friends engage with the enemies, this is the only time where I could feel….the adrenaline to this. Oh God, I'm having a rush. Eyes focused to the Servants. Hands clenching to the metal handles of my shield, body stiffening to the heart of the battle. I have to join this. I have to.

I made my run. If I could help her, then must surely be by blocking his movement. In the corner of my eyes, I watched as they clashes on the fringes of the container. I took a breath. Any seconds now, Scathach will force him to a corner and that's when my chance starts.

"Must have been a bliss, getting mauled by Saber!" she commented.

He responded with a more violent reaction, "My spear is simply too weak!"

"That's something the dead would say!"

CLANG! DUSHHHH!

The battle between legends. No, if I call these legends, then I'll insult the pride of all warriors I once met. This is not a battle. This is…..a pest control. Scathach isn't even trying to fight him. She's only in it to sate her entertainment. Her spear isn't wilful enough, her body isn't strengthened enough and worse of all, she isn't paying attention to this at all!

Scathach's spear immediately catch on to his, throwing him away to the other side of the field. Rider resuscitates himself as Scathach approaches.

She isn't trying to kill him. She's playing with him. The revelation struck to me like a freight train. Then it changes the whole meaning, then.

She smirks at the fallen opponent. "Say, Rider. Do you enjoy our little scuffle?"

I croaked out words off his mouth, "Compared…..to Saber, you are….shit."

"Oh, come on. The only thing she did is swing her sword. Dying that boringly is one thing, but to praise it? You must've been one hell of an empath."

"Shut…up…" He tries to stand again, regaining his energy over the whole conversation.

She didn't waste anytime, grabbing her spear and prepares for the next round. Rider have also prepared his stand, only waiting for the next step.

STARE

The atmosphere turns cold from the riveting contest of staring between them. Each other recognize how powerful and weak each other could really be, bringing down the possibilities of a surprise to near zero.

With nothing more to gain nor to lose, Rider moved. Scathach did the same. The warriors nearly clash before…

BASH!

"Gaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Rider screamed in agony, dragged through the cement ground of the field.

"Wha-?" She was mildly shocked by this sudden development, She trained her eyes towards me, standing only besides her.

"Shielder….." her mouth is fuming. Not that I expected otherwise. The sooner this charade end, the faster.

"Scathach…I mean it when I say it. I will join in your battle." I reaffirmed my stand.

She doesn't take this quite well. "Don't drag your arrogant mind, thinking you could catch up to me."

"I don't need to." I declared. "I simply need to be here to accomplish my duty."

She snickered at my suggestion. "Heh, you can't even hit him when it matters." I don't mind this at all.

"Then, why don't you end this sooner?" I pointed out at the trembling Rider.

"Kid, you really do your duty, huh? Well then…." She aimed her tip of the spear to me. "Why don't you fight him then?"

I gulped. "Then what about your contract?"

"Heh. Who decided that?" Rider is now standing back up again, his fury now intended at me.

"There's a bigger prey than him."

"I know." His steps, faster than light, furiously aimed towards me.

"Then, show me you can handle small preys like him."

........................................................................................

interlude 1 : a team

The sound of hellfire shot out from the pier side of the port. The sound of the clashes spread far, where even at the outlier of the place, one could still hear the nightmares of the battle.

CLASH!

CLANG!

BUSHHHHH!

"Come on, can you go a little further?!"

"Don't….compare me…..with you!"

Two figures make their moves, continually running away from the eve of the battle, all the while carrying the unconscious director on their back.

"Are you sure Scathach and Mash would be fine against him?" Gudao spoke, breathing heavily as he tries to catch up with the more dextrous lady. One wonders how she could even run in that dress, but he pays no heed.

"Oh, come on! Did you just overestimate that Shadow Servant's power?" She shrugged it away, proudly confident of the situation. "Lance-I mean, Scathach would definitely take care of him very quickly. She's strong!"

"Then why aren't they finished yet?!" It's an expression of anxiety. If Lancer's as strong as she said, then why aren't they defeating him yet? It's not like Mash is capable of fighting him at all, so what's her master plan? Another explosion set off, echoing the screeching noise of collapsing metals.

Closing off her ears, she thought, "Maybe….Scathach's playing with him?"

"Um….." Gudao pondered, "...you're not helping this at all."

BOOM!

"In any case…" she rolls back her eyes. "Hey, look! The safehouse!"

A row of warehouses seated across the sea port. Without any unique features to differentiate each other, the structure faces the calm sea as the city behind consumed by fire. Their eyes plucked out to the sight of their destination. As Olga told them, the safehouse is located here. A powerful safehouse that contains various defensive spells, codes and research papers which will be incredibly useful for them here.

And most importantly….

A summoning circle!

Mash and Scathach are definitely in danger right now. He might not know much about the whole Servant ordeal, but if it's to protect them, they have to absolutely believe in this. But there's just one problem here….

They glanced left and right.

"Which one…..is it?"

All the warehouses look the same. Without any differentiation, the safehouse is hidden within the rows of the homologous buildings. It made for a great hiding place, but now, it's the biggest problem for them.

"Waittttttt! Did Olga said which one is it?!" Fujimura stated, panicking for the dire situation.

And it's not like Fujimaru has any idea either, "Olga only said the barebones, but she never specified the details."

"Damn you, Olga!" She falls on her knees, smacking the ground, and lamented their crashed hope. "Why does she expect us to find it all on our own?! "

"Um…..Gudako, calm down a little." He gulped, trying to comfort his enraged friend. It wasn't as easy as when she was normal. Pain in the ass all the time. A little slide felt from behind and restored Olga back to her original position. "We still have…."

"Ah!" Gudako realized something back after all their running. She looked at the unconscious Olga behind his back.

"Gudako…" he eyed nervously to the eager eyes of hers. Once it reaches this point, there's nothing he could do. And so, he slowly knees down, releasing Olga from his shoulders, before lying her down to the ground.

I have to make this quick.

Olga's expressions are like those of a sleeping dog, one that felt as if they were never meant to wake up suddenly. He doesn't know if he's capable of waking her up in that position, much less in a situation like that. Although he'll never be able to see her thoughts, he could subtly see as her eyebrows receded, almost in pain of something. Momentarily, her expression falters a little in her sleep. Thinking again, is this a good idea to wake her up? But, in this kind of situation, who is he to judge?

He cautiously touches her body, stroking her as he tries to wake up. "Director-senpai, Director…...can you hear me?" Gudao gently said to her, hoping this would be enough.

No response.

He moves her a little harder. "Please, Director. We can't do this without you."

No response.

He's being a little soft here. "Director, Director!"

"Oh, shove it." Gudako finally snaps, shoving away Gudao as he fails to wake her up. He sordidly tries to resist it, but the clear emotions between those two decided the outcome.

"Wait, Gudako! I don't think she's fine now! Let her be!"

Ignoring his words, she came straight to the point. "Oi, Senpai, wake up already! We have two Servant destroying this port and sooner and later, they'll destroy your safehouse! Do you want that to happen?!" Violently shaking her, she continued, "And it's not like they're faring either! Mash is still against that beast, and she freaking lost earlier! Do you want her to get hurt because of your acts?! Damnit, you're the Director here! Before I do something you'll regret, you better-"

BUSH!

The absolute sound of crushed meat is the next sound they hear, bringing down to the noise of the battle to a distant cry as the affected victims gave their respective responses.

"Unfortunately, the only one regretting here is you."

"Gah…..gah….." She slumped to the side, body shaking a hard punch to the gut.

"IDIOOOTT!" Gudao rushed to her aid, giving her a hand to support her upwards.

Olga, who's now awake after all of this, rubs her head in annoyance all the while unraveling what her cluttered mind has to say. It wasn't until she noticed the girl crouching on the ground that she began to speak again.

"Fu-fu-fujimura?! What are you doing here?!"

"Ugghhhhh…" she doesn't have any energy to respond, focusing it all on her injured kidney.

Gudao by her side replied in her stead, his eyes anxious with her condition "Director-senpai, how could you?!"

"How could I?" Olga questioned, still confused over this whole situation. "My question is how could you?!" She pointed her finger at him, overturning the table of their interaction. "You let me fall off unconscious twice and you still didn't try to make a better strategy than this! Are you even thinking about this?!"

"That's what you're angry about?!"

"Of course that's what I'm angry about! You're the Master here, not me! It's you that has to control the situation while I'm incapacitated! Have some respect for your superior, will you'?!" Olga mouthed off, bringing out every single obscenity despite being knocked out earlier. He covered his ears from the expletive shouting from her. It's amazing how anyone could stand up to her with all of this.

"And you, Fujimura! I never expected you to insult me straight to my face! What's gotten into you?!" She now pointed to the still trembling Gudako, face backing up the sea. "Remember, I've tolerated you enough to keep you here after your arrival, don't you forget that!"

Wait, wait. How much do they know each other?

"Guh….guh…." Gudako started to bring out a word or two, much to his chagrin. "What are you doing?! Don't hurt yourself like this!" He tried to warn her but to no avail. The girl simply don't understand the word of defeat unless it was shoehorned into her. And from what Olga said, it doesn;t seem to hurt her as much.

"What are you going to say in your defence, Fujimura?" Olga stoked the fire even further. Dangerous. We can't risk anymore in-fighting over this!

"Wait, wait. Director, you just wake up. Don't do this! And Gudako-"

"Oi, don't you think your hierarchy is messing with your head?" And again, she ignored his warning. Staggering back up, with a little help on his part, the arrogant woman walked steps to the sitting Director, and watched her straight in the eyes. "Remember, we still have the agreement, right?"

Two pair of eyes stared down at each other, a battlefield of attention to win the prize of domination. He did not know how things got so far between them, but no matter what he thought, these two figures won't stop at his advance alone.

And so, what can he do next except…..

"Did you even know what you're doing right now?" Olga sternly retorted. Her voice has stepped into a deeper range than she's done before, and with her expression, how deadly serious she has become now. God forbids how what she's hiding behind the thick facade.

"We're going to open up the safehouse you wanted to go. It's as simple as that."

"No, you dumbass. What did you do earlier?!"

"What did I do before? Running away, of course!"

"And left Mash behind?!"

A sudden stop.

Her sweat drops. "Um….Olga. You did not seem to understand." she tries to explain. "Mash and Scathach is a perfect combo when dealing with a more agile speedster like Rider, okay? She can face him square-to-square against the agile Servant while also being provided with a clearer mind and better magecraft to gain a better advantage. Mash has this whole defensive thing with her shield, so she's perfect for aiding her and defending herself against such a fast fighter. With both of them together, they are a perfect team that can-"

"Stop, stop."

"Eh?" Gudako tries to hold in her confusion. Why would Olga reject this? Her plan is commendable for the efforts she took for now. She wasn't even a Master, for God's sake! Who is she to deny her?

"You said that Scathach, the Queen of Shadows, is aided by Mash to fight that Shadow Servant." The Director simplified it.

"Um, yeah?"

"And you said that Mash, being a Shielder-class Demi-Servant, is defending against that Servant while Scathach is on the offensive."

"Just as I said." Gudako continued her thought process. Where is she going with this?

"But, but, but…..hear me out." Olga is grabbing more attention by acting as if the idea itself is ludicrous. She has no reason to continue on this act, but she's genuinely confused about the reason and so, reign in her act.

Close enough, and they're now from as ear-to-ear. They're both engaged in this conversation, eager to find out the reasoning behind each other's words.

Olga, uncharacteristically, stutters at her word, "So, Mash, um…..you seem to not understand something very, very, minor and I really wish you can actually see it."

She, ignoring that thinly-veiled insult, listened in. "I'm not the best at short-term strategy, so you wish wrong."

Olga sighed. "I see. That's a shame because….."

SWOOOSHHH!

"GACK!"

"MASH CAN'T FIGHT!" she loudly bring about her conclusion. Like a lightning, Olga swiftly choked her neck, hard and fast enough for Gudako to choke on her words. The situation itself has returned to hostility as two dukes it out with Olga coming out on top.

"Do you even know who you're handling, Ritsuka Fujimura?! Mash Kyrielight for all intent, is not capable of fighting a Servant yet, even as a defensive support! She's just a newcoming Demi Servant for now, so why do you put her against that Shadow Servant?!"

"Ugh...ugh..."

"Please, Director! She can't breathe there!" he forcibly tries to yank her hands off her neck, but her strengthened hands gave it no heed.

"You idiot! Do you want her to get injured that badly?! Think more before you decided to risk her life, you third-rate Master!" Olga continued her tirade, lecturing to the almost blue girl. He has to be fast! If he couldn't, then Olga's really going to kill her!

"That's enough, Director! She understands, she understands! Please let her go!" he plead repeatedly to the rabid Olga, but to how far it reaches her eyes, it's up to him to guess.

"And you!" She looked at him, finally listening to his words, but not with the understanding he hoped for, "You just let her control your Servant? What kind of Master are you?!"

"I...I..." his mouth is glued. What should he react? Regret? Fear? It wasn't like...

He took a deep breath. "Director, I know her more than anyone! There's no way she could make a wrong decision! Not at this point, and not like this!" Yes, this is how he should react. Ritsuka Fujimura isn't the average person when it comes to planning.

"Then, what do you call that?!" she pointed at the smoking background. The port is roaring with the voices of steel mushing with each other as the otherwise violent confrontation took place.

I can't do this anymore. "Director, just listen!"

"Uh!"

He braved his words, forcing through her words as he holds Olga's body as tight as possible. Olga, surprised with the advance, stood speechless, letting go of Gudako with her words still stuck on her struck mouth. Good.

"Listen, I need you to understand here." he lets out his mouth. "Gudako might not be the best we could afford, but this is the best kind of strategy we can think off for now! Mash might not be in her best situation, but I'm sure Scathach can take advantage of her while she's taking on her defensive position. Having a defensive support, no matter how weak, can still help a lot in a battle. That's what I hoped to believe in and I'm sure you can, Director! So please, accept this!"

Has he convinced her? That should have been enough.

Olga's expression is as complicated as before. Is she contemplating his explanation over her own interpretation of the situation? Will she continue her tirade until she tires herself? The doubt surrounds his mind, unsure where his action will take him.

And, without a single second passed, she does react.

"Let go off me!" Like a pro wrestler, she grabbed his hips and managed to do a backflip on him, slamming him to the ground.

SLAAAAMMMM!

"GYAAAHHHHH!" He screamed helplessly, as his body felt the taste of the cold ground. As his body lay limping, Olga picked herself back together, fuming as she sweep the dust off her dirtied cloth. "Who are you to tell me what to do?! Know your place, I'm still the Director here! Unless I gave you permission to, you have no right to berate me!" she lashed out at him instead, ending her words with a condescending 'hmph!' to the defeated Masters.

I get it, I get it. The Director is too unapproachable like this. No wonder no one likes her.

Olga stood at her position, still angry as the two Masters lay unmoving at the ground while the battle rages in the background. After a few more seconds, eventually, even those anger quickly fades away.

"..." She looked down on the male Master. Was she going too harsh on him? |"...oi. You're still there, Fujimaru?"

"...eeeehhh..." Ritsuka answered with a slow breath.

"...don't be like that." she offered out her hands. "Here, just hold it already." Ritsuka, having his strength sapped out like a bleach, could only figure out the intent with a quiet agreement. And with that, he lifted his hand, one high enough to be greeted with Olga's own, then assisted with her arms lifting him back off ground. A compassionate gesture unbefitting the character she exudes.

"...I wonder how she could stand you..."

"Eh? Did you say something, Fujimaru?"

"Nothing." He lowered his head. She only sees this as a quirk of his own. Starting from his hand, she began to chant a spell that quickly brightens the part that she touched.

"Eh?"

"Shut up. It's a healing spell." A small voice was released from her.

"Enfer."

The spell continued to spread from its last place, emanating a yellow glow from everywhere it touched. He could feel the light burning away all of his injuries, all in its weirdly comforting heat. And with every part it spread, he began to moves it even easier than before. Now that he's on his legs, Olga felt that it's more appropriate to say this out loud. With a very reluctant voice, she spoke out "Okay, Fujimaru. You got me."

She massaged her head." Really, I can't believe how naive you are in this whole Master-Servant relationship, but I should have guessed. God..." Gudao began to worry. Is she going to..." Don't get the wrong idea. I may be inclined to push both of your asses back to support Mash, but we already reached our objective by arriving here. I'm not wasting our time going back forth to gain that."

But you already wasted our time killing us...

"And we already got this..." she stepped on the unconscious Gudako, "...average person for a Master. Despite being useless and all, she's definitely far better than you by actually making a plan, as dumb as it is."

...

"And I'm not going to waste my brain thinking about the rationale. So let's get going already."

Like before, with Olga back on her legs, she's now taking back the lead. Taking her first steps, even without her words, both of us now know they're heading from now on. He's supposed to be glad that she's fine, but...

There's only one question he needs to ask.

"Um...Director, how about Guda I mean, Fujimura back there?"

"Hmm?" she innocuously curious.

"We can't just leave her there!"

"Oh, her." She turned her head against him, "She can wake up herself. Give her no heed."

Hey, you're not going to help me?!" A voice suddenly sprang to notice.

"Ah, Gudako?!" His voice is as surprised as he should be. Fujimura, who has been incapacitated after being choked hard by Director, returned back to her booming persona with no sign of previous interactions with her.

And it was as Olga expecting it. "You could have lay longer." She responded with utter disdain.

"Well, hello there. I'm not like you, Miss Sleeping Beauty. Unlike you, I don't just lie down and wait for the likes of you to wake me up. I'll do it myself!" she said with confidence, pumping her chest to prove it.

Unlike her, Olga continued her words with the same bored tone, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's get going already." Dismissing in what she believes is a complete waste of time, she continued forward, leaving behind the two young Masters.

He still has a lot of questions, however, "Wait, wait, wait! I'm not leaving with all of these weird shits!" He tries to stop this from continuing, "Gudako, how the hell did you turn out fine! She just chokes you!"

Gudako did what any good friend does and patted his back, saying, "Magecraft, son." and then leaves him behind, making him the only person left staying at the seaside with his confusion remains spinning in his mind.

Has she gone crazy? She's far too easy-going here! Not only from reaching this Singularity but also from investigating it without hard feelings, ordering people around and letting herself get choked and just go over it? She's plenty airheaded, but she's pulled on a higher stake here!

All of the thought remains to stay even as the two figures left him behind. Now noticing it, he began to make a run of it.

"Oi, don't leave me behind!"

........................................................................................

Just a few minutes walk, ignoring the clash behind, and they have already reached their destination. Located only four rows in, the safehouse looks no different from the rest, aside from the Bounded Field surrounding. As they stood over the huge door closing the facility, "Father really made one here?" Olga can be heard muttering. And it wasn't like they could disagree either. Even with the weird location aside, this place isn't meant to survive an attack from any of the Servants no matter how many seals you put here. So what is the point of making such a useless safehouse?

Trap.

It's a trap.

It's obviously a trap.

This is the very definition of a trap.

"Distraction." Gudako quietly assessed. Right. In order to confuse enemy Masters, he would have made several false locations and then set up a trap to defeat them. Ingenious, one might say.

Then, if that so, then why would Olga went here despite the very nature of this place?

"Father might create a trap, but it would only work if he could observe this place. He worked hard to make a viable safehouse, even including a Summoning Circle to make it seem like a real one. If I remember correctly..." She wiped the dust off the wall.

And, with due time, something began to reveal itself.

"That's a...!" Gudako began to realize, familiar with the structure revealed with Olga's action.

"yep." A spring lock. In fact, it is a very dangerous mechanism. "Once they entered the Bounded Field, they've already trapped by the very Field itself. No matter in which way they entered, the lock should be enough to suffocate the Master and destabilize their Servant's existence." Olga pulled on a weak smile. "You never underestimate an Animusphere at work."

"I see," Gudao responded with amazement. The Bounded Field itself is dangerous to the Master and Servant, not only by cutting off their link to the outside world but by also harming them as well.

So mages could do something like that.

"And it's also the problem I'm thinking right now." Olga retracted her words. "This is not a safehouse, but merely a trap to kill a Master. Even if it has a functional Summoning Circle, I still don't know how to enter here without dying in the process. This is an advanced spell after all."

"If that so, then why didn't you destroy it then?" Gudako came forward to bring a suggestion. "A Field's a field, so anyone with the proper knowledge to depower a Field should be enough."

She didn't take that happily. "Are you stupid? I've been thinking about that since the beginning!" she lashes out again, pointing her powered Gandr to the idiot's head. "Don't you understand that this a Friedfort, one of the most advanced traps you can learn from a master of this craft?! You'd think a mere explosive or a spell could deflate the Field? Do you even listen to one of my classes, Fujimura?!"

"Relax." Nonchalantly, she pulled the boy close to her. "You have this one here."

"Eh?!" "Eh?!"

"Woi, why am I inside this?!"

"Fujimura, if you made another outrageous joke like this, I will...!"

"Wait, wait. Another second, please...?" Gudako begged her voice to be heard. Olga's not as kind as she forced herself, so she shot one.

PHEW!

"Wait, I said please!"

Her face remains disdainful, "My friend said that to me all the time."

"But you don't have-"

PHEW! PHEW! PHEW!

Her shots are relentless, one as brutal as a cannon to the face. While she stood there, shooting out barrels of explosive magic to the idiot, the idiot herself dodged the oncoming shot flawlessly

"Stop pushing her, you blockhead!" Gudao shouted to her, protecting his head from the shots that also targeted him for some reason, "And what is this?! It's her fault!"

"Don't bring me into this! Just say it!" A move to the left, and the shot successfully evaded.

"But she is...she is...!" this head flexes down.

PHEW!

Close call.

"She's a mage on our side and we're saving human history! Why wouldn't you?!" Really, her shots are infinite. Olga's definitely about to kill this woman. And the other one.

"But you just have to be all this vague thing like we have time for that! You're the one to say it!" He's tired from playing this stupid evade game. No matter how much he could evade each one, not contributing to Olga's lack of effort, but even a gymnast has to stop sometimes.

"..." PHEW! PHEW! PHEW! "Okay, okay! I'll say it!" Gudako finally breaks, ending this little whack a mole as she stood back firm on her legs, determined to stop Olga from killing her and her best friend, starting, "Olga, I just want to say that this Fujimaru can..."

PHEW!

Another successful evade. "...cut down anything."

Suddenly, the disdainful killing hand stops. "What...did you just say?" Olga's honestly confused there.

Lucky that her emotions changed, she took her chances and continued, grabbing again Gudao and rubbed his head, "You don't know how good he is at this. Cutting locks, cutting wood, cutting bombs, cutting Fields...put him with a knife, and your problem is done!"

"Wha...?" she pondered, shaking from the new revelation she just heard from the idiot's mouth. Was she talking nonsense to her? "Do...do this, this newcomer, has a magic..." she gulped, "...kniife?"

"Stuuupid. It isn't a magic knife. It's a magic- "

BASH! The hit certainly shut her up for good.

"Nope, Director. Just good." Gudao answered, finally escaped from the girl's strong hand. Gudako falls back to the ground, grabbing her bruised head from the boy's fist.

"I...ssee." Her shaking won't stop. "So...both of you are talented exorcists?"

"Wouldn't be called talented or exorcists, but yeah, pretty experienced in dealing with kinds of stuff. Not like this though." He poised his stand to fit the image of a competent young man he should have made before, but time and time again disturbed by every other event.

"Oh." Is that the sound of defeat? To them, it certainly is. With nothing more but a small whimper, she gave him a pass, "Please, take your chance."

He doesn't waste that golden opportunity and with a resigned sigh, he put himself forward to the spring lock mechanism as Olga stood back alongside Gudako to watch his incredible skill put forth.

...

He gave a small glimpse to the back. Gudako looked at him with those eager eyes while Olga stared with a minor curiosity in hers. For a moment, he felt genuine dislike over how this situation before returning back to his proper state of mind, focusing on the lock displayed in front of him. It's something he has never seen before, to be honest. A slight lock and key mechanism, but if one looked far closely, one could see various words, spells as he has known, stacked in convoluted tied lines of passage, like a rope in a tug of war game. It wasn't like he could comprehend the words at all, specifically complex and far older than any he could have learned in school or the Internet. With this much difficulty, is Mr. Animusphere is that rich and confident to believe that this strategy could have worked? Must be an overconfident man, he is.

Slowly, he closed his eyes. He shouldn't think much when this is about to happen.

Okay, here it goes.

One.

Two.

Wait.

"Um…...do you have any dagger for me? I didn't bring it when we first came, actually." He closes his thought to ask the two of them for a favor, completely forgetting the fact he's bare-handed since the start.

"Wait, I thought you always brought your dagger every time!" Gudako responded, breaking from her anticipating expression.

"Well, I am not expecting to be here in the first place! A man can forget, can they?!"

"Oh…"

"…."

"I can see a piece of glass on your side if you want"

Thank goodness, she's right. He picked up the shard of glass lying down the ground. "Oh, this is fine as well." Not too rough or smooth on the edges for him to hold, so this is a good replacement.

"Wait, what is this?!" Olga lashed out from this weird interaction between them, "What the hell are you going to do with a piece of glass?! That's a multilayered Bounded Field you're trying to cut! There's no way a brittle, unenhanced, piece of glass is going to be "

SLASH!

And with a single slash of his glass, the visage of the Field began to tear apart by its own before dissipating away, leaving only the unprotected safehouse from its absence.

"See?" Gudako patted Olga's shoulders, cheering the bored Gudao on the front. Olga stood speechless, completely absorbed by the hellfire of confusion that has consumed her mind. Is this the Master she has previously scorned as a "fill-in" candidate? The boy who cut through in what her Father called a "perfect trap"? This scrawny, naive, and incompetent commoner? The world must be bullshitting her.

"..." she stared down the scene longer, even when Gudao's already opening the door and Gudako follows his direction. Why should she? Watching over the bland warehouse is a more possible approach her mind can come up with while her brain's rebooting, trying to make sense of his action.

"Oi, Olga! You're coming or not?!"Gudako shouted from the edges of the door, waiting for her to join in. The voice's enough to snap her back to reality, but not without a few thoughts dominating her mind.

"y-y-Yes! Of course, I'm going in!" she answered her call. "Don't move another step! Let me take control over there!" Of course, she doesn't understand the reasoning behind all of this, yet her mind was still intact regarding their position. No matter how incredible their skills are, they still remain a Master, one the same with others with the same designation.

Besides, only her position as a Director stops him from overtaking her before.

She made her move. There's no more time to think about Wodime again. She clears back her mind and joins the duo, unsure of the time both of them have left to try this out. Pray to God that everything went out smoothly as she once planned. She's tired of failure being an occurrence.

"Alright, so let's make a bet." Gudako, like always, cheered on her once she's joined her, "By a chance, which Servant will we summon? I'll bet someone like me could summon someone like King Arthur as one."

"Don't bet me about that. I'm still a beginner here, okay?" Gudao made his words, uncertain of her bet. "But to meet your favorite hero does put a sweet to my mouth. Wonder if we could meet Ushiwakamaru face to face. Or is it Kintoki? And we still didn't think about Jeanne d'Arc."

"Don't be hasty, Fujimaru, Fujimura. The Summoning Circle of this Holy Grail War will only let you summon one Servant at the time. Without a catalyst, you're pretty much stuck with a Servant that has the same compatibility with you."

"But Olga, I have a 100 percent compatibility rate so that any Servants will be fine with me!" her answer satisfied herself.

"You don't know that yet." She clenches her teeth, forgetting the crucial fact on why she was here to began with. 100 percent compatibility, a miracle that should have been impossible for most humans to have. As the human ego develops, so does their capability of interacting with people. How far would they be capable of getting along with others, to how far are they capable of holding two opposite sides at bay, is an important aspect during dealing with a large-scale catastrophe like her Father had imagined. That's why enough Compatibility Rate is a requirement to them. If they can't negotiate their way out of a situation, what good does being a Master will do?

In any case, both of them, Fujimaru and Fujimura Ritsuka have the incredible luck of being a 100 percent compatible Master. She should have made a better examination to study what does this means for their ego, but in the end, it requires her to survive this Singularity.

She dearly hopes Romani isn't weak-willed enough to die in the explosion.

"Ah, Olga! There I see it!" Gudako's words noticed both Olga and Gudao. And with that announcement, they gradually join in to see the thing that interested her so much.

And as one would have it, it's something clearly doesn't belong in a warehouse. Racks of book, random in its order, stacked side by side in an orderly manner that surrounds the painted ritual circle in the middle.

This is it. The Summoning Circle. Olga's certainly overjoyed at the sight, running towards it at full speed. Oi, you're not the one to summon it! Why are you the one happy first?!" Gudako joined in her dash.

"Wait, wait for me! Why does the both of you always acted like this?!" Gudao forced himself into running again, tired as he is.

SWOOSSH!

CLANG!

"Eh?" Just now, he could hear something's clashing, metals, and cement alike.

To Olga, the noise might as well be silence to her. Her thought was overtaken by the idea of watching a Summoning Process again after so long. For once, something like this could go well for her. After everything she's been through, she can finally be proud of herself for pulling a team for so long. Finally, finally! Do you see this? I finally made it!

Gudao's move stopped. He could clearly hear the noise getting closer and closer, the steel-like crash making it hard for him to hear anything. Why would the sound have a very ominous threat to it? He thinks, ignoring the two girls running to the ritual circle. Each second and it became even more dangerous as the noise is inching closer to them.

Just for a moment, he eyed the ceiling.

Did they honestly forget who's fighting on the other side of the harbor?

"Everyone, watch out!"

"Eh?" Both Gudako and Olga stopped in their track, clearly not expecting the danger's about to come here.

And in an instant, it returned back to hell.

CRAAAAASHHHHHHHH!

They had no time to prepare. In an instant, he ran towards the both of them and grabbed them, distancing the team from the source of the crash. The battlefield which they have been running away from came chasing even with the combined might of Mash and Lancer. What's happened before?

He caresses the two figures. Gudako is shivering from the impact of the crash. Olga, in the shock and daze, stared at the crater helplessly, despairing over the loss of the Summoning Circle she has planned ever since the mall. To see it getting destroyed right when she's about to approach it, her eyes couldn't accept the level of cruelty the world is playing her.

They're both still shocked from the sudden crash, he thought. Better if I approach it alone. Slowly, he released the girls from her grasp and with careful steps, holding the shard tightly in his hands, walk towards the crater. God bless him if the one here is Rider. He was getting scared of the possibility of having Mash dealing with this monster any longer., even with Lancer's help.

By inches, and the crater is in front of his legs. Settling the dust, he takes a peek towards the shadowed figure that has destroyed their chance to summon a Servant for now. His eyes focused, making out the details of the defeated person.

He immediately takes a step back.

CRASH!

The glass he's holding crashes into pieces, hands too stiffened by the sight he's seeing.

No way...no way...

His head is denying this, yet the figure is too clear for him to figure out. The shred of violet is enough evidence.

"MAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

.........................................................................................

End Chapter 2.1.0

.........................................................................................

"ummm...hello, hello? Are we getting through?"

"Woah, it worked!"

"Wait, wait. It wasn't our time yet! We're moving dojos for now, so I'm just testing if it works for our new dojo."

"But, Sensei...have we always been at the same dojo?"

"Nonsense! Grand Carnival has already stolen our dojo, so we have to move port to another one!"

"Ah, the damn anime! We are the original duos, so who are these impostors stealing our spot?!"

"Don't get angry, student. This is the will of the company, so we have to be content."

"Uh..."

"We have no more time to be sulking. Continue training our routine! The script is on the works, and we have to work back after our 10-year inactivity!"

"I'm always motivated!"

"Sallly, gooooooooo!"

.

.

.

"Sensei, you forgot to turn off the recorder."

"...crap."

"...and I thought we could be a surprise."

STOP RECORDING

END

Next | Chapter 2.2.0: For another ten steps