A Weird Halloween

It was the following day after the summoning of their new Servants, and Seth was taking it relatively easy. With nothing to do now that he had finished all of his duties, he was simply trying not to get stressed out from his Contracted Spirits' shenanigans.

"Do you believe it was the correct way to handle the matter, Master?" Charles asked as she put one more needle on his back. He was laying face down on a table as the Ruler Servant performed some sort of acupuncture on him.

They were in a room that could only be described as a biology lab. It was filled with research equipment, two shelves on each side of the wall; ones containing flowerpots with different types of plants, while the other two had jars with diverse kinds of animal parts in them covered in liquid. Hard scales, feathers, claws, pieces of antlers, horns, among others.

Due to Charles' vast knowledge and her approachable nature, Romani and Da Vinci did not hesitate even a single second to put the said knowledge to use. They lent her an empty room that she didn't waste time in arranging for her use.

"If it is something I will not tolerate is infighting. Although I must admit that I didn't expect those two to know each other from a past war or even remember it, for the matter." The Usurper sighed in exasperation at the memory. As always, another source of headache appeared out of nowhere to complicate things even more.

"I understand where you are coming from. But be that as it may, simply telling them to stop with their argument will not cease their discontent. Well, just one of them has that feeling—snake this time, please." Ruler commented while grabbing a collecting receptacle. Following her action, a black snake grew out of his lower back and quickly moved to inject its venom on the recipient. When it was done, it retracted and disappeared into his skin as if it was never there.

"Interesting. I have never seen that species in my life." Darwin observed with fascination the place the snake has retreated to. It was still baffling and exciting at the same time how many samples she could get from a single individual.

"It is extinct, and stop looking at my ass." Situations like these were becoming the norm. She always seemed to space out every time he proportioned her with something of her interest.

"Right, sorry. I got distracted for a second." Ruler quickly apologized and went to write some details about the venom like extraction date and the general species on a tag before sticking it into the recipient and saving it inside a cabinet with other similar containers.

She then came back to place another needle on him. For some reason that even she did not know, the knowledge to do this just appear inside her mind out of nowhere. Charles listened attentively as her Master seemed to be about to speak again.

"Hm... As for what you said, I cannot do much. You and I both know that making them sit together and force them to shake hands is not going to resolve the matter. They must solve it themselves, but I would like it if they didn't do it in the hallway." Even though she could not see her Master's face, she was sure it was a tired one going by the tone of his voice alone.

"Certainly. However, I fear that your policy of no action will do nothing but beget more destruction." The brown-haired woman shook her head in equal tiredness. She was just summoned and she had already witnessed troubles in paradise.

As for what incident they were talking about...

It all occurred once the new Servants finished familiarizing themselves with Chaldea's installations. After Romani showed each of them their own room, he told them they could do what they wanted, with moderation, of course. They could opt to stay in their rooms or stroll around.

Atalanta was one of those that chose the latter. A very grave mistake.

As she was walking through the hallways, by some cruel joke of those mistresses called The Fates, she encountered a woman she despised almost as much as her supposed father, Jeanne D'Arc. She didn't know why she remembered her nor did she care.

Without warning or hesitation, she materialized her bow and began to shoot at the saint who, although surprised by the sudden turn of events, responded by summoning her flag and using it to repel the magical arrows directed her way.

"Alert to all personnel, Servant fight in Sector E. Repeat, Servant fight in Sector E. Alert to all personnel, please refrain from accessing the area." A mechanical voice echoed in the hallway as red lights went in and out of existence in a clear sign of alarm.

Atalanta didn't care for this and kept her barrage of arrows on the Saint. Her expression was twisted in rage as she continued uttering "I will kill you" numerous times as if hoping those words would become a curse and do the job.

Jeanne, for her part, did not utter a single word. She just focused on defending while adopting a face that was a mix between guilty and troubled. As the Ruler Servant had undergone a Saint Graph Ascension, she had no struggles in keeping up with a 'newbie' Atalanta. Still, her passive attitude was what made the situation prolong itself more than it had to.

And thanks to that, two people were able to arrive at the recently created battlefield.

Before Archer could react, Seth grappled her from behind in an instant with a chokehold while Longinus and his original spear were hovering in front of her—one pointing at her heart and the other to her head. His face was emotionless, but that was precisely why one could know that he was really pissed at the display.

Meanwhile, with Jeanne, multiple stakes of dark-colored blood suddenly emerged from the floor and shot at her figure, stopping right before they could pierce her skin. However, they trapped her in a prison where if she moved even a single muscle, impalement awaited.

"Stop with your tomfoolery at once. You both are Servants fighting for a greater goal, not for some personal vendetta. I do not care for past wars; this is a new one, and such, your attitude should be a new one as well. If you cannot attain the correct state of mind, I will personally put your heads on my lance and use it as deterrence for future troublemakers." Even the usual serious Vlad showed a more dark side of him at their actions. It was as if two parts of his army were fighting among themselves, only resulting in a collective loss for Kingdom and nothing else.

To him, both were equally to blame. Atalanta for obviously starting the attack, and Jeanne for not ending it sooner when she was very well able to.

The Egyptian God did not waste any words as Berserker did. He directly removed one arm from her neck before hitting the back of her head, rendering her unconscious. As she was way weaker than she was in Okeanos, and he did not suffer any restriction by the World here because they were technically outside of it, overpowering her like this was an easy feat. Not to mention that he reversed the supply of Magical Energy. Instead of him giving it to her, it was the opposite, weakening her further. This was an advantage only he had. As his reserves were enormous, he did not need to use Chaldea to supply his Servants while in here. It was best used on someone like Fujimaru who had limited capacities. With that in mind, he could do what he wanted with his own Magical Energy.

Archer powerlessly fell to the ground. Seth slowly lowered himself a little before grabbing one of her legs and dragging her ahead with no care for her well-being. He went past Jeanne without saying a word, but he stopped by Vlad's side to look at him and give him a nod of recognition for his actions—one that the Berserker Servant returned.

Seth then continued his path, eventually reaching Atalanta's room and throwing her inside before leaving, still without saying a word.

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"The continuous existence of humanity is at risk, and you pretend for me to use the time where I could be planning ahead and focusing on improving myself to act as the mediator of a fight between children?" If he were in a more natural position, Seth would have raised his eyebrows at her statement.

"I suppose you've got a point. Please forget that I even said anything." Ruler sighed once she heard his point. Valid? Yes. Refutable? Yes. Did she want to do it? No. She was not interested.

"Mhm... By the way, how long should I have these on my back?"

"A couple more minutes." Darwin frowned for a moment before speaking her mind. "You should not repress your nature like you have been doing so far. It will destroy your body from within."

'Baal's awakening should have helped with that... but I guess it's too much to ask from someone whose only hobby is to sleep his disgraces away.' Such was his helpless musing.

"I know it better than anyone else. Unfortunately, there is no place for me to do so." Despite understand where she was coming from, Seth did not have any options at the moment.

"Chaldea's simulation system would overdrive, and in the Singularities, you are always close to little Fujimaru, so you cannot cause too much destruction, correct?" The Deity released a grunt of agreement, proving that her deduction was indeed the right one.

"Be honest with me, how much destruction can you cause to the planet currently?" Charles asked again after some thinking. If they were going to think of a solution, they had to take everything into account.

'I can't use World's End even if I wanted to. The next, more powerful one should be World's Corruption then.' After some thinking, Seth finally responded. "I can stop the Earth's rotation for a while. However, that's not something I would like to do, for obvious reasons."

"That leaves with so very few options." Ruler released a dry chuckle at his answer. She did not seem surprised he was able to do that. The reason being she knew he was from another universe thanks to her Noble Phantasm, a universe where the Gods were many, many times stronger than this one. Her Master knew of this and asked her to keep it a secret. When asked why the black-haired man said it was because everyone reacted to the simplest of things as if they had found alien life on a deserted planet. He already had enough problems for her to go around creating more.

"It's not like I have to do it... Just going on a controlled rampage would be enough. I haven't shifted that much from my bad side to warrant going to great lengths." The Egyptian God quelled a few of her worries with that.

"Having to have two sides of the same coin overlapped must be difficult." Charles sighed while Seth mentally agreed. "In that case, have you ever tried going to the Reverse Side of the World?"

The Kingslayer stayed silent for a few seconds before responding. "Not tried, but I have thought of doing it. Knowing those wildlands, it would be my best bet to maintain both sides of myself to fifty-fifty. I do 'good' here while I do 'bad' there. Unfortunately, I don't quite know how to get there."

"Would it not be possible to reach there by letting the World pull you there?"

"No, it would not. It crossed my mind, though. The thing is, how can I be sure the World will send me to the Reverse Side? At the end of the day, I don't belong to this universe. There is the chance of me returning to my original world, and that is a risk I am not willing to take." Ruler nodded at his logic. It was indeed too risky until they found a better way. She was new here, yet she was sure that Chaldea didn't have the resources to artificially make a portal to that place, and even if they had them, it was not a luxury they could afford.

"We still have time until it becomes an issue. They are just preventive measures." Charles reassured him while taking the needles off his back. The Ruler Servant then tapped his shoulders a few times when she was done, indicating he could get up. The Egyptian God did just that, stretching a bit after getting off the table.

"Thanks, I should get going now. Ritsuka and the others should be returning from that small Singularity soon, so I will have to focus on getting him into good shape." Seth said as he put his upper clothes back on. It ended abruptly in Okeanos due to that accident, but he supposed now was a good time to resume it.

Ruler put a hand on her mouth while laughing lightly. "Oh, yes. I heard they received an invitation from a mischievous girl and now are having quite the adventure thanks to it."

The Deity shook his head, although he released a chuckle soon after. "Normally I would call it a waste of time, but they deserve to have fun as well. Even if that fun involves going along the whims of Elizabeth."

"Aren't you worried about them, though?" Charles tilted her head a bit. She was a bit befuddled when she found out he was not going to accompany them.

"No. Elizabeth summoned Servants of Chaldea in their majority. They wouldn't put them at risk. At best they would put on a show and nothing else." He guessed this was her way of wanting to come here as well, so the more reason not to harm them.

"I will trust your judgment, then. Anyhow, thanks for providing me with the materials. They will be useful to create some new Mystic Codes. Even though the way I procured them was a bit..." Yes, she asked for them, but she did not expect him to transform and self-mutilate himself. Just remembering the experience left her shaken up.

"Oh, yeah... My bad. I didn't know you had some trauma with that kind of stuff. And don't mention it. I don't mind it at all, especially if it is for the kid's survival."

"It is quite all right. You did not know, so it would be foolish for me to blame you. Speaking of which, only three of your forms are left for me to complete my collection."

"Don't say word it like that, it makes you look creepy." Darwin was this close to choking on her saliva at that comment. "Anyway, I only have two forms left for me to show you, not three. Unfortunately, those are too big, so if I were to transform, I would probably crush Chaldea under me."

Once recovered from that somewhat embarrassing moment, Ruler furrowed her eyebrows in puzzlement. "Are you sure? There is the Crocodylus—sorry. The crocodile, the boar, and that weird dog I saw while we were facing each other."

This time it was Seth's turn to furrow his brows. "I get the first two, but I don't know what are you referring to with the last one. I was called a dog before, but I can't shapeshift into one."

"..." Master and Servant stared at each other in a silent contest of gazes. After a few minutes, Charles was the first to break contact. Her eyes showed unwilling resignation.

"Forget it. It must have been my imagination." Seth nodded at that and then marched toward the door. He had been staying for a while here, so it was now time to go.

"See you later, Ruler. And Happy Halloween too, I guess?" He waved back at her over his shoulders. The Kingslayer was not interested in these celebrations, but apparently, humans were, so a bit of courtesy wouldn't hurt.

"To you too, Master. Thanks again for providing with your help." Darwin only received a humming sound as an answer that she interpreted as a "Don't mind it" before the man completely exited her laboratory.

Now alone, the Mother of Evolution could finally go on her absent-minded musings. 'I am sure of what I saw. Master is an Evil of Humanity, so maybe that was how he would look as a Beast? No... It was brief, but I could glimpse it was a mix between a snake and a dragon. Then what...? His kind should possess many forms being an Egyptian Go...d...'

Ruler's eyes widened in realization, yet, that same realization did not bring happiness but distress instead. If her Master was lying or not, it did not matter anymore. It was a good thing she didn't press the matter any further. Immediately, she decided to drop the subject and not speak about it anymore.

The similarity between her and a detective Servant was that they would be happy knowing a deep and hidden Truth. As for the difference... She would not stick her hands into the muddy abyss to discover it while dooming the world in the process.