130

As Jack explained the ongoing development of the current Singularity, Ainz was by no means relaxed, but he was calm.

He had a plan, he had kept the situation under control, he moved towards his goal and roughly understood what he should expect from his opponents… and from his allies as well.

Some things, however, still confused Ainz anyway.

The completely unexpected discovery of the existence of a full-fledged network of tunnels and underground caves under London could still be called relatively normal. At least it is not more 'abnormal' than everything that Ainz had encountered in the Singularities before. Whether it was god-emperors or the living god-ship Poseidon, the existence of underground tunnels doesn't really top that. The existence of Angrboda however, confused Ainz.

Angrboda was another familiar name for Ainz. It being the name of a very interesting Boss in YGGDRASIL whom he had met in the past. Oh, and he didn't kill it, by the way. Angrboda belonged to the heteromorphs faction.

He was a fairly strong boss, at least according to the other faction's forum posts, but for many heteromorphic players, including Ainz, she was also one of the rare friendly NPC. A teacher of some classes, she gave out a decent number of quests and, in general, Ainz remembered her very positively. She was one of the rare allies that he had during the game.

And of course, Ainz had long ago abandoned his restless nature and did not imagine Angrboda as a living and existing boss that he would need to fight. Especially considering that in this case it was not actually a living creature. It is the name of the contraption that is creating the deadly fog in London.

The Grail of this Singularity was captured by the Demon Kings from the start and was used to create the fog currently choking London. This, according to Da Vinci, and Ainz is long used to believe her words, also explained the emergence of the Servants from the Mist in London. As well as many other things that happen in the Singularity.

Also, Bab... Dab... Caster, okay, Caster, whom Ainz had killed a little earlier, the lord of the golems had, with the help of Tesla, built a great steam engine. The machine then used the Grail as its core, its great bellowing covered London with smog.

Or at least that's how Jack explained to Ainz what the enemy had done a little earlier. Unfortunately, Ainz had no other sources of information to check its veracity. It's a pity that he had to kill Caster so simply and artlessly, with what he knows now, he should have endeavored to capture it. Alas, the panic he felt from potentially creating a break in history from the incredible picture of the battle between golems and vampires on the streets of London, compounded with the call of help from Nobunaga made him act too harshly...

Ainz exhaled and shook his head at the disappointment of missing some good loot. Of course, he had picked up the data crystals Caster had dropped before going to Nobunaga's aid, and planning on returning a little later to the killed Servant to pick up the rest of the loot. But he did not find anything else. It's a pity, at least a 'twisted piece of armor' or something like that should have dropped from a mob of this kind in YGGDRASIL...

Ainz shook his head before looking in front of him.

Underground tunnels, ha… What a familiar sight.

Ainz chuckled - once upon a time it was a place he had traversed through quite often, maybe even too much. The various network of tunnels underground had saved the inhabitants of Ainz's world from acid rains on the surface and made it possible to quickly move between individual buildings of complexes… It's a pity that many houses of ordinary residents were not connected to this network… truly the lives of the poor were a short and wretched thing.

Ainz sighed again before rushing through the tunnel.

He then encountered a staircase descending many steps that took Ainz through numerous levels. First into a long, narrow corridor dug into the rock mass, before abruptly breaking off around a bend, revealing a view of a giant grotto ahead.

"Not the strangest thing I've seen lately." Ainz muttered lowly to himself and just shrugged.

In this Singularity below London, there was an underground grotto the size of a good chunk of London itself. Eh, whatever.

Ainz looked around the empty grotto and the rumbling machine at the other side. His plan was simple, apparently Ainz's most important and strongest opponent in this Singularity was the King of Kings himself, or Big Mom, as Jack called him. So the most logical plan of action was to send Ainz to fight the King himself as the other Servant would be busy with the enemy's Servants. And the most logical location for the enemy's main boss was his base near the Grail.

Ainz exhaled, looking into the distance.

Hmm, apparently he was somewhat close to the enemy already, as the obscure metal outlines of what could be called a generator could be seen in the distance, a clear sign of enemy presence. Ainz had never seen such archaic generators, though he couldn't really tell the details as the distance obscures the thing greatly, so he could be wrong. Moreover, it was dark enough in the grotto that Ainz could only see what was ahead due to his innate skills.

Ainz tried to remember the time, it seems that the second group will reach the Grail from the other side of the base earlier, so he could wait and there would be a great distraction… Never mind, a good boss should not take undue advantage from his subordinates.

However, after taking several steps, Ainz was showered by lightning.

As he was not a complete idiot, he did not plan to go into enemy territory controlled by the unknown King unprepared. With his passive resistance to various types of damage, boosted even further by various he had cast beforehand, the lightning struck did not even touch Ainz. The brilliant display of power sliding ineffectually down his figure, before disintegrating into harmless sparks.

"Surprising," A man's voice, which sounded kind and somewhat elated, betrayed the speaker's presence to Ainz without any questions. "Again another opponent is before me, and again someone who can compete with me."

"Nikola Tesla." Ainz noted to himself.

A man in a thick cloak on whose hand rested a sparkling bronze glove, appearing as if out of nowhere out of the gloom darkness of the grotto, slowly nodded. "I am glad that my fame has reached…" Tesla didn't even have the chance to finish his aggrandizing speech before Ainz attacked.

Tesla suddenly shuddered, spitting blood in the middle of his speech.

Ainz slowly lowered his hand, still gripping the projection of Tesla's heart, erupting and oozing with blood, like a bottle of water squeezed into bursting in his hand.

"Grasp Heart", - Ainz nodded slowly, - "I didn't come here for you."

Apparently, some of his spells, like True Death, had the unintended consequence of making it impossible to summon whatever he used the spell against. At least according to Focalor. So, using simpler and more effective spells, like the one he used right now to break Tesla's heart, was a priority if he did not want to accidentally block the summoning of some Servant in the future, having lost forever a possible collection item.

However, fighting Servants, although it was an interesting activity, did not appeal to Ainz right now. He knew where the enemy was, knew exactly where to find the Grail and understood that at the moment his main opponent was the King. A prolonged battle with Tesla was not part of his plans.

Ainz sighed without giving the now heartless Tesla an extra glance, and then headed forward.

After walking a few more steps however, Ainz was blinded again as lightning struck his body a second time. Ainz himself could conclude that the lightning was a product of a very high rank spell, perhaps eighth or even a higher tier. However, with all Ainz's stacked buff, even an attack of this level couldn't even cause him any damage.

But it had made Ainz stop, turning towards his opponent who was not yet dead.

Tesla, whose heart was destroyed, continued to stand on his feet. He clearly did not look his best, standing on bent legs with blood flowing from his mouth. But, to his credit, he was able to slowly straighten up and look Ainz in the eyes.

"Don't think that you can get rid of me so easily… " Tesla smiled bloodily, looking at Ainz with defiance.

Ainz sighed. He had a goal, and right now he should act quickly. However, leaving the wounded, but still combat-ready Tesla behind him, ready to attack at the most inopportune moment, was not the best option.

Sighing, Ainz looked at Tesla. "I will end this quickly."

"I can't foresee such a thing occurring." Tesla grunted gloomily under his breath.

"I can." Ainz simply replied.

As Medusa was rushing to her goal, she was surprised to feel the presence of a somewhat familiar Servant by her side, Alice.

Medusa did not recoil and did not rush to her opponent. As soon as she appeared by her side, walking alongside her as if she was always there, Medusa simply shifted her gaze to the side.

"I know about your abilities," Alice appeared with these words, as if continuing her dialogue from beforehand. "You will not go further."

Medusa exhaled.

She had somewhat of a fondness for the false Alice. She really felt sympathy for her, as all adults feel a sense of protectiveness for children. And Medusa, having accepted the Grail, accepted the truth that she was an adult and therefore was not ashamed of such a reaction.

However, right now, she had a unique opportunity to act in concert with Ainz's plans. While he went to storm the base and straight towards the Grail, she was supposed to cover one of his possible escape routes and his back, ready to support at his orders.

Not to say that it was all that romantic, but in the current situation, it was perhaps the most romantic thing that was available in the Singularity to Medusa. Supporting your loved ones was supposed to be romantic right?

And therefore, the appearance of Alice right now next to her, although it aroused some sympathy in Medusa, did not mean that she wouldn't remove any possible hindrance to her Master.

"I understand," Medusa sighed with some sense of finality, looking at Alice, - "Will you fight me?"

"If you retreat, I won't," Alice said calmly, looking into Medusa's eyes. She seemed to be not afraid of Medusa's eyes. After all with nary a pause, she could remove Breaker Gorgon and use one of her Trump Cards the way Alice was staring straight into her eyes. It seemed she had some confidence in not being affected by it.

"Then you will be fighting Ainz." Medusa concluded logically.

"Yes." Not seeing any need for a lie, Alice answered calmly.

"Then, I'm afraid that there's no other option." Medusa tried to smile comfortingly at Alice.

"It's strange that you continue to fight the inevitable." Alice looked at Medusa's smile without changing her mechanical expression. "The King will not let you win, it's impossible."

"Ainz, my Master, does not know such a word." Medusa shrugged.

"His lexical illiteracy does not cancel the objectivity of the fact." Alice replied mechanically.

"Was that a joke?" Medusa looked at Alice carefully.

"The sentence you just said is a question. And the answer to that question is no, since my last sentence does not contain the classic elements of a joke.", Alice looked at Medusa, after which she smiled a bit with the edges of her lips. It seems that the doll-like Servant was not that lifeless after all.

"A joke will not dissuade me from fighting." Medusa said with a titter.

"It's a pity." Alice instantly stopped smiling, returning her expressionless expression to her face.

"Jabberwock!" Alice shouted the name of her beast.

"Chrysaor!" Medusa answered back instantly.

And so, the battle between two legendary and unkillable monsters have begun on the battlefield.

Shakespeare watched with interest at the beginning of the battle between Medusa and Alice, periodically raising his quill, and of all accouterments of writing. He would periodically write something with his quill, ponder on his vocabulary, or with a swish, cross out a passage that he was unsatisfied with. Here and there he would raise his head to look at the battle for inspiration, before returning to writing.

His attention to writing was so complete that, it seemed, was not at all disturbed when behind him there were loud footsteps. Or when there was a loud crash, the sound of the wooden door of the room, in which Shakespeare was at the moment, crashing into the wall.

"Doctor Jekyll." Shakespeare then turned slovenly to the Servant who had appeared on the threshold of the room. "How ungentlemanly, to burst into a locked room like a barbarian. What if I was busy?"

Jekyll, standing on the threshold of the room, was unperturbed. If he was at all surprised that Shakespeare was not at the enemy's base, but instead was watching the battle from a distant and cozy place, from a room filled with comfortable chairs, a crackling fireplace and a couple of tables on which ink pots rested and unfinished excerpts of a new immortal masterpieces, then he did not show it.

"Shakespeare." Jekyll spoke lowly through gritted teeth.

"Who besides me, Dr. Jekyll?" Shakespeare smiled, shaking his head as if saying something obvious.

"You took control of Mordred's mind." Dr. Jekyll, looked at Shakespeare with no small amount of disgust.

"I wonder if I now say that it is a lie, a misunderstanding, will it change the course of further events?" Shakespeare slowly spoke out his thought before exhaling, - "In any case, that is somewhat incorrect, but for ease of understanding then it can be interpreted as so."

After Shakespeare begins speaking, it is almost as if Dr. Jekyll's mind was no longer present. After another moment, a small knife flashed in his hands, immediately thrown to pierce into Shakespeare's body.

With such a drastic change in demeanor, Dr. Jekyll's action could only be an illusion, but it was not another of Shakespeare's illusions. And Dr. Jekyll, although he was a weak Servant of not the strongest class, was still a Servant, moreover, he was enhanced by Ainz's magic. So the blade thrown by him should have, if not instantly killed, then at least wound Shakespeare greatly.

However, Shakespeare easily dodged Jekyll's attack, letting the blade past him harmlessly.

Shakespeare was not strong in combat - but he was full of extremely unpleasant surprises.

For example, a skill that made him invulnerable as long as his Master remained safe.

Therefore, neither this blade, nor the next, nor any further attacks from Jekyll, who rushed into battle, achieve their goal. Each of the attacks being blocked or dodged a few centimeters from the face and neck of Shakespeare, who looked at Jekyll's attacks with a certain refined grin.

"Dr. Jekyll." Shakespeare allowed himself a slight mocking grin, looking at Jekyll's futile attempts to injure him, "You are a Servant, whose legend was more of a literary creation than your own life. And now you have chosen as your goal to attack the greatest writer of all time, who became famous for his work with literary heroes. Do you understand how unfortunate your circumstances are?"

Not reacting to Shakespeare's taunts, Jekyll continued to attack, forcing Shakespeare himself to act in response while letting out a small sigh of regret.

He did not plan to participate in a battle at all, not at all! This battle was pointless, as no force could defeat the King of Kings, what kind of boring story is that! No tension, no struggle, and a piss-poor predetermined ending! What a shit story!

So rather than observing such a travesty at all, he had planned to make the last recording of his masterpiece in the last days of his life. At least watching heroes fight bravely against unstoppable evil would make a passable story.

However, to attack him in his own home, in his chosen abode, in his sublime temple of literature, where great masterpieces emerged from his pen?!

This, Shakespeare considered arrogance of the highest measure. Arrogance, which he could not forgive.

"First Folio," Shakespeare responded to Jekyll's attacks with his strongest attack.

Oda Nobunaga considered herself a king, and therefore it was greatly unusual for her to act as a guard.

However, as Nobunaga herself had managed to ascertain, in the future fights, her exceptional passion for her royal title carried an excessive amount of impediment. So, with that in mind, she did not resent the mission entrusted to her.

An additional deterrent factor that made Nobunaga somewhat accepting of her current occupation, was the fact that at the moment she was standing side by side with another King. The Black Tyrant of Britain.

And the third deterrent, of course, was the sight of the approaching opponents.

Nobunaga glanced at Arthuria, who was standing nearby, then turned her gaze toward the approaching Mordred.

The family situation of the Pendragon family was nothing if not confusing, but Nobunaga could grasp the main point. They were family, with all that entails if taken to a somewhat extreme measure due to their individual strengths.

Nobunaga had a family. A father, mother, sisters, and brothers...

They were not close, as real families are close. But 'normal' families were also not immersed in war, in politics, and in impossible stories of non-existent worlds.

But they were still family. Strange, somewhat estranged, but family nonetheless.

Nobunaga did not know what would happen if she one day had to face a member of her family in battle. Nobunaga took another glance at the King of Britain who's about to do just that.

Arthuria seemed calm as she saw the approaching Mordred. She looked into her... Son's eyes, hmm, in the privacy of Nobunaga's mind and with no one else the wiser she could call Mordred that. The cause of Arthuria's death and also her most faithful follower.

Perhaps there were many conflicting emotions inside her, but Arthuria showed nothing on her face. No anger, no contempt, no pain, nothing.

Nobunaga turned her gaze to the second Servant who was moving alongside Mordred.

The Servant was riding a white horse, a stallion, whose white mane was framed by black armor. The horse's blood-red eyes gazed out at the world with the intelligent malice of a beast of prey.

The rider was holding a spear in her hands. The huge spear was nothing like any jousting javelin Nobunaga could imagine, studded with thorns that negated any possible effectiveness of a real weapon of this design. Not that Servants need such a thing as realism, they are people that surpass such a concept after all.

Black armor covered the rider's body, covering an athletic figure, large breasts, and thin facial features, the rider's face was adorned by a crown rising upward in the likeness of black horns.

The rider's gaze was cold. The rider's hair was pulled back into a hairstyle that mimicked Arthuria's.

After all, it was Arthuria.

Arthuria in black armor. Arthuria on horseback. Arthuria with a spear. Arthuria, who was on horseback, arriving next to Mordred.

Nobunaga chuckled. "Surprisingly, Arthuria has another copy."

Arthuria, moving slowly on horseback beside Mordred, the air around seemed to be brimming with strength. It was a powerful, cold, impartial power that knew no barriers and did not need a purpose.

Arthuria moved slowly next to Mordred, who did not look up the whole time, marching slowly with her head looking downwards.

Arthuria, a Lancer or a Rider, stopped a few dozen steps before Nobunaga, and then slowly looked around Arthuria and Nobunaga.

Arthuria did not react to the enemy Arthuria's probing action, continuing to silently monitor the actions of her doppelgänger and Mordred. Nobunaga meanwhile bared her fangs excitedly a little at the sight of Arthuria's doppelgänger.

"Son." The voice of the double sounded cold, so similar to that of Arthuria it is uncanny. "Kill Arthuria."

"Yes, Father." Mordred responded with quiet agreement, not looking up before rushing forward, Clarent bared a moment later.

Arthuria could have fought Mordred, quite easily especially given her power-ups, but Nobunaga was standing there for a reason.

A moment later, a dozen rifles appeared on Mordred's path, firing at the same time, forcing Mordred to evade lest she be perforated by numerous steel balls.

After another moment, Mordred was forced to dodge the next volley of guns. Sadly, once again Nobunaga was unable to press her advantage. The next array of guns she had summoned was instantly crumbled, literally swept away by a swing of the spear from the false Arthuria.

Her extreme agility marked the false Arthuria as a Lancer, as she broke Nobunaga's guns before they could fire before focusing her attention on Nobunaga.

"Do not interfere in this battle." Lancer's words were cold, but for Nobunaga herself it meant little.

"Or what?" Nobunaga saw out of the corner of her eye, Arthuria rushing to engage Mordred, It seems that she would be dealing with the big-boobed Arthuria.

"My name is Artoria Alter, the King of Storms." Alter looked at Nobunaga with cold contempt. "You will die in this battle."

Nobunaga let a chuckle into her voice, "You didn't answer my question. Or what? If you're so sure, attack me."

Alter did not waste time on subsequent speeches, rushing forward, spear poised to pierce through Nobunaga's defenseless body. With her great speed, it took barely a blink of the eye for Lancer's spear to arrive at its target.

Alter's spear, however, powerlessly passed through Nobunaga's body. Nobunaga did not even bother to move from her place, having already used her ability to make Lancer's attack moot.

A moment later, a small crimson conflagration flashed under Nobunaga's feet. A pillar of flames immediately rising into the sky as a huge inferno, forcing Artoria to retreat instantly.

"You didn't answer my question." Nobunaga felt a smirk slowly returning to her face, - "Or what?"

"An ambush? How uncivilized." Paracelsus sighed, hearing a familiar voice.

"Hello, Leo." Paracelsus turned to the girl who had ruined the covert attack he had prepared. If she found it necessary to talk to him, this means that his plan to attack Nobunaga and Arthuria from afar has already been neutralized. "I apologize, it was not my idea."

"I have no doubt that such an uncouth method is not something you would prefer." Da Vinci grinned, looking at Paracelsus, who, embarrassed by the praise, immediately rose from the ground on which he was lying in, in the nearest forest. The position was a prime spot for observing the battle of Servants. As he rose from his prone position he shook himself off.

" I think that You would have come up with something more elegant if you were to do something like this." Da Vinci chortled as Paracelsus smiled,

"Oh, thank you for the flattering assessment. The great Da Vinci herself had recognized my plans as elegant."

"Oh, come on," Da Vinci shook her hand from side to side. "I'm only stating an obvious fact. The great magus of his generation lying in an undergrowth, watching the battle of the Servants for a chance at an ambush, it sounds ridiculous."

"Perhaps," Paracelsus exhaled, then once again dusted himself off a little, it seemed that he had missed a spot. "So, we will probably have to finish what we started earlier?"

"Apparently so." Da Vinci shrugged her shoulders, looking at Paracelsus with a sense of resigned amusement.

"Honestly, I would not want to, but it's not that I can retreat from my mission at the moment. Plus, you're not the kind of person who'll betray their Master, whoever he may be. So a battle is unavoidable sadly."

After these words, Paracelsus's smile faded, forcing him to slowly look down, to the ground on which he stood, - "Truly, how cruel a joke this is…"

"No jokes, Philip." Da Vinci smiled sportively. "I know our actions... Some of our actions in the past may cast a shadow on our future. But I also believe that our friendship with you in those distant times, in Italy, in Switzerland weren't just pretense. I believe that I know you well, so…"

Da Vinci exhaled slowly, looking at the magus with a sense of pain in her eyes. "Why, Philip?"

Of course, Da Vinci's question was short, but Philip understood the essence of the question addressed to him.

"Because, in a past not of my own, I had committed an unforgivable sin, Leo." Paracelsus exhaled, looking down, shame in his eyes.

"Many Servants reject their past incarnations, but a Servant is alive only during his summoning. A Servant with my name and appearance was not 'me' when he was called in a distant past to serve another Master." Paracelsus took a deep sigh.

"When that Paracelsus had fought for his Master, when he betrayed him… should I think that as not my own sin? Many Servants think so, rejecting the actions of their past incarnations as actions of not their own." Paracelsus then raised his head, determination burning.

"I do not deny it, Leo." Paracelsus exhaled slowly as he finished his reasoning looking at Da Vinci, and then smiled.

"I was that terrible person, I'm the same person then as I am now. Those thoughts, those actions, they were my own. I had committed the betrayal, I killed my Master, all because I was blinded by the prospects that had appeared before me. Because I was weak, unsure I had committed an unforgivable sin." Paracelsus finished with a sense of finality

"I have acknowledged my actions to prevent them from happening again. Therefore, I'm sorry, Leo." Paracelsus smiled.

"But I will not betray my Master, no matter how monstrous he may be. I will hope for your victory, I will be glad if you can stop my Master's plans. Looking from beyond, I will empathize with your victories. But, I will not betray anyone else." Paracelsus finished with a resigned air to his voice

"Once, in the past, you had betrayed a good person, so now you refuse to betray a monster." Da Vinci made a slight laugh, not at all intending offense for Paracelsus, which himself understood how his thought had sounded. " What Idealism."

"Stupidity rather." Paracelsus allowed a small smile to appear on his face as he shrugged his shoulders, admitting all his possible wrongness.

"One of the two." Da Vinci turned her hand in the air, showing a dismissive attitude to the dilemma. "But, as I understand it, you do not intend to retreat."

"Alas," Paracelsus bowed his head apologetically. "I do beg your pardon, Leo."

"Do not worry, Philip. I understand."- Da Vinci grunted in response.

After another moment, Paracelsus froze for a second before sighing. "You've turned off all the traps?"

"Well, I had to do something while I was enjoying the sight of you lying in ambush!" Da Vinci broke into a smile. "And the great Paracelsus von Hohenheim not fighting on a prepared battlefield? Such nonsense is so absurd that no one could enjoy such a low-standard comedy."

"Hm, well," Paracelsus smiled before looking at Da Vinci, - "I think it's time to kill each other."

"Unfortunately." Da Vinci replied with a slightly sad smile.

Moments later, two spells of unimaginable power collided with each other.

Jalter moved through the streets of London, barely paying attention to the rare people peeking out from the boarded up windows, casting incomprehensible or even fearful glances at the Servants passing by. Jalter was glad that in the current Singularity, most of the people of London hid inside various buildings, since it meant that as few people as possible saw the phantasmagoric battles of the Servants. A fact which means that they should have changed the history of mankind much less than what happened in the previous Singularities… This was definitely a positive for Jalter - and for all the other Servants.

"Lancel, move away from the window!" Fearing for some child who looked out front the boarded windows, one of the survivors shouted from one of the buildings. For a moment, a face flashed from behind one of the boarded up windows. It seems that a worried mother is shouting at his son, making Jalter sigh.

"Where is the second entrance to the underground… Caves?" - Mashu asked what Jalter was about to ask, referring to the guide running ahead. A guide that is Jack.

"Under underground!" Jack answered Mashu without turning her head, all the while diving into another alley, forcing Jalter to swear internally from the restless girl. "Very, very deep!"

"Do you mean like under the 'subway'?" Mashu tried to parse out Jack's words, but did not elicit a response from Jack, forcing Jalter to only chuckle in response, inwardly that is. She then glanced at Fran, who continued to be silent. Which, of course, was not surprising.

As it turned out, Big Mom's base, Jalter finds the fact that Jack called the King of Kings like this hilarious, was located near London.

For some reason, many villains considered it a given to build their base in the dungeons under densely populated cities. Jalter could only chuckle at this strange fact.

There were two entrances to this base. The main one, which Ainz was storming at the moment, was located on the very border of London. Ainz' attack was sure to divert the likely attention of Big Mom and the Servants participating in the defense of the base. The second, a back door leading straight to the Grail, located in the heart of London City. A path downwards from the oldest London Underground station. It was this path that this motley company of Servants would use to reach the base and steal the Grail.

Therefore, as they reach the supposed second entrance to the underground fortress of Big Mom, Jalter did not allow herself to tarry for long. Rushing through an inconspicuous door leading to some sort of radio station, and then onto a staircase that went into the depths roughly cut in underground rocks, Jalter followed behind Mashu. A position where she can launch forward as a defender from any possible attack, with Jack serving as a guide.

The descent took a decent enough time, especially by the standards of a Servant. Given that all the Servants present were moving at a speed significantly exceeding human limits, Jalter had to descend to an unrealistically great depth underground before Jack delighted her with a cry. "Here we are!"

After a few more steps and one turn, Jalter found herself in a grotto, she exhaled. Indeed, a giant underground cave below a populated city… Ha, whatever.

Almost immediately, Jalter was attracted by a fairly bright purple glow that illuminated everything around the cave, especially at the source of this glow.

A monstrous apparatus, assembled as if from a hodgepodge of dreams from a science fiction writer about a mechanical miracle. The metal monstrosity towered several tens of meters above the ground almost reaching the top of the cave. A light source continually and slowly flicker, as if alive, with unknown symbols and colors.

Jalter could feel incredible power in the monstrous machine. However, this was to be expected from a generator created with the use of the Grail, Jalter believed.

"This is the Anrb... Angorb... Abrd... Thing!" Jack, finally surrendering in the struggle with a complicated name, pronounced childishly and proudly, as if she personally had a hand in the creation of the machine. "Grail is inside!"

"Thank you." Mashu answered Jack's childish exuberance with a smile and small bow. An action that Fran did not hesitate to repeat, nodding to Jack. Jalter, however, drew attention to another detail.

"Whose throne is that?" - Jalter blinked, looking at such an inappropriate throne placed nearby. The garish throne was white and looked grandiose as it looked as if it was carved from a single piece of white marble. The throne was ominously illuminated by the purple light emanating by the machine.

It took some time before Jalter noticed the figure sitting on the throne, with his back to Jalter, whose appearance, however, was hidden by the lack of lights. "Who are you?!"

Jalter instantly drew her blade from its scabbard, forcing Mashu to summon her shield to cover Jalter. A moment later, Jack and Fran appeared next to her, also preparing for battle.

"I waited for so long - and this is all I've got?!" The voice of the speaker was a deep booming baritone, his voice reflecting from the distant walls of the cave. With the echoes mixing with his words, his tone sounds truly ominous. "You, petty, pathetic trash, Servants. I will be facing Servants?!"

Jalter felt her hand involuntarily clenching her blade. The words of the speaker were full of true anger and contempt. A burning hatred for the Servants who stood before him.

"Who are you?!" - Mashu asked the speaker, shifting slightly, giving Jalter the opportunity to attack without obstacles if necessary.

"A Homunculus? Sad girl." The speaker, whose face was still hidden, suddenly changed his tone. Although his voice remained the same, out of the blue, as if by simply clicking on a switch, the anger and contempt disappeared from his voice, changing to a fake comforting one. "And her friend, the unfortunate knight of Arthur. Unlucky Servants who died in the name of their Masters - I'm sorry to say that your story ends here."

Jalter clenched her teeth, something was wrong, incredibly wrong in the current situation...

Before she realized it, her line of communication with Ainz was gone.

"Be careful! That is a Servant!" Jalter exclaimed loudly.

"Servant?! A SERVANT?! You're calling me a Servant!?" And yet again, as if changing personality after personality, the speaker's voice changed. "Do not equate me with your kind! A pitiful likeness of a Legend, enclosed in fake shells. Don't compare to such weak things as Servants!"

A moment later, the Servant's figure rose from its throne, looking down towards Jalter and the rest.

And although the speaker was not tall, he possessed an overwhelming presence. An absolute, indescribable horror, a wave of incredible power, imperceptible, but all-pervading, pierced the whole grotto, forcing Jalter to unconsciously take a step back.

Mashu tried to take a step forward, but she was completely paralyzed by the aura of strength the being in front of them were emanating, unable to even budge a finger.

The creature's presence in front of her did not overwhelm with force, as it did with Megalos.

His was not a force that overflowed with mana, but as a seemingly embodied greatness, making the beholder freeze in fear, as if in front of an approaching hurricane, looking powerlessly at the power of nature before their eyes.

Jalter could even praise Mashu for the fact that she had the strength not to lower the shield in front of the creature that had taken a step forward.

The creature's gaze shifted to Mashu, because of which his voice changed again, - "Artoria's Plan and Tesla's… They delay my real enemy… However…"

At this moment, as if obeying the words and actions of the speaker, the machine, the Grail, flashed with a sharp light, illuminating the figure of the speaker. "Try to entertain me with your pitiful existence…"

Extract from the classified archives of the Clock Tower (Wizard Marshal Level and above) "A dissertation of Gilles de Rais, eighth part of the dossier":

Gilles de Rais is currently considered prohibited to be summoned by the agreement between the Clock Tower and the Church. The summoning of a Servant of this level, a Saint while at the same time an apostate posthumously excommunicated from the church, is not allowed in any rituals. Any breach would be strictly persecuted by the Association and the Church.

As an exercise in classifying a Servant's strength however, many debates had been had about the kind of power Gilles de Rais would have if he were to be summoned.

The Servant's power level is considered to be generally unpredictable, either as a Caster, or as a Saber, his main class. Embodying the paradoxical nature of the Servant, some of his skills are considered to be so unpredictable that their use after being summoned can appear more destructive than the careless use of the abilities of Gilgamesh-level Servants. However, it is perhaps to be expected that the Father of Protestantism and the Excommunicated Creator of Saints would have a similar level of power. Plus, thanks to his legend of possessing an unbreakable force of will, the use of Command Spells is unlikely to have a significant effect on Gilles de Rais.

At the moment, due to his paradoxical nature, little is known about Gilles de Rais and his abilities. Being that he's a contender for one of the incarnations of Baphomet and St. John at the same time, his real history is almost impossible to separate from legends, rumors, and far-fetched assumptions.

A reason which is why it is impossible to unambiguously establish his connection with many occult communities at the time of his life.

It is not possible to ascertain his true history, let alone to determine his level of power.

But, as pieces of his past is revealed, he is simultaneously assumed to be one of the most powerful magi of his time while also being one of the most skillful swordsmen of his era. Which is why any study of his history, or any facts about him must be done with the strictest of caution and secrecy in order to avoid possible provocations and conflict from magi that have an opposing viewpoint…