Filth Covered World: Tokyo Singularity T

Somewhere in the past...

"....Where's Grand Rider then?" Ritsuka asked.

"Where, you ask..." Archer turned around and looked at the group with a solemn expression. "The platform where you stand is the vessel bequeathed by Grand Rider."

"He is gone," he added.

In response to Archer's revelation, everyone felt something weigh on their shoulders. A look of doubt painted their face as if asking whether he was saying the truth, but Archer ignored their thoughts and continued to speak.

"So are the rest of the Grand Servants. They are... No, rather, us Heroic Spirits embody the ideals of man, it suffices to say that there is no limit in our ability to fight so long as someone exists who wishes for it. However---"

"Grand Servants are agents that are deployed by the world itself," Manaka chimed in, interrupting Archer in the middle of his speech. "If you mean that they could no longer be summoned, it implies that the foundation of Human Order has already collapsed."

"But that's impossible!" The image of Romani, who appeared on the hologram, shouted in protest. "The counter force would---" But then, a sudden realization seemed to have struck him, followed by a short period of silence.

"Archer," Romani gulped down his worries as he asked his biggest fear, "C-can you tell us what happened?"

Archer simply took a step to the side and pointed with his eyes, only to be returned with indescribable look.

Sea.

If Ritsuka and the rest of Chaldea had to describe what they witnessed, the word "sea" perfectly encapsulated the image of this singularity. Except it was not the pearly white beaches one would think of, nor the shimmering azure blanket that encompasses the horizon, but a revolting layer of mud that writhed and squirmed beneath the hull of Noah's Ark, jotted with rooftops of surviving buildings.

No one afforded to notice the environment due to being preoccupied by the amounting circumstance, but once they finally realized the evidence, they were forced to accept that everything was a reality.

"There's no need for an explanation. I believe the reason is right in front of you."

Then, as if guided by Archer's words, everyone turned their eyes on a "nest" of chains beyond the horizon, banded into a ball of protective layer made out of gold.

---Or at least that's what it appears to be in Ritsuka's view, albeit it was probably meant to cage whatever was inside rather than to protect it, something that became all too apparent as tremors shook and gradually loosened the chain's bindings from the inside.

"You mean..." Romani was the first to break out from the stupor.

"Indeed, it is as you've guessed. Alaya expended most of its power to keep Beast 000 at bay, if only temporarily," Archer took a brief pause as he surveyed the devastation, his eyes landing toward a certain direction. "Grand Lancer unleashed the full brunt of his noble phantasm. Yet, I fear even the chains of heaven will not hold for long."

Romani collapsed on his seat upon hearing Archer's explanation, his views on the world were being subverted one after the other.

Never did it cross his mind that something could force the world to take such drastic measures, and while that was difficult for him to the admit, the readings on his monitor corroborated the facts Archer had presented to them.

Sweat dribbled at the back of Romani's head as he looked at the words printed on the screen.

The beast, or whatever kind of abomination it was imprisoned inside Enkidu, possessed a Saint Graph that far exceeded that of a First Planetary-Class, but even that would be an understatement, for the quantity of its Magic Energy easily dwarfed the entire planet, signifying that it at least possessed power that was equivalent to an entire solar system.

Romani stopped and dared not to press on with that line of thinking, else it would diminish the group's morale, which they could not afford to lose if they wanted to make their operation a success, no matter how little that affects the outcome. So, he decided to keep quiet for now.

"Master, I must inform you that great danger lies ahead, of which you've likely never witnessed before. Now, even in spite of that fact you still insist to continue, know that as your servant I am a part of your strength. You only need to say the word," Archer was the first to break the silence.

Once more, he pledges his allegiance to Ritsuka, who in turn reciprocated his loyalty by reaffirming with resolve through his eyes.

"If you command it, I shall obey," Archer solemnly swore.

Ritsuka felt a load took off from his back at his words. It was reassuring to know that they have someone of Archer's caliber by their side despite the circumstance. After all, Chaldea needed every help it could get knowing the situation was beyond the scope of their expectations. Even to their wildest imaginations, the singularity can only be described as catastrophic.

"Well then, Archer, please lend us your strength!"

"Understood. Let us press onwards, Master."

"...Umm, to where exactly?" As a response to his statement, Mashu appears sounding a little skeptic.

Archer closes his eyes as he prepared to address her question, "At the heart of Japan---Tokyo, or at least what remains of the city that is."

As if on cue, Noah's Ark passed under one of the dilapidated buildings, and the next thing they knew a massive crater opened right in front of them.

No one noticed how Romani's jaw gape open as everyone else gawked at the sheer size of it, which was deep enough such that the hole tunneled all the way through the planet's core, exposing a large portion of the mantle.

Ritsuka felt the heat creep onto his skin as they approached its vicinity.

"One of the servants in the war possessed the ability to harness an indescribable power by decomposing matter and turning it into energy," Archer narrated in detail, "During the height of the war, Dead Apostle Ancestors came to intervene as a matter of course, but even they were swiftly felled as soon as they came. Finding no other options left, the servant converted a chunk of earth, resorting to a final attack that could destroy half the world."

Archer answered to no one in particular.

"This was the result."

『Wise up!』

Archer

True Name: Karna

Type: Heroic Spirit

Source: Mahabharata

Region: India

Alignment: Lawful Good

Hidden Attributes: Heaven

Armaments: Bow

Parameter:

Strength: A | Endurance: B | Agility: A

Mana: A | Luck: C (A+) | NP: EX

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: A

Independent Action: A

Riding: A+

Divinity: A

Personal Skills:

Clairvoyance (Shooter): A

Discernment of the Poor: -

Uncrowned Martial Arts: -

Mana Burst (Flames): A

Dark Star: -

Noble Phantasm:

Kavacha and Kundala | Type: Anti-Unit (Self) | Rank: A

Brahmastra Kundala | Type: Anti-Country | Rank: A+

Vasavi Shakti | Type: Anti-Divine | Rank: EX

??? | Type: Anti-Army | Rank: C ~ A++

??? | Type: Anti-Army | Rank: A+

??? | Type: Anti-Unit/Anti-Fortress | Rank: A+++