Third Singularity and Familiar Face

The next morning, Fujimaru woke up and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom in contemplation. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized that his body wasn't aching.

"Why isn't my body sore?" he pondered, his excitement building as he stretched after getting up.

"That's odd," he muttered to himself as he prepared to dress and head to the Rayshift chamber to initiate the Third Singularity.

He soon opened his bedroom door and stepped outside, where he spotted Mash approaching.

"Good morning, Senpai. Is your body feeling alright?" she inquired with genuine concern.

Fujimaru nodded and replied, "Yes, Mash, I feel great today. It's strange; I expected to be sore after all that training yesterday but I feel as fresh as new"

Mash placed a finger on her lips, deep in thought. "It is rather peculiar. Maybe your magecraft had something to do with it?"

Fujimaru shrugged. "I'm not sure. Regardless, we shouldn't dwell on it. Dr. Romani is expecting us in the Rayshift chamber to begin the Singularity."

"Let's get going, Senpai," Mash declared as she led the way towards the room. Fujimaru followed her, his mind filled with thoughts.

"I still can't believe all of this is happening to me," he mused as they walked. "I was just a regular high school student in Japan, and now I'm the last Master of Humanity. I shouldn't even be in this role. The A-Team got caught in a bombing incident, and they're all in critical condition. I truly hope they wake up one day."

They soon arrived at the RayShift chamber, Fujimaru looked around to see all the servants and the staff of Chaldea waiting for them.

"Sorry for the wait" declared the Master as he neared them

"As everyone is here, I'll begin the briefing," the acting director commenced. "First, I have some unfortunate news for you, Fujimaru. You won't be able to bring all the servants into this Singularity. Your magical reserves will be depleted far too quickly with seven servants."

"Then how many can I take, Doctor?" Fujimaru asked. "Is it similar to the last Singularity?"

"You can bring Mash and four other servants with you, just like in the previous Singularity," Romani replied. "However, using their Noble Phantasms will be draining for you."

As Fujimaru contemplated his choices, Gerard's voice echoed through the room.

"He can take one more servant if he chooses me," the man asserted. "I can sustain myself with my Miracle."

Da Vinci scrutinized the man for a moment. "Can your Miracle provide infinite mana to Fujimaru, just like when you used it to cure his body aches last night?" she inquired.

"Indeed, I can," Gerard replied, "but the question is whether Fujimaru's body can handle my Miracle. My power is not almighty, and pushing too much mana into him might result in an explosion."

Da Vinci engaged in a staring contest with Gerard for a brief moment. Eventually, she flashed a smile and broke eye contact.

"Well, if you say so, I'll trust your judgment," she declared as she turned to Fujimaru. "So, Ritsuka, you can take five servants and Mash for this Singularity. Who will you choose?" Fujimaru gazed at each servant in the room before making his decision.

"I choose Medea, Cu, Gerard, Mordred, and Chiron," Fujimaru announced, addressing the selected servants. "I believe this will make for a balanced team."

"A wise choice," nodded Da Vinci. "Don't worry; if problems arise in the Singularity, we can always send reinforcements, but it will be extremely draining for you, Fujimaru, so please be careful."

"I'll be careful, Miss Da Vinci, don't worry," Fujimaru assured her.

Romani declared, "We'll start the Rayshift immediately!" As the chosen team entered the Rayshift pods, they could hear Jeanne offering words of encouragement.

"Good luck, everyone!" she exclaimed.

1573 AD,high above the waters of Okeanos.

A blue light materialized in the sky, and seven figures plummeted rapidly towards the sea.

"AAAAAAH!!!" Fujimaru cried out, overcome with fear. A laugh emanated from the falling group, contrasting Fujimaru's terrified demeanor.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Gerard laughed heartily as they descended. The other servants regarded him as if he were slightly unhinged. "That is fun! Thanks, Doctor!"

"Look, Master, I'll show you a miracle!" Gerard exclaimed. He sprouted pure golden wings from his back and then swept up Mash and Fujimaru, holding them under his arms. This left the other servants to fall into the sea below.

"You, FUCKER!" Mordred yelled as she descended rapidly, her armor accelerating her fall.

"Hey, big guy, catch me!" Cu shouted.

Medea pouted and made her robe levitate, giving her the appearance of a bat.

Chiron fell towards the sea without saying a word, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

"Don't worry!" Gerard assured them. "You will not be harmed from the fall!"

Soon, the three servants splashed into the water, creating a significant impact. Mordred made a larger splash due to her heavy armor.

Gerard surveyed the area for a moment before fixing his gaze on the horizon.

"Land!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the distant shore. However, Fujimaru, Mash, and Medea couldn't see anything and looked back at him with puzzled expressions.

"Wings just sprouted from the three who fell. What a miracle!" Gerard exclaimed, utilizing his power to create wings of reishi for those who had fallen into the water.

Moments later, the servants emerged from the water and took flight, heading towards the group. Gerard noticed that Mordred had changed into her casual attire instead of her armor. Her body was still dripping with water, and she flew towards Gerard with her sword raised, ready to strike.

"You could've done that before we fell, you bastard!" she shouted, raising her fist to strike Gerard's head.

Gerard laughed heartily, seemingly unfazed. "Wow, what spirit! It's just too bad that her wings disappeared!" he taunted, watching as Mordred began to plummet towards the sea again.

"Just kidding!" he exclaimed, recreating the wings and saving Mordred from the fall. "Now, Miss Mordred, no need to be so harsh in temper. Nobody would want to marry someone like you!" he added with a wide grin.

Mordred's face showed her irritation at his comment, but she sighed deeply, attempting to calm herself.

"When we reach the ground, I'll show you!" she declared before flying back towards the rest of the group, who were making their way to the island Gerard had pointed out.

"Did everybody leave me alone?" Gerard questioned as he looked around, noticing that the servants with wings had taken Mash and the Master from his arms.

"Hey, wait for me!" he cried out, before blasting off with such speed that he broke the sound barrier in his haste to catch up with the others.

"Did you sense it?" Gerard asked Chiron as they arrived at the small island. "The sea reeks of divine fish smell, what a disgusting divinity!" he declared with disdain.

Chiron smiled at Gerard, finding it incredible that someone would call Lord Poseidon's divinity 'disgusting,' but he couldn't deny the strength of Gerard's own divinity in this era.

"Divinity?" Ritsuka asked, clearly worried about having to face a god in this Singularity.

"Don't worry, Master. Even if the Soul King were to appear here, I would defend you with all I have!" Gerard assured.

"The Soul King?" Mash inquired, intrigued by the term.

"Nothing to be concerned about, young girl. Just a betrayed shell of a man clinging to a hollow existence," Gerard explained, looking sadly out at the sea.

"Is he a god?" Fujimaru asked the giant.

"We could consider him God, indeed," Gerard replied, "but for me, he is just a failure."

"Do your people have any faith ? " asked Medea, intrigued by someone so easily insulting gods, she herself hated gods, as all her sorrow and sadness came from them

"Yes, we have faith in His Majesty and that's all"replied Gerard "he is our Father and our King at the same time, we all descend from him after all, all other gods are pretender, the only true God is His Majesty"

The group couldn't help but ponder what he had said. It became increasingly clear that the members of this knight order were fanatically devoted to their king or God.

Medea couldn't help but think darkly, "Keep believing in your god, you'll see when he betrays you or puts a knife in your back."

"One day, you will pray to him too, because he is the god of Humanity as a whole," Gerard asserted. "He is the only one who stood up to the tyranny of the other gods and waged war against them."

"It was a pleasure to rid the world of those arrogant beings who called themselves gods," Gerard added with satisfaction.

"But it seems that it wasn't enough, as no one here remembers His name after all," Gerard remarked with a hint of sadness.

The group looked at Gerard after his rant about gods.

"You fought gods ? " asked Fujimaru in disbelief

"Don't worry, Master. Gods are not that strong, apart from this woman back then, we, the Royal Guard, killed every resistance that existed in their realm,"Gerard reassured Fujimaru.

Medea looked at Gerard with squinted eyes and questioned him, her voice dripping with venom. "But you have Divinity A, you are a god, only gods have divinity superior to B+, so why are you so proud of killing other gods?"

Gerard looked at her, their eyes locked. "I am not a god," he began. "You misunderstand a lot of things about me, and I'll never reveal to you how my Divinity was birthed as it is a secret for even my fellow Stern Ritter."

Medea chuckled, clearly trying to probe him for a response. "Is this in relation to your heart?"she inquired.

Gerard simply replied with a smile, "Perhaps. Knowing where I draw my Divinity from will not impact your life in any way, magician."

Medea smiled back at him in response to his words.

Medea gave a sly smile and replied, "It seems that you don't know a lot of things about me. I am a woman who loves to uncover little secrets"

Gerard laughed heartily at her comment. "AHAHAHAHA! I like you, woman. You could have been a great asset to His Majesty ! You have guts and brains "

Medea appeared taken aback by his words and she pulled a bit of her hood to hide her face. "If you say so," she replied.

"Hey, can you two lovebirds shut your mouths for a bit? I'm trying to talk to Master, but you're making too much noise!" exclaimed Mordred.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, little girl. Did I tell you about the Grail War when I fought against your Father, and he was in love with another man? If not, could you lend me your ears so that I may tell you?"

Mordred turned her head almost like a clock's hand, her eyes burning with fury.

"What did you just say? As if my Father would fall in love with some random guy she found on the street like some common whore?" she exploded, her voice amplified by her use of mana as she glared daggers at the witch

"Oops!" Medea said with a mischievous grin. "I shouldn't have told you that, but don't worry, my dear. I truly think you'll be invited to the wedding. After all, you just destroyed the life's work of your Father back when you were alive. Nothing too grave."

Medea's comment was clearly a playful taunt aimed at Mordred, intended to provoke a reaction from the fiery Servant.

"I think that's enough," came Chiron's calm voice. He was looking at Medea with a stern gaze. "You can settle your differences back in Chaldea. Here in the Singularity, I hope you'll cooperate to ensure our victory."

Chiron's words served as a reminder to the group to focus on the task at hand and work together as a team as the banter between the two stopped as the group neared the island

"I see some kind of bizarre city in the distance !" declared Chiron "But it seems de be a large bandit's den"

Hearing his observation, the whole group took combat position as they landed at safe distance of the city

"Are we really going to enter a town made of scum ?" Mordred said , still angered by her previous verbal altercation with Medea.

"As you'd say, scum can be quite efficient at informing us about the situation. Perhaps it's now clear why your Father didn't hand you the throne," Medea shot back, her anger clearly not subsided from their earlier exchange.

"Stop!" shouted Chiron. "We'll be going in two teams, one with Medea and the other with Mordred."

"I'll be going with the interesting one," said Gerard as he walked toward Medea. He noticed a small smile forming on her lips.

"You're going with me? The Witch of Betrayal?" she asked, puzzled.

"I don't care about your title. You are an interesting woman, far better than the one in the Stern Ritter anyway," he replied to her.

"You think so? Don't you know what I have done?" she asked again.

Gerard stopped walking to look at her. "No, and I don't care. I am someone who looks at the present, not the future nor the past," he explained. "In the present, I consider you a very interesting woman, so I'll come to your group."

Nobody else joined their group, leaving the two of them alone. The other group decided to explore the heart of the city, while Gerard and Medea chose to explore the outer city. Gerard sensed a spiritual pressure in this world, which shouldn't be happening. He wanted to know which Shinigami or Hollow this pressure belonged to.

"Wait!" exclaimed Gerard. "I sense a spiritual pressure in the city. It means that a God or a Hollow, a hollow is a sort of monster that eats human souls. In comparison to this pressure, the enemy is strong enough to pose a direct threat to your group."

"Our three factions fought for a millennium to determine who was right in their vision of the world. So I'll ask you to come with us to gang up on him or her. I may protect you in case of cheap tricks," he proposed to the other group. Ritsuka nodded in agreement, and the two groups temporarily merged.

Gerard led the combined group, guided by his spiritual sense through the city. The pirates and bandits threw panicked glances at their group, which walked in their city with confidence. They arrived at a tavern.

"The pressure comes from inside. Let me do the talking, and I'll be sure not to initiate any conflict," Gerard assured the Chaldeans as they all walked into the tavern. The place was crowded, but a large table was occupied by a lone man with a hole in his body, his face filled with sadness.

"What do you want, Quincy?" asked the man without even looking at the group that had entered. "I don't have anything left."

Gerard gazed at the man, recognizing him as someone who also carried a part of the Soul King. This man was the Espada numero 1, Coyote Starrk, wearing the traditional attire of the Arrancar army.

"Tell me, Stark," Gerard inquired, "what do you desire for being summoned here?"

Stark turned to look at Gerard, his eyes devoid of will, as if lost in memories of the past.

"I just want Lillynette back," he declared. "So I joined the crew of the captain. She has the Grail. If you want it, just go and ask her."

He stood up and faced the group. "I can guide you to 'him,' and I need to ask him something as well," he declared before using Sonido to disappear. Surprisingly, only Gerard seemed able to keep up with his incredible speed, as he appeared behind them, catching everyone off guard.

Mordred, still bewildered by what she had witnessed, asked, "What was that speed?"

Gerard complimented Starrk, saying, "You're quite quick, Arrancar."

Starrk replied with a little smirk, "You're not bad either, Quincy, are you coming ? “ he asked the rest of the group as the two enemies departed the tavern, Starrk, without paying.

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Well that concludes today's chapter

See you soon :)