The biting, unnatural cold of the permafrost was a stark, jarring contrast to the apocalyptic heat that had threatened to consume them just moments ago.
For the first time since they had arrived in the First Singularity, the air was entirely still. The rusted, oppressive clouds had completely cleared, allowing the brilliant light of the morning sun to reflect off the pristine, twenty-kilometer expanse of solid ice Fujimaru had created.
Cú Chulainn Caster lay flat on his back in the snow, staring up at the clear blue sky. Slowly, the druid let out a long, dramatic groan, rolling onto his side and pushing himself up into a sitting position.
"I've fought beasts, I've fought gods, and I've fought my own damn teacher," Cú muttered, shivering slightly as he shot a sideways glance at his teenage Master. "But I have never seen a mage pull a stunt like that. 'Super-Tier Magic'? You turned a twenty-kilometer biological nuke into a winter wonderland without burning a single magic circuit. Remind me never to play cards with you, kid."
"He has a point."
The crunch of boots on the fresh snow drew their attention. From the distant ridge, the red-coated Archer hadn't vanished after all. EMIYA walked calmly toward the center of the crater, his black bow dissolving into golden particles. He looked exhausted, the sheer mana drain of projecting thousands of swords taking its toll on his Spirit Origin, but his silver eyes were sharp and analytical as ever.
"Look who decided to stick around," Cú smirked, leaning back on his hands. "Didn't fade away to the Throne after your big dramatic assist, faker?"
"Someone has to make sure you don't accidentally freeze yourselves to death while celebrating," EMIYA replied dryly, stopping beside the group. He crossed his arms, his gaze shifting to Fujimaru. The cynical Counter Guardian's expression softened into one of genuine, albeit reluctant, respect.
"I've seen Reality Marbles project inner worlds onto reality," EMIYA said, his voice quiet but carrying clearly in the crisp air. "But what you did... that was a complete, systemic overwrite of the World's texture without paying the equivalent exchange. I don't know where you learned that, Master. But you saved us. Well done."
Fujimaru let out a weak, exhausted laugh. He was still kneeling in the snow, his body trembling from the adrenaline crash. "I told you... it's just a trick. And it costs a lot more than mana."
"Senpai!"
Mash was immediately at his side, dropping to her knees in the snow. She frantically placed her hands on his shoulders, her lavender eyes scanning him with deep concern. "Your vitals are stable, but your nervous system is completely exhausted. And your mana pathways... they're completely dormant. The cooldown you mentioned... it's acting like a conceptual weight on your Od."
"I'm okay, Mash," Fujimaru smiled softly, reaching up to gently pat her armored shoulder. "Really. We're all in one piece. That's what matters."
"I wouldn't say 'okay'!" Dr. Roman's voice suddenly crackled over their communicators, sounding a mix of frantic worry, profound relief, and sheer scientific bewilderment. "Ritsuka, do you have any idea what you just did to our sensors?! Trismegistus nearly had a logical meltdown trying to process a magical foundation that doesn't exist! Da Vinci is currently tearing her hair out in the control room!"
"Sorry, Doctor," Fujimaru winced apologetically. "Desperate times."
"We are going to have a very, VERY long debriefing when you get back," Roman sighed heavily. "But... you did it. The demonic energy is zero. The localized spatial anomalies are collapsing. The foundation of the year 1431 is stabilizing. The First Singularity is officially resolved."
A heavy, poignant silence fell over the four of them on the ice.
Fujimaru slowly pushed himself up to his feet, Mash quickly wrapping an arm around his waist to support his weight. Together with Cú and EMIYA, they looked toward the center of the vast expanse of ice.
Miraculously preserved by the sudden flash-freeze of the terrain, a single object stood proudly in the center of the permafrost. It was the splintered, battered remnants of a holy standard—Jeanne d'Arc's flagpole.
It stood as a silent monument to the Holy Maiden who had given her soul for a country that had burned her. It stood for the Dragon Witch who had finally let go of her vengeance to protect her other half. And it stood for the mad serpent, Kiyohime, who had burned away her own existence to hold the line.
"They fought to the absolute bitter end," Cú said quietly, his usual smirk replaced by a look of solemn respect. "Saints, witches, monsters... didn't matter in the end. They were heroes."
EMIYA closed his eyes, a faint, melancholic smile crossing his face. As a man who had been betrayed by his own ideals and executed by the people he saved, he understood the tragedy of the Dragon Witch better than anyone.
"To be consumed by a hatred of the world... it is an easy path to walk," EMIYA murmured, looking at the splintered flag. "But to turn around at the very end and choose to save it anyway? That requires a strength greater than any Beast."
Mash wiped a stray tear from her eye, her grip on Fujimaru tightening slightly. "Yes. It does."
Fujimaru didn't say anything. He just stared at the splintered flag, etching the memory of their sacrifice into his mind. This was the burden of a Master. To witness the end of their stories, carry their memories, and keep walking forward.
Mash wiped a stray tear from her eye, her grip on Fujimaru tightening slightly. "Yes. They were."
She paused, her lavender eyes scanning the vast, glittering expanse of pristine permafrost that stretched all the way to the horizon. The sheer, terrifying scale of what her Master had done was still difficult to fully process.
"Senpai..." Mash asked, a note of genuine concern creeping into her voice. "What will happen to all this ice? If it stays like this, the local climate of this era will be completely ruined."
Cú Chulainn glanced around, shivering slightly. "She's got a point, kid. Freezing a biological nuke is great and all, but if you just plunged 15th-century France into a localized Ice Age, the World's history is still going to be a mess."
Fujimaru offered a weak, reassuring smile, his breath pluming in the freezing air.
"Don't worry," Fujimaru said gently. "It won't last. The spell overwrote the terrain, but it's an anomaly that fundamentally doesn't belong in this texture of the World. Without me here to sustain it, the World's own corrective forces will start breaking it down the moment we leave."
He looked out over the glittering white plains. "It will be corrected to a suitable surrounding after a few hours. The ice will sublimate safely, and the leylines will reset. By tomorrow, this will just return to being a plain grass field."
"Hmph. A clean exit," EMIYA noted, crossing his arms with a faint, approving smirk. "You thought ahead, Master. I suppose I shouldn't have expected any less."
"Oh, thank goodness," Dr. Roman's voice sighed over the comms, sounding like a massive weight had just been lifted off his chest. "I was already trying to calculate the butterfly effect of a permanent glacier in the middle of Orleans. You nearly gave me a heart attack, Ritsuka."
"I try my best, Doc," Fujimaru chuckled, though the sound was heavy with exhaustion.
He didn't say anything more. He just stared at the splintered flag in the center of the permafrost, etching the memory of the Singularity into his mind. This was the burden of a Master. To witness the end of their stories, clean up the stage, and keep walking forward.
"Rayshift sequence initiated," Roman's voice came through, softer and warmer this time. "Unsummon program starting. Fixing coordinates. Welcome home, Team Chaldea."
Golden particles of light began to swirl around the four of them, rising up from the snow. EMIYA and Cú Chulainn didn't fade away into the Throne; instead, their Spirit Origins anchored to Fujimaru's contract, bathed in the same spatial transference magic as the Master and Demi-Servant.
The freezing wind of the French permafrost slowly began to fade, replaced by the warm, familiar hum of Chaldea. Fujimaru Ritsuka closed his eyes, leaning against Mash as the golden light embraced them, finally leaving the First Singularity behind.
The golden light of the Rayshift sequence faded, replaced by the sterile, blinding white lights of the Chaldea Command Room.
The heavy, mechanical hiss of the Coffin doors opening sounded like the greatest symphony Fujimaru had ever heard. He stumbled forward, supported by Mash on one side, while Cú Chulainn and EMIYA materialized solidly on the platforms beside them, taking in the futuristic sights of humanity's last stronghold.
Fujimaru stumbled forward as he stepped out of the pod, his legs finally giving out as the adrenaline completely left his system.
He didn't hit the floor. Mash was there instantly, catching him by the arm and draping his weight over her shoulder. Even without her armor, the Demi-Servant's grip was steady and incredibly warm.
"I've got you, Senpai," Mash smiled softly, her own face pale with exhaustion but radiating profound relief. "We're home."
"And you cut it entirely too close, Fujimaru Ritsuka."
A strict, authoritative voice echoed across the command room, accompanied by the sharp clack of heeled boots.
Standing directly at the base of the command console was the welcoming committee. Front and center was Olga Marie Animusphere, the Director of Chaldea. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her silver hair immaculate, and her expression a mask of stern, aristocratic disapproval. Yet, despite her harsh tone, the slight tremor in her shoulders and the glistening in her golden eyes betrayed her profound, overwhelming relief that they were alive.
Beside her stood Dr. Romani Archaman, Head of the Medical Facility, who looked like he had aged five years in a few days. He held a half-empty mug of cold coffee, giving them a tired, warm smile.
And flanking the Director on the other side was Leonardo da Vinci, the Head of the Technology Development Division, who was practically vibrating with manic, uncontainable curiosity, clutching a glowing datapad like it was the Holy Grail itself.
"Medical teams are on standby for your physicals, but the initial scans show you're both stable," Roman said, letting out a long sigh as he rubbed the dark bags under his eyes. "France is secure. The historical foundation is stitching itself back together. Welcome back, you two."
"Don't coddle them, Romani," Olga Marie huffed, lifting her chin proudly. She marched up to Fujimaru and Mash, stopping just a few feet away. She looked the battered teenage Master up and down. For a moment, she looked like she wanted to yell at him for being reckless.
Instead, her expression softened just a fraction.
"You corrected a Singularity that was fundamentally designed to be impossible to solve. And you brought my Demi-Servant back in one piece," Olga Marie said, her voice dropping its usual bite. She uncrossed her arms and offered a stiff, formal nod. "You performed beyond all expectations, Fujimaru Ritsuka. As the Director of Chaldea, I commend you. Good work."
Fujimaru let out a breath, a genuine smile breaking across his face. "Thanks, Director. I think I could sleep for a week."
"Oh, you'll get your rest, Fujimaru!" Da Vinci suddenly chimed in, her melodic voice ringing with intense energy as she pushed past Roman. "But first, we have a very important anatomical, metaphysical, and thaumaturgical dissection to conduct!"
Olga Marie groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Leonardo, please. Not now."
"Director, do you have any idea what this boy just did?!" Da Vinci ignored her completely, leaning in so close to Fujimaru that their noses were almost touching. "I analyzed the data feed from the moment you cast that spell. Or rather... the moment you didn't cast it!"
Fujimaru gulped, leaning back slightly against Mash. "Uh... what do you mean?"
"Magecraft—even True Magic—requires an exchange," Da Vinci began, pacing rapidly around the two exhausted teenagers, waving her datapad. "It requires Od from the caster, or Mana from the environment. It requires a Foundation, a formula, and a connection to the Root or a localized leyline. It is a science of Mystery."
She stopped, pointing an accusing, trembling finger at Fujimaru.
"Your little trick didn't use any of that! No Od expenditure. No leyline connection. You didn't even use the Foundation established by the King of Mages! Trismegistus recorded the activation of an entirely alien authority. A systematic overwrite of reality that behaved more like a localized administrative command than a spell!" Da Vinci's voice was rising in pitch, her scientific mind absolutely salivating. "You called it 'Super-Tier Magic: Creation'. Explain. Now. What on earth is a 'Tier'?"
Fujimaru scratched the back of his head nervously. He couldn't exactly explain that he was using abilities from a Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game called YGGDRASIL. To a room full of elite magi, that would sound like pure insanity.
"It's... hard to explain," Fujimaru hedged carefully. "Super Tier Magic is a form of magic that doesn't use internal mana. It relies on a completely different system. It operates on... well, cooldowns. I can only use it a few times a day, and it takes a massive amount of time to charge up. During that time, my defenses are absolute zero."
Da Vinci narrowed her eyes, her genius mind immediately calculating the variables. "A massive activation period that renders the caster totally vulnerable? A fair trade for overwriting twenty kilometers of terrain, I suppose. But wait... the timeline of the data doesn't match! You were surrounded by an expanding biological bomb with thirty seconds left to critical mass. You didn't have time to charge anything. The data shows the spell activated instantaneously!"
"Ah. Right," Fujimaru winced. "I... skipped the casting time."
"Skipped it? How?!" Olga Marie demanded, stepping forward, her magus instincts flaring up. "You can't just 'skip' a ritual of that magnitude without supplying an equivalent sacrifice!"
Fujimaru opened his palm. Sitting in his hand were the mundane, inert shards of shattered glass and a few grains of dull sand. "I used a transparent hourglass. You just crush it, and it instantly completes the casting time."
Da Vinci and Olga Marie froze, staring at the completely non-magical glass shards in absolute bewilderment.
"A... an hourglass?" Da Vinci whispered, her eye twitching as her genius brain tried to process the absurdity. "You manipulated localized temporal laws and bypassed the equivalent exchange of a reality-overwriting spell... by breaking a decorative glass trinket?!"
"Do you have any idea how fundamentally impossible that is?!" Olga Marie practically tore at her hair. "Time manipulation without temporal thaumaturgy?! And you just broke it?! Do you have any more?! Why didn't you bring it back intact for the Technology Division to study?!"
"It was an emergency!" Fujimaru defended himself, quickly dusting off his hands.
"I cannot believe this!" Olga Marie groaned, massaging her temples to stave off a massive headache. "You possess undocumented, rule-breaking artifacts and you use them like cheap party tricks!"
"It saved our lives, Director," Mash interjected firmly, stepping slightly in front of Fujimaru with a protective pout. "Senpai made the correct tactical decision under extreme duress."
Olga Marie opened her mouth to argue, but the sheer exhaustion on Fujimaru and Mash's faces finally stopped her. She let out a long, heavy sigh, massaging her temples to stave off an incoming headache.
"Fine. Fine! Surviving is preferable to being atomized, and you did save the timeline," Olga Marie grumbled, though a faint, relieved smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She looked at Roman. "Doctor. Get them to the infirmary. Da Vinci, save your interrogations for tomorrow. This debriefing is officially postponed."
"Yes, Ma'am," Roman smiled warmly, stepping forward to help guide them. "Come on, you two. Hit the showers, eat a hot meal, and get some sleep. You've earned it."
"Thank you, Director. Doctor. Da Vinci," Fujimaru smiled, leaning heavily on Mash as they began to walk out of the command room.
As the doors hissed closed behind the Master and the Shielder, Olga Marie Animusphere watched them go. The weight of the world was still on her shoulders, and the Grand Order had only just begun, but looking at the boy who had just pulled off the impossible, the Director of Chaldea finally felt a genuine spark of hope.
The artificial sunlight filtering through the reinforced glass of Chaldea's cafeteria was a welcome change from the rusted, apocalyptic skies of 15th-century France.
Fujimaru Ritsuka let out a long, contented sigh, resting his chin on his palm. After a grueling twelve-hour sleep, a hot shower, and a clean set of Chaldea standard uniforms, the sheer normalcy of the morning felt like its own kind of miracle.
"Here you go, Senpai. Extra syrup, just like you asked."
Mash slid a plate of towering, golden-brown pancakes onto the table, taking a seat beside him. She looked infinitely better than she had the day before; the color had returned to her cheeks, and she was wearing her casual white hoodie and glasses, looking like a normal teenager rather than a battle-hardened Demi-Servant.
"You're a lifesaver, Mash," Fujimaru grinned, immediately digging in.
"Don't thank her, thank the chef," a gruff, familiar voice called out.
Cú Chulainn Caster dropped into the chair across from them, carrying a tray loaded with a frankly absurd amount of bacon and black coffee. He was out of his druidic armor, wearing a simple dark blue shirt that showed off his athletic build.
"I've got to hand it to the faker," Cú smirked, taking a massive bite of bacon. "The man might be a cynical, brooding headache on the battlefield, but put him in front of a stove, and he's practically a god of culinary salvation."
Behind the cafeteria counter, standing amidst a cloud of steam and the clattering of pans, was the red-coated Archer. EMIYA had swapped his combat gear for a pristine white apron over his dark shirt. He was moving with the precise, practiced efficiency of a master swordsman, seamlessly flipping omelets, pouring coffee, and delegating tasks to a few terrified-looking Chaldea staff members.
EMIYA shot a sharp glare across the room directly at Cú. "I heard that, hound. Eat your breakfast and keep your complaints to a minimum. If you have enough energy to talk, you have enough energy to clean the grills when I'm done."
Cú just laughed, raising his coffee mug in a lazy toast. "Aye, aye, Mom."
Fujimaru chuckled around a mouthful of pancake, enjoying the domestic chaos. It was noisy, warm, and smelled like butter and roasted coffee. This was the Chaldea he loved. The slice of life between the world-ending crises.
"So," Cú leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his crimson eyes locking onto Fujimaru with an amused glint. "Are we going to talk about the giant, reality-warping elephant in the room? Or are we pretending you didn't rewrite the laws of physics with a decorative sand timer yesterday?"
Mash paused, a forkful of eggs hovering near her mouth. She looked at her Master curiously.
Fujimaru nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I told Da Vinci yesterday... it's just a special item. From a... different system."
"Right, right. A 'item,'" Cú chuckled, using air quotes. "Look, kid, I don't care if you made a pact with an alien spider god to get your hands on that stuff. It saved my hide. I'm just curious... what else are you hiding in those pockets? You gonna pull out a potion that brings the dead back to life? A scroll that summons a meteor?"
Before Fujimaru could desperately try to think of a lie to hide his YGGDRASIL inventory, a blur of colorful robes and chaotic scientific energy slammed his hands onto their table.
"That is exactly what I want to know!"
Leonardo da Vinci leaned over the table, her eyes wide with a terrifying, sleep-deprived mania. In her hand, she clutched a reinforced, vacuum-sealed containment jar. Inside it sat the mundane, inert shards of the transparent hourglass Fujimaru had crushed.
"Da Vinci?" Mash blinked in surprise. "Did you sleep at all?"
"Sleep is for mortals who haven't discovered a localized temporal paradox disguised as cheap glass!" Da Vinci declared dramatically. She shoved the jar toward Fujimaru. "I have subjected this sand to spectral analysis, conceptual weight measurements, and even exposed it to a miniature Leyline simulator. Do you know what I found, Master?!"
"Uh... sand?" Fujimaru guessed weakly.
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Da Vinci practically pulled at her hair. "It possesses zero Od. It has no Mystery. By all known laws of the Clock Tower, this is literally just silica and glass! And yet, Trismegistus confirms it bypassed a localized casting parameter for a spell that rewrote a geographic sector!"
She leaned in, her face inches from Fujimaru's, her eyes gleaming. "Ritsuka. My dear, sweet, reality-breaking Master. I must know. Can I order more of these 'Items'? I will divert Chaldea's entire coffee budget if I have to!"
"Hey! Don't touch the coffee budget!" Dr. Roman yelled from a few tables over, where he was currently slumped over a bowl of cereal. "I need that to live!"
"Quiet, Romani, science is happening!" Da Vinci dismissed him with a wave of her hand. She stared at Fujimaru pleadingly. "Just one more artifact. Give me a regeneration item. A invisibility item. Give me a stick that casts fireballs without circuits!"
Fujimaru panicked, realizing that letting the greatest inventor in human history poke around the broken mechanics of a Dive MMORPG.
"I'm completely out!" Fujimaru lied smoothly, holding his hands up in surrender. "That was the only one! Honest! It was a one-time login bonus! I mean... a rare heirloom!"
Da Vinci narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing a word of it. "A 'login bonus,' you say? Fascinating terminology..."
"Da Vinci," Mash interrupted, her voice incredibly polite but carrying the subtle, unmistakable weight of a Shielder who was ready to deploy Lord Chaldeas right there in the cafeteria. "Senpai is still recovering. The medical staff recommended an uninterrupted breakfast. Isn't that right, Doctor?"
Roman, sensing the danger, bolted upright. "Ah! Yes! Absolutely! Da Vinci, back away from the patient! High-stress interrogations are bad for digestion!"
Da Vinci pouted, clutching her jar of glass shards to her chest. "Fine, fine. The Demi-Servant plays the shield once again. But this isn't over, Ritsuka! I will crack the code of your 'Super-Tier' mystery if it's the last thing I do!"
With a dramatic swirl of her robes, the Caster spun on her heel and marched back toward the laboratory wing, muttering furiously about "bypassing equivalent exchange" and "micro-transactions."
Cú Chulainn watched her go, letting out a low whistle. "You've got the craziest genius in history obsessed with your pockets, Master. Good luck with that."
"Thanks," Fujimaru sighed, slumping forward onto the table. "I have a feeling dealing with Da Vinci is going to be harder than fighting the Demon God Pillars."
EMIYA walked over to their table, silently placing a fresh, steaming plate of hashbrowns in front of the exhausted Master before turning back to the kitchen without a word.
Mash smiled, pouring a little more coffee into Fujimaru's mug. "Eat up, Senpai. We have a briefing with the Director this afternoon about the next Singularity."
Fujimaru looked up. He looked at Mash's warm smile, Cú's relaxed posture, and EMIYA practically running a five-star restaurant in the background. Outside the reinforced windows, the eternal blizzard of Antarctica raged on, isolating them from whatever remained of the world.
It was a strange, chaotic, beautiful little family they had built at the end of the world.
"Yeah," Fujimaru smiled, picking his fork back up. "Let's eat."
After that, the corridors of Chaldea were quiet as the group made their way toward the summoning chamber. Mash walked faithfully by Fujimaru's side, while Cú Chulainn and EMIYA trailed a few steps behind, acting as a silent, seasoned vanguard.
When the heavy doors to the F.A.T.E. summoning room hissed open, the rhythmic, mechanical hum of the massive central array washed over them.
Up in the observation booth, Dr. Roman leaned into the microphone. "The Saint Graph foundations we secured from the Orleans Singularity have been completely stabilized, Ritsuka. First let's summon back Medusa. We already had her record so resummoning is possible."
BZZZZT!
The FATE System resonated strongly. The magic circles on the floor flared brightly, it emitted a deep, mysterious shade of purple. The temperature in the room instantly plummeted, feeling noticeably colder and heavier from the dense pressure of the Mana.
As the storm of light slowly subsided, the silence of the room was broken by the heavy clinking of metal chains echoing through the air.
Atop the shield stood a woman exuding an aura that was equally captivating and deadly. She wore tight black combat attire accented with purple lines that accentuated her graceful movements. Her incredibly long purple hair cascaded down to the floor like a cloak. Both of her eyes were completely sealed by a mystically patterned blindfold (visor). In her hands, she gripped a deadly steel stake connected to a thick, long chain.
The woman turned her face toward Fujimaru. Even though her eyes were obstructed by the cloth, Fujimaru could feel a razor-sharp gaze that felt as though it could paralyze anyone who dared to stare back.
"Class Rider," the woman introduced herself. Her voice was soft, flowing like a velvet whisper in the dead of night, yet brimming with absolute resolve. She bowed her head slightly. "If you require a sacrifice... do not hesitate to command me. I accept this contract, Master."
Name: Medusa
Class: Rider
Attribute: Earth
Gender: Female
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance (B Rank): Originally a Greek goddess who turned into a monster, Medusa possesses very high Magic Resistance.
Riding (A+ Rank): All types of vehicles and all creatures up to the level of Phantasmal Beasts and Divine Beasts can be used as mounts. However, this does not apply to members of the Dragon Race.
Personal Skills:
Independent Action (C Rank): Since Medusa can also obtain mana by drinking blood, she can prey on humans as needed to extend her duration.
Mystic Eyes (A+ Rank): Medusa possesses the highest level of Mystic Eyes, Cybele. Capable petrify anyone with Mana rank C or below, and even those with Mana rank B can be petrified if caught off guard. Those with Mana rank A or higher will not be petrified but will feel 'pressure' from the Eyes and receive a one-rank drop in all parameters.
Monstrous Snake Metamorphosis (B Rank): Medusa has this skill due to her nature as a monster despite being a Heroic Spirit. This skill is absolutely necessary for Medusa, who does not fight with Noble Phantasms at close range. It has many uses with her chained daggers, such as forcibly dragging skewered opponents. However, the longer she is under its influence, the more she turns into the legendary Gorgon.
Divinity (E- Rank): Medusa was once a beautiful Goddess, so she originally had very high Divinity. However, because she later turned into a monster, she became an unusual figure with monster attributes that conflict with typical Heroic Spirits. Despite this, her Divine Spirit traits have mostly declined.
Stats:
Strength B | Endurance D | Agility A | Mana B | Luck E | NP A+
Noble Phantasms:
Bellerophon: Bridle of Chivalry (Anti-Army A+): A shining golden bridle and whip, a pair of artifacts capable of fully controlling Divine Beasts, and Medusa's strongest attack. A physical strike that crushes enemies through a super-charge.
Blood Fort Andromeda: Other-Seal, Blood Temple (Anti-Army B): A magic circle placed at specific points. People within the affected area experience a mild draining of their life force. If fully activated, ordinary humans without Magic Resistance dissolve instantly. Even Heroic Spirits lose life energy as long as they are inside the barrier.
Through the blindfold that sealed her sight, she perceived the soul of the boy before her. She expected the nervous, demanding aura of a typical human magus. Instead, she felt a profound, still calmness. A soul that felt weathered, carrying the heavy ghosts of another world, yet radiating an overwhelming, quiet gratitude.
Fujimaru didn't wait for her to finish. He placed his right hand over his chest and offered her a deep, respectful bow.
"Welcome back, Medusa," Fujimaru said quietly, the prismatic glow of the array fading behind him.
Medusa stood perfectly still. The knowledge of the Orleans Singularity flowed into her mind from the Throne a record of a battle she technically had not yet fought. Yet, looking at the boy standing before her, the memory felt undeniably real.
"Please accept my uselessness, Master. I'm unable to fulfill your command." Medusa asked, her tone neutral, though a flicker of genuine curiosity touched her words.
"Everyone have made mistake, no need to blame yourself. Just improve your self." Fujimaru corrected her gently, rising from his bow to meet her hidden gaze.
Mash smiled warmly, stepping up beside him. "It's an honor to fight beside you again, Rider."
Medusa remained silent for a long moment. To be summoned not as a tool, but out of sheer gratitude, by a Master who wielded alien miracles just to bring her home—it was an anomaly she had never encountered in any Grail War.
A very faint, rare smile graced her lips.
"I see. It seems I have contracted with a Master who carries a long memory," Medusa said softly, her posture relaxing as she formally accepted the pact. "Very well. If you are not afraid of the dark, Fujimaru Ritsuka, then my speed, my eyes, and my chains are yours."
Behind them, Cú Chulainn smirked, leaning against the wall. "Welcome to the club, Rider. Hope you like carrying the weight of the world."
Fujimaru looked back at the F.A.T.E. system, the spatial rift of his Pocket Dimension closing behind him.