"Are you all okay?"
Arthur was the first to speak when the Rayshift's light disappeared.
The sensation of temporal displacement gradually faded, allowing the group to regain their balance. Around them stretched a vast prairie covered in tall grass that swayed gently in the wind.
"Yes."
Ritsuka answered as she steadied herself.
The Rayshift experience was no longer new to her. Even so, before she looked at the surrounding landscape, her eyes instinctively searched for Arthur. Only after confirming that he was fine did she turn her attention to the scenery.
Mash did something similar, although far more discreetly.
"The transfer was completed successfully," she said after a quick check of the instruments. "I've confirmed the coordinates of the temporal axis. It appears to be the year 1431. That means we're in the middle of the Hundred Years' War. But this should be during a period of truce."
"A break? Wars get time off?" Ritsuka asked in confusion.
"If I remember correctly, the Hundred Years' War didn't actually last a full hundred years like the name suggests. During this period, the war was relatively calm. Captured knights were released in exchange for payment almost every day."
Arthur looked around as he spoke.
Their objective was clear.
Investigate the anomaly that had appeared in this era.
Discover the source of the historical distortion.
Recover the Holy Grail.
Restore the proper course of human history.
The objectives themselves might have been simple, but the path to achieving them probably wouldn't be.
"We're receiving a signal from Chaldea," Ritsuka suddenly said as her communicator lit up.
Olga Marie's voice came through immediately.
["Finally. I was beginning to think something had gone wrong during the transfer."]
The image of the Director appeared a few seconds later.
Even through the transmission, it was obvious how hard she was trying to appear calm and professional.
["I want a situation report. Were there any problems during the Rayshift?"]
"None," Mash replied. "We arrived safely."
["Excellent."]
Olga crossed her arms.
["As expected. After all, I was the one supervising the entire operation."]
Romani partially appeared behind her.
["You spent ten minutes pacing back and forth, Director."]
["Shut up, Romani!"] Olga roared.
["I'm only reporting the facts,"] Romani replied.
["Nobody asked you to!"]
Arthur let out a brief laugh.
Olga immediately pointed at him.
["And you stop laughing too! We're on an extremely important mission!"]
"Of course, Director."
Unfortunately, his calm response only seemed to irritate her even more.
Before she could continue, Mash looked upward.
"Hm?"
"What is it, Mash?" Ritsuka asked.
Mash didn't answer immediately. Her eyes remained fixed on the sky.
"Senpai... Look."
She pointed upward.
Ritsuka followed her gaze and froze.
"What is that?"
Arthur also raised his head.
Far above them, beyond the clouds, a gigantic ring of light stretched across the heavens.
The structure seemed to encompass a considerable portion of the horizon.
It wasn't a cloud, and it was clearly not a natural phenomenon.
It resembled a colossal luminous construction suspended above the world.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Olga noticed the silence.
["What happened now?"] she asked, frowning. ["Why are you all staring at the sky like that?"]
Mash quickly adjusted the sensors.
"Director, I'm transmitting images."
A few seconds later, the footage reached Chaldea.
Silence fell over the Command Room.
["That is..."] Olga murmured.
Romani stepped closer to the screen.
["A ring of light?"]
["Don't be ridiculous, Romani,"] Olga immediately replied. ["I can see it's a ring of light too."]
["No, I mean..."]
Romani leaned closer to the image.
["Could it be some kind of continental-scale spell? A magical structure located in Earth's orbit? I've never seen anything like it."]
"What is the estimated size?" Arthur asked.
["Hard to say from this distance,"] Romani continued while analyzing the data. ["But in the worst-case scenario... enormous. Perhaps comparable to the size of a continent."]
Ritsuka looked back at the sky.
Seeing it from here, it was difficult to believe something that absurd could exist.
"Is there any historical record of this?" Mash asked.
["There are no records of such a phenomenon occurring in 1431,"] Romani answered immediately.
Olga's expression became serious, and all her irritation vanished.
["Then we can assume it's related to the Singularity."]
["Yes,"] Romani nodded.
["Considering humanity's current condition, it's probably one of the primary causes of the distortion."]
Olga took a deep breath.
When she spoke again, her voice had regained its commander's tone.
["Then stop staring at the sky and focus on the mission."]
Mash immediately straightened her posture.
"Yes, Director."
Olga crossed her arms again.
["And be careful. This is only the First Singularity. Don't do anything reckless."]
Ritsuka smiled slightly.
"Are you worried about us?"
["Of course not!"]
The answer came far too quickly.
["I'm worried about the mission! If you idiots do something stupid, I'll be the one who has to fix it!"]
"Right."
["Don't agree so easily!"] she roared once more.
Arthur looked away to hide his smile.
Olga immediately noticed.
["And stop finding this funny!"]
"I'll try."
["You definitely won't!"]
The transmission ended shortly afterward.
"Anyway, focus on the mission, girls. As Olga said, we still have a lot of work ahead of us."
Arthur observed the horizon for a few moments before his eyes briefly shone with a golden hue as he activated his Clairvoyance.
Hundreds of skeletal figures were spread throughout the region and rapidly advancing toward the group from approximately two kilometers away. Their numbers were considerable and seemed to be increasing continuously.
Upon seeing that, Arthur simply smiled.
"It looks like the Singularity decided to welcome us personally."
He chuckled softly before turning toward Ritsuka.
"Let's bring in the cavalry."
"Understood."
She nodded while activating the device used to summon everyone contracted to her.
Arthur did the same, summoning those who had contracts with him.
Several flashes of light appeared around the trio as each Servant materialized one after another.
As soon as he appeared, Richard looked around the prairie with obvious interest. Despite the situation, he seemed genuinely pleased to finally set foot on a new adventure. However, contrary to what many might have expected from him, he didn't charge ahead or make any impulsive comments. His attention quickly shifted toward Artoria, naturally waiting to see what direction she would take.
Artoria simply sighed.
Ever since they had met, Richard had behaved like something resembling a puppy following its owner.
She could practically see a wagging tail behind him.
At the same time, the Mordred who remained close to her seemed to be trying her absolute best to pretend she wasn't interested in Artoria's relationship with Arthur.
'Arthur is right. I need to take a moment to talk to this girl... I wonder how she'll react when she discovers she has a younger sister.'
Artoria thought, amused, as she walked a few steps behind Arthur.
The memory of her adorable and energetic daughter caused Artoria to unconsciously smile.
Still, she chose not to say anything for now. She preferred not to talk much during serious moments like this and instead simply follow Arthur's plans.
After all, she trusted him completely.
Without wasting any time, Arthur and Ritsuka signaled for the group to move forward, and the march began.
As they crossed the prairie, something strange started happening.
Despite the constant wind, a strange white mist began spreading across the area. It completely ignored the direction of the air currents, expanding unnaturally and covering the fields like a silent veil.
Ritsuka immediately ordered Jack and Atalanta to investigate.
After a brief moment of thought, Arthur ordered Ishtar to accompany them as support in case something happened.
Meanwhile, Tamamo activated a support spell.
An invisible barrier expanded around the group, reducing part of the strain caused by constant movement while ensuring a more efficient flow of magical energy to all allies.
Although she remained focused on maintaining the technique, her eyes occasionally drifted back toward Arthur.
Not because she doubted his abilities, but because she simply enjoyed keeping him within sight.
Arthur continued advancing at the center of the formation.
Ritsuka remained close to him throughout the march, carefully observing everything happening around them.
From the beginning of the operation, the group's hierarchy had been established naturally.
As her senior, Arthur was responsible for leading the mission, making strategic decisions, and coordinating the Servants.
Ritsuka was operating directly under his command, and honestly, she couldn't imagine anyone more suitable for that position.
Her trust in him was absolute.
Mash didn't seem much different.
Although she remained focused on protecting the group, part of her peace of mind came simply from Arthur's presence.
Over the past months, she had learned repeatedly that seemingly hopeless situations became far more manageable when he was around.
Artoria advanced along one flank of the formation with Rhongomyniad in hand.
Jeanne remained near the group's core.
Richard moved forward without displaying the slightest concern.
On the contrary, he was enthusiastically speaking with Artoria about his adventures and the Knights of the Round Table.
He seemed to possess limitless energy, almost like a child who had just met his favorite hero.
Among everyone present, only Arthur and those with Clairvoyance could clearly perceive the true scale of what was approaching.
It didn't take long before the undead horde entered the group's field of vision.
Even prepared to encounter significant resistance within the Singularity, Arthur had to admit that the difference between expectation and reality was considerable.
Not because the creatures were particularly powerful.
Not because they looked especially impressive.
The problem was simply their absurd numbers.
Across the prairie, skeletons and walking corpses advanced in such vast quantities that they resembled a black stain spreading across the land.
Some carried rusted swords.
Others wielded bows or ancient weapons that should have decayed long ago.
They moved without any apparent coordination, driven only by the instinct to destroy any living thing they encountered.
"That's an absurd number," Ritsuka muttered.
"It really is."
Arthur nodded.
"Everyone, don't fully release your Noble Phantasms yet. First, let's evaluate their combat capabilities and durability."
Everyone immediately understood the logic behind the decision.
It didn't surprise Ritsuka.
She had seen Arthur make similar decisions before.
Rather than pursuing a quick victory, he preferred to fully understand the situation first.
It was a habit that often transformed complicated situations into far more controlled operations.
Perhaps it was precisely that combination of caution, competence, and confidence that caused so many people to gravitate toward him.
"Richard, use as many as you want."
Arthur said as dozens of swords emerged from the Gate of Babylon.
A smile immediately appeared on Richard's face.
"They're durable enough to withstand the release of your Noble Phantasm, so feel free to use them."
Unlike his other Servants, Richard's Noble Phantasm release was completely manageable for Arthur.
Richard's smile widened immediately.
He looked over the swords surrounding Arthur, examining each one with genuine interest before grasping one of them by the hilt.
"Lending weapons to a knight before battle would already be generous. Lending dozens of them is practically a royal gift."
His tone was light, but his eyes remained fixed on the blades around them.
Richard laughed softly before pointing the sword forward.
"I'll accept your generosity without the slightest bit of modesty."
"But don't worry. I'll return them in perfect condition."
"Well... most of them, at least."
He added after a brief pause.
The battle began the very next instant.
In practice, however, calling it a battle would have been an exaggeration.
The undead possessed overwhelming numerical superiority, but that was their only advantage.
Artoria cut through enemy ranks with ease.
Jeanne and Mash maintained a stable formation while protecting Ritsuka.
Tamamo provided constant support.
Ishtar eliminated any larger concentrations of enemies.
Jack appeared and disappeared through the mist, silently reducing enemy numbers.
Meanwhile, Richard advanced across the battlefield.
The difference between Servants and those undead was simply too great.
The horde continued advancing.
And continued being destroyed.
Unfortunately, the outcome had been decided the moment both sides encountered one another.
Approximately three minutes later, more than ninety percent of the horde had been completely annihilated.
With the confrontation practically over, Arthur mentally recorded all the information they had gathered.
(End of Chapter)
A/N: To be honest, I only just realized that I completely forgot about Hippolyta, and there isn't enough time for me to rewrite the chapter and add her now. I already have the next two chapters practically finished; they're only waiting for a final edit. Adding her at this point would be way too much work since I'd have to rewrite a lot of things. So just imagine that Rin forced her to stay behind in Chaldea.
A/N: Updates will return to normal starting next week, meaning two chapters every two days.