"Mash! Mash, where are you?!"
Above the scorching highlands, a red-haired girl pressed forward, limping with every step, her body wracked with searing pain.
Though she had already traversed six Singularities from different eras to reach this point, enduring trials of every imaginable kind, the sudden calamity unfolding before her far exceeded anything she could have anticipated.
The moment they arrived via Rashifting, an abrupt repulsive force had hurled her and her companion, Mash, far apart, scattering them into the sky.
Unlike the robust constitution of a Servant, she was merely an ordinary human girl. Despite wearing a specially crafted Mystic Code imbued with the genius of the universal man, Leonardo da Vinci, it couldn't fully compensate for her fragile physique.
Plummeting from dozens of meters in the air, she would have been incapacitated or worse... had it not been for the Mystic Code's protection and the fortunate cushion of landing in the branches of a crooked tree. Even so, her left leg seemed fractured, her body marred with bruises and cuts. The excruciating pain threatened to pull her into unconsciousness.
But the thought of her lost companion spurred her onward. Gritting her teeth, she clambered down from the tree.
"Mash! Are you nearby?! Mash!!"
On solid ground, she called out for Mash while fumbling with her Mystic Code, attempting to contact the team at Chaldea.
"Doctor! Da Vinci-chan! Everyone at Chaldea, can you hear me?!"
Buzz buzz buzz!!
The communication signal, however, was scrambled by some unknown interference, rendering Chaldea's equipment useless.
At that moment, Ritsuka Fujimaru... the last Master of humanity... found herself lost in the highlands of Mesopotamia, stranded in a dire, isolated crisis.
With each staggering step she took, the scent of her blood wafted through this ancient, divine land... a scent that could attract unwanted attention.
And now, they had come.
"Whoa!!"
A sharp, whistling gust sliced through the air near her ear. Alarm bells rang in Ritsuka's mind as she instinctively threw herself to the side, tumbling awkwardly but narrowly evading a claw strike capable of rending the earth itself.
Roar!!
Roargh!!
The danger was far from over. From the surrounding wilderness, countless crimson-furred Demonic Beasts emerged, drawn by the tang of her blood. Their scarlet eyes locked onto her, marking Ritsuka as their prey, ready to tear humanity's final Master to shreds.
"D-Demonic Beasts!"
Her face paled at the sight of the encroaching horde. Having survived six Singularities, she was no stranger to such terrifying creatures. But in the past, Mash had always been by her side. The sheer number of beasts now dwarfed anything she'd encountered in prior Singularities... and with Mash missing and her body in tatters, escape seemed impossible.
"Damn it, what do I do now…?"
Surrounded by this legion of horrors, Ritsuka's complexion drained to a ghostly white. Fear gnawed at her, but she clenched her jaw, forcing herself to stand despite the agony.
She couldn't afford to give up! Mash was out there, somewhere in this Singularity, waiting for her. The team at Chaldea was counting on her return. The fate of humanity itself rested on her shoulders…
After overcoming so many obstacles, how could she fall here?!
Ritsuka reached into her satchel, pulling out the dispel Mystic Code Da Vinci had crafted for her. Her gaze hardened as she stared down the beasts, each one poised to lunge.
Forcing her mind to steady, she scrambled for a plan. Mash was gone, no Servants were at her side, and contact with the Doctor and Chaldea had been severed. What could she do…?
The beasts sensed the ominous aura emanating from the Mystic Code in her hands. Those that had been poised to strike halted, fanning out to form a tighter encirclement around the red-haired girl.
As seconds ticked by, more beasts joined the fray, drawn by the blood seeping from her wounds. Ritsuka's expression grew grimmer with every new arrival.
The pain coursing through her body, the mental strain pressing down on her... sweat beaded coldly on her forehead. She couldn't fathom a way to break free from this deadly ring.
Even at its full potential, her Mystic Code might only fend off one or two beasts. But the horde before her numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands, with more still converging. Without Mash or a Servant to protect her, how could she possibly escape?
The disparity between her and her enemies was a chasm of despair.
The original plan, meticulously laid out at Chaldea, had been simple: use Rashifting to arrive directly within Uruk's borders, meet with this Singularity's central figure, Gilgamesh, then regroup and strategize further. But the current chaos had shattered the Doctor's blueprint entirely.
Forget reaching Uruk... surviving this ordeal was now a question mark.
Had she and Mash not studied Demonic Beasts under Da Vinci's tutelage beforehand, arming themselves with specialized dispel Mystic Codes, she'd already have been torn apart.
Roarghhh!!
The beasts, having observed the motionless girl at their center, grew restless. Sensing her weapon was little more than a bluff, they abandoned their cautious probing. No longer content to wear her down, they prepared to swarm, eager to rip Ritsuka apart and feast.
Roar!
Before the full assault could begin, a beast lurking in her blind spot lunged prematurely, leaping toward her with claws outstretched.
"What?!"
Reacting to the sudden attack, Ritsuka pivoted, squeezing her eyes shut as she triggered the dispel Mystic Code. A blinding flash erupted like a stun grenade, dazzling the beast mid-pounce. It let out a pained yelp, slamming its eyes shut as it barreled into her.
Her frail human frame couldn't withstand the beast's full force.
"Gah!!"
A cry escaped her lips as the beast's claws raked across her back, carving a deep gash. Blood poured onto the ground, and the Mystic Code slipped from her grasp, lost to the strike.
Had Da Vinci's protective enchantments not shielded her, that blow would have torn her in two. But now the Mystic Code was gone... what could she do?
"No… I can't fall… not after coming this far… Mash's still…"
Blood loss clouded Ritsuka's vision, her body weakening by the second. The encircling beasts tightened their noose, undeterred by the earlier flash, closing in once more.
Beneath the terror of the pack, her resolute will teetered on the edge of collapse.
Was this the end…?
After enduring such relentless torment, her body and spirit had reached their limits. With these wounds, unconsciousness loomed imminent.
Roarghhh!!
Sensing their prey's resistance crumble, the ferocious beasts bared their fangs, abandoning all restraint. They surged forward, ready to shred Ritsuka and devour her whole.
"Ugh…"
In her battered state, her mind fogged and her strength spent, Ritsuka could only watch helplessly as the beasts descended.
Just as their jaws neared her flesh...
…
Bang... bang... bang... bang... bang!!
"…"
From atop a nearby slope, a blond man in sunglasses leveled a peculiar firearm at the beasts, unloading a wild barrage. After a moment, he paused, realizing most of his shots had missed, and lowered his head in brief silence.
"Looks like my aim could use some work…"
He muttered to himself.
So this was humanity's last Master? Far weaker than he'd imagined.
Without a Servant's protection, she couldn't even handle a skirmish like this? These were just stitched-together rabble... beasts so lowly they'd be beneath a leopard's bait.
No matter. Contract or not, saving her wasn't his burden to bear.
His own Master would outpace him anyway.
With that in mind, the blond man reached behind him. In the next instant, he hefted a rocket launcher... jarringly anachronistic for this era... onto his shoulder.
"Let's test the new toy."
Grinning, he charged down the hill and pulled the trigger, aiming for the beastly throng below.
…
Roarghhh!!
The beasts' roars thundered in her ears. As their fangs neared her throat...
Swish!!
A silver arc flashed through the air, followed by a spray of crimson blood. Several beasts mid-leap were cleaved into fragments by the fleeting gleam.
"Hmph…"
Before the others could react, the silver light expanded, shredding hesitant stragglers into gore.
"You alright, miss? Wandering alone into a beast-infested zone at this hour isn't exactly a wise habit~"
A warm embrace enveloped her, a gentle voice sounding in her ear. Ritsuka felt herself lifted into someone's arms.
"Is it Mash…?"
No... this was a man's voice.
She struggled to see his face, but Roy pressed a hand to her forehead, soothing her softly.
"Don't move just yet. Let me heal you."
As he spoke, Roy gazed at the frail girl in his arms with a pang of sympathy. Raising a hand, he began channeling magecraft to mend her wounds.
A fractured leg, countless bruises, excessive blood loss... if he didn't act quickly, inflammation could endanger her life.
Ritsuka Fujimaru… Gudako, was it?
The thought of a teenage girl bearing such a burden... conquering seven Singularities, only to face the Demon God King... stirred pity in his heart.
Roarghhh!!
The remaining beasts, enraged at their prey being snatched away, bared their fangs at Roy, converging with intent to make him their next meal.
But before they could act...
A blazing red sun crashed into their midst.
The moment it struck, a torrid heatwave erupted, engulfing the nearest beasts and reducing them to charred husks in an instant.
The creatures didn't even comprehend their fate before they were annihilated.
"Sorry, Master. I'm late."
A lean figure clad in golden armor emerged from the flames... the incarnation of the sun. He glanced at Roy, who'd arrived first, and bowed his head apologetically.
As a Servant, he should have been the one protecting his Master. Yet he'd lagged behind.
"No worries, Karna. You're not too late. I'll tend to Chaldea's Master... handle the beasts."
Roy shook his head at Karna's arrival, adding, "Make it quick. Something troublesome is closing in."
"Understood, Master."
The Hero of Charity nodded at the command, turning his gaze to the oncoming beastly horde.
These mass-produced vermin posed no real challenge to him... a flick of his finger could end them. But as his Master warned, he too sensed the immense magical presence rapidly approaching from afar. Instinct screamed danger.
Time for a swift resolution.
With that, Karna glanced back at Roy, who was tending to Ritsuka within a sturdy magical barrier. Assured of his Master's safety, he shed all restraint.
Raising an arm, he prepared to unleash his true power.
Thanks to Roy, Karna faced no mana limits. Endless magical energy coursed through him, letting him wield his skills without fear of depletion.
With no civilians nearby to worry about, the desolate expanse was his battlefield.
So…
The son of the sun god leaped skyward, hoisting his golden lance aloft. Mana surged, melding flame and light in his grasp.
"Brahma, curse my body."
"Brahmastra Kundala!!"
Whoosh!!
A crimson flame-spear took form in his hand. Gripping it tight, he hurled it downward from the heavens.
Boom!!
The radiant lance pierced the earth, erupting in a blinding flare.
The collision unleashed a roaring inferno, swallowing swathes of beasts in moments. The blast's ferocious winds and pressure pulverized the surrounding soil.
In mere seconds, the encircling horde was reduced to cinders beneath the relentless blaze.
Some beasts, trembling at the sunfire's might, turned tail in a frantic bid to flee.
But Karna pursued, skewering them with his lance.
Though the remnants posed no threat, his Master's orders were absolute: eliminate every last one.
Thus…
"Brahma, blanket the earth."
"Brahmastra!!"
Too swift to evade, dozens of fleeing beasts were bisected by crimson beams from Karna's right eye, sundering the ground beneath them.
The unleashed mana and heat sent a jolt through a green figure soaring from the horizon.
"Such power… Impossible!"
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