A strange warmth began to seep into her limbs.
The spark of life, teetering on the edge of extinction, stirred under the gentle guidance of an unseen force.
"Mm…"
Ritsuka Fujimaru, still lost in the haze of unconsciousness, twitched faintly in Roy's arms. Her brow furrowed as the wounds riddling her body knitted together beneath the soft green glow emanating from his hands.
Roy sustained the healing magecraft for a time, watching as the worst of Ritsuka's injuries faded. Only when he was certain she was out of mortal danger did he allow himself a small breath of relief.
With the Third Magic, he could have erased her wounds in an instant. But tampering with another's soul through magecraft was a line he refused to cross lightly. He reserved that power for himself, wielding it on others only in the direst of straits.
The healing spells he used now were slower, less potent than the Third Magic, but with a generous dose, they sufficed to mend Ritsuka's battered form.
A mere fatal wound, after all.
"That should do it…"
The faint green light dimmed and vanished from his palm.
Roy reached behind him, retrieving a black water flask. He tilted it carefully to Ritsuka's lips.
Gulp, gulp…
Water trickled down her cheeks, spilling into her parched mouth.
The precious moisture soothed her dry throat, a rare coolness cutting through the haze. Stirred by instinct, the barely conscious girl clutched the hand feeding her and drank greedily.
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
In her muddled state, she gulped too fast, choking on the stream. Her body convulsed with coughs, but the fit sharpened her senses, dragging her mind into clarity.
Ritsuka's bleary eyes fluttered open, meeting the face of a young man gazing down at her.
"Awake at last, miss?" Roy offered a warm smile, his voice soft as he greeted her. "Looks like you're pulling through nicely."
"Huh?!"
Startled by the unfamiliar youth, Ritsuka registered her position... cradled against him, her hand gripping his. She'd been resting in his arms.
What was going on?
Confusion rippled through her mind.
Waking up in a stranger's embrace in the midst of a perilous Singularity... nothing about this felt right. This wasn't some saccharine romance novel.
She vaguely recalled being swarmed by magical beasts before blacking out, but…
Struggling upright, Ritsuka scanned her surroundings.
Where were the beasts?
No matter how hard she looked, all she saw was cracked, scorched earth... Karna's handiwork... and countless blackened chunks of charred flesh.
The air reeked of roasted meat, sharp and acrid. In this desolate wasteland, she seemed to be held by this young man alone.
The scene was anything but romantic. It was downright eerie.
"Who… are you?" she ventured, her voice tentative.
"Just a wanderer doubling as a magus, nothing more," Roy replied with a dip of his head, gently setting the shaken girl down from his arms.
"I'm glad to see you're alright."
Eased to the ground, Ritsuka hesitated, her nerves still taut. "Did you save me?"
"If you mean healing your wounds, yes, that was me. As for the beasts, my Servant took care of them."
Roy flicked a finger skyward, pointing out Karna, who patrolled the heavens with unwavering focus.
Ritsuka, stunned by the revelation, missed the gesture's full implication.
"Servant?"
The word jolted her. If he commanded a Servant, then this young man was…
Her gaze dropped to his hand, settling on the back where three Command Spells... similar in hue to hers, though distinct in design... glowed faintly.
"So you're also…"
[Hey!! Ritsuka, is that you? Can you hear me?!]
At that moment, Chaldea's notoriously fickle comms device crackled to life. Romani Archaman's voice burst through from the other side.
Hearing the Doctor's familiar tone, Ritsuka abandoned her exchange with Roy, ducking her head to reconnect with her team.
"I hear you! Thank goodness... I finally reached you, Doctor!!"
[Thank goodness, it worked!! Sorry, Ritsuka... we lost you because of a special barrier's interference in that Singularity. It damaged the comms, and…]
[But Ritsuka, where's Mash? Why isn't her vitals signature near you? And there are two massive mana signatures with you now. One's a Servant... based on Saint Graph records, it's Karna from the Fifth Singularity. The other, though…]
Back in Chaldea's command room, Romani Archaman... finally reconnected... launched into a rapid assessment of Ritsuka's condition and surroundings.
Half an hour ago, her vitals on Chaldea's monitors had plummeted to critical levels.
With comms down, he'd been blind to her plight, nearly driven mad with worry. Now, reunited with her voice, Roman's questions poured out in a frantic rush, his usual composure fraying.
Bombarded by his relentless queries, Ritsuka faltered, unsure where to begin.
It took the intervention of Leonardo da Vinci, ever-present at Roman's side, to restore order.
"Step aside, Roman. You won't get answers like this. Let me handle Ritsuka."
With that, da Vinci nudged the flustered Doctor away, taking over the comms.
"Ritsuka, Roman nearly lost his mind over your situation, so he's a bit scattered right now," Da Vinci began, offering a quick rundown. "I'll ask a few questions, and you just answer me, alright?"
"Okay, Da Vinci-chan," Ritsuka agreed with a nod.
"Good. First question: Did you just encounter enemies in the Seventh Singularity and suffer serious injuries?"
Da Vinci cut straight to the point.
"Yes. I was surrounded by a ton of magical beasts and almost died…" Ritsuka admitted, a shiver running through her as she recalled the ordeal.
"I figured as much…" Da Vinci nodded, unsurprised.
As the universal genius, she trusted her inventions... the Mystic Codes and vitals trackers... implicitly. The data from earlier had already painted the picture.
"Second question: Where's Mash? Why isn't she with you?"
Ritsuka's head dipped, her mood darkening. "I don't know. We got separated the moment we arrived in this Singularity. I have no idea where she is…"
"I see… Then... "
"Mash's missing?!"
"What happened out there, Ritsuka?!"
Before da Vinci could press further, Roman shoved back into the frame, his composure crumbling at the news of Mash's disappearance.
"Calm down, yelling won't solve anything." A new voice cut in.
As Roman floundered in panic, Roy stepped up beside Ritsuka, ruffling her red hair with a playful hand.
"Who're you?!"
Roman's eyes widened in shock as the young man entered the feed. His gaze darted to the console, where bizarre readings flashed.
The data pegged this stranger as another Master candidate, just like Ritsuka.
And that wasn't all.
As the youth registered on the sensors, the mana detection gauge spun to its limit, emitting an odd hum.
Had Roman not triple-checked the results, he'd have dismissed them as a glitch. This was unbelievable.
"With that kind of mana… What are you? Human Grail?!" Roman blurted, incredulous.
___
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