A Human Grail?
Roy's brow creased at the odd label.
"A Human Grail? What kind of bizarre nickname is that? Stop slapping weird titles on people."
"I'm just confident in my mana reserves, that's all."
"Confident?!" Roman's voice spiked with disbelief. "Do you have any idea what level your mana capacity is at?! Even the Grails stored in Chaldea might not match what's coursing through you. And according to the readings, this isn't even your limit... your body's generating more mana every second!"
"How is that remotely normal?!"
Roman looked like he'd seen a ghost, utterly unconvinced by Roy's casual dismissal.
The man before him radiated suspicion and danger at levels that threatened to break the charts.
If judged by mana volume alone, neither the Demon God Pillars nor the Goddess Rhongomyniad from the Sixth Singularity held a candle to this guy's sheer terror.
Ritsuka had barely stepped into this Singularity before encountering what felt like a final boss... and with Mash missing, Roman was powerless to help despite his spiraling panic.
If this stranger turned hostile, Ritsuka wouldn't stand a chance.
For now, all he could do was probe this enigmatic youth and pray he wasn't an enemy.
"My identity's not important, Doctor Roman, or anyone else at Chaldea," Roy said evenly. "Just think of me as an ally here to fix the Singularity."
"As for who I am…"
He raised his left hand, displaying the Command Spells etched on its back for all of Chaldea to see.
"My name's Roy. I'm a Master here to mend this Singularity... and the one who pulled this girl back from the jaws of death. I saved her from those beasts and healed her wounds."
"And the Karna you detected? He's my contracted Servant."
"Is that so?" Roman murmured, mulling it over before glancing at Ritsuka beside him. "Ritsuka, is he telling the truth?"
"Yes, Doctor. This guy saved me," Ritsuka confirmed with a nod.
Though Roy carried an air of mystery, her gut told her he wasn't a bad person. He'd saved her life... that alone kept her from doubting him. She just hadn't expected her rescuer to be another Master.
The realization hit her with a jolt of astonishment. Since joining Chaldea, she and Mash had tackled six Singularities and restoring Human Order. They'd met countless Heroic Spirits from different eras, but never another like her.
According to Roman, the explosion orchestrated by Professor Lev had left all forty-eight Masters near death, sealed in stasis pods. She'd been the last human Master standing.
And now, another had appeared?
Surprise mingled with a flicker of warmth... an odd joy at meeting someone like herself.
"So, if I may ask, how exactly did you arrive at this…" Roman began, the initial clamor settling as he prepared to dig into Roy's story.
But before he could finish, Chaldea's detection system blared with a sharper, more urgent alarm.
Roman snapped into routine protocol. "Trouble! Ritsuka, Roy... heads up! Our instruments just picked up multiple anomalous mana signatures closing in fast. They're targeting you!!"
"More beasts?!" Ritsuka's face drained of color, tension seizing her anew.
Having just survived a beastly onslaught and a brush with death, she was on the verge of developing a phobia. The news sent an involuntary tremor through her.
"Hmph… Same tired script, huh?" Roy muttered, a stark contrast to her dread. His ice-blue mystic eyes flicked toward the distant sky.
Karna's earlier carpet bombing had all but wiped out the local beasts. Even if some stragglers were drawn from afar, this sudden surge didn't add up... unless there was another explanation.
High above, Karna's gaze burned toward the approaching threat, his arm rising to strike them down.
But Roy's voice rang through the Command Spell, issuing a new order: *Stand down. Watch from above or hide... your choice. The mastermind behind these beasts is coming.*
Without a word of protest, Karna nodded, ascending higher to faithfully carry out his Master's will.
Noticing Ritsuka's unease, Roy rested a hand on her shoulder, his tone soft and steady. "Don't worry. With me here, those beasts won't touch you."
"Mm," Ritsuka murmured, stealing a glance at him.
She had no rational basis for it, but his words inexplicably calmed her racing heart. Unconsciously, she edged closer, as if his presence alone offered a shield of reassurance.
Roy shifted to stand protectively before her. Mana gathered in his palm, coalescing into a pitch-black sword wreathed in dark flames.
Sure enough, as Roman had warned, another wave of beasts charged toward them.
But before they could close the distance, the earth shuddered violently. Jagged spikes erupted from the ground, skewering the oncoming horde with ruthless precision.
"Are you two alright?"
A figure descended gracefully from the sky... a striking being draped in a white robe, green hair cascading like a verdant river. The attack had come from their hands.
Enkidu?
No... Kingu, more likely.
Roy recognized that familiar mana signature. He'd sensed it before, near Ur's rainforest, shortly after arriving.
Back then, new to this Singularity, he'd avoided direct confrontation, opting to retreat into Quetzalcoatl's domain to lay low.
Now, sensing this figure's rapid approach, Roy cloaked himself in the black flames drawn from his soul's depths, masking his mana to avoid recognition.
His garb shifted to green, his eyes gleamed gold, and the Command Spells on his hand vanished beneath the dark fire's veil... no trace remained.
With this disguise, he'd transformed into a Servant, undetectable even to Kingu.
At the sight of his striking attire and the oddly familiar flames, Ritsuka whispered a name, "Count of Monte Cristo?"
"Hm."
Roy only shook his head lightly, pressing a finger to his lips in a hush gesture.
Leaning down, he murmured something in her ear.
"How's that even possible?!" Roman stammered, stunned from his perch at Chaldea.
The instruments showed Roy's Master signature morphing into that of a Servant, mirroring the Avenger Count of Monte Cristo from Chaldea's records with near ninety percent accuracy.
It was akin to Mash's fusion with a Heroic Spirit... a pseudo-Servant born of blended Saint Graph.
Yet moments ago, there'd been no hint of this shift. It materialized from thin air.
Roman opened his mouth to speak, but Roy's hand steadied Ritsuka's comms device... a silent signal he caught immediately, clamping his lips shut.
"…"
Much like the opening of this seventh chapter, Kingu had orchestrated this: unleashing beasts to assail Ritsuka, only to swoop in and "save" her, posing as Gilgamesh's dear friend, Enkidu.
The ploy was meant to lure Ritsuka and Mash to their base for a swift end. Without Merlin's bumbling interference, Chaldea's journey through this Singularity might've crumbled under this scheme.
Kingu's performance rivaled the greatest actors of antiquity. Roy himself had been fooled by it when he'd first seen the plot unfold.
But now, the stage wasn't his alone.
And Roy held the advantage of foresight.
Who'd outmaneuver whom? That remained to be seen.
With a subtle nod to Ritsuka, Roy... now cloaked as the Count of Monte Cristo... unleashed a surge of mana toward the green figure who'd appeared before them.
Dark flames enveloped Ritsuka, shielding her behind him as his gaze locked onto the approaching stranger.
"Who are you?" he demanded, voice low and sharp.
___
If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my pat reon,
https , // www .pat reon. com /XElenea