Hello, I know this isn't the chapter you're expecting, but while writing this story I had several interesting crossover ideas I could do with it.
These are short stories that I might turn into a separate story, like the Dark Souls/Elden Ring x Arknights one, or just write throughout this fic for the readers' enjoyment.
Honestly, they bothered me for a while, so I decided to put them on paper.
Just to be clear, let's assume Micolash is almost at the end of the main story, so his mutations and abilities may or may not match what I have planned for Fear, Hunger and Cosmic Horrors.
With that said, I wish you all a great read.
-Your master, the Beast of Ascension-
Ritsuka and his sister Gudako's day couldn't be worse; they both filled out a strange pamphlet and had samples of their blood collected, were interviewed by suspicious people, and received a job offer that was too good to be true.
Magic was real, and they were chosen as masters of an organization called Chaldea, based in Antarctica, with the goal of traveling back in time to resolve anomalies called singularities and prevent humanity's extinction and doomed future.
It seemed like a story straight out of a fantasy film, but it was true. They met a kind but clumsy Doctor named Roman, a bizarrely dressed man with a heavy aura named Lev, Mash, their adorable and shy kouhai, and the organization's young and stern director, Olga, who made a point of reprimanding them for sleeping during the mission briefing.
And finally, the beautiful Da Vinci—yes, she was a woman. The spirit of the world's most famous polymath was brought back as a woman, a mix of personal preference and the importance given to his Mona Lisa painting, which now served as her new appearance.
Honestly, it was too much to process, and both hoped to do so in their respective rooms while the professionals saved humanity. That's when everything went wrong: alarms, fire, and explosions in the control room. Mash was crushed by a huge piece of rubble.
It seemed like everyone would die there, but the Rayshift system was already activated. There was a bright light, and when everything disappeared, the siblings, the director, and Mash, now wearing outrageous armor, found themselves in a burning city.
Fuyuki, in ruins, burned and filled with reanimated skeletons.
Mash, identified as a demi-servant, used her heavy shield to turn the undead to dust while Olga provided support with a spell called Gandr.
The sound of metal hitting bones and the red spells pushing the skeletons back echoed through the desolate landscape. Despite their numbers, the creatures weren't powerful, but that didn't change the fact that Ritsuka and Gudako felt useless.
They weren't mages, and as masters, they only had the title and the affinity to summon heroic spirits; however, the situation didn't allow for that.
Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of something tearing through the air. Three massive purple orbs fell from the sky, opening holes in the crowd of skeletons, moving sideways and eliminating lines of enemies.
"What the fuuuck! Of all placesss, why here?!"
An angry male voice reverberated through the environment, but something was wrong; it was distorted, a strange accent that dragged out certain syllables.
Its owner appeared on top of a rusty bus moments later, forming a shadow that didn't obey the fire around him. It was difficult to analyze his details due to all the chaos present, but his attack was enough to draw the attention of the remaining skeletons.
"ATTACK!"
To everyone's surprise, he retaliated with his own army of skeletons, which surrounded the bus and confronted the opposing force.
As if that weren't enough, he conjured spell after spell, aiding his troops. Flocks of crows, swarms of locusts, waves of flames, and more dark orbs.
It was a massacre, and when it was all over, only one side emerged victorious.
Tension filled the air, and the Chaldea contingent braced for the worst, but instead of continuing their advance, the legion of skeletons parted, creating a path for their master.
As he drew closer, more of his appearance was revealed, and the faces of all present contorted in horror.
He was a tall, dark-skinned young man, with the upper part of his face hidden by an iron mask and a hood pierced by a pair of horns, but this did not conceal his messy, snow-white hair, bright yellow, snake-like eyes, divided by slits and with eyelids that closed sideways, and a wide, intensely large mouth with teeth that could shatter steel and a long, forked tongue.
His physical stature was concealed by a long, dark trench coat and brown leather armor, the right sleeve torn, revealing a skinless arm of red flesh in a spiral shape filled with countless eyes that watched and blinked in different directions.
On his remaining arm, with the coat sleeve intact and wrapped in green tentacles, he held a book that exuded mana in suffocating quantities, causing Olga to gasp and the others to sweat nervously.
A long tail ending in a scorpion's stinger swung lazily at the base of his spine, almost dragging on the ground, near the shadow that seemed to dance of its own accord.
Strangely, everything about him seemed to have come from ancient times, yet there was a contrast caused by his jeans, colorful sneakers, and the school backpack he carried on his back.
"Greetingsss…"
The individual bowed in a polite arc before offering a toothy smile that split his face, making everyone shudder.
Despite his gentleness, he didn't sheath the long rapier he held in his monstrous hand, a sharp weapon whose tip burned a deep gold, occasionally spilling drops of what seemed to be pure molten metal.
"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Micolasssh and I am on a misssion, just like you. Would you be willing to exchange inforrrmation? I believe I can offer my servicesss in return if necessary."
The way his body moved was unnerving, everything about him seemed wrong, leaving the group speechless.
"Tell me, have you ssseen a little girl, a she-wolf, and a knight? They are dear friendsss of mine and I would love to find them before something bad happensss."
Yes, the day couldn't get any worse.
These were the unspoken words of all the members of Chaldea.
-Fixing Fairy Tales-
"GASP!"
When I became aware of my surroundings, I realized I was sitting in a chair in a large library, with a long wooden table in front of me.
"You finally woke up! I thought you'd sleep all day."
A mocking female voice caught my attention, and looking at its source, I frowned to see a little blonde girl in a blue dress staring at me with barely contained amusement.
"Who arrre you?"
"Oh, you shouldn't recognize me in this form, my mistake."
She laughed, and with a snap of her fingers, her head was replaced by a long tentacle with a toothed mouth.
"Nyarrrlathotep!"
I tried to stand up, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move my body.
"Yes, me! Your favorite Old One! But putting introductions aside, I'd like your help as my favorite human!"
"Not again…"
My tired sigh only made the entity laugh even harder before pulling a cigar from somewhere and lighting it with a burst of green fire, inhaling deeply before spitting out a ring of smoke and continuing to speak in a woman's voice.
"Look, the other Old Ones and I thought it would be fun to play around with some fairy tales, twist them a bit to make things more interesting. Unfortunately, everything got out of control and things got ugly…"
"Let me guesss, and you want me to fix everrrything?"
"Exactly! You learn fast!"
"Do I have a ccchoice?"
"What do you think?"
The being rested an elbow on the table and offered me a smile full of eyes and tentacles.
"Do I at leassst get something?"
"How about a harem?"
"No! Too much worrrk and the chance of getting ssstabbed to death is way too high! How about thisss: you give me an absurd amount of silver coinsss and make sure my cell phone has infinite battery and interrrnet connection? That will make thingsss easier when I return to the dungeon."
"Meh, that's all? Then it's a deal."
"Grrreat, so when do I ssstart?"
"Right now!"
In the blink of an eye, several voices laughed as I found myself falling into a dark hole, my consciousness slowly fading, but in the last moments, I cursed every god I knew.
-XXXXXX-
I found myself in a prison cell when my consciousness returned. I wasted no time in tearing the bars off and decapitating the humanoid pig that brandished a sword at me.
A long, narrow corridor was the only available path, but I immediately retreated upon turning left when a sword nearly pierced my neck.
"Tsk! I expected to find someone here, but there are only demon beasts."
She was a young, short knight with long blonde hair, fair skin, and silver armor. And now she watched me with disgust, sword and shield in hand.
"Lisssten here, brat! I don't know what a demon beassst is, but I don't like being attacked for no reassson!"
I pointed Shark Teeth at her and opened Kitab, preparing a spell as she assumed a fighting stance.
"It seems you still possess a shred of sanity. Don't worry, I, Jeanne, will take you out of your suffering."
Me and my luck. Without another word, the battle began, and at that instant, I broke my previous record for time without getting into trouble.
-The New Member of the Reunion-
The smell of garbage and smoke slowly caused the fog to dissipate from my mind; the screams and explosions accelerated the process.
I stood up, weapon and spells ready, mentally kicking myself for sleeping in the middle of the dungeon, only to frown as I realized I was in a different place.
Had I returned home?
That was the first thing I thought when I saw the 21st-century architecture around me: buildings and skyscrapers, cars and much more.
However, I immediately changed my mind as I walked to the entrance of the alley and saw two forces clashing in the streets.
One wore riot gear and carried a modern version of shields and halberds, while the other wore white trench coats and gray masks, carrying improvised weapons.
However, both had something in common: animalistic features, be it horns, ears, or tails.
I also had some, but unlike mine, they seemed natural. Anyway, I made the smart choice and ran in the opposite direction, climbing onto a dumpster and leaping towards the fire escape, pulling myself up and onto the roof of the building.
There, I witnessed the extent of the destruction, fires and columns of smoke rising in the distance, amidst screams, sounds of fighting, and car horns.
As if that wasn't enough, dark clouds were gathering in the sky, preparing some kind of disaster.
I didn't know where I was and intended to find out, but first, I needed to get out of here. I approached the edge and used the Phase Step, teleporting to the building across the street.
I continued like that until the sounds of fighting faded into the distance and I finally had time to think.
I needed information, but leaving the city seemed like a better option; however, Madeleine, D'arce, and Moonless could be here somewhere.
What to do? What to do?
I was jolted from my stupor by a commotion in the street below. There was a group of people in black and blue uniforms, with some individuals standing out among them, such as a girl with rabbit ears who cast dark spells, a woman with dog ears who wielded a whip with a blade, and a blonde knight in silver armor.
Everyone was working together to repel the people in white coats and protect a masked person dressed in black in their group.
Well, they seemed to have everything under control. I turned my back and teleported away again.
I found myself on the street this time, however, holding back an insult as I came face to face with a crowd of people in white coats with their backs to me, listening to the speech of a pale boy with white hair and clothes of the same color.
Clearly there was something wrong with him; his eyes were full of madness and his voice of sadistic pleasure.
"...Then, we will show our pain to the people of Ursus. The treatment given to the infected will be returned in kind, starting with their children."
He pointed to the large building behind him, where people in black coats, probably of a higher rank than those in white coats, were dragging adults out.
It was possible to hear children's screams coming from inside while some watched in horror from the windows. It didn't take long for the adults to be executed and the masked people to celebrate while the children cried.
For a moment, I wondered how quickly I could kill the boy in white and teleport away, but I soon changed my mind. Instead, I retreated, using Phase Step to circle the building and teleport inside.
Now let's see what I can do.
END OF CHAPTER