"Finally done. Time to stretch my legs."
On the twentieth day, Daniel Davis finally completed his spatial link and memorized all the primordial Runes taught by Cú Chulainn. All that remained was practice and research.
But with no sign of Chaldea's Master arriving anytime soon, Daniel grew restless. After all, this was a rare opportunity to fight Saber Alter.
"A magic for traveling between parallel worlds… don't tell me you're the Second Magician?"
"I'm not. The Second Magician is someone else."
In the Type-Moon world, the most famous mysteries were the Five True Magics. Daniel knew of two specifically: the Second Magic, which allowed observation and travel between parallel worlds, and the Third, which involved materializing the soul—essentially granting eternal life.
As for the other three, all he knew was that the Fifth Magician was likely Aoko Aozaki. And he only knew that because of her sister, Touko Aozaki.
"Speaking of which… why didn't the Second Magician show up during something as major as the Human Order Incineration?"
Despite the crisis of Human Order Incineration, the three major branches of the Mage's Association seemed eerily inactive. Sure, it was possible the Clock Tower was wiped out—but the other two weren't so easily eliminated. They reappeared during the Lostbelt arcs.
As for the Second Magician, it was hard to believe such an existence could die so easily. More likely, there was some other reason for their absence—or perhaps this particular world simply didn't have a Second Magician.
With so many parallel worlds in the Nasuverse, it wasn't guaranteed that the same figures existed in every one. And both the Incineration and the later bleaching of the world were events steeped in mystery. Who was to say that the so-called Foreign God hadn't been manipulated from the start?
"Eh, even if those two are using me as a tool, I'm getting quite a bit out of it. Fair trade, I'd say."
There were plenty of treasures in the Type-Moon world—both literal and metaphorical. Not to mention the chance to meet many of his favorite characters.
"These people… petrified. Must be the Mystic Eyes of Petrification."
He looked around at the street full of stone statues. These civilians had clearly fallen victim to Medusa's eyes. It was the only place in Fuyuki City where signs of remaining human victims could be seen—the rest had been wiped out by corrupted Servants.
Daniel and Cú Chulainn were now the only humans left in the city. Everyone else was either dead… or a Servant.
"There you are."
Just as Daniel and Cú Chulainn were walking down the street, several chains flew at them from the side. The two dodged immediately, and Medusa—Lancer-class—appeared, standing on the chains and smirking coldly.
"What now?" Cú Chulainn asked Daniel.
"She's not my target. I'll leave this to you—meet me at the usual spot." Without another word, Daniel turned to leave.
"Not so fast."
Medusa's long purple hair morphed into several chains, attempting to trap him.
"Your opponent's not me."
Using a combination of Soru and Moon Step, Daniel vanished in an instant and landed atop a partially collapsed rooftop to observe the battle below.
"Your opponent is me." Cú Chulainn, holding his staff like a spear, charged at Medusa. She had no choice but to abandon her chase and block his attack with her scythe. Their clash shattered the nearby stone statues, and the shockwaves even crushed a nearby car.
This was the difference between Servants and magi. Even Grand-ranked magi couldn't easily take on a regular Servant, let alone in combat like this.
Well… unless you were one of those freaks who could punch Servants to death. But that was another story.
Daniel was about to go search for other Servants when a group of Hassan assassins appeared in his path. It seemed the corrupted Servants had divided up the city into territories. This area had no humans left—only the remains of chaos and broken cars.
"Assassins, huh? Not who I was looking for, but a good chance to test out my new Runes."
With that thought, Daniel wrote five Runes into the air. Five massive fireballs burst forth, engulfing the Hassans in flames. Being weak, fragmented spirits, they couldn't withstand the assault.
"Red Archer is guarding Saber. I'll go after Heracles first."
Even in his Berserker state, Heracles remained one of the strongest Servants, especially with his Noble Phantasm: the Twelve Labors. Without someone like Gilgamesh around, he was a massive threat.
Daniel found Heracles wandering aimlessly on a distant bridge—likely exiled due to his berserk and unstable nature. Better to leave him away from the other corrupted Servants.
"There you are. Let's end this—Judgment of Fire!"
Daniel attacked first, unleashing his divine flame. Heracles lost one of his twelve lives instantly.
"Such insane durability…"
The second Judgment of Fire only severely injured him, not killing him outright. His wounds then began to regenerate rapidly—whether due to his own power or the black mud was unclear.
"How exactly did Saber manage to kill him seven times in one strike? Full-power Excalibur, maybe…"
While dodging Heracles' charge, Daniel considered the theory. Usually, people with Heracles' build were slow. Not him—he was fast and agile, a terrifying combination.
"Repeated attacks don't work… but I have plenty of tools."
Daniel switched weapons. The flaming sword vanished and was replaced by a black-and-white lance: Black Abyss, White Blossom.
"Force Strike!"
"Tai Xu Sword Qi!"
"Room: Resonance!"
"Wood Style: Poison Dragon Drill!"
"Vishanti's Holy Sword!"
"Yan Luo Mirror: Fire!"
"Feather Dust—no effect. Must be due to Berserker madness or black mud. Then let's try… Xuanyuan Sword."
"Star of Eden."
"Judas' Oath."
Heracles was tough—but against someone like Daniel, who wielded a multitude of powers, including an awakened version of the Op-Op Fruit, it was only a matter of time.
"Farewell, Heracles."
As the final strike landed, Heracles briefly regained clarity. His body then dissipated into golden particles and faded away.
Luckily, the city was already evacuated. If this had been a regular Holy Grail War, the Church would've been livid over the collateral damage.
"You actually beat him?" Cú Chulainn appeared, visibly surprised.
He hadn't agreed with Daniel's plan to challenge Heracles. The Twelve Labors were too dangerous—and since Heracles wasn't interfering, better to leave him be.
"Twelve trials, thirteen—I could handle them all. Now, let's go meet the King of Knights."
"I believe it now. You might actually defeat her. My teacher would be thrilled."
Cú Chulainn's teacher, Scáthach, had always searched for someone capable of slaying her. Daniel had no such desire. He only wanted to learn the original Runes from her.
As Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scáthach was still alive—much like another familiar King hiding in Avalon.
"You've come after all."
At the top of Mt. Enzō, Red Archer appeared and blocked their path.
"Why are you protecting her?" Daniel asked. "Have you not seen what she's done?"
In a normal Holy Grail War, fighting was expected. But with no Masters, they should've united against Saber. Red Archer, however, had willingly allowed himself to be corrupted.
"It's perfectly normal for Red Archer to protect her," Daniel said.
Cú Chulainn found it strange, but Daniel didn't. After all, Emiya Shirou and Kiritsugu were complete opposites—one would burn down the world to save a single life.
"Your turn." Daniel stepped aside. Now wasn't the time for Red Archer to exit the stage. He left him to Cú Chulainn.
"You're not going to disturb her."
"Oh, I've been meaning to settle things with you," Cú Chulainn said, stepping up and blocking Red Archer with his Runes.
"You shouldn't be here, human," said Saber Alter.
"Not for you to decide—I decide. Rare chance like this, I want to test myself."
Daniel summoned his flaming sword—Judgment of Fire.
"So be it."
Saber Alter released a massive surge of mana. Just a simple Mana Burst from her was comparable to a Noble Phantasm.
BOOM!
Both moved at once. Her black-and-red sword clashed with Daniel's burning blade. The ground beneath them shattered, forming a massive crater at their feet.
"A human this strong?"
"Thanks for the compliment, King of Knights."
She snorted, and her mana flared again. With the Holy Grail supplying her, she could be as reckless as she pleased.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Their fight ravaged the mountaintop. Sword strikes, fire, and mana clashed, leaving craters and molten earth in their wake.
"Excalibur!"
"A Noble Phantasm, huh? Judgment of Fire!"
The black beam of destruction collided with divine flame. The entire mountain quaked. Rock collapsed. A hundred-meter-long fissure tore through the land. Lava welled up from below.
"Excalibur!"
"Again? Judgment of Fire!"
She launched her Noble Phantasm a second time. Daniel met it head-on.
"Excalibur!"
"She's just spamming it now… Enough."
Seeing her prepare a third Excalibur, Daniel backed off. He still had energy—but she looked like she could do this all day.
"No way Mash won that fight without help. No way."
This power? There was no way a fresh rookie like Mash defeated her alone. Clearly, Saber had pulled her punches. No—she'd gone easy on purpose.
Saber Alter was the anchor of this Singularity. If she wanted to, she could collapse it before Chaldea even arrived.
Getia probably had no idea his plan was already compromised. Even corrupted, the King of Knights wouldn't stand idly by while humanity was destroyed.
"Let's go."
Daniel walked back to Cú Chulainn. Their earlier fight had paused due to the shockwaves of his own battle.
"They're here. Must be Chaldea."
Ten more days passed. Then a fluctuation appeared on the edge of the Singularity.
"Shielder class. Man, these class types keep growing..."
Originally, Holy Grail Wars had only seven classes. But now there were Rulers, Avengers, Alter Egos… it was hard to keep up.
On the battlefield, Mash Kyrielight fought with her heavy shield against a horde of dragon tooth warriors—summoned by Medusa.
"Be careful, Mash!"
Nearby, a black-haired girl shouted in concern. Beside her, a white-haired woman quickly began casting support spells. They weren't powerful, but they helped relieve Mash's burden.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka… and poor Director Olga Marie."
Daniel recognized them instantly. The black-haired girl was Fujimaru Ritsuka, humanity's last Master. The white-haired woman was Olga Marie Animusphere, Chaldea's director—sacrificed early in the original timeline.
"Well, looks like you got lucky this time, Director."
With Daniel here, Olga wouldn't need to be sacrificed. Even if she was only a soul, saving her wasn't impossible—especially not with Chaldea's technology.
Let the Singularity truly begin.
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