Ritsuka opened his eyes, feeling an unfamiliar but cozy peace.
A white ceiling of Chaldea was above him. Looking around, he realized he was in his own bedroom – the same place where he had first met Doctor Roman and spent time talking with him. Fou was fidgeting nearby: the little beast licked his hand faithfully, clearly quite worried.
"Right. What about Mash?!"
Ritsuka, who had been passively gazing at the ceiling, suddenly sat up as his gaze fell upon the Command Spells burned onto the back of his hand. This wasn't a dream. The marks on his hand, the burning city of Fuyuki, Lev Lainur, the incineration of humanity, and… Mash.
"Fou! Fou!"
He rushed out of the room, hoping to find the girl. Fou barked and dashed ahead as if showing the way, and Ritsuka followed without hesitation. If all this was true, then Mash was alive. She, who had been dying under the debris after the explosion, should have survived, awakening as a Demi-Servant.
"Mash!"
He ran towards Chaldeas – the epicenter of the catastrophe.
The fires had already been extinguished, and the survivors rescued, but ruins were piled everywhere, eloquently reminding them of the recent nightmare. And there, in the very center, bathed in light, she stood…
"Senpai!"
Ritsuka exhaled. The desperate battle in Fuyuki hadn't been a hallucination, and most importantly, Mash was here, safe and sound.
"How are you? Are you okay?"
"Yes, Senpai. And yourself?"
"Thank God."
With a sigh of relief, Ritsuka smiled warmly and hugged her tightly.
"Eh? Oh… w-wait, Senpai!"
"Just let me stand like this. Just for a little while, Mash."
Mash had never experienced anything like this before and was completely flustered, but for some reason, she didn't feel the slightest aversion. On the contrary, she was enveloped by a wave of tenderness and care. The very warmth of the sky, the peace of the earth, and Senpai's smile, which she had so longed for.
Feelings Mash had never known before overwhelmed her. It felt as if her cherished wish had already come true.
However, the idyll burst like a balloon pricked by a needle.
"How cute. Don't move, I'll take a picture of you now."
"Smile. Click!"
Ritsuka flinched at the familiar voice and opened his eyes. A man in a red suit and a matching mask sat before him, calmly crunching potato chips. He had completely forgotten about him. Deadpool – the irregular Servant who had returned with them from Fuyuki after Leyshift.
"A-a-ah!!"
Startled, Ritsuka recoiled from Mash and almost fell to the floor. The girl, frightened by his reaction, turned around and saw Deadpool grinning, munching on chips. Her face immediately flushed, and her breathing faltered.
"H-have you… been standing here long?"
"About three hours."
"But… I've been here the whole time. And I didn't feel your presence at all."
In response to Mash's bewilderment, Deadpool, without changing his posture, slowly and carefully chewed a chip and whispered:
"I've mastered a new skill. If you move very, very slowly, almost imperceptibly, your presence is erased."
As if to confirm his words, he began to move the hand with the chip towards his mouth incredibly slowly, barely moving his jaw.
"We can see you perfectly," Mash cut in.
"Nah. Look closely. Ve-e-e-ery slo-o-o-owly…"
"Fou! Fou, Fou!"
At that moment, Fou, as if mocking them, jumped up to Deadpool and, wagging his tail merrily, began to hop around his legs.
"Damn, whatever. I didn't really want to anyway."
Deadpool grumbled gruffly and returned to his usual movements. With a hurt look, he was about to leave when he remembered something and turned back to the couple.
"Ah, Doc and some strange old lady were looking for you. Head to the infirmary."
When Ritsuka and Mash arrived at the location, accompanied by Deadpool, they were met by Doctor Roman – utterly exhausted, he was trying to recover over a cup of herbal tea. Next to him waited a woman in a rather peculiar outfit.
"Doctor Roman! And… uh, excuse me?"
"Leonardo da Vinci! Nice to meet you. Ritsuka-chan, this is our first time meeting in person, isn't it?"
The woman, who introduced herself as the great genius, gave them a gentle smile.
"Wait, you? Da Vinci? The one from 'The Da Vinci Code'? 'The Last Supper'? 'Mona Lisa'?"
Ritsuka was also puzzled that Da Vinci turned out to be a woman. But Deadpool went further: with a completely disbelieving look, he began to scrutinize her unceremoniously from all sides.
"Ahaha. You're too close, could you step back? I'm a rather refined individual, you know."
"Lies! Any child knows Leonardo da Vinci wasn't a girl! You'll say King Arthur was a woman next!"
"Well, let's just say there were reasons for that," she replied evasively.
As it turned out from further explanations, Da Vinci was the third Heroic Spirit summoned by the Chaldea system, and was now on its staff. The female body was merely a specially created puppet to maintain a stable contract, and the essence remained the same bearded old man Da Vinci.
"What taste the old man has…" Deadpool whispered, glancing sideways. "Actually, if they don't do it like this, the otaku won't flock, and the business will fail, so they come up with ridiculous excuses. It's just TC, pure TC."
"Where are you broadcasting to? I'm right here," Da Vinci remarked.
"Not to you, to them," he waved his hand into the void.
Ritsuka just shook his head: Deadpool continued to talk to invisible interlocutors even here. Doubts inevitably arose – had the guy lost his mind?
"I've gathered you here to discuss our next steps. As you already know…"
Da Vinci interrupted the commotion and got down to business.
Due to Lev Lainur's betrayal and the terrorist attack he orchestrated, Chaldea was in a critical state. Worse, Director Olga Marie had died, and out of the forty-eight Master candidates, only Fujimaru Ritsuka remained. Even if they requested outside help, the world was already engulfed in the flames of incineration. The situation was catastrophic.
"The good news is: you are the only ones suitable for Leyshift. The bad news: you are the only hope for saving this world."
Leaving Roman, who had completely collapsed from exhaustion, behind, Da Vinci led the group to Chaldeas. Ritsuka and Mash froze, looking at the burning model of the planet – a symbol of the ongoing process of humanity's destruction.
Fortunately, Chaldea had survived: it was located in Antarctica, the most remote corner of the Earth, and protected by special cloaking enchantments. The only problem was that the situation was so catastrophic that it might have been better if they had been incinerated along with everyone else.
"As you already know, after Chaldeus predicted the uncertainty and impossibility of observing humanity's future, we detected seven reactions. These seven Singularities are the cause of the current Burning of the Human Order. And also…"
Da Vinci's face suddenly became serious.
"Our current task is to perform a Reyshift into these seven historical Singularities, investigate the causes of the Burning, ascertain their nature, and retrieve the Holy Grail. As the former director said: the great quest for the Grail. 'Grand Order'."
Da Vinci gently placed her hands on Ritsuka and Mash's shoulders with concern in her eyes.
"This is what you must do. The last and best way to save the future of human history."
Watching this scene, Deadpool sighed and shook his head. He genuinely felt sorry that such young children would have to embark on such a dangerous journey.
He himself had lived a turbulent life and was used to everything, but they were innocent and too young for such trials.
"And this guy will accompany you on your journey," Da Vinci added.
"Wait, what?"
Deadpool, seeing Da Vinci's finger pointing directly at him, asked again with a look of complete bewilderment:
"Ho-o-old on. Let's clarify. So, I have to get involved in something that doesn't concern me at all? And my job is to be a nanny for these kids so they can find some Grail in that hole and come back safe and sound?"
"It's good that you grasp things so quickly. Since you're here, you're practically a member of Chaldea now. Besides, wherever you came from, you're perfectly suited for Reyshift."
Da Vinci's words were so logical that there was nothing to object to.
If he had a time and space travel device, he would have returned to his world from Fuyuki, but Professor Lev had destroyed it, so there was no way back.
"You have to pay for any service, don't you think?"
"And what do you want?"
"I'm a mercenary, actually. And mercenaries don't work for free."
"I'm sorry, but we don't have any extra money right now."
"Well, in that case, I'll have to refuse…"
Deadpool demonstratively sat on the floor, starting a strike. Da Vinci, sighing in resignation, leaned down and whispered something in his ear. His face contorted for a moment, then he broke into a smile and stood up with a disgruntled sigh.
"You know how to handle people, you old hag."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Alright, to be honest, if I stay here, I'll just be slacking off. And a cool and sexy Canadian mercenary like me needs a battlefield drenched in blood. Just tell me who needs to be taken care of – and I'll chop anyone into mince.
The die is cast – there's no turning back.
Until another way is found, I'll have to obey Da Vinci. So Deadpool, deciding to solidify this alliance once and for all in front of himself, Ritsuka, and Mash, clasped his hands on his chest and officially introduced himself:
"Dead, surname Pool. Real name Wade Wilson. You can call me Wade. Or Pool. Whatever your heart desires. And I'll warn you right away: I'm not some kind of superhero. I'm just a bad guy who kills other bad guys. I also love chimichangas. And unicorns. And Spider-Man."
Embarrassed by the need to introduce himself, Deadpool awkwardly rubbed his nose, trying to hide his hesitation.
"So, does anyone want pancakes?"
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan