Verse 1: Burning City

[rikoren]

???: Kyuu...kyuu. Fou...Fou, fouu...

...Something's licking my face, again...

???: Senpai. Please get up, senpai. ...She's not waking up. Maybe I should be using her formal title here...
———Master. Master, please wake up. Get up, or die.

.............., ————————————



Thank goodness, you're awake. Your safety is of utmost importance, senpai.

　Did you just threaten to kill me!?

...I misspoke. What I meant to say was that you were in danger of being killed.

...Um, the situation is currently rather chaotic, after so many unforeseen events. I'm sure you'd like to rest right now, but first, please take a look around you.



——Attempting verbal communication is impossible--I am judging this as a hostile creature.

　Master, give me your orders. The two of us together will cut our way through this situation!

[they defeat the thing]

———Phew. I was worried for a moment, but it seems to have worked out.

　Are you unhurt, senpai? Do you feel any pain in your stomach, or heaviness in your abdomen?

　Matthew, were you always this powerful!?

No, I was always left behind for combat training. I'm a researcher who cannot even do a back hip circle on the gymnastic bars. That's the simple truth.

　The reason I could fight like that just now———



　Aah, finally connected! Hello, this is the Chaldea control room, can you hear me!?

　This is Team A member, Matthew Kyrielight. At present, I have completed Shifting to Singularity Point F. I have one companion here, by the name of Reine. There are no problems in mind or body. Ley shift adaptation, master adaptation, both satisfactory. Please register Reine as a formal investigator.

...So Reine-chan really did get caught up in the ley shift...

You managed to endure Oblivion pretty well without a Coffin. I can honestly say that's a relief.

　By the way, Matthew...I'm glad you're safe, but what's the deal with that outfit!? Don't you think it's way too shameless!? I don't remember raising you to be like this!

　...This was a transformation. I couldn't protect Senpai in Chaldea's uniform, you see.

　Transformation...? What are you talking about, Matthew? Did you hit your head? Or maybe you really did...

———Dr. Roman. Be quiet for a minute.

　Please check my current status. I think you'll be able to understand the situation once you do.

　Your physical situation? Oh...ohh, oooohhhhhhhhh!? Your physical ability and magic circuits have all improved! Rather than a human, you'd be better called--

That's correct. I am a Servant. I don't remember the details, but it seems fusing with a Servant is what saved my life. There was a Servant provided by Chaldea earlier, for the purpose of investigating and resolving Singularity F.

　This Servant lost his Master in the explosion, and was fated to disappear.

　But just before that, he offered to contract with me. He wished for me to eliminate the cause of this singularity, in exchange for handing over the ability and Noble Phantasm of a Heroic Spirit.

　Fusion between a Heroic Spirit and a human being...a Demi-Servant. Chaldea's sixth experiment. I see. So then, does that mean you have a Heroic Spirit's consciousness inside you?

　...No, he disappeared after entrusting me with his combat ability. He never told me his true name. Therefore, I am at present unable to understand which Heroic Spirit I am, or even what sort of Noble Phantasm I have in my hands.

　...I see. But hey, this could be a blessing in disguise. We've got no limit to the summoned Servants we can collaborate with.

　If Matthew's a Servant then I can make this quick. I've got complete faith in her, anyhow.

Reine-chan. It looks like you're the only one who safely completed the Shift. For that, I'm sorry. You ended up in this situation before you ever got any sort of explanations.

　I'm sure you're full to bursting with questions right now, but please try not to worry. You've already got a powerful weapon with you. Matthew, humanity's strongest weapon.

　...I don't know if I'm all that powerful. Calling me humanity's strongest might be an exaggeration. I'm the one who'll be criticized if it turns out to be false.

　Now, now. What's important here is that Reine-chan understands that's the sort of creature Servants are.

But Reine-chan, while Servants may be reliable allies, they also have their weak point. That weak point is the human who acts as the source of their magical power...what I mean by this is that they'll disappear without a Master to support them.

　I'm still parsing through the data right now, but basically according to what I said, Matthew has come into existence as your Servant. To put it another way, you are Matthew's Master. She's your first contracted Heroic Spirit, in other words.

[Matthew blushes at the master part]

　I'm Matthew's, Master...?

　Yeah, it's only natural you'd be confused. You haven't even gotten the Master and Servant explanation yet. This is the perfect opportunity for me to explain it in detail. There's two new ventures we're supposed to be attempting in this mission...

　Doctor, the signal is starting to come apart. You have ten seconds before transmission is interrupted.

　Ugh, I guess just switching to reserve power isn't enough to keep SHIVA's output stable. Looks like I'll have to leave the explanations for later. Girls, there's a strong leyline at a point around 2 kilometers from where you're standing. Try to get there if you can. If you do, we can stabilize communications here. Try to hold off on any reckless behavior, okay? I'll try to get the power working here as soon as———



　...Looks like the signal's gone.

　Well, it's the Doctor after all. He's never reliable at the times where it counts.



　Kyu. Fuu, foou!

　That's right. Fou-san came too. Thank you for your support.

　It looks like Fou-san managed to ley shift together with Senpai somehow.

...Oh. I forgot to report to Doctor...

　Kyu. Fou, kyaaow!

　He says, "Forget that guy!"

　You're right. I can find another time to report about Fou-san.

　First, let's head for the point Doctor mentioned. We should be able to set up our base camp there.

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