After stepping out of the light screen and glancing around at the people present, Naoki let out a soft sigh of relief. "It seems you're all fine. On my way here, I was worried you might have encountered a Servant along the way."
"Hmph! Even if we did, there's no way they could defeat all of us."
Hinako snorted.
"Besides me joining, even without me, Mash should be able to defeat every Servant in this Singularity. No, more accurately, the rotten knight inside her body."
"Just in case. I'm truly grateful that Senior Hinako protected Fujimaru, Mash, and Olga throughout the journey."
As he spoke, Naoki turned to Ritsuka and Mash. "You two have also worked hard. Mash has done simulations before, so it's not a problem. How are you feeling, Fujimaru? After facing such a situation right from the start, were you frightened?"
"At first, I was really shocked, but now... I'm not that tense anymore." Ritsuka said with resignation. "Maybe because I received too much shocking information at once, so I feel a bit numb."
"Just get used to it. In the future, you'll likely encounter even more surprising information. You can't keep being shocked all the time—by the way, what's wrong with Olga? Is she asleep?"
Naoki's gaze fell on the unconscious Marie.
(Could she have collapsed from exhaustion after intense physical activity in a short time?)
Impossible. Naoki had always pushed her to do weekly physical training, and the self-defense lessons he taught weren't for nothing. This level of exertion shouldn't have worn her out.
"I put Marie to sleep first, Master." Rei explained. "I accidentally said some unnecessary things. Marie became too embarrassed, so her mental state destabilized. I used sleep Magecraft on her."
"I see. Then it couldn't be helped."
Naoki easily accepted Rei's explanation. "Then, let's begin your report, Rei. I already know Fujimaru's and the others' situation, but you should have conducted some reconnaissance here. Please explain your findings."
"Of course. Please look here."
Rei extended her hand, and a light screen appeared from the air. The scene displayed was the burning Fuyuki City. From its angle, it was an overhead view taken from an extremely high altitude.
"This is a real-time map of Fuyuki City taken from 500 meters above, captured by a group of familiars I sent out."
"After arriving here, I spent one hour conducting a rough survey of the entire city. It's confirmed that the Holy Grail War is taking place here, just as we know."
"However, what's happening here isn't the same Holy Grail War from ten years ago. During my survey, I encountered several Servants, all different from those ten years ago. Moreover, their appearances were abnormal—more like inversions. They showed strong hostility toward me as an outsider."
As she spoke, Rei marked seven points on the map and labeled the classes of the seven Servants.
"Based on my observations, there are seven Servants in Fuyuki City. I encountered four of them—Rider, Lancer, Assassin, and Berserker. I've already eliminated them all."
"Of the remaining three, I haven't encountered Caster. Archer only engaged in long-range combat. As for Saber, his location is confirmed to be inside Mount Enzou, but I haven't surveyed that area yet."
"That's the general situation of Singularity F."
After listening to Rei's report, Hinako couldn't help but snort. "I see. No wonder I didn't meet a single enemy Servant on the way here. You've already taken care of them all. Why didn't you just finish the rest too?"
"I decided to wait after considering various circumstances. After all, the task Master gave me wasn't to [resolve the Singularity], but to wait here for your arrival. I won't do anything that violates Master's wishes."
Rei smiled. "Of course, there's also the issue of mana reserves. The Berserker Servant was the great Greek hero, Heracles. The mana consumed to eliminate him slightly exceeded my expectations. I'm waiting here to ensure our next steps aren't disrupted by mana shortage."
Mana shortage?
Naoki's face unconsciously paled, and his hand reflexively gripped his waist.
Seeing his sudden movement, Mash looked slightly puzzled. "Brother, is something wrong with your body? Your face looks a bit pale."
"No, nothing's wrong. My back just suddenly felt cold. It seems someone's talking about me." Naoki waved his hand. "Better yet, since Rei has already resolved most of the issues here and I've arrived, let's quickly finish the rest."
"The rest… means defeating Saber inside Mount Enzou." Mash asked.
"Yes, but before that—Mash, is he still inside you… Is Galahad gone?"
Galahad.
Hearing Naoki mention that name, Mash nodded slightly. "Yes. After he used my body to save Senior, and seeing Senpai meet Miss Akuta, Lord Galahad transferred his Heroic Spirit and Noble Phantasm to me, then disappeared."
"I see. He really left cleanly. But that's just like him."
Galahad, the Knight of the Round Table who sat in the Siege Perilous, son of Lancelot.
The perfect knight, praised as the next bearer of the Round Table. In the past, he was one of the knights sent by King Arthur to seek the Holy Grail—and the only one who found it. Afterward, he returned both the Grail and himself to heaven.
Four years ago, he was summoned as Chaldea's Trial Servant No. 2 and became the subject of the Demi-Servant experiment by possessing Mash's body.
However, upon learning the reason for his summoning and disagreeing with Chaldea's plans and the inhumane experiments conducted on Mash, Galahad not only refused to manifest but also attempted to destroy Chaldea. In the end, he was stopped by Naoki and Artoria, who were summoned by Marisbury at the time.
Of course, in truth, only Artoria stopped him. Naoki's role was mainly to provide a space for them, ensuring their battle wouldn't affect the outside world.
The two truly fought seriously.
Galahad was deeply confused as to why Artoria allowed Chaldea's actions. After all, she was the King of Knights, who despised evil most of all and held the highest dignity. If his king approved such inhumane actions, Galahad, as a Knight of the Round Table, felt it was his duty to correct her mindset.
Their battle took place in a fake city Naoki created using Imaginary Manifestation. In combat, unlike Mash, Galahad fully demonstrated the full power of the shield in his hand—even using his reverse shield, something only Naoki knew existed in the lore.
After reducing most of the fake city to ruins, Galahad was undeniably defeated due to Artoria's Avalon.
In the end, after hearing all of Naoki's explanations, Galahad made a contract with Naoki and Artoria.
[In the future, just once, I hope you can help Mash]—that was the content of the contract. Thus, Galahad saved Ritsuka at that time and transferred all his Heroic Spirit and Noble Phantasm to Mash.
"Lord Galahad said he still wouldn't approve of Chaldea's past actions, but now, as humanity faces a great crisis, he's willing to contribute all his strength. Additionally, he also hopes I can apologize to him on behalf of Lady Artoria, as he couldn't say goodbye to the King directly before leaving."
"I understand. I'll take you to meet Lia later. But that'll be after we return. Now, let's—"
Naoki's words were cut short, for before he could finish, the ceiling above them suddenly collapsed without warning.