"...So, could I ask you two sisters to truly fall asleep?"
When you're in a strange place and a seemingly normal little girl says something like that to you, would you easily believe her?
Absolutely not, Gudako thought, her guard instantly up. In a place like this, a girl in clean clothes clutching a doll was completely out of place. Only a fool would approach her without caution.
"Excuse me, who are you?"
Still, the girl hadn't shown any direct hostility, so Gudako politely asked for her identity first.
"My name is Abigail. You can call me Abby if you like. Since you're here now, you must be from Chaldea, right, Sisters?"
Abigail seemed timid.
"Abigail? Which era's Servant is she from?"
Hakuno, currently just an ordinary high school student, had heard of the medieval witch hunts but was completely clueless when it came to specific names. However, her intuition was spot-on: Abigail was indeed a Servant.
"If it's just the name, it's not particularly rare..."
Gudako, however, was different. Since she was constantly interacting with Heroic Spirits, Da Vinci and Romani had drilled a considerable amount of historical knowledge into her. As a result, she quickly found a match.
Abigail is theoretically a common girl's name, derived from ancient Hebrew and meaning "my father is joyful." But there was no way a little girl Chaldea had never seen before would just appear out of thin air. Therefore, she had to be a Servant. "Historically, that name is..."
Gudako's analysis mirrored Romani's—a testament to his direct tutelage.
"So she's likely a Caster?"
Hakuno nodded, her other hand silently closing around the Class Card provided by Miyu and Illya. She hadn't formed Bonds with any other Servants, so she had to rely on the no-prerequisite Class Cards to boost her combat strength. Her mastery of the Magical Girl state was still at the crude "brute force" stage. Her own magical power was on a completely different level from Miyu's; even her full-power Magic Bullets were less than half as strong as Miyu's. Thus, she could only rely on a Servant's combat experience to enhance her abilities.
Hakuno chose the Saber Class Card. Sapphire had previously explained to her that most of the Three Knight Classes possessed some degree of Magic Resistance, giving them at least a slight advantage against Casters. The moment their opponent showed hostility, she would immediately perform an Install.
"Most likely, yes, but we can't be certain yet."
Gudako was already convinced their opponent was a Caster. Since Abigail had been accused of being a witch—a fact recorded in history—her Spirit Origin must contain that aspect. The Caster Class could perform many extraordinary feats, which would also explain the current state of the world.
"Why don't you just ask me, Abby?"
To Abby, their hushed conversation was as clear as if they were speaking right in front of her.
"Abby's Class is Foreigner, not a standard Class... Talking about this now is a bit of a waste of time. Could you two please go to sleep right away? Father God will descend soon, and if you're still awake, Abby can't guarantee your safety..."
Hakuno and Gudako exchanged a glance, both understanding the other's decision: Absolutely not.
Following their opponent's lead without knowing her true intentions was not a wise choice.
"I'm sorry, but I still need to find my companions. I can't just fall asleep here."
Gudako was worried about Romani and Da Vinci's safety. Da Vinci would probably be fine, but Romani was now completely an ordinary person. If he encountered any danger, he likely wouldn't even have time to escape. Seeing Abby still blocking their way, Gudako tried to reason with her again. "Abby, can you let us leave?"
"Abby can't let you get hurt... Otherwise, He will be displeased..."
Abby's "Father God" didn't actually care what damage His arrival would inflict on Chaldea. But Jiang You cared, so the entity had no choice but to have Abby ensure the safety of the people here.
"I'm sorry, Abby has to use force against you two. Since I already reported it, this doesn't make me a bad girl, right? It might be a little uncomfortable... but there's no other way."
Gudako and Hakuno then saw a hole materialize on Abby's forehead—it looked like a keyhole.
In a disorienting flash, their surroundings underwent a cataclysmic transformation. The trees seemed to become living creatures, twisting and writhing their branches. The mountains turned into black masses of flesh, rising and falling as if breathing. An overwhelming sense of nausea gripped Gudako and Hakuno's senses.
"Steady yourselves! Focus on the enemy!"
Ruby and Sapphire immediately began to shield their senses, causing everything except Abigail to blur into a hazy background.
Abigail had somehow donned an oversized witch's hat. Her black, pumpkin-striped outer garment had split along its seams, each strip resembling a string of interconnected butterflies with spread wings, concealing her torso. Her once timid expression had become flirtatious, and she now held a pair of key-shaped weapons in her hands.
"Since she's transformed, we can't fall behind."
Hakuno showed no signs of nervousness as she executed an Install.
After a flash of light, Hakuno was clad in a crimson dress, a uniquely shaped flaming longsword gripped tightly in her hand.
"Is this...?"
Hakuno instinctively glanced down at the front of her skirt—it was, as expected, transparent. So, the target of her Install this time was Nero. She showed no embarrassment; after all, everyone present was a girl.
"So it's Nero, huh? Is it because she's the only Saber you've met?"
Gudako briefly glanced at Hakuno's exposed skin before quickly looking away. Now wasn't the time to worry about such things.
Gudako looked at her hand of cards. She had a considerable number of transformation cards, allowing her to Install almost any Servant she had encountered in the Singularities. At a time like this, she naturally had to choose the strongest combatant.
Based on her current power level, the most suitable choice she could pull out was a certain Uruk Finance Minister. (Jiang You had already claimed her connections to Ereshkigal and Quetzalcoatl, and Merlin wasn't in her deck.)
Gudako, now bare-chested (though with bandages reminiscent of Angelica Ainsworth), donned Gilgamesh's Mythological Mystic Code. Golden ripples spread out in a line behind her.