Mashu was kneeling in front of the half-open suitcase, her trembling hands trying to organize clothes she could barely see through the blurry haze of tears. Her chest burned with despair.
"Senpai… why aren't you answering…?" she murmured, pressing a shirt against her face, as if she could catch the faint scent of the one she was searching for.
Determined, despite her body still frail from the impact of the nightmare, she pulled on her coat, slipped on her boots, and took a deep breath. It didn't matter what Chaldea said. It didn't matter how far Italy was. She would go.
As she reached for the doorknob, the door opened on its own. A familiar, rosy glow flooded the room.
"Well, well… I knew it."
The voice sounded sweet but carried a dangerous edge, like honey dripping over blades.
BB was there, leaning against the doorframe, smiling. Her silhouette stood out in the magical dimness of the room, her violet eyes glinting unsettlingly.
Mashu's eyes widened in surprise. "BB…?"
The AI stepped slowly inside, her footsteps echoing softly, but her signature provocative smile seemed to waver behind the mask.
"You really think you can sneak out on me, Mashu-kyun? Tsk, tsk… bad wife, bad wife." BB raised a finger in front of the kouhai's face, in a theatrical gesture. "But I didn't come here just to play hide-and-seek, you know."
Mashu took a step back, her heart racing. "So… you too…?"
BB's smile faded. She sighed, and for the first time in a long while, she didn't seem to be mocking. Her eyes gleamed with something heavy, dark.
"Yes. I dreamed."
The two fell silent. The air seemed to grow denser, heavy with the weight of their shared memory. BB closed her eyes for a moment and let out a low laugh, but her voice was broken.
"I've seen plenty of horrors, you know? Caused a fair share of them too. But… that… seeing my Senpai like that, so… broken, so… alone…" Her voice faltered, and she bit her lower lip, her hand clenching into a fist. "I swear I wanted to rip that entire world out by the roots and throw it into the fire."
Mashu shivered at the raw sincerity in her words.
"BB…"
The AI raised a hand, cutting her off, and smiled again, but this time it was a crooked, almost pained smile.
"Don't think I'm going to let you go alone. Not when I know he's out there, carrying all of that in silence. Not when I'm hopelessly in love with the same idiot." She stepped closer, leaning in to stare at Mashu, her violet eyes fixed on her. "Because he's not just yours, Mashu-kyun. He's mine too. Always has been."
Mashu clenched her fists, her chest throbbing with conflicting emotions—jealousy, pain, but also a strange sense of relief at not being alone in carrying that haunting past.
BB took a deep breath, as if trying to push away the anger pulsing under her skin. "Seeing Senpai smile every day… after knowing what he went through… it destroys me. You get it, don't you? It's like seeing a mask that shouldn't exist. He never let himself break. Never."
Mashu nodded firmly, tears streaming down again. "I can't stand it… not after seeing… that. I just want to be by his side."
BB smirked, wiping Mashu's tears with her thumb in an unexpectedly gentle gesture.
"Then that's that. We'll go together."
Mashu blinked, surprised. "You…?"
"Of course. You think I'd miss the chance to find my Senpai in such a vulnerable state?" Her voice regained its teasing edge, but her gaze… her gaze was serious, resolute. "If fate dares to repeat that, I'll rewrite it myself, even if I have to destroy this entire world."
Silence filled the room for a moment.
Before Mashu could respond, a cold breeze swept through the room, dimming BB's rosy glow. The enchanted lights flickered, and the atmosphere seemed to buckle under an invisible weight.
Morgan entered unhurriedly.
"Morgan…" Mashu murmured, instinctively clutching her chest.
BB raised an eyebrow, keeping her provocative smile but taking a subtle step back. "Oh… the jealous queen has come to play too."
Morgan ignored her. Her eyes locked onto Mashu, then slowly shifted to BB, and finally settled on the empty space of Mashu's bed, where the suitcase still lay open.
"You saw it too."
Mashu swallowed hard. "Yes…"
Morgan walked to the center of the room, stopping in front of the two. For a moment, silence reigned, broken only by the sound of their breathing.
Then the queen raised her chin and spoke:
"I've lived through eras of war. I've seen empires crumble, peoples crushed until nothing remained but dust. Human cruelty never surprised me." Her gaze trembled for a moment. "But seeing… him… a child… consumed by something so vile, so filthy… that was different. They dared to do that to my husband. I want to destroy the world that dared to do that to him…"
The rage in her voice made the air feel even heavier.
BB let out a low laugh, crossing her arms. "And here I thought I was the dramatic one. But yeah… I agree with the part about wanting to crush the whole world."
Morgan shot her a cold glance but didn't retort. Instead, she turned her eyes back to Mashu.
"You wanted to run away. To go to him alone."
Mashu lowered her head, too drained to deny it. "I… I can't stand the thought of him being alone after all that…"
Morgan approached her. Her hand rested on the kouhai's shoulder, firm, heavy, but not cruel.
"…For a concubine, you have the right mindset. To see that and not want to go to my husband would be unbecoming of someone he cherishes so much…"
Mashu blinked, surprised by the solemnity of that statement.
BB, meanwhile, let out a low chuckle, tilting her head.
"Well, look at that… even the shadowy majesty knows how to love."
Her tone was teasing, but her gaze was serious, almost respectful.
Morgan didn't respond.
Suddenly, the automatic doors slid open with a soft hum.
A wave of warmth and vitality filled the room.
"¡Mis hijas, you're all here!"
The vibrant voice echoed like cheerful thunder. Quetzalcoatl appeared in the doorway, imposing, her long golden hair shimmering under the magical light, her eyes full of passion. She strode in with open arms, as if she wanted to embrace the entire room, and her radiant smile hid, behind its brilliance, something the others soon noticed: pain.
"Quetz…" Mashu whispered, surprised.
BB let out a short laugh. "Oh, of course… the solar amazon had to show up."
Morgan said nothing, merely turning her face slightly, assessing her presence with her usual cold gaze.
Quetzalcoatl, however, was unfazed. She walked to the center of the room with confidence, her vibrant energy contrasting with the tension that dominated the air. When she stopped in front of them, her eyes shone with something different—not just joy, but a flame fueled by fury.
"I saw it too." Her voice shifted instantly: now it was deep, intense, cutting. "I dreamed of that past. I saw everything. I saw what they did to our beloved… ¡y eso… that filled me with a rage I've never felt before!"
She clenched her fists, her muscles taut, and her smile vanished, replaced by a stern expression.
"I am a goddess of war. I've lived among sacrifices and blood. But that… that wasn't just violence. It was perversion. It was cowardice. Seeing him, mi amor, so small, so defenseless, surrounded by monsters who called themselves human… it burns inside me!"
Quetz's explosive tone reverberated through the room like a roar.
Mashu brought a hand to her mouth, moved by the raw intensity of her words. BB, for the first time, didn't retort, only watched with a strange glint in her eyes. Morgan remained calm, but the stiffness in her demeanor seemed to acknowledge the truth in that declaration.
Then Quetzalcoatl took a deep breath. Her smile returned, but it wasn't just joyful—it was a smile full of fervent, almost desperate love.
"And that's why I won't let him carry this alone. Never. I want to be with him, to show him he's not broken, that he's still the maravilloso hombre we love."
She took a step forward, opening her arms, her voice now soft but filled with sincere longing.
"And you know how I do that, right? ¡Con lucha libre!" Her eyes sparkled. "I want to fight with him, body against body, skin against skin, until he understands I'm here. Not just as a goddess, but as a wife. As a woman. I want to give him all my love until none of that remains inside him."
The way she said it was… a bit strange?
But-salBut no one had a chance to respond.
The heavy silence lingered in the room after Quetzalcoatl's words when the automatic doors slid open again.
"What a… sugary scene."
The mocking voice echoed through the corridor before the figure appeared. Medb stepped in first, leaning against the doorframe with a feline smile. Her eyes, however, glinted uncomfortably, as if trying to mask any vulnerability beneath her seductive facade.
"Really, I can't let you all monopolize my man just because you had wet dreams of tragedy. He's mine too. And you'll have to accept that."
"Look who's here… the queen of mass possession."
Mashu swallowed hard, visibly nervous at the arrival of another. Quetz merely opened her arms as if welcoming her, but Morgan narrowed her eyes, studying Medb in silence.
The Celtic queen sauntered into the room, her expression wavering between arrogance and something deeper. When she finally stopped, she let out a short, almost nervous laugh.
"But don't think I came here just to make a scene. I saw it. I felt it. Seeing that man… my man… still a boy, being broken in such a petty, disgusting way… ugh, I can't get it out of my head." Her fingers gripped her own arm tightly. "And you know what? I've destroyed entire kingdoms for far less. Far less."
Her tone was laced with genuine anger, and for the first time, her smile faltered.
Before anyone could respond, the metallic clank of footsteps echoed down the corridor. Another pair of voices approached, clearly arguing.
"I told you to stay out of my way, you poisonous witch!"
"And I said I don't mingle with dogs who can't bark properly!"
The doors opened again, revealing Semiramis and Mordred storming in almost shoulder to shoulder, each with an expression of pure irritation.
"You two…?" Mashu murmured, surprised.
Mordred huffed loudly, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, I saw that crap too! And I'm not in the mood for games. I'm pissed. Really pissed! How could anyone do that to a kid?! And to HIM?!"
Her voice echoed through the room, brimming with youthful fury.
Semiramis, in contrast, seemed far too calm—poisonously calm.
"Hmph. I thought I'd witnessed every form of human cruelty. But that… that was low. Repulsive. Unworthy even of prisoners of war." She raised her gaze, cold as a blade but burning with bitter fire beneath. "Seeing my husband through the eyes of that child… it's something not even the sweetest poison could erase."
Quetzalcoatl nodded, her eyes glinting with agreement. Morgan remained still, but clearly registering every word.
Mordred slammed her fist into her open palm. "If I'd been there, I would've ripped the head off every one of those bastards! Not a single one would've lived to tell the tale!"
Semiramis shot her a disdainful look. "Your impulsiveness can't change the past. But I understand the hatred. Because I, too, want to see the world that hurt him burn to ashes."
No one had time to respond to Semiramis before Skadi entered.
The winter goddess walked with the serene coldness of an inevitable blizzard. Her expression was austere, but her eyes… her eyes betrayed her calm, pools of frozen suffering.
"So it's true…" Her voice sounded like cracking ice. "I wasn't the only one."
Mashu looked at her, surprised. "Skadi… you too…?"
Skadi let out a sigh.
"I saw it. That nightmare… that past. The stolen innocence, the crushed body, the spirit scarred with wounds no one should bear." Her eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened again, they were hardened with divine fury. "And yet, he smiles at all of us. As if nothing happened. As if he could hide forever how much he's bleeding."
Morgan observed her in silence, almost recognizing the same rage within herself. Quetzalcoatl nodded, her eyes burning with a warrior's fire. Medb let out a low, tense laugh, devoid of irony. Semiramis stood tall, but a subtle tremor ran through her hands. Mordred gritted her teeth, gripping her sword's sheath too tightly. BB, silent for the first time in a long while, merely sighed.
Skadi raised her chin, standing tall like a Nordic queen.
After a few more moments with no one else entering the room, Mashu finally had the chance to lead them all away to where their Senpai was—in Italy. They only needed to teleport there from Chaldea and then search for their Master.
And so, in the main corridor of Chaldea, they found a group already waiting.
Artoria, in her normal form, walked side by side with her darker counterpart, Artoria Alter, their steps synchronized but their faces contrasting. The normal Artoria was pale, trembling, while Alter bore a stern but shaken expression, her eyes glistening despite her cold demeanor.
Behind them, the Knights of the Round Table followed in silence.
Gawain was grim, his fists clenched against his armor, as if he might shatter at any moment. Lancelot hid his face in the shadows, but the trembling of his shoulders betrayed his restrained anger. Tristan clutched his harp, not playing, merely holding its strings as if they were keeping him from collapsing. Salter's gaze flickered between the group of women ahead and the knights behind, but she said nothing.
The normal Artoria murmured, her voice choked:
"My king… my husband… how did he endure all of that in silence…?"
No one answered.
And so, in a silence heavier than any battle, they all moved forward.
…It was time for the world to witness the true strength of Chaldea.
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