After leaving Atlas, the group followed the directions gained earlier from the Tri-Hermes, heading southwest. Half a day later, they indeed came upon a lush oasis in the midst of the desert.
"There really is an oasis... which means Melusine must be here recovering."
Guinevere muttered.
To be fair, Melusine had quite the eye for finding places. In this desert, stumbling upon an oasis was already extremely unlikely. Finding one that wasn't under Ozymandias's control—without a horde of sphinxes guarding it—was even harder. Yet Melusine had managed it.
"This oasis looks pretty large... should we split up to search for her?"
After roughly gauging its size, Artoria suggested.
Since Fujimaru Ritsuka needed to stay with Mash, the party split into three groups to comb through the oasis in search of Melusine.
"But now that I think about it, Mash," Ritsuka said while scouting through the greenery, "since the Servant inside you is Galahad, and Galahad is supposedly Lancelot's son... doesn't that technically make you Lancelot's daughter too?"
"Eh? Can you count it that way?" Mash blinked in surprise. Then she tilted her head slightly, as though listening to something only she could hear, before nodding:
"Maybe you really can... As an artificial human, I don't have real parents, but Sir Galahad, who resides in me, seems to acknowledge it."
"In that case, if we go by that logic... the Fairy Knight named Melusine—her true name is also Lancelot, right? Wouldn't that make her your mother?" Ritsuka exclaimed, smacking her forehead.
"Eh? That question is..."
Before Mash could finish thinking it over, a loud noise suddenly erupted ahead, like a jet engine roaring to life.
The two of them froze. Then, in the very next second, Mash's eyes widened. Face paling, she rushed forward with her shield and threw herself in front of Ritsuka.
In the instant that followed, a brilliant azure beam obliterated the trees and shrubs in front of them and barreled straight toward the pair.
With a resounding clang, both Mash and Ritsuka were blasted off their feet, sent tumbling through the air.
"Ow ow ow—what just happened?! Enemy attack? Already?!"
Still dazed, Ritsuka clutched her head as she scrambled up. The assault had come far too fast; she hadn't even gotten a glimpse of the attacker's face before being sent flying. She had endured the long journey to save humanity, but this was the first time she'd been hit without even seeing the enemy.
"Oh? You actually survived a strike from me. Looks like this time the pursuers after me are fairly strong."
The cold voice came from ahead. Ritsuka turned to see a white-haired girl in blue armor hovering before them, one arm extended downward. On that wrist was a strange arm-sword, its azure mana spinning like the blade of a chainsaw.
But what drew Ritsuka's eyes even more was the girl's shoulder on the other side. The armor there was cracked, and threads of golden mana—clearly from a source different than her own—were seeping out, mingled with blood that had already drenched her arm. She was clearly badly wounded.
"A petite knight... strong, but gravely injured. She must be our target—senpai," Mash murmured, softly prompting Ritsuka.
Understanding, Ritsuka quickly stepped forward to negotiate:
"Um, excuse me, are you the Fairy Knight Melusine—"
"Tch. How irritating. The Holy City's knights gather information this quickly? You even know my name already?" Melusine clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed. Then, raising her good arm, she brandished her weapon.
"In that case, before you can relay my location—die!"
"Wait—hold on!"
Ritsuka's face went pale. But before she could explain, a flash of blue erupted before her eyes—Melusine had already closed the distance in an instant.
Mash had no choice but to leap in front of her again.
—This Melusine really doesn't let people finish their sentences?!
Though Mash managed to block the blow, the overwhelming force of Melusine's speed still hurled her backward. She slammed into Ritsuka, and both girls went rolling across the ground like rag dolls.
"Please wait! We're not pursuers from the Holy City!" Ritsuka shouted as she scrambled back to her feet, barely managing to parry Melusine's next attack.
"Don't lie! That armor on her—" Melusine sneered, eyes darting to Mash. "It's exactly the same style as the Holy City's knights! In this era, only Bargast or those knights would be wearing it!"
Her strikes didn't slow in the slightest.
"Fall before me!"
"Enough!"
At that moment, the usually timid Mash suddenly roared. She slammed her shield upward with explosive force, smashing Melusine back through the air.
"Hah. As expected of someone tied to that useless Lancelot. You're just as stubborn and hardheaded as he is!"
Mash shouted furiously:
"Fine! If you insist on fighting, then I'll fight you! Don't think you can bully others just because you're strong! Sir Galahad within me says the same!"
Fueled by righteous anger, Mash surged forward, her strength and speed amplified by Galahad's support. She swung her shield like a massive blunt weapon, aiming it straight at Melusine.
Her combat ability had soared—but unfortunately, her opponent was not the same Lancelot who had gone soft upon sensing his son.
Staring at Mash's sudden burst of fighting spirit, Melusine's expression all but formed a visible question mark.
Not understanding what had gotten into the girl, but feeling pressured by her momentum, Melusine nevertheless decided to get serious. Raising her arm overhead, she activated her Noble Phantasm.
"Thunder, heed my call!"
"—Lightning Blade of Lán Sansox!"
A colossal crimson blade of lightning crashed down.
Even with Mash's burning spirit, even with Galahad's aid, against Melusine's merciless strike she stood no chance.
The scarlet thunder ripped through everything, blowing even Ritsuka—who had wisely fled further away—straight into a thicket.
At the center of it all, Mash dropped to one knee, panting heavily.
"...I guess I really should've expected this. Mom really is impossible to deal with when she gets unreasonable..."
"Huh?" Melusine blinked at the word. Then she shook her head.
"Calling me 'Mom' won't save you. You're a knight of the Holy City. That makes you my enemy. And I never spare enemies—"
But before she could finish, a desperate voice rang out from the bushes:
"Guinevere-senpai! Where are you?! Please help us!!"
"...Eh?" Melusine froze.
"Wait... you mean, you're companions Guinevere brought here—"
"—Perfect chance!"
Before she could finish her thought, Mash—or perhaps Galahad himself—suddenly rose to her feet. She rammed her shield forward with all her might, the edge slamming straight into Melusine's face.
Smash!
Spun like a top, Melusine was launched through the air, twirling a full five rotations before crashing down again like a blue-lance comet.
Yet even battered like this, her heart was filled not with rage, but with panic.
—No, no, no! I had just barely managed to make Guinevere think better of me, and now I've beaten up his allies before even meeting him in this Simulation! When he finds out, will he completely lose faith in me again?!
"Nooo, that can't happen!"
Terrified, Melusine scrambled up from the bushes, shrieking in horror.
Then, seeing Mash charging toward her again, she frantically waved her hands.
"W-wait! I think this is all... some kind of misunderstanding—"
But Mash, glancing back at Ritsuka's scratched face from being thrown into the undergrowth, clenched her teeth and roared:
"There's no misunderstanding, Lady Melusine! Right now, I just want to fight for my senpai's honor!"
"Ah, wh—"
Staring at Mash barreling down on her with even greater force than before, Melusine's face turned more and more flustered.
"Uh, c-can't we maybe call a truce?"
"A truce? At this point? Are you joking?!" Mash snapped.
"Uh..."
Melusine hesitated for half a second.
"T-then... you can hit me, but just—please don't tell Guinevere about what I did earlier, okay?"
But Mash didn't even acknowledge her words, slamming her shield straight at her again.
Clang!
By the time Guinevere and Artoria, sensing the burst of mana, hurried over... what they saw was Melusine practically buried into the ground, while Ritsuka stood nearby looking lost and unsure what to do.
"What the—what happened here? Did you start fighting?!" Guinevere exclaimed, baffled.
He turned just in time to see Melusine dragging herself out of the dirt, forcing a nonchalant smile.
"No, no, not at all! Mash and I were just... um... having a friendly parent-child bonding session! You know, communicating feelings! Nothing to worry about!"
"...Huh?"
Guinevere's eyes flicked from her to Mash, whose face was dark with silent fury as she continued slamming her shield down at Melusine.
Whatever this was, it did not look "friendly."
Since no one else seemed inclined to speak, he turned toward Ritsuka—only to notice the scratch across her cheek. He immediately strode over.
"What happened? You're injured?"
"Ah—it's nothing. I just tripped and scraped my face. No big deal. For a Chaldean Master, this is nothing at all," Ritsuka said quickly, scratching her head with a sheepish smile.
"..."
Guinevere looked from Ritsuka to Melusine—who had taken blow after blow without retaliating—then sighed. Bowing slightly, he said to Ritsuka:
"It seems Melusine has caused trouble for you again. I sincerely apologize."
"No, no, Lady Melusine is actually very easy to talk to. She didn't cause us any trouble at all," Ritsuka insisted, waving her hands with a smile.
Hearing that, Melusine glanced at her with deep gratitude.
Guinevere sighed again, then looked toward Melusine.
"By the way, just now you mentioned 'parent-child interaction.' Does that mean... you two have become mother and daughter?"
At that, Melusine didn't answer right away. Instead, she quickly turned to Mash.
"Hey, what do you usually call Guinevere?"
"Eh?" Mash blinked. "Um... Guinevere-senpai. Why?"
"Oh." Melusine nodded. Then she spun back to Guinevere with a forced smile:
"Not mother and daughter! No, no. We're sisters... yes, sisters! Mash and I have been sisters since before birth!"