Reuel's group began to move forward.
Under Mash's guidance, they quickly located a spot where spiritual leylines converged with intensity.
Reuel could feel the faint energy radiating from the place. He assumed this was what people called magic.
"This location should be sufficient to summon a Heroic Spirit," Mash said as she opened her backpack and pulled out various ritual materials. She began drawing a magic circle on the ground with swift, practiced movements.
"Summoning a Servant requires a holy relic as a catalyst. Unfortunately, we don't have one this time."
"In that case," murmured Fujimaru Ritsuka while rummaging through his bag, "we'll just have to rely on luck... maybe summon a Heroic Spirit from this era or something."
He had only recently been recruited by Chaldea. The mission to save humanity was dumped on his shoulders without much preparation. No surprise-he hadn't brought a single valuable artifact.
"I might have something."
Reuel activated his internal system, half his body shifting into its Gundam form. A mind cube opened in his chest, revealing a hidden storage compartment. He started digging through it.
A few seconds later, he pulled out a long sword that looked worn-rusted, and with half its blade broken off.
"What is that?" Mash asked, staring at the sword in surprise. Ritsuka also leaned in, eyebrows raised.
"The Sword in the Stone," Reuel replied flatly.
Mash paused, deep in thought. "If that's real, it would make sense as a relic of the King of Knights..."
Reuel scratched his head, looking only half sure.
"The Sword in the Stone?! Are you serious? Is it real or fake? Where did you get this?" Mash hurried closer, examining the sword more closely. It did look ancient-but still...
"Found in the Demon Slayer world. Authenticity undetermined," Reuel answered deadpan.
"The sword was delivered along with tribute supplies. Ning Hai said that when she stopped by the British Museum-the version in that world-some historical artifacts had been offered on the opposite side. Like a form of cross-civilizational respect."
Reuel recalled the moment one of the shipgirls handed the sword to him. The items brought home by the Universal Bulin fleet were... weird.
Not just strategic materials like coal, iron, and steel. They also brought back red wine, spices, handicrafts, tiger-skin grass skirts, cultural relics, and all sorts of other random crap.
At the time, Reuel thought the sword would make a good decoration for his office. So, he kept it.
But now... curiosity was bubbling up. Could an artifact from another universe be used to summon a Heroic Spirit in a Singularity from the Naruserve world?
Reuel drew the sword-allegedly belonging to King Arthur-and placed it in the summoning circle.
"..."
"..."
The shipgirls exchanged glances. Shocked. Confused.
Someone from the Imperium of Man was using an artifact excavated from the Demon Slayer World to summon Heroic Spirits in a Naruserve world Singularity.
Was this going to work? This was crossing three different universes.
"Who cares," one of them muttered. "A King of Knights in a Demon Slayer world is still a King of Knights. Legends are legends... history doesn't differ that much."
"And... it's still better than having nothing."
Reuel placed the broken sword in the center of the summoning circle.
Then, Reuel followed the instructions from the ritual book Mash had previously taught him. With steady steps, he entered the magic circle and began chanting the summoning incantation.
As the psionic energy-his inheritance from the Emperor of Mankind-flowed through his body, the atmosphere instantly shifted. A dreadful aura enveloped the surroundings, and Reuel's eyes blazed like miniature suns. This wasn't ordinary magic; it was a power from an era far beyond the comprehension of conventional magi.
"Thy body shall be under my command, and my fate shall be bound to thy blade...
Answer the call of the Holy Grail, obey my will... answer me!
I am the one who brings all good in the world, and I am the one who punishes every evil within it..."
As his chant echoed, the magic circle beneath him began to emit a blinding light. The sword embedded in the stone trembled faintly, as if responding to the call.
"Could this really work...?" one of the onlookers whispered. Everyone held their breath, hearts pounding in anticipation.
"Ye seven heavens, clad in the three great words-
Come forth from the circle of restraint-
O Guardian of the Scales!"
As the final verse was recited, a burst of golden light exploded from within the circle. A shockwave erupted, kicking up thick clouds of dust and shaking the ground beneath them.
After a few small coughs and as the dust began to settle, the silhouette of a woman slowly emerged from the light. She stood gracefully-a young woman with golden blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and clad in blue battle armor with a red skirt beneath it. Her hand rested on the hilt of a sacred sword she carried, and a single ahoge sprouted from the top of her head-an unmistakable sign.
She was the Lion King of Britain, Artoria Pendragon.
Her gaze was sharp, filled with honor and unshakable resolve. She looked at Reuel and spoke in a serious tone:
"Servant Saber, I have come in response to your summon."
"Allow me to ask... Are you my Master?"
"...Holy shit, he actually pulled it off!?!" Ritsuka exclaimed in disbelief, his face stunned.
The world as they knew it suddenly felt like it had been turned upside down. That man-Reuel-had pulled some strange device out of nowhere, and now he'd managed to summon a heroic spirit?! Even the atmosphere around them... felt familiar. Was this an early version of the Singularity Darkness in Fuyuki?
After the ritual, Reuel immediately ordered Ning Hai to issue a proclamation to all nations: all historical artifacts and museum relics were to be handed over to him. From now on, those items would be used as tax deductibles.
Why was only the Demon Slayer world affected by this policy? Because all other universes under Reuel's control were already being managed by Planetary Governors and PDF (Planetary Defense Forces). Reuel had already recycled every valuable material-regardless of form-into raw resources for the Imperial Navy fleet. In the eyes of the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus, historical value was merely a distraction. Those items were nothing more than industrial materials.
Now, Reuel felt that the door to new worlds had flung wide open. The Legion of Heroes awaited.
"Master...? This is...."
The Demon King stood behind them, bewildered by the absurdity of the situation.
In her mind, she remembered the last time she'd been summoned to the battlefield of the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, during the modern era. But now? Why was she appearing in a medieval setting? Since when was there a Holy Grail War during the Cold War?
"Haven't you received this world's basic knowledge yet?" Ritsuka asked, frowning suspiciously.
Usually, when a Heroic Spirit responded to a summon, they would immediately receive fundamental knowledge about the world they were summoned into. But this time... something felt off.
"No. I feel there's a miracle inside me... but its form is strange."
Artoria glanced at her hand. She felt the contract had formed between her and Reuel-Master and Servant. However, the energy being supplied to her... wasn't magic. Nor was it mana.
It was something more chaotic, unstable, and incomprehensible. It felt alien-and dangerous.
"For now, use power from the Mind Cube. I'll study the Moon World's miracle system when I get the chance," Reuel said calmly.
"As for psionic power... don't touch it yet. Your body isn't ready for the damage that energy causes."
He patted the Demon King's shoulder, reinforcing the order.
Deep down, Reuel muttered to himself. He truly didn't expect that his psionic energy could summon a heroic spirit. After all, that energy wasn't just any kind of power.
The legacy of the Emperor of Mankind didn't just contain immense strength-it carried an ocean of emotions: hatred, rage, destruction, vengeance, and trauma. Even Reuel himself still struggled to control it. And this... was only half the original power of the Emperor.
"What a ridiculous old man..." he muttered under his breath.
Suddenly, Reuel noticed three Command Seals appear on his right hand. Red in color, shaped like a shield-they looked strikingly similar to Fujimaru Ritsuka's.
He didn't fully understand their exact function.
Logically speaking, only those participating in the Holy Grail War were supposed to possess them. Only official Masters could receive Command Seals infused by the Greater Holy Grail-a symbol of authority to restrain and empower the heroic spirits they summoned.
However, it seemed Reuel's body had an exceptionally high level of compatibility by default.
Following in the footsteps of Roman glory, he hadn't only managed to summon a Servant, but also obtained supporting equipment that should've been impossible to acquire under normal circumstances.
"Why is King Arthur a cute girl...?" one of the ship girls asked in a confused, almost trembling voice.
"Commander, look! King Arthur's actually a woman?"
A rush of mixed emotions filled the air-deep shock at how the legendary King of Knights of England turned out to be... very different from what they had imagined. It felt like... a hundred million points of divergence from the historical data they knew.
Reuel simply raised a hand casually.
"This is the Naruserve world," he said calmly. "Don't overthink the details."
The ship girls looked at each other in confusion... then decided to stay silent.
"....."
"....."
Fujimaru Ritsuka stared at Reuel and the ahoge-bearing Saber, his expression filled with doubt. He had clearly been holding something back this whole time, until he finally spoke.
"I just remembered something."
"You said... this place is France, in the year 1431, right? Are we currently in the middle of the Hundred Years' War against England?"
Reuel nodded slightly. "Correct."
The Hundred Years' War-a brutal conflict between England and France that lasted for generations. Its roots formed a historical hostility that endured even into the modern era.
Joan of Arc fell during this war, burned alive by English soldiers.
Now, the war's tension was reaching a critical point. Both sides were on the brink of open battle.
"Who's the Heroic Spirit you just summoned?" Ritsuka asked.
"Artoria Pendragon," Reuel replied. "King of Knights. England."
"....."
"....."
Silence. Everyone looked at each other, their reason teetering on the edge of implosion.
"So... you summoned the King of Knights of England... in the middle of France... during the Hundred Years' War?"
"Reuel... this-this is unbelievably stupid!" Ritsuka hissed. "How are we supposed to repair the timeline like this?! Instead of calming the conflict, this could ignite an even bigger war!"
Ritsuka rubbed his temples, visibly frustrated.
He knew that the appearance of a Servant would generate a massive magical energy spike. It was highly likely that local magi, anomaly hunters, or even an alternate branch of Chaldea would soon detect it.
"Before we get our asses kicked by whoever picks up on this," Ritsuka said stiffly, "I just want to ask one thing: did you guys actually come here with the intention of causing problems...?"