2
The transition from the sterile, burning halls of Chaldea to the charcoal-scented ruins of Fuyuki was not a graceful one. Ritsuka hit the cracked asphalt of a deserted street with a bone-jarring thud, the air in his lungs replaced by the heavy, metallic stench of a city that had been cooking in its own shadow for too long.
Beside him, Mash was already upright, her armor clanking as she adjusted to the weight of the massive cross-shaped shield. Fou, ever the professional stray, had managed to land perfectly on her shoulder, looking entirely unfazed by the spatial displacement.
Then, there was the third passenger.
The Christ-Servant stood in the middle of the street, His simple robes catching the flickering light of a nearby burning building. He looked at the scorched horizon, at the skeletal remains of skyscrapers, and then down at Ritsuka.
"A trial by fire," the Man remarked softly. "Literally."
Ritsuka, currently nursing a bruised tailbone and trying to wipe a smear of soot off his forehead, looked up. The stress of the last hour—the explosions, the near-death experience, and the sudden weight of human history—finally cracked the shell of his "good boy" upbringing.
"Did you really have to make that metaphor word for word, Lord? Really?" Ritsuka groaned, pushing himself up. "I feel like a piece of lechon that fell off the spit. A little heads-up on the 'burning city' part of the itinerary would have been great."
The Man tilted His head, a ghost of a smile touching His lips. "You have your mother's tongue, Ritsuka. And, I suspect, you are currently forgetting her lessons regarding the tsinelas (slipper)."
Ritsuka winced, the phantom sting of a flying rubber sandal hitting his backside momentarily overriding the literal fire around him. "Okay, okay, point taken. Respect. Reverence. Got it. But seriously... where are we?"
The Shadow in the Smoke
"Fuyuki City," Mash answered, her voice trembling slightly as she scanned the area. "Or what's left of it. The year is 2004, but... this isn't history. This is a Singularity. A knot in time that shouldn't exist."
Suddenly, the shadows at the end of the street began to writhe. Skeletons—warriors brought back by the Grail's corrupting mud—clattered into the light, their rusted blades scraping against the pavement.
"Hostiles detected!" Mash moved instinctively, planting her shield in front of Ritsuka. "Master, please stay behind me!"
Ritsuka reached for his Rosary, but his hand froze. He looked at the Man standing beside them. The "Christ-Servant" hadn't moved. He wasn't reaching for a weapon. He was just... watching the skeletons with a look of profound pity.
"Uh... Lord?" Ritsuka whispered, his snark replaced by a sudden, cold realization of their situation. "This would be a really good time for that 'cleansing the temple' energy. Or a miracle. I'll even take a very well-aimed loaf of bread at this point."
"I am not a weapon to be pointed, Ritsuka," the Man replied calmly. "But I am a Shepherd. And a Shepherd does not let the wolves touch the flock."
The First Miracle of the Singularity
As the skeletons lunged, Mash braced for impact. But the blow never came.
The Man stepped forward. He didn't strike. He simply raised His hand, palm open. A ripple of soft, amber light—reminiscent of a sunset over Manila Bay—pulsed outward.
It wasn't a blast of mana. It was a Presence.
The skeletons didn't shatter; they simply stopped. The dark, necrotic energy holding their bones together evaporated. One by one, they collapsed into piles of silent dust, as if they had finally been given the permission to rest that the Grail had denied them.
"Rest in peace," the Man whispered.
Mash stared, her shield lowering an inch. "No magical energy signature detected. No Noble Phantasm chant. He just... ended the conflict."
"He's a 'cheat code,' Mash," Ritsuka muttered, though his heart was hammering against his ribs in relief. "A holy, snark-proof cheat code."
The Hologram and the Mystery
A blue light flickered in the air, and a shaky holographic projection of Dr. Romani Archaman appeared.
"Ritsuka! Mash! You're alive! We've managed to stabilize the connection from the sub-command room! I—" Roman stopped, his eyes bugging out as he looked at the figure standing behind Ritsuka. "Wait. Who is that? Is that the Servant you summoned in the fire? My sensors are... they're not picking up a Class. Is he a Caster? A Ruler?"
Ritsuka looked at the Lord, then back at the panicked doctor. He remembered the "convenience" of the masquerade they had discussed.
"He's... uh... He's a specialized support class, Doc," Ritsuka lied, the "Filipino fluency" in his English making the deception sound remarkably sincere. "Let's call him... The Counselor."
The Christ-Servant looked at the hologram of Roman, His eyes piercing through the digital projection as if he could see the man's very soul—and the secrets hidden within it.
"A doctor who heals the body but hides his own heart," the Man said softly. "Be at peace, Roman. We are here."
Roman shivered on the screen, looking visibly shaken. "Right. Okay. 'Counselor.' Unusual, but we'll take what we can get. Listen, you're not alone in that city. There's another Servant signature nearby. A Caster... and he's currently being pursued by something much worse than skeletons."
The Road Ahead
"We move," Ritsuka said, his resolve hardening. He looked at Mash, then at the Lord. "If we're going to fix this, we need allies."
"And food," a voice added.
Ritsuka turned to see the Man looking at a scorched vending machine.
"I believe," the Lord said with a slight twinkle in His eye, "that if we are to find this Caster, we should do so quickly. I can smell a 'Shadow' approaching that has no room for Grace."
Ritsuka gripped his Rosary. "Mash, lead the way. Lord... try not to judge my running form. It's been a long day."
As they hurried down the burning street, Fou hopped back onto Ritsuka's shoulder, chirping happily. Even in the middle of a hellscape, the stray knew he was safe.
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