"Mm..."
Wu Ling groaned softly and forced his eyes open. Since obtaining the seventh Spirit Ring represented by Karna, he had not suffered injuries this severe in a long time.
Under that sky full of attacks, the golden armor on his body had almost shattered. His immortality had become mostly useless against the later attacks. After all, taking that level of attack head-on could kill a god, let alone someone merely carrying blessings from gods. In the end, he had relied on Heracles's God Hand to survive. Even then, it had cost him ten lives. Add the life he had used up playing himself to death on Soul Land, and he now had only one life left.
"I remember that after I had only one life left, there were still hundreds of attacks coming. I was already preparing to burn the Saint Graphs of the Servants. Then a summoning circle appeared beside me, and I came here."
As Wu Ling recalled the situation, he observed his surroundings.
He was lying on a pure white bed under a spotless sheet. The room was not large, but the white walls gave it a clean, refreshed feeling.
Then the door slid open with a soft sound. A girl walked in. She had short pink hair, with one side just covering an eye, wore glasses, and was dressed in a short white work coat.
When she saw Wu Ling awake, joy appeared on her face.
"You are awake, sir."
Wu Ling looked at that familiar yet unfamiliar face and understood where he was. Still, he decided to confirm it.
"You are... Mash, right?"
"Yes."
After answering, Mash reacted and looked puzzled.
"Why do you know my name, sir?"
He obviously could not say that he had once played her in a game. After thinking briefly, Wu Ling found another explanation.
"How should I put it? It is something like parallel worlds. I happen to know you from another parallel world."
"A parallel world Mash..."
As one of Chaldea's A Team students, Mash understood the concept of parallel worlds. Besides, their current situation was already close to being inside a parallel world.
Seeing Mash fall silent, Wu Ling decided to take the initiative and gather information.
"Let us leave that aside for now. Since you summoned me here, something must have happened. May I ask which Singularity you are currently fighting through?"
After hearing Wu Ling's question, Mash slowly lowered her head. Her expression dimmed. Wu Ling could tell at once that he had asked the wrong question. He also understood that something had definitely happened to Chaldea.
"Mash, I will call you that if you do not mind. Who is currently in charge here? Can I meet them?"
"Yes. That is possible, sir. The Doctor and Da Vinci are in charge right now. I will take you to them."
Only then did Mash realize she was still standing in the doorway. She moved to Wu Ling's side. Because he had been injured before, she intended to support him, but Wu Ling waved away her help, got out of bed on his own, stood on the floor, and stretched.
From where Mash stood, she saw that every injury on Wu Ling's body had already healed. That gave her a new question.
"Sir, may I ask whether you are a Heroic Spirit or a human? Ah, I do not mean you are not human. It is just that when we examined you before, you clearly had a living body of flesh and blood, but you also possessed Heroic Spirit power. It was like... like..."
"Like you?" Wu Ling finished her sentence.
"...Yes."
Seeing Mash like that, Wu Ling used the Throne of Heroes inside him to sense her state. He learned that Mash had not yet released her True Name, which was why she lacked confidence.
For this girl, whose spirit was as pure as a newborn bird, Wu Ling gave his gentlest response.
He lightly patted Mash's hair, smiled warmly, and said, "In terms of condition, we are indeed similar. Do not worry. Do not doubt yourself. If he acknowledged you, that proves your worth. No matter what difficulties wait ahead, step forward with confidence. By the way, my name is Wu Ling."
After saying that, Wu Ling extended his right hand.
Mash stared at the hand for a moment. Then she smiled as well and shook it.
"Understood, Mister Wu Ling."
Hearing how Mash addressed him, Wu Ling tilted his head.
"Mister? I suppose I am fairly old now."
"Is there a problem, Mister Wu Ling? Should I address you another way?"
"No, no. I was only feeling a little emotional. Right, where is your Master?"
When Wu Ling mentioned her Master, Mash's cheeks reddened faintly. Then her mood sank again.
"Senpai? Because of what happened before, she should still be resting in her room."
"What happened before, hm? Since we are going to see Doctor Roman and Da Vinci anyway, tell me slowly on the way."
"Yes, sir. Please follow me."
Chaldea, control room.
A doctor named Roman stared at the large screen ahead of him with a worried expression. Two points on the screen were drawing closer and closer. At this rate, they would meet in less than half a day.
The door opened. Da Vinci, who wore the appearance of the Mona Lisa, entered with a stack of papers and came up behind Roman.
"Roman, the examination results for the unknown Servant Ritsuka summoned earlier are out."
Roman took a deep breath. With Chaldea's current energy reserves and situation, it would be extremely difficult to summon any more Servants. That unknown Servant was their final hope. He desperately needed good news.
"Go ahead."
Da Vinci's voice rose by three degrees.
"Incredible, Roman. Even after reading this for the third time, I still find it incredible. The one summoned is not a Servant. He is a living person. Like Mash, he is a kind of Demi Servant."
The moment Roman heard that, hope almost drained out of him. It was not that he looked down on Demi Servants. The problem was that a Demi Servant's upper limit was already fixed. A Demi Servant's strength would be equal to or weaker than the possessing Servant, never stronger.
"Then which Servant is possessing him?"
"There is Karna..."
Before Da Vinci could continue, Roman's voice rang out.
"Karna? Right, that golden armor. If he is Karna's Demi Servant, then there is still hope."
Da Vinci continued, "And Sasaki Kojiro, Hassan of the Hundred Personas, Medea..."
"Wait. It is not Karna?" Roman asked in confusion.
"That is exactly why I am stunned. He is a Demi Servant, but he is not only a Demi Servant. There are several different Saint Graphs inside his body."
"What?"