Ritsuka continued moving swiftly through the dark ruins of Fuyuki. Suddenly, L's voice emerged from the floating mass of water, breaking the silence.
"Ritsuka, something doesn't add up," L said in his analytical tone.
"What does Fuyuki in the year 2004 have to do with the extinction of humanity? You said humanity would be destroyed in the future, but then why would Chaldea go to the past? And what exactly do you mean by the 'Fuyuki Singularity'?"
Ritsuka answered without slowing his pace.
"A Singularity is a point in human history where a severe 'hole' or anomaly occurs—something that should never have happened. It's an area where the normal rules of time and causality are distorted."
He gestured to his surroundings.
"Take Fuyuki, for example. According to the correct historical records, there was a small fire caused by a 'gas leak' in 2004—but nothing even close to this hellscape that wiped out the entire city. This deviates drastically from proper history."
"I see…" L murmured, beginning to grasp the logic.
"So Chaldea sends people into the past to 'patch' those Singularities," Kagaya concluded.
"And you and your sister were chosen by Chaldea for that extremely dangerous task."
"Yes. That's more or less correct."
"But…" This time Koko sounded uncertain.
"This is time travel to the past, right? Wouldn't even the smallest interaction—like saving someone who was supposed to die, or killing someone—completely change the future? Like the Butterfly Effect in movies?"
Ritsuka paused for a moment. A faint, nostalgic smile appeared on his face.
Koko's question reminded him of his own naïve fears in his previous life—and how Director Olga Marie had once scolded him for asking the same thing.
"Koko," Ritsuka replied gently,
"Human history here isn't as fragile as you think. History has a self-correcting force."
"What do you mean?"
"If you save someone who was supposed to die here, history won't immediately change drastically. The world will automatically adjust. That person might die from another cause a few days later, or their existence will be rendered irrelevant so the final outcome remains the same. In other words, trivial things like the Butterfly Effect don't apply here."
"So your world has a mechanism like that…" Koko muttered in awe.
"But," Ritsuka's tone turned serious,
"if the change is large and fundamental, that becomes a catastrophe."
He stopped briefly to give an analogy.
"Think of human history as the foundation of a tall building. If you destroy or drastically shift a brick at the very bottom—the past—what happens to the structure above it?"
"It collapses," all three answered almost simultaneously.
"Exactly. That's what's happening now. The future collapsed because the past was destroyed. That's why Chaldea sends us here—to repair the foundation. You can think of Chaldea as a group of maintenance workers preventing the building from collapsing," Ritsuka explained.
"So Chaldea is an organization that protects humanity in your world," Kagaya said with admiration.
Ritsuka gave a bitter smile.
"That's what it was meant to be… at the beginning," he murmured so softly that no one heard him.
"But why were you and your sister chosen?" L asked again, still curious.
"What makes the two of you special enough for Chaldea to entrust such an important mission to you?"
"About that—"
Ritsuka's words were cut off by a horrifying, shrill scream.
"G I——— G A A A A A A A A!"
Ritsuka spun around. At the far end of the road, a group of animated skeletons emerged from the rubble, wielding rusted weapons.
"Ritsuka! What is that?!" Koko shouted in shock.
"Skeleton monsters?!" Kagaya cried out.
Instead of fear, a wide smile spread across Ritsuka's face. He stretched his neck and shoulders, producing a sharp crack.
"So you've finally shown yourselves," Ritsuka said with satisfaction.
"I was getting bored waiting."
The magical circuits within Ritsuka's body began to glow faintly as he casually walked toward the monsters.
"Ritsuka, wait! You're going to face them alone?!" Kagaya shouted in panic.
Ritsuka ignored the warning. He dropped into a low stance—legs spread wide, knees deeply bent to lower his center of gravity, hips lowered for maximum stability.
"Time for revenge," Ritsuka hissed.
BOOM!
Ritsuka launched forward explosively. His movement was instant. His right elbow smashed into the chest of the leading skeleton with a perfect Bajiquan technique. The skeleton shattered instantly, blown apart by the magical impact.
"That explosion… that's clearly not human strength. Is he using magic?" Koko asked in disbelief.
"That movement…" L observed closely.
"That's Bajiquan martial arts."
On the screen, only Ritsuka's back was visible. After destroying one enemy, he returned to his stance.
"This time will be different," he muttered.
He moved again—this time leaping forward, his knee crashing into another skeleton with equal destructive force.
"I'm not the one being hunted this time…"
Ritsuka grabbed a skeleton by the head and crushed it in his grip.
"…you're the ones I'm hunting!"
Ritsuka moved like a storm. He punched, elbowed, and slammed his shoulder forward (Tetsuzanko). Each strike produced a lethal miniature explosion. In mere seconds, every skeleton had been reduced to fragments of calcium scattered across the asphalt.
The observers fell silent, stunned by the efficient brutality—
except for Zelretch, who yawned lazily.
"Is it over already?" he said.
"Is this why Chaldea chose you?" L finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Because of your combat ability?"
"Close," Ritsuka replied, regulating his breathing.
"Then are you going to explain it?" Koko pressed.
"Sensei, may I explain the concept of Masters and Servants to them?" Ritsuka asked Zelretch.
"Go ahead, my disciple. You may give them a short lecture," Zelretch replied casually.
"I'll explain while running. I need to reach my sister quickly—and… her," Ritsuka said.
"'Her'?" Koko asked, confused.
"We're listening," Kagaya said.
Ritsuka began to run. His legs glowed faintly as he activated physical reinforcement magic (Reinforcement), dramatically increasing his speed.
"My sister and I weren't kidnapped because we're great fighters. We were taken because we possess a rare quality—the aptitude to become Masters capable of summoning Servants."
"Master? Servant?" L repeated.
"What does that mean?"
"Alright, let's start with Servants. A Servant is another term for a Heroic Spirit. They are phenomena—heroes or legendary figures from human history who have died and been elevated to a higher level of existence, beyond the constraints of time."
"W-wait…" Koko sounded nervous.
"So Servants are the heroes from history books and legends?"
"Yes. Normally, humans can't even touch them. Their power is like a natural disaster given human form. But to summon them into this world to fight, they're placed into a spiritual 'container.' That's why they're called Servants," Ritsuka explained.
"So your world summons famous dead people as weapons…" Kagaya concluded uneasily.
"That's right. Those with powerful names—recognized by the world and recorded in history—become Heroic Spirits. Arthur Pendragon, Oda Nobunaga, Gilgamesh, Heracles… all of them can be summoned."
"And the ones who summon and control them are Masters, correct? You and your sister are those Masters?" L confirmed.
"Correct. Servants are spiritual beings. The world naturally rejects their existence and tries to erase them because they are 'already dead.' They need an anchor to remain in this era," Ritsuka explained as he vaulted over debris.
"That anchor is the Master. On top of that, Servants need fuel to act. That fuel is Magical Energy—Mana—which they draw from their Master's body."
"And Edmond Dantès, whom you and Zelretch mentioned earlier, is also a Servant, right?" L asked.
Ritsuka nodded.
"Wait—Edmond Dantès is a fictional character from a novel, isn't he? He's not real," Koko interjected.
Ritsuka was about to answer, but L cut in first.
"Did you remember what Ritsuka said earlier? 'Those with powerful names recognized by the world.' He didn't say they had to be real historical figures. So even fictional characters can become Heroic Spirits if their legends are strong enough. Is that correct?" L analyzed.
"Exactly," Ritsuka praised.
"There are even fictional Servants like Sherlock Holmes and Oberon."
At that name, L froze.
"Holmes is there too…?" his voice rose in shock.
"Yes. And he's extremely annoying," Ritsuka added with a chuckle.
L did not respond—likely suppressing his emotions.
"Ritsuka," Kagaya said,
"Earlier you mentioned Oda Nobunaga… is it possible for you to summon him as well?"
"Yes, I can. But you might be disappointed, Kagaya."
"Eh? Why? Is he extremely cruel?" Kagaya asked, confused.
"No… it's just…" Ritsuka held back laughter.
"Oda Nobunaga in my world is a woman."
Silence followed.
"Cough—cough!" Kagaya choked on his own saliva from sheer shock.
"Whaaat?! That's the most shocking information so far!" Koko shouted excitedly.
"Hahahaha! That's the beauty of the Nasuverse!" Zelretch laughed.
"You haven't seen anything yet. This is just the beginning."
"What do you mean by 'anything yet'?" L asked suspiciously.
"Hehehe~ Just wait and see. You'll even meet a lioness who becomes king and loves eating burgers, or an archer who uses swords," Zelretch teased.
"You're getting stranger by the minute, Zelretch," Kagaya commented helplessly.
"That's just who I am."
Zelretch then shifted to a slightly more serious tone.
"By the way, Ritsuka—aren't you running low on Mana? You used it earlier with Bajiquan, and now you're constantly using Reinforcement while running. Are you sure you're fine? You know the quality of your magic circuits."
Ritsuka appeared to think while continuing to run.
"Now that you mention it, sensei, I—"
His words stopped abruptly.
Clunk.
That heavy sound echoed once more.
The Dharma Wheel appeared again, floating above his head, slowly rotating.