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Yes — like the end of the world, locusts in every direction.
The moment Maverick and A-bro stepped out of the café, the full scope of it hit them. Mass-produced Columbus figures, covering the street in both directions, still multiplying. Laughing, looting storefronts, dragging NPCs toward somewhere with methodical intent. Two Artorias in the middle of it all, fighting at maximum output and not making a dent.
Because individually, a single Columbus was manageable — a weak Assassin-class Servant could handle three or four in a row without breaking a sweat. But at this volume, it was categorically a different problem.
Both Artorias had Noble Phantasms that could clear the street in one use. Both of them also had the sense not to fire them without cause — Nobel Phantasm use meant massive mana expenditure, and burning that resource on crowd control this early in the war was exactly the kind of decision that lost games. So they ground on, taking the Columbus figures down in pairs and threes, and the numbers didn't move.
[Chat]: this is sanity-draining. what even is this?
[Also_Chat]: I feel like I'll never forget this face for the rest of my life.
[Real_Life_Update]: I was watching this behind my wife's back at 2 AM. she came up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. I slapped her. I am now outside in my underwear.
[Response]: brother. brother what.
[Also_Outside]: I'll join you.
At Ryudou Temple — a famous landmark on Fuyuki City's eastern hill — another player was having a quieter problem.
He'd come to Holy Grail War as a fan of Maverick. Watched the stream, decided to try co-op mode himself. But instead of using the starting Holy Relic for his summoning, he'd taken a plane to Fuyuki, found the temple through the map system, and done a compatibility summon at the dragon pulse ley line running under the building.
Compatibility summoning in a real ritual context could potentially attune the summon to the specific practitioner. In a game, it functioned as a random roll. The result he'd gotten was not what he'd pictured when he sat down in front of the circle.
The figure currently lounging in the temple's main hall looked like seaweed had developed aspirations. Long dark robes, elaborate accessories, the specific aesthetic of someone who had constructed an identity very deliberately and was deeply committed to it. The nameplate on the character panel read: Caster — Ashiya Doman.
He was FGO players' most familiar bunkmate. A known quantity in the franchise. And right now, he was very cheerfully flooding the streets of Fuyuki with an army of mass-produced Columbus figures.
The reason for the Columbus specifically was mechanical: in Type-Moon setting, ordinary human life force could be converted into magical energy. Fuyuki City's entire NPC population was, by extension, a mana reservoir. Caster class arrived with territory-creation abilities and magical resources, but sustaining a mass-produced army required far more than one player's mana pool. Hence: the Columbus figures grabbing citizens.
This was the compensation mechanism Max had built for the Caster class disadvantage. No time to establish a proper territory before enemies showed up at the doorstep — so Caster summoned creatures that could acquire resources. It was efficient, if not particularly comfortable to watch.
The player watched a Columbus figure emerge from the street below carrying a very confused-looking NPC. He was aware this was a game. He also had working human feelings, and those feelings were mildly troubled by the current scene.
Something pressed against his back.
Ashiya Doman had materialized directly behind him in the specific way that Caster-class Servants did when they wanted to make a point about spatial awareness.
"Kukukukuku~" The voice landed very close to his ear. "What's troubling you, my dear Master? Did this humble monk do something to displease you?"
The player stepped forward slightly. "It's nothing. Just... a bit uncomfortable watching."
"Ah, my dear Master—" Ashiya Doman's expression shifted to something deeply theatrical, the kind of shock that had been rehearsed in advance. "How benevolent you are! How compassionate! This humble monk is moved — truly moved — by your tender heart."
"It's really nothing, I—"
"No, no, no. The fault is entirely this humble monk's. My abilities are insufficient, which is why such crude methods are necessary. If only I were stronger, none of this would be required." He pressed his hands together in what appeared to be genuine contrition. "But rest assured, Master. Everything done here is a necessary sacrifice. Once the Holy Grail is obtained, we can wish for all of them back. Every one. So please — bear with this humble monk's inadequacy a little longer. And if the sight troubles you, I can arrange for you not to see it. That much, at least, is well within my ability."
The player thought about it.
He'd come to win. That was the point of co-op mode — not to sightsee, not to explore the lore, but to actually compete for the Holy Grail and see what winning felt like. You didn't win the Holy Grail War by feeling bad about what your Caster was doing. You won by trusting your Servant and getting to the end.
"You're right," he said finally. "Sorry — I'm going to take a walk outside. I'll leave this to you."
Ashiya Doman's expression transformed into something radiant with barely-contained joy.
"Master—! Ah, Master! How wise, how trusting, how—" He clasped both hands together at his chest, robes billowing, composing himself with visible effort. "I, Ashiya Doman, pledge to you here and now — I will never betray you. Whatever happens, whatever it costs — I will see you to victory. By any means necessary. This humble monk swears it."
"Okay, okay, alright." The player raised a hand on his way out. "I trust you. Don't overdo it."
"Overdo it! Ha! As if such a concept applied to—"
The door closed behind him.
He stepped into the forest path behind the temple and lit a cigarette — which in a game built on haptic feedback translated into the faint warmth of the lighter, the slight weight in the hand, the smell of smoke curling in temple-damp air. It was a strange experience. He didn't hate it.
What he hadn't thought to check, before stepping outside, was Ashiya Doman's favorability meter.
It had not changed from 50% since the moment of summoning.
It had not moved at all.
Alas.
Being able to summon Ashiya Doman could be considered this player's good fortune.
Whether it was good fortune in the direction he was imagining — that remained to be seen.
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