Act 4, Scene 7
"Face, the one who shattered seven worlds." Wallachia's voice, despite a flat delivery, seems to resound with mockery as the trial begins yet again.
"Ivan." "Rem, Miyako!" I dive out of the way of Ivan's opening shot as Ritsuka and I summon our chosen combatants, and again I crash to the ground as that unbearable pressure rolls off of Ivan like a storm cloud. This time, I don't have anyone to defend me, but that should be fine, in theory.
Because we will end this in the first five seconds.
Rem's flail meets Ivan's staff as Miyako rushes past once more. She said she won't mess up this time, but let's make certain of that.
"[Burning Shining-!" She shouts, weaving past Ritsuka's sucker punch as my last Command Spell shines.
"Strike true!" I order.
"-Puuuuunch!]" The [Palm of the Fist King] connects with Ritsuka - and then smears, passing through him as his body is suddenly shrouded in an inexplicable black smoke. For a moment, I see a figure crouched to his side within the smoke, clad in all black save a jagged, stony leg that gleams like a mirror in the dull white light of the simulator.
Then, the smoke vanishes, and the telltale burst of motion from [Emergency Evade] flings Ritsuka backwards. As he flies, the crimson markings on the back of his hand burn red, and he summons the second opponent.
This will be a telltale moment - is his summon order specially scripted against certain opponents, or is he truly reacting based on the situation? If it's the former, his next summon will be Skadi, and we might still have a chance. If it's the latter, he'll probably summon Qin Shi Huang, lock down Miyako and Rem's movements, and that will be that.
He opens his mouth. That's right. He's about to speak. Between that strange smoke, and this, we'll at least get-
A faint whiff of smoke tickles my nose.
-and suddenly, all three of us are flung out of the simulator without any explanation.
***
"-Well, if I had to guess, it's probably that Subaru-kun died," Romani says with a frown.
"Yeah, that makes sense, but how exactly!?" I shout. I seriously don't understand!
"That same guy who protected Ritsu-kun, right?" Miyako says. "You said one of the classes was Assassin - actually, that's my class, even. So probably, there's one more guy being summoned at the same time as Ivan, and we just couldn't detect him. And then he killed Su-kun before anyone could notice."
"If that's the case, then this person is able to hide from my Records as well," Recorder points out. "He'd require an exceptionally potent [Presence Concealment], or some skill such as [Information Erasure]."
"No, no, if that's the case, why hasn't he acted in any of our attempts until now?" I ask. "What did we do differently this time?"
"...We got close to winning." Rem points out. "Miyako-chan's blow would have landed, if it wasn't for that smoke."
"So even if we blitz past all the servants, he gets one last saving throw, huh? Jeez, how unfair can you get…?" I groan.
"Well, rather than a saving throw, we might consider it a countermeasure against cheating," Pepe says.
"You're saying that rather than Fujimaru Ritsuka's own effort, it's a provision by Wallachia?" Recorder asks. "Indeed, that's the type of thing he would do…"
"I'm not saying that, just that it's something Ritsuka-chan won't pull out under normal circumstances," Pepe replies. "The safe assumption is that if we push him too far in his stock of Servants, that smoke will come out at that point as well."
"You think he's got a limited stock?" I ask.
"That seems right, doesn't it? 'The one who shattered seven worlds' - in other words, cleared seven singularities, or something along those lines? There's probably one Servant pertaining to each Singularity," he says. "The ones we've seen so far are all from different nations and time periods, after all."
That seems intuitive, but… "They don't pertain to our seven singularities, though. I guess we know that they wouldn't play out the same way, but Nobbu was pretty clear that her original Master's seven singularities were set in the same places and times as ours."
"There's an additional mix-up, but I don't think we'll be able to figure it out without Nobunaga to interrogate…" Romani says. "In any case, you guys can take the rest of the day off, I guess. Between Subaru-kun, Pepe, and Akuta, we'll be able to regenerate three Command Spells tomorrow, but until then our efforts are probably futile."
"Mmmm… I wouldn't say that," Pepe says. "At the very least, Miyako-chan and Rem-chan can get more used to Ivan's fighting style. It seems like we're going to have to break through in a straightforward manner, after all."
"U-um… Is there anything…" Gogh mumbles.
"Van Gogh, you should return to Chaldea," Recorder says. "You're no help on that end, so I'll have you lend a hand in my [Territory Creation]. Books benefit from illustration, after all."
"Eh?" She gives a nervous smile. "A-ah, if you think… it will help, ehehe…"
A stirring of worry in my heart prompts me to ask. "...Recorder, do you think there will be a fight in Chaldea after this, then?"
"Not if things go properly" He retorts. "But this is my insurance, Natsuki Subaru, in case you make a mistake on your end." Would it kill this guy to learn even the slightest bit of tact?
"What should I do, then?" Shaula asks. "I can't do anything except cuddle Master… Ah, never mind, I'll stay here!"
Once again, she latches onto me. "C-come on, isn't there something you can get her to do, Recorder!?"
"Nope! I already ate all of the pudding in the cafeteria, so there's nothing left for me!" The absolute menace chirps.
"Y-you…!" I clench my fist. Our supplies were in the thousands! Gareth's gonna cry when she finds out, you know!?
***
Eventually, it comes to be something like nighttime, even though the sky outside the tower has not changed. We eat a quick dinner prepared by Rem, and everyone heads to bed. There are enough rooms here in the tower for everyone to have their own - and so nobody notices me when I slip out of mine in the dark hours of the morning - or so it should have been.
"Mhm, Master goes to take it on all on his own, as expected!~" Shaula says in an excited whisper.
To be loved is to be known, or so they say… I guess I should be flattered. "Don't tell anyone else," I say as we make our way up the stairs. "I just need to see, is all."
"That mystic whatsit you said you didn't want to use because it was absolutely, definitely, a trap?" She asks.
"That's the one," I answer, and I close my eyes as I allow their voices back in..
"Jeez, Subaru is reeeaaally pushing himself, isn't he?" Emilia's voice sounds like she's pouting.
"You'll only be able to call on one of us, though, Subaru. Do you really think that will be enough?" asks Julius.
Probably not. This is just a test, to see if Wallachia's mystic code will actually be of any use in this trial (even though I already know the answer).
"Shaula, did that other guy read any other books before you left the Watchtower, or was it just my friends?" I ask. The books will only let you read them if you knew the person they originally belonged to, but if you read the book of someone who knew them, you can chain from book to book - is how it seems to work.
I haven't heard his annoying voice yet, but if I can summon Regulus and get him to fight for me, this'll get a whole lot easier. Call it learning from Okeanos, I guess.
"Dunno!" Shaula chirps. Yeah, that figures.
"There hasn't been that much bleedthrough yet, in fact - Betty's Subaru should rely on us for tonight, I suppose."
Right. In any case, this is a Mystic Code that conjures Figments, not the original person. Certain weaknesses will probably be removed, and their existence will be based upon the beliefs of those within the TATARI. With that in mind-
"I'll just use the strongest option first, I guess," I mutter as I step through the door.
"Face, the one who shattered seven worlds." "Ivan."
Shadow swirls around my hand as I extend it, and I feel something squirm behind my eyes. "Ram."