The Far North – Finis Chaldea.
The silence lingered, awkwardness hanging in the air for a few shallow breaths—until the orange-haired girl cleared her throat softly, breaking it. She slowly stood up, dusted off her skirt, and turned her doubtful gaze toward Kagami. But almost instantly, she regained her cheerful demeanor, smiling brightly as she waved and introduced herself:
"Um, my name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, age 17, and… uh… could you tell me where this place is?"
Kagami narrowed his eyes, smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as if he'd just found the perfect setup for a joke.
"Heh heh heh~, so it really is a cheerful young maiden, huh? My name's Saito Kagami, 21 years old, current occupation: professional bum. After trying to donate blood, I got nabbed and dragged here to be a 'backup Master.' My hobbies include dropping rage bait just to watch people suffer, and my biggest pet peeve is NHK salesmen knocking on my door. Normally, I go to bed around 9 p.m., warm up with a glass of milk, wake up at 7 a.m. to do my morning exercise… specifically, sprint training from the cops, since I used to be a black marke—"
Mash nearly choked on thin air, Fou went "Fou~!" like it was bursting out laughing.
Ritsuka's eyes widened, her hand clapping over her mouth:
"Eh!? B-black market!?"
"Oi, I wasn't finished yet." Kagami folded his arms, nodding seriously as if he were filling out a résumé:
"Strengths: supreme survival skills, can sleep anywhere—including park benches. Weaknesses: highly suspicious of management, tends to assume it's a black company. Career goal: stable paycheck, free dorm, health insurance, and three free meals a day. That's it."
Silence crashed down.
Mash: "…" (doesn't know how to even respond).
Ritsuka: "…" (face screaming is this guy brain-damaged?).
Fou: "Fou fou!" (tugging on Kagami's pants leg, probably voting for termination).
"Um… I'm Mash Kyrielight. Nice to meet you, Senpai," Mash finally raised her hand, voice small as a mosquito, breaking the stagnant air.
"Yes, pleased to meet you too, Kagami-san, Mash," Ritsuka nodded politely.
Kagami waved dismissively, like a talent show judge cutting off a contestant's song:
"Okay, introductions over. Now tell me—why the hell were you lying flat in the middle of the hallway? Does this company have a rule about 'napping in public spaces'?"
Ritsuka scratched her cheek, embarrassed:
"Well… actually, I think I was in some kind of simulation program right before this."
"Spiritron Dive, right?" Mash quickly explained. "If you're not used to it, it can make your brain feel… unpleasant."
"Ohhh, I see," Ritsuka groaned, rubbing her temples. "My head's still buzzing."
Kagami tilted his head, narrowing his eyes like a labor inspector sniffing out violations:
"Alright, let me ask seriously—do all these 'Rayshift and Spiritron' machines come with safety certifications? Or are we talking the three-no specials: no manual, no warranty, and no liability?"
Mash flustered, shaking her head:
"N-no, Kagami-san, Chaldea is an advanced magecraft-science institute. Everything here has undergone strict testing—"
"Strict testing on… lab rats, right?" Kagami snapped his fingers, jerking his chin toward Ritsuka. "There, your test subject's lying flat right here."
Ritsuka flushed bright red, protesting:
"Hey, hey! I'm still in one piece, okay!?"
"Sure, you're alive… but you look like some newbie who just got overtime'd till morning and passed out in the hallway," Kagami shrugged, dripping sarcasm.
Fou, perched on Mash's head, squeaked a "Fou~!" like it was agreeing.
"But… we should get back to the main point," Mash quickly waved her hands, cutting through the rising wave of Kagami's snark. Her voice was calm but firm:
"As it happens, Ritsuka-senpai has the potential to become a Master. That's why she was invited here—to participate in the Rayshift project."
"Ah… yeah." Ritsuka scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed, then nodded:
"They told me I met the conditions to form a contract with a Servant, so… I was invited."
"CHOTTO MATTE!!" Kagami instantly snapped into full union-leader mode, shouting so loud Fou nearly jumped out of its fur.
"You're saying… you got invited? Not stuffed in a sack, tied up like a sausage, and tossed in the trunk of a car?"
Ritsuka blinked innocently, replying:
"Uh… yeah. I was invited."
The words hit Kagami like a paycheck deduction. He clutched his head and howled at the ceiling:
"God damn it!!! Where the hell is the fairness in this?! Do human rights even exist anymore?! One person gets a proper invitation, plane ticket, and hotel check-in—while I get the special combo package: kidnapping + free rope bondage! That's straight-up employee discrimination!!!"
He ruffled his hair like a madman, stomping his feet like a kid who just had his toy confiscated by a teacher.
Mash froze, lips parting like she wanted to explain… but what could she even say? One got invited, the other was burlap-sacked—any explanation would only make things worse. So she just lowered her head, pretending she hadn't heard anything.
Kagami spun on her, jabbing a finger:
"You! Cute kouhai, sure—but don't think bowing your head makes it go away! Your company's running a blatant double-standard policy!!!"
Fou, sitting on Mash's head, raised its tiny paws and clapped, "Fou~! Fou~!" as if cheering for Kagami's protest.
"Kagami-san, listen—Chaldea is an organization for observing and preserving human history. We also aim to reshape history itself, to light a torch for the present and safeguard the future of humanity," Mash hurriedly explained, her tone halfway between serious and soothing an explosive superior.
Kagami crossed his arms, smirking coldly:
"Hah! I don't give a damn about your world-saving slogans. That accursed Olga Marie better give me some damn justice, or else—I'll roll the banners out, form a union, and stage a mass strike right here in the dorms!"
He stomped the floor with a resounding thud, jabbing his finger skyward like he was declaring revolution:
"You people have Rayshift, I have labor rights! You people have Servants, I have the voice of the working class! Don't think being the director gives you a free pass to exploit me however you want!"
Ritsuka just stood there, wide-eyed like a goldfish:
"Uh… wait. Isn't this supposed to be a save-the-world game? How did it turn into a union rally!?"
Mash's face burned crimson—unsure if she should hide behind her hands or bury herself in Fou's fur. Fou, meanwhile, kept clapping its little paws in the air, "Fou~! Fou~!" like it was backing the revolution.
Kagami roared on, every inch the unwilling union leader:
"Think about it! Dragged here in a sack, no benefits, no signed contract, no accident insurance! If a Rayshift glitch blows me into confetti, who compensates my parents? Who sends money to support my grandma?!"
The earlier awkwardness had now fully mutated into what looked like a Chaldean edition of a labor-struggle rally.
"Enough! I've decided! On behalf of all employees and backup Masters—yes, even you, Ritsuka—I'll go on strike to demand justice!"
With that, Kagami bent his knees, muscles tensing, and—BOOM!—launched off like a rocket. The steel floor dented under his feet, leaving two deep imprints.
He blurred down the hallway like a shuttle streaking through the air, papers and files whipping away in his wake as startled researchers scattered.
"What the hell was that!? A new engine test?!"
"No… I think… that was a backup Master?"
"Like hell! What kind of Master runs like a turbocharged Olympian?!"
Left behind, Mash and Ritsuka stood frozen, faces as dark as the bottom of a pot, watching Kagami's silhouette vanish down the corridor.
---
Kagami tore down the hall like a storm, turning corners, kicking doors open, barging into every room he came across. The researchers inside barely had time to yelp "Wha—?!" before he was gone in a blur.
Twenty minutes of chaos later—doors busted, labs rattled, staff traumatized—he finally spotted the plaque he'd been hunting for:
"Executive Director: Olga Marie Animusphere."
Without a second thought, Kagami raised his leg and kicked.
BANG!!!
The wooden door flew inward, slammed into the sofa, and shattered into a spray of splinters. Kagami strolled in coolly, posture like a labor inspector barging in on a surprise audit.
His eyes swept the room—European luxury décor, bookshelves, a tea table, a spotless carpet.
"Oho… fancy interior. But… no people."
He clicked his tongue in irritation, arms crossed, and turned to leave.
Just then, a janitor walked by, caught sight of the obliterated doorway, and nearly fainted on the spot.
"HOLY—! T-The director's office just got wrecked!!!"
Kagami instantly rushed over, clapped the poor worker's shoulder, and flashed the kind of 'trustworthy senior thug' smile you'd see in a back-alley market:
"My good fellow, a quick question—where's Director Olga Marie right now?"
"T-The director… she's in the conference hall right now, giving a motivational speech for the new Masters…"
Kagami slapped his own forehead with a loud smack, face twisted like someone who just lost 500 yen to a vending machine:
"God damn it! I forgot that part! Should've just followed Mash and Ritsuka instead of sprinting around like a headless chicken wrecking the place…"
He pressed his palms together in a mock bow toward the janitor:
"Much obliged. I'll go hunt the director down and demand justice now. Farewell!"
And off he bolted again, leaving the poor worker frozen in place, staring at the ruins and thinking:
"What the hell just happened…?!"
Kagami arrived at the conference hall he'd toured earlier—only to find it completely deserted. Empty. The sight made his irritation spike, and he immediately dashed off down the corridors again.
Then—
BOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion ripped through the facility. The entire hallway convulsed, shockwaves blasting Kagami off his feet and slamming him into the wall. Concrete, steel, and dust rained down, burying him under the rubble.
But for Kagami?
"Cough… cough… Motherf—! Dai-Shocker's raiding again?!"
A guttural roar echoed as he burst out of the debris, tearing through the wreckage. His wounds sealed instantly, his body restructuring as data knitted back together until he stood unscathed.
His eyes swept the devastation. For a heartbeat, memories crashed over him—his attack on Fuuto's police HQ: the smoke, the fire, the explosions… The scene before him was almost identical.
"Hmph… looks like Chaldea's got enemies with grudges deep enough to want the whole place burned to ash."
Without hesitation, he sprinted straight toward the blast center.
Bounding over shattered concrete, flames roaring on all sides, thick smoke curling upward, the facility's alarm system shrieked overhead:
[Emergency Alert!]
[Fires detected in the Central Power Plant and Main Control Room. The Command Chamber will be sealed in 240 seconds.]
[All personnel, evacuate immediately through Gate No. 2!]
"Tsk! God damn it, this shit's escalating way too far," Kagami snarled, accelerating.
What met his eyes at the center was carnage itself: Chaldea engulfed in fire. Crimson flames devouring everything, concrete slabs crashing down, the floor split wide open, and water flooding up to his ankles.
A disaster beyond words.
Kagami clicked his tongue. He waved smoke aside and moved up to the Rayshift chamber. Inside, a figure still breathed, thrashing on the border between life and death. His finger hovered over the glass, then froze.
"No… If I touch it, even the slightest mistake and this person dies right here."
The system alarms kept blaring, sharp and relentless, but Kagami didn't care. He checked the other Rayshift booths, his gaze slicing through the chaos.
Then—
[Rayshift system entering final stage.]
[Coordinates: January 30, 2004.]
[Locked location: Fuyuki, Japan.]
[Laplace Exchange — Start.]
Kagami went stiff.
"What?!"
His pupils narrowed, disbelief cutting through him as he looked toward the control console. It was a ruin — cracked screens, charred cables, no lights, no one at the panels. Only flickering data traces remained, cold and lifeless.
"This is… utterly pathetic."
Kagami ran his fingers through his hair, his face twisted with frustration. He glanced at the burning scene around him, then down at his own hands — hands that had held weapons and spilt blood, that had destroyed so much — and now could only tremble in helpless steadiness, keeping position so the dying inside the Rayshift booths wouldn't be lost.
As long as there's breath, however faint… there's a chance to save them.
"Hope Mash and Ritsuka are okay… If it's only me left to shoulder Master duties… I'll be drained dry to death."
While he wandered through that thought, the system's cold voice ripped the air once more:
[Alert! Adjustment personnel engaged.]
[Chaldea's status has changed.]
[Shiva's near-future observational data will be overwritten.]
[Human survival on Earth cannot be confirmed for the next 100 years.]
[Humanity's future cannot be guaranteed.]
Kagami froze. The light in his eyes dimmed.
"…Haiz. Another damn mess."
He inhaled deeply, muscles tensing. He clasped his hands, then stretched them up in a simple motion that somehow shed his usual flippant posture and carried a chill authority. The smug grin was gone — replaced by a blade-sharp seriousness.
"Looks like… I've gotta move. Let's see… which bastard dared aim at humanity this time."
The system continued, each line striking like a hammer:
[Re-establishing link with suitable targets… 48 and 49 located.]
[Initiating Unsummon program.]
[Beginning Spiritron conversion.]
A blinding white light swallowed the whole command center; data transmuted everything.