Two days passed so quickly. During that period, the routine inside the Chaldea facility proceeded without any major incidents occurring.
After the warm-up fight between Ritsuka and Artoria Alter ended, the young man was not allowed to rest at all. Due to Nobu's urging and bloodthirsty whining, Ritsuka was forced to entertain her and continued fighting.
The series of power clashes did not stop there; after Artoria Alter finished eating her burger and rested, it was her turn to fulfill her promise to cross swords with the Demon King.
On the other side of the facility, Rikka began receiving basic magic training directly under the guidance of Director Olga Marie.
Unfortunately, the mentoring process was far from smooth. Rikka's stubborn nature clashed fiercely with Olga's highly perfectionist and impatient nature. Heated arguments routinely occurred between them, even almost resulting in physical fights and hair-pulling several times if it weren't for Ritsuka always arriving just in time to separate the two. Mash could not intervene in the chaos because the girl was busy undergoing her own special training portion with Assassin.
The next day, Ritsuka received several communication calls from the gathering members.
The first call came from Koko. The woman complained at length in an impatient tone, constantly pressing and asking how much longer until the access door to other worlds would be officially opened.
The next call came from Kagaya. The leader of the Demon Slayer Corps explained information regarding the anatomy and ecology of the Oni (Demons) in much greater detail. On that occasion as well, Ritsuka officially introduced Dr. Romani to him so they could exchange medical and scientific information; da Vinci also joined the conversation.
However, the most bizarre thing came from the last call that day. L, contacted them.
As usual, the man only spoke briefly and to the point. But this time, Ritsuka's instinct caught something wrong. Behind his tone of voice that was always flat and emotionless, Ritsuka could faintly feel a fear that the detective was trying to hide.
Knowing that the world Ritsuka and Zelretch came from had the concepts of magic and the supernatural, L asked a question that made the atmosphere suddenly turn cold. The man asked; whether in the magical world there was some sort of curse or ability that could kill another person from a distance... just by triggering a sudden heart attack.
Hearing the strange question, Ritsuka realized something was wrong with L. He hurriedly asked if L was okay.
However, L did not give any answer. There was only a long, gripping silence on the other end, before finally the detective cut off the communication line unilaterally. When his communication was cut off, Ritsuka kept trying to contact him but there was no reply.
At another time, Ritsuka began to realize a drastic change in Artoria Alter's attitude.
On almost every occasion, the young man felt that Salter's golden eyes never left him. That gaze was dense, intimidating, and very possessive—exactly like the gaze of a predatory dragon watching over its main treasure from the threats of the outside world.
The resonance from the Dragon Core and the dense Holy Grail Mud inside their bodies apparently created a one-way emotional bond. Without Ritsuka's knowledge, through that bond, Artoria had seen everything. Salter had witnessed all of Ritsuka's memories; from the hell in the Fuyuki Singularity, the sickening series of sufferings in the Grand Order, to the heartbreaking tragedy of despair at the end of the Lostbelt.
One night after dinner, Ritsuka accidentally found Artoria standing frozen in a dark corner of the hallway. The Knight who was usually cold and cruel appeared trembling. Ritsuka even gasped when he saw a teardrop falling from the woman's golden eyes.
"No... no... this is impossible. Forgive me..." Artoria muttered softly, her tone filled with an unfamiliar guilt and despair.
When Ritsuka tried to approach and call her, Artoria immediately turned her face away and just left, leaving her Master standing frozen in immense confusion.
The peak of the Dark Knight's bizarre attitude occurred the next morning.
A shocking incident welcomed Ritsuka who was just half-awake from his sleep.
"Hmm... soft..." Ritsuka muttered with his eyes still tightly closed. His face felt buried in something plush, warm, and fragrant.
"Enjoy yourself to your heart's content, Master," a woman's voice replied in a flat yet commanding tone.
Ritsuka instantly froze. His drowsiness immediately evaporated without a trace. "Wait a minute... this voice..." he thought in panic.
He hurriedly opened his eyes, but what greeted his vision was only darkness. His face was apparently buried into the cleavage wrapped in a black dress belonging to someone.
Ritsuka tried to lift his head to rebel, but a hand pressed the back of his head with a force that was impossible to resist, forcing him to sink back into that comfortable darkness.
"It's okay. Stay like that and go back to sleep. You must rest," she said in a tone that accepted no refusal whatsoever.
Although her words sounded like coercion from a tyrant, that hand slowly stroked Ritsuka's hair and the back of his head with an incredibly gentle touch.
"I-Is this... you, Salter?!" Ritsuka gasped in shock.
With his remaining strength and panic, the young man hurriedly grabbed both shoulders of the Dark Knight and pushed her body away. Ritsuka immediately scrambled backward and sat upright on the mattress, trying to catch his racing breath.
He turned his head. Beside him, Artoria was apparently already sitting in silence. The woman's golden eyes did not blink in the slightest, continuing to lock onto Ritsuka's figure with a terrifying intensity.
"I... have seen everything," Artoria said softly, breaking the silence of the room.
The hand that had just stroked Ritsuka's head reached forward, touching Ritsuka's cheek and stroking it with a gentleness that strongly contrasted her fierce appearance. Artoria's gaze dimmed, implying an emotion that was hard to describe.
"Behind this whole crazy series of burdens... you are apparently just a boy."
Ritsuka gasped hard. His breath suddenly felt tight. He completely did not expect Artoria would be able to penetrate and see his dark memories this fast and this much.
"Y-You... this fast? How is it possible—"
Before Ritsuka had the chance to finish his sentence, both of Artoria's hands had grabbed him and pulled his head forcefully.
Ritsuka plunged forward again, his face once again buried into the Knight's cleavage which was tightly covered by her black dress. Behind the layer of fabric, Ritsuka could feel Artoria's heartbeat resonating with his own.
"This is all because of the bond between the two of us," Artoria whispered in a possessive tone, her hand returning to stroke the back of Ritsuka's hair gently. "You remember, right? Your body has absorbed part of the Holy Grail mud and my Dragon Core. You might not be able to see my memories because Arthur's Dragon Core inside you rejects and blocks it... but for me, that is not a problem at all."
"W-Wait a minute, Salter! Let me expla—"
Ritsuka struggled frantically within that tight embrace. He tried to push Artoria's shoulders again, but this time the woman's body did not budge at all, just like a block of steel.
Realizing that Artoria was using her physical strength as a Servant, Ritsuka began to flow magical energy to his hands, preparing to use a technique to forcefully break free.
However, right before the energy exploded, Artoria suddenly pulled Ritsuka's head away and looked straight into the young man's pair of emerald eyes.
"It's okay, Master. You don't need to bother explaining it," Artoria said in an overly calm tone, suppressing the emotional turmoil inside her.
"That annoying old vampire... he has already explained everything to me in detail."
After throwing out that puzzle-filled sentence, Artoria's body slowly faded into particles of light dust. She dematerialized her form, simply disappearing from Ritsuka's sight and returning to spirit form.
Ritsuka was stunned stiff. He immediately turned sharply towards a crow perched quietly on the desk, not far from his bed.
"Sensei! Why did you tell her everything without informing me first?!" Ritsuka shouted, demanding an explanation.
The crow tilted its head, then Zelretch's signature hoarse voice flowed out of its beak.
"What else could I do, my Disciple? Your Servant demanded an explanation from me by force," Zelretch chuckled softly, though his tone sounded serious. "She even threatened to destroy and level that entire Chaldea facility to the ground if I still chose to remain silent."
Ritsuka's eyes widened, his face turning pale. "S-She threatened to do something that crazy?!"
"Well, she swore to do it. Even by bearing the oath of honor of a knight," Zelretch explained. "Even though she is a knight who has fallen into darkness, I know exactly that she was completely serious about doing it."
Hearing that, Ritsuka fell back limply onto his mattress. He massaged his throbbing temples.
"Then... what exactly happened to her attitude just now?" Ritsuka muttered in confusion. "This is not the Salter I've known all this time at all."
"She acted protective and possessive like that because of the resonance between you two," Zelretch answered, this time his tone of voice changing into like a teacher giving a magic lecture.
"Remember this law: a dragon will always attract another dragon," Zelretch continued.
"Furthermore, you currently hold two things that will make her existence bound to you—the Holy Grail mud and her Dragon Core implanted in your body. Because of that incredibly dense bond of blood and magic... she was able to penetrate your mental defenses, and then see the entire series of memories and terrifying traumas that you have carried alone all this time."
"Then... what should I do now?" Ritsuka asked, wiping his face which was still a bit pale.
"For now, my best advice is to stay away from anyone who has a strong attachment to the dragon entity or the Holy Grail mud," Zelretch answered firmly.
"Does that include Arthur? Even though I plan to perform his summoning ritual today," Ritsuka said with a furrowed brow.
"Yes, of course he is included. But if you still insist on summoning him today, go ahead. It's just that, you must be prepared to bear all the risks," Zelretch warned.
"Risks?"
A long sigh was heard from the old Magician.
"You have realized it yourself from the incident with Salter just now, right? She started to grow an unnatural obsession towards you," Zelretch explained. "And if you summon Arthur, it's a certainty that the knight will experience the exact same thing. The Dragon Cores inside you two will resonate and attract each other with crazy power, like the meeting of two giant magnets."
Zelretch paused his words for a moment, letting Ritsuka digest the information before continuing his explanation.
"Under normal conditions, this kind of extreme phenomenon is impossible to happen to natural Dragon Core wielders like Arthur and Artoria. If the two of them face each other, at most there will only be a slight sting in their chests. It can be likened to the two of them being two magnets with the exact same poles, so they will not attract each other. However... your case is very different."
"Different how?" Ritsuka demanded.
"You are not a natural wielder," Zelretch continued. "You forcefully transplanted two Dragon Cores with different attributes into your body, and now both have mutated and merged into a single anomalous core—let's just call your core Dragon Core EX or DC EX."
The crow flapped its wings slowly. "Well, due to that absurd mutation, the nature of your Dragon Core changed drastically. Instead of repelling each other, your new form actually functions like a vortex that pulls other Dragon Cores towards you. Roughly speaking, you are now the 'strongest magnet' that directly and forcefully pulls the other two magnets without being able to be resisted."
Zelretch's tone of voice suddenly changed to become much more serious and dark.
"So, in conclusion, if you are still reckless enough to summon that male version of Arthur today... you just need to be prepared to face a very intense obsession and protective feeling from him. Moreover, if that holy knight also finds out and sees the entire series of tragic sufferings you've experienced... don't expect you will get a normal and sane figure of King Arthur."
Ritsuka swallowed hard. "You must be joking, right, Sensei?" he asked, still not believing the crazy words from his teacher.
"No, I am completely serious. That is the risk of being a dragon," Zelretch replied firmly. The Magician then continued, "Speaking of risks, there is one more thing I need to warn you about."
Ritsuka massaged his temples. "What else is there now?"
"Listen, besides avoiding those who have an affinity with dragons, you also have to heavily guard your blood and flesh from the reach of Dead Apostles or any vampire race," Zelretch warned seriously.
"The scent of your blood will be very intoxicating for them. If any lowly vampire recklessly drinks your blood, their body will definitely explode instantly because they cannot withstand the flow of Arthur's holy energy. And even if they happen to be strong enough to survive that holy energy, they will end up becoming crazy monsters because their sanity is destroyed, tainted by the curse of All the World's Evils."
Zelretch paused for a moment. "However... if the vampire who drinks your blood is at my level, it's highly likely that your blood will only function as a highly addictive, high-class drug."
"Is the effect really that terrifying? Even though it's just blood..." Ritsuka muttered in horror.
"You have to know, your scent alone is already very tempting to my instincts," Zelretch chuckled teasingly. "You don't know how hard I have to hold myself back from directly teleporting there and pouncing on your neck. If I were to drink even a single drop of your blood directly without neutralizing it first, I would definitely lose my mind instantly and become an addict. I could turn into like a poor girl who becomes a victim of pleasure—"
"Stop! Okay, stop! I understand, so please don't continue anymore!" Ritsuka cut in quickly with a pale face. "Just imagining Sensei—an old grandpa like you—acting like that is already terrifying enough..."
A satisfied laugh could be heard from the crow seeing his disciple shudder in disgust. "It's good if you understand. Take good care of yourself, my Disciple. You are no longer a normal human. Your physical and mental endurance are now in the realm of high-level anomalies. Your existence cannot be touched casually, especially with the Dharma Wheel residing in your body."
"Remember my warnings about dragons and vampires well. But well, since your world is currently in a chaotic apocalyptic state, the possibility for you to run into Dead Apostles on the streets is of course very impossible," Zelretch continued casually. "Unless this Gathering suddenly playfully invites such an existence into the group, you will be fine."
Ritsuka stared at the crow with a flat, lifeless gaze. "Sensei... you just raised a flag."
Zelretch fell silent for a moment. "Eh? Is that so—"
Before Zelretch could finish his sentence, a cheerful voice notification suddenly echoed from the crow, cutting off their communication line unilaterally.
"Ding! Ding! Two new members have arrived! Hurry up and welcome them! Psst... as a spoiler, one of our new members comes from a world that also happens to be in a state of apocalypse, you know!" exclaimed the Gathering System's voice in a joyful tone.