The shadow moved directly toward its intended destination.
It descended the hill and swiftly passed through the city streets. At the end of its path was a small hotel.
It was too small and shabby to be called a hotel. The establishment, closer to a motel or an inn, was a hotel in name only.
Inside that hotel, two young women were looking for a room.
"I'm so glad I brought money after hearing we were going to Japan. Right?"
"Yeah. You're always well-prepared, Ritsuka."
Ritsuka smiled brightly, trying her best to lift Johanna's spirits.
Johanna had been gloomy ever since Assassin was captured. To have a Servant abducted—what an absurd situation.
He didn't even return when she used a Command Spell. This meant he was confined in a place with a barrier so strong it could repel the magic of a Command Spell.
In reality, getting him back was next to impossible. Ritsuka knew this, and so did Johanna.
And yet, Ritsuka spoke cheerfully. It was the only thing she could do.
"We'll find Assassin in no time! Should I try using another Command Spell?"
"No. Let's save them. They're a valuable resource, after all."
That's true. Ritsuka nodded and turned away.
It was probably better not to mention Assassin at all. Having made up her mind, Ritsuka shifted her gaze to the only bright spot in the gloomy hotel—the window.
The intense light of a streetlight. Beneath the halo of light, where there should have been nothing, a small shadow was formed.
"...Huh?"
Ritsuka rubbed her eyes over and over. The shadow didn't disappear. The thought came to her instinctively. Magecraft.
Faced with this abnormal phenomenon, Ritsuka quickly called out to Johanna. Johanna, who was in the middle of receiving the hotel key, turned around in surprise.
"Wh-What is it? Ritsuka?"
"There's a weird shadow over there!"
"A shadow? I don't see anything."
Oh. The shadow that had been under the streetlight was gone.
Where did that slime-like shadow, which had remained even after she rubbed her eyes multiple times, go?
"No, I swear there was a shadow right there!"
"......Maybe it disappeared, Ritsuka. Shall we go up to the room? You must be very tired, right?"
"But it was real..."
Was she seeing things from exhaustion?
Ritsuka felt wronged but didn't dwell on it. The topic of conversation had shifted away from Assassin, so in a way, it was a gain.
Johanna let out a small chuckle.
"Okay. I believe you, Ritsuka. I'm sorry."
"Then I get to use both pillows~!"
"Hey, that's mean!"
It seemed her only remaining Servant's mood had improved, so her work for the day was done. Ritsuka was satisfied.
Tomorrow would be busy. She had to find a ley line, search for clues about Assassin, and grasp the situation of the Holy Grail War.
Ritsuka was about to dive onto the bed as soon as they entered the room but stopped at Johanna's words.
"Do you want to wash up first, Ritsuka?"
"Ehehe. I'd rather we washed up together."
"Oh, Ritsuka. No more of that teasing."
"Yes, ma'am! Mama Johanna!"
It'll work out somehow. It has to. Even as she smiled, Ritsuka clenched her fists tightly.
In this Singularity, too, the worst-case scenario was death. Romani hadn't mentioned it, probably not wanting to affect her work, but it was a fact she repeated to herself every day.
If I die, the Human Order ends.
Every remaining staff member at Chaldea was pouring all their efforts into her alone.
I can't fail. I must not fail. I cannot...….
"Ritsuka? The bath is ready."
"O-Okay! I'm coming!"
As if nothing had happened, Ritsuka put a smile on her face and entered the bathroom. She didn't forget to playfully splash Johanna, who was already inside.
The extreme stress could not be washed away even by the warm bathwater.
Another day in the Singularity had passed.
When she woke up, Johanna's stomach was swollen.
Ritsuka spoke cautiously.
"Um... Johanna-chan. Did you and Mr. Assassin already..."
"No! Besides, Servants can't get pregnant. I don't understand this either. I'm sure I didn't feel anything..."
Ritsuka asked for permission and placed a hand on Johanna's abdomen. It was warm.
When she pressed her ear against it, she could feel a heartbeat. Ritsuka's face hardened.
"For real?"
"Yes. Something is growing inside me. And it's growing very quickly."
Ritsuka was half-panicked and wanted to open the window and scream. She felt like she was going crazy.
"Johanna-chan, are you sure you're a Servant~?"
"The mana path is normal, Ritsuka. I think... this might have something to do with my legend."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... in history, it's said that I was pregnant. So... maybe I was influenced by that?"
A predisposition to pregnancy? Or a skill that automatically makes her pregnant when summoned as a Servant?
None of it could convince Ritsuka.
Of all times, why now?
"So you're saying there's a child from who-knows-who in your belly, Johanna-chan...?"
"......Maybe not 'who-knows-who'."
Johanna's face turned red with shyness.
This was the look of someone who knew something. Ritsuka didn't miss it.
"Johanna-chan? Why are you blushing?"
"W-Well... it's nothing. I'm a Servant now. I'll be honest with my Master."
Steeling herself, Johanna told Ritsuka about the dream she had the night before.
A dream where she spent a passionate night with Lupus in the Singularity. A memory Johanna would never forget, where a returned Lupus had forcibly done this and that to her.
Of course, she didn't forget to censor the details.
"And then your belly was swollen? And the father is Mr. Assassin?"
"Yes. It's like I know it instinctively... I can't explain it well."
Ritsuka accepted it. It must be something magical. There was no way she, a perfect civilian until a few months ago, could understand.
In any case, Ritsuka couldn't afford to stop. She had experienced countless variables before.
Since the top priority was restoring the Singularity, she had no choice but to adapt.
Even if a catastrophe occurred, she had to keep moving. That's what it meant to be the last Master of humanity.
"Can you walk? What about your magecraft?"
"It doesn't hinder my movement. But it will probably become uncomfortable soon. It's growing incredibly fast."
That meant they had to act quickly. Ritsuka swiftly made a plan.
The idea was to find a ley line right after waking up to contact Chaldea. She had found a general flow the previous night, so it wouldn't take long.
"Let's get it done before lunch. Be careful, just in case."
Just the morning. Ritsuka concluded.
She hadn't yet felt the strangeness of the Holy Grail War or the Singularity. There was still time.
Once connected to Chaldea, they might be able to receive additional support.
Ritsuka tried to think as optimistically as possible.
"Let's get moving."
"Okay. Don't worry. I'll do my best as a Servant."
"Thank you."
The shadow had successfully settled within Johanna's womb. First, it absorbed Johanna's magical energy. It didn't absorb a large amount at once, but slowly, bit by bit.
Its small, slime-like body grew limbs, and gradually a head and torso began to differentiate.
It clearly had a human form.
A heart formed. Eyes and a brain formed.
Before long, it began to think for itself.
'...Kill.'
The shadow that had emerged from Assassin had stolen the most crucial part of him.
Pure malevolence. This malevolence was his greatest weapon, a power stronger than anything else.
Didn't Assassin only have the strength of an ordinary farmer in his forties? No. Power does not simply refer to physical strength.
When he took in the 'Beast', he was certainly an ordinary civilian. He was not some grand existence like an Evil of Humanity.
However, after he met his end in the arms of the 'Beast' and was reborn in the land of fairies, he became an entirely different being.
In that gap lay the lingering regret left by the 'Beast' as it died.
A regret born from a twisted love, obsession, and guilt towards its father flowed into his corpse.
This regret became the trigger that could turn an ordinary human into a Beast.
And the Will of the World did not miss this opportunity, activating it. It was the final piece that completed the Beast of Contradiction.
The lack of power that the Will had been concerned about when bringing him, a foreigner, was thus resolved.
However, the him that settled in Fuyuki no longer possessed the power of the Beast. He had renounced his own power, and as a result, created a great distortion in the Holy Grail War.
That was not what the Will of the World desired. The Beast of Contradiction still had a role to play.
Therefore, what was summoned to Chaldea was not a ferocious beast, nor the sage-god of ancient Sumer, but an ordinary farmer.
All to safely bring that very trigger.
'...Father.'
To forcibly summon the successor to the Beast of Contradiction, one who transcends time and space.
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