Location: Singularity 4 - The Death World in the City of Demonic Fog (London)
Year: AD 1888
Status: Visibility Zero
The air was thick. It wasn't just fog; it was a magical smog composed of mana and industrial soot.
Raiden stepped out of the Rayshift, coughing once.
"Smoked," Raiden sniffed. "This whole city smells like a chimney. Bad for the lungs."
Jalter wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "Ugh. Damp. Cold. Gray. I hate it. Can I burn the fog?"
Ishtar floated high, trying to stay above the smog layer. "I can't see anything! Where is the Tower of London? I need to check the Crown Jewels!"
Melusine deployed her helmet/visor. "Thermal signatures are everywhere. Automata. Low-level wraiths. And... serial killers."
Raiden looked at a nearby brick wall. A poster read 'Beware of Jack the Ripper'.
"Ripper," Raiden mused. "Sounds like someone who knows how to carve meat."
They walked through the silent streets of Whitechapel.
Suddenly, the fog thickened. Shadows danced.
A child's laughter echoed.
Slash.
A knife aimed for Ritsuka's kidney.
Mash was ready. "Master!"
CLANG.
Mash blocked the strike with her shield.
From the fog, a small girl emerged. She wore a ragged cloak and held jagged knives.
Jack the Ripper.
"Mommy?" Jack tilted her head, looking at Ritsuka. "No... not Mommy. Not warm enough."
She looked at Raiden.
Her eyes widened. The [Dragon Heart] and the massive life force radiating from him felt like a furnace.
"Warm..." Jack whispered.
She lunged at Raiden.
Mio raised a hand to blast her, but Raiden stopped her.
"Wait."
Raiden caught Jack by the back of her cloak, lifting her into the air like a kitten.
Jack flailed her knives. "Let go! We want to go inside! It's warm inside you!"
"Don't try to crawl inside my stomach, kid. It's occupied by a dragon and a universe," Raiden said deadpan.
He reached into his Imaginary Space.
He pulled out a Dragon Steak Sandwich (leftover from the Fafnir BBQ).
He shoved it into Jack's mouth.
"Eat."
Jack bit down. Her eyes sparkled.
"Tasty! Warm! Meat!"
She stopped struggling and started munching on the sandwich happily.
Raiden tucked her under his arm like a football.
"She's mine now."
Mio: "Raiden... that is a serial killer."
Raiden: "She's a hungry kid with a knife. Basically a mini-me."
Jalter: "Great. Another mouth to feed. And this one stabs people."
A roar of an engine cut through the fog.
"MOOOOOOVE!"
A heavily armored knight riding a surfboard-style armor piece slammed into the street, drifting around a corner.
Mordred (Saber).
She skidded to a halt, Clarent resting on her shoulder.
"Oi! Civilians! Get off the street! The mist is toxic!"
She looked at Raiden.
She looked at the small army of women behind him.
She looked at Jack eating a sandwich under his arm.
"Hah?" Mordred took off her helmet. "What is this circus? Are you Servants?"
Raiden looked at her.
"Blonde. Green eyes. Loud."
He sighed.
"Another Artoria? How many flavors does this woman come in?"
Mordred bristled. Red lightning crackled around her.
"Don't call me that name! I am Mordred! The one who surpassed the King of Knights!"
She pointed her sword at Raiden.
"You look strong. Fight me!"
Raiden handed Jack to Mash. "Hold the murder-baby."
Mordred charged. "Clarent!"
Red lightning infused her blade. She swung with enough force to cleave a tank.
Raiden didn't draw a weapon. He raised his index finger.
He coated it in [Armament Haki] (Hardening).
CLANG.
Mordred's legendary sword was stopped by Raiden's finger.
The shockwave blew the windows out of the nearby buildings.
Mordred's eyes bugged out. "The hell?! Are you made of Adamantite?!"
Raiden flicked his finger.
Thwack.
He hit Mordred's forehead armor.
Mordred flew backward, crashing into a pile of garbage cans.
"Spicy," Raiden commented on the red lightning. "Like popping candy."
Mordred climbed out of the trash, grinning wildly.
"Heh... Hehehe! You're a monster! I like you! Hey, you! Be my Master! My current one (Dr. Jekyll) is too boring!"
Melusine hissed. "Get in line, stray cat."
They reached the library where Hans Christian Andersen and Shakespeare were hiding.
Shakespeare was clapping. "Oh! What a drama! The Dragon King adopts the Murder Child and tames the Rebel Knight! Magnificent!"
Andersen, looking like a small boy but sounding like a cynical old man, adjusted his glasses.
"Boring. An overpowered protagonist with a harem? It's the lowest form of literature. Where is the struggle? Where is the tragedy?"
Raiden looked at Andersen.
"I can give you tragedy."
He leaned in close.
"I can eat your tablet."
Andersen hugged his tablet. "Stay back, barbarian! I have deadlines!"
The group moved to the source of the fog - the Angrboda machine.
Guarding it was a man in a sharp suit with a metallic gauntlet.
Nikola Tesla (Archer).
"I am the Genius! The Modern Prometheus!" Tesla shouted, electricity arcing around him. "This fog is merely a byproduct of my system to bring the World into the Age of Electricity!"
Ishtar floated forward. "Electricity? Can you generate gold?"
"I generate POWER!" Tesla raised his gauntlet. "System Keraunos!"
A massive bolt of blue lightning, possessing the power of a god, struck down from the sky, aiming for Raiden.
Raiden yawned.
He opened his mouth.
[Gluttony: Element Absorption - Lightning]
The lightning bolt hit his tongue.
ZZZZT.
Instead of frying him, the electricity flowed into his body, charging his internal reserves. Raiden's eyes glowed blue for a second.
"Sparkling water," Raiden said, burping a small spark. "High voltage. Good carbonation."
Tesla froze. "Impossible... My AC current... You ate my alternating current?!"
Raiden appeared in front of Tesla.
He placed a hand on Tesla's shoulder.
[Life Drain]
"You have too much energy. Let me help."
He drained 50% of Tesla's mana in a second. Tesla collapsed, twitching.
"System... overload... shutting... down..."
With the machine destroyed, the sky opened up.
But the fog didn't clear. It swirled into a vortex.
From the vortex, a horse made of storms descended.
Riding it was a figure in black armor, wielding a spiraling lance of light.
Artoria Pendragon (Lancer Alter). The King of Storms.
Mordred gasped. "Father?! No... that's the version of Father who wields the Rhongomyniad!"
Lalter (Lancer Alter) didn't speak. Her humanity was stripped away by the divinity of the Lance.
She raised the lance. The World's Texture began to peel.
"Rhongomyniad!"
A beam of destruction, far stronger than Excalibur Morgan, aimed to wipe London off the map.
Romani (Hologram): "Energy levels critical! That's a Divine Construct! It anchors reality! If that hits, you're all dead!"
Raiden stepped forward.
He removed his hands from his pockets.
"Finally. A main dish."
He transformed his arm. [Dragon Claw: Void Mode].
The beam hit him.
Raiden didn't eat this one. It was too dense to just swallow quickly.
He caught it.
He grabbed the beam of light like a physical spear.
His feet cracked the bedrock of London. The force was immense.
"Heavy," Raiden grunted. "But not heavy enough."
He squeezed.
[Void Art: Collapse]
The beam shattered like glass.
Raiden leaped into the sky. He punched Lalter's horse, sending both Rider and Steed crashing into the Thames River.
As Lalter surfaced, defeated, a new presence appeared.
A man with long white hair, tanned skin, and ten rings on his fingers.
He floated in the air, radiating an aura that made the Servants freeze.
Grand Caster: Solomon.
"How disappointing," Solomon spoke, his voice echoing in their minds. "Humanity is frail. But you..."
He looked at Raiden.
Raiden looked back.
[Nyx Warning: Target is Grand Class. Magical Energy: Infinite. Threat Level: Unknown.]
"You are not from here," Solomon said. "A Dragon from the Void. You consume the singularities I create."
Raiden wiped soot from his face.
"You're the cook?" Raiden asked. "The one burning history?"
"I am the King of Magic," Solomon stated. "I am burning the waste to create a new planet."
"Waste?" Raiden gestured to Jack (who was currently sleeping on Mash's shield) and Mordred.
"The food here isn't bad. Burning it is a waste of ingredients."
Solomon narrowed his eyes. "You are an anomaly. I should erase you."
He raised a finger. A laser of pure heat focused on Raiden.
Raiden raised his hand. Azathoth swirled.
The attacks collided.
Space distorted.
Solomon paused. He realized that fighting Raiden now would destabilize his Grand Plan too early.
"Interesting," Solomon lowered his hand. "Eat as much as you want, Beast of Gluttony. When the time comes, I will incinerate you along with the rest of this worthless species."
Solomon vanished in a swirl of golden particles.
Location: 221B Baker Street (Ruins)
The fog lifted. London was safe.
Raiden sat on a pile of rubble, drinking tea made by Zest.
Jack was sitting on his lap, sharpening her knives.
Mordred was leaning against a wall. "So, you scared off the King of Magic? You're crazy. I'm joining."
Raiden: "I don't need a knight."
Mordred: "I'm not a knight! I'm a rebel! And I eat a lot!"
Raiden: "Sold."
Tesla was tied up by Jalter. "My genius... unappreciated..."
Romani: "Excellent work! Though... adopting a serial killer and a rebel knight... HR is going to kill me."
Ritsuka smiled wearily. "We survived London."
Raiden looked at the map.
"Where next?"
"North America," Romani said. "1783. The Mythological War."
Raiden grinned.
"America. That means burgers."