Usually, when a culprit is backed into a corner this far, the cliché is for them to make a final, desperate struggle.
Following that script, Jekyll attempted to flee by activating the abilities of Hyde—transformed through his concoction—to shake off his pursuers. Unfortunately for him, there were two members of the Round Table present.
Mordred severed both his legs in a flash, and Gareth pierced through him with her lance, avoiding his Spirit Core but leaving him looking like a oversized donut. With Makiri's familiars and Paracelsus's elementals further binding him, it had become nearly impossible for him to even circulate prana.
"Graaa… Graaaaaaaaah!!!"
"His reason has completely evaporated. He can hardly even be classified as human anymore… I see, so this is how they induce Mafia-fication. How brilliant…"
"Holmes?"
"The reason the 'Mafia' retained their intelligence was because the serum amplified the inherent human malice to its absolute limit. Magi, being existences already slightly removed from humanity, accepted the drug's effects and became intelligent Mafia members. Ordinary citizens, however, simply have their physical capabilities maximized while turning into mindless monsters… Of course, that was the case for those who received the diluted drug via the fog. If one consumes the undiluted concentrate, they become a mindless beast like this."
"…Then we can't extract any information?"
"No, I have already extracted all the necessary data. I now understand why London's ley lines have run dry. To maintain a large-scale thaumaturgical foundation and a demonic fog of this magnitude, one would have to centralize the city's ley lines… and as I mentioned before, the location of those ley lines is…"
"The Spirit Tomb, Albion."
[…Breaking through there will be a hellish occupation. The defenses of the Spirit Tomb are anything but ordinary.]
Kayneth interjected.
True to his status as a Lord with access rights to the Spirit Tomb, his information was meticulously detailed.
"The real problem will be the phantasmal aberrations emerging from the tomb… likely strengthened by the Holy Grail's output. And then there are the remaining Servants wandering about."
"Well, now that we know the source, it's just a matter of gathering our forces for a single-point breakthrough."
"…So we're finally going to go smash the Clock Tower."
"Not the Clock Tower itself. We only need to seize the Grail located within the Spirit Tomb beneath it."
The remaining Servants were Nikola Tesla, Jack the Ripper, and the King of Storms…
"We should also be wary of Charles Babbage. Setting aside the fog, he is a Caster of little renown, but he is a Servant nonetheless. If he has been reinforced by the Grail, the outcome of a confrontation remains uncertain."
Objectively speaking, however, our military strength was clearly superior compared to any previous Singularity.
Though Kiyohime and Tristan had been desummoned, we had two Knights of the Round Table receiving full fame boosts, Mash who would receive her own share of recognition here, the Caster Paracelsus with the magus Makiri Zolgen… and even Nursery Rhyme, who, despite being somewhat outside the main combat force, held the trump card known as the Jabberwock.
"What's the plan?"
"…With Jekyll gone, we don't have to worry about the workshop being breached. It's best to bring the magi and start a team-based offensive… Kayneth, are you absolutely sure there are no ley lines left in London?"
[Nothing can be observed through the Chaldean lenses. If you were hoping for a precision scan, consider it already performed.]
"You heard him? No further reinforcement is possible. Therefore, it would be wise to bolster our own forces."
"How?"
"By pulling in the remnants of the Mages' Association. They can at least suppress the sudden appearances of the Mafia mobs we've seen before."
Exactly.
The attacks from magi who had joined the Mafia faction were annoying even for a Servant. Thus, we needed magi with basic combat potential and…
"Shakespeare, Andersen, and Nursery Rhyme. These three will act as the containment force against the Mafia."
"Wait, are you talking about us?"
"…Who else would I be talking about? You lot have pathetic combat stats anyway, and your book-writing Noble Phantasms aren't doing much right now, are they?"
"But we have the noble duty of recording these events—"
"I'm sure it'll be very interesting to fulfill that duty just as human history is incinerated. Right?"
"Urgh…"
"And you won't have to do it alone."
Until now, our enemies had been Servants immune to common 'Magecraft' or those wielding massive firepower, making certain tools irrelevant. But against the current 'Mafia,' there was someone who would be an exceptionally effective countermeasure.
Manifesting the Naraka Path, I pulled a woman wearing provocative clothing out from the depths of that massive maw and slammed her onto the floor. She looked like a total mess.
Rubbing her eyes from the sudden impact, she began to flash a predatory smirk—only for her face to freeze as she scanned the Heroic Spirits surrounding her.
"…Are you insane?"
"You'd better give up any thoughts of escaping with illusions, Francesca."
Francesca Prelati.
My recruitment (enforced) of her as an ally happened surprisingly recently.
I had established the 'AOD—Alliance of Defense' to shatter the balance of power between the Mages' Association, the Holy Church, and the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.
During the battle at the Rail Zeppelin, which served as the inception of that alliance, Francesca—having been smashed by a meteor—was essentially nothing but a nuisance. With the help of my excellent collaborators, I captured her and attempted 'persuasion' several times. However, Francesca harbored deep resentment toward my associates: specifically Old Man Zelretch, who was friendly with the Witch of Fairy Tales (or rather, the Kuonji girl, the witch's granddaughter) who had killed her; Lord Brishisan, who had exiled her from the Spirit Tomb; Mr. Godword, who had crushed her illusions and killed her; and Touko Aozaki, who had killed her dozens of times after she made some joke about 'Scarlet.' Therefore, I gave up on talking sense into her.
Instead, I threw her into the Naraka Path and tossed her to Touko Aozaki whenever I felt bored.
"…How curious."
"Mordred? Do you know who that woman is?"
"No… but I feel like I saw her back when Morgan just finished making me. She looks just like a disciple who was learning magecraft from that bitch… but wasn't it a guy back then?"
"That thing can change its gender at will and hop between bodies."
"Ah, I get the gist of it. But why is she shaking like that?"
Well, her trembling was perfectly understandable.
The individuals present here were practically the natural enemies of an illusionist like her.
Not only was Paracelsus a competent Caster, but Makiri Zolgen's bug magecraft was a hard counter to illusionists. Furthermore, Mordred's Instinct and Sherlock Holmes's Origin of 'Elucidation' made them her absolute kryptonite.
"…Still, as soon as I get out, Sc—"
[If you say even one more word, I'll ensure you are tortured to the point of begging for death.]
"I haven't even said it yet, Grand Puppetmaster!"
[Do you want to be tortured?]
"…Dammit, Aozaki! Fine, why didn't you just hand me over to that bitch?"
"Simple. From now on, you're going to contain the 'Mafia' pests who are interfering with the Singularity's restoration."
"And why should I?"
"This is a Singularity. Human history outside this place has been incinerated. The version of 'you' that belongs to this world-line was burned to ash long ago. Think about it, Francesca. Don't you want to see what happens if we Rayshift out of here and leave you stranded in this dying Singularity?"
"…"
"Haha, I appreciate your cooperation. And Andersen? You can see through her illusions with your Noble Phantasm, right?"
"No problem."
"If you try anything funny, be prepared. Next time, I won't toss you to the Grand Puppetmaster; I'll throw you to the Almighty."
"…You lunatic."