A voice that sounded light to the point of being flippant, a cheerful tone, a manner of speaking that suggested familiarity with the Jewel Old Man... and decisively, an appearance that looked exactly like a 'lock.'
Even though I had never seen him before—and had even given up on the attempt to persuade him—I could recognize who he was at a single glance.
Though he held the lowest seat among the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, he was a magus who had lived since the 1st century BC. He was an eccentric who, much like Zelretch, had challenged the Crimson Moon; yet, after becoming a Dead Apostle, he detested the act of drinking blood so much that he transformed his own form into an inorganic lock. Though he could not be called a Magician, he was perhaps the most mysterious figure among the Dead Apostles, capable of entering Zelretch's personal dimension—comparable to Avalon or the Age of Gods—and performing parallel world observation and precognition through a pseudo-Clairvoyance.
The reason I hadn't gone out of my way to scout him was, first and foremost, because his practicality was far too low.
Francesca, who had tried to conquer his Labyrinth, had long since been captured by me and imprisoned in the Naraka Path. To meet him, one either had to speak through Zelretch or break through the Labyrinth itself. Zelretch, however, had already made it clear that there would be no more help after handing over the Kaleidoscope. Breaking through the Labyrinth would surely require a prana core on the level of the Holy Grail and True Magic. While he wasn't a Magician, he was undoubtedly a Great Magus standing right at the threshold of Magic. More than anything... in a situation where I had to constantly guard against the King of Demon Gods' sabotage and gather talent, spending months or years trying to break through a Labyrinth was simply too much of a time-sink.
For these reasons, and because there were many others I needed to reach out to first, I had put him on the back burner... but...
'...To think his Labyrinth was located at Alcatraz. If he heard from Zelretch, it must be the Second Magic of a parallel world... That old geezer! He said he wouldn't help!'
I felt a strong urge to flip Zelretch the bird, but for now, escaping the Mad King was the priority. The Mad King, briefly taken aback when his spear was blocked by the lock, regained his composure and prepared to launch a second thrust. Unfortunately for him, my reaction was faster.
"Come here, Altera!"
I snatched up Altera as she quickly joined me and reached out toward the lock, which was moving as if beckoning me toward it.
The Mad King's thorned spear and Arjuna's arrows poured down like a torrential rain, but the entity in the form of a lock took every blow. Even as it cracked slightly, it succeeded in absorbing the assault, and soon the world turned upside down with the sensation of space itself trembling.
Even viewed through the Insight of the Rinnegan, the sight of everything flipping, distorting, and spinning backward was truly bizarre. The spear flying toward my heart suddenly curved and soared into the air, and the arrows of light had their trajectories scrambled, colliding with each other and falling to the ground.
This wasn't a phenomenon caused by illusion or trickery, but by the distortion of space itself. It was as if the repelling force collisions I generated with Shinra Tensei were being manifested on a much larger scale.
[Ah, damn it! That's a demonic spear that inverts causality! Hey, wait a minute, Zelretch! You didn't say it would be this hardcore! You said I just had to help out a junior connected to the Root for a bit! Oh, where are my manners? I heard the Moon Princess is over there with you? Then you must've heard of me! Ah, but I heard you've been going around killing Dead Apostles... you're not going to kill me too, right? I'm not a bad Dead Apostle! I haven't killed that many people in my life... well, anyway, not that many! You can even ask Zelretch, I'm quite the 'good' Dead Apostle for my kind!]
Indeed, looking at the way he talked, whether he was a Great Magus or not, he was just a first-rate gag character... but...
"I know who you are, Caubac Alcatraz. I heard about you from Arcueid Brunestud. Originally, you were on my list of people to recruit."
[Haha! I knew it! But why didn't you come... ah, right, the Labyrinth is a bit tough to conquer. But with someone of your caliber, I think you could have cleared it?]
"It would be problematic if the King of Demon Gods sabotaged us while I was busy clearing it. By the way, this looks like America during the war; did you receive the intel?"
[Pretty much! For now, the Resistance kids and the survivors are being protected on the Alcatraz side. This is an island, so the Ley Lines weren't drained yet. I'm glad I blocked it off in advance.]
...This is a jackpot.
I nearly died at the hands of the Mad King while searching for Ley Lines, but if they remain on Alcatraz Island... and if this is Alcatraz's Labyrinth, then contacting Chaldea won't be difficult either.
"Which Heroic Spirits remain?"
Enduring the sensation of dimensions bending as space distorted repeatedly, I intentionally closed my Rinnegan eyes and asked.
Since I had grasped the enemy's main power to some extent, I now had to confirm the strength of our allies.
[First... you know the President King's faction was annihilated, right? President King Edison and Blavatsky have been dismissed. Medb used the Holy Grail to fashion corpses and even hung their heads on poles. And then it was the Resistance's turn.]
"How many were lost?"
[The great Indian hero, the King of Kosala, is dead. The Archer on the Mad King's side split his body with an arrow during a duel. The native spirit-caller of this land had his Spirit Core pierced by Fionn mac Cumhaill's spear and was dismissed. A Saber in a white wedding dress and a Servant who seemed to be a half-dragon calling herself an idol were dismissed in an instant while trying to buy time against the Mad King.]
...Ah, damn it. Four Servants dismissed at once?
Excluding Bathory, they were all A-rank Servants... Though Geronimo and Bathory are a bit niche, considering the Noble Phantasm Elizabeth possesses—the Csejte Castle that forces a siege—and Geronimo's shamanism... this is a painful loss. Not to mention the superior stats of Rama and Nero Bride.
"The Servants remaining in Alcatraz are..."
[First, the remnants of the President King's forces and their Commander-in-Chief succeeded in joining the Labyrinth.]
"Karna has joined us... that's at least fortunate."
[Indeed, the Hero of Charity from Indian mythology has joined us in Alcatraz. The main force of the President King's army also managed to retreat... Though Edison is dead, he bought them time in his own way.]
...If Edison is dead, mass-producing any more troops is impossible. If only we had Servants like Iskandar or Darius III.
To deal with someone like the Mad King, who has an absurdly large health pool, the best method is to overwhelm and beat him down with sheer numbers. A typical Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm won't even leave a scratch...
"It's a shame the troop supply is cut off, but... any other heroes besides Karna?"
[An Archer wearing a green hood, a blonde young man carrying twin pistols, and a Lancer holding a steel spear that doesn't look like a Noble Phantasm.]
"Robin, Billy, and Li Shuwen..."
It's mediocre.
Fundamentally, as Servants specialized for combat, it was hard to call them 'bad,' but compared to the Mad King's side, they were a lineup that was inherently at a disadvantage. Karna might be considered the top-tier combatant, but the enemy camp has Arjuna to counter him. Altera, an asymmetrical power, would inevitably be tied down if Fionn mac Cumhaill and Diarmuid stepped up together.
Li Shuwen, Billy, and Robin are strong, but ultimately, they are specialized for anti-personnel combat. If the Celtic warriors push in with sheer numbers, they will be overwhelmed.
"...This isn't good."
Moreover, we aren't in a position to play a defensive game; we have to seize the Holy Grail by launching a siege on the enemy's camp. To attack the enemy, we naturally have to enter their territory... In this situation, it's hard to see this as favorable...
"...Are there no other wandering Servants?"
[Ah, there was one wandering Servant. But I'd say it's more of a Divine Spirit than a Servant? Someone who has lived even longer than me, and I've been around since before the common era. Besides, that one doesn't seem very interested in this whole situation.]
"....Is it by any chance a Lancer in purple tights carrying a demonic spear?"
[That's the one! You knew that through your intel too!]
Scathach...
Yes, if she were here, the situation might improve. But...
"...Put Scathach on hold for now. It's unknown whether she will join the battle or not."
In the original history, Scathach willingly participated in the fight for the sake of the Human Order and fought the Mad King. With her Divine Spirit's vision, it wouldn't be hard for her to know that people were taking refuge in Alcatraz, and joining them would be simple... The fact that she hasn't joined suggests she has other intentions. Whether they are good or bad.
[Lastly, there's a nurse Servant. She doesn't look very strong, and since she's a Heroic Spirit who only treats soldiers, she probably won't be of much help in combat.]
"You should have mentioned her first!"
[Hmm? Ah... well, I suppose supply and medical units are the most important in an army...]
"That's not what I meant!"
To think they'd commit the foolish act of tucking a 'Healer (Active)'—who removes the source of pain by eliminating all enemies—into a medical unit...
No, even so, Nightingale is ultimately an anti-personnel Berserker. Though her Noble Phantasm is a legendary cheat that temporarily removes all 'harmful things'—even hostility—it is ultimately specialized for anti-personnel duels, not anti-army warfare.
In a situation where we must engage in a large-scale field battle or siege against Celtic warriors, she can be used as a wildcard for a turnaround, but she lacks the capacity to be the main force leading the situation.
"...In the end, we need firepower... some seriously powerful, overwhelming firepower..."
Let's summarize the situation.
The President King's forces are annihilated. Edison and Blavatsky, essentially the greatest helpers in this Singularity, have been dismissed. However, the majority of the President King's troops succeeded in joining up. But since mass production is no longer possible... there's a constraint that they must only be used in definitive locations.
The Resistance forces have essentially had their main strength shredded, with only Billy the Kid, Robin Hood, Li Shuwen, Nightingale, and Karna—who joined from the outside—remaining. Scathach, who should have been the greatest ally, has declared her non-participation for some reason.
...While the individual abilities of the Servants can certainly be called excellent, aside from Karna, we are lacking the absolute firepower necessary to pour destruction upon the enemies.
Even if Caubac Alcatraz is a Great Magus on the verge of the Magician's domain, it's hard to expect him to show that miracle that blocked the Mad King and Arjuna twice... After all, they are Heroic Spirits, and the Mad King is currently a Divine Spirit-class monster far exceeding even Scathach.
Moreover, the enemies are not without a Servant lineup... To check them, at the very least, Karna must be assigned to Arjuna, and Altera to Fionn mac Cumhaill and Diarmuid... Plus, Medb even has the Holy Grail, so at least two to three Servants must be assigned to her.
Even viewing the situation optimistically—assuming the Celtic army can be blocked by Edison's remaining troops—the number of Servants remaining by my side to face the Mad King would be one, maybe two at best. Even if Caubac Alcatraz participates... maybe three at most.
"...Caubac. I'm asking just in case, but can you use that magecraft that blocked the attack earlier again?"
[Haha! Well, of course!]
...Could it be?
[I can't! How am I supposed to block an attack like that? Crazy! Didn't you see that the demonic spear was still chasing even with that dimensional distortion I mimicked from Zelretch?! No, in the first place, the one who can block that is you, with that weird Shinra Tensei or whatever it is! That cool whoosh! where the spear flew backward was awesome! Why were you just watching me distort space?! How am I supposed to block something like that!]
…Oh, for fuck's sake.
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