Thanks for the invitation. I'm in Type-Moon, inheriting the legacy of Zi-O.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't realize that." Looking at Nencho and Ritsuka, who both seemed rather listless, Mashu thought to herself, "If I had known this would happen, I should have let Senpai sleep on the furniture I was supposed to use...that would have been better..." She looked at the dispirited Nencho and Ritsuka.

"It's okay, it's fine this way~" Ritsuka waved her hand, indicating that Mash didn't need to worry.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just morning grumpiness, it’ll be fine in a bit.” Nian Zhuo patted Mashu’s head and nodded affirmatively. “…Don’t worry, it’ll be fine in a bit.”

“…Mr. Nianzhuo, and senior…” Mashu looked at Nianzhuo and Mashu, who were smiling in front of her, with an unknown look in her eyes.

"Oh! You three are all up!" Mordred waved to them, but her face showed a hint of anxiety. "Hey, did you three see Fran just now?"

"Now that you mention it..." Mashu finally found the source of the unease in her heart. Sure enough, the brown-haired girl was nowhere to be found in the living room. "Ah, Mr. Nianzhuo. Could it be that Miss Fran...?"

"Ah, I know that~" Before Mashu could say anything to Nianzhuo, Ritsuka suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the place she had just recommended to Nianzhuo, "Fran is in the next room~—in the writer's room."

"...Oh, I'm glad she won't mind." Mordred, who is usually quite impulsive, surprisingly chose to observe. Just imagining the scene she would enter made her scalp tingle. "Anyway, I will definitely not go into that room."

"I get it, I get it! Because it's filled with a strange atmosphere, right?!" Mashu instantly seemed to have found a kindred spirit, her eyes shining with excitement. "Perhaps this is the spirit that writers have when facing a deadline!" As if convincing others, or as if convincing herself, Mashu patted her cheeks.

“Well, after all, they’ve been writing ever since they came to the real world.” Mordred shrugged, even seeming a little confused. “Although I don’t know if Andersen was really writing.” Even so, Mordred broke out in a cold sweat again before finally giving up on opening that door.

"I suddenly remembered a word from the Far East, 'a chilling aura'..."

Just as they were having a good time playing around, Jekyll, who had a gentle voice, came out.

"Good morning, everyone." After a quick glance around, Jekyll greeted everyone. "Is everyone rested well? I have something I want to say, is that alright?" He watched as Mash and Nianzhuo quietly sat down next to him.

“Of course, it’s quite important.” Jekyll, risking being discovered, toyed with the strange plaque Mash had taken from the wreckage. “It’s about the order you discovered a few hours ago.”

“Is it Charles Babbage?” At the same time, the communicator on Mashu’s wrist suddenly rang. Mary yawned, but still clearly said, “He is the best scientist and mathematician active in 19th-century Britain.”

“Yes, he was a figure from this era.” Jekyll was somewhat surprised, but then chose not to dwell on it. “Although I’ve never met him, I can recall things about him.” She quickly ran to the table, opened the diary, and began to read it quickly.

Finally, with a confident smile, he found what he was looking for.

“Let me see, he and the original Dr. Victor Frankenstein seem to be close friends.” He said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but Mash frowned.

"—Excuse me, please wait a moment." Mashu politely ended Jekyll's sentence, looking at him with disbelief. "Babbage should have passed away more than ten years ago."

“Hey, wait a minute. That’s strange.” Jekyll grabbed the diary from the side and said with a hint of anger, “He’s old, but he’s still in good health. He’s still active as a scholar, isn’t he?” His words were completely different from Mash’s.

"...?" Mash, Jekyll, and Nianzhuo exchanged glances, all sensing surprise in each other's expressions as they looked at Nianzhuo in front of them.

“Um, Jekyll, are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Even Mary found it hard to believe, since what Jekyll said was completely different from what she was hearing. “Are you sure Babbage was someone who lived in this era?”

“Of course,” Jekyll said with equal certainty, even pulling out an old newspaper—his name was in the Royal Society's yearbook I'd seen earlier this year. Victor had mentioned him too. How could someone like him be dead? His inventions were featured in last year's and this year's newspapers!”

“Um…can I confirm this?” Suddenly, Mash moved closer to Jekyll, looked at the report in his hand, and extended her hand. “Um, yes, reading the newspaper is enough.”

“Ah, um, please go ahead.” Jekyll handed over the newspaper he was holding.

Mashu took it with both hands, and as soon as she opened it, she saw that Charles Babbage was described in half the size of the newspaper.

Silence fell.

You're kidding me, I'll come back to life!

Holding the newspaper in her hand, Mashu still couldn't quite believe it.

"...His report is indeed published here." However, the name on the page was too glaring. Mashu read out the contents of the newspaper in her hand: "Charles Babbage, born in 1791, is...the man himself." She raised her head and stared blankly at Ritsuka, who was equally surprised...and Nencho, who was touching his chin and seemed to be thinking about something.

"In that case... I can only think of two possibilities." Mary, located in Chaldea, could naturally see the newspaper in Mash's hand, and gritted her teeth in frustration. "The first is that our historical records don't match the facts. The second is that events have deviated, a situation that has occurred in previous eras. Orleans, Rome, and the Sea of ​​the World—all were cases where events were distorted, deviated. It wasn't that they were Heroic Spirits, but rather that anomalies caused these ancient beings to still exist—"

“I’m afraid that’s quite likely. Even those who died from the magic mist are like that.” Mary had read through the report on major events of the First Industrial Revolution many times, but she still couldn’t find the report about Charles Babbage. “This… is probably something that should have happened in the twentieth century, but was inserted into this era.”

"So... Miss Fran and Mr. Jekyll are like that too?" Mash looked at Fran and Jekyll, who were silent on the other side. After all, the two of them were theoretically characters in a book and should not exist in reality.

“It’s not impossible,” Mary nodded, interlacing her fingers on her chin. “Determining who belongs to this era and who doesn’t is extremely difficult. Especially when there are no existing records—”

"Hmm, are you talking about me?" Suddenly, Jekyll's voice came from the side. He had naturally noticed that Mash had been looking at him since earlier, which was why he made this assumption. "Well, I am concerned. But let's talk about it later. I have an urgent call."

Looking at Mordred, who was resting to the side, Jekyll scratched his hair in a bit of a daze.

"Of course, this is bad news that my intelligence network just obtained. Saber, please listen to it too."

"Huh? Oh, I see." Mordred was taken aback at first, then met Jekyll's serious expression, and finally nodded, following Nianzhuo and the others to the table.

"Everyone, the Chaos Machine Soldiers that had completely stopped functioning before—" Looking at the puzzled expressions on his companions' faces, Jekyll placed his hands on the table, "—have started moving again."

The unexpected news took everyone by surprise.

"What? Not again!" Mordred slammed her hand on the table, looking at Jekyll with suspicion. "Does...do you need another remote control?"

"Jekyll, is the news reliable..." Ryotaro suddenly spoke up. After all, he had just heard from Nianzhuo and the others yesterday that they had successfully broken the remote control of the Chaos Machine Soldier, but he did not expect it to be back to normal today.

“I’m sorry, but the information is reliable… it’s from an old friend of mine.” Rubbing his hair, Jekyll looked somewhat incredulous. “So, something did go wrong after all.”

"...This is indeed an emergency." Mashu quickly composed herself. "Now that it's active again, we need to stop it from operating again as soon as possible."

“Yes, after all, it would be troublesome if another Servant appeared in the Mist like Shakespeare did.” Mary agreed with Mash’s idea. “So we can’t let the enemy capture more Servants who appear in the Mist.”

"Nian Zhuo, Mashu, and Fujimaru Ritsuka. This time it's up to you again. This time, you must completely stop the Chaos Mechs!" For the first time since arriving at this singularity, Mary seriously read out everyone's names.

"Understood!" Ritsuka then looked behind her. "Mr. Nencho, Mashu, let's prepare to set off!"

"Wait a minute!" Mordred spoke up from the side. "Since we're going, how can I be left out? I'll also be asking Ryotaro and... that monster, this time. Well, anyway, I'll be asking you two to watch the house and protect those two Casters who are doing who-knows-what."

“…Ugh, ugh.” Fran quietly moved to the back of the line, gripping his weapon tightly.

"Alright! Let's all set off together!" Ritsuka pushed open the apartment door.

In the blink of an eye, the once noisy apartment became quiet again, leaving only Jekyll and Ryotaro in the living room.

"...Sigh, I'll go wake Momotaros up." Seeing that he had nothing to do in the living room, Ryotaro got up, said goodbye to Jekyll, and went to his room.

“…Huh, are they talking about people who are already dead in their world…” Jekyll frowned, picking up the newspaper that was lying to the side. “Could it be… really…”

In the vast living room, only Jekyll remained, chewing on the scraps of his mistake.

However, even though they impulsively rushed into the street, Nianzhuo and his companions had no way to find the murderer immediately and could only rely on the taciturn Fran.

“Even if we made such a confident statement… in the end, there’s nothing we can do.” Standing next to Fran, Mordred idly swung her sword. “Besides, we still have Fran here, and we can even bypass the enemy. Based on our experience last time, our operation should be a straight line, ensuring we don’t encounter the enemy and head straight for the remote control.”

"………………" Fran paused for a moment, looked at Mordred in silence, raised his arm, and pointed in a direction again.

“That’s right.” Mashu nodded, standing at the front with her hands gripping her shield, guarding against possible sneak attacks. “Similarly, we absolutely cannot let our guard down. Let’s go.”

“Hahaha, we certainly won’t let our guard down this time.” However, Mordred stroked her chin and glanced at Fran beside her without leaving a trace. “But considering Fran’s accuracy last time—” She deliberately left her words unfinished, but Nian Zhuo and the others knew what Mordred wanted to say.

Last time, Fran did find the so-called location of the remote control, but it was only a general direction. Nianzhuo and the others ran around the main streets and alleys for a long time before finally finding their destination.

Suddenly, a mechanical sound faintly rang out from the demonic mist ahead, and the figure that emerged from the mist looked like a chaotic mechanical soldier.

"Huh, so we've already run into an enemy...?" Mordred was a little curious, but subconsciously gripped the blade tighter. "This guy probably isn't a remote control entity either."

"No...that's not right!" Suddenly, Mash's expression changed drastically. "...Mechanical operating sounds! Numerous! Large type! It's an enemy army! Master, please give the order, and retreat behind me!"

Sure enough, the sound was not a jumble of individual voices, but a complex cacophony of mechanical sounds. The first chaotic mechanical soldier to appear in the demonic mist was the first to emerge, and behind it, countless other mechanical soldiers appeared.

"...Everyone! Be careful!" Ritsuka pulled the silent Fran aside.

"...The number, about ten?" Nian Zhuo, who was already equipped with the Zi-O basic armor, rubbed his hands together, looking at the Chaos Machine Soldiers emerging from the smoke.

"...Hmph, leave this battle to the two of us." Suddenly, Mordred stood in front of Mash, turned around and pointed at Ritsuka who was hiding to the side. "The one with the shield, go and protect Fran and Ritsuka. If we encounter any enemies that the two of us can't handle, at least make sure Ritsuka and Fran are safe first."

“…Yes!” Mash did not argue either, after all, for the time being, Ritsuka and Fran’s safety was indeed the top priority.

"Let's finish this quickly, Nianzhuo." This time, even Mordred had no desire to fight. Chaotic lightning kept flashing on the blade of her sword, showing just how upset she was that the Chaos Mechs had started moving again.

“Okay, that’s what I think too.” Nian Zhuo didn’t even bother to take these Chaos Machine Soldiers seriously, who no longer posed a threat. He took out the Time Gun Sword and glanced at Mordred beside him… the lightning that was ready to strike on her blade.

"Together?" He flipped the driver at his waist, and golden light began to gather on the blade in Nian Zhuo's hand.

"..." Looking at the golden light emanating from the sword in Nian Zhuo's hand, Mordred suddenly fell silent for a moment, and finally nodded, "Okay."

"..." Nian Zhuo reversed the sword blade, and golden light continued to gather, gradually illuminating the surrounding walls.

"..." Crimson lightning flashed, and Mordred's silver blade transformed into a crimson lightning blade.

Then, without a word or a glance, the two simultaneously raised their swords.

In the blink of an eye, the light and lightning completely merged into one, encompassing all the enemies.

Unleashing all their power, the two turned and headed towards Mashu and Ritsuka.

A violent explosion came from behind, and the shockwave blew Mordred's hair wild.

(Yes, it's a replica of the real man never looking back at an explosion.)

The battle was over, even though the explosion hadn't completely dissipated... This conclusion had become a fact in Mash's mind.

Sure enough, as the dust settled behind them, huge gashes appeared on the chests of more than a dozen Chaos Mechanical Soldiers, with red lightning flashing.

Immediately afterwards, they all collapsed to the ground, emitting a heavy hum, and stopped operating.

“…Wow…that’s amazing…” Ritsuka said blankly, while Mashu nodded in agreement.

"Alright, alright, snap out of it, snap out of it." Walking up to them, seeing the two girls' dazed expressions, Nianzhuo clapped his hands to bring them back to their senses. "Really, how can anyone get distracted during a battle?"

"Ah... Ahahaha~ It's because Mr. Nianzhuo and Mordred are unexpectedly strong~" Ritsuka scratched her head and laughed happily, "So, without realizing it, I got a little engrossed in watching your battle?"

"...Hmph~ You know that much." Mordred proudly hoisted the sword, looking quite pleased with himself.

"...Phew, I didn't expect the two of them to break through the enemy legion with a single strike." At this moment, Mary's communication came through. "Of course, although it's just my speculation. But are they attacking more and more frequently?"

"Tsk, just as I thought..." Mordred looked at Fran, who was still silent behind Ritsuka. "The enemy has indeed reappeared... Fran, what's wrong? Are you out of it?"

Yes, given the previous speed, Fran should have found the controller by now, but it's still stuck in one place, which makes Mordred a little worried.

"...Hmm..." Fran's reaction was the same as before; he glanced at Mordred but remained silent.

But she still pointed in one direction.

"This time, is it to the east..." Mordred looked in the direction Fran pointed, which led to a main road, but the situation on that road... remained unknown.

“Fran,” Mordred spoke again, but this time, she gripped the blade of her sword tightly. “Since just now, you seem to be pointing in a lot of different directions. If you’re not in the right frame of mind, just tell me. After all, I’ve said before that you should just say what you want to say.”

“This time it’s the east, last time it was the north… and before that it was the west.” Nian Zhuo looked at Fran, but didn’t say the rest of the sentence.

—On all these roads, they encountered enemy legions, and each time the numbers increased.

"………………" This time, Fran fell completely silent, but his raised arm did not fall.

"Oh well, anyway... let's trust Fran one more time." Nian Zhuo was the first to smooth things over, patting Mordred on the shoulder. "After all, Fran is our partner, and I trust her too."

"...Okay, let's go with Fran." Ritsuka grabbed Fran's hand, a cheerful smile on her face. "I hope it'll be successful this time~"

Fran glanced at Nianzhuo, then at Ritsuka's hand holding his, and fell silent, letting Ritsuka pull him along.