On the busy streets of Tokyo, a beautiful blonde girl with foreign features walked with a heavy, annoyed stride. Passersby couldn't help but be drawn to her radiant beauty, but her dark expression kept them at a distance.
"Ridiculous! What does he mean I'm only good for causing trouble? I'm a world-renowned genius, for heaven's sake!" The girl muttered to herself, her voice dripping with frustration. "So annoying. Absolutely infuriating."
This was Erica Blandelli, the Italian knight and partner of Kusanagi Godou. Following a heated argument, she had been kicked out (or rather, stomped out) and was now wandering the city to vent her anger.
Lost in her thoughts, Erica suddenly stopped before a modest storefront. She looked up at the sign.
[Chaldea Agency]
What a strange name, she thought, pushing the door open.
Inside, the atmosphere was unexpectedly domestic. A beautiful woman with long, flowing blue hair was sitting on a sofa, hunched over a desk. She was meticulously painting a small figure, letting out strange, soft giggles as she worked.
"Excuse me... hello?" Erica hesitated, her noble upbringing compelling her to be polite despite her mood.
"Huh?!" The woman jumped, clearly startled. She frantically scrambled to hide the figures and tools under a cloth, then sat upright, smoothing her dress and letting out a dry cough. "Ahem! Welcome. Is there something I can help you with, Miss?"
"Is this... an agency?" Erica looked around. The place seemed perfectly ordinary, perhaps even a bit sparse.
"Ah... yes, exactly. This is the Chaldea Agency," the blue-haired woman Medea replied with a pleasant smile. "As long as you can afford the compensation, we are a professional service that can accomplish anything."
Erica almost burst out laughing. Anything? Even a Devil King wouldn't dare claim such absolute power. And here was this seemingly normal woman claiming to be omnipotent?
Originally just looking to kill time, Erica's competitive streak flared up. She adopted a mocking tone: "Oh? Anything at all? That's quite a bold claim."
Medea didn't seem to notice the sarcasm. She simply nodded with a serene smile.
"Fine then. I have a request..." Erica paused for effect, pretending to think deeply, then smirked. "How about Deicide? Can you slay a god for me?"
Medea didn't even flinch. She actually looked like she was considering the logistics. After a moment, she turned to Erica and said, "Hmm... that shouldn't be a problem. But, Miss, are you sure you can afford the price for such a task?"
Erica was stunned. The audacity! Talk about deicide as if it were a common errand. "Don't worry about the payment," she snapped, a vein pulsing on her forehead as she slammed her hand on the desk. "But tell me—how exactly do you plan to slay a god?!"
"Gods are hard to find these days," Medea shrugged casually. "If you sign this contract, you can simply call us the moment you locate one. we'll be there in a heartbeat."
A total scam artist, Erica decided. But playing along might be fun. "Fine. I'll sign it. But if you fail to kill a god when the time comes, you'd better be prepared for the consequences!"
Medea remained unfazed by the threat. She produced a simple piece of paper. Erica scanned it—it was a standard contract, devoid of any magical pressure or hidden energy. Confirmed. She's just a fraud.
Smirking, Erica signed her name and handed it back. Medea tucked it away. "Very well, Miss Erica. Just call for us when your target appears. We'll see you soon."
"Shameless..." Erica muttered, shooting a glare at the smiling woman before storming out of the office.
As the door slammed shut, Medea tilted her head, sighing at the impatience of modern youth. She immediately pulled her tools back out.
"Saber figures really are the best," she giggled, returning to her masterpiece with obsessive focus.
Meanwhile: Deep within Chaldea
If Fujimaru Ritsuka wasn't at the agency, where was she?
"All hands! All Heroic Spirits of Chaldea, report to the Strategic Briefing Room immediately!"
The announcement shattered the afternoon peace... or rather, what passed for peace in Chaldea. Since Heroic Spirits didn't need sleep, the facility was a 24-hour hub of chaotic activity.
"Is everyone here?" Ritsuka scanned the room. No one was missing. "Good. I've called you all here today because... I want to invite you all to a hotpot party. It's a specialty from Saigon, you absolutely have to try it."
"Wait, wait! Master, are you serious?!" Mordred shouted, jumping to her feet. "Isn't that the line of a certain bald protagonist? Stop plagiarizing!"
"Ah, right. Wrong script. Sorry, sorry," Ritsuka scratched her head with zero sincerity. "Alright, let's get to the real business. I've discovered a Chaldea in another timeline."
Doctor Romani frowned. "Another timeline... is it also a Type-Moon world?"
Ritsuka nodded. "Yes. But their difficulty level is... laughably low compared to ours."
"The start in Fuyuki and the first Singularity, The Wicked Dragon Hundred Years' War, were identical. But from the second Singularity, Eternal Mad Empire, the paths diverged."
Ritsuka looked at the Beasts sitting in the room. She had to physically push Tiamat back into her seat as the Mother of Life tried to crawl into her lap. "Arrrrrrr!" Tiamat protested softly.
"The difference is—the Beasts," Ritsuka massaged her temples. "In their timeline, from the second to the sixth Singularity, not a single Beast appeared. They didn't face Beast II: Tiamat until the seventh Singularity. And us? We had a Beast in every single Singularity except the first. Compared to us, they're playing on Easy Mode."
Ritsuka shot a look at the Beasts, who were all suddenly very interested in looking at the floor or the ceiling.
"So," the Doctor asked a crucial question, "how did their Demon King Goetia lose?"
"Exactly," Goetia (the Chaldean version) added, his voice full of lingering resentment. "I spent ages accumulating energy to incinerate the Human Order. If it weren't for this bug of a Master bringing six other Beasts and a Grand Class to gank me, I would have won! How could that other Chaldea, without any Beasts or Grands, defeat ME?"
"That's the catch," Ritsuka looked solemnly at Romani and Mash. "We faced Hell Mode but achieved a perfect Happy End. They... they had a Bad End. Or rather, a tragic victory."
"In that world, Mash was struck down and killed while shielding her Master from Goetia's Noble Phantasm."
Mash didn't seem surprised. She whispered, "If you were in that danger, Senpai, I would do the same."
"Fou sacrificed his intelligence and divinity to resurrect Mash, becoming a normal animal."
Fou, who was currently sipping tea with his tiny paws, spit his drink directly onto Goetia's face in shock.
"And the Doctor..." Ritsuka's voice trembled with suppressed anger as she looked at Romani. "He revealed his true identity and activated his final Noble Phantasm: [Ars Nova — The Time of Parting Has Come, He is the One Who Lets Go of the World]. He erased his own existence from history to stop Goetia."
The room went cold. Goetia ignored the tea on his face and stood up, trembling. "King! Did you really intend to do that if we couldn't win?! That is a fate worse than death!"
Romani laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Well... you see... if there was no other way... I mean, we won here, right? And everyone is happy!"
"The point is," Ritsuka shouted, "the Doctor in that world DID it! He actually vanished to defeat the Demon King!"
Even Romani fell silent.
Goetia looked up at Ritsuka. "Tell us. What is the plan? If you told us this just to make us depressed, I'll risk being chased by Tiamat just to annoy you."
Ritsuka smirked. "Of course not. In fact, it's good news." She leaned over the table, a predatory glint in her eyes. "Everyone... who wants to beat up Goetia again?"
The room was silent for a split second, then erupted in a thunderous: "YES!"
Goetia (Chaldean version): Are these jerks just looking for an excuse to hit me? (Shaking.jpg)
"Excellent," Ritsuka smiled, looking at the battle-hungry Heroic Spirits. "It's time to show that other Goetia what true, unstoppable despair feels like! Last time we had 6 Beasts. This time, we're bringing all 7!"
"You're in, right, Goetia?"
"..." Goetia covered his face with his hand. "Count me in. I want to punch that version of myself who forced the King to vanish."
Emiya and Kid Gil: "Welcome to the 'I Hate Myself' Alliance."
"Lock onto the coordinates!" Ritsuka roared with absolute authority. "Objective: Save the Doctor and secure the Human Order! Ars Paulina, DEPLOY!"
"YEAH!!!"
Ritsuka (whispering): "Wait, isn't that other guy literally you? Can't you just punch yourself in the face and call it even?" Goetia: "SHUT UP!"