- Interlude: Hellish Happenings -

Lev Lainur sighed loudly.

This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all.

He strolled through the devastated streets, carelessly walking past the numerous skeletons that littered every corner of this dreadful place. Was the ash and heat really required? It was ruining his whole aesthetic.

It was all going so perfectly too, with none of his dear friends back at Chaldea any wiser as to his machinations. The teams were all dead or dying, the facility in ruins, and the leadership more or less cut off at its head.

Down this street. Turn left here.

Then, the Aberration happened.

Past the Worm's mansion. A truly horrid place, even for one such as himself.

It was like the world wanted the boy to live, luck beyond luck keeping him going at every step. To fall asleep in little Olga's lecture, as to be sent outside. To meet Romani, as to follow him back to the Rayshift chambers. To choose to stay with Mashu, as to be forcibly transported into Fuyuki.

He neatly stepped over the burning bodies.

He was no fool. He could read the signs. He knew what that thing was, what it represented. This would have to be dealt with quickly, before the chance was given for it to fulfill it's birthright.

Though easier said than done, as attested by the records of history itself. Not to mention, the Anomaly. The shadow circling that one was interesting to say the least, a veil quite unlike the ones he had seen throughout his storied life. If he had the time, he would have loved to take the time to dissect the specimen himself, see exactly what the tampering had done.

Take this right and leave the city proper, trees replacing the open sky.

He frowned slightly as he thought. More importantly, how had all this come to be? A Magician? A Divine? Maybe even a Transcendent? Possible, but highly unlikely…

...Blue?

He shudders. Impossible, thankfully.

Stay on the path, didn't want to get mud on his finely tailored footwear.

Oh well, needlessly worrying would do him no good. The trap was just about set, an amusing little way to celebrate the End of Man. He wondered who would come out on top, though it mattered little. Whoever was left standing by the end would be in no shape to do anything, if anyone lived at all.

Ah. He has arrived. The stone citadel was a bit antiquated for his tastes, but it wasn't like he was to stay long, with one final stop before the big finale.

The Wraith still needed to be collected, lurking among the rubble, after all.

"Good day," he says pleasantly, tipping his hat slightly in greeting. "I must ask, would you like the chance to kill she who took your Master from you... and maybe some other fellows along the way?"

Even he has to take an instinctive step backwards, as the Mad Son howls its fury to the sky.

Romani Archman was having a bad day.

First he had been caught slacking off by one of his technical subordinates. Then the organization he had worked so hard to keep going gets bombed. And the worst of all, he was now in charge of the aftermath.

Him! A self-admitted mega-slacker! Oh if his mother could see him now...

"Magi*Mari!" he whispers into his phone, ignoring the weird looks of the other survivors as they continued to try to bring the parts of the facility back online. This was his way of coping, alright?! Some people cried, some people prayed, and he talked to his favorite internet idol! "Magi*Mari! Give me some advice, I really need it!"

"If you're having a bad day, you could just kill yourself!" the e-model on his screen says with a cutesy pose, double peace signs flashing brightly. "That way, you won't have any more bad days!"

He blinks, before breaking out into a wide grin. She always knew how to lift his mood! "You're right! I can rest when I'm dead! Even if tomorrow is a bad day, it's another day I'm alive! And that's better than anything!"

"That's n-" Before his idol can say anything else, an alert comes on the holo-screen in front of him. A message from Ritsuka and Mash! The phone is hurriedly turned off and put away, just as the screen clears and a video-call is put through.

"Dr. Roman!" His daugh- subordinate says quickly, though still dressed in that ridiculously revealing battle attire. Why did Servants always have to wear such impractical stuff? He swore that after this whole ordeal, she was going to have to wear a fluffy sweater so help h-

A repetition of his name pulls him back to reality, where Mash continues to say "Calling to report contact! It seems like a Master and his Servant are still alive and untouched by whatever is going on!"

He lets out a noise of confusion. "What? Really?"

Ritsuka's face pops in from the side of the screen, grinning brightly. "Yeah! They actually helped save our butts when we were attacked by Medusa!"

"By what?!"

Mash coughs quietly. "Don't worry about it, please. Just know that we are relatively unarmed, and will be continuing searching for the Director shortly."

"Eh? Searching for 'the Director'? In this hell-hole?" a third voice repeats, one unknown to Romani. A new face shows up, around Ritsuka's age if he had to guess. Wavy black hair frames concerned brown eyes, a faded electric mouse proudly emblazoned on his t-shirt. "That doesn't sound good."

Romani was confused, though he hid it behind an easygoing grin. Was this another Master Candidate? It had to be, right?

...He couldn't genuinely couldn't remember! Oh man, he really should have been paying better attention to the mission briefings! It wasn't his fault that the newest episode of his favorite anime had aired at the same time as the Candidate review meeting!

"O-Oh it's fine, you guys are very close to her latest distress beacon!" he says, deciding to just pretend like he knew exactly what was going on. "If you didn't know, I'm Romani Archman. Call me Dr. Roman, everyone does! The Acting Director of Chaldea, now that Olga's currently in the field! "

He'd have to just check the records in a minute... or at least he would have, if the servers were still online.

The boy gives a quick nod, seemingly distracted by something. "Genuinely nice to meet you Doctor, I'm Stephen." Wow! Some actual respect! How unusual! "Now, where exactly is this distress beacon?"

He quickly pulls up a new screen side-by-side with the video call, quickly making note of the blinking dot that had been superimposed on the map of Fuyuki. "Like I said, it's not too far! In fact, you should be able to see it from where you guys are! It's a place called Mount Enzou, I think!"

But for now, just play it cool and go from there.

The boy pales considerably. "Oh for fucks sake. We've gotta move, now."

Olga Marie Animusphere held her breath, watching as the vile skeleton stalked right past her, it's horrid gaze gliding right over where she was standing.

The invisibility fades not soon after, the warmth in her circuits once again a painful reminder of the ludicrous amount of magical energy she had been burning through. Even for someone with such peerless Circuits as herself, non-stop intensive casting for what felt like hours was stretching the limits of her abilities.

No matter though, to all that she had faced in her lifetime, this much was nothing. Death was a better alternative to admitting defeat. Get up and push onward.

Forever onward.

Once again, she whispered a quiet thanks to her dear Leff, for teaching her the magecraft in the first place. A small smile couldn't help but tug on her lips, her relief at his timely message assuring her of his safety bulldozing any sense of fear or worry that had begun to sprout.

N-not that she had been worried in the slightest, however. She was the Director of Chaldea, an example to be followed by all who worked under her, beyond such petty things as fear and debilitating panic-attacks.

And on that note, now that the monster had moved far enough away, she quietly slipped past to continue her hurried march. The forested mountain loomed ominously, even from here she could faintly feel the vile aura radiating out from it.

She was loath to approach, but Leff had told her to wait for him there. And so, wait for him there she would.

He was her savior, after all. The one person she could trust, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Her Hero.

His heart ached, though why he knew not.

Memories flew past, his hands unable to reach out and grasp them. Faces. Names. So close, yet so far away.

Did they mean something to him, once upon a time? Friends? Family? Lovers?

Though it wasn't like it mattered anyways. He was sure that would have been terrified of the path he was on, hated and feared the man that he had grown to be. He only wished he could tell them, whoever they were, that it was the right choice. The only choice.

The methodical loading of a gun, the sick ease of a thousand battlefields.

Why he picked this particular piece up from the burning ruins below, he couldn't quite tell. It held only a single shot, though making up for it with a monstrous level of power and absurd range.

But it was important. Important.

He closes his eyes, breathing in the cool night. Blood soaked his soul, he was drowning in it. Worthless ideals lay shattered at his feet, cutting at his very being with every step. A world of broken steel filled his vision, each jagged fragment tearing him apart.

What had he done to himself? What had he become?

No. He had no regrets.

He knew who he was. He knew what he was. Her heavenly existence had shown him that, her beautiful smile never fading, even as the light left her eyes, the barrel of his gun smoking silently in his fragmented mindscape.

A monster without a name. A worthless existence, meant only to kill and kill and kill some more. An example, as to the fate of those who followed this path.

A bitter chuckle, as he stares at the starless night, standing alone at the top of the world. He begins to speak, the breathless words leaving his lips with nary a thought.

"Hey Kiritsugu," he whispers. "Have I become a hero?"

A/N: Thanks for reading.