Fate: Livestream in Chaldeas

Singularity Four.

A.D.1888 – Death World in the Demonic Fog City: London

Human Order Foundation Value: EX

Chapter 185 – The Good News Is the Rayshift Arrived, the Bad News Is Someone's About to Die

"Senpai, Senpai!"

Mash's voice rang out.

"Senpai, wake up quickly, or we'll be in trouble!"

Whack, whack ———————————!!!

A chill ran down his back, accompanied by the constant crashing sound of something heavy striking near his ears.

His temple throbbed painfully.

But Ethan still forced his eyes open.

Above him hung a silver moon, and suddenly — a rusted, battered mechanical arm came crashing down?!

Whack ———————————!!!

A familiar shield appeared above his head just in time to block the attack!!!

"Mash?!"

Ethan reflexively leapt to his feet, eyes scanning warily around him.

"Senpai, be careful! This unidentified machine is attacking us!"

Beside the heap of garbage in front of them, a decrepit machine was swinging its rusted arm at Mash in combat.

"Gyaa gyaa gyaa————!!!"

As if all its mechanical components had reached the end of their lifespan, each swing of its arm emitted the screeching sound of twisted metal!

"Haa————————!!!"

Mash channeled all her strength to thrust her shield upward. The moment the shield collided with the machine's arm, the rusted joint suddenly snapped apart!

"Bzz...zzz…"

With its arm severed, the machine's power cables were cut as well, letting out a chaotic stream of electrical sounds before finally falling silent.

"Senpai, are you okay?!"

Mash immediately checked Ethan's condition.

"I'm fine, but… where are we, exactly?"

Ethan glanced around.

Surrounding them were towering piles of scrap metal and steel debris. The air was thick with the stench of rust and machine oil.

It looked like a junkyard.

The machine from earlier had now completely fallen apart, reduced to a heap of scrap mixed in with the other discarded machinery.

"Based on the coordinates, it seems we're on the outskirts of London, United Kingdom."

Mash checked the communication device on her wrist and confirmed the location.

"The outskirts?!"

Ethan groaned.

Weren't they supposed to land in the city center? It felt like the trajectory had gone off course again.

Draco and Noah didn't seem to be nearby either — probably still on their way.

Good thing Mash was with him.

"I'm trying to establish contact with Chaldea."

Zzzzt zzzzt… Hello… can you hear me… zzzzt zzzzt…

A weak voice came through the communicator — Dr. Romani.

"We hear you, Doctor!!!"

Upon recognizing his voice, Mash finally smiled.

Ethan let out a temporary sigh of relief as well.

Contacting Chaldea had finally succeeded this time.

All things considered, that was good news.

"Apologies, adjusting the Sheba lens took more time than expected."

A moment later, Dr. Romani's image was projected from the device.

"We've arrived in London safely, but Draco and Noah are nowhere to be seen. Where did they go?"

Ethan asked Romani, whose face was now displayed on the screen.

"We're still tracking compatible mana signatures from this side. There should be results soon…"

Suddenly, Dr. Romani's expression changed drastically!

"This is bad — both of you, get out of there immediately! Hurry!!!"

"——————?!"

Before Ethan and Mash could react, the ground beneath them exploded with a thunderous BANG!!!

A massive mechanical mouth burst out from underground!

Ethan and Mash lost their footing as an ear-piercing metallic screech screech screech rang in their ears!

Instinctively, Ethan grabbed a rusted iron rod nearby. Seizing the brief moment before the ground fully collapsed, he launched himself upward with all his might!

Then he immediately turned his head to look back.

Mash had been standing too close to the collapse zone and was now slipping, falling downward!

"Mash! Your hand!!!"

Ethan quickly turned back and grabbed Mash's outstretched hand, pulling her up with all his strength!

"Whew… thank you, Senpai!"

Just as the two of them managed to climb up and hadn't yet caught their breath, the ground beneath them started shaking violently again!

The machine that had emerged from underground finally revealed its full form under the moonlight.

Its eyes looked like old discarded headlights, and its mouth seemed to be formed from a bulldozer's bucket. Its entire body was smeared with oil and filth.

Standing about five meters tall, the mechanical body was a tangled mass of overlapping machine parts, with exposed sparking wires crackling on the outside.

By any measure, this was a true mechanical monster.

Or rather... a trash monster born from a junkyard factory?

Its lower jaw, shaped like a bulldozer scoop, kept pushing forward — just a bit more and it would swallow Mash and Ethan whole in that gaping black maw!

"Noble Phantasm! Lord Chaldeas!!!"

A silver shield immediately expanded in front of them, firmly blocking the mechanical monster's head!

"Ugh…"

Even after deploying her Noble Phantasm, Mash was still being pushed back — Ethan quickly extended his hand to help support the shield with her.

"Clang clang clang——————!!!"

The monster's eyes — old, broken headlights — kept flashing brightly, glaring even more fiercely in the darkness.

Under the immense pressure, the mechanical beast crept forward step by step, its huge mouth reeking of rust, engine oil, and rotting garbage pressing closer.

Only one option left — use a Command Spell!

Ethan gritted his teeth, preparing to activate a Command Spell to channel magical energy into Mash and temporarily strengthen her.

"Urgh! Aaaaaa——————!!!"

Suddenly, someone charged in!

In the blink of an eye, that figure leapt into the air — and came crashing down straight onto the body of the mechanical monster!!!

"CLANG——————————!!!"

A deafening crash of metal echoed out!

Even with Mash's Noble Phantasm shielding them, the impact was so intense that Ethan's ears rang painfully from the shockwave.

Before he could clearly see who had just entered the battlefield, the monster let out a roaring mechanical screech, its "eyes" glowing brighter than ever!

"Screeech screeech screeech——————!!!"

It opened its maw — wide enough to swallow a car — and lunged at its target with terrifying speed.

Standing in front of the monster was clearly a girl with fiery red hair wearing a hood.

She held a massive war hammer, arcs of electricity dancing around it like living branches, sparking wildly.

With a furious roar, she swung the hammer forward with all her might, slamming it directly into the monster's lower jaw.

"Screeeech——————!!!"

The area struck by the hammer exploded into countless metal shards!

But the mechanical monster, unfazed by pain, still lunged forward, jaws gaping wide, trying to swallow the red-haired girl whole!

"Uwaaahhhhh——————!!!"

Just as her body was about to be devoured, a fierce, uncontainable cry erupted from the red-haired girl.

The war hammer in her hand burst into blinding light!

A massive surge of lightning roared out, striking the beast's gaping jaws directly!

"Crack crack screeeeech——!!!"

The monster, which had intended to swallow her and crush her inside its belly, was hit head-on by the lightning and immediately ceased all movement!

However, its massive body, driven by sheer momentum, still rolled forward like a runaway bulldozer—dragging the girl into its bulk!

"Senpai… should we save her?"

Mash turned to Ethan for a decision the moment she saw the girl being pulled in.

"Yeah."

Ethan nodded without hesitation.

He had seen it clearly—that person was Frankenstein!

Her weapon was a war hammer—there was no doubt about it. Her Class had to be Berserker.

Most likely a wild Servant, one without a Master.

But regardless of her status—she had just saved Mash and him from that metal monster.

They had to save her.

"Roger that!!!"

Just as Mash prepared to move forward to search for the girl within the wreckage of the mechanical corpse—

"BANG——————!!!"

A loud explosion rang out, as if something had burst outward from inside!

A sheet of rusted steel flew up with the blast, followed by a rapid series of "clank clank clank clank" sounds echoing from within!

After several warped joints were blown off the wreckage, the red-haired girl emerged from the monster's now completely still body.

Under the silver moonlight, the red-haired girl, wearing a pure white wedding dress, slowly cast her gaze downward.

"Careful! I'm detecting a Servant reaction coming from her! Also—her Saint Graph is Berserker—and she can't communicate!!!!"

Dr. Romani's urgent warning rang out to Ethan.

Immediately after, Frankenstein leapt down from the remains of the mechanical monster and started walking straight toward the two of them.

"Senpai, be careful!!!"

Mash quickly raised her shield, stepping in front of Ethan to block Frankenstein.

Even though she had intended to save Frankenstein earlier, the fact remained — the other was a Berserker, and one could never be too cautious.

"Uhh..."

Frankenstein came to a stop, but her gaze remained fixed on Ethan behind Mash, as though deep in thought.

"Uh uh——!"

She gestured with her hands toward Ethan, then pointed to the right.

Following her finger, Ethan saw a narrow path leading somewhere else.

"Senpai, it seems like she wants us to follow her out?"

Mash spoke uncertainly.

"You're trying to lead us out?"

Ethan asked.

"Uh uh…"

Frankenstein nodded.

"Alright, I understand."

As he spoke, Ethan signaled Mash to lower her shield.

"But Senpai… can we really trust her?"

"Don't worry. If she meant to attack us, she wouldn't have saved us from that giant mechanical monster."

With that, Ethan stepped out from behind Mash's shield and walked directly up to Frankenstein.

"Alright, let's go."

"Uhh!"

Frankenstein let out a confirming grunt, then began to lead the way.

The narrow road they followed was lined with discarded objects—old-fashioned cars, rusted streetlamps, and large chunks of scrap metal.

Most notably, there were what appeared to be discarded robot parts strewn all around.

Were things like these really present in London, 1888?

Ethan wanted to ask what was going on here—but since Frankenstein couldn't speak, there was no way to communicate.

All they could do now was get out of this place and try to find a local Londoner to ask about the situation.

Quietly, the two followed Frankenstein until they reached an old gate leading outside.

As soon as they stepped across the threshold, a thick fog began to spread rapidly before them.

Ethan furrowed his brow.

If he remembered correctly, this fog was highly unusual.

Though, it seemed ever since he had formed a contract with the purple kouhai, he hadn't been affected by it...

"Be careful, detecting a high concentration of magical particles in the fog—it could be the product of magecraft!"

Dr. Romani's voice chimed in, warning them to stay alert.

"Analysis complete! This fog is harmful to living beings—do your best not to breathe it in!!!"

Bzzzz…

Suddenly, the war hammer in Frankenstein's hand began to emit electrical discharges, and the fog surrounding the three of them slowly began to dissipate.

Clearly, she was familiar with how to dispel this kind of fog.

Continuing along the crumbling path, through several desolate alleys, the three finally arrived at the front of an old house.

"Doctor, is there anything dangerous inside that house?" Mash immediately asked Romani.

"I'm detecting a very faint Saint Graph inside. If it's a Servant, it probably isn't a strong one."

Romani answered while monitoring the readings.

"Uhh…"

Frankenstein pointed toward the house, signaling for Ethan and Mash to enter.

But she herself didn't move an inch.

"You're not coming in?"Ethan asked.

"Uhh..."

"There's something else?"

Faced with Ethan's puzzled question, Frankenstein nodded slightly.

"I see. Well then, be careful out there."

"..."

Frankenstein seemed surprised to hear him say that. She froze for a moment, then slowly nodded, turning to leave.

Before walking away, she looked back at Ethan one last time.

When she saw that Ethan was still looking at her, she quickly turned her head and disappeared into the dense fog.

So she was a free Servant. It would be wise to maintain a good relationship with her during their investigation.

"Senpai… are we really going in there?"

Faced with Mash's question, Ethan nodded.

After all, it was Frankenstein who led them here—it probably wasn't dangerous.

Knock, knock, knock!!

Ethan stepped forward and knocked a few times on the door, but there was no response.

He gave it a push and found it was unlocked.

After exchanging a look with Mash, she immediately raised her shield and cautiously entered first.

Inside the house was a classical British interior, appropriate for the era. The floors and walls were made of wood, and the hallway was lined with faded yellow wallpaper with subtle embossed patterns.

A thick velvet carpet covered the floor, and an ornate chandelier shaped like a candle holder hung overhead, exuding a refined atmosphere that spoke volumes about the homeowner's taste.

"Oh? Finally, someone's come to visit this place."

As Ethan and Mash entered the grand hall, a child's voice—calm yet mature—rang out from up ahead.

Under the soft light, a small boy with blue hair appeared before Ethan and Mash.

"A Master and a Servant, huh? Looks like Frankenstein's actions weren't in vain after all."