Fate/Magus Path

179 Human Grail

A Human Grail?

Roy's brow creased at the odd label.

"A Human Grail? What kind of bizarre nickname is that? Stop slapping weird titles on people."

"I'm just confident in my mana reserves, that's all."

"Confident?!" Roman's voice spiked with disbelief. "Do you have any idea what level your mana capacity is at?! Even the Grails stored in Chaldea might not match what's coursing through you. And according to the readings, this isn't even your limit... your body's generating more mana every second!"

"How is that remotely normal?!"

Roman looked like he'd seen a ghost, utterly unconvinced by Roy's casual dismissal.

The man before him radiated suspicion and danger at levels that threatened to break the charts.

If judged by mana volume alone, neither the Demon God Pillars nor the Goddess Rhongomyniad from the Sixth Singularity held a candle to this guy's sheer terror.

Ritsuka had barely stepped into this Singularity before encountering what felt like a final boss... and with Mash missing, Roman was powerless to help despite his spiraling panic.

If this stranger turned hostile, Ritsuka wouldn't stand a chance.

For now, all he could do was probe this enigmatic youth and pray he wasn't an enemy.

"My identity's not important, Doctor Roman, or anyone else at Chaldea," Roy said evenly. "Just think of me as an ally here to fix the Singularity."

"As for who I am..."

He raised his left hand, displaying the Command Spells etched on its back for all of Chaldea to see.

"My name's Roy. I'm a Master here to mend this Singularity... and the one who pulled this girl back from the jaws of death. I saved her from those beasts and healed her wounds."

"And the Karna you detected? He's my contracted Servant."

"Is that so?" Roman murmured, mulling it over before glancing at Ritsuka beside him. "Ritsuka, is he telling the truth?"

"Yes, Doctor. This guy saved me," Ritsuka confirmed with a nod.

Though Roy carried an air of mystery, her gut told her he wasn't a bad person. He'd saved her life... that alone kept her from doubting him. She just hadn't expected her rescuer to be another Master.

The realization hit her with a jolt of astonishment. Since joining Chaldea, she and Mash had tackled six Singularities and restoring Human Order. They'd met countless Heroic Spirits from different eras, but never another like her.

According to Roman, the explosion orchestrated by Professor Lev had left all forty-eight Masters near death, sealed in stasis pods. She'd been the last human Master standing.

And now, another had appeared?

Surprise mingled with a flicker of warmth... an odd joy at meeting someone like herself.

"So, if I may ask, how exactly did you arrive at this..." Roman began, the initial clamor settling as he prepared to dig into Roy's story.

But before he could finish, Chaldea's detection system blared with a sharper, more urgent alarm.

Roman snapped into routine protocol. "Trouble! Ritsuka, Roy... heads up! Our instruments just picked up multiple anomalous mana signatures closing in fast. They're targeting you!!"

"More beasts?!" Ritsuka's face drained of color, tension seizing her anew.

Having just survived a beastly onslaught and a brush with death, she was on the verge of developing a phobia. The news sent an involuntary tremor through her.