Summoning Process (1)

'...Forget it. It's not that important.' Only he knew how hard it was to say those words. But it was for the better—or so he thought.

'You sure? She has been trying to contact you for a while now. I think you should get your problems sorted out as soon as possible. But well, that's my opinion. You do you.' He preferred to stay out of his stuff. It was not his job, and he didn't care.

'Yes, I'm sure. Now, get to work already. We have to start our preparations.' Seth said after a deep sigh. Overthinking these types of thing was unlike him.

'Roger that, Your Highness. I live to serve and possibly enjoy the torture that woman is going to do to you!' Stargazer did a mock bow with his hands as he slightly laughed.

'Hoh? So that's how things are, eh?' A smile that promised pain made its way into his face. He immediately entered his inner world, surprising Stargazer.

'Hm? Heyo~ Don't tell me you got upset by that? I was just joking.' Even now, he didn't take things seriously, opting for waving enthusiastically instead.

"A joke? What a coincidence, I've got one too!" Seth said with uncharacteristic glee, giving Stargazer a terrible feeling. However, he still kept his relaxed appearance.

Seth touched the amulet around his neck, illuminating the room in golden light before quickly vanishing. A new member was added to the Throne Room, making Stargerzer's whole face freeze.

'You...you aren't serious, right? Come on. I will apologize. There is no reason to take this too far.' Sadly for him, his pleas were entirely ignored as Seth disappeared from the room.

"Where am I...? What happened...?" A confused Olga looked around, not understanding where she was. Then, her gaze met with the man resting on the Throne.

"You stripper! Where is this place? Are you responsible for this? Where is Lev? What did you do to me? Did you kidnap me?!" A barrage of endless questions assaulted Stargazer, making him wonder if he went too far.

'Is this karma? It has to be karma.' Still, being a guy who acted like the world was full of flowers, he knew how to look at the bright side of things. There isn't a worse thing that an unruly brat who is screaming in your ears! So, any further 'punishment' would be considered light from now on.

"It seems you are mistaking me for someone, little miss. I'm not the man you think I am." He responded with the smile of a kind and approachable older man.

"What are you even saying?! Do you take me for someone stupid?!" However, the only thing he got was more angry questions.

'So this is how he feels when he has to deal with crap like this? I have a newfound respect for you, pal.' Still maintaining the same smile, he replied. "I'm afraid you won't handle my true form. That's why I'm mimicking that person."

"Do you think I will believe that?!" To her, the events from Fuyuki happened just seconds ago, so it was understandable that her mind was in a mess.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." Getting up from the Throne, Stargazer snapped his finger. Black mana shot out from the ground and covered his figure from Olga's eyes.

"I'm the super awesome being born from the stars, the one who has understood life and death. Yes, that's right! My name is—Oh?" When the mana surrounding him dispersed, revealing his authentic form, he began a passionate speech but stopped halfway through due to the white-haired girl's expression.

She was shaking and raising a trembling finger at him. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out, and she eventually fainted.

"Stupid girl. At least wait until I finish my introduction. Was it that hard?" Stargazer shook his head, utterly disappointed in Olga. "Oh well, I did warn you my true form was not pleasant to the eye." He said, unaware of the real reason why the girl fainted in the first place.

Suddenly, Stargazer's eyes narrowed. "You will never let him go, won't you? Tch. Damn witch." Ignoring the fainted Olga, he walked out of the throne room.

When he did so, the reappeared in another space. A door covered in chains was before him. "I'm not strong enough to keep that woman from interfering yet, so I will need to break the next one forcefully, sorry." Honestly apologizing, he released a shrill scream similar to that of a banshee.

The next chain covering the door offered resistance for a while, but it eventually gave in to the constant attack. However, the moment it did so, it released an invisible wave that hit Stargazer, sending him back to the Throne Room and burying him into a wall.

'Luckily, I used this form first, or it could have been worse.' Even if that was what he thought, there was a deep cut from his waist to his shoulder that gushed blood like there was no tomorrow.

Exiting the hole he made on the wall, he finally set his gaze on the fainted Olga. "Now, what should I do with you? You are of no use to him, so maybe I should kill you? Maybe that way I will save him the troubles you will bring later on."

Stargazer extended his hand forward; a suction force emanated from it that brought the white-haired girl to him. Grabbing her by the neck, he looked at Olga with the coldness of an unfeeling beast.

He exerted more force into his grip, making the unconscious girl stir. However, he soon loosened it, and his personality returned to his usual one. "Nah. That wouldn't be funny, would it?"

Putting Olga over his shoulders, he happily exclaimed. "While in Scumland, do as the scums do...I think that was the saying. Anyway, onward! We have a long night ahead of us!" He then took her to some unknown place while whistling all the way.

―――――――――――――――――――

Fujimaru slowly woke up, the lid of the coffin opening as he did so. The first thing that he saw was Fou jumping on his face and licking his cheek. "Hello, Fou. I barely saw you in Rome, where have you been?"

Of course, the only thing he got from the Beast was some weird sounds.

"Senpai, how do you feel?" Mash asked her Master. It had become a habit to wait for him to wake up after returning to Chaldea.

"I'm feeling well, thanks. By the way, where is everyone?" Fujimaru didn't see anyone beside Mash and Dr. Roman, who was coming closer.

"Everyone has left to contact the other employees; they wanted to tell them the 'good news' that Kuro brought with him." It was Romani, the one who answered his question.

"Good news? Also, did he return safely?" In his mind, it would be very awkward to meet Seth after what happened in their final battle against Romulus.

"Why don't you rest first? And yes, he did. I know what you are thinking, but you don't have to worry. He didn't look like he was affected by Jeanne's death." Just by looking at Fujimaru, Romani knew what was going through his mind.

"But why...? She fought for him even to the point of sacrificing herself. It is as if he thought of her as nothing more than a means to an end..." Mash could relate to this situation, but not in the right way.

"Mash..." Although he also didn't understand his reaction, Fujimaru didn't share her thoughts, believing there was something more to it.

"Eh... I don't know what he is thinking, but you don't have to worry. We can summon Jeanne again as we recorded her Saint Graph. We never told you about this as there hadn't been casualties up until now." Dr. Roman tried to disperse the awkward atmosphere, which seemed to work.

"Really?!" Romani's words managed to lift Shielder's mood and take a little pressure from Fujimaru's shoulders. He was still going to apologize for his incompetence with him, though.

"Yes! Now, go and rest. You deserve it." The Doctor put a hand on each of their shoulders and encouraged them to relax until tomorrow. They were going to discuss some things then.

They both nodded and exited the Command Room to go to their respective sleeping quarters. The moment they were gone, Romani sighed. "I hope you don't take it to heart. They got attached to Jeanne in the time they spent together."

"Don't worry. What a kid with no knowledge of the outside world thinks of me doesn't matter in the slightest. Although heh, it's funny." Seth appeared silently some meters behind him.

"What is?" The Doctor could finally rest at ease, knowing that the black-haired man didn't hold a grudge because of Mash's words.

"She talks about me using Jeanne as a means to an end but gets happy when she knows you can summon her again. So, reviving someone infinitely to fight for what they want is fine, but respecting their death is not?" Human's minds worked in...particular ways sometimes.

"I know it seems harsh, but Humanity's future is at stake." Arguing against that logic was not simple, so he put the bigger picture on top of the table.

"Our morals are different. However, know this, people like me are simple-minded. We don't use words to make our actions look more pleasant. Hiding behind the word 'Justify' is hypocrisy in itself." Saying no more, he disappeared from the room, leaving Romani alone.

―――――――――――――――――――

It was a bright new day in Chaldea. Everyone that participated in the Singularity had taken a rest and were now in full capacity.

However, not everything was happy moments, to two people in particular. Seth and Jalter were looking at a fidgeting Jeanne who avoided their gazes. Of course, each one had a different reason to look at her.

Avenger was pissed because she didn't remain dead, while Seth couldn't believe they revived her when he told Romani of his disapproval about it.

To make things worse, CHALDEAS identified him as the previous Master and so remade the contract automatically without his consent.

'I will have a long talk with Romani after this.' Without exchanging words, he left to the Command Room as it was time now to summon more Servants.

"Humph." Jalter snorted at Jeanne and then followed Seth like a loyal dog. Ruler just sighed and did the same, although there was a certain air of depression around her.

When they got there, Romani, Da Vinci, Mash, Fujimaru, and EMIYA were already waiting for them. The Japanese Master had already talked with Seth and apologized, but he was glad that he didn't take it to heart and simply told him to get better if he didn't want something like this to happen again.

Mash decided to keep her thoughts to herself, so even though Seth already knew, they didn't talk about it. Not that he was interested in hearing what a one-track mind person had to say.

Still, the way the Egyptian God was looking at Romani was not pleasant at all. So much so, that Romani was avoiding his gaze like the plague.

"Ahem. I'm glad you are all here. If you are all ready, go ahead so you can summon more helpers." With an apparent fake cough, Dr. Roman motioned them to pick the Saint Quartz on the table.

Fujimaru received a nod from Seth, which he took as confirmation for him to go first. There were eight multicolored stones on the table, so he picked four and took them to Mash's shield.

Placing them in the slot that surrounded it, he took some steps back and waited for the magic to happen. Soon, the slots began spinning, releasing rays of light that danced chaotically around it.

A pillar of light emerged from the shield as a distinctive and cheerful voice made its way into their ears. "Umu! Servant Saber, Nero Claudius! I applaud you for choosing me."

Seeing the figure on top of the shield, Fujimaru smiled. 'I'm glad I still could keep our promise, Nero...' He knew that she wouldn't remember him, but they could make more memories together with everyone else still.

"Wait, why are there other Servants with you? Are you betraying me?!" ...Of course, it wouldn't be Nero without her making a scandal. Only after he explained the general situation did she calm down, albeit with difficulty.

When Saber moved beside him to wait, the circle lit up again. This time, it was a male voice. "Servant, Caster. I'm Zhuge Liang or at least inherited his powers. I should be of help as a strategist more than anything." El-Melloi II was a similar case to Nero, in which he didn't keep his memories of the events in Rome.

"Thanks for answering my call." Fujimaru bowed slightly, earning a small smile on Caster. Without saying anything, he also moved beside him.

With the same process, another summon started. However, the person that showed up this time sent a shiver through his spine. "My, this must be fate. I am an Assassin class Servant. I would be grateful if you called me Carmilla."

With a smile typical from a Noble, she did a curtsy bow. Although her eyes glowed with very distinguishable hate when she looked at Seth, her death was still present in her memories. However, that soon changed when she saw Avenger beside him. Now, she directed a mocking but elegant look at her, amused by the new turns of events.

Jalter, who saw the way Carmilla was looking at her, made a gesture of 'you are dead' while smiling sadistically. Even so, the Blood Countess didn't mind it and quickly left the summoning circle.

Finally, it was time for him to summon the last Servant. The blinding light accompanied the usual spinning, hiding the Servant that was going to appear.

That light soon faded, though. And with that event, came a voice that made Seth's whole being freeze. A voice he so dearly missed but was afraid to hear again. Although the tone and way of speaking were different, there was no mistaking it. It was her voice.

"I'm one of the Tamamo Nine! The Wild Fox, Tamamo Cat! A pleasure to meet you, Master!"

It was Amaterasu's voice.