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The Mage's Association...

When Ainz was dropped in this world by whatever process had done so, he had received some information regarding the Mage's Association. They were largely useless though as the information he received were nothing more than extremely short and vague lines describing the organization, if that. Literally a very short paragraph of dry information stating that the Mage's Association was a large organization of magicians or magis as they call themselves that monitored the use of magecraft, and sometimes, in very rare occasions, magic, in this world and controlled how magis interact among the world of ordinary people. And… that's all. No more information was given.

Neither about the internal structure, nor about the history of the organization, not even the location of their headquarters.

Therefore, Ainz desperately wanted to go to the Mage's Association to find out more about the elusive organization. Who knows, maybe in his world - not YGGDRASIL - there existed his own world's Mage's Association which he simply did not encounter? At the very least it would really be interesting to find out that some politician or scientist of the past was a member of the Mage's Association.

But at the same time - Ainz sighed - this is where the problems started.

Ainz had already figured out that his impact on the Singularity could lead to... unexpected consequences.

And if among the magicians there is someone at least a tenth as 'enthusiastic' in magic and mysteries as Da Vinci, then Ainz could not even imagine how it could turn out in the end if they were to meet. And as the Mage's Association is mainly a research group… Ainz could already imagine being swarmed by hundreds of Da Vinci's types.

"Unfortunately, as far as I know, the Mage's Association… More precisely, the Clock Tower was already destroyed…" Henry sighed, forcing Ainz to look at him.

"I kept in touch with them via… how should I explain it to a layman…? A specialized method of two way communication when it all started", - Henry shook his head towards the strange device on his desk, - "However, it did not last long. A week later, the Clock Tower mages stopped communicating, so I assume that the headquarters was destroyed then. Or at least something happened that would cripple their ability to communicate to the outside"

"However", - in order not to bring another bad news into the conversation, Henry tried to immediately add something positive to his explanation, - "I'm sure that their records or documents, at least some parts of them, were preserved. I am sure that the mages of the Clock Tower had begun to investigate the strange fog immediately, as soon as they found the unnatural part of it anyway. Anyway, given the security of the Tower's vaults, which would be difficult for even a Servant to get into - at least part of their records or some of the result of their investigations should have been preserved."

"Oh..." - Ainz was somewhat disheartened by the news.

On the one hand, this was good news - since now Ainz did not have to be afraid of the chance of meeting more Da Vincis of this world... On the other hand, if Ainz could not meet the magicians of this world, then the attractiveness of visiting such a place also dropped significantly.

"Okay, I understand..." Ainz exhaled. In any case, whether he wanted to get to this place or did not want to - remained a secondary issue that had little effect on the completion of the mission, - "In that case, I would like to propose another plan…"

"So... Um…" - Arthuria saw perfectly Saber's nervousness and how he desperately tried to come up with a topic for conversation. Still, she did not plan to help him in this matter at all.

First of all, because Arthuria was uninterested in talking with Saber. And secondly, because something about the Saber is reminding her of something unpleasant. Something that should be very familiar to her, and yet she couldn't think of anything.

Arthuria looked closely at Saber, moving closer to the Servant, as if just by taking a closer look at the Servant helmet-covered face would jog her memory. It seems that something she did unnerved the Servant somehow, as the strangely familiar Servant started to move woodenly and with exaggerated swings of his arms.

Arthuria felt her skill, Instinct, literally screaming in her ear that she knew this Saber. That the Servant before her was someone she should know… It was like she was meeting one of her Knights… No. Like she was meeting one of her Knight of the Round Table. And yet, as familiar as the Servant is, her memory refused to provide her with any information about the Saber. It was as if something literally left a seal on her memory, preventing her from remembering the Saber, someone that should be important and familiar to her...

'Skill or Noble Phantasm?' - Arthuria thought upon the two most likely options why this could happen - 'Apparently, Saber himself does not know magic, so he could not cast such a spell on himself…'

"So, then, um…" - Saber coughed into his fist, and then tried to look confidently at Arthuria, - "You came here to... Save Londinium?"

"No", - Arthuria swiftly answered the question asked, - "I came here simply by the order of the Master."

"Hmm, I see…" - Saber paused, then looked up, - "And you and the Master... Ummm, you…"

"Keep up!" Da Vinci's loud voice made Saber turn the Servant in irritation.

At the moment, four Servants - Da Vinci, Saber, Arthuria and Henry were moving towards the likely location of the Clock Tower. More precisely, their vaults - and what could be left of them - so Da Vinci's reprimand could well be justified, but as Saber and Arthuria were in the middle of something - the timing made Saber click his tongue and walk faster.

Henry then turned suspiciously to the now grinning Da Vinci - "You... Did it on purpose, huh?"

"Yup", - Da Vinci didn't even hide the cheerfulness in her voice.

"Why?" Henry just sighed. Fortunately - or unfortunately - he already had quite a lot of experience with Andersen, so he could practically ignore Da Vinci's weirdness while maintaining a dialogue.

"Hmm, why…" - Da Vinci was suddenly silent for a second, and then shook her head, - "Let's just say... I don't want to give Arthuria too much food for thought right now."

"Hmm?" Henry looked at Da Vinci with a raised eyebrow, expecting an explanation, but she only smiled then continued heading forward.

"Anyway, we're heading for the British National Museum?" Da Vinci asked, asking Henry over her shoulder, "Oh, an amazing place in my opinion, I've always wanted to visit it! Unfortunately, I had never succeeded - not to mention that it was opened two hundred years after my death... What a pity, what a pity, I am sure that my works are in the main exhibit of this museum!"

"Yeah, hmm... Your work in this museum…" - Henry grunted.

Frankly, he was still not too accustomed to the role of a Servant - not to mention the fact that his legend, which was created more by a book than by his own life - seemed lacklustre when compared to the other Servants, Therefore having a conversation with the legendary Leonardo Da Vinci still somewhat embarrassed him. Not to mention the fact that Da Vinci turned out to be a woman... Although, thanks to the knowledge given to him from the Throne of Heroes, Henry knew very well that such a thing was a very common occurrence. Not to mention the many other strange changes that happened to the Heroic Spirits after getting to the Throne of Heroes.

However, shaking his head, Henry accelerated after Da Vinci. "Speaking of which, we're getting closer."

"Okay", - Da Vinci nodded graciously at Henry, while excitedly turning the corner that would allow her to see the Museum, - "In any case, I'm sure that-AAAAAAA!"

Da Vinci's excited tone turned into a scream so unexpectedly that Henry flinched - before preparing for battle.

A moment later, Saber and Arthuria were next to Da Vinci, preparing to attack the enemy, but everything they could see was ...

Wrecks and debris. Huge picturesque ruins and concrete crumbs, among which it was impossible to find a single thing still standing.

"Da Vinci?" Henry threw an inquiring look at the now silent Servant, he only saw horror on the girl's face.

"BARBARIANS!" - Da Vinci grabbed her head, - "INHUMAN BASTARDS!"

"WHO DESTROYED THE NATIONAL BRITISH MUSEUM?!" - Da Vinci grabbed her hair with her fingers, looking in primal anger at the heap of ruins left after the destruction of the building, - "FOR WHAT... FOR WHAT?!"

"Um…" Henry glanced at Da Vinci, then at Arthuria.

"M-Museum… The British National Museum... My work…" - Da Vinci mumbled in shock to herself, - "What... What monster could have done this…"

"Give her a few minutes", - Arthuria took a step towards Henry, and then gently took him aside, - "In the meantime... Try to remember exactly where the entrance to the vaults was."

"Hmm, Da Vinci…" - Henry looked at the girl, who was still staring in shock at the ruins. - "Will she be… Alright?"

"With her…" - Arthuria glanced at Da Vinci, who continued to stare in shock at the ruins of the museum, muttering something to herself, - "She will calm down…"

"Calm down?" Henry looked at Arthuria in disbelief.

"She will…" - Arthuria glanced at Da Vinci and exhaled slowly, - "Maybe."

Medusa slowly walked forward, all the while without changing her expression.

"M..." Fran's voice caught Medusa's attention, forcing her to throw a short glance at the girl.

Fran silently stretched her hand forward, pointing her finger somewhere in the direction of the gray fog, after which Medusa nodded slightly, showing her understanding - and then, a moment later, disappeared in a quick, instantaneous movement.

As one might expect, in but a few seconds, Medusa was able to move through the thick fog and distinguish the presence of an enemy patrol. The patrol consisted of several mechanical dolls and a large robot moving through the streets.

Fran had an amazing ability that allowed her to determine presence, location, and everything down to the number and strength of enemies at a distance that surpassed even Medusa's abilities... Which was really surprising considering how confident Medusa herself was in her sensory abilities.

After another second, Medusa glanced at her opponent.

Five dolls... No, six, one was hidden behind the figure of the robot - and the robot itself. Okay, she can deal with them in a second.

A moment later, one of her nameless blades appeared in Medusa's hand, and a chain that connected it to it's twin. With one sinuous movement of her hand, Medusa threw her blade forward.

Easily overcoming such a minor limitation as the sound barrier, the blade seemed to have simply appeared at the head of the mechanical target. However, before the bladed spike collided with the enemy, the blade's chain, obeying the movement of Medusa's hand, seemed to flow like a snake, causing the blade to change its trajectory.

An instant later, Medusa's chain twisted into a loop around the neck of the mechanical robots - or what could be called the neck - of three automatons at once. With another sharp movement her hand, Medusa forced the loop to close.

Medusa could simply rip off the heads of her opponents right now, thereby ending their existence - however, this would not be as efficient as she could be.

And Ainz appreciated efficiency.

Therefore, with the three automatons caught in a bind, the chain again changed its trajectory according to the movement of Medusa's hand. The now trapped automatons were then used like a club or a scythe, with a swing destroying the other combatants. Her swing was so forceful that all that remains of the automatons are dust - both those who were hit - and those with whom the blow was dealt with.

After another second, Medusa was next to the last remaining enemy.

"Targ…" - The Mecha's voice rang out for a second - before Medusa's leg crashed into the robot's mechanical head, demolishing it with ease. Medusa then carefully assessed what remains of the enemy - however, judging by the fact that none of the mechanical creatures even twitched, her precaution was unnecessary.

Still, Medusa glanced at the shattered foes.

Unfortunately, in the current fog, even with Ainz's help, Medusa's ability to identify opponents has become unusable. Of course, Medusa was sure that Ainz could easily help her with this problem, however...

Medusa didn't want to ask Ainz for help.

And of course, this was not connected with any resentment or other stupidity. It was simply that Medusa was simply uncomfortable asking Ainz to provide her with an even greater amount of help after all that he had already done for her.

The discovery of Fran's sensory abilities was very useful to the somewhat blinded Medusa - so after making sure that the enemy was completely destroyed, Medusa instantly retreated, returning to her silent sidekick.

Fran's abilities were indeed extremely useful in the current environment for Medusa. In the end, despite the fact that Medusa was an excellent sensor, her abilities to detect enemies was focused primarily on detecting mana. Her abilities allowed her to sense mana no matter how rare it is in the environment, detecting the enemy primarily by the burst of mana that they left with each of its actions. No, even more, Medusa was able to orientate herself better in space the more weakly filled with mana the environment was - since a mana deprived environment would contrast starkly with a Servant, or a magical construct.

However, in the current conditions, when all of London was covered with the smog, filled with mana, as if it were itself a spell from the times of the Age of Gods. Medusa's abilities as a sensor were extremely limited.

Perhaps, if not for the help of Ainz - Medusa would not even be able to navigate in this place...

Medusa involuntarily smiled at the thought of Ainz before looking at Fran.

In such conditions, the abilities of Fran, who were guided not by mana, but by other indicators, were incredibly useful.

But…

Medusa noticed how Fran looked a little sad when Medusa was next to her.

Of course, it would be difficult for an outside observer to determine such a thing- since Fran's face was covered by her hair, but Medusa, as who spent so much time hiding behind a mask - both created for her and created by her - she could determine such a thing by just looking at the small drooping of the corners of Fran's lips and smiled at her.

"Thank you very much, Fran", - Medusa thought about what to say for a second, then slowly stretched her hand through her hair.

When Ainz did this to her - she was very pleased - so Medusa quite logically could decide that Fran would be pleased with such a display of appreciation.

Fran raised her eyes at such an action.

The reason for Fran's sadness was easy to determine. Despite the fact that she was a Servant and it would not have been difficult for her to deal with the enemy's patrol, her rather low parameters would not only slow her down, but might give the enemy the chance to converge on her location. When compared to Medusa, who had destroyed the last patrol almost instantaneously, Fran would take at least twenty times longer to do the same. It would still be counted in seconds, but still, for the Servant with low-esteem, it was still a stark difference.

Therefore, some of Fran's sadness was understandable for Medusa. And that's why...

"You are helping us a lot", - Medusa looked with warm eyes at Fran, - "Who knows how many opponents would have reached the main group if you had not helped me"?

Fran stared silently at Medusa for a few more seconds, after which a smile slowly spread across her face, forcing her to nod happily and point her finger in another direction.

Medusa smiled back, then leaped towards the new target.

The first team, the core team for the Singularity, is slowly moving towards the Mage Association's vaults in the now destroyed British National Museum.

The second team, the safety team, carried out reconnaissance and ensured that the main team would not be slowed down by a possible enemy attack, destroying the patrols before they could meet with the main group.

The third team, the reserve team, was ready at any moment to be sent as reinforcements to the first or second team.

It was in the third team that Jalter and... Oda Nobunaga herself was in.

Nobunaga exhaled through her nose in a non-aristocratic gesture and closed her eyes.

Exercise in humility, huh...

Oda Nobunaga did not value her position as King or Servant, beyond whose strength few could climb, how many simply took it for granted.

There are weak people, there are strong people, there are weak Servants, there are strong Servants, and there is her.

Servants are born from their own legends and therefore Oda Nobunaga, the True Demon King, born from thousands of thousands of legends about the invincible and powerful Hegemon, simply took her position in the world for granted.

She was born out of thousands of kings - and therefore she is a thousand kings embodied. She was born out of thousands of demons- and therefore she is a thousand demons embodied. She was born out of a thousand conquerors - and therefore she is a thousand conquerors embodied.

No more and no less, just as she is.

For Oda Nobunaga, it was unthinkable not to consider herself the embodiment of the thousands of those who gave birth to her.

This is probably why Ainz's words hurt her so badly.

Take Medusa's eyes away, and all you get in return is a stupid girl. Take away Mashu's shield and you will get a naive child. Take their title from a thousand kings, and you get nothing.

Oda Nobunaga did not enjoy the curses that were showered on her in life and legend - she simply found them an amusing incident of her story. After all, she was the embodied enemy of the human and the divine, something that was supposed to heap curses - be to the enemy or an ally.

And that is why it was so strange for her to hear - 'unworthy to be an enemy'.

What does it mean to call an incarnate of the adversary as 'unworthy to be an enemy?'

Oda Nobunaga slowly took a deep breath.

Ainz could easily defeat her without resorting to trifles like false start or using their Servant-Master bond. Oda Nobunaga knew this as fact. Nothing prevented him from achieving an honest victory that not even the most fastidious of judges could challenge.

Still, Ainz didn't even try to achieve an honest victory. No, he pushed the dishonesty of his victory forward... To mock Oda Nobunaga.

Not an enemy, but only a hindrance...

Ainz's words slowly flashed in Nobunaga's mind - and died out instantly, echoing with pulsing fire in her mind.

Take away from the embodied adversary his being as an adversary - and nothing remains.

Oda Nobunaga was the embodiment of thousands of stories, but 'was made from thousands of stories' does not mean creating a new story that is coherent. Just creating an awkward collection of poorly stitched pages that threaten to fly apart from a light breeze.

And Ainz pointed it out to her. He pointed out to her that there was nothing more behind her 'incarnation'.

Rudeness, brashness and ego are not able to elevate a person, they are not able to turn one into a great commander or conqueror of the world. No, intelligence, charisma and cunningness does...

Take the legend away from Arthuria - and in the end there will be a firm, confident, cold and calculating knight who can become a Tyrant.

Take the magic away from Da Vinci and you will get the greatest explorer and inventor of the world, capable of becoming a Genius of Geniuses.

Take power away from Nobunaga and all that remains is ego and self-confidence.

Nobunaga was the adversary... No, she considered herself an enemy to anyone that would stand in her way. But in the end, she considered herself such only because from the very birth of her as a Servant, she embodied this story in herself.

But if you take this story from her and look at her herself - could she become who she was exalted? Conqueror of the world and great hegemon?

Of course, the answer was simple.

In other words, Oda Nobunaga remained the True Demon King only as long as someone took into account her legend.

Only as long as someone agreed to her rules of the game - to consider Oda Nobunaga as who she is represented in her legends.

As soon as someone abandoned this, took her legend out of the brackets - and only she herself remained?

And if only a loving sister remained in Medusa if one were to ignore her legend, nothing remained in Nobunaga.

Ainz was able to convey this idea to her.

Not with words, Nobunaga was well aware that she would never agree with such a thing being told to her, but through actions.

Ainz was able to destroy everything that Oda Nobunaga was in twenty seconds. Eighteen of which he spent speaking, two of which he wiped the floor with Nobunaga.

However, in the end, when Nobunaga's entire life was destroyed, Ainz did not strike the final blow. He didn't kill her. He didn't leave her to bleed. And he didn't turn away.

He protected her, even when it was not worth it. He healed her when her wounds would teach her more than any conversation. He made her fall - only to help her stand again.

Ainz smiled at her. As a teacher, that had just been forced to punish a negligent student - but only in order to force him to learn an important and difficult lesson.

Nobunaga exhaled and turned her gaze to Ainz.

'Wait one day…' - Nobunaga closed her eyes - 'And one day you too will call me King.'

"I don't want to talk about it," Da Vinci exhaled, and then walked past Henry, who rushed to her, as soon as he noticed that Leonardo had come out of her stupor.

Henry only coughed into his fist at such a cold response, and then looked at Arthuria, hoping for some help from her.

Which, of course, was a lot of stupidity - considering that the cold look that Arthuria gave him was significantly colder than Da Vinci's answer.

"Ha…" - Henry exhaled, then looked at Mo... Saber, - "Khm, Saber?"

"What do you want, four-eyed?" Saber glanced at him.

"I... I trust your ability in terms of assessing possible allies", - Henry exhaled, looking at the Servants who had retired to a respectful distance, and then shook his head, - "In the end, if it were not for you, I would not have let them even on the threshold of the house, but... You don't think that our allies are somewhat…"

Henry didn't have time to finish his thought - as Saber's blade was immediately at his throat, - "Care to repeat what you just said?"

"Oh…" - Henry glanced at Arthuria nearby, then swallowed, - "It was nothing."

"Then shut the fuck up", - Saber answered rudely, and then took his blade from Henry's throat, - "If fa… Arto… Fuck, Athuria, Arthuria is among them - they are definitely on our side, of course!"

"Yes, exactly. How I could forget about such a simple thing", - Henry pulled away from Saber, then swallowed the nervousness from almost being decapitated for no reason. - "I just wanted to find out…"

"Well, finally!" Da Vinci's loud voice reached the speakers from afar, forcing Henry and Saber to shift their gaze.

Henry, seeing what had appeared before his eyes after only a few seconds of him not paying attention to the eccentric Servant - blinked.

"Is that…?" - Henry, just in case. took off his glasses, rubbed them neatly with a handkerchief taken from his shirt pocket and then looked at what ahead just appeared in front of his face again, - "Is that the Trafalgar Arch?!"

"The correct name for this structure is the Admiralty Arch!" - The voice of Da Vinci, who had regained her good mood again, sounded joyful. A fact which was confirmed by her huge smile again reigning on her face. "And yes, you don't need to ask, it is indeed one to one in size. My heart could not stand the fact that the British Museum is now a ruin - so I used their remains for a good cause."

"Um..." Henry blinked, then glanced at Arthuria.

She just silently shook her head from side to side.

"But how could you…" - Henry asked Da Vinci, to which she rolled her eyes.

"It's a kind of magic…", - Da Vinci explained, then slowly raised her left hand - the one on which was adorned with a carved brass glove.

"Yeah, exactly…" - Henry felt stupid for a second, then took a deep breath. Of course, it was still a little strange to forget that Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the strongest magis in the history of mankind, ha...

"And now - let's go", - Da Vinci waved her head to the side of... The Admiralty Arch, a copy of one in one size, - "I didn't just clean up all this garbage for no reason! I can see the vault!"

"Yeah, exactly", - Da Vinci's strange actions before his eyes made Henry forget for a second why they came here for at all...

"Da Vinci", However, Arthuria's voice halted their advance, - "Do you understand that we can't just leave it here? The destruction of the British Museum… Is troubling. It would be an incongruity in the 'real' History of Mankind, but less so than the emergence of the Trafalgar Arch in its place."

"The correct name is the Admiralty Arch, a one-to-one copy in size", - Da Vinci insisted on correcting Arthuria, and then turned around, - "Besides, I will disassemble it at the end. I'll just… make a couple of drawings later, and I'll throw them somewhere in London in someone's home. I wonder if they will be found later? Will my handwriting be recognized? How will this be explained in the future?"

"Da Vinci," Arthuria exhaled, then shook her head and started walking toward the vault. Da Vinci immediately followed after her.

"What is she..." Henry exhaled slowly through his nose, then glanced at Saber.

"He never allows anything to stand in his way…" - Saber continued to look closely at Arthuria, - "The true king…"

"He?" - Henry asked a question that he wasn't supposed t o- which is why he immediately got smacked with a steel glove to the top of his head, - "Oh my God! Stop it, I yield, I yield!"

Henry exhaled slowly and rubbed a fresh bump on his head...

'I don't know who I should thank for this…' - Henry looked up at the sky - 'But thank you for not making me a woman.'

"Henry!" - the voice of Mo... Saber made him flinch, - "Move your ass here!"

"Yes, of course", - And so the beleaguered Henry hurried after the rest of the Servants.

Excerpt from the scientific work "Charles-Henri Sanson and views on the Great French Revolution through the prism of time":

Predictably, given the impossibility, and some might say even hesitance, of the common people to attack the upper echelons of the nobility, Charles-Henri, a supremely good-natured and meek man who played the role of the executioner of the royal family became the main target of hatred for the outraged loyalists.

According to a well-known testimony, Charles-Henri himself was found the day after the execution of Marie-Antoinette in his own domain, beaten unconscious with many injuries of varying severity. Most likely, this served as a catalyst for changes in his psyche - according to later testimonies, after what happened, the calm, meek and complacent Charles-Henri finally lost faith in his idealism, becoming a much more evil and cynical person. Several times in the future, he would be seen in bar fights and street fights - including with the rather famous monk George at that time, which did not add to his popularity among the people.

Many times later, people described him as 'insane' and thanks to numerous stories of his reckless clashes, including those with the newly established guards, from which he managed to emerge victorious - as the owner of 'dragon strength and ferocity'.

Undoubtedly, an important role to the decline of Charles' psyche was the almost maddening amount of hatred that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart held for the executioner. Mozart, who outlived Charles by four years, wrote one of his most powerful works - 'In Remembrance of the Executioner' almost as a curse toward the now beleaguered and hated executioner. As a result of the popularity of the work, Charles-Henri's psyche began to collapse. A reason why, in his last years, people have repeatedly noticed him wandering aimlessly through the streets of Paris, starting fights with random passers-by and asking them to 'release him from his torment'.

As you know, Charles-Henri later died in one of these scuffles. At one notable scuffle the executioner finally, inevitably, killed someone during a fight that started at the church of Saint Jeanne, in which he beat the local monk Siegfried to death. An action which finally fully tarnished his image in the memory of the French people. And despite attempts at justifying his actions later, Charles-Henri, now more often remembered as a man that was a faithful dog of the revolution, and not as a noble gentleman, died hated by all.

Indeed, a sad end for Charles-Henri Sanson, named after the legendary progenitor of his dynasty, Charles-Henri Sanson, who, according to legend, executed Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

Alas, in view of the fact that his posthumous memoirs, 'Seven Generations of Executioners', were never released and its contents lost to the passage of time - unfortunately, we can only guess about the things that happened in the mind and soul of Charles-Henri in his last years...