ตอน 24: Where Are We?
(A/N: Turns out I did have a fever, sorry for missing updates.)
Nicholas stoically observed his hand, clenching and unclenching it,
"... Lev, you fuck."
What had once been a futuristic looking room from one of those sci-fi movies was replaced by a burning city that looked a little too much like an early Resident Evil setting for comfort, complete with destroyed skyscrapers on fire, with thick smoke billowing and destroyed cars littered throughout the cracked roads.
The change happened faster than he could recall, no, faster than he wanted to accept.
Bill had been one of his best friends at Chaldea and he'd seen the man blow up like a watermelon less than a foot away from him after he handed him a cool ass lightsaber... It made it worse when he remembered that the man had spent his own spare time to fulfil a stupid request like that but it made him all the more respect worthy.
Nicholas had punched out at the explosion right after but was too numb to notice what was really happening around him. He faintly recalled the blue hologram of a globe spinning in the centre of the room turning crimson before his surroundings changed.
"Master, are you alright?" Martha's voice pulled him out of his musings and he looked up to see the woman standing in front of him with her hand held out protectively, "You trying to hit the explosion did divert it... I think. We're not at Chaldea anymore, the rayshift was a success." She glanced at him with concern visible on her face, "I'm sorry, I kno-... You must be strong right now. That's the only way we have of getting any confirmation someone lived."
Everyone had their own way of dealing with sorrow.
Nicholas stared at her in silence before... he smacked himself in the face, startling the Saint.
"You know how it is, there ain't no problem I can't punch." He pointed at his forehead, talking about his own thoughts, "Let's go beat the shit out of whatever's behind this... It's probably Lev."
Nicholas' way was forcibly pushing his sorrow to the depths of his mind and focusing it on something else, possibly maiming whatever he decided was the cause for his feelings.
"Very well, my Master! Let us go beat the shit out of Lev!" Martha pumped her fist, turning away to hide her expression, "Actually... How are we gonna do that?"
Nicholas tilted his head, "Now that I think about it, where the hell even are we?"
... He may or may not have completely tuned out the briefing.
In his defence, Kadoc or Kirsctaria would have told him the important bits anyway... aaand he was kinda banking on the fact that Gudako or the competent team members would do their jobs and he'd get to do his own thing.
Nicholas realised his attitude had bitten him in the ass.
Well, not like it was the first time!
Fortunately, fate decided to help him out at that moment.
"EEEK! Get away from me! Why the hell does everything keep going wrong?! Nicholas, are you here?!"
A very familiar voice screeched from somewhere nearby and the master-servant duo turned around to spot a certain pale haired woman standing on top of a pile of rubble from a destroyed highway, shooting... lasers? at skeletons with... weapons?
What the fuck was going on here?
"Olga can do something other than freak out?" Nicholas tilted his head, genuinely confused, "She is still freaking out... but she can shoot lasers?!" That was cool as shit.
Martha deadpanned at her Master, "... She is supposed to be among the leaders of the magus world... Master, I feel you pay attention to only what you want to." The saint clenched her fingers around her staff and sighed, "Grow up. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"You say that like you aren't dressed like a twelve year old with god and anime on his side."
"Gah! I...I guess this is better than being stuck with someone who's strict as hell."
The hypocrite saint was placated like the easy woman she wa-
Martha closed her eyes, a vein popping out on her forehead, and involuntarily punched out at Nicholas who of course punched back, making the purple haired woman stumble to the side with an oomph... She was used to it and quickly recollected herself just in time to spot her Master rushing at dozens of literal skeleton warriors armed with swords, spears and axes.
"LEEEROY JENKIIINS!"
Who the hell was Leroy Jenkins?
And why was he more excited than she'd ever seen him about a literal hellscape?
"Nicholas! Is that you?!"
Nicholas held out the lightsaber that was probably gonna be one of his best friends' legacy to the side and much to his glee, a three feet long red laser seamlessly formed out of it.
He loved punching shit, he did, but this was cool as fuck in it's own right.
Nicholas swung it diagonally at the first skeleton and as one would expect, the laser burnt right through brittle bone, cleanly slicing the creature in two.
"Metal."
He kicked the next one in the chest, and it exploded under the force.
One of them thrusted a spear at him and Nicholas sliced through the weapon faster than any human had the right to. It thrust again and once again found it's weapon shortened. This went on until all that remained in his assailant's hands was a small stick. The creature looked down at it, possibly confused but no thoughts crossed it's 'skull' before it was disintegrated by a crimson laser.
In the time Nicholas had spent 'fighting' the skeleton, another snuck up on him with an axe, only to be disintegrated by a ball of concentrated magical energy before it could even lift it's weapon.
"Man, these things are weak." Nicholas voiced his disappointment, putting his weapon back on his belt before raising his gaze to meet Olga's, "You know it wasn't even gonna do shit right?"
The rusted weapons these things were holding would crumble as soon as they hit his skin.
"Hmph! You can't expect me to just stand around and watch you get hit, can you?" The Director of Chaldea shrugged her head, crossing her arms under her chest, "Do you have anything to report? Where are we? What's going on?"
Nicholas did a mock salute, slightly smirking, "We're in the middle of nowhere, the city is burning, I haven't seen a single person other than you and oh... Martha's back to her whoring ways."
"For the last time! It's not whoring! This is the best I've got for combat situations!"
Olga Marie Animusphere sighed before facepalming, "You two are... You two just don't care as long as it's fun, don't you?"
Nicholas shrugged.
"Chaldea is yet to give me reason to be concerned for anyone other than my Master and it's main objective." Martha appeared next to her out of thin air, smiling gracefully, "Especially after I uncovered what was done to the failed Master candidates."
Olga's eyes widened in surprise, "...How did you do that? Father didn't even give me the authorisati- Wait no, that's not important right now! There was an explosion in the control room!"
""Lev.""
The Director of Chaldea was left stumped, "H-He wouldn-..."
"How are you even here actually, Olga?" Nicholas pointed out with his head tilted in confusion, last he checked she was completely incompatible with the rayshifting system, "Don't tell me your body got destroyed and your soul got sent here?"
He threw a wild guess.
Olga eyes widened slightly, "M-Maybe? That... That's possible." The older woman's features paled as the possibilities ran through her head, "I-I need to think."
"Master, I suggest we seek shelter at least until we can recognise our immediate surroundings... I can sense the presence of multiple enemy servants in our surroundings."
"Let 'em come."
Martha appeared next to her master and placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in, "I agree but the Director's looking like she's going to have a breakdown, not everyone can just control their emotions."
"W-What're you whispering about?!"
"You're right." Nicholas nodded, noting Olga to be skittish... well, more skittish than usual, "Oi Director, can you set up one of those workshops?"
Olga nodded hesitantly, "Y-You called me Di-... I can... But I need an area with suffic-" She seemed to remember something reached into her pockets, withdrawing a small compass from her frilly golden and black coat, and held it out, "Shine bright."
The gizmo hummed to life and a miniature globe flickered into existence, with lines all over it.
"This city has a number of leylines... If I can connect with one, I might be able to get a complete view from above."
If he remembered right, leylines were channels of magical energy flowing under the surface of the Earth and could be used to power spells and rituals with the proper knowledge.
"...How?" Nicholas let out a small whistle, "You're actually good."
"O-Of course!" A slight crimson tint appeared on Olga's cheeks, but then she shook her head and looked around before pointing at a hill standing out in the distance, "There, that's it."
Martha peered in the direction she'd pointed at, a hand over her glowing eyes, "It seems to be an abandoned Church."
"Are there gonna be child skeletons there?"
"Nicholas... what is wrong with you? I was right in calling that therapist."
Olga slightly giggled but no knew whether it was at the shitty joke or happiness at the fact that the one person that she wanted to be safe more than anything else was safe and just as he always was.
She missed Martha's worried gaze completely, lost in her own thoughts.
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For the hardasses,
She's calmer than she was in canon because Nicholas exists.
Lev Lainur Flauros manipulated her emotionally and made her so dependent on him that she disregarded her own competence and started relying on him for everything. Nicholas is the opposite, he helps her sometimes but not by solving her problems for her, instead he insists she is more than capable of solving them herself and she is because she IS a genius (as per lore).
This works because Flauros fully activates in 2015, Nicholas arrived not much later than his activation and interrupted before the Demon God could completely get to her for ALL the wrong reasons.
I could've just had her see him the same way she did Lev but what the fuck's the point of writing it then?
Lastly, I hope this explanation was completely useless because the story already told you what it just did.
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I believe a character's actions shouldn't just affect the world around them but also the people.
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You can find up to 7 chapters ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap
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