Morpheus and his group successfully arrived at a suburban area via Rayshift. Feeling the breeze in the air and the sunlight filtering down, Morpheus couldn't help but yawn.
"We've successfully reached our destination. Based on the timeline, it's 1431, during the Hundred Years' War, though it should be a truce period now," Mash said, setting up the initial communication base while checking the data and addressing the group.
"Wars can stop?" Ritsuka asked, surprised.
"It's not like they're fighting constantly. There's no formal peace treaty, so they could resume fighting anytime, but for now, it's a truce. Everyone's taking a breather," Morpheus explained, glancing at the sky.
At that moment, the "ferocious beast" named Fou popped out from the side, hopping onto Ritsuka's shoulder. Mash looked surprised. "Fou came along too?"
Noticing that Fou chose the shoulder opposite the one closest to him, Morpheus chuckled inwardly. That little guy's still avoiding me. I thought he'd stay behind, but he actually tagged along.
As Mash and Ritsuka discussed how Fou had managed to come along, Ritsuka suddenly looked up, eyes widening, and shouted, "Look at the sky!"
Mash instinctively looked up, and Morpheus followed suit.
He had already noticed the anomaly in the sky but hadn't paid it much mind. He figured he'd investigate it later when he had time.
A massive halo loomed in the sky, encircling the heavens as if crowning the earth.
Just then, as Mash's communication array activated, Romani's hologram appeared on-site.
"Uh, what are you all doing? Staring at the sky?" Romani asked, puzzled.
Mash immediately responded, "Doctor, I'm sending you the footage. What is that?"
"That's… a halo… no, it's some kind of magecraft formula deployed in satellite orbit…" Romani speculated cautiously.
It was so clear from the ground and utterly massive.
"No matter how you look at it, that thing's enormous... maybe as big as the North American continent! There's no record of anything like this in 1431! This is likely one of the reasons the future is vanishing. I'll analyze it from here…" Romani said.
Seeing that Romani couldn't identify it immediately, Morpheus approached. "Dr. Romani, where's the Director?"
"She's checking on the repair progress below. I'm covering for now, but she'll be back soon," Romani replied, then reminded them, "Your job is to handle things on the ground. Start by finding the leyline."
Morpheus shrugged. "Fine. Since we're in France, I've got a few things I want to try."
Romani quickly asked, "Try what?"
"See if I can get my hands on the holy sword Durandal."
At Morpheus's words, the group exchanged glances. After a few seconds of silence, Romani exclaimed, "You're going to steal Durandal?!"
"It's not stealing! How can you call a magician's work 'stealing'?!" Morpheus protested loudly.
Seeing the group staring at him without comment, Morpheus waved his hand. "It's really not stealing. I just want to try a special mystic code... think of it as crafting a Noble Phantasm and testing its effects here."
Romani, still skeptical, pressed, "Testing a Noble Phantasm's effects? Why specifically in France?"
Morpheus's lips curled into a delighted grin. "Because this is a Singularity. Once we deal with whoever's causing the problem, the Human Order will repair this place and restore the original history. So, until then, I can experiment as much as I want, right?"
Everyone fell silent. After a while, Romani said, "Be careful. You can experiment, but don't go killing people indiscriminately."
Morpheus immediately cried out, "What are you thinking?! I'm not some crazed murderer like those deranged maguss!!"
"Alright, alright, just be careful. I can't help much from here. I'm off to analyze that thing in the sky," Romani said, sounding exasperated, waving at them.
The group temporarily set aside the matter of the sky's halo and began searching for their next destination.
"Morpheus, this experiment of yours... is it magic too?" Ritsuka asked from the side.
"Sort of. It's about extracting elements from the Song of Roland and recreating the legendary weapon, Durandal. I've studied Durandal's structure, but it doesn't quite match what I'm aiming for. I don't want that version... I want the Durandal of myth."
Ritsuka nodded, catching on. "So, the real Durandal doesn't live up to the myth's standards?"
"Exactly. If it's the mythical Durandal, even Gilgamesh couldn't store it in his treasury because he wouldn't be worthy," Morpheus said with a shrug, leaving a confused Ritsuka behind as he walked forward.
Ahead was a group of armored soldiers, clearly on patrol.
Mash spotted them and approached, greeting them in English with a smile. "Hello!"
The soldiers froze, turning to the group. The lead soldier drew his weapon. "Quick, enemies!"
They spoke in French.
Morpheus resisted the urge to roll his eyes and quickly switched to French to communicate. "Sorry, before we start fighting, can we talk?"
His French made the soldiers pause their aggressive stance, though they still gripped their weapons, visibly tense.
"It's a truce period, right?" Morpheus asked.
"But this isn't a place for Englishmen. Are you breaking the treaty? Wait, hasn't England already withdrawn?" The squad leader said, tightening his grip on his weapon.
Ritsuka, surprised, whispered to Mash, "I didn't know Morpheus spoke French!"
Mash nodded. "He seems to know a lot of things."
Then, a bit embarrassed, she added, "Sorry, Senpai, I forgot we're in France. I should've used French."
Listening to the soldiers, Morpheus picked up on key details. "England has withdrawn… Historically, at this point, Jeanne should've been executed, and the war between France and England would be in a truce, but it would resume later. The Duke of Burgundy, originally siding with England's Henry VI, suddenly betrayed them to join Charles VII…
"Both Charles VII and Henry VI had claims to the throne, but per the treaty, the French crown belonged to Henry VI… except Charles VII, with Jeanne's help, had already been crowned, gaining legitimacy.
"But regardless, with Henry VI under the control of his two uncles, England wouldn't agree to withdraw unless some uncontrollable disaster forced them to retreat and defend…"
Smiling at the soldiers, Morpheus said, "We're not from England. Do we look like we are? We're just travelers. Otherwise, how could we have people of different skin tones?"
The soldiers examined them. While Mash and Morpheus were harder to place, Ritsuka was clearly neither English nor European.
Finally, they lowered their guard.
The squad leader spoke. "What are you doing out here? Get to the city for safety! If those monsters show up again, you'll die!"
"Monsters? What monsters?" Mash asked, stepping forward.
Morpheus gently patted her shoulder. "Let's walk and talk with them. No need to disrupt their patrol."
"We're done with our patrol and heading back. Come with us," The squad leader said, leading the group forward while explaining the situation.
"Not long ago, Charles VII was suddenly killed, and the capital was engulfed in flames. They say it was Jeanne…" The soldier said quietly.
"Jeanne killed Charles VII?" Mash exclaimed. "That's not how it's supposed to be! Wasn't Jeanne already dead?"
"Yeah, she was. We were furious about it. But they say she came back, made a pact with demons, and now controls hordes of monsters... even wyverns. She killed the king and is slaughtering all the people…"
The squad leader shuddered, clearly terrified.
"Those monsters are horrifying. We can handle zombies, but wyverns? Their power is too much for us!
"England tried fighting them a few times but took heavy losses and withdrew, saying they won't deal with this anymore. But we can't leave... this is our home!"
As they spoke, they reached the outskirts of a city... or rather, a fortress. Its surface was scarred and pockmarked, as if it had just endured a fierce battle.
Just as they were about to enter, an alarm blared. In the distance, a massive horde of zombies approached, accompanied by several wyverns soaring in the sky!
***
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