As the head of the Animusphere family and Chaldea's Director, Olga Marie possessed considerable talent and learning ability. In Morpheus' words, in the Toaruverse, she'd be a formidable magician, possibly even securing a high position in the Anglican Church.
But this was the Nasuverse. Without Morpheus, her fate would likely be either laughable or tragic... definitely not pleasant.
After days of Morpheus' tutelage, she'd learned much. In the training room, she tested her newfound strength with magic.
"Your soul is a form of life force. You convert it into mana for spellcasting. That's viable, but you're only altering your internal state with mana, not directly affecting the external world. Got it?" Morpheus reminded her.
Olga Marie nodded. "I know. You've said it a million times. I won't mess it up!"
"Good. Begin," Morpheus said, watching her cast a magical formula.
His repeated warnings had a reason. As a pure soul, if Olga Marie cast spells like a Nasuverse Magus, expending mana externally, she'd deplete herself and require external mana to recover.
Morpheus supplied her mana now, but he couldn't predict accidents... like being flung to another world. Without him, Olga Marie needed to minimize mana loss.
Thus, Morpheus had her abandon traditional Nasuverse magecraft methods.
His goal wasn't to make her a combat powerhouse but to ensure she could protect herself.
Olga Marie's hands and feet shifted, her posture aligning with intent.
A faint mana surged in the room, coalescing.
It was fire's power, forming thumb-sized fireballs that orbited her like a protective ring.
But it wasn't a shield... an offensive fire spell. The high-speed fireballs, though individually weak, swarmed targets like machine-gun rounds.
They shot out!
Boom!
Jeanne Alter drew her weapon, slashing. The fireballs collided, exploding!
The flames' ferocity spread, creating a shockwave.
Jeanne Alter blocked the fireballs, then lunged forward with a light push.
As a powerful Servant, even holding back, she wasn't someone an average Magus could handle!
Olga Marie tensed as Jeanne Alter charged but didn't retreat. She cast a new spell.
Wind enveloped her, boosting her speed. She darted, dodging Jeanne Alter's attack.
Enhancing oneself with mana wasn't unique to Servants; Magus used it too, but it drained mana, risking exhaustion or death.
This spell, however, cycled mana and life force like a perpetual engine, sustaining high speed without loss.
The ground surged, spikes erupting like vicious blades, stabbing upward at Jeanne Alter!
She leapt, rolling to evade. More spikes pursued, relentless, as if to pin her down.
The fight looked less like magic, more like an esper's power.
"Smart choice. Using the terrain to suppress a Servant, limiting their attacks," Jeanne Alter praised, dodging spikes.
Morpheus' boss seemed weak initially, but after training, she'd improved drastically.
Against weaker or average Servants, Olga Marie could dominate, maybe even kill them!
But Jeanne Alter was no ordinary Servant.
She sped up, increasing her power.
The once-balanced fight tilted. Spikes couldn't keep up with her heightened speed, losing their threat.
Olga Marie tracked Jeanne Alter's movements, maintaining her spell. Spikes kept spawning, chasing.
But as Jeanne Alter accelerated, the spikes couldn't catch her, becoming ineffective.
Finally, Jeanne Alter's weapon rested at Olga Marie's neck. "You lose," she grinned.
"I lost…" Olga Marie sighed, not upset but pleased.
Even with Jeanne Alter holding back, fighting a Servant was thrilling.
Jeanne Alter hadn't dropped to a mundane level but fought as a weaker Servant.
Olga Marie could now hold her own against lesser Servants, maybe even counter-kill!
After the fight, Morpheus approached, offering a handkerchief.
"What's this?"
"For sweat."
Olga Marie took it, then paused. "I'm a ghost. I don't sweat!"
"Keep it. For when you do."
"I'd need a real body first!"
"You'll get one. Trust me!"
"Really?"
"I've got plenty of experience. You'll be fine!"
The room grew lively with their banter.
But the peace didn't last. A new mission loomed.
…
"King Solomon's era shows no anomalies," Romani told Morpheus and Da Vinci.
Since learning the Demon Pillars' goal, Romani had been investigating. Checking Solomon's history revealed no changes.
"Maybe we missed something?" Da Vinci suggested. "Like, we should check the timeline after Solomon's death. He became a Heroic Spirit, after all."
Romani glanced at her, annoyed. "Is that necessary?"
Da Vinci sensed his irritation.
"I think checking post-death is right," Morpheus interjected. "All anomalies happened after Solomon's death. His passing likely caused issues with the Seventy-Two Demon Pillars' system."
Morpheus grinned. "If we could go outside, I'd check Solomon's burial site to see if his body's still there."
Romani and Da Vinci fell silent, pondering. Romani spoke, "You think they used Solomon's body to cast magic they couldn't otherwise?"
"Exactly. His body's unique, like a special Mystic Code or formalcraft. Or they could possess it, controlling a body with immense magical mastery."
His words silenced them again. Romani nodded, "You're right. We need to investigate post-death history, from his passing to how his body was handled.
"That's your job," Morpheus said cheekily. "You're Chaldea's Servant One and Three."
They laughed. Servant One was Solomon, Romani's past self. Servant Three was Da Vinci, the tech recluse.
Servant Two resided in Mash as her foundational component.
After the chat, they parted. Morpheus headed to the Rayshift hall.
Today, they'd depart again.
The Rayshift activated, transporting them from Chaldea to a fog-shrouded city.
Mash checked the system. "We're in London, 1888!"
"I know London's the Fog City, but this is unnatural," Morpheus frowned, looking skyward. Faintly visible through thick fog were massive light rings, obscured by the haze, limiting visibility.
"This fog's laced with mana... not ordinary, but from the Greater Source," Morpheus murmured. "It's poison to normal humans!"
He glanced at Ritsuka, the group's only mundane, who should've been affected.
But Ritsuka, unaffected, looked around curiously.
"I dreamed of this place," she said. "A woman, drained in this fog, couldn't escape. A mysterious figure killed her."
Morpheus perked up. "Tell me more. Who did it?"
"A smallish killer, maybe a girl, saying things like 'Mother, I'm going in.' Felt like bad news."
"A girl? A child?" Morpheus pressed.
"Yeah, probably a kid. She sounded attached to her mother, even calling for her while killing," Mash frowned. "Maybe someone unstable?"
"Or an unstable Servant," Ritsuka added. "Moving freely here suggests a Servant, right?"
"Likely," Morpheus grinned.
Romani's voice came through the communicator.
"Scans confirm this isn't a dead city. Be careful... London in 1888 has plenty of people," Romani said, calculating. "They're hiding indoors, likely avoiding the magical fog."
"The fog's mana toxins are deadly to mundanes, so they stay inside?" Morpheus rubbed his chin. "But unless we fix the root issue, more problems will arise…"
As they spoke, Jeanne Alter gripped her weapon, whispering, "Someone's coming!"
A woman in armor appeared nearby, eyeing them warily.
***
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