The woman in armor looked at them and asked, "...Who are you?"
"Um... We are..." Mash began, seeming hesitant about how to respond, as she still needed to analyze the other's identity.
But at that moment, the armored woman said, "You can breathe and remain unharmed in this thick fog, so you're probably not ordinary humans. Whose side are you on? Friend or foe?"
Mash wore a helpless expression. She clearly wanted to ask the same question and determine if the other was a Servant or a human.
However, Roman, who usually provided quick answers, couldn't this time. He only informed them of the current situation through the communicator.
"You can't detect it either? Same here! With so much magical energy around, I can't distinguish any reactions! But she's wearing armor, so she's probably not an ordinary London citizen."
"Ah, this is a headache! I thought limiting it to the urban area would make things easier. Now it's gotten complicated! We can't tell what she is. Just an ordinary person with resistance to magecraft, a magus, or a Servant..."
Roman vented frantically, clearly frustrated by the troublesome situation. At that point, Olga Marie's voice chimed in.
"Why not discuss it openly, or just take her out right away?"
Olga Marie's suggestion left everyone silent.
After a moment, Roman asked, "What if she's an ally?"
"This is a Singularity. The fastest way to restore history to its proper state is to resolve all the anomalies here, right? For example, deal with all the Servants, regardless of good or evil... eliminate them all, bring back the Holy Grail, and the problem will be solved.
"Servants are copies of Heroic Spirits anyway. Once defeated, they return to the Throne of Heroes. As for the people here, once history is repaired, they'll return to their original paths, so no need to worry about irreversible mistakes during the process."
Olga Marie explained, and her reasoning left everyone unable to refute it.
Meanwhile, since the group was still secretly discussing with headquarters, the mysterious armored woman waiting for their answer looked puzzled. She frowned. "What are you whispering about? If you're not attacking me, it doesn't matter."
With that, she seemed to dismiss their secretive communication entirely, as if she had no intention of pursuing it.
Her expression darkened slightly. "I didn't have anything specific to ask you. Sorry for the interruption. The fog around here is thick... best to leave quickly."
"Thanks for the warning." Morpheus smiled and thanked her, eliciting a faint smile in return. Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others thought Morpheus planned to step back first and find a place to regroup, he suddenly spoke again. "Hmm... You're a Servant, aren't you?"
The blunt question stunned Mash, and the woman opposite was equally taken aback, but she nodded soon after. "That's right, I am."
With that, she waved her hand and turned to leave.
As she walked away, she called out, "Anyway, watch out for yourselves!"
This behavior made Mash's eyes widen again. She thought Morpheus's sudden question about whether the other was a Servant was already reckless, but the woman's actions were even stranger... she hadn't hidden anything and just left, striding away boldly.
Dr. Roman shook his head upon seeing this. "She just left? That was quick. What an impatient child... Is she a Londoner?"
"Didn't she say she's a Servant?"
"Well, she could be a Londoner turned into a Servant." Roman sighed helplessly. "And from what she said, it seems she knows some inside information. She probably understands London's current state better than we do."
"Alright, let's chase after her and ask," Morpheus said, shaking his head. "I wanted to talk more and get some info out of her, but she left."
Roman agreed with the idea. "Yes, go after her and ask."
But looking ahead, there was no sign of her.
The group didn't mind, though. They could just keep going forward... they'd run into her eventually.
After walking a bit further, Morpheus frowned. He sensed something approaching.
Jeanne Alter also looked around warily, clearly detecting something nearby.
"Something's coming, and there's quite a few," Jeanne Alter said.
Morpheus nodded. "Yes, a good number. From the magical energy fluctuations, they seem like small fry."
Roman shouted at that moment. "I'm not detecting any biological responses, but there are multiple moving objects. Magical energy reactions are still undetectable... this fog interferes too much with sensing magical energy!"
"There are magical energy reactions. They're magical constructs, probably automatons." Morpheus stared around.
Soon enough, a large number of automaton constructs appeared. These magic-driven things surrounded the group and began attacking!
However, they posed no threat to Morpheus and the others. He didn't even need to act... Mash and Jeanne Alter handled it, destroying all the automaton constructs in an instant.
Once they were all eliminated, Mash breathed a sigh of relief. "Breakthrough successful. We can keep moving."
Roman sounded surprised. "I didn't expect those things hidden in the fog. No wonder everyone's holed up in buildings and not coming out. Since doors and windows aren't damaged, it means those things don't invade buildings. But it's still strangely eerie."
Mash recalled the foes she'd defeated. "I recognize the structure of those remains. Parts of it are used in machinery from this era."
"I told you, they're automatons... small fry fitting for the era." Morpheus held a fragment of the remains, examining its internal structure closely.
Roman sighed. "Too bad the fog's interference makes it hard for me to observe for you. Be careful in your exploration to avoid ambushes."
Mash nodded. "Understood."
Then she looked at the group. "Let's go!"
They resumed their journey to find the armored girl, but along the way, they faced several more battles against similar automaton-like things.
After another fight with mechanical constructs, Morpheus suddenly noticed something.
"There are corrosion marks here." He pointed to part of the remains.
The others looked, and indeed, the metal showed signs of corrosion. Seeing this, they all paused... they clearly remembered that none of them had used any corrosive attacks in the battle!
"In London during the Industrial Revolution, the massive smoke from steam engines became a social issue. The sulfur dioxide in the emissions, when meeting cold fog, would linger and condense into sulfuric acid mist..." Mash trailed off, her expression changing. "...Huh?!"
"What's wrong, Mash?!" Roman asked urgently.
"There are records of cases in 1888 London described as 'as if inhaling sulfuric acid,' right?" Morpheus said, and Mash nodded. "Yes."
A dark shadow appeared behind Mash... small in stature, yet concealing its presence so well that Mash hadn't noticed at all.
Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted urgently, "Look out!"
At the same time, the shadow struck!
But in that instant, Jeanne Alter acted. Her strength was formidable; almost the moment she detected the presence, she swung her weapon. Dagger clashed with flag, forcing the ambusher back!
It was a white-haired girl, exposing much of her skin, staring at them with a voice full of doubt.
"...What... are you? Humans? Or magi? You can move freely in the magical energy fog, and in our mist too. Are you Servants like us?"
Mash saw her then and immediately realized her identity.
"You're a Servant, though you should originally be a human from this era." She stated the other's identity. "Jack the Ripper!"
"The serial killer who murdered numerous women in late 19th-century London, not only that, but dismembered all the victims...
"Taunting the London police, the legendary murderer, a symbol of terror known worldwide, even inspiring many copycats."
Morpheus smiled and stepped forward. His magical formulas unfolded around him in that moment!
"You know about me?! I'm so happy! I'm thrilled!" Jack the Ripper... or rather, the Servant known as Jack the Ripper, manifesting as a loli... let out a deranged laugh. "So happy, so delighted! In that case, you should know what I'm going to do to you!"
What Jack the Ripper intended was simple: kill, and dismember the victims!
But unfortunately, she couldn't enjoy it now.
Because Morpheus struck directly.
In an instant, he appeared before Jack the Ripper. Even though she was a little girl, Morpheus showed no mercy. Flames gathered in his hand, infused with Michael's power, carrying a light that purified impurity. Before Jack could react, it smashed straight into her face.
"Boom!"
Without any surprise, Jack couldn't block it at all. She was sent crashing to the ground by Morpheus's punch, dazzling flames erupting on her face and spreading to the rest of her body.
Michael's power was naturally one that vanquished evil. Even Satan couldn't stand against Michael, let alone a mere Jack the Ripper.
In that moment, Jack let out a piercing scream. The sins she bore were being judged under the flames' burn... the deeper the iniquity, the greater the agony.
And Jack was in extreme torment.
Even as a Servant, a being akin to a god, she had no resistance against Michael's flames.
The pitiful Jack couldn't even say more before turning to ash under the flames' glow.
Mash drew in a sharp breath, feeling the loli's end was somewhat brutal.
Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked and asked, "I didn't expect you to go so hard on a loli, Morpheus. I thought you might be a lolicon!"
"Lolicon?!" Morpheus let out a laugh. "If you've seen groups of twelve-year-olds killing each other every day, you'd get used to it like me."
He spoke, recalling his superior in the Toaruverse... a twelve-year-old loli who was incredibly strong and had a terrible temper!
"Strange, my memories..." Mash suddenly frowned, as if she couldn't recall what had just happened. "I remember it was a Servant, and then..."
"Snap!"
A finger snap, and special magical formulas began spreading around. Mash shook her head, her blurred memories becoming clear again. She gasped. "This fog seems really problematic... it affects my memories!"
"It's not just memories; even the recording devices are malfunctioning. The earlier records are gone..." Roman's voice carried a serious tone.
"Alright, let's keep chasing. See if we can catch up to that armored woman. If we run into other hostile Servants along the way, we can deal with them too... it's pretty straightforward anyway." Morpheus said from the side.
"Be careful; I have a feeling this time's enemies might not be simple!"
He wasn't bothered by magecraft that interfered with memories... it didn't affect him. And he rather agreed with Olga Marie's suggestion: just eliminate any suspicious ones. Once history was repaired, everything would reset, so no need to overthink it.
And pursuing this way posed no issues. Like with Jack the Ripper... if they encountered one, take them out, steadily weakening the enemy forces. It would strike at those behind the scenes and delay their plans.
One could say the plan had no worries beyond needing enough strength during execution to avoid being countered!
And that "sufficient strength" condition? Morpheus could provide it alone!
Not to mention, whether Mash, Fujimaru Ritsuka, or Jeanne Alter... their strengths were considerable. If the three teamed up, Morpheus believed even a full-powered Gilgamesh wouldn't gain the upper hand.
***
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